Hmm I'm Considering this
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KaktusJaque
Posts: 141 Member
I have had a growing interest in Gravel Bikes, or CycloCross bikes. I'm thinking I want to build one of these. I don't want to buy one new as I like to tinker with bikes. I built a 24" BMX bike from scratch for my Son, so I'm thinking I want to do the same thing for me for a gravel bike. I would try to buy used items instead of new. So I will be searching Craigslist and ebay. If I do, I will make a blog to track my progress from start to finish, but it may take awhile for me to find the right parts.
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If you do, post the blog. I'd like to watch the process.
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Awesome. I've been looking at them.0
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Did...someone...say...cyclocross?0
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Why...Yes, Yes they did!Did...someone...say...cyclocross?0 -
If you start blogging it, put a link in here - i'll defnitely be subscribing - I'm a bike-build fanatic - either watching others or doing my own...0
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I adore my gravel bike. I wish I could say I built her but she is a beautiful Salsa Warbird. I've ridden her everywhere including single track. It's like a rally car. Have fun with the build!0
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to be honest, I'd make my life easier and try and find a modern(ish) steel cross / allrounder frame thats setup for 700c wheels - over here, the one i'd be looking for is a Planet-X Kaffenback I guess... 35c cross tyre clearances, cantilever brake mounts, mudguard bosses for if I wanted to use it as a winter hack, and it generally takes modern gear (which I've pretty much got a full bike's worth of, provided I wasn't being to anal about matching groupsets). The Kaffenback is similar to something like a Surly Cross Check I guess... not sure if PX sold many Kaff's over the pond :shrug:
Old Bikes are great, and I've a real soft spot for 70/80/early 90's stuff (as that's when I was racing) but frankly, I'd not really be wanting to ride offroad on a 30 year old frame that someone else has hammered into the ground... a 3 or 4 year old steel frame used offroad may well just need a blow over with some fresh paint and a set of transfers (or better still powdercoat and transfers) to be pretty much indistinguishable from a new one.0 -
For those of you that may want to follow that are not yet on my MFP friends list, here is the link to the blog I started
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/KaktusJaque/view/my-gravel-bike-build-6911060 -
Last year I added a gravel bike enabling my ride to extend beyond the pavement and gain access to hundreds of miles of lightly travelled gravel roads in the area. Considerations primarily focused on rugged comfort in my selection. After several tests I concluded the ride of the 29'r was superior with MTB triple gearing. Building a 29'r bottom up is much more challenging owing to the scarcity of some the base parts; frame, wheel sets specifically. Still you should test good 29'r if you have not tried one.0
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Here is my old school 1969 Schwinn 27" with Kenda tires.
I recently put straight handlebars on it though.
I Love your bike and the old school toe clips. I remember the first time I got these type clips put on my bike. I enjoy vintage bikes. If I had a place to store bikes, I would have more of them. I have a Trek Y5 mountain bike. This was the bike that broke the mold in traditional triangular bike frame design. Since the “Y” series frames came out, all the other bike manufactures started coming up with their own non standard designs. Trek's thinking went outside the box and started a trend that hasn’t stopped. One of the reasons I love this bike so much.
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