Recently rescued this bike from someone who was throwing it away!
I replaced the tape and line, put the brooks on their and added thicker tires to it since this photo was taken
What recommendations for parts do y’all have to make it more x?
Looking to turn it into an all around gravel/bikepacking machine
Thank you!!!
by godsterrarium
26 Comments
Basket.
go for a ride, you’re Xbiking now
Front rack+basket for beer.
Canclaw beer holders instead of the golden one and add a second one.
ditch that weak plastic front light for a proper carbide pit lamp.
Scratch some paint off the frame and let it rust and get proper crusty.
Then go wild on it with pink electrical tape.
Looks like a pretty nice ride! Now that you’ve added fatter tires and will be getting a front rack/basket (because of course you will), you can start with the real x-bikification – adding anodized accessories and hardware that you really don’t need. I would suggest some metallic orange crank bros pedals but it’s all up to your own taste.
P.S. post a drive-side photo so we can check out the drive train components.
Looks great mate, nice ride, you are XXXing
A frame or handle bar bag with cartoons of food on it. Like cartoon pizza or donuts.
Pizza rear reflector
Frame bag
The fattest tires you can fit
rack
Silver fenders and rack.
Purple tires ✌️
Replace all your bolts with anodized purple ones, no matter how clashy it looks
Ride it!
Maybe add a pizza rack or a sixpack rack….
but mostly, make sure it works great whether or not it looks amazing. I think that’s a real xbike thing – whether it looks worn out or not, xbikes always work reliably.
Take the pic from the drive side? 😜
it’s a Volpe, it’s already faster and more practical than all the 1x conversion 26” MTBs that get posted here. you could put some fenders and bags on it if you want, but just ride it!
You might do a front basket or fenders….or not. I wanted a Volpe so bad, ended up with a Surly LHT. Cool bike as it is…👍
Dual racks picnic basket on the front containing film cameras, beer, and foraged snacks. Rear rack needs a stolen milk crate and can be filled with random salvage, tools, and the like.
Oh yeah, and some knobby tires maybe new headset and crank components? Vintage dynamo headlight and taillights could be ballin.
Wider tires, blow the budget on anodized pedals, blow the rest of the unbudgeted funds on bits and bobs, plus you’ll need a few quirky bits of garbage attached to tie it all together
To make it more X? Tilt the seat sky high and toss your perfectly functional brifters in favor of friction shifters mounted somewhere silly 🙂
Oh and put a front rack on it 🙂
Realistically though it’s a nice bike but it does not have the tire clearance to be a gravel/bike packing machine … unless you like rattling around on rough terrain on skinny tires.
Go have fun with it. I would love to find one if these for cross
I have its sister, I have the Strada (flat bar version). I have Microshift AdventX 1×10. 700x38c tires It rides very sweet!
Need to use gravel tires, the thicker the better, you need to get rid of that drop at and start using a Surly corner bar, also make sure to 1x 12 on that bike and as many racks or panniers you like!
rotate bars up 90 degrees and push the brakes with your thumbs.
Wanting to be book is not book.
It’s the perfect xbike here’s mine
https://preview.redd.it/lfwuwtlr8z0e1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cf2080590627823312e54c9a0af5c07d94a4f2bb
There’s a rack on it now and I’m switching to a 2x chainring. The tires are 38mm with some tread.
modify the forks so you can use 2.35″ tires
Get rid of those plastic pedals!
Max out your tire clearance
Get a velo orange 31.8 quill stem for a modern drop bar
Compressionless brake cable
Shred
Looks pretty great already.
If it were my bike to x-ify , fenders, fatter tires, pedal upgrade. Stage 2, wider rando bars, barend shifters, front rack/basket, generator front hub and lights. Stage three, flame thrower, rocket launchers, talismanic magic.