BluesDaddy

Wow, cold huh? It's a balmy 5 degrees here. Come over and bring your swim trunks! We can chop a hole in the river.

Here's the latest mutation of my UO-14. I think I'm going to leave it like this. AW hub with 14t & 24t cogs and a Light Action RD. MAFAC Racer brakes. Cheap Kenda CX tires on Matrix 27" rims. I built the rear wheel.

BluesDaddy

RFC

Dig it!

Harlan

That is a VERY cool setup. So the rear cogs are for large changes in terrain while the 3s gears are for regular shifting? I thought the 3s jumps were pretty large as well.

thirdgenbird

How realistic is it to come on a fixed or single speed cross bike?

gomango

I have friends that do the entire event every year on single speed Cross Checks or Nature Boys.

I am not strong enough, but rumor is you are a pretty decent rider.

If not, I should have something here that will fit you.....

Mark the date.

thirdgenbird

Do you know what gearing they ran? Any idea what your pace will be?

I'm a pretty decent rider when I am in shape but I've been pretty lazy as of late. I hate the cold...

Edit: borrowing a bike may be fun too. Anything with a 58cm tt and down tube shifter (it only seems right)

BluesDaddy

Yes and yes. If you look at the gear chart it doesn't make a heck of a lot of sense when compared with the jumps in a standard 2X6 drivetrain. This is more of a "can it be done?" experiment. Fun to muck around with different setups.

gomango

My pace?

Glacial. Barely upright.

I'll check in with some guys and get the lowdown on gearing.

Think hill climbing.

7,000 + feet.

thirdgenbird

So the current 39x18 setup may work...

Drillium Dude

Good - nice to know I'll have company guarding the Lanterne Rouge

DD

cyclotoine

Very interesting bike. What size wheels are those? I assume they are 26" but the model is crossway?? How long is the top tube? It looks short kind of like a cross bike.

Basically a monstercross is a cyclocross frame that can fit a larger than normal cyclocross tire. Most people would say 38-44c I would say 40+. The geometry is more or less traditional cyclocross which means trying to keep the wheel base tight and made for drop bar so short top tubes. When you try to pack a 2" tire in there the wheel base gets longer by necessity and geometry approaches a touring bike. However, it becomes the build that matters at that point. A monster cross is a go fast mixed surface rig based on a 700c wheel and fatter than normal tires and cross bike geometry with drop bars. I disagree that if you can put a 2.1" tire in it, it becomes a mountain bike because the geometry still fundamentally restricts it's use as one. It's much harder to ride a that low position with steep angles off-road. My "monstercross" off road makes my full squish XC 29er feel like a DH bike.

Kobe 

The size of the frame might be deceiving you in regards to the wheel size. The frame is a 23" with a 24" top tube, the biggest hybrid I could find. The tires are WTB Pathways that are marked as 38's but measure at 44c. It seems the cutoff for monster status is about 40c, so I think I can officially call it a monstercross. The extra rubber does soak up a lot of the bumps.

I just need the weather to warm up to take it on some long rides. I did 10 miles yesterday and I was a Popsicle.

big chainring

My Gitane. Not the best pic. Harsh December lighting. But I'll take the sun any day.

WNG

Thanks DUDE!

Almanzo 100? I took a look at their video, I think it's going to be a blast. From the rides used, the conditions probably don't need a rigid mtb with 2+" tires. I've done about half the miles on a far lesser 26" ride. I was pretty much cooked though. This one is more capable and much lighter. I think it'll do 100 miles fine. I set up the fit very close to my road bike roots. But I believe a 700C wheeled, narrower tire (32-38mm) will roll more efficiently and keep you fresher after the climbs. 7000 ft of elevation change is a workout.

I thought I read your Mondia isn't coming back stateside. Given its canti bosses, that might have been a candidate to modify for the event. If the frame had the tire clearance, a set of Mini-V brakes would be the easiest mod. They work with conventional brake levers, clear a CX tire, and you wouldn't even need new cables or housing.


If I were to do this event, it would be a cyclocross, probably round profile 35mm tires. Sounds like you'll have a fun experience no matter what bike .

WNG

Very interesting Pug, bluesdaddy! I like the cool drivetrain. And nice custom bash guard.

neo_pop_71

Happy New Year to all BF members!

The inspiration for building a gravel grinder came from one of WNG's desert runners, I liked the straight forward set up he had going and I figured I could build up my new project straight from the parts bin. I've had a 1990 Nishiki "Cunninham" Ariel hanging in the garage forever, I had no spare 700C frames, so the Ariel would do with flat top tube and short chain stays. The original paint was wasted and my 8 year old was itching to paint a bike, so I let her loose after I found a nice turquoise and yellow. One of my favorite bikes is my '93 Yeti A.R.C., I've always wanted a Yeti Road Project in J. Parker's mostly turquoise with yellow color scheme as opposed to the mostly yellow with turquoise on my A.R.C.. We decided to go with it but after my little one saw frantik's "spider web" tandem, she decided we needed some spider webs too. We had a great time and she gave the double thumbs up to the finished bike.

The components came from the bounty of spares I had on hand. I did need to buy the Torelli bar tape, the CST Metropolitan tires (blow outs at REI for $10 each), and my favorite drop bar the On One Midge handlebar. The DKG Shift-Ease pod mounts do an awesome job of keeping the shifting within reach so you don't need to take your hands off the brake levers. The short and shallow bend of the Midge bar with DKG shifting created an ideal set up for riding in the drop and there is no sketchiness since my hands are never away from the brake levers. I've logged a few hundred miles and the bike performs beautifully on gravel and in the loose stuff... it's a blast to ride!!!

smurfy

'90 Bianchi Axis ready to grind some gravel if I can find any by where I live.

This frame used to be mauve and white two-tone and badly scratched. I took the Bianchi water bottle to work to match the paint (nailed it with just two colors!). Bike was rode a lot and hard (but never abused) before I got it. Originally came equipped with the Campy Record 8spd component group. Original ft. derailler was a Suntour since Campagnolo didn't make a top-pull type at the time. I added the mustache bar and stem to make it more comfortable for me. Frame is a little too small but I did use as my "mountain bike" in the past. I probably should get a bash guard for the chainring, however.

cyclotoine

Great looking 1x build! That looks like it has loads of clearance, maybe even enough to get a rock'n'road in there?

You're lucky if you have exposed gravel this time of year... tell me... where does one obtain a black moustache bar?

smurfy

Lovin' that paint job, neo_pop!

At first I thought that was the original finish until I read your post. Looks way better and more interesting than the drabby original one.

smurfy

Thanks!

Actually the clearance is not as much as it looks. I could fit a 38, maybe a 40 but certainly nothing bigger than that. The black moustache bar, an Origin 8 Tiki Bar, I bought at K & G Bike Center in Kettering, Ohio. One of the younger managers there started carrying "fixie", Surly and "Rivendell" stuff so it became the "go to" shop in that area for fixed, lugged steel and urban hipster cycling needs.

neo_pop_71

Awesome build smurfy, I really dig the 1x__ set up you have going! One of my favorite bikes is a '89 Nishiki "Cunningham" Alien, Tange Prestige e-stay frame with a Rick Hunter CX/29'er fork, all decked out in PAUL, XTR, and Dura Ace components. The 1x9 gearing on a 96'er build is the ideal hill killer, I wouldn't change a thing with the build... it's a dream!

Thanks for the kind words, pee-wee loved it and that made it all worth it in the end! I wasn't sure about going beyond my beloved turquoise and yellow, she did such a good job spraying the two ends of the bike, but I trusted her vision. Glad I did, I think the paint job captures that period, I get a lot of "I remember those days..." comments.

K & G sounds a little like my LBS, I was so glad when they started bringing in some choice bits other than the cutting edge road stuff. Recently I put some SOMA cages on my MKS pedals with resin covered Pake straps and Yoshi straps ends... gotta love some of the things the hipsters bring to the flavor of the month club!

Zyclope

My perfect gravel/winter-sports ride. Old plum from Ghent/Belgium.

arex

How smoothly does it shift between the two cogs?

Chitown_Mike

Some very nice bikes in here, and it may have been asked already, but what is the difference between a gravel grinder and a drop-bar converted MTB?

From the looks I am guessing a gravel grinder is a older roadie with fatter tires?