antmaster5000

Looks like a Surly LHT! Sweet bike.

due ruote 

cooperryder

Thank you.

I like the DTH tires.
As I recall the weight is right around 550 grams each and they are a foldable tire
for what that's worth.

They roll well and I don't think I have ever flatted on them as of yet.

They also come in a tan sidewall.

I've ridden them on gravel b4 and they held up well.

However on another vintage Trek mt bike, a 950, I have the Rat Trap Pass tires and these Maxxis do not measure up to them.

The Rat Traps make a noticeable difference on a bike.
They are definitely a step or 3 above in my view.

The Maxxis are good tires. I think they are also a good value and work well for me and saved me money over the another set of Rat Traps which I cannot justify buying for all 4 of my vintage 26 inchers.

due ruote 

cooperryder

Another pair of 26 x 2.15 tires I have
are the Tioga Power Blocks.

They are also foldable tires and weigh about the same as the Maxxis DTH around 550 grams each.

I really can't tell a lot of difference between the Power Blocks and DTH in my riding.

For me they are a toss up, nice rolling , not excessively heavy and fairly flat resistant
and a pretty good value for the money.

I looked around quite a bit for 26" tires
in about that size of 26 x 2.15
that were no more than about 550 grams and that's the two best I came up with.

I would definitely be interested to know of others if someone cares to share.

I understand the DTH also comes in a fatter size like around 26 x 2.35.
By the way in case anyone is wondering
DTH stands for "Drop the Hammer "
which I no longer attempt.

eom 

Tioga Power Blocks are great!

BicycleSafari

Sweet build! I've never thought to put bar wrap on the rest of the bar like that, makes perfect sense, on my bikes with similar bars I'll grab onto those lower areas from time to time on longer rides. Definitely diggin the basket on front rack action, that's a great way to go. Also nice to hear you're liking the frame. I see them pop up on my local Craig's List from time to time, but I haven't heard much about them till now. Roller cams are awesome! Super crazy design, but awesome. I have some on a goofy little trick bike I put together a while ago. https://thebicyclesafaris.com/logbook/2018/3/7/remedial-tricks Also if you're looking for the "Third Hand Tool" suntour had to help adjust these brakes you can find them at bikestash.com under tools. The folks that run that site are great.

BicycleSafari

Great color choice on your paint there! You got a super nice, well balanced, sleek build here. I'm really diggin it. Thanks for giving out the 411 on your DTH experience. I've been eyeballing them for my next build for quite a while now. I have a friend with a great bike that he runs RTP's on. They're clearly unbeatable comfort wise, but he gets flats pretty regularly. Wanted to ask what your experience with them has been like.

cooperryder

I saw on the Compass \ Rene Herse website that they offer the Rat Trap Pass tire in black on the Extra Light version.

I went with the Standard version.
Currently the listed price is $68 vs $86.

The listed weight is 454 grams vs 418 grams. (36 g difference )

I also really try to watch the budget on builds like this and it was an indulgence for me to get the pair of standard Rat Traps for $68 each which was a stretch for my budget .

I have enjoyed riding them so the extra dough outlay was worth it to me on this occasion but I cannot justify the cost on every build.
I'm not sure I could even tell the difference in a 36 gram weight savings between the Standard and Extra Light versions at my slow speeds?

​​​
​

cooperryder

Thank you BicycleSafari .

Flats have been fairly rare on my Rat Traps.

The first couple hundred miles I had 3 or 4 flats on them.
I run tubes and for a while used the 'not cheap' Schwalbe tubes.

Two of the flats were tube seam separation
so were the fault of a Schwalbe manufacturing defect.

So overall I haven't had all that many flats on mine over about two years of use.

I've run them on several different bikes and guesstimate I gave between 1200 to 1500 miles on the pair so far.
They look to be wearing well and have many miles left in them.

I ride mostly on city streets.

With me flats seem to be mysterious things to pin down. I may go over a year with none and then have 3 or 4 in fairly rapid succession. This is spread over 5 or 6 rideable bikes.

​​​My current strategy is to carefully try to access the cause of the flats,
carefully repair and remount the tire/tube
and keep an eye out for glass in the streets.

Broken glass seems to be the most often cause of flats for me as so many thoughtless dimwits seem to enjoy throwing their bottles on the streets.

With my Rat Traps I have been fairly lucky.

I have been reading many seem to have success minimizing flats by going tubeless with a good sealant .

smoothness 

Another way to reduce flats (if you're not going tubeless) is to just run lower pressures than usual. I never go about 40 PSI; most of the time it's at 30 PSI or less. 90% of my riding is on city streets, and I've yet to get a flat.

vp1337

I've built a bike for my mom:



Not very upright I know, but it isn't aggressive either.

BicycleSafari

Wanted to ask if those DTH's you're running are the 2.15 or 2.3 size, and what fenders you are pairing with them. Your setup here looks really good, and a great shade of green to boot!

bear_a_bug 

Thanks! These were the 2.15 size, and I'm using the Velo Orange 26" fender. Clearances were a little tighter than I'd like on both front and back, but no issues since installation.

due ruote 

vp1337

Haha thanks!

robrpb

I have enjoyed looking through all the posts and admiring the work you all have done. As a neebie it would be nice if more people would list all the parts they used on their bikes. It would help me and may be others by considering options available. I know some things like saddles are personal, but it would be nice have the name and model to check out, especially with so many choices. Also, websites that you recommend for purchasing parts along with Amazon. Again, thanks for the ideas.

RALEIGH_COMP 

I consider myself a noob as well, and I find it much more helpful on this forum when you ask direct questions. Reply to a particular post, ask about stuff you are curious about. This crowd is always ready with pretty good opinions and answers when asked.

merziac

Universal cycles for selection and research, Bike Tires Direct for deals. And of course epay for all of those too.

belacqua

cooperryder

Cool 820 Trek!

Love the fenders and generator hub and black color theme,
a very versatile machine!

RALEIGH_COMP 

Maybe not "upright" bars but I feel like it kinda qualifies. Maybe more "adventure/ trekking" style I suppose. I'm in the middle of putting an early stumpy together though, will post once I get it rolling.

cooperryder

Now that's one of the coolest bike photos I've seen in a while.

Nicely done photo and Rockhopper.

Two super black beauty bikes in a row.

Jason845

Velo orange Klunker bars

RALEIGH_COMP 

Nice! I was considering those for my early stumpy build, how are you liking them? Can we get a side shot? I was debating on what stem to pair with it.....