Gravel Bike

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First trip didn't go to plan but lessons learnt - Cycling Europe

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Project Rebuild – the beginning

My bike is a 2016 Genesis CdA 20. It started life as a gravel bike, but I’ve made extensive modifications, to turn it into a touring bike. I don’t treat the bike with kid gloves, and I ride on all sorts or terrain, some of it quite rough. As a result, my bike’s taken a beating over the years, in addition to several crashes. ## Why not simply N+1? As I’m sure you know, there’s this popular formula to calculate the “correct” number of bicycles to own, expressed as N+1. The value of N is (obviously) the number of bikes you already own. Effectively, N+1 is simply an excuse to buy a new bicycle. And why not? Everyone loves a new bicycle, right? Only, I have an issue with N+1. Well, several issues, actually. That begins with the fact that I really like my bike. It’s, by an enormous margin, the nicest bike I ever rode. Alongside that is the fact that climate change is real, and accelerating. Climate change is to a huge degree driven by rampant overconsumption. Fun fact, the top 10% of earners are responsible for almost half of all CO emitted in 2021. Now, before you start getting too gleeful, if you earn £40 000 or more per year, then _you_ are in that top 10%. To combat climate change, we all have to consume less. N+1 is a great strategy if you’re in bicycle sales. From any other perspective, it’s simply rampant consumerism. That is the single biggest reason why I opted to rebuild my bicycle, instead of replace it. ## The mechanical problems Around 6 months ago, I asked a guy who lives in the same village as me to replace the bottom bracket on my bike. He asked if he should replace the brake pads, and cables at the same time, to which I agreed. See also Cycling sustainability And then he butchered my bike. The bike was much in need of some TLC. However, he broke an Avid BB7 disk brake (and those are near-enough bullet-proof!) then replaced it with an awful and cheap Clarks unit. He fitted the cheapest and nastiest cables. He shortened the chain too, for some obscure reason. When I took the bike for a test ride, and shifted onto the big ring (big-big combo), the chain wasn’t long enough. It sheared off the rear derailleur, snapped, and bent the front derailleur. In the end, I had to buy and fit a new BB7 brake calliper, replace all the cables again, replace the chain and cassette, and fit two new derailleurs. That man man shouldn’t be permitted to touch a paper clip, let alone a bicycle. ## The BB problem My bike has a Sora crankset, which uses a bog-standard hollotech bottom bracket (BB). When I got it back from him, the crank shaft could slide left-to-right through the BB. That was because he didn’t fit the left crank properly! But worst was yet to be revealed: the bottom-bracket started making noise, after only six months. They should last MUCH longer. Because I since bought the BB tool, when I unscrewed the BB cups, I could see why: he mis-threaded it when he fitted it. As a result, the threads in the frame were badly damaged, and one BB cup was screwed in at a slight angle. Clearly, my poor bike needed some careful surgery, so I booked it in at The Bike Cellar, in Plymouth. They assured me they’ll try their best with the threads. In a worst-case scenario, they’d fit a frame-saving BB, although that would mean changing to a square-taper BB. See also An act of rebellion ## The plan My overall plan is simple, and remains simple, even with the BB complication thrown in. It looks like this: 1. Strip the bike right down to frameset only 2) Clean it up, then sand it down 3) Respray it 4) Have the BB fixed 5) Rebuild it 6) Enjoy an almost new bike I started with Step 1, and stripped the bike down. I modded my bike to be a touring bike, and it’s been years since I last saw it without mudguards and a rack. Once I fully stripped it down, the messy work started: sanding the frame down. I carefully removed the alloy Genesis head-tube badge, as I _may_ re-use it. My real plan is to replace it with a bespoke head-tube badge that is the old CTC flying wheel logo. I avoided sanding down to bare metal in most places, as keeping the factory paint as an undercoat offers serious benefits. However, in a few places, where chips in the paint expose the aluminium, I had to sand down more. ## The paint I’m now at the stage where I’m awaiting the paint to arrive. The colour I chose is stunning. Probably more important than the colour is the brand of paint I went for. Not all paints are equal, and I did quite a bit of research, before deciding on paint from Specialist Paints. I chose Blue Grape, from **Specialist Paints’ Kustom Canz range**. Any type of rattle-can paint _can_ look good for a short while, but I wanted paint that would also prove to be durable. With my research done, I contacted Specialist Paints, confident their paint met all my requirements. Calum from Specialist Paints kindly offered for them to sponsor the paint for the project. See also How to waterproof anything I absolutely can’t wait to start painting the frame. The particular colour I opted for requires a white undercoat, but Specialist Paints were happy to provide help and suggestions. The next post in this series will focus on the respraying process. ### Share this: * Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon * Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook * Share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp * Share on Nextdoor (Opens in new window) Nextdoor * Share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit * Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email * Share on Threads (Opens in new window) Threads * Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky * More * * Print (Opens in new window) Print * Share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn * Share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr * Share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest * ### _Related_

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Do you keep your gravel bike racked up off tour? - Cycling Europe

For gravel packers with racks: I’m debating whether I remove my rack and fenders in between tours…

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Canyon Aeroad Gravel Tyre Clearance - Cycling Europe

TLDR: 2024 Aeroad CF SLX can fit knobby 32C gravel/CX tyres