Dynamo powered Di2 light touring bike, v2.0

March 9, 2017

In early 2011 I built myself a bike to ride in a technical trial of sorts called the Oregon Manifest. The purpose was to build a bike that would be ridden over a mixed surface course and it would score points based on whether or not it fulfilled a list of set criteria. It was a fun time and the bike I built has been my primary commuter for the past 6 years but it was time for me to upgrade. There were some things that I was forced to do (integrated lock, kickstand, etc.) that I would never have done on a bike just for myself so I made some design changes and got to work on a new bike in my spare time last year (and there wasn’t much of that with a new baby in my life).

There was one feature which I loved about the old bike and that was the Di2 shifting that was powered off of the dynamo. 6 years of no charging with running lights and silky smooth shifting was too much to give up. So this bike uses some of the components off of that bike but is updated in other ways. I went with a 650B wheel as I’m liking the larger 42mm tires these days. Also, I wanted to incorporate low rider racks into the design in case I wanted to use it for some light touring.

I’ve been on a component manufacturing kick over the past few years so I made the cantilever brakes and stem. The goal was not to replicate my old bike but to build a lightweight bike that could be my weekend rider, light tourer, and randonneur. The result is this Gray Rose Metallic (aka purple) bike that weighs in at 23.5lbs with racks, lights, and fenders. I’ve been riding it through the winter when the weather allows and I’m excited to do many more miles when spring finally arrives in a couple weeks!