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I’ve wanted a go-anywhere ‘road’ bike for several years now. I’m a MTBer at heart, and don’t see that ever changing, but I do enjoy road riding as well, especially if I can mix it up with some dirt, gravel, singletrack, etc.
Nate Zukas is a local frame builder who does beautiful work, and I’ve wanted a frame from him for years. But, while the wife was in grad school she worked part time, then not at all for a few months, and between having less income and way more expenses in the form of tuition payments (it’s like having a 2nd mortgage) the "fun money" fund was, well, pretty empty. So, I waited.
She graduated last May (yay, fewer monthly expenses!) and then started her new job in August (yay, more income!), and I put in a deposit with Nate for a frame, and started saving my pennies and making plans, and waiting my turn in the queue.
I picked it up last week and it’s a beauty! Build info:
Frame – Zukas Cycles, fillet brazed steel
Fork – Ritchey, carbon disc CX
Group – Ultegra Di2
Brakes – Shimano Hydro
Wheels – Stan’s Grail rims, White Industries hubs
Tires – Compass Bicycle, Barlow Pass 700×38, set up tubeless
Other – Thomson bar/stem, Salsa Cowbell bars, WTB saddle, XT pedals
Color – Blue Raspberry Metallic aka Honda Fit TealThe brake hose and wiring are all internal for a clean look, and it keeps everything out of the way. There’s a 3rd bottle cage mount on the underside of the downtube, and two inside the main triangle are mounted low so I can use a frame bag and still use full size bottles – I plan to do a little bike packing once the temps go back down in the fall. I’ll have to swap to side entry cages for use with a frame bag, but that’s cool.
First ride was on Saturday, and was exactly the sort of riding I had in mind for this bike. It was a 50 mile loop, about half paved, the other half a mix of dirt, gravel, and clay roads, as well as about a mile of singletrack and a creek crossing. Had a great ride and can’t wait to do a lot more rides like this! I’ve also got a 2nd set of wheels with 25mm tires for rides that don’t leave the pavement, but these Compass tires roll so well I may not use the 25’s much at all…we’ll see.
Some pics from the ride.
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Nice ride. How do you like the "road" disc brakes?
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So far so good. They feel just like my Shimano SLX brakes I have on my MTBs. WAY better than rim brakes for sure. Sketchy gravel dowhills, in the drops, one finger on brake is all you need.
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That is a sweet ride! Should the tires be 28 instead of 38? Love the looks of the steel frame.
My son has a Fuji with the Shimano discs and is running 700x28s. Comfortable bike! I would highly recommend discs on a trekking bike.
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"gar29" wrote
That is a sweet ride! Should the tires be 28 instead of 38? Love the looks of the steel frame.
My son has a Fuji with the Shimano discs and is running 700x28s. Comfortable bike! I would highly recommend discs on a trekking bike.
Nope, they’re 38’s! Nice and phat.
A few more pics from a ride last weekend.
I also swapped out the fat-tire go-anywhere wheels for a set of skinny-tire go fast tires for paved duty. It’s definitely faster on the pavement, and still really smooth. Wouldn’t be as capable off-pavement of course.
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