Finished a 3-day trip on the C&O Canal towpath from Cumberland to Georgetown yesterday, camping at the hiker/biker sites along the way. Was a wet final day, but phenomenal trip all around. Put this absolute ridiculousness of a bike thru its paces.
Basically: someone was giving away a Costco hybrid – a Northrock SC7 – during COVID. Every part on it was rusted silly. But I needed a bike, and it was peak bike shortage. So I upgraded the thing within an inch of its life. Not one part besides the frame (repainted in Mazda's Polymetal Gray automotive paint) is original. Many have been updated multiple times: this thing used to have Jones loop bars, then a Velo Orange Curvy bar, before getting converted to drops before this trip. Now it's got a ridiculous combo of eBay part finds and random new kit:
Shimano commuter flat pedals (because I wear barefoot-style/minimalist shoes and don't want traction pins poking thru my sole);
Dura-Ace ST-9001 brifters (with not-quite-fitting Ultegra hoods, since original hoods are unobtainium);
GRX 46/30 front cranks/derailleur;
XT 11-40 11-speed rear cassette and derailleur with Wolftooth Tanpan;
V-brakes with Problem Solvers Travel Agents. But don't worry: the front fork has mounts for disc brakes (but the front wheel hub doesn't) and the rear wheel has six-bolt rotor mounts (but there's no disc brake mount on the frame).
And you know what? It rode fine. Pretty well, even.
As far as the trail: can't recommend it enough. Almost everyone I met seems to be doing the full route from Pittsburgh (GAP + C&O), but the C&O is a great trail in its own right.
On gear: Can't recommend the Tailfin rack and bags enough. Other MVPs: a Platypus Quickdraw filter paired with a Cnoc Vecto X water bag; a Rab Phantom quarter-zip raincoat (the lightest and most packable mass-market waterproof raincoat I could find); and the Revelate Pronghorn. My Edge Solar lasted the entire trip without charging and tracked it all on GPS.
And finally: shoutout to the guys at Bridgeway Bikes in Brunswick, MD. They are absolute heroes and so unbelievably helpful to folks out on the trail. If you're stranded or need some help while you're out there – give them a call. They're the kind of bike shop that deserves all the support they can get.
by JanePastryDoe