This was someone’s abandoned project that I picked up for extremely cheap. I raided parts bins, hunted on Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist and ultimately ended up with a really nice gravel bike. The frame was very dirty and scratched (no dents or cracks), but a little nail polish, elbow grease and frame vinyl and it came out really nice. The 853 frame rides amazing and being able to fit 700×44 tires makes rough trails pretty manageable. I ultimately ended up selling my road bike and got a second set of wheels with 700×38 slicks since I like riding this so much.
by 1969Stingray