Build list: MASH All-Road frame, Ritchey carbon cross fork, Ritchey Beacon bars, GRX800 groupset, Alp Kit saddle and bar bag, and DIY frame bag.
I’ve had a few 50mi+ days, but this will be my first multi-day rural cycling trip. Two of my friends and I will be hitting bikepacking.com’s Lockhart, TX weekender route.
I rode bikes a lot in the 00s and my first full time job was a bike courier in Louisville, but when I moved to Austin in my early 20s, the weather was too punishing to commit to full time cycling so I quit cycling in favor of training jiu jitsu.
Last Fall a friend hooked me up with his old MASH Work frameset and I got back on the bike. An Austin friend introduced me to single track riding and I threw some cross tires on my new track bike and found a new way to have fun on a bike. Tracklocross riding led to interest in more off-road styles of riding and I built up this allroad frameset with used parts via the bike coop + eBay this spring. I’ve really enjoyed this geared MASH frameset, but the fork was a bit limiting – 38c tires would rub the fork crown (with plenty clearance leftover side to side) and the 43mm offset gave it a long trail number which made it handle poorly while underbiking. I found a good deal on this ritchey cross fork bnib which reduced trail, increased clearance, and increased the axle to crown measurement which increased the front end for a bit more stability while riding singletrack.
Anyway, that’s my story. ✌️
by electrostaticboom