Retro-modern fusion gravel build madness. The new Superb!

[Guinessisgoodforyou]

Clearance for the wheel I believe.

 

[M_Chavez]

Sounds fishy.

 

[Guinessisgoodforyou]

Lots of tt and close clearance frames have it.

 

[grantoury]

On the topic of French frames, here's an interesting looking Frenchie.
What on Earth has happened to the seat tube?! Is it even safe to ride like this?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/29532319...B5b4rmeOXbKu3JqFg0c2m+6Q0=|tkp:Bk9SR67g0YOLYQ
Thankfully, I already have a columbus-tubed summer bike frameset to build up next year, so I can find inner strength to resist buying another French bike.

"The rear of the seat tube has a vertical indent to allow rear wheel to come forward to create shorter wheelbase."

Probably why the seattube looks this way

 

[M_Chavez]

Tapping stailess steel was not as hard as I feared. Some WD40 squirted onto the tap for a good measure and I've done 4 washers. Getting the tap to start straight was a challenge, but only one of the washers was completely messed up, one OK and the other 2 are quite good.
The cheapo Chinese 25x1 tap worked great.

The washers fit well onto the steerer, so I knocked the Tange jobbie out, installed a cane creek threadless (it was a whole 1 mm lower than the neco jobbie and, more importantly, it was silver instead of black!) with the neco split crown race (all fits well).
Just enough steerer sticking out to fit two home-made French nuts, so I've taped the top of the threads and filled the rest of the threaded steerer with epoxy. will put a steel shim over the epoxy and then pre-load the headset with one French nut + lock it all in place with the second nut.

 

[R-V]

As a certified Surly fanboy that religiously subscribe to Surlyism and alcoholism, a perfect equilibrium, I agree with you. The Surly frames are versatile, sturdy and my favourite thing about is the wide stays. My Cross Check can accommodate a 2.1, but as I'm a lard arse, I stick to 2.0's because larger might rub when I put some torque down. I love how easily a Surly can be transformed into something completely different, and it's got delicious affordable standards, no weird threads, no weird sized holes, no madness.

That said they're overpriced. The only selling point they really have is the versatility and the fact that they've got a reputation as being "bombproof", which let's face it.. Any overbuilt 4130 frame is bombproof.. Now I have experienced difference in ride quality from year to year in Surly frames, and I think they're quite compliant and flexy in the right ways - which suggests that despite the tubeset being bog standard, they know how to engineer a frame, and they don't go overboard with crazy geometries, making them super capable for just about anything. They're classic steel providers to a world that's gone nuts. And they love to talk about alcohol, which is a selling point.

And on to your point, about cheap second hand Surly frames - in Europe they're usually incredibly overpriced because they're seen as kind of exotic. I myself have spent a fortune on my 3 Surly's, and I wouldn't trade them for the world (I wouldn't be able to live it down either, the fecking audacity of a certified Surly fanboy to ditch his fix). But they're not a great budget option here. A 90's steel trekking/touring bike thingymabob would be a better candidate. Probably as solid as Surly But they won't look as cool as me carrying my Surly up a hill when my legs give in.

Great thread, how could i missed it? Late to the party, but better late than never.

I was facing the same questions, as a gravel rider, that 42 is just not wide enough. Was riding an On One ti cyclocross/gravel frame for years, before my retro madness broke out, and many times i just said to myself, it's the perfect bike, only if it would have a little more tire clearance to have 2.0 tires fitted. Gravel handlebars i always disliked, as i wanted an allrounder, from the city to the trails so my choice was a narrow flat bar. I just reinvented the trekking bike, in a rather expensive way.

As a retro fan i started to look after budget solutions to have a bike with more tire clearance and a "28 wheel size, and some decent cromo tubeset. Now i'm a great fan of retro trekkings, but not all of these frames have enough tire clearance. I found a very simple Wheeler for myself, now it has 47 tires, but could take 50 i guess. Very nice in gravel mode, really good frame, although not the lightest, but good quality, for little money. I don't like mudguards.

Also have a Merida, with very good geometry, it has now 40 mm tires, nice light double butted cromo frame, and a good wheelset, really enjoyable offroad.

Surlys really have everything i need, but i'm looking for something rather inexpensive.
Trekking frames are my choice, mtbish geo and tubeset, "28 wheels, 2.0 tires, flat handlebars, and mtb gearing, thats what i need.

The concept of using an old roadbike frame also came to my mind, as some of them offer nice wide tire clearence.
This build here is something very good to see, and the result is really beutyful.
Makes me curious how it rides...

 

[M_Chavez]

Thank you very much.

Most certainly, a lot more pain than would be tolerable by a regular retromasochist, but I'm having fun.
Assuming the new headset fix works, I should be able to test ride soon.

The wee test I had without the brakes was quite pleasant - the position on the bike feels almost the same as my road bikes, but a bit more upright. The saddle wasn't kicked all the way back in its rails, so the ETT felt a bit short. I'm only running an effective 70-80mm stem, so can always move the front if the back is at its limit. The frame has a lot of flex in it, and the tyres are quite low pressure, so should be a very smooth ride.
The brand new leather saddle was hard as steel, but should soften up and mould to my behind in about 50 miles or so if previous experience is to go by.
My only concern is whether the bike will stand up to the longer-term abuse. I tend to ride my road bikes as if they were cx bikes, and the gravel will probably be ridden closer to an MTB if I don't hold myself back.

 

[M_Chavez]

Haedset sorted. Had another wee test ride sans brakes today.
The gift, however, keeps giving.

I've fed the rear gear cable through the outers just to find out that the cable was about 3cm too short. Strange. Tried a few more - same problem.
Ended up wasting over half an hour trying to find a cable that's long enough. The only one I found looked like it's been kicking about the parts bin for years, and felt rough and low quality, but I stopped caring by that time.

The stepped ferrules went into the braze-ons quite well, but the braze-on holes were too small and had to be reamed. I've put a small scratch on the downtube paintwork while doing it. Bugger!

Last but not least, the rh shifter jammed when I was dialling in the rear mech. The campy shifters were bought used very cheap off ebay (lucky ebay bid) and seemed to click well when I tested them on arrival. Once installed on the bike, the thumb lever jammed after a few up & down cycles. Investigation revealed that the ratchet mechanism is a bit loose inside the STI. Had to take it off and tighten the ratchet bolt.
I think this has cured the problem, but today's bike wrenching time has been pretty much wasted.

 

[Woz]

Sounds close to completion

 

[dirttorpedo]

Great thread, how could i missed it? Late to the party, but better late than never.

I was facing the same questions, as a gravel rider, that 42 is just not wide enough. Was riding an On One ti cyclocross/gravel frame for years, before my retro madness broke out, and many times i just said to myself, it's the perfect bike, only if it would have a little more tire clearance to have 2.0 tires fitted. Gravel handlebars i always disliked, as i wanted an allrounder, from the city to the trails so my choice was a narrow flat bar. I just reinvented the trekking bike, in a rather expensive way.

As a retro fan i started to look after budget solutions to have a bike with more tire clearance and a "28 wheel size, and some decent cromo tubeset. Now i'm a great fan of retro trekkings, but not all of these frames have enough tire clearance. I found a very simple Wheeler for myself, now it has 47 tires, but could take 50 i guess. Very nice in gravel mode, really good frame, although not the lightest, but good quality, for little money. I don't like mudguards.

Also have a Merida, with very good geometry, it has now 40 mm tires, nice light double butted cromo frame, and a good wheelset, really enjoyable offroad.

Surlys really have everything i need, but i'm looking for something rather inexpensive.
Trekking frames are my choice, mtbish geo and tubeset, "28 wheels, 2.0 tires, flat handlebars, and mtb gearing, thats what i need.

The concept of using an old roadbike frame also came to my mind, as some of them offer nice wide tire clearence.
This build here is something very good to see, and the result is really beutyful.
Makes me curious how it rides...

What is a "trekking bike"?