Hey there, a few years ago I got my hands on a really interesting but messed up steel frame. It had a classic road geometry with cantilever mounts and a large tyre clearance. It was covered in stickers and had been poorly spray-painted two or three times. After trying to remove the paint, some familiar-looking logos appeared and I realised that I was holding a 1980s Eddy Merckx cyclocross bike.
I took it to a frame builder to repair a few minor things and get a new paint job, but the quality of the paintwork was poor. I was promised that it would be redone for free after a season or two. Everything took ages, but now I have it back in my hands and I don't know what to do with it!
Before the repaint, I set it up as a neo-modern gravel bike with a flat bar and 32c Gravel Kings, mostly SRAM components. It worked well and it was my first geared bike after riding fixed gear forever, so it was great fun at first.Now that my fixie has been gone for a long time and another Surly Karate Monkey with a 1×12 drivetrain has come to take its place for bikepacking and so on, I'm wondering what to do with the Eddy. Maybe something faster? Or maybe something cool? I also have two bikes for commuting and going out, so that gap doesn't need to be filled.
I've been looking at some XTR M900 hubs that I'd love to pair with DT Swiss 411 rims to go tubeless, but I'm not sure about the gears. Maybe a matching derailleur and an 8-speed cassette? Is there anything modern and compatible with flatbar shifting?
The bar, seatpost, stem and brakes are still there, but I'm not sure about the shifting. I also still have the 1×11 groupset, but it looks bulky, doesn't it? Or should I set it up as a fixed tracklocross?
What would you do, guys?
by Striking-Jury2712
2 Comments
Advice
Brilliant choice in colour. My dream colour choice it I ever get around to repainting my single track.
I adore retro frames with modern 1x drivetrains. That gets my vote