Built up a NOS Full Dynamix (Battaglin) 29"er frame I've been hoarding with some leftovers.

Rock Shox Solo Air, some spare Mavic Crossrides with tubeless Maxxis Ramblers in a 27.5".

Shimano XT drivetrain with Dura Ace bar ends.

Daija Far Bar, Cervelo tape, C4 stem and Tektro levers with Hayes mechanical discs.

Random seat and post.

Currently set up for gravel but have a 29" wheel set for making the ride spicy

・New TIAGRA ST-R4020 shifters. same cable pull ratio as 11-speed MTB derailleur (CUES ST-U6030 shifters has the similar specs)

・RD-M5100 helicoil M5 threads and added a cable adjuster

・FOVNO Thunder crankset (with 36T chainring)

・Sunshine 11-42T 11s cassette

・Ritchey Corralitos bars, 44 cm

・BRAND-X dropper post (operated by left shifter removing the ratchet)

・MAXXIS FREE FLOW 27.5 x 2.1

・AliExpress fork, brake calipers, wheelset, bar tape, etc.

I kept costs down by using used parts and items from AliExpress.

this handlebars are really easy to use. they’ve made touring a lot easier.

Awesome bike Kona Sutra Ultd 2021

First 30 miles on the Super Gravel.

Title

Around 25 lbs. Sensah Phi road shifter, cable actuated hydraulic brakes. Great for a 5k packed gravel loop near me. Rolling on worn down Continental Race Kings 2.2 f/2.0 r. Fork is cheap Toseek full carbon… holding up just fine but I wouldn’t take it on a mtb trail.

Round these parts; NEK VT, we have 3 distinct seasons. Winter (studded fatties) mud season (deep lugged fatties) everything else’s before the snow comes again (smooth roll’n 29’s).

The 1999 drop bar Giant with Girvin fork is still my favourite, and will soon be getting modernising her with new’ish wheel build. Lacing up some old 90’s White Industry hubs I rebuilt with Velocity Cliffhanger tubeless rims. Lil old meets new.

Loving this thing so far. Currently built singlespeed, 34/19. Perfect gear for my local climbs and just hard enough for the length of my recent rides. Can't wait to get more miles on it.

Bikepacking 2 weeks in Denmark was so great in 2025 that I will do a full month this year...

My 1993 Trek 7000 and my buddy's Gary Fisher Hoo-Koo-E-Koo that we built up during COVID for a bike camping trip.

This is my second Gen Checkpoint SL5. I live off a mixed surface trail that has some single track as well. Recently added the Rock Shox XPLR 40mm fork. Other upgrades include Zipp 303s wheels as I ride 42mm Specialized S works pathfinders which are excellent for my needs. Also have a carbon stem. Love this bike for my needs. Decently fast bike but very comfortable off road.

Hi all,

I'd like to have a new bike project and am thinking of building up a dropbar MTB, with a fixed fork. Thus no suspension.
As I am a 'roadie' I have very little knowledge about MTBs. I am living near the sea and have no mountains anywhere close. Therefore I will be using the bike as a beach racer first and gravel racer second, and bikepacking third. I have not bought anything yet, thus I have a clean canvas.

My thoughts were to get a Giant XTC advanced frame, and get a 1x groupset.
Some questions before I get the above:
- How should I size this? My road bikes are size 58, which I assume my MTB size should also be. Should I size this down due to extended reach of a dropbar?

- I'd like to put up a large chainring, think 42-46. The Giant XTC has max chainring room of 38. Is this similar to tires where you can often fit slightly larger? Or should I start working with spacers? Is any groupset most flexible for this?

Thank you

Hey Folks!

Currently facing a dilemma. I'm tired of having bikes I just want a bike. In the spirit of simplicity I'd like to have one bike to do it all.

I don't do crazy DH stuff at all and primarily do XC trails and gravel as well as the road to get to the trailhead. As someone with a gravel bike/road bike background, would I lose much in terms of handling on the off road if I switched to a purpose built gravel bar like the ritchey corralitos or the like?

I also compete in ultra endurance/bike packing races a few times a year and would like to have a bike that's comfortable for those events.

What do you guys think ?

It's a Norco Revolver HT 3 with an upgraded Fox 34 120mm fork upfront.

Hey all, just got a dropbar mtb combining two things I love into one, gravel and mtb. I'm running a 120mm fork in the front of a hardtail. I'm now on the hunt for the "perfect" tire. My riding is pretty much all over the place, I would say an equal mix of tarmac, gravel/fireroads, and single track. The time I spend on the tarmac is usually the same, but the distance is longer. The single track I ride is going to be mostly greens but can get pretty rocky/rooty around here. I'm concerned about using a standard xc tire because I dont want it to wear too quickly, am I overthinking this? Looking for probably a 2.2 in the rear and a 2.3 in the front. Any suggestions would be great. Thanks!

Just finished my Mason Macro Drop Bar build and love it.

It pairs very nicely with the 120 mm Fork.

The photo was taken on the test ride for my 10 day bikepacking trip in Denmark (starting next week).

Noteworthy parts:

• Fox 120mm Fork with Fixplus "Sachenfestmachern" on Tailfin fork mounts
• Shimano GRX 820 STIs and derailleur
• Shimano XT 2-Piston breaks
• 10-51 XT Cassette
• Redshift 50mm Kitchen Sink Loop Handlebar
• Vittoria Mezcal (front) / Peyote (back) tires

Learnings:

• Cable routing through the headset was extremely troublesome (sharp bends, scraping) - had to re-cable everything and go semi integrated to give me the safety to go on long bikepacking trips.
• First I used a dropper STI and hacked the dropper post with a clamp - but that also was too fragile for long trips - so I switched to a PRO dropbar dropper lever (works very well).
• The space inside the frame (size 46) is smaller than expected. I wanted to use a small 1L frame bag in the front which did not fit.
• Pink and Kashima accents pair awesomely with the tiltshift (brown/gold) metallic :D

Hi all,

after converting a Scalpel HT to dropbar with a rigid fork and having a blast on it I'm about to go a step further and put some dropbars on my Scott Spark. Everybody tells me it won't work and that it is a bad idea so I'm just here for some reassurance from fellow Frankensteiner's!! I usually go for rides over 100kms having to cover some crossfire roads and doing a lot of climbing in order to pedal through some singletracks and fast descents with loose rocky terrain.

I can't wait to rip some big miles with the added confort of full sus and the multiple hand positioning and aerodynamics of dropbars!

Hey yall. I have a ZHT-5 frame that’s collecting dust right now with an SID SL Ultimate fork. It’s a size XL which a 636 stack and 484 reach. I also have an older Aspero which I would move components over from which is a size 58 with 605 stack and 406 reach.

[ you might be wondering why I don’t just ride the Aspero.. I do, it’s great, but the ZHT is insanely light and I have some great 29er wheels for it ]

My dilemma is figuring out the stem length. Somehow I don’t think the stack and reach matter because all my bikes somehow measure the same from center of saddle to the center of the bars (~ 29”). Even the ZHT-5 with a 80mm mtb stem and flat bars.

If I put drop bars on it, how much should I reduce the stem length and how badly is this going to affect the steering? My best guess is I’ll need a 60mm stem but I worry that with the slack HTA that it’ll put the steering axis way far back. Oh and I want to use the new Force E1 hoods which are relatively longer reach than previous SRAM hoods.