Before I get into what things are on my to-do list, I wanted to give my impressions of what I have here so far. These will include how the machine works and also how it handles. Then I wanted to get into what I do not care for about the bike, and finally I will get to what needs to be done yet.
Impressions:
My first impression was the bike has poor cable routing and the cable management around the Utility Bar and Rack is, by the nature of the design, flawed. Singular didn't really get the cable stops right on this bike, and so I had to kind of make do where I did run cables. As an example, the front derailleur cable route is along the down tube. Not good when my derailleurs are almost all top-pull for 2X set ups. But then again, who runs front derailleurs anymore........
Next, coming out of the stand, I was amazed at how light this build is. Now.....I'm not saying it is really light, but for what it is, you might be surprised by the weight. I did not put it on a scale, so I have no number to share, but I thought it felt light in the hand, and this with the steel bar, rack, and butyl rubber tubes.
The ride was an eye-opener. I had forgotten how short the wheel base is and I'd never run the Buzzard with a "short" fork before. So it feels nimble and not at all sluggish. Even the wheels felt great despite the rubber tubes and old tires.
The shifters and derailleurs work flawlessly. Ironically I am using an 11 speed cassette with a ten speed chain but there seems to be no negative results. The low gear on the cassette is a 36T and the inner ring is a 28T, so unless I go mountain hunting I don't think I'll be changing the gearing.
The brakes were great. I still need to equalize the rotor sizes and replace the front Shimano rotor with a SRAM 160mm rotor.
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| Cables and front racks off the handle bar. Not compatible! |
Well, there is not a lot I don't like, but for starters this bike was never meant to be a bike packing rig so there is only one set of bosses on it for a water bottle. This is why I went with the Utility Rack and Handlebar. These items give me a lot more mounting points for accessories. I'll end up having five water bottle mounts, which includes the two fork mounted bottles. Water won't be an issue.
Then there is the aforementioned cable routing.
I'm not a fan of not having a single speed bail-out option for a bike like this. Singular decided against providing this option on the Buzzard, which is rare for the brand. At the time it made sense. Who would want a single speed option on a trail oriented hard tail? Well, besides myself and Rich Dillen.
Things To Do Yet:
This leads me to what I need to do yet. First off, I'll tackle the single speed option with the Velo Orange eccentric bottom bracket. Then I'll need a "real" head set instead of the cobbled together one I dug up out of my parts bin, which is actually two uppers since the steer tube is 1 1/8th straight tube. Along with this I'll cut down the steer tube and put in a new star nut.
I'm thinking about swapping tires to my Surly Extraterrestrials. Then I'll also go tubeless when I do this. Otherwise I'll end up getting a couple new 29"er tires with some decent grip for off road trails and low enough knobs for gravel.The brake rotor thing I already mentioned. Then I'll be able to swap wheels. I think I have a single speed freewheel to spare also.
In the meantime I think I will do a fully loaded test to see how the bike does ready to go for a bike packing trip. Stay tuned....
Okay, after all this self recovery talk on the bike, you could activate your iPhone sat phone option and call for a ride instead ;) But I do appreciate the passion of re-purposing something to do something else and making it work.
ReplyDeleteBuilt bikes are generally more fun to me than bought bikes. Same with motorcycles and cars. Good luck! Looking forward to hearing about your first overnighter. The ability to swap front and rear wheels appeals to me. I like the "bring'em home alive" mentality.
ReplyDeleteNice work, Brother. That looks sweet.
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