This bike has been with me since January 2021. It’s the bike that got me into gravel riding and carried me successfully through my first two gravel races. It’s also probably the most viewed build on my channel. I’ve gone through several new gravel bikes but they never really vibed with me. This bike feels like it has a soul, whereas the new bikes just felt a little lifeless. It’s been through many iterations over the past 4 years, and eventually I kind of stopped riding it because it just wasn’t set up well anymore. I decided that I needed to rebuild it into a versatile setup that I’d want to ride for a long time, so here we are now. \
- Salsa Cowbell 44cm handlebars
- Amazon quill adapter and 60mm -17 stem
- Diacompe brake cable hangers
- Diy wood front rack with salvaged parts
- Cinelli cork gel handlebar tape
- Micronew 3×9 shifters
- Weinmann 610 centerpulls
- Original SR SAKAE 170mm crankset, setup as a custom triple with 48/36/26 gearing
- Tiagra FD-4403 (soon to be installed)
- Shimano sealed BB
- Beartraps
- Charge spoon saddle
- Deore LX mtn rear derailleur with 9 speed Shimano cassette
- Vintage sandwich smasher rear rack
- Fairdale road 700c wheelset
- Kenda Small Block 8s 700x35c
The only thing I’m still debating is if I should go 650b to get bigger tires. BB is at ~275mm currently so I think it would drop to around 260mm with 650bx40 tires. What do y’all think?
by OldSchoolWillie
1 Comment
Looks great, I also converted an old road bike to gravel with 700x35s and center pull brakes and it’s very capable. Meta question: how do you combine a text post with a photo gallery? Mobile or on PC? I nver seem to manage this.