the rack is a cro-mo nickle plated Nitto 'campee'. think it looks good with the ti. front rack is an IRD stainless steel 'himalayan series'.

the frame geometry is on the touring bike side of a typical cyclocross bike, with a taller head tube/sloping top tube. This is designed for touring pulling an extrawheel trailer, which i LOVE. THe rear rack is set back for pannier/heel clearance (wheelbase is shorter than a touring bike), though I would only move the panniers from the trailer to the bike in response to some kind of trailer failure.

since i always use the extrawheel, I wanted a bike that is zippier when unloaded than the trek 520 I was using. Also wanted discs - long steep rutted dirt road descents were killing my hands, I'm a guitar player, need the hands in good shape. I knew there would be a lot of cobblestone and steep here in China.

the bike gets a lot of attention here in China. I carry it up and down 7 flights of stairs instead of leaving it parked in the stairwell locked to the railing. glad it weighs under 25 pounds, complete with those racks, pedals, STOUT wheels ( delgado rims, straight gauge spokes and heavy schwalbe marathon XR tires).

drivetrain is XTR, headset and hubs are chris king, brakes avid bb7 road. I finished this bike only 1 day before disconnecting the S&S couplers and packing it into the 26x26x10" airline box. Packing it was an exercise in 'Hmmmm, wonder how I'm going to get all this bike into such a small space' but I finally figured it out.

this bike rides (and shifts) like butter. VERY happy with the geometry. and the ride is...... did I say like butter?

thanks for looking.