Back once again! I'm proud to report that I was able to finish up the drop-bar Raleigh MTB build. The chainring guard/ bolt problem was my error , as the new bolts I had bought were apparently 8mm in diameter instead of the more common 7mm. The nuts were all 10mm, which is where I got confused. I was able to get the chainguard and 48t ring on. It's maiden voyage was my 13.5mi commute to work on Friday morning, and that 48t destroyed me. I had done some gear inch calculations compared to my cross bike. With the 48t, it seemed slightly higher geared, but it's what I had on hand and I figured I could handle it. I underestimated the wider and heavier tires, so by the time I reached work I knew I had to gear it down a bit. I really only had the lowest 3 gears that were useable at that point. I crunched some more numbers and decided a 40t was much more reasonable. I was able to scrounge up a 40t ring at the local coop (bikerowave) and slapped it on Saturday evening. Much better! The 40t placed my cruising gear in the middle of the cassette and straightened out my chainline almost perfectly since I was able to mount the new ring on the inside of the spider.

This thing is a blast to ride! It's a little slow on the get-go, but once it gets rolling, it's pretty speedy and nimble (tires at 50 psi). It can also take anything I can throw at it and seems like it could survive the apocalypse. By the second day I was already happily hopping off 12 inch curbs and looking for potholes to roll over. Even with the aluminum frame and fork, it's really comfortable with the gigantic tires. I'm actually tempted to take it on some singletrack and see how it holds up. I was pleasantly surprised about the friction barend as it's fun to use and much more convenient than I thought it would be (coming from brifters).

My girlfriend took vacation and returned home for a week, so she's on hiatus from her build (I'd put it together for her, but it's a good learning experience and she's excited to wrench on it herself . Anyways, here are some pics from the completed build.