# Gravel commuter / tourer build



## ChrisEyles (13 Jun 2020)

Pre-amble / justification for the project... skip if you can't be arsed to read to get to the start of the build  

I arguably own too many bikes. 

Currently: 

Road bike - 1960s Cinelli ten speed
Tourer/Commuter - 2014 Raleigh Royal
Pootling bike - 1950s Raleigh Sports
Single Speed - 1997 Marin Hawk Hill
Hardtail - 2010 GT Avalanche
Full Sus - 2000 Marin Mount Vision

All are pretty much perfect for the type of riding I do with them, with the exception of the Raleigh Royal. Although it's a lovely bike I've pretty much always found the canti brakes to be at best barely sufficient in wet muddy/gritty conditions (and not even that on some of the steeper Dartmoor/Exmoor back roads), and it doesn't perform well off-road when I decide to take a bridleway short cut, feeling rather like it's going to shake itself to bits. 

I've toyed with the idea of fitting some wider tyres (currently on 32mm Schwalbe marathons) swapping the fork out for a disc compatible one and getting a disc mount brazed onto the chainstay and fitting some decent mechanical disc brakes. But on costing this up it doesn't seem like an economically sensible thing to do! Plus although I will admit to a middling degree of sentimental attachment to the bike, it's never really had that X factor that all the other bikes I've ended up with do. It's practical, sensible and dependable, but when it comes down to it the bike I've ridden most over the last five years has also been the one I enjoy riding least. 

Now the current fad for gravel bikes seems very sensible to me - wide tyres and disc brakes, should be good on road and bridleway. But... 

1) I don't want the marketing machine to make me buy another new bike (even if it is in some way justifiable)
2) I'd like the option to fit wider tyres, up to 2.1" and potentially knobbies too for proper off-roading
3) I want an excuse for a project  

So I thought I'd build up a 26" mountain bike as a gravel tourer/commuter. As a bonus, if I put some sensible road/hybrid tyres on it for general use, I can borrow the wheelset from one of my mountain bikes for proper off-road use.


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## ChrisEyles (13 Jun 2020)

Picking a frame to start with was tricky. Measuring up my other bikes, both my tourer and road bike have a 57cm effective top tube, which paired with a 90mm - 100mm and modest saddle to bar drop are what I've gravitated towards as a very comfy fit for longer rides. 

Most late 90s to early 00s MTBs in medium size fit the bill for this. I also needed a frame with disc mounts, and mounts for a rack and mudguards - again plentiful on lower end MTBs. Since I'll be swapping out most of the components, they didn't matter too much. 

I was originally intending to look for a steel frame, but not many came up (seems most steel frames are older and lack disc mounts, or are trendy/boutique and not within budget). 

After a while spent scouring ebay / gumtree / FB marketplace I've ended up with this as a starting point... mainly 'cause I thought the "hydrolight" frame looked ace 8)


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## ChrisEyles (13 Jun 2020)

Unfortunately the previous owner, who had "done the bike up" to sell it was a bit hopeless... cranks were on loose, BB was incorrectly installed, and he'd tried to install a 34mm external headset in a 44mm internal head tube! But fortunately the head tube seems undamaged and the BB threads are fine. 

Started stripping it down this afternoon: 






The frame is (to my eyes at least) really smart - sort of a metallic black.


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## ChrisEyles (13 Jun 2020)

The Marzocchi Bombers have seen better days. While they hold air there appears to be little to no oil in the damper (leaking seal maybe), so the rebound damping is non-existent. Going to get some 10W fork oil and see if that fixes things. I was planning on sticking this fork on my 2000 Mount Vision, but unfortunately I think the axle-to-crown length is a bit too long, so will probably end up selling it to fund the rest of this build, we'll see. 

Current thoughts on parts

*Wheelset *- the current 26" disc wheelset looks like it should do the job nicely, just needs truing up a bit

*Tyres *- the current 1.95" semi-slicks are ideal for starters. If I get on with the bike and start using it a lot (for commuting) it will probably end up with 2.0" schwalbe marathons

*Fork* - will be on the look-out for a steel rigid disc fork of appropriate length

*Bars/stem* - quite fancy trying some gently flared drop bars on this build, will pick stem length to fit when it's all built up

*Drivetrain* - current crankset is pretty naff, and SRAM x4 rear mech only works with MTB shifters, so none of the current kit will be useful. Planning on kitting it out with sora brifters (I prefer the button for upshifting to the split paddle on the higher end models) and running 3x8 MTB gearing. Although this will mean using a road front mech with a 42t MTB chainring I've done this before and if set up carefully shifting is just as good as on a 48t-52t large ring, the set-up is just slightly less tolerant of cross-chaining before getting chain rub on the mech cage. I've got a suitable rear mech in the parts bin that can be used

*Brakes* - road levers will necessitate mechanical discs; will keep an eye out for some second hand TRP Spyres or Avid BB7s

*Seat post/saddle* - dunno but not the current ones - squishy MTB saddle and cut-down seat post won't work on this build!


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## ChrisEyles (13 Jun 2020)

The goal / challenge is to build it up on a budget of *£200*. I'll keep a running tally of costs and you can all point to this and mock me when they spiral out of control! 

If it does turn out to be a keeper it'll get a rear rack & mudguards & new tyres which will definitely smash the budget, but it's good to have a target while still in the experimentation phase. That way if I don't like it I can always sell it on without loss. 

Current remaining budget after buying the bike.... *£0*  I would have haggled a lot harder if I'd known about the bodgery involved in "doing the bike up" but oh well, you win some you lose some... and it is a very pretty frame. 

Brakes/shifters/mechs/bars/crankset/seat post all up on ebay, we'll see what they bring in at auction in a week's time, then I'll start hunting for parts. 

I expect this to be a bit of a slow start-stop build, but hoping to have it ready by the end of summer (another target I probably shouldn't have just stuck on my back ).


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## figbat (13 Jun 2020)

When I did my MTB-to-gravel the hardest part was finding a fork. I looked at a lot of options but in the end a mate happened to have a perfect candidate and let me have it.

TRP Spyres come in road and MTB variants, be sure to get the road version if using road levers. I picked up a decent pair second hand. I always wanted the Spyres over the Avids for the dual-piston setup.

I hoped to go to a flared bar too but ended up with a normal drop as a cheap opportunity came up. I might still update it as this is an organic project bike!

I put 700c wheels on (it was originally 26”) - there was enough clearance for the 42mm tyres I currently run, although not a lot more. I have a 26” QR wheel set on another bike so can always swap and change.

I went from 3x7 to 1x10 using Tiagra (4600) levers and a XT 9-speed rear mech. The left lever is brake-only but I figure the redundant sideways shift action may help save the lever in a tumble.

I really enjoyed the project (build thread here if you are interested) and now enjoy riding it!


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## ChrisEyles (13 Jun 2020)

Hadn't thought of using 700c wheels - are these not normally spaced at 130mm rather than 135mm on the rear? With a steel frame that's no problem, not sure about alloy? 

Lovely job on your gravel build, I like that a lot. Thanks for sharing.


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## figbat (13 Jun 2020)

My frame is 135mm and the wheel dropped right in; being a disc hub I believe they come out at 135mm. They are modern wheels from a Cannondale road bike - I saw quite a few for sale on eBay as they are often swapped out for better wheels. These were almost unused, with one disc, for £25!


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## ChrisEyles (13 Jun 2020)

Tiny bit of progress tonight. 

Sold the brake levers/calipers for £32, and bought a replacement headset for £9.20. 

That leaves £22.80 currently in hand. Will start costing parts up and maybe set up some searches on the 'bay for when they pop up cheap.


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## ChrisEyles (14 Jun 2020)

An update on the budget after selling a few more bits on ebay: 

Star budget: £200 (£200)
Bike: -£200 (£0)
New headset: -£9 (-£9)
Sold brakes: £32 (£23)
Sold shifters: £12 (£35)
Sold bars: £8 (£43)
Sold crankset: £11 (£54)

£54 left from the initial target budget isn't much to play with! The plan at the moment is to service the Bombers and sell them on, they should raise a decent bit of cash for the build.


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## DCBassman (15 Jun 2020)

Have an Alivio RD-M410 and 11-34t cassette you can have gor postage.


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## ChrisEyles (15 Jun 2020)

That's really kind of you, thanks for the offer. 

I've already got an identical alivio rear mech in my parts bin so I'm sorted there. 

Not sure what cassette to go for until I've sorted a chainset, but I have a big bag of partially used sprockets and can probably mod that came with the bike if necessary using them. 

So I think for those parts there are probably other more needy recipients than me. 

If anyone's got any triple cranks, cable disc calipers, or road brifters going cheap on the other hand, don't be shy


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## DCBassman (15 Jun 2020)

ChrisEyles said:


> road brifters



I've got Sora triple brifters, with the buttons, too, but 3x9...
And I can tell you from personally doing it that the RD-M410 will do 9-speed happily, although I did add a hanger extender...


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## ChrisEyles (15 Jun 2020)

I was originally thinking I'd stick to 8x3 so I can swap wheelsets with my MTB if desired (would also save buying a new cassette & chain). 

I'm sure the RD would handle 9 speed just fine as long as the biggest sprocket wasn't any bigger than 34t (might even get away with 36t). 

Will sleep on it and let you know!


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## DCBassman (16 Jun 2020)

ChrisEyles said:


> I'm sure the RD would handle 9 speed just fine as long as the biggest sprocket wasn't any bigger than 34t (might even get away with 36t).


Had it doing 9 and 36t with the extender, but would probably be ok with a slightly longer B screw. Certainly 8 and 34t is no problem.


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## ChrisEyles (16 Jun 2020)

@Roger Longbottom - darn, saw your reply just too late... I've literally just "won" a pair on ebay in the last five minutes, otherwise I'd have had them gladly as they would have been perfect.

@DCBassman 34t should be plenty as a largest sprocket on the rear since I'll be running a triple up front. Will either go 11t-30t with a 24/32/42 or 13t-34t (will be an 11t-30t with the 11t removed and a 34t added from the spares box) with a 28/38/48 depending on what comes up that I like the look of on ebay.


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## ChrisEyles (16 Jun 2020)

£31 spent from the currently remaining £54 leaves *£23* to finish the build. Even with raiding of the parts bin this looks to be unlikely!


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## ChrisEyles (16 Jun 2020)

Ooh, wait - just clawed back £8 for the seat post. We're up a smidge to *£31*!


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## ChrisEyles (16 Jun 2020)

Since this is clearly no longer going to be possible on a £200 budget I'm going to cheat and tweak the rules... 

I've got a box of unused parts (kick stands, bottle cages, old naff saddles & pedals etc) in the garage that has sat dormant for several years, so I'll have a sort through and anything that's not worth keeping will go on ebay towards this little project. 

Must say I hadn't realised that a decent set of cable disc calipers would cost as much or more than a reasonably MTB hydraulic disc brakeset, or that road brifters go for several times what a comparable quality MTB shifter does.


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## Gunk (16 Jun 2020)

ChrisEyles said:


> £31 spent from the currently remaining £54 leaves *£23* to finish the build. Even with raiding of the parts bin this looks to be unlikely!



This sounds like one of my builds, even raiding my stash of parts, I never come in under budget.


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## figbat (16 Jun 2020)

ChrisEyles said:


> Since this is clearly no longer going to be possible on a £200 budget I'm going to cheat and tweak the rules...
> 
> I've got a box of unused parts (kick stands, bottle cages, old naff saddles & pedals etc) in the garage that has sat dormant for several years, so I'll have a sort through and anything that's not worth keeping will go on ebay towards this little project.
> 
> Must say I hadn't realised that a decent set of cable disc calipers would cost as much or more than a reasonably MTB hydraulic disc brakeset, or that road brifters go for several times what a comparable quality MTB shifter does.


It took me time - I watched so many auctions on eBay but finally got my Spyres for £54 (with rotors) and managed to bag a pair of Tiagra levers (with in-line adjusters) for £25. I would have gone hydro but for the huge cost of hydraulic road levers.
I was watching, bidding, losing, watching... for a year or so.


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## DCBassman (17 Jun 2020)

ChrisEyles said:


> or that road brifters go for several times what a comparable quality MTB shifter does.


The well-used 3x9 Soras I have cost as much as a brand new set of EZ-Fire ST-EF65-9. Crazy, but that's the market...


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## ChrisEyles (17 Jun 2020)

Saw these while having a look on the 'bay: 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Disc-Bra...867716?hash=item1f10bde984:g:9xsAAOSwcv9e0m4s

They look like a chinese copy of the TRP spyre (i.e. double piston mechanical caliper) - the price is certainly right and I've had very good results with cheap chinese parts in the past (they are just as good as "official" parts, just take a long time to arrive). 

I've asked if they're designed for use with short pull or long pull brake levers. I'm betting the answer I get is "you can use them with both road and MTB brake levers"


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## ChrisEyles (17 Jun 2020)

Even better response than I expected: 

"Now it is served by chat robot.
Thank you for your interest in our products.
The available models listed on the listing can be used. If the model you use is not listed in the listing, please tell us your model/ version.We will contact our supplier to confirm it.
You can reply "I need manual service" to ask the customer service girl to solve the problem for you.Usually they will reply you within 48 hours.If you can't wait,recovery robot.

from chatbot"



Guess I'll have to bide my time on a set of TRP Spyres!


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## figbat (17 Jun 2020)

ChrisEyles said:


> Saw these while having a look on the 'bay:
> 
> https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Disc-Bra...867716?hash=item1f10bde984:g:9xsAAOSwcv9e0m4s
> 
> ...


I hope the attention to detail in their design and engineering is better than in their promotional images:


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## ChrisEyles (20 Jun 2020)

Had the fork apart today to give it a service before topping it up with oil. Unfortunately the rebound top-out springs on the damping rods on each side had sheared - not sure how that could have happened! A big hit shouldn't have caused it, since they're only compressed when the fork tops out when rebounding? Perhaps it just happened from extended use with not enough rebound damping caused by low oil levels... 

To compensate for this I'll try running a slightly heavier weight oil in the damper. If this doesn't work I'm considering putting a bit of tubular pipe insulation foam around the bottom of the damper rods to act as a sort of elastomer top out spring. 

If this is a stupid idea for some reason I haven't thought of, do tell!


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## Ming the Merciless (20 Jun 2020)

ChrisEyles said:


> Hadn't thought of using 700c wheels - are these not normally spaced at 130mm rather than 135mm on the rear? With a steel frame that's no problem, not sure about alloy?
> 
> Lovely job on your gravel build, I like that a lot. Thanks for sharing.



Nope 135mm spacing is for disc brakes bikes, same for 26” or 700C


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## ChrisEyles (20 Jun 2020)

Received the brifters today - one was missing the clamp to fix it to the bars, so have been onto the seller to have a look for this and send it on, or they'll be going back from whence they came. 

Also received the headset in the post. The cups are very loose in the frame (can be slotted in by hand) - nothing's going smoothly today! However, a quick test fit with a sardine can shim suggests they will press in nice and firmly with this in place so will do that tomorrow. In the absolute worst case, there's always JB weld as a back-up, but I don't think it'll come to that. 

Sold a few more bits today and listed the contents of a big box of unwanted bits that have been sitting in my garage for ages on ebay to fund the calipers. 

Promptly splurged it on an STX crankset & pedals. Comes with 42/32/22 chain rings, which I think I'll pair with an 11-28 cassette. 

Think it's just the brake calipers, brake cable inners and a front derailleur I need to get now. The front derailleur will be a challenge - ideally it will need a 34.9mm clamp bottom pull triple mech compatible with a 42t chainring and STI shifters, which I'm pretty sure doesn't exist. I'm thinking of using a MTB pull FD, and clamping the cable closer to the pivot point so that the shorter pull of the STI brifter moves the cage the full distance between chain rings. The other option is to get a road pull mech that will play nicely with the STI brifter, but then the cage will be sized for a 53t chain ring, which makes setting it up trickier, as chain rub on the cage tends to be an issue. 

Having done a bit of budgeting on a spreadsheet, I am seriously considering riveting together cut up milk bottles to make a mudguard


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## ChrisEyles (20 Jun 2020)

Thanks @YukonBoy that's good to know - for some reason I had it in my head that 130mm 700c disc wheels were a "thing". 

Will almost certainly stick with 26" for this build though.


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## ChrisEyles (21 Jun 2020)

Pressed in the headset cups this evening using the sardine tin shims, which worked nicely. 






Stuck this lot up for sale, will see how much it fetches over the next week. 






Touched up a few minor chips in the paint on the frame & fork too. Need some more parts to arrive to make a bit of progress!


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## Gunk (21 Jun 2020)

ChrisEyles said:


> Need some more parts to arrive to make a bit of progress!



I know exactly how that feels!


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## ChrisEyles (24 Jun 2020)

Now we all love a good spreadsheet, so here's how the budget's currently looking now I have nearly all the parts on order: 


*Item**Cost**Project*Marin Hawk Hill£200​£200​Headset£9​£209​Sell old headset-£5​£204​Cable disc calipers£41​£245​Sell spare caliper£245​Sell hydraulic calipers-£32​£213​Brifters£31​£244​Sell old shifters-£12​£232​Rear derailleur (parts bin)£0​£232​Front derailleur£232​Sell old derailleurs-£11​£222​Cables/pads£8​£230​Drop bars£25​£255​Bar tape£255​Sell old bars-£8​£247​Sell old grips£247​Sell seat post -£8​£239​New seat post£24​£263​Sell old crankset & pedals-£11​£252​New crankset & pedals£33​£285​Toe clips£5​£289​Sell old box of parts (silver bars; red bottle cage so far)-£14​£276​Rack£0​£276​Mudguards£0​£276​

I found an old rear rack I'd completely forgotten about in the garage, which is very pleasing! 

Total net spend currently stands at £276 which isn't quite as bad as I feared! Still need to buy a suitable front derailleur and some bar tape, and have quite a few bits and pieces left to sell. 

I reckon the total for this one's going to come in at under £250, plus a box of bits that would otherwise never have seen the light of day again. 

A couple of bits are en route from China so don't expect I'll be able to finish this before early August if their shipping times are accurate. 

Been spending so long wrapping & posting stuff for ebay that I've not made any progress at all with the actual build. Next job is to finish servicing the sus fork.


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## ChrisEyles (27 Jun 2020)

Having spent a while looking for a suitable rigid fork, it looks like this will be either difficult or expensive to source.

So I'm trying out my first custom tune of a fork today, to make use of the bombers. 

Since the negative springs had broken I replaced these with some pipe insulation foam top out bumpers. This will lower the travel by around 10mm, which should be good for the intended use. 

Swapping the springs for a bumper will mean there is a lot less small bump compliance as there won't be anything to get the fork moving against the striction forces. But there should also be less bob - again both of which should suit the intended use for this fork. 







I'm using a mix of 7.5 wt and 15 wt oil in the dampers, which is heavier than OEM spec, as the rebound seemed a bit too fast for my liking. 

Hopefully the seals are still all good! Got the fork up to 45psi in each leg, leaving it now to see if there's any leakage before I top the oil up to full height. 

Need to think a bit about what air volume & pressure to use. At the moment I'm thinking a more linear, higher spring rate would be best, rather than an initially soft spring that ramps up more quickly, which doesn't make any sense for a bike that's going to see a good amount of road miles.


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## ChrisEyles (27 Jun 2020)

It's looking rather more MTB than gravel bike so far...

If the fork works out as I hope and can be kept on the bike, I'll need to cut down the steerer a bit!






Found an old rear rack lurking under my work bench the other day, which is a bonus.


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## ChrisEyles (5 Jul 2020)

I think I've got all the parts sorted now bar a front derailleur. 






Haven't totted up all the bits I've sold yet, but I reckon £200 - £250 plus a box of old bits will cover it. 

Would love to get cracking with the build... But too much housework to do! Hopefully make a bit of progress next weekend.


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## DCBassman (5 Jul 2020)

ChrisEyles said:


> all the parts sorted now bar a front derailleur.



Have an Altus FD, what tube size are you needing? It's not pretty, but definitely works!


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## ChrisEyles (5 Jul 2020)

I'll need a 34.9mm clamp, and either bottom or dual pull. 

Since I'm going to be using it with road shifters, I think I'm going to need a design where the cable clamp bolt allows the cable to be clamped on the "wrong" side to effectively shorten the lever arm, making up for the shorter cable pull of a road brifter vs a MTB shifter. A lot of designs use a clamp bolt who's length lies in the plane of rotation of the lever, where there's no scope for this. It's a bit difficult to describe in words, hopefully it makes sense! 

I'm currently looking at a few FD's which look like they should be suitable on ebay ATM, finishing this evening. If I don't win the bidding on any of these, could you send me some pics of the Altus mech to see which orientation of clamp bolt it has?


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## ChrisEyles (5 Jul 2020)

Sorted - got a Deore mech on the way


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## ChrisEyles (15 Jul 2020)

Too much damn work on to make any progress with this one at the moment - frustrating! May get a chance to do a few bits at the weekend... if I'm not chained to the laptop all day...


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## ChrisEyles (31 Jul 2020)

Inching forward on this one! 






BB spindle turned out to be the wrong length for the crank I have, so have ordered a new one. Needed a new rear brake ISO to post mount adapter too, since the rear wheel rotor is a 140mm instead of 160mm that I had an adapter in stock.


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## ChrisEyles (31 Jul 2020)

We're moving house in a couple of weeks, and I doubt I'm going to get it finished before then.. and it may be a while before the dust settles and all the boxes are unpacked!


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## ChrisEyles (1 Aug 2020)

Popped on a chain & rear mech today, and added cables. It's getting there! 






Next job is probably to true the rims & rotors before setting up the brakes & gears.


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## ChrisEyles (8 Aug 2020)

Wheels and rotors are all nicely trued up now  

Went for a quick test spin - first impressions are: 

The Avid BB7 mechanical disc brakes are awesome! I didn't even spend agonisingly long setting them up, and they're miles better already than any mechanical disc brake I've previously used - this so far without compressionless housing too. 

Getting the position of the brifters right with flared drop bars is difficult! Took a lot of faffing to settle on something I was happy with, and as always with this style of brifter shifting from the drops is a little compromised, but otherwise it feels good. 

Stem was a little too long so swapped for a slightly shorter one. Saddle has been moved forward a bit on the rails to further reduce the reach. 

The Marzocchi Bombers feel really nice!!! Once I was confident in the brakes I took in a nice steep rocky track and they feel a hell of a lot more composed than I expected. Rebound damping is maybe a smidge too much right now, but that's easily sorted.

The cheapo dropper post is also a pleasant surprise and works just as it should. 

Since it's near as damnit finished, I wrapped the bars (always a job I like to leave until last, as it finished a build off nicely and is something I really enjoy doing). 

Shifting at the front is the only thing that isn't really working well at the moment... I think because I'm using a MTB front mech with road brifters. There isn't an obvious way to adjust the point at which the cable clamps onto the lever arm on the front mech to change the leverage ratio, so I think I'm going to need a road triple front mech to finish this one off. 

Other than this, just need to give it a few shakedown rides and tweak the indexing and brakes as the cable outers bed in. I think it's going to be a good'un


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## ChrisEyles (8 Aug 2020)

It rides (and ended up looking) more like a MTB with drop bars than a gravel bike, but on reflection I think that's a good thing. Reduced efficiency on the road bugs me less than reduced capability off-road when I do mixed terrain rides on my other bikes. We're moving house very soon, and while I'm currently spoiled for choice with a selection of great bridleways on my doorstep (and even a proper DH set of runs a couple of miles away in the woods), it looks like I'll need to put in a fair few road miles before getting to the good stuff from our new place. 

Unfortunately the rear rack I found in the shed won't fit around the disc brake caliper, so I'll be sticking with a backpack for the time being. Will look into a suitable rack when/if I have time to do some bike/camping trips again (not looking desperately likely this year unfortunately!).


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## ChrisEyles (8 Aug 2020)

Oh yeah, and it turns out that the body mechanics of bunny hopping a drop bar MTB is a tiny bit different from a flar bar one... first one I tried off a little lip the back end went miles up in the air, and I landed a disgraceful nosedive on the front wheel. Probably a good job I had a sus fork fitted!


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## ChrisEyles (28 Sep 2020)

After being tied up moving house for some time, a smidge more progress! 

Swapped the MTB FD for a road FD - shifting up front now actually works! 












Had a play with tuning the fork and it now feels pretty good, though in the long term I'd quite like something with lockout and maybe even adjustable travel. 

Need to give the whole bike a thorough checking over at the weekend as I can't remember which bolts I'd fully tightened and which were left loose!


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## ChrisEyles (8 Oct 2020)

Went for a test ride last night with the new FD fitted, and first impressions are still very good  

It feels far more sprightly on the road than I expected, similar to my touring bike in terms of effort/speed but with a real magic carpet ride over bumps and poor road surfaces. 

Off-road it livens up the relatively tame bridleways & byways around me that are in all honesty a bit boring on a full-on MTB, but still feels capable enough to tackle pretty much anything (albeit maybe a tad slower until I get used to the drop bars and shifting my weight waaaaay back on steep steppy stuff). 

I'm really pleased with the Avid BB7 brakes, they feel incredibly good. 

The Marz' MX Comp fork also feels really good after rebuilding it. I'm running it quite hard (50psi) and swapped the negative springs for foam top-out bumpers, which keeps it high in its travel and gives a platform-like feel. But the speed sensitive valving works well enough to still get a decent amount of nicely damped travel on rougher stuff. It seems particularly good on bigger hits, which is nice as I feel like I need a safety net in case I'm a bit front-heavy on the drop bars. 

The cheapo Chinese dropper post is great too. I've put the seat up a bit from the pic below to pretty much full road pedalling height, which would be properly sketchy on off-road descents without the 100mm drop. 






Shifting is now much, much better, but still not quite perfect. Because the road FD is designed for big 50t+ chain rings, it won't mount quite low enough on the seat tube - the water bottle mounts get in the way of the clamp. This means the FD cage is rubbing against the chain in gear combinations where the chain is slightly crossed. 

If I can't fix this with fettling the cable tension (which I don't think will be possible as I've already spent a bit of time on the road fiddling with this), I think the only fix for this is going to be to (carefully!) file flat the protruding bottle mount on the seat tube so that the FD clamp can be set at the correct height - should be do-able!

Also need to figure out a way to fit a decent length front mudguard so that it will be stable off-road, which is proving to be a bit of a challenge!


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## Pale Rider (8 Oct 2020)

ChrisEyles said:


> Also need to figure out a way to fit a decent length front mudguard so that it will be stable off-road, which is proving to be a bit of a challenge!



Suspension forks and mudguards do not go well together.

My factory fitted Riese and Muller ebike front mudguard uses a U-clamp over the fork bridge, and P style bands to hold the stays to the fork legs.

Sturdy enough for its intended road and gravel track use.

Not sure how long the mounts would last on a black route.


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## ChrisEyles (8 Oct 2020)

@Pale Rider that's what I'm struggling with. While I won't be bombing any black runs on this bike, it is going to be thrown down some reasonably chunky trails from time to time and any longer mud guard has a tendency to flap around a bit alarmingly close to the front tyre under these conditions. 

Might need to get a special MTB specific guard, something like this (Zefal FM30). But I'd rather get what I've currently got in the shed to work with lots of zip ties if possible!


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## Pale Rider (8 Oct 2020)

The MTB guards are too short to be of much use, as I'm sure you know.

You could hang the guard from the fork bridge quite firmly with a couple of wide zip ties.

The stays on my bike are attached by a fairly wide P clip band, the width probably being key to the job working acceptably.


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## ChrisEyles (8 Oct 2020)

Yes, the MTB style guards are OK for keeping spray out of your face in my experience, but that's about it. 

The front mudguard I've got doesn't have stays - it slots/locks into a bracket that would normally be bolted onto the wheel arch. Not only does my fork not have a mounting hold in the arch, since it's a Marzocchi it's also that iconic/silly "M" shape which makes it difficult to zip tie the guard securely underneath. 

I reckon I'll be able to figure out something workable, it will just take a lot of faff time in the garage!


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## ChrisEyles (9 Oct 2020)

I'm being an idiot - will be much easier and less stressful to file a rebate in the FD clamp than file the bottle mount boss flat on the seat tube! 

Managed to rig a pretty sturdy front mudguard mount out of zip ties and some sheet plastic, will test it out tomorrow. 

Swapped the cushy saddle out for a nicer one, and fitted some new tyres - puncture resistant ones, as I've had about a dozen visits from the fairy over the last two months, a lot of hedge cutting and fly tipping around the trails near my new house!


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## ChrisEyles (10 Oct 2020)

Turns out the FD clamp didn't have enough meat on it to file a rebate for the bottle mount boss, so I had to file the frame instead. 

A bit nerve wracking, but worked a charm without even scratching the paintwork  

FD is now clamped about 5mm - 6mm lower, which makes all the difference.


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## ChrisEyles (10 Oct 2020)

So with FD, mudguards & puncture resistant tyres sorted, a proper ride was clearly in order. 

Went out from the front door for a 34 mile mix of back roads, green lanes, bridleways and byways. 






With all the recent rain it was stupendously muddy on the off-road sections (and some of the road sections too!). 






The mudguards worked amazingly well. This is the first time I've tried full length mudguards on a MTB and I'm very pleased with them - no spray in the face at any point, no wet arse, and incredibly, my water bottle stayed fit to drink from the whole way around.






I was a bit worried about the guards flapping around on rough terrain and contacting the tyres, but so far this seems to be unfounded. The mount I devised for the front guard is rock solid so far, though I'll be keeping a close eye on it for a while yet. On one particularly muddy descent the build up of crap acted like a dragging rear brake until the backlog could clear, but other than that, no clearances issues, and the tyres shed mud well.






Ah yes, the tyres... I've had about a dozen flats over the last 8 week so I forked out for some Schwalbe GT 365s in 26 x 2.0. I really rate Schwalbes puncture resistant tyres, being a big fan of regular marathons for road use. I reckon about half of the time today I was riding through hedge clippings or bramble cuttings, so if the tyres are still at full pressure tomorrow, they've already been worth it! They feel nice and cushy, not too cumbersome on the road and surprisingly capable in the mud off-road. Need to experiment with tyre pressures a bit to find the sweet spot. 






Road down a few impromptu streams and the mudguards did their thing nicely. 






The fork feels lovely. Since servicing it I've not had to tweak it much, it just works and you forget that it's there, which is how things should be.






Will admit to getting off and walking on the trail above though. I've ridden it on my MTB and it's a blast - big (but still roll-able) root steps and lots of big loose rocks. Although I really like the feel of the drop bars off-road, they don't give the same confidence as a wider flat bar paired with a shorter stem. 






The OS map came out quite a few times en route...











As did the thermos & snacks!


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## ChrisEyles (10 Oct 2020)

All in all a cracking ride and I'm very pleased with how the bike's turned out. 

I really wish I'd finished this while we were still living in Devon, as it would have been ideal for riding up to Exmoor and turning off onto the bridleways. 






For the riding available from the front door of our new house, I think it should be just the ticket.


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## ChrisEyles (10 Oct 2020)

Still a few little bits of fettling left to do - the cable tidies on the shifter outers need a bit of insulation tape adding to stop them moving; saddle could go back 5mm - 10mm; crank arms could probably do with some heli-tape on them as the toe-straps have already created visible rub in a single ride; lower limit screw needs checking on the RD as a bit noisy in the biggest sprocket. 

Also got a couple of bits left to sell on as part of the project. At some point I'll add up the final costs and put them up on here, though it will be embarassingly over the intended budget!


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## ChrisEyles (11 Oct 2020)

Sorted the RD lower limit screw setting, popped some Heli tape on the cranks to protect from rub, and tidied up the shifter cable routing. 

Final touch - £3 well spent on the 'bay


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## ChrisEyles (11 Oct 2020)

Just done some adding up and the total net cost for the bike came in at £314 - so a bit over the intended budget, but not quite as bad as I feared. 

The bike came out a little different than my initial vision (which included a rigid fork and pannier rack) and seems to have ended up as a proper mongrel mish mash of MTB / touring bike. 

Having ridden loads of different styles of bike over lots of different terrains, this build does seem to tick a lot of boxes for the riding I most enjoy doing. I wonder if something similar would work for a lot of other cyclists, or if it really is just an odd-ball one-off that I happen to like! 

Gravel bikes do seem to be going this way, with suspension and dropper posts gradually being adopted, thoughI can't be dealing with 27.5" wheels or 1x12 gearing. 

Given the current trend for creating a new name/genre for every bike model that's slightly different from most other bikes, what should it be called - Monstergravel perhaps? 

The bike itself has already been christened by my friend who I went out for a ride with last week. Without giving me a chance to consider or object, it's now called "Doris"


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## ChrisEyles (29 Oct 2020)

Went out for a nice mixed road and bridleway ride with a friend this afternoon. After all the rain we've had, one of the bridleway rocky descents had turned into a river, it was an absolute hoot to pick our way down  






The drop bars make it feel like you're riding a road bike down something you really shouldn't be


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