It's another December here on the blog. You know what that means? Yep! Another round of my bikes I used in 2023. This round-up will not include some of the bikes I did not use this year much, or at all. I focus only on the bikes that played a big role in my riding during this year.
As always, any changes or future plans for any bike I feature will also be detailed. I hope that you enjoy this year's round-up.
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| The Black Mountain Cycles MCD from early in 2023 |
Since 2018 this has been one of my favorite bikes in my stable of many bicycles. The MCD (Monster Cross Disc), is the model that was the answer to the original Black Mountain Cycles Monster Cross bike "modernized' question. Modernized in terms of the brake standard, obviously, but also in terms on the geometry and frame design.
A lot of "gravel/adventure bike" influence affected what became the short-lived MCD model. This bike is now kind of a transitional model to what is now called the Mod Zero, which is also a model that absorbed what a Black Mountain Cycles Road Plus frame did. (biggie 650B tires) You can read all the nitty gritty on the evolution to the Mod Zero HERE.
All that to say that, well, here is another kind of rare frame/fork that I own. There aren't many of these around. And in my view, this is the bike that encompasses what a Salsa Cycles Vaya did for me without the stiffer tubing and this MCD has better tire clearances.
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| From a ride in October with Jason Boucher, (Who can be seen in back ground here) |
Anyway, I rode this a fair amount during 2023 and you'll continue to see this bike throughout 2024 as well. No big changes are coming to this bike either. Not as far as I can tell at this time. "IF" I could, I'd maybe upgrade the drive train to the latest GRX stuff, but the mish-mash of Shimano stuff on here now is working fine. (10 spd cyclo-cross crank, Ultegra 11 spd levers, Ultegra front derailleur, GRX rear derilleur, TRP Spyre brakes, 11 spd SRAM cassette)
I do miss having fork mounted bottle cages/Anything Cage mounts. The Mod Zero has those. But other than that, this bike really is a gem. And of course, it is pink! That makes it even better, despite all the side-eye looks I get out in the country!
8 comments:
Is that an old schoolhouse in the picture? And wow, that brick structure is pretty substantial! Was it just to hold the sign/ placard? Or it doubles as a bbq pit? ;-)
@Derek - That is the abandoned East Janesville Church. The brick structure was the base for their signage which I imagine was much like many late 20th Century signs for churches. The main structure was built in 1868. Someone was planning on refurbishing the place into an events center/wedding chapel back in 2017 but obviously the plans fell through.
My hope is that someone will restore the structure. It is believed to be the second oldest church in Black Hawk County.
Thanks for the info! Would be nice to see it kept up and adapted for other uses.
This bike is the reason I bought my Mod Zero frameset. It’s an absolute gem. Thanks Brother!!
@MG - Yeah Brother! I'm stoked for ya. Your Mod Zero is really nice and I am willing to bet that it will become one of your favorite bikes ever.
Oh yeah… I definitely think it's on that track. On my first ride, we hit some singletrack in Wilderness Park and the guys behind me were amazed how I was drifting the rear end through corners on the dry, kitty litter surface. It was fast and felt soooo good. At that point I knew it was a keeper.
Echoing MG’s comment here. Seeing the bubblegum princess in-person was also a motivating factor in my decision to build up a mod zero. Beautiful bike, incredible build. I think my favorite iteration of your Bubblegum Princess was with that purple spinergy wheelset. Wow that looked incredible!
@Tomcat: Thanks! Your Mod Zero looks great as well. Hopefully I'll get a closer look at it someday soon.
That purple spoked Spinergy wheel set is my alternate wheel set for this bike yet. You'll see that again in the future!
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