Nice Expolsif, I have a soft spot for early 90's mtb's especially when built up as city/ commuting/ utility bikes I just built up a 92 Trek 970 and I'm loving it!
They DO make great all-rounders for sure. As I get older my back gets worse and the posture the albatross bars allow is a god send. Btw that Bridgestone of yours is an absolute gem!!
Why thank you! I was inspired by G-ted's Gravel Mutt projects. +1 for up-right posture. I was having lower back pain after 10 miles with my drop bars so I swapped out my drops for the moustache bars and my backs been happy ever since.
I'm with you on the mutt thing! There are sooooooooo many old frames sitting in basements and garages that would make perfect all-rounder bikes with the right components. This insatiable urge for new,new, new bothers me as wasteful somehow. In the same way that riders were convinced they needed criterium style bikes to ride on the road, now I see the manufacturers trying to convince folks that they need "gravel specific" race bikes to ride off road!
"This insatiable urge for new,new, new bothers me as wasteful somehow." I would agree. In fact the last three bikes I've bought are 92 or older. I guess this means we'll have to make a CRV thread
Simpleton. wrote:@Pattersnap I've seen this bike before. Sweet ride! How'd you manage to score the proto? Do you work for Salsa?
Thanks!
I have no affiliation with Salsa Cycles. (I'm a journalist.)
I was looking for a gravel race rig for DK200 two years ago and knew Salsa had the Warbird in the pipeline; the company provided it for feedback and review purposes. I believe the production version has a taller head tube and cable routing that runs under the top tube.
Its sized about a 59cm road frame, so the giant 60-622 tires dont look quite as big as if it were on a smaller frame, but they are huge!
Heres the breakdown
Custom Waltly Titanium frame No name carbon 29er fork Easton Haven 29er wheelset Schwalbe Super Moto HS 430 29x2.35 tires Chris King NoThread Headset Sram XX 42/28 crank avid BB7 road mechanical brakes Sram Force gruppo no name carbon stem no name carbon seatpost WTB Silverado saddle FSA SL-K compact carbon dropbar
I have a set of Conti X-king 2.2 (55-622 ETRTO) for trail and winter.
Waltly was amazing to work with. Great communications. They let me do whatever I wanted for custom geometry and options. Craftsmanship was superb. And of course their price was great.
My all purpose bike. Great commuter, so-so road, AWESOME gravel grinder! Basically stock. Have replaced the BB bearings with Enduros. Lizard Skins bar tape. First upgrade should be carbon fork for weight savings. Had 29x1.75 Vee 12s on it for DK this year. Awesome float but wouldn't recommend the tire for tubeless applications. They have a tendency to separate.
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