turning an old hardtail 29er into a gravel(ish) bike...thoughts?

pygmypony

Well-Known Member
hey all...i've got a 2012 Trex X-Cal hard tail (with recently rebuilt frankenfork), that is super light and whippy...

now that i've gotten myself a full squish rig, and all of my friends are addicted to gravel, i thought i'd join the masses, sort of...

i'm going to make a few minor modifications to my hard tail, such that it "might" be a capable gravel ride...

here's all i've got to start:

* replace 32T front chainring with 38T
* keep rear cassette (10 sp) at 11-36 (for simplicity and to reduce costs)
* swap out tires for these Teravail Sparwoods

am i..

1) stupid
2) missing anything?
3) stupid

thanks!
 

RobW

Well-Known Member
hey all...i've got a 2012 Trex X-Cal hard tail (with recently rebuilt frankenfork), that is super light and whippy...

now that i've gotten myself a full squish rig, and all of my friends are addicted to gravel, i thought i'd join the masses, sort of...

i'm going to make a few minor modifications to my hard tail, such that it "might" be a capable gravel ride...

here's all i've got to start:

* replace 32T front chainring with 38T
* keep rear cassette (10 sp) at 11-36 (for simplicity and to reduce costs)
* swap out tires for these Teravail Sparwoods

am i..

1) stupid
2) missing anything?
3) stupid

thanks!
flat bar, long stem, remove front brake, and look reneherse tires.

or buy a cross bike (from me) and spend the same amount you would to make this bike cooler.
 

Jmann

Never gonna let you down.
Sounds like a good plan. I have a cheap steel rigid fork I put on mine, and soma eagle bars. But would have been fine without the changes. The old days before boost, when chainring clearance wasn’t an issue.
 

pygmypony

Well-Known Member
Sounds like a good plan. I have a cheap steel rigid fork I put on mine, and soma eagle bars. But would have been fine without the changes. The old days before boost, when chainring clearance wasn’t an issue.
i was thinking of swapping out the fork too...might be phase 2...especially after i put in all that work to build frankenfork in the first place...
 

pygmypony

Well-Known Member
also...this video is what gave me the idea in the first place...gravel bikes are basically just old school XC bikes...gussied up...

 

The Kalmyk

Well-Known Member
also...this video is what gave me the idea in the first place...gravel bikes are basically just old school XC bikes...gussied up...



I came out of single track at the Middle Creek Event last year remembering it felt like an old XC course.

I ride an old Cannondale F600 from like 2004. I overhauled the headshock myself and off we go. What does it really matter if it's a bike you work the hell out of.
 
hey all...i've got a 2012 Trex X-Cal hard tail (with recently rebuilt frankenfork), that is super light and whippy...

now that i've gotten myself a full squish rig, and all of my friends are addicted to gravel, i thought i'd join the masses, sort of...

i'm going to make a few minor modifications to my hard tail, such that it "might" be a capable gravel ride...

here's all i've got to start:

* replace 32T front chainring with 38T
* keep rear cassette (10 sp) at 11-36 (for simplicity and to reduce costs)
* swap out tires for these Teravail Sparwoods

am i..

1) stupid
2) missing anything?
3) stupid

thanks!
Time to upgrade to a new bike/new technology. I flip my rigs every 3 years. Just sayin'.
 

pygmypony

Well-Known Member
update...first ghetto gravel ride was a HUGE success!

a few notes:

* i absolutely loved the 2.2 Teravail tires...they rolled so smoothly (at 30psi) on the approx 40 miles of pavement ridden today...but they didn't feel to squirrely on the most gravelly gravel, and the small amount of singletrack i rode today
* bar ends are a thing! - the ergo bar end grips were a game changer!
* the 38T chainring in the front was just enough to keep from spinning out on every downhill...but still gave me plenty of gear for the hills
* for what i plan on using this for (casual group gravel rides) i'm thinking this is a winner!
Screen Shot 2020-03-08 at 5.15.55 PM.png
 

pygmypony

Well-Known Member
two more tweaks...

installed the rigid surly krampus fork i had in the garage from when i almost had to bail on the original frankenfork...and installed new cane creek 40 headset...

waiting on the magura IS > post mount disc brake adaptor to finish things off...

thinking about drop bars, but i think the shift / brake lever change may be cost / work prohibitive...

Screen Shot 2020-03-13 at 1.00.34 PM.png
 

serviceguy

Well-Known Member
two more tweaks...

installed the rigid surly krampus fork i had in the garage from when i almost had to bail on the original frankenfork...and installed new cane creek 40 headset...

waiting on the magura IS > post mount disc brake adaptor to finish things off...

thinking about drop bars, but i think the shift / brake lever change may be cost / work prohibitive...

View attachment 121562

What compound did you get on your Sparwoods tires ? Durable or Light&Supple? Looking into doing the same with my Elma, retaining full trail gearing..but I can't bring myself to go with the bar ends, even though those Ergon... I keep thinking about them...
 
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