Personally, cobbling something together with what you already have, as opposed to šš¦ money, is the essence of Xbiking to me. YMMV
The majority of this janky build was either found for nowt, a couple of bits were gifted and the remainder were mostly older purchases from the parts bin.
Not the lightest frame, but has most pre-requisites I desire: ~60mm BB drop, slack'ish oldskool touring geometry & clearance for 38mm with guards.
I will most likely be fitting a slightly narrower, higher rise and backswept handlebar. The 90's altus triple to be replaced with either 24,34,48 triple or 24,44/46 double. I have a lighter, lower profile rear rack to swap out. Front guard to have a mudflap installed. Dynamo front wheel to be installed (waiting in the wings).
The funkiest thing happening here (IMO), is the 1" aheadset conversion, enabled with a DIY shim- from a seatpost that just happened to be 1.6mm thick šš» …when I found the XL-steerer fork, I thought it could be an interesting experiment, and Ā£6.50 on a NOS 1" aheadset was a no-brainer. Stem clamps 75% of unthreaded steerer- pretty confident that's a safe bet.
So, rather than spending Ā£475 on a frameset I'd really like, but be anxious of leaving locked-up anywhere, I have created this ugly bastard to serve 90% of intended duties.
by Flashy_Rice_6863
3 Comments
Not sure why you call it an ugly bastard. Repaint the fork and from what I can see it looks as good as many of my 19. A simple rattle can of black will make the fork good for quite a while. My sole winter bike has a rattle can painted fork that has been painted black for 4 years now and no chips yet. I put about 600 miles on it a year.
Better take care of that want issue. A bike that works for you but is not loved will get ridden less. Xbiking is also about riding.
I agree with everything you say here except the ugly bastard part. If I saw this thing locked up outside, Iād know it was owned by someone who loves bikes.Ā
rad