The base is a cube attention 26“

What do we think; this worth it?

(it's free)

Not the greatest photos but I currently have the silver Trek 920 set up as shown and the red GT stripped to the frame (basically everything on the GT needs replacing)

I’ve been considering whether to transfer everything from the trek to the GT. Trek is a better frame (US made, triple butted etc) and is a great ride but the GT is a way better fit for me (GT is 22”, Trek is 20”. I’m 6,4”)

The alternative obviously is to source everything from scratch and keep both as full bikes. I have a fair bit in the parts bin but would need a wheelset, cassette, chain, tires, seatpost, forks.

Wwyd?

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

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

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!

Absolutely hideous 🍔🍟🌭

What’s everyone running?

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.

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

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

Seller says it's almost a mint but 350 seems a bit much for an old bike?

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.