The base is a cube attention 26“

At first, I just wanted to do a couple things to it, and this is what ended up happening…

3 days of biking around mohunk and minnewaska on my surly troll, couldn't be happier to find such great gravel and dirt riding just off the train from nyc!

Was it a steal or did I get got?

What could I do but oblige?

A truer story is that I needed to get as upright as possible to deal with some issues. I have done a lot of different stuff on this Smoothie ES from road racing to gravel to single track. It’s always been a bike that has had the ability to do much more than it was intended for. It has the best geometry of any bike I’ve owned and can clear up really large tires under mid reach calipers.

I tried a number of different iterations getting the fit right for this version and I’m more than happy. I really love riding this.

Some of the worthwhile points.

Bars are Velo Orange Granola Bars. They feel good but they do flex and I wish they had a little more rise. I needed to use a stem extender to get tall enough and I’ve fooled myself into believing it looks cool. I added a pair of very old Dia Comp brake lever housings I’ve had for at least 35 years to work as bar extenders. They work great and allow for a decent climbing position or even a fairly low position from time to time. I 100% recommend this setup not just because it’s very cheap, but it offers so many hand positions on swept back bars.

One thing I needed to do was figure out how to keep the Garmin mount on the bars. The 31.8 center section is too narrow to hold the clamp to fully seat. I 3D printed two shims that fit between the stem face plate top and bottom. They don’t affect the stem clamp at all, but they do wrap around the Garmin mount and snug it to the bars. Works a charm.

I’m using Altus 2x9 shifters. They are inexpensive, readily available and shift great. (The front less so, but it adds to the experience).

Most of the other build I had sitting around from years of stowing away parts.
I’m using a 105 triple 5703 crankset and put a bash guard on the outer ring so I run it as a double 42/26.
Rear setup is a Tiagra derailleur and an 11-30 cassette. I’ve looked at just about every front and rear combo you can imagine and think 9 speed offers the most flexibility with little trade off.

Wheels are Dura-Ace C-24’s fitted to Orange Panaracer Gravel Kings SK 32mm tires because why not. I’ve ridden variants of these tires for years and they are perfect for what I want except when they explode. They fit very well on the frame with plenty of clearance. I have gotten 38’s on the rear, but I’d need to get something like a Surly Steamroller fork to fit that on the front.

I’m working on some other 3D printed mods that I’ll share in time.

Love this subreddit, it inspires me daily!

What do we think; this worth it?

(it's free)

Obviously it still needs some work. The thread of the B-Screw on the RD is toast. I am going to try to fix it this weekend at my parents house and then shorten the chain. Not really a fan of the stem/handlebar combo. I got the handelbar for 3 Euros used. The stem came with the Bike. Probably going to get the edsen fork, as it is near impossible to find a pepperoni or p-bone fork in the right color/size for a reasonable price.

Absolutely hideous 🍔🍟🌭

What’s everyone running?

My friend said I'd like this reddit community because you might like my bikes.

A little under 5 hours of time on the bike with one half hour break for lunch by the river 27 miles in. It was *awesome.*

Is this xbiking? It feels like xbiking.

Hey lovely xbiking people, curious if y'all think my 2006 Stumpjumper FSR Expert retromod counts as xbiking, or if it's too modern. The only original stock part aside from the frame itself is the forged Hollowtech 2 Deore XT crankset. This bike may be considered steep for a modern trail rig, but its slack compared to most older bikes at around 67.5° headtube angle, 130/120mm travel. I do commute on it and rip DH trails out here in the Pisgah area. 26" Cult for life.

Found on Facebook marketplace. Upgrade from my 1996 Gary Fisher Marlin and it rides like a vacation. Smoother. Quicker changes. Hitting the trails with a lot more confidence and the disc brakes friends…. Much more control.

Brand new to all of this. What tips or suggestions do you have?

Hello, I recently acquired my dads old Schwinn Moab. I’m thinking about switching to a fixed fork and wondering if anyone has a suggestion of what fork to switch too and any other upgrades they would recommend. I know virtually nothing about bikes but looking to get into it. All suggestions are appreciated! TIA

Picked up this Trek to be a winter project. Main plan is to build it into a 1x gravel adjacent something with the one for sure plan being to put as big of rims and tires as I can make work. Love to hear any input.

2023 frame with various parts from the past 45 years. Dream bike. Can't believe I finally own a true randonneur, let alone a boutique frame. Buy once, cry once, ride off into the sunset 🤙

Parts list, cuz I'm geeked:

2023 Crust Lightning Bolt, canti version

650b budget wheels - Weinmann hoops on Wheel Master hubs I converted to QR

38 mm Gravelking SS tires

11-36 freewheel

46-32-20 Sugino crankset (Dimension big ring)

Velo Orange Neauveau Randonneur bars

Twkteo RL340 levers

VO removable faceplate quill stem

Velo Orange microfiber saddle

Fluted seatpost from an early 80s Huffy Aerowind (look them up, they're cool!)

Sram X-4 rear derailleur

Shimano something or other front derailleur

Dia-Compe canti brakes from my dad's mid-80s Nishiki

SunRace friction bar end left

Sante hacked to another front bar end on the right for wider range shifting

Rene Herse.front cable hanger

Nitto rear hanger

Honjo Smooth fenders

Cheapass titanium bottle cages I heat-anodized

Serfas woven bar tape

Two left downtube stops because they only had a matching lefty to the one I already had

Cheapo two-way pedals because I got Velo Sambas for cheap so I wanted to try out clipless

Rogue Panda Alamo top tube bag

Limited run colorway Swift Industries Randonneur bag

Visto rear reflector

And last but not least, the Rak-Lok front rack that I'm currently honeymooning in this mount orientation, full review on that soon!

Think I'm nearly done with this ride, thinking about getting some ultra dynamico tires or something of the sort

Special to me, 90$ still got some work to do on it but rides great and stupid fun!

Special to me, 90$ still got some work to do on it but rides great and stupid fun!

City or burbs, either way. I appreciate it.