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Built up my old on one inbred (sliding drop outs 26inch) with parts I already had, mostly to keep me busy!
Thing is, the handlebars I found in the shed are old 600mm jobbies (and the right side seems to be bent). So this got me looking at bars. Then there’s the fact that at 120mm suspension it doesn’t do anything that my Sonder transmitter doesn’t do better.
I then discovered that the reach is the same as my road bike and the stack only 35mm shorter.
I’d quite like to turn it into a rough road/gravel bike, at minimal expense.
So WWSTWD? Geoff bars and 2 inch XC tyres, or single speed it and get some flared drop bars and maybe look towards a 650b or 700c wheels and cross tyres?
I’m leaning towards the single speed but it means spending a few hundred quid on an experiment that might turn out horribly! On the other hand, will sticking some Geoff bars on it give me a reason to pick it over the transmitter or the road bike.
Well, if you end up not doing anything with it, I'll have the frame!
I had my last Inbred SS, and liked it both rigid and suspended.
If it were me (and this is what I'm currently trying to gather the parts together for) I'd get a rigid fork, run it SS, flared drop bar, and possibly 69er with fast rolling 2.2 tyres. It will (or mine did) have the space for a 700c wheel at the rear, but don't think you'll get wider than a 35/40 tyre in there (if it's a 26er frame)
Looking at some wheel calculators it looks like I could go 650x2.0 or 700x35ish
Other option is of course normal bars and 26 wheels but not sure what this gives me over the transmitter!
Well I've just done the same with a frame that was hanging up in the barn - I had everything apart from cranks which I got from ebay and I also bought a Mary bar from On-One just for the hell of it.
So it's a 1x9, has rigid [pompetamine] forks (I have some Bombers but decided to try and keep the weight down) and is currently sitting on 26" rims with Hope hubs and Michelin Country Rock tyres. It's great fun and weighs about 10.5kg which isn't bad given the parts bin assembly.
I have splashed out though and bought some used 700c disc wheels and tyres from eBay just to see what it's like - should be faster and roll better on the road, which is where I think it will spend 90% of its time.
That looks awesome, how do you find the Mary bars? Please report back once the 700 wheels arrive, very interested!
Mary bars are cool frankly - I just fancied something a bit different and they do get good reviews from back in the day!
This really has given the frame a new lease of life. My wife uses 'Mary' for her rides as well so she's getting plenty of use and is now the go-to bike for popping to the shops, pub, friends, etc.
Looking forward to the new wheels although they're fitted with 28mm tyres at the moment which may not be ideal if a little fireroad is going to be involved.
Sharkbait..you’ve gone very nearly full Mary!
Memories...
https://www.bikeradar.com/reviews/bikes/mountain-bikes/haro-mary-review/
+1 for Mary bars. They make for a great all-day scoot. I had some on Cannondale F400, running Big Apple 2.35s. It was near perfect.
OO/PX now sell ‘Mike’ bars also. Looks like they have a straight bit so fitting lights that face forward isn't now impossible 😝
OP - another option could be flat bars and barends? Ergon GP2 or GP3
Ends can work really well on a rigid setup, especially SS when (IME) heaving out of saddle and the head-veins look like little writhing worms trying to escape from your temples 🤣
Times like those, it can make a big difference to recruited muscles when your hands have an option to be in the ‘handshake’ position rather than always palm-down
Pretty much what I did two months ago with the Lockdown Lava Dome. I've put 1250km on it since and really like the ride; decent on the road, surprisingly capable offroad. Prior to this I ran the frame with both Geoff bars and, for many years, Marys. I like both, but the drops are faster.
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