Manny66 

A Co Worker asked me if I wanted some bike parts,,"No Thank You I have enough crap already."

A couple of days later he brings me a box full of Gravel bike Parts and a rear wheel. I turned him down to no avail ,as I am not a Gravel Guy. The box went in the back of my truck under protest. The parts sat in my garage floor for over a month when I remembered I had a Giordana frame that I was gifted for nothing. So I had some parts and a frame sitting for quite some time and so I had an idea ..., A Gravel Bike ,and so I started assembling the bike with all the parts I had. The Whittier swap meet added a $20 front wheel and Shimano brifters for $50 ,A 105 front derailleur $5 , Facebook Marketplace got me 2 Tires that I purchased from local bike legend Tinker Juarez for $40 ,,I added some cheap Amazon cables and bar tape . Everything else was sitting in my garage in boxes .

The main issue, The rear tire clearance, I fabbed up a dimpling tool using a C Clamp which worked great for the rear, The front tire had Zero issues ,both tires clear the frame perfectly. I painted the thing and assembled it with all the leftover and obsolete parts i accumulated over the years . The derailleurs shift flawlessly even though they are all mismatched . I did have to make a cable adjuster from an old brake adjuster to take up the cable slack on the rear derailleur . I rode it around the block and was really surprised at the smoothness and ease of riding. I think i might have under $200 in this Bike . I also have a extra single Shimano 105 Crank in the free box with disc brake parts and other gravel stuff . I might install the newer Single crank later.

I rattle canned the frame white with some red and blue panels , added the Decals that I bought about 4 years ago, and went to work to try and not make it look like a Turd.. Note, Do not use a Sharpie to color in Panto, It will run if you clear coat it , Oh Well .LOL . I had a bought a can of 2 part Clear Coat a few years back for a project that never was to be, I used it over the decals and the bike and it worked great, It made the Krylon paint really shine .I was shocked at how Great this stuff worked. I will probably buy more for future use.



Is it perfect NOPE, did I attempt to make a Concourse bike, Absolutely Not. And Anyone that knows me knows I dont care about Pristine flawless bikes ,I just want them to ride and Stop like new. Will it get me around the Grand Canyon and Zion when I go in a few months ,Yes..
All told, under $200 out of pocket in this build and I Am Happy.

velomateo

Well done Manny. It turned out great. I'm sure you'll have fun exploring Zion on that bike.

MooneyBloke

I'm still coming to terms with "local bike legend Tinker Juarez." That's like saying "local piano wizard Artur Rubenstein." I get the vague recollection he rode in the '91 Grundig Cup series. One round happened near Traverse City. My club helped out and all I got to show for it was a hat, a couple of T shirts, and a wicked sunburn 'cos one of the organizers parked me at a water station with no sunscreen.

Classtime 

I almost went to Tinker Juarez's place to pick up a Trek 620 that he had sittingt for ever on CL at a decent but at the time, not my price. I eventually missed out.

Manny66 

Maybe a well placed Comma would have helped.

Manny66 

Ive crossed paths with him on the San Gabriel river trail many times..The guy is amazingly fast ,,and Friendly .

Thalia949

Cool bike Manny - I look forward to seeing it one of these days!