IMO Bontragers are sensible workhorses. It´s soul is about engineering steel to the best results. Gussets, overlapping tubes. Fork crowns leading to different trail numbers.The frame is built w/ avant garde thinking. Different brake studs, Drop outs that make wheel alignment simple. It´s made to be ridden hard and not lusted over. Simple paint, pannel decals that can be easily replaced.
That´s why Bontragers look good w/ no bling, no purple, no boutique.. Deore XT everywhere because it works and you don´t need xtr. It´s a mechanics bike, a private racer bike... and it´s awesome.
I definitely agree with everything you've said. And this is exactly what drew me to getting a Bontrager in the first place; the reason it's been on the wishlist. And those characteristics are exactly what I find most appealing in the bikes themselves.
That said, I do want to divert from the norm just slightly.
Obviously the Salsa connection is well-established and nothing new on an OR build, largely due to the infamous/iconic ad with Ross and Keith. So a little S here and there is almost certainly on the cards! But it will be limited to just the aforemented skewers (unless they do prove problematic, or I change my mind) and maybe the stem I picked up last week.
I would be planning on an XT build too, if something else from the MOMBAT archives hadn't also caught my eye while waiting for this bike to arrive...
So yeah, the initial plan is for something inspired by the above. And yes, it's a Race Lite, not a Race, but the use of XC Pro group definitely got my attention as I have a lovely, minty group sitting right here. Again, nothing is set in stone. It's all going on the Team Issue first anyway, for as long as it takes me to source some forks and other bits for the Race, so I'll see how I get on with it.
If it's not a pleasure to ride then it'll be straight back to XT!
Anyway, regardless of exactly where this build ends up, I can promise one thing: there won't be any bling. Well, not really. And it will be built to ride and ride hard.