Elisha was originally looking for a rigid off road bike with a 3”+ tire but that was beyond the scope of what I do. We compromised on clearances for 60mm tires (2.35”) with an option to run 47mm tires with fenders. She had an Ultegra 11-speed drivetrain from another bike so we incorporated it into this build.
The small 38cm frame was fillet brazed from a combination of Reynolds and True Temper tubing. The fork is the Pacenti MTB crown with disc friendly blades. No thru axles or flat mount discs on this one. It has IS disc brake mounts because they’re easy to adjust and fit into the style of steel bike that I build. I like these Paragon low mount disc rear dropouts a lot and the Wilits style mount on the fork evenly distributes the brake forces along the blade. I don’t do loads of bikes with disc brakes but these Yokozuna Motoko cable actuated hydraulic calipers are light and smooth.
For the wheels, she went all USA made with Onyx Racing Products hubs with their silent instant engagement freehub, Wheelsmith spokes, and Velocity Blunt rims. The silent clutch is so nice! I had never used one before. Being able to cruise on a trail and hear the sounds of nature around you really counts for something!
The Cowchipper dirt drop bars made sense with the Ultegra shifters and bike style in general. The Ultegra front derailleur wasn’t super compatible with the 42-28 chainrings on the IRD Lobo compact crankset so we ended up switching it out to a 105 that works beautifully. Ideally, the rear cassette would be a 32t big cog but that will be pushing the limits of that rear derailleur. For now, this 1:1 ratio will have to do for a low gear.
Elisha did all the legwork on the color actually taking the time to go to the paint store and digging through chips to find the perfect blue that she was envisioning. This dark metallic blue was difficult to capture but in the sun it really comes to life!
Elisha’s 650b+ all road bike
January 27, 2019
Elisha was originally looking for a rigid off road bike with a 3”+ tire but that was beyond the scope of what I do. We compromised on clearances for 60mm tires (2.35”) with an option to run 47mm tires with fenders. She had an Ultegra 11-speed drivetrain from another bike so we incorporated it into this build.
The small 38cm frame was fillet brazed from a combination of Reynolds and True Temper tubing. The fork is the Pacenti MTB crown with disc friendly blades. No thru axles or flat mount discs on this one. It has IS disc brake mounts because they’re easy to adjust and fit into the style of steel bike that I build. I like these Paragon low mount disc rear dropouts a lot and the Wilits style mount on the fork evenly distributes the brake forces along the blade. I don’t do loads of bikes with disc brakes but these Yokozuna Motoko cable actuated hydraulic calipers are light and smooth.
For the wheels, she went all USA made with Onyx Racing Products hubs with their silent instant engagement freehub, Wheelsmith spokes, and Velocity Blunt rims. The silent clutch is so nice! I had never used one before. Being able to cruise on a trail and hear the sounds of nature around you really counts for something!
The Cowchipper dirt drop bars made sense with the Ultegra shifters and bike style in general. The Ultegra front derailleur wasn’t super compatible with the 42-28 chainrings on the IRD Lobo compact crankset so we ended up switching it out to a 105 that works beautifully. Ideally, the rear cassette would be a 32t big cog but that will be pushing the limits of that rear derailleur. For now, this 1:1 ratio will have to do for a low gear.
Elisha did all the legwork on the color actually taking the time to go to the paint store and digging through chips to find the perfect blue that she was envisioning. This dark metallic blue was difficult to capture but in the sun it really comes to life!