Mark wanted what he referred to as a Zombie Apocalypse Bike but he also said he wanted something with a little bit of style that would turn heads.
He described the sort of riding he did and what he was hoping to do and the limitations of his gravel bike to pack for longer journeys and take on some of the more out there terrain he wanted to ride. He had a couple of components in mind that he wanted, a Carbon Jones bar and a Rohloff hub, some stuff he already had like the seasoned Long Flap and Sinewave front light, and most importantly the desire to ride anything from the South Downs to the Badger Divide to the Iditarod trail. So, we had a rough sketch of wants and were away.
This is the second bike in this design I have made. The first is also pink and owned by another fabulous fellow JC whose company Alpine Luddites makes rather wonderful bike packing and climbing bags from his workshop in Vermont. I like pink for this frame so much I think that might be the future stipulation for agreeing to proceed with another one.
You have to commit, and this was a very involved build, but the result is pretty cool I think because as well as fulfilling the brief it also pushed my practice and as such I am super pleased with the outcome.
So for the build. 29’ers of course – J built Mark a set of DT Swiss EX511’s on to a SON 28 Dynamo front hub (the one for slower speed off road riding) and a Rohloff rear with Sapim Strong (defo called strong) spokes for load bearing wheels. The tyres on to start are Vittoria Mezcals.
With Mark we decided on parts he could fix or service himself out in the field if needed and possible. Cable breaks from Paul are serviceable with an allen key and adjustable by hand. The crank is square taper and the BB shell is eng 73mm so we used the mighty and almost indestructible UN55. Get one, never get another one but don’t quote me on that.
Carbon bars from Jones and Carbon seatpost from Ritchey are very fancy and prob not fixable on the fly (obvs) but they do get rid of most of the vibrations that aren’t eaten by the tyres and will make you feel plush and on the boss bike all day for sure. King Cages and White Industries headset for the bling. Selle Anatomica saddle and some legendary Camp and Go Slow Rattlesnake bar tape tie it up.
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