Gideon's bike life - Genesis, Graham Weigh, Cinelli, Land Shark & Ritchey

I've considered asking my LBS about that in the past, certainly something I'll check first before getting a new frame.

In the meantime, setup some 40mm WTB Nanos I got cheap from Wiggle on. Wider, 700 & tubeless, so perhaps get similar effect.

Also swapped to a 110mm stem instead of 120mm. I put the Thomson layback post for bikepacking Türkiye as the mechanism was less likely to slip with the saddlebag, but never adjusted the reach at the front. Feels a bit better, more responsive in the technical bits anyway.

1 Attachment

Wide black walls really suit the build. Could do with some bdhu though.

Cheers, funnily enough it actually looks more like the Swiss Cross builds Ritchey has on its site now, though >35mm tyres aren't CX-compliant IIRC!

Yep, you're right on the bars. Swapped the stem & photo from a shakedown ride to spin the sealant around, so to be adjusted.

Yeah. 33mm is still UCI max.
Maybe that's why Pidcock and MvdP have started racing XC :D

Bought some more pretty cranks on eBay which I don't need & came with massive chainrings I'll never use (though I am curious about trying these oval ones). Got quite the collection of part-worn 53T rings now!

These will probably go on the Ritchey as I was never in love with the Rival cranks & I have a suitable size 130BCD NW chainring lying around. Can swap the spider easily with the Rotor 3Ds I have on the Genesis though, so may see if the aesthetics work nicely on there too. Just waiting on a BB in the post.

1 Attachment

You must have bought the only pair of Agilis that @t0-ster hasn't snapped up.
Maybe since falling in love with Middleburns he's been letting them slide

Ha, always had my eye out for a set of these. Just enjoy Rotor cranks in general. Was discussing in a pub the other day with friends that I like them as they only do one thing & do it well, & it was pointed it out that they did do a full GS, which I will gloss over.

Haha a hydraulic shifting groupset no less. I bet it's sick.
They also did stems and seatposts at some point and I've got a rotor out front computer mount

Always seemed wild to me that they actually released it, I understand it as a proof of concept but did they really think the market would take to it? Kudos for pushing the envelope anyway. Didn't know about the stems/seatposts, looks basically like the same machining so figures.

New cranks working out well on a 75 mile gravelly route down to Sheffield today. Trail conditions are excellent at the mo, dry enough to be fast rolling but damp enough to be soft rolling.

The Rotors are slightly longer, so could drop the seatpost a bit which has been more comfortable. All in all, with the few small adjustments to this bike I've made recently (wider, tubeless tyres; shorter stem; better bar angle; longer cranks) it's feeling a lot better. Praise be for tinkering.

1 Attachment

Glorious!

Some small updates, please excuse the very lazy photo. Bought a power meter I didn't need for the road bike (curiosity got the better of me, now have a greater appreciation for the numbers the pros put out) & a nicer, silver seatpost clamp. Dropped the stem a few spacers to which doesn't feel uncomfortable. Generally feeling pretty fast on the bike at the moment, which is nice.

Also realised that I had some leave to use so booked a ferry over to Rotterdam from Hull for a week at the end of March for a week with my partner to explore the flatlands, ride some cobbles & drink some lambic beers maybe. Plan is very much to be decided & lowkey (not even sure what bike I'll take), plus might have to be quite dynamic due to weather, we shall see.

1 Attachment

That looks very nice indeed!

Would be keen to hear about your trip as I’d quite like to do something similar myself.

Cheers, it rolls excellently at the moment.

This is the route outline we currently have, thinking it'll be nice to see the Roubaix velodrome & catch the Dwars door Vlaanderen. Camping probably isn't an option this time of year, so likely cheap hotels all the way round, hence aiming for towns/cities.

Weighing up options on what bike to take to the flatlands next the week after next. I'm massively overthinking it & pretty much any of them would be a good option (trackpacking probably not though). Current ideas:

• Croix de Fer - flat bar & racks with rando/panniers.
  
• Ritchey with fork from the CdF - drop bar & front rack with rando/saddlebag.
  
• Graham Weigh - wide bars & bar/saddle bags.
  
• Land Shark - front rack with rando & small saddle bag.
  
  

The only option I'm not considering is the Volare as we might have to lock up outside overnight & it's a bit too bling. Currently leaning towards the Land Shark but a little concerned that the rando bag with Campag shifters might be annoying & it'll be very front heavy with 140mm stem. Will do a small reckie ride tomorrow.

1 Attachment

Nice trip plans, hopefully the weather is good too. I didn't cycle in that flanders area but wouldn't you visit some of the small villages like oudenaarde/geraardsbergen with some of the famous 'hills'?

Cheers, forecast next week isn't fab, hoping for better the week after!

I've got a few secteurs planned in Flanders to my partners distress, think we'll probably bump into stuff coming into Lille/Roubaix too which I have plausible deniablility around, aha. I did a few around Oudenaarde last year, so trying to avoid hitting the same ones.