Singular Cycles Mk3 Build: Update 3

The Project Wide Gravel Wheels v2 in 2021

Now with a few hurdles cleared there would be another question concerning clearance; That concern being the tires I chose for this build. The Teravail Coronado 29" X 2.8" tires on the Project Wide Gravel Wheels v2 might prove to be an issue. Not because the frame and fork were not designed for a tire that big. It was. In fact, it is supposed to fit 29" X 3.0" tires. I didn't think I'd need anything approaching that big of a tire. 

But my concern was that I was setting the bike up with a front derailleur. Singular lists this frame as having a maximum chain ring clearance of 42t. They don't specifically say that you cannot run a triple or a double crank set, but the implication is that this is a 1X bike. 

That matters where front derailleurs are concerned because of the inner cage plate to tire interference issue could be a problem with trying to run a triple ring crank set. I had no idea whether or not this would work because Singular hadn't given the thought to the possibility of doing this, I assume. I mean, who runs a triple crank set anymore and where would you get a new one? Great thinking there, no doubt, but they perhaps had not considered an odd-duck like myself trying weirdo set ups like this! 

The 29" X 2.8" Coronados on the Project Wide Gravel Wheels v2

 The tires set up on the Spank rims of the PWGWv2 really easily. Maybe one of the easiest tubeless set ups I've done. I aired up the tires, setting the beads at 20psi, with a floor pump with the valve cores installed. I mean, this was as easy as a tubed set up, maybe even better because I didn't have to worry about a bead getting stuck on a tube and not sliding up into its seat on the rim fully. I had to mention this because many have avoided tubeless set ups because of a feared difficulty in setting the tires up. Well, with MTB tires, I think those days are (mostly) gone now. 

Now about that clearance!

All clear here! This is the derailleur setting at its most inward position.

There is tons of clearance around the 2.8" Coronados at both the seat stays and chain stays.

Whew! Another hurdle crossed and another sign pointing toward this whole set up working out! I was set for a disappointment, to be honest, so getting away with things to this point seemed like a victory. But I still had to fit a chain to this, and I had to get the HG freehub body for the DT Swiss 350 hubs. 

The order for the freehub body hadn't arrived yet, so I went ahead with a few things that I could get done. I put rotors on the hubs and tried setting up the brakes. I ran into an issue on the rear caliper but then I realized I didn't need any adapter at all for the 160mm rotor size. Once I realized that it was done and dusted.

However, when I went to install the front wheel to do the front brake, I ran into an issue. The wheel wouldn't attach because I could not get the through axle to pass through the wheel for some reason. What the heck!

Things were not quite what I was lead to believe they would be here.

Upon further inspection and cursing (!!) I found out that the through axle was actually a 15mm diameter one! What?!! I could have sworn the specs on the Singular site for the Mk3 Gryphon said 12mm through axle. Bah! Well, the good news was that I actually had a 15mm end cap set for these hubs in a drawer. But I was a bit flustered that I had to bother with it at all at this point. 

But, eventually I got the wheel mounted and the brake set up. I then checked to see if I was mad or if Singular had the wrong specification on their Gryphon Mk3 page. Turns out the site says "12mm through axle" for the fork. So, I am sane after all! Whew!

This wheat colored Brooks saddle is going to be the perch for the new Singular.

I used the "Boucher route" to keep the cabling off the head tube.

So, I detailed out a few things and fitted a star nut into the slightly trimmed off steer tube. I configured my stem in the "downward" mode, torqued all the stem bolts and checked my saddle height which needed to be adjusted. Capped off the cable ends and wrapped the handle bars with a fresh roll of 'fizik' bar tape. 

All that's left is to get this freehub body swap done, mount the 9 speed cassette, thread the chain on and cut it to length, tune everything up, and double check the build. In my next post I hope to have a first impression ride report for y'all. 

Thanks for joining me on this build so far.