Gravel Bike v.4 — Think I’ve Got it This Time

Okay, so here was the idea, and the challenge — Put together a bike, with disc brakes and drop bars, and road type shifters.  Design and build it, so that it handles well, fast enough on the smooth and straight, but also capable enough for any type of adverse terrain or surface, or weather conditions you can throw at it.  Make it light enough to be quick and responsive and climb well, and comfortable enough to sit on for 100 miles or more on sometimes smooth, but oftentimes bumpy, washboardy, or otherwise not the smoothest of roads and trails.  And then added to the above criteria, use the 650b wheel size.  And of course, it has to fit, and feel right.

Well, truthfully my goals at first were not as clear and concise as the above (but foggily close), and the 650b factor was more of a function of being able to use a mountain bike frame as the base for this bike.  And the final choices for components and tires evolved, with trial and error, and what I had available at the time.  I had just built an older steel hardtail mountain bike (Balance), and took it on some rides, and out on the gravel.  But the fit and feel of it wasn’t quite right.  And I remember hitting some nasty washboard that made the bike and me shake so hard, the whole world went blurry.  This bike was close, closer to the goal, but not quite there.

The tires, unfortunately, were a little disappointing.  They provided a nice cushion of air, but other than that, didn’t do anything particularly well.

The frame was long, typical of these type of mountain bikes, but too long to be set up with drop bars to my satisfaction.  And the fork was very stiff, and unforgiving.

I needed a different frame.  And I found it.

A shorter top tube.  Disc brake.  Steel.  And higher at the head tube, because of the suspension corrected geometry.  And I had a fork for it.  And, as it turns out, this frame is lighter than the last one, too.  The Soma Groove.

And I’ll go into some detail, starting with the tires.  Pacenti Pari Moto tires, 650b x 38c.  Very little tread, just a fine herringbone.  Run at 40 to 45 psi, these grip all kinds of surfaces well, and still have very low rolling resistance (fast).  And a superb ride quality that you really have to experience, but as true as others have claimed.  And on dry gravel roads, I think more than adequate.  It was only on the softest sections these tires struggled, but I feel no less than other tires with more tread.

And some more highlights of the build

-The frame, nicely made and finished, with Tange Prestige steel

-Fork, Exotic carbon fiber, rigid suspension corrected

-Salsa Cowbell 3 handlebars

-Campagnolo Veloce Shifters, 10 speed, coupled with a Shimano 8 speed drive train (shimergo)

-Hayes CX 5 disc brakes, with Ashima rotors

-Hand Built wheels, cheap (but nice!) DiaTech hubs, Sun Inferno 27 rims, and Sapim spokes

-Carbon Fiber Bontrager seatpost

The Inspiration 100 would be the first real test for this bike.  And the course provided plenty of challenges for the bike, and it’s motor (me).  More than a few rolling hills, and plenty of soft gravel to suck the life out of you.  And washboard, sometimes washboard with soft gravel.  Now that was a treat!

Well somewhere around or before mile 70, we came upon Our Lady of the Hills.  I can only speak for myself, but it was just at about this time I found myself in need of inspiration, and possibly even divine intervention.

And near the feet of the Lady was found friendly well wishers with a cooler of ice and icy beverages.  Maybe not a miracle, but an icy Coca Cola quickly consumed felt like a godsend to me.  And upon leaving the Lady, and resuming the race, suddenly the roads descended, became smoother and more forgiving, and the winds became favorable, simultaneously.  Morale was boosted, and confidence returned, at least for a few miles.  And I felt grateful.

Tired travelers often stop and sit at the feet of Our Lady of the Hills

So the bike worked really well.  And I finished the race, and bettered my Gravel 100 mile time significantly, on an arguably tougher course (than the Dirty Benjamin), with an associated greater degree of suffering.

And the 650b gravel bike I will call a success.  Version v.4 Soma Groove.  I think I’ll keep it for a while.

’73 Raleigh International

My Raleigh International.  Chrome Nervex lugs, Reynolds 531, Campagnolo dropouts.  A classic!  I was trying to find a Schwinn Volare or a Superior in my size (and a non-exhorbitant price) without success when this popped up on Craigslist one night.  I called the phone number, and the seller agreed to have me come out right away (it was kind of late, there were deer running around his neighborhood!).  I took the bike home, and forgot all about the Volare.

Well, although the Nuovo Record components were quite nice, I wasn’t thrilled about the Weinmann center pull brakes, or the GB bars and stem (aesthetically speaking).  I decided to rebuild the bike.

I had a Shimano Golden Arrow (later renamed 105) group I had put away, and decided this was the bike I was saving it for (is that bad English?).  I was able to get the shift levers mounted on some Jagwire bar end pods, and use the full group.

I made the leather wraps for the handlebars.  They are stitched on with waxed thread.  (I never got around to finding some hoods, I guess)  You can see below the brake calipers have a nice long reach to allow 700c wheels to work in this frame.  And still fender clearance if so desired.

The saddle is a Fujita Belt and the seatpost Sugino, to continue the Japanese theme.  The wheelset, not original but came with the bike, are Ambrosio clincher rims and Dura Ace hubs.  I decided to go with ‘cross tires.  

I think the crankset is really nice looking.  The pedals are Shimano A530.  It has a really nice chain, too, and a Dura Ace freewheel.

There you have it.  I feel lucky to have this bike in my collection.  It’s a keeper.

Schwinn Circuit 1999

Schwinns are dear to me, in a way.  I have a certain connection to Schwinn.  Schwinn’s factory  was in Chicago, where my family is from, and where I was born.  The factory was actually not far from where my father lived as a boy.  And then, later as a young adult, I spent a couple of years in Chicago, after being away for many years.  And I could see the old Schwinn factory out the window of my apartment.  It was abandoned and empty by then.

My first road bike was a Schwinn Superior.  These were wonderful bikes.  They were Reynolds 531 frames equipped with Campagnolo Gran Sport Components.  It looked like this.  

I picked my bike up used, through a local classified paper (remember when there was no internet or craigslist?)  I got it for an amazing price too, considering in 1981 it retailed for $700 or more.  It was about 1989 when I acquired it. For some reason, the orange didn’t agree with me (now I like it!), and I decided to repaint the frame.  I don’t remember, but maybe I saw this somewhere (another Schwinn).

So, I proceeded to strip that beautiful pearl orange paint, and repainted the bike in the colors of Italy.  Well, I crashed that bike, ruined the fork, bent the frame, repaired it, but eventually lost it to a thief.

Fast forward to 2010.  I discovered the Schwinn Peloton, (and later the Circuit, same frame, different components).  The Peloton was an Ultegra equipped bike, the Circuit 105.  These were only made for a few years.  Previous Peloton and Circuit models were typical lugged steel frames.   This is the Peloton in Yellow.

The Peloton and Circuit shared  the same frame, Reynolds 853 main tubes, unspecified curved seat and chain stays, coupled with an aluminum fork.  The main difference was the component level, the Peloton having a higher level.  The Paramount of this year was offered in titanium, and steel.  The steel version of the Paramount shared some of design, but used lugs instead of Tig welding, and used Reynolds 725 steel for the stays.

This was my Peloton. 

I no longer have this bike.  I picked it up as a frame from Ebay.  The very nice Look carbon fork was included.  I already had a road bike, which I actually liked just fine.  But I was interested in the ride of the 853 steel.  I tore down my Motobecane and built up the Peloton.  This was the final form before it sold.  It was a wonderful bike to ride.  But I don’t miss it!  Because I replaced it with something better!

I found a Schwinn Circuit locally through Craigslist.  It was in almost unused condition.  It couldn’t have been ridden more than 25 miles.  It was different than the photo above, it had a 3×9 Shimano 105 drivetrain, CXP21 105 wheelset, and that dreadful aluminum fork.  Threaded headset.  It was a nice bike in its original form, don’t get me wrong, but I decided to rebuild it my way.

I took the bike completely apart and basically sold everything.  All the components were essentially new, so I didn’t have a lot of problems finding interest.  The proceeds of course were used to get the components I wanted.  And then, I came full circle, from the days of my Superior to now, the present.  I decided on Campagnolo.  A high quality steel frame made by Schwinn with  Campagnolo components.

The components are Campagnolo Veloce, and I couln’t be happier.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I found an affordable carbon fork and wheelset, and a mixture of different components to round it out.  This bike just rocks.  It is equal to my Peloton, but I really have come to appreciate Campagnolo.  Their stuff works great, and it rarely breaks.  It lasts a long time, too.  And they offer good warranties, and have lots of spare parts available when you need them.

I just added a Veloce crankset to this bike yesterday.  This bike is just so much fun to ride.  The frame is really exceptional, comfortable, stiff, light.  Handling is superb.  Pairing with a carbon fork really enhances the whole experience in my opinion.  My ’99 Schwinn Circuit.  A keeper.