mstateglfr 

a rare dry and not windy day.

BoozyMcliverRot

I upgraded to some vintage titanium.

996

Awesome bike. How do you like that frame? What fork do you have on there?

What is your gearing setup? Also - I have a pair of those Gravel King SS's - what size are those? lol sorry 21 questions.

Thanks for sharing

mstateglfr 

No apologies, its a forum about bikes...so talking bikes is gonna happen.

I love the frame. The design elements are very well thought out and the newer version is only better than mine in terms of thought and design. I bought the frame in part due to how I nerded out on the design plan that was written by the company owner, but more importantly the geometry fit exactly what I wanted out of a new frame. The stack and reach were great(I am taller), the trail and bb drop worked for how I like a bike to feel when riding, and I really liked the simplicity of the build(27.2 seatpost, external cables, etc). Its an 853 main triangle and basic 4130 rear triangle due to how much manipulation they put into the stays. The front half is welded and the rear half is brazed. Kinda cool. It is not super light due to having to pass fatigue testing, but it is incredibly dent resistant as a result.

The fork is the stock Cempa fork that comes with Fairlight Secan frames. It has an internal route for the brake hose and thru axle, so pretty standard stuff. The new version Cempa fork has mounts for Anything cages, which I think is an improvement. The steerer is longer than most forks which I really liked since its needed due to the taller headtube and frame size.

The tires are 43mm. The frame can handle up to 700x47, I believe.

996

mstateglfr Wow, didn't realize the unique design of the frame. I also really liked my Gravel King SS's. They are in 32c and I have beaten them up.

Monkey Face

Velo Orange Pass Hunter. I just bought a Giant Revolt, but I've no pictures yet.

acoustophile

Originally found this Bianchi Piaggio (circa 1985 i think) in the trash in 2008. Rode it as a fixed gear, couriering for a few years (before upgrading to actual track bikes) then it sat rusty in storage for over 10 years. Recently brought it back to life as a budget cross/light gravel bike. All in, it cost about $60 to build back up with a combination of new parts and things laying around in my parts bin. The only upgrade left is a 40t narrow wide chainring to better take advantage of the small range 7-speed cassette (which will cost more than I've spent so far altogether).

Rocket-Sauce 

In progress, my first gravel(ish) build:

Currently on hold because after 30+ years, my paint-can sized vat of marine bearing grease has finally run out. And I like to use a lot of grease when assembling bikes. I hate creeks, squeaks, clicks etc.

Soma Fog Cutter 61cm
IRD MCX fork
Thomson Elite seatpost
Brooks C13 Carbon saddle
Uno 110mm stem (de-badged)
Soma Junebug bars
Tange Terious headset
Origin8 seatpost binder
Origin8 downtube housing stops
Wheelset (built by me to be as cheap and strong as possible. And all black ): DT Swiss R470db rims, DT Swiss Competition spokes + brass nipples. Tiagra hubs. 160mm Shimano rotors.
WTB Riddlers

The rest of the build is all 105. 48/34 cranks. 11-32 cassette. Shimano PD M530 pedals.

Hopefully a new 30 year supply of grease will arrive today or tomorrow (shipping tracking is vague) so I can get it all dirty this weekend.

Rocket-Sauce 

By the way, I went with the IRD fork because Soma is sold out of the matching carbon fork, and the steel version is a qr, not a thru axle.
HOWEVER, the IRD came with 15mm thru axle, while my hubs were 12mm!! Thankfully, there is a solution
https://forkmods.com
Available on eBay and Amazon -make sure to reach out to Joe first to ensure you get the correct kit!!
I have used Joe's Innicycle headsets and was super impressed with the clever design, and quality. So I used the conversion axles. Works perfectly and looks factory -you would never know this is not how the fork left the factory.

antmaster5000

Beautiful! Have been VERY tempted to grab a fogcutter frameset and transfer all my parts over from my carbon diamondback. The steel suits me and I love all the mounts. Also I love the black carbon fork. I think I prefer that over the stock carbon fork- just a cool contrast.

Rocket-Sauce 

Finished!

Swapped the Soma Junebug bars for Salsa Cowchips because the Junebug had crazy long reach to the hoods.

I've only taken it around the block and was surprised at how quick it felt. I was expecting something more tractor-like similar to 80s hard tails. But it is quite nimble. And comfortable.

Now I need to get it dirty.

katsup

Looks really good. I've been tempted to pick up the blue Fog Cutter and sell off my red. Just can't justify it for a color change.

mstateglfr 

Really nice looking build. I have Cowchippers on my gravel bike too- the bend and measurements just fit really well.

WaffleHouse

I bought this as a small celebration for a promotion at work. It's going to be my all-weather bike. Assembly was easy enough, had to tighten the headset and adjust both front and back hub tension. I used ample amounts of marine axle grease everywhere. 50 miles on it so far and rides really nice.

GeneO 

That the Danada Equestrian Center? Used to ride by that almost daily on my commute to Fermilab on the trails.

WaffleHouse

You've got a good eye, my friend!

davesupra

I've got two choices now, depending on where I plan on going and the terrain.


2016 Salsa Fargo

2022 Trek Checkpoint

GeneO 

Lived right by it. My wife rode her horse on it several times. Moved out of state now though.

buzzman

mstateglfr 

Wow that is quite the stout headtube with and steerer!
Neat build, it should be able to o get you anywhere. I like the stem charger- had one on my dream build touring bike a handful of years ago, but didn't figure it would be used enough. Unfortunately I was right. Hope yours is used a lot more!

buzzman

Yeah, it's seen some rough roads from the Scottish Highlands to the gravel roads of New England and has taken it all like a champ. Dropped the charger eventually, just wasn't cutting it. The dynamo hub is not pictured here and is now on another bike I use for road touring/commuting.

Sactown_Albert 

This brown Kona started as my son’s beater bicycle for going to school. Always liked the frame and thought it would build into a good gravel adventure bike. Put on a full Shimano Ultegra drivetrain and some Mavic Allroads set up tubeless. First paint job I did was a blue rattle can effort that did not come out so great. Was going for an old suitcase look and missed the mark. The bike rode beautifully, so I decided to have a friend who paints motorcycles repaint it more professionally. He had some extra Harley Davidson Midnight Blue left over from a project so I ordered the decals in a powder blue to contrast. I get positive comments all the time with people asking about it. The picture doesn’t really capture the metallic sparkles in the paint. Great riding cyclocross bike with rack eyelets that allow me to set it up for light touring adventures.

Germany_chris

I rarely have my two Cross Checks together since one lives at my home and the other at my work apartment.

pretty much everything about them is the same except the rear hub, crank, and BB and soon the cranks will match

bicyclepost

Beautiful bikes! I especially love the one on the left with the long fenders and mudflaps. I see you've got a lot of spacers to get your bars up. Is this common to get the bars up to a comfortable level for bikepacking/touring? I actually just came across a Cross Check on the local classifieds and am tempted to reach out given the popularity of the bike, but have seen they can be difficult to get a more relaxed position. I also currently have a drop-bar 90's MTB conversion with a similar challenge so I wonder if the bikes would be pretty similar in that regard.

Germany_chris

Cross Checks have short head tubes, I use enough spacers to get the bars where I want them. If you’re looking for bars above the saddle it’s not going to work with the stock fork. I guess relaxed is relative most would consider my position relaxed but a also want to be able to ride in the drops and I can with the bars there.

The bikes are flexible so if you can pick one up at a decent price it’s worth it.

I do have a drop bar mountain bike




the bars on it are higher because I mostly use it in the winter or off road, in both of those instances I want to be more upright so if relaxed is a concern I’d go there not with a Cross Check