I find it interesting to observe the chasm between parties engaged in a conversation, particularly in response to questions being asked. I’m thinking, at present, of the question, “How many bikes do you have?” My feelings in response are nothing short of complex and maybe a bit confused; reservation that I feel I should have a more well-rounded stable, love as I picture each machine, longing as I immediately then also imagine riding it, some regret at the realization that I’m not riding it at that moment, and a touch of consternation as to whether I should include in my count the partially-built machines hanging in the basement. Their feeling, in contrast, is composed of one-dimensional and unveiled shock.
Several years ago, the VMH and I got lost while out Mountain biking north of Cle Elum and spent the better part of four hours riding our mountain bikes on gravel roads. It was one of the best days we’ve had on a bike, and as a result I’ve been increasingly obsessed with the notion of hitting the gravel mountain roads in the North Cascades on a bike tuned for gravé. These small roads liter the mountainsides and offer access to parts of the world where a road bike can’t go, but provide a range that would be untenable on fat-tired bikes.
A Graveur differs from a road bike in the sense that it has cantilever brakes and wide tires. It differs from a Cyclocross bike in the sense that the rider’s position is tuned to fast riding over relatively smooth terrain. A friend who I met at the Portland Cogal turned me onto a small Portland frame builder, Veloforma. Apart from building fantastic frames and having a great reputation locally, the owner is similarly obsessed with fast gravel riding as he lives in the boonies beyond the reaches of asphalt. A few chats with him and his infectious passion for his bikes, and I was sold completely. It goes without mention that I couldn’t resist the option to have the frame painted in Velominati colors.
I placed the order for a Veloforma Team CCX in November and immediately set about collecting the bits I would need to build it. A few weeks later, the owner sent me a mockup of the proposed paint scheme. It immediately became my desktop wallpaper and hardly a day has passed since then that I haven’t contemplated at length the various flavors of Awesome that were sure to pass beneath the tires of this machine as we explore the bounties of the Cascades. The VMH obviously also required a Graveur and her will was quickly done.
For those of you wondering how I’m preparing for my Hour Ride this weekend, it includes generous amounts of “natural interval training” on the CCX Graveur in the local park. There is zero flex in the tapered steer tube (my first), and VF’s proprietary BB66 bottom bracket is absurdly stiff; I can’t flex this thing for shit, which means more of my V winds up on the road instead of in the tubes where it does nothing productive. And paired to the Café Roubaix Arenbergs with Dugast 32m file tread tires, I practically need to tie it down to keep it from floating off.
As far as specs go, I’m riding the XL with a 14cm 17 degree stem, which gives me precisely the same position as on my road bikes. The fizik Cyrano Carbon seat pin holds up a custom black and orange Arione CX. I went with a 50T outer ring (it’s only a BIG RING when its over 52T) paired to a 38T inner ring on a 130BCD spider. The 50T will get more use than would a 53T given the increased drag, and the 38T shortens the gear just enough to keep the legs turning over on long gravé climbs. For CX racing, I’ll glue on some nobbies, go to a 10 degree stem to lift the bars up a touch, and drop the outer ring to a 44T or 42T.
[dmalbum path=”/velominati.com/content/Photo Galleries/frank@velominati.com/Graveur Robber/”/]
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She's a beaut, Frank! (Still wondering if those are technically MTB pedals).
Just built up an 80s Merckx for gravel, hard pack and chip seal; nothing so spectacular, just wide-ish gearing and 25mm diamond tread tubulars on 32 spoke box rims. It's a blast.
Hear you on position. I'm about half your height and twice your age but decades on track bikes kept me limber. When I finally built another road bike I went with a 6° stem and 3cm less drop, thinking it would be more comfortable. Instant lower back pain, which disappeared once I got the bars low enough.
@frank
Seat's too low.
A friend just did this gravel ride in Winthrop, Washington:
http://mcqview.blogspot.com/2012/08/more-winthrop-conconully-schtuff.html
@G'rilla Winthrop area is so pretty, IMO. I keep driving through it on my way to the Pasayten Wilderness, and I keep wanting to plan a long summer weekend of riding there. Gotta add 2 more hours of driving from the Oly Pen, though.
Looks like a killer ride. Lotta miles, els, and solar energy in the summer. Wouldn't want to do it on a dual-sus mtb. @Frank's new ride? Yes, please.
@frank
I had a Force FD for about 16000km's.. the first 3/4 of that gave me glorious front shifting. then all it wanted to do was throw chains on an upshift. even after a new cable, I fiddled with it for hours, convinced that some simple tension/alignment setting had to be off *just so*. changing to an Ultegra FD fixed the problem for about $40 and ten minutes time. been shifting gloriously ever since. I've seen it posited about the interwebs that the tension of the springs SRAM uses is lesser than that of Shimano, and that their FD's therefore degrade much quicker. whether that's true or not...
gorgeous bike, btw. i think my favorite part is how the white stripes perfectly align with the rim's edge on the chainstay, and then stay semi-equidistant radially about the seat tube/seat post. a subtle rotational-momentum suggestion on a machine guided by rotations. love it. i do prefer the smaller "obey the rules" decals on your haleakala wheels, however.
Now that's what I call a bike i was thinking of trying some gravel on my domane which has 25 mm tyres on it just now. So what would be a good clincher for that sort of job? Also what are those things that you use to protect your frame from the cables as trek have done a fantastic job of putting the cables in such a place to rub the frame! Grrrrrrr
Great lead photo, beautiful bike, nice build up. I really dig it and don't know if I'd change a thing. NICE!
Ha, a pal was over last weekend for a party. He has one bike that he rides to graduate school. I have five bikes in the house, plus others off-site. He started giving me a hard time about how many I own. He just doesn't get it.
And goddamn, a guy I know is selling his pit CX bike. Full carbon with Zipp Firecrests, Red, FSA SLK. He's asking probably 1/3 of what it would cost to put it together. Argh, I have a Van Dessel that is a great bike, but of course I'm doing the mental calculus of selling it, using the money to put towards this bike. I'm also trying to convince myself that I'd be nervous racing full carbon for cross. Must resist the temptation.
Note to self: quit looking at bikes online and get outside and ride!
Also, is it wrong to put gumwalls on all my bikes? This photo is helping me think the answer is no.
@PeakInTwoYears I've taken vacation in Mazama every August for the past seven years.
Amazing biking of all kinds: road, gravel, mountain. The Angel's Staircase trail ejected me 1/3 of the way through, but I'm going to try it again this year.
@Ron
ah ha I adrag an advantage here, off the bike for a few weeks until I sort out a blood clot (booooooo) but I get to ogle all these cool bikes (yeeeahhhhh)