rivers

My gravel bike, currently set up for bikepacking.
Orro Terra C with 40mm pirelli cinturato m tyres with fulcrum rapid red wheels
FSA 46/30 chainset, deore rear mech with 11-42 cassette and jtek shiftmate to make it play nicely with the 105 brifters.
Sonder Spitfire 40cm handlebars with 16° flare
Brand X 105mm dropper post
Bikepacking gear: Tailfin aeropack with a pair of 5 litre mini-panniers
Custom frame bag
5 litre altura handlebar bag and a Restrap tech pouch.

t2p

final parts now installed - including seat post, seat, and tires

was a 23.4 lb 9 spd mech disc brake Topstone 3

now a 20.2 lb 10 spd hydraulic disc brake Topstone 3 (F3 ?)

(and with dork disc still attached !)

janthenat

Recent gravel bike build. Moved parts over from a 90s mtb to gravel conversion…
Frame: Miele Toscana 300 (year?, NOS ebay find, Large/58ish)
Toseek 26er carbon disc fork
Campagnolo Veloce 10s shifters & front derailleur
Campagnolo Centaur 11s rear derailleur, Jtek shiftmate 1
Stronglight 34/48 x 175 crankset
Sunrace 11-28 10s cassette (11-32 )
Juin Tech R1 cable hydraulic combo disc brakes
Sun CR18 rims, Shimano M525 110/135 disc hubs, Schwalbe Cross Comp 700x35 tires (first wheels I’ve built)
Definitely need to fine tune stem and re-cut steerer tube, very different geometry than my 1995 GT Tequesta ;^)
​​​​​​​

baj32161

New to me, 2010 Specialized Tricross Comp in immaculate condition. I made an even swap with the "seller" for my 2011 Cannondale Synapse 5. I wanted a softer, more comfortable ride at age 62. Both bikes were specc'ed the same except the brakes which are tektro Mini V
​​​​​​ on this bike. The seller is a mechanic and we test rode each other's bike together and made the swap afterwards. I am very happy with it.

revcp 

Reporting back on my Vaast after about 800 miles on it. Most comfortable bike I've ridden. I haven't ridden titanium, but several steel, carbon and aluminum frames. The frame really soaks up road chatter on gravel, but it's also responsive, so climbs well. Handles very well with a bikepacking load (pic of a three-day trip with my son on the Root River Trail in Minnesota). I have nothing but good to say about it. Eco friendly, steel-like ride quality, similarly priced to aluminum. I would pick it every time over carbon.

Eric F 

New Wheel Day!…Shimano Ultegra C50s with 40mm Pirelli H/M tires.

nuxx 

Simply had to pick up this hand crafted beauty second hand today: Amaro Lisi Tempo - Campagnolo Potenza group, ceramic BB and DT Swiss hub, Nox rims… the lettering is gold leaf… what else? xD

chaadster

A really handsome and interesting bike, nuxx . Can you say anything about the wheel skewer nuts and seatpost? I’ve never seen pieces like those before.

mstateglfr 

Pretty sure those are just Paul skewers. If they arent, they are designed to look really similar.
But that seatpost?- yeah I noticed that right away. Cool stepdown look.

chief9245

Used my Bombtrack Hook EXT-C for a perimeter tour of the US. Left May 9, 2022 and after 10,520 miles got home March 28, 2023. Running a 1x 38t chainring with a 10-42 cassttte. Was perfect. And when it comes to plain gravel riding, this is by far the best bike I have ever owned. N+1 doesn't exist anymore, this bike is the only N.

Bob N.

Wow! That's some kinda ride. Your bike/gear/setup looks well thought out, nicely done.

degan

My current daily rider. Mongoose Ti frame, set up as a mullet. 1x9, carbon fork, carbon HED front wheel, Paul cantis, XT drivetrain, Chris King HS, Thompson seatpost. I have a different rear wheel that will get it under 20 lbs.

mstateglfr 

At dusk during a mixed surface ride.

bOsscO

Damn that is a big frame!

bOsscO

I've never heard of this before. So roughly is this down the eastern seaboard, along the gulf, along the Mexico boarder to California, upto Washington state and along the Canadian boarder?

chief9245

yes, but the opposite direction.

bOsscO

Right counter clockwise. Congrats on completing that; huge accomplishment.

mattcalifornia

Wow - that's some kind of bike trip. Many questions. Mostly: how did you manage to take over a year off? Very jealous. And, give us a list of all the mechanical failures and lessons learned, if any. How big are your legs now?

jaseyjase

My State Thunderbird in current gravel trim. Have been doing the musical chairs between SS commuter, to gravel, back to SS commuter, and now back to gravel.

chief9245

Yeah, it was quite the trip. I was lucky enough to retire early, age 56, February of last year. I could have done the entire perimeter in less than six months but I didn’t ride in the rain, and I enjoyed some time off in Texas and Florida, a week on the beach in Port Aransas and a week at my sisters in Vero Beach.

Mechanical failures…My biggest issue was my press fit bottom bracket. It decided somewhere in North Dakota it didn’t want to play anymore, was creaking and sloppy for hundreds of miles before I finally found a Wheels Mfg. threaded replacement for the Money well spent. Other than that, just the typical maintenance items..3 sets of brake pads, 2 shifter cables, 3 chains, and four sets of tires. I started with a partially worn set of WTB Byways. Those lasted until Montana where I picked up a set of Terravail Sparwoods. Those didn’t last too long and I picked up another set of Byways in California. Those got me to New Mexico where the goathead thorns ate them alive and I had a bike shop in Silver City replace them with Schwalbe Hurricanes. Hated those tires with a passion so I had a new set of Byways shipped in Texas and those just got me home

.Lessons learned…listen to the locals. Put Slime or run tubeless in the Southwest, those goatheads will destroy your tires and sanity. Carry spares, tubes and brakes. I put a new set of brakes in right before the Rockies and by the time I got out of the Cascades they were smoked. Only carry enough food for 20-30 miles worth of riding. No need to carry pounds of food, it’s readily accessible almost everywhere. In the instances where it is sparse, use common sense. Also, ride the Pacific Coast Highway, the whole thing. If you don’t get killed you will have the most incredible memories of the west coast. Don’t get to wrapped up in planning for the day, it’s not going to work out. I planned two routes everyday..where I wanted to end up and a bail out in case of issues. You need to be good with maps and adversity, know your bike inside out and be able to repair everything yourself. Mechanicals always happen the furthest from help

Legs are bigger but not mutant bigger, calves are definitely Hulk like now. If anyone is interested, I kept a journal and when I got home published it under the title ”Keep the Lonely Places Lonely”. It’s available though Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and BookBaby.com at the end of August. 720 pages and over 1,000 pictures. It includes all my gear and what worked and didn’t. Final tallies were 323 days, 10,520 miles and 386,000 feet of elevation.

chief9245

I had the same bike years ago. Always regret getting rid of it. Nice setup! I went 1x too.

jaseyjase

cheers mate, yeh shes a little older but always stoked when riding it. Whether in SS or 1x mode.

Wished it had clearance for 45s though!

jetboy 

Just make sure to keep it sealed up. Any exposure to air/elements and it can corrode and fail from the inside out. (And you don't see it coming- ask why they stopped making magnesium motorcycle wheels).
(Ps I have a magnesium bike myself ..so not saying it's a bad idea...just know what you are getting into)

tiger1964 

Well, a photo taken today of the bike (and me) on the trail turned out not share-worthy...

Anyway, an about six months after completion, my 'gravelized' 1973 Raleigh Grand Sport finally hit gravel today, and I deem it a success. For off-pavement purposes (there is a build thread on the Classic & Vintage sub-forum) 27x1-3/8 knobby tires were added and lower gears added; yes, that's a Campagnolo Nuovo Record rear derailleur, modified to handle 30T back there. With about 150 miles on the bike after completion -- including one group ride where I subjected it to the pace line -- today friends took me to a park at a wildlife refuge between Baltimore and Washington. After a lifetime of skinny tires, high PSI and smooth pavement, riding gravel of various sizes is a bit of a shock. But it did well and I'm looking for other trails further afield. Two minor technical issues: (a) In the first mile, I noticed the pedaling got tougher and I feared a flat. No, the rear shift cable had slipped and I was in the tallest sprocket back there, and my tools were with another bike.. So, I determined to finish the ride in 42x13 ; but, at a mid-ride rest stop, a friend's wife's found an 8mm wrench in her kit despite not a single bolt on her modern bike needing one. Ten seconds and I was off in much lower gears. (b) I should have expected this, but the headset is now loose. I had bought headset-race seating tools specifically for this project, but I guess there was a tiny amount more "seating" to do on the races. Didn't hurt anything and I predict another adjustment and all will be well.

Jackie1

Awesome thread