Finally finished some lingering writing projects and work around the farm. The bike is almost built. Tomorrow, the train to Santa Fe and a three day camping ride.
The bag is from Oveja Negra threadworks in Leadville, CO. The button is a gift from Shawn Granton, the artist behind the Urban Adventure League and Ten Foot Rule comic-zines. The black headset spacer is carbon fiber, to save weight. The Campeur frame is 59cm, square.
NOS Specialized hub to VO Diagonale rim with straight gauge DT spokes. The rear wheel is a NOS black Shimano LX hub to the same rim, with straight gauge Wheelsmith spokes from another shop. Both wheels are 36 spokes with brass nipples. Standard bearing grease was used to prep the threads and eyelets.
The VO Pass Hunter rack makes a great saddlebag support on taller frames with cantilever brake mounts. The underside of the seatstay bridge is threaded for a fender, so I drilled the bridge in the other direction to accept the rack. The backstop keeps the bag away from the straddle wire, and will leave a little room for a small drybag under the saddle.
Clearance with a borrowed 30mm Michelin Cyclocross Jet tire on 25mm rims.
I am hoping to mount some borrowed 50mm Schwalbe Marathon Dureme tires tomorrow, although the fit may be too tight for practical use. Some 40mm Clement X’plor MSO tires are in the mail, and will fit nicely. A friend is sending a single 45mm Panaracer Fire Cross tire from Fairbanks, AK.
Also on my radar: the re-released 43mm Bruce Gordon Rock’n'Road tire, the discontinued 44mm WTB Mutano Raptor, the budget 42mm Michelin Transworld Sprint, several 42mm Continental cyclocross models, and several 1.75″ micro-knobbies from Vee Rubber.
i want your life!
Is it the barrage of tires in the mail or serial unemployment that you want? I want your Beargrease.
i think it’s the sunshine in december, farm work, fresh veggies, inspired builds, and occasional tent mornings. but tires in the mail are pretty great too. y’all are doing a lot of things right.
beargrease! ha! it was a marriage bribe, believe it or not. facebook inappropriate because of my public and extreme desire to never get married. but that just shows you how enthusiastic i am about the bike
Please get me in contact with the Beargrease suitor. I will comply with his/her demands.
Too bad you will have to settle for the old Mukluk. I’m sure it will serve you just fine. You are welcome to the real sunshine state (also the Land of Enchantment) anytime you’d like.
pshaw! sacrificed those ideals at the Beargrease, um, …altar! headed beargrease style to mexico in february. if you and L and are still there maybe i’ll pop north for a bit.
That button on your bag… I just bought one of those. It included a bunch of funky comix and zines! Good stuff.
Congrats on the new comix and zines. I’ve really enjoyed reading them. They’ve inspired me to get out of town a little more.
I’m jealous of the going away for three days of bike camping…in (almost) December.
Theoretically I could also do that here in the NW, but weather is such a crapshoot with rain.
Rain cape? You claim not to use it enough. It would seem to get plenty of exercise on a NW camping trip in December.
Ha! Yes, I could use my rain cape. But I think the biggest hurdle for a winter ride up here is that you basically get about 8-9 hours of functional daylight, so realistically you want to get to your camping spot by 3-4 unless you don’t mind setting up in the dark. And if it’s raining, you’re just going to end up hanging out in the tent for many hours before you sleep. I don’t mind hanging out in my tent for maybe an hour before drifting off to sleep, but when it’s many hours, it gets old, especially if you’re by yourself. That’s why I like cabin/yurt “camping” in the off season.
I’m toying with the idea of doing a short, pseudo inn-to-inn tour in the winter, using mostly Warmshowers hosts. We’ll see how that plays out.
I’ve wondered how long you could resist the siren song of the crabon fibre. Hope those grams were worth it.
The 5mm headset spacer is a great place to shed a ton of weight by substituting carbon fiber. It’s safe too, since it’s very rare to see a catastrophic and cascading failure of a headset spacer, even as a result of a hard crash.
Seriously though, it looks like a sweet ride. I’m hoping you slap some Rock ‘n Roads on it. I’ve contemplated them for my CrossCheck, but lean towards the Schwalbe Marathon Cross.
I always have a hard time not using a Schwalbe touring tire. I never fear sidewall cuts on a Marathon and the risk of punctures and pinch flats is minimal. Lots of goat heads here in town and plenty of pavement, so a proper touring commuting tire would serve me best most of the time. Some Rock’n'Roads and a pair of MSOs would be nice for weekend forays. I also love reflective sidewalls.
The Marathon Cross looks nice. Schwalbe lists many tires as ETRTO 622-47, but then describes some as 700c x 45 and others as 700c x 47. The Riv website says the 700×47 Marathon measures more like a 41. Standard Marathons would suit me fine if it was a true 41 or 42.
The crabon fibre spacer really lightens the ride. It makes it much easier to loft the front end.
I have to echo the first commenter. Sunshine in December et al. Beargrease notwithstanding…
Should you decide to dimple the chainstays do you know about using a baseball bat? I think I told you (?), the Michelins are great tires but have fragile sidewalls. Have fun on your little trip. Is Lael staying home?
Oh, do tell Gary. I can imagine at least one way to do it with a bat.
Cass has some Duremes that I am hoping will fit. If not, I may shop around Santa Fe for a minute before leaving. I’m not going anywhere on these little tires.
Just me and Jeremy for a few days. The general plan is to leave SF and land in Cuba.
A baseball works as well as any technique I’ve seen. Since it’s tapered pick the diameter you want, mark it there and set it between the stays. Take a big hammer and go at it. Careful though, I know a guy that over did it and his frame felt like a noodle after doing this. I’d hesitate doing more than a few mm, personally.
Are you going over Palvedera Mesa or doing the road from Abiquiu? The road is a really nice ride too. You do know that the Cuba/Bernalillo bus runs on weekdays only? 3:30, I think.
Stay warm!!!
Oops! A baseball bat, not a ‘baseball’.
Thanks Gary. Sounds easy enough. I’m happy with the clearance with the Duremes and Mondials for now. Can we make enough room to fit Cass’ new Knards? Might feel a bit like a noodle.
Dureme 50s measure more like 45 or *maybe* 46 on a rim like the Diagonale. . .
There’s also these: http://www.schwalbe.com/gbl/en/produkte/tour_city/produkt/index.php5?flash=1&ID_Produktgruppe=55&ID_Produkt=300&ID_Land=38&ID_Sprache=2&ID_Einsatzbereich=9&tn_mainPoint=Produkte&tn_subPoint=Tour/City
Thanks Brian, I have a 50mm Dureme on the rear and a 47mm Mondial on the front. Both tires probably measure around 45mm or less, and both leave adequate clearance in the frame. After a year on 94mm tires, even these tires feel undersized to me. I’m off for a few days of riding with Jeremy on his Hunqapillar. Last time I saw it he has some 2.2″ Geax AKAs, but I think he put 2.35″ Schwalbe Super Motos in there.
The 47/50 Dureme/Supreme/Marathon will likely be my ideal everything tire for this bike.