Finally finished Ro...
 

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[Closed] Finally finished Roadrat conversion

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As mentioned in THIS post, I have procrastinated and faffed for ages about turning my Mk1 Roadrat into a geared, offroad-capable do-everything bike.

And here it is!

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This is just after riding the St Martha's Hill Downslink descent, which was bumpy to say the least.

Frame, forks, saddle, seatpost, cranks are all original. The wheels are some spare 27.5" Mavic 23mm rims on Hope Pro2 hubs. Tyres are Panaracer Gravelking X, set up tubeless. 35psi per end. Any lower than that and they can get a bit burpy.
Gears and brakes are SLX. The bars are Spank Vibrocore 760mm with Ergon grips. They look a little weird, but are comfy enough. Pedals are Time Link (clips on one side, composite platform on the other for going to the pub). Almost everything came out of the spares bin.

I had considered putting a bigger rotor on, but on reflection I don't think I want to make it any easier to lock up. When I do lock up in the greasy chalk, it tends to hit the deck fast.
I may, however, change the 38-tooth chainring for something smaller; The North Downs are quite steep on one side.

Overall, it feels like a more refined version of the mountain biking I was doing in the early 00s. It demands my focus on anything slightly techy, but is rewarding for it. Great fun, and a good solution for getting some miles in when the conditions are rough. I recommend.

 
Posted : 03/02/2020 9:32 am
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Looks fun but are your forks on the correct way around?

 
Posted : 03/02/2020 9:38 am
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Looks fun but are your forks on the correct way around?

Thats one way of coping for a short brake hose!

 
Posted : 03/02/2020 9:40 am
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Gnarpoon!!

 
Posted : 03/02/2020 9:45 am
 PJay
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Looks fun but are your forks on the correct way around?

Yes.

 
Posted : 03/02/2020 9:52 am
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Looks fun but are your forks on the correct way around?

Wasn't it something to do with reducing the theoretical risk of ejecting the front wheel under braking?

 
Posted : 03/02/2020 9:57 am
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Wasn’t it something to do with reducing the theoretical risk of ejecting the front wheel under braking?

That and making sure you could always fit mudguard/panniers AND disk brakes at the same time.

 
Posted : 03/02/2020 9:58 am
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Well you learn something new everyday - I will stop assuming that disc's on the right are the work of Halfords!

 
Posted : 03/02/2020 10:01 am
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Looks fun.

Learn yourself about the fork here:
https://www.cotic.co.uk/geek/page/archive

 
Posted : 03/02/2020 10:56 am

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