Show us your gravel/cross bike...
#1527
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Orange County CA
Posts: 963
Bikes: Surly CC, Raleigh Team Pro, Specialized Rockhopper with an xtracycle
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#1528
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Rohnert Park, CA
Posts: 1,248
Bikes: Pake track, Soma DoubleCross, LeMond Etape, Maruishi RoadAce 303
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^ It was fun! My first race and I couldn't have picked a better one!
#1530
bf is my facebook.
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Greensboro, NC
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#1531
menurut lo?
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Jakarta, Indonesia
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Bikes: some Indonesian-made quality bikes
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well, finally, I decide that my MTB-to-cyclocross bike doesn't suit me anymore, mainly because of its longish toptube and slackish seat angle.
and because a good friend of mine give away his old 27" road frame. one with good quality, with lugworks, built-in derailer hanger, and... sufficient tire clearance.
don't ask whether if it really is from SunTour, or did SunTour really make frames. but there's a "Made in Japan" stamp on the toptube, right behind the headtube.
after a mild work (welding brake bosses and cable stops on the seatstays, and making my own derailer cable stops), here's the result:

nothing fancy here. but I managed to make Deore LX front derailer to work with my Sora shifters, even though the Shimano manuals says I can't.

the fork is from my previous MTB-to-cyclocross bike. a 26" fork, with brake bosses cut and rewelded 31mm upwards from their original positions. oh, I lathe'd the fork crown as well, to lower the crown-to-dropouts height by 10mm.

here you can see the cable stop and the brake bosses. I made the cable stop from a 4mm steel rod and a M6 nut.
and because a good friend of mine give away his old 27" road frame. one with good quality, with lugworks, built-in derailer hanger, and... sufficient tire clearance.
don't ask whether if it really is from SunTour, or did SunTour really make frames. but there's a "Made in Japan" stamp on the toptube, right behind the headtube.
after a mild work (welding brake bosses and cable stops on the seatstays, and making my own derailer cable stops), here's the result:

nothing fancy here. but I managed to make Deore LX front derailer to work with my Sora shifters, even though the Shimano manuals says I can't.

the fork is from my previous MTB-to-cyclocross bike. a 26" fork, with brake bosses cut and rewelded 31mm upwards from their original positions. oh, I lathe'd the fork crown as well, to lower the crown-to-dropouts height by 10mm.

here you can see the cable stop and the brake bosses. I made the cable stop from a 4mm steel rod and a M6 nut.

#1532
dork. yup.
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Ohio
Posts: 121
Bikes: Trek xo2, Fuji Cross Pro, Schwinn Traveler cross-conversion, Concours, Trek 2300, Takara, Specialized Hard Rock, Bianchi Campione D'Italia, GT LTS Team issue, BikeE, Miyata 110, and some others. Somewhere.
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That is a nice job on that Suntour frame! I am iimpressed. But the fork was originally designed for a 26" wheel - I wonder how that effects the front end geometry? If it works for you, that's the big thing. Tres Cool.
#1533
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Portland, OR
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Here's my budget build. The frame is an '85 Nishiki Riviera GT touring frame. I'm running a 1x9 setup with an LX shifter and RD. I also plan on switching to black Tektro canti brakes at some point. As it sits now it has cost ~$275.
Also, you'll probably notice my 'double noodle' setup for the front brake. Since I prefer right front braking this makes the cable routing much cleaner when using linear pull brakes.



Also, you'll probably notice my 'double noodle' setup for the front brake. Since I prefer right front braking this makes the cable routing much cleaner when using linear pull brakes.




#1535
menurut lo?
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Jakarta, Indonesia
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@mrtornadohead: well, the crownrace-to-dropouts length of the 26" fork was actually a bit longer than Suntour's original 27" fork. I have to mill the area under the lower headset race by 10mm to get it shortened. it's still a little bit longer, but it helps. the toptube is now as level as it should be.
I feel this frame is waaaay better than my MTB-to-cyclocross conversion, in terms of handling and comfort. well, the angles doesn't lie.
the reason why I put that 26" fork is because it was the same fork I used on the MTB-to cyclocross conversion. I'm too lazy to reweld another brake boss,
but I ended up milling the crown area. besides, the original 27" fork have too much offset, this 26" fork reduces the wheelbase significantly. yes, it does affect the geometry, in terms of handling. alas, I have to deal with toe overlap issue at the price of snappier handling.
@darkmagus: sweeeeet cable routing!
I feel this frame is waaaay better than my MTB-to-cyclocross conversion, in terms of handling and comfort. well, the angles doesn't lie.
the reason why I put that 26" fork is because it was the same fork I used on the MTB-to cyclocross conversion. I'm too lazy to reweld another brake boss,

@darkmagus: sweeeeet cable routing!
#1536
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Location: Portland, OR
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Thanks, I haven't really tried it out yet but I think it's going to work great. It's definitely cleaner looking than what I would normally have to run.
Oh and I guess I should show what the frame looked like before...


#1537
Member
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well, finally, I decide that my MTB-to-cyclocross bike doesn't suit me anymore, mainly because of its longish toptube and slackish seat angle.
and because a good friend of mine give away his old 27" road frame. one with good quality, with lugworks, built-in derailer hanger, and... sufficient tire clearance.
don't ask whether if it really is from SunTour, or did SunTour really make frames. but there's a "Made in Japan" stamp on the toptube, right behind the headtube.
after a mild work (welding brake bosses and cable stops on the seatstays, and making my own derailer cable stops), here's the result:
nothing fancy here. but I managed to make Deore LX front derailer to work with my Sora shifters, even though the Shimano manuals says I can't.
the fork is from my previous MTB-to-cyclocross bike. a 26" fork, with brake bosses cut and rewelded 31mm upwards from their original positions. oh, I lathe'd the fork crown as well, to lower the crown-to-dropouts height by 10mm.
here you can see the cable stop and the brake bosses. I made the cable stop from a 4mm steel rod and a M6 nut.
and because a good friend of mine give away his old 27" road frame. one with good quality, with lugworks, built-in derailer hanger, and... sufficient tire clearance.
don't ask whether if it really is from SunTour, or did SunTour really make frames. but there's a "Made in Japan" stamp on the toptube, right behind the headtube.
after a mild work (welding brake bosses and cable stops on the seatstays, and making my own derailer cable stops), here's the result:
nothing fancy here. but I managed to make Deore LX front derailer to work with my Sora shifters, even though the Shimano manuals says I can't.
the fork is from my previous MTB-to-cyclocross bike. a 26" fork, with brake bosses cut and rewelded 31mm upwards from their original positions. oh, I lathe'd the fork crown as well, to lower the crown-to-dropouts height by 10mm.
here you can see the cable stop and the brake bosses. I made the cable stop from a 4mm steel rod and a M6 nut.
I think it will look better if you lose the qr seatclamp and use black spacer for the steerer or even better if you can find quill stem to use with your bar.
Smoother line, stealth and sexier...
#1538
menurut lo?
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Jakarta, Indonesia
Posts: 112
Bikes: some Indonesian-made quality bikes
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@crimsonking: will switch to gold skewers, real soon!
love your Explosif as well. no drops between saddle and bar... that's just comfortable!
love your Explosif as well. no drops between saddle and bar... that's just comfortable!
#1539
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Join Date: Sep 2005
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New to me 2000 voodoo wazoo as I bought it. I'll start working on it soon, prolly gonna be my new ss.

__________________
fun facts: Psychopaths have trouble understanding abstract concepts.
"Incompetent individuals, compared with their more competent peers, will dramatically overestimate their ability and performance relative to objective criteria."
fun facts: Psychopaths have trouble understanding abstract concepts.
"Incompetent individuals, compared with their more competent peers, will dramatically overestimate their ability and performance relative to objective criteria."
#1540
dork. yup.
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Ohio
Posts: 121
Bikes: Trek xo2, Fuji Cross Pro, Schwinn Traveler cross-conversion, Concours, Trek 2300, Takara, Specialized Hard Rock, Bianchi Campione D'Italia, GT LTS Team issue, BikeE, Miyata 110, and some others. Somewhere.
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OK, Finally going to jump in with my Mongoose. It's the Croix Comp... yeah, I really would have like to get the Elite, but we were in the process of buying a house so... Nonetheless, it's worked great for me in centuries, MTB trails, whatever. Even raced it. Believe me, it was the motor holding *it* back.
Changes?Couple of different wheelsets (Bontrager Race, Mavic Cosmos), larger cassette and very old Deore rear deraile r. Works like a dream. In the works: new handlebars, and Kool Stop brake pads. Maybe swap out the 50t chainring for a 46. That's it.
Changes?Couple of different wheelsets (Bontrager Race, Mavic Cosmos), larger cassette and very old Deore rear deraile r. Works like a dream. In the works: new handlebars, and Kool Stop brake pads. Maybe swap out the 50t chainring for a 46. That's it.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/7533984@N03/4407908049/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/7533984...7601555624356/
Last edited by mrtornadohead; 03-05-10 at 06:42 AM. Reason: better way to add photos
#1541
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: San Diego
Posts: 204
Bikes: 2006 Bianchi 928 Record and 2002 Bianchi Axis 1x9
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My Bianchi Axis cyclocross bike
Well I guess I should detail my most recent build. It's a 2002 Bianchi Axis frame and fork that I bought as a complete bike and swapped pretty much everything to what it is now. The drivetrain is a Shimano 1x9 with barend shifter, 42T crank, Shimano XT Shadow rear derailleur, and a SRAM 11-34 cassette.

I chose to run a 1x9 because of its simplicity and also because I haven't seen anyone else riding around here with a 1x9, so I thought it would be cool.
I cut the right side of the handlebars to make the barend pivot point flush with the end of the left side of the handlebar. It makes the bike feel regular instead of having the shifter sticking too far back toward me and my knees. I am running the standard Tektro R200A brake levers which I really like because I run Campy on my roadbike. The crankset is an FSA Gossamer with a 42T non-ramped chainring with a BBG bashguard and a Third-eye chainwatcher on the inside.
The Tektro Oryx canti's are fine and I use the Kool-Stop Mountain brake pads which are excellent! I have no squeaks or shudder.
The wheels are a mix of Ultegra/105 hubs and Mavic OpenPro and CXP?? rims. I had them laying around and they work fine for what I do. The tires are Ritchey SpeedMax Pro's in 700x32c which works out well for my blend of road and dirt rides. I can't attest for their performance in mud or anything. But they are reasonably priced at Performance Bike, so I use them.
I am really impressed with the rear derailleur. The latest XT (and others) derailleurs use a more direct cable routing which is perfect for mountain or cross bike where the cable comes down the seatstay. You can see in the picture below how much straighter the cable run is compared to a standard road bike setup. I think that this evens out the extra friction I introduced in the cable run by running the shifter cable all the way to the stem instead of the more traditional barend cable routing. I routed it that way for 2 reasons: 1. to reduce the chances of getting caught on something/somebody when I fall; 2. it looks cleaner.

Also, the derailleur hugs the cassette more than normal. Shimano calls this "Shadow" and says that keeping the derailleur tight in with the bike will reduce the risk of damage if you drop your bike on that side because now the skewer is the farthest point out on the bike, so it should land on that instead of the derailleur.
With the 42T front and 11-34 rear, I have plenty of gearing for both on and offroad riding. I can keep up with my friends on the roads as long as there aren't any long, fast decents where they keep pedaling after I run out of gearing.

I chose to run a 1x9 because of its simplicity and also because I haven't seen anyone else riding around here with a 1x9, so I thought it would be cool.
I cut the right side of the handlebars to make the barend pivot point flush with the end of the left side of the handlebar. It makes the bike feel regular instead of having the shifter sticking too far back toward me and my knees. I am running the standard Tektro R200A brake levers which I really like because I run Campy on my roadbike. The crankset is an FSA Gossamer with a 42T non-ramped chainring with a BBG bashguard and a Third-eye chainwatcher on the inside.
The Tektro Oryx canti's are fine and I use the Kool-Stop Mountain brake pads which are excellent! I have no squeaks or shudder.
The wheels are a mix of Ultegra/105 hubs and Mavic OpenPro and CXP?? rims. I had them laying around and they work fine for what I do. The tires are Ritchey SpeedMax Pro's in 700x32c which works out well for my blend of road and dirt rides. I can't attest for their performance in mud or anything. But they are reasonably priced at Performance Bike, so I use them.
I am really impressed with the rear derailleur. The latest XT (and others) derailleurs use a more direct cable routing which is perfect for mountain or cross bike where the cable comes down the seatstay. You can see in the picture below how much straighter the cable run is compared to a standard road bike setup. I think that this evens out the extra friction I introduced in the cable run by running the shifter cable all the way to the stem instead of the more traditional barend cable routing. I routed it that way for 2 reasons: 1. to reduce the chances of getting caught on something/somebody when I fall; 2. it looks cleaner.

Also, the derailleur hugs the cassette more than normal. Shimano calls this "Shadow" and says that keeping the derailleur tight in with the bike will reduce the risk of damage if you drop your bike on that side because now the skewer is the farthest point out on the bike, so it should land on that instead of the derailleur.
With the 42T front and 11-34 rear, I have plenty of gearing for both on and offroad riding. I can keep up with my friends on the roads as long as there aren't any long, fast decents where they keep pedaling after I run out of gearing.
Last edited by jasonrobo02; 03-06-10 at 04:37 PM. Reason: had to fix the image links
#1543
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Location: Hartford, CT
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Not sure if I intend on racing this for cross. Love this bike, use it for commuting during the week and long road rides on the weekends. Couldn't really beat it it was an unused 07' raleigh rx 1.0 frame swapped out with brand new parts from an 08 kona jake for $600. Sucks, because I diddn't get the 105 or Easton Carbon Fork, but it works in a pinch because I was riding exclusively fixed gear until I was hit by a car and was bikeless. Drivers insurance check bought me this. I've put 400 miles on it easily this month in the rain in the cold it loves the abuse.
Will post a pic that's not a cellphone pic very soon.
#1544
New! With Self Loathing!
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Fairfield, California
Posts: 1,618
Bikes: 2013 Jamis Xenith T time trial bike, 2013 Jamis Xenith Elite
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I keep hearing great things about cyclocross, so I decided to try it out this Fall. I got this bike now so I can work on skills before I have to race it. My Team Manager named it The Jalepeno Missile.

#1545
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: San Diego
Posts: 204
Bikes: 2006 Bianchi 928 Record and 2002 Bianchi Axis 1x9
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ScottMorrison, I hope that fork doesn't have a carbon steerer. That is a ton of spacers!
#1546
CX, MTB, Road, SS, BMX
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: San Jose and Santa Cruz, Ca.
Posts: 39
Bikes: CX, MTB, Road, SS, BMX, CRUZR
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I have two. My 29'er is undergoing a "Monster Cross" transformation - I'll post it when I'm done.
Motobecane Fantom Cross Uno SS

Pake C'Mute 1X10 (this bike is kind of my all-arounder, but ridden mostly on trails)
Motobecane Fantom Cross Uno SS

Pake C'Mute 1X10 (this bike is kind of my all-arounder, but ridden mostly on trails)

#1547
CX, MTB, Road, SS, BMX
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: San Jose and Santa Cruz, Ca.
Posts: 39
Bikes: CX, MTB, Road, SS, BMX, CRUZR
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My Brother's bikes.
His race bike: Custom Rock Lobster (scandium)

His newly restored Rock Lobster. This frameset is, like, 20 years old.
BEFORE

AFTER
His race bike: Custom Rock Lobster (scandium)

His newly restored Rock Lobster. This frameset is, like, 20 years old.
BEFORE

AFTER

#1548
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: USA
Posts: 2,067
Bikes: 84 Pinarello Trevisio, 86 Guerciotti SLX, 96 Specialized Stumpjumper, 2010 Surly Cross Check, 88 Centurion Prestige, 73 Raleigh Sports, GT Force, Bridgestone MB4
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My new 2010 Surly Cross Check. I think I may really like this little bike. Kinda like a little two wheeled assault vehicle, a 57th birthday present, just after it's first ride:

#1549
CX, MTB, Road, SS, BMX
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: San Jose and Santa Cruz, Ca.
Posts: 39
Bikes: CX, MTB, Road, SS, BMX, CRUZR
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I bought the Tektro Oryx with a little hesitation since I really wanted Paul canti's... but they were a little out of my price range. After installing them with my Dura-Ace shifters and Gore Ride-On cables, I am THOROUGHLY impressed of how well they work. In contrast, I have Cane Creek canti's using matching brake levers on my SS and they just plain SUCK. I'm thinking about upgrading the cables.
#1550
FNG
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Toronto, ON
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You must have lucked out. One of the bottle holders on mine broke after about 3 rides. Nothing intense, just to and from work on decent roads and paved paths. I was pretty bummed.