Gravel commuter / tourer build

[ChrisEyles]

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.

 

[ChrisEyles]

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)

 

[ChrisEyles]

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.

 

[ChrisEyles]

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!

 

[ChrisEyles]

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 ).

 

[figbat]

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!

 

[ChrisEyles]

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.

 

[figbat]

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!

 

[ChrisEyles]

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.

 

[ChrisEyles]

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.

 

[DCBassman]

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

 

[ChrisEyles]

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

 

[DCBassman]

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...

 

[ChrisEyles]

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!

 

[DCBassman]

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.