I’m obsessed

I built this up a few weeks ago and have shared photos of it but I’ve continued to tweak and optimize it. I swapped from the color matched original stem to a 1-1/8 threaded to 1-1/8 threadless converter and then a 120mm 6° Velo Orange stem which gives me more reach and has really improved the fit for me.

I briefly ran an XTR real derailleur but went back to the XT cause tbh it seemed like it shifted smoother.

I had some Deore cranks but they were either bent when I bought them used or I bent the spider of the DS in a crash I took. I kept dropping my chain with a 2x setup (28/42) which I learned was probably the chainring wobble. I just found a really nice Sugino AT crankset for a good price. The rings are 24/44/48 but with my 122.5 bb plus a spacer I couldn’t even fit the small ring. Sheldon’s spreadsheet said it should work but also a 127 plus 2mm spacer which ended up being right. Considering going back to 2x cause I really don’t need that large 48T on this bike but it acts as a bash guard, weighs next to nothing, and can make me go real real fast when I wanna be wreckless.

I had slid out and crashed twice on my maiden run on this bike cause I was running these somewhat slicks on a wet and muddy park trail so I bought some new Kenda K-Rad 2.3s. A little slower but way better grip.

Another notable upgrade is having rebuilt my front wheel with a dynamo hub. I’d never built a wheel before and it was something I really wanted to learn. Watched a million videos, bought Roger Musson’s book (everything you need), and just took off. Spoke calculation was easy and I later learned the hub was the same size so I could have reused the previous spokes. I went with a Shutter Precision SV-8 with my Mavic x221. I ride another SP hub on my Bombora and so far so good. The lacing process was easy and honestly I think I got lucky because it really didn’t take too much time to true it. I did it on the bike upside down in my living room with zip ties as reference gauges. I’ve since built Musson’s truing stand but have yet to use it and I bought a cheap tension meter.

Last little update is replacing the stock no name caged bearing headset with a Tange sealed bearing one. Prettier too.

Anyway, loving this bike. It rolls surprisingly fast especially if I grip the flats next to the stem and lean in but it’s obviously really comfortable for cruising slow in the neighborhood. Plus that front rack and basket make a really capable grocery getter. Stoked for spring and summer weather.