Building a gravel/dropbar mountain bike

Since I got my wife an old Surly 1x1, she has really been enjoying riding greenways, on small road around town and gravel roads so I figured it would be worth getting a bike that was better suited to that sort of riding then these two.

150mm travel hardtail that is fairly slack (64degree headangle and is currently rocking a Minion DHF/ Rekon combo) or a 20in Sunday Soundwave. I also have a Nashbar single speed cyclocross bike but that is on the trainer and it is a pain in ass to take that down and bring it downstairs anytime I want to ride. Also n+1. Sure I could buy a used gravel bike for probably not much more money but where is the fun in that.

So I got this 1990 Schwinn High Plains. (originally brochure, http://bikecatalogs.org/SCHWINN/1990/MTB_And_Road/FULL/1990_MTB_Road_Cat_16.jpg )

Parts I have or have on the way, XT V-brakes, some old Mavic wheels, threadless adaptor, high rise stem, On One Midge gravel bar and rear sprocket, DMR single speed tensioner, random SRAM chain, absoluteblack chain ring, Tange headset, used Shimano Deore cranks (octalink), Nukeproof flat pedals, Tektro RL520 brake levers (dropbar V-brake levers), DMR Moto Digger 26x2.35 tires, Selle Italia Turbo 1980 saddle, Planet X S/S bottle cage. 

Plans strip the cranks down to raw aluminum since a decent amount of the black anodization is rubbed off and get the bike comfortable. I may end up swapping from single speed to a Microshift Advent 1x9 speed with a bar end shifter down the line. Also the threadless adaptor and high rise stem should allow my to mimic the stem position of a Velo Orange Cigne stem without spending that money. IfI like it I will probably convert to that stem later.  I'll also probably make a half frame bag with waxed duck cotton at some point after it is finished.

Currently waiting for parts to get in. I tried stripping the cranks using Oven cleaner and then Greased Lightning. Neither did anything so it is going to be a process of slowly sanding the cranks. Also I will have to figure out the spindle length of the bottom bracket I need once parts get in.

Sounds like the perfect rail trail/touring bike.

I'm interested to hear what you think of the Midge.  I've ridden several "unique" handlebars, but haven't tried those yet.

This will be good! 

I have a brand new set of Sram Apex cranks I can't use (for a 68mm BB shell with a narrow-wide 42 chain ring) that might work well... shoot me an email through the forum if you're interested. 

Sweet! I'm sitting here in my office looking at my drop bar gravel bike wishing I was already riding home. They're a blast. What are your plans for forks?

Gunchsta said:

This will be good! 

 

I have a brand new set of Sram Apex cranks I can't use (for a 68mm BB shell with a narrow-wide 42 chain ring) that might work well... shoot me an email through the forum if you're interested. 

 

 

 I am good. Have cranks. I just need to figure out which Shimano ES300 BB to use. They have multiple 68mm BB options. I need to figure out which one would get me the right chainline.

ultraclyde said:

Sweet! I'm sitting here in my office looking at my drop bar gravel bike wishing I was already riding home. They're a blast. What are your plans for forks?

I have the rigid fork that came with it.

I need to dig my old cross bike out..... They are fun. I was thinking of going to a flat bar tho since I generally just cruise on it..... Reminds me, I need to buy new handlebars for the mtb too.

Finally got all the parts in and figured out the BB so hopefully I can start building it this weekend.

Sorry for the truly potato quality picture. The lens on my cell phone camera is broken and I haven't got round to replacing it.

Still need a small headset spacer (which I have on the way) and brake pads (didn't notice the brakes didn't have them). Also need to install brake levers and cables, sprocket and spacers, chain tensioner. Test ride it a little to get the levers about where I want them and then wrap the bars.

Got a but further. The headset is tighten properly. Drivetrain is installed. The combo of gearing is an awkard length where the chain is a bit loose then I want but shortening it means the tensioner wont work. I may go up or down a tooth somewhere sometime soon . Brake pads on. Just cables for brakes and handlebar wrap. 

Looking sweet! Dig that Midge bar. It doesn't really look like the tensioner is doing much? With that much slack on the top of the chain run I'd be real concerned about dropping the chain on a bumpy downhill.

What are you using drivetrain wise?

ultraclyde said:

Looking sweet! Dig that Midge bar. It doesn't really look like the tensioner is doing much? With that much slack on the top of the chain run I'd be real concerned about dropping the chain on a bumpy downhill.

Yeah. I hit the limit of the adjustment with the tensioner. If I remove a link, it is too short for the tensioner and right now it is too long. I am going to mess with the gearing to try to get it tight.

dxman92 said:

What are you using drivetrain wise?

It is single speed with a DMR STS tensioner, a random SRAM chain I had laying around, a random AbsoluteBlack 32t oval chain ring I had laying around and an On One 16t gear.

Been on a couple rides with it now. One was a greenway ride with a tiny bit of singletrack thrown in. The other was a very muddy gravel ride which included an OTB when I tried to pedal through a flood part of road that turned out to be deeper then I thought...

Adjustments I still need to make, change gearing slight to get chain tighter and I can seem to get the headset to stay tight. It got lose after trying to bunny hop a little log and mis-timing and nailing the rear wheel into it which slammed the front end down and then after my OTB. Also plan on making a small half frame bag. Changing up the bell (the one on the stem is always in contact with the bag so it does ring. going to find one that fits on the bars).

Thats a nice looking start!

Few suggests:

Half link chain will get you where you need to be.   A clever man then adjusts sprocket sizing and runs without a tensioner.  Eccentric bottom bracket will help if needed.

Something is amiss in the V brake configuration, maybe pad spacing?  You want the arms to be as close to vertical as possible.

Are your drop levers V brake friendly?  Remember V brakes have a different pull ratio than conventional brakes.

Slam the stem!  Looks a bit silly at this point.  

I have a good ol similar bike to that, GT Avalanche (1996) with drop bars.  Its the bees knees for 15 -20 mile spins or taking places I dont want my good bike to grow legs.  

93gsxturbo said:

Thats a nice looking start!

 

Few suggests:

Half link chain will get you where you need to be.   A clever man then adjusts sprocket sizing and runs without a tensioner.  Eccentric bottom bracket will help if needed.

Something is amiss in the V brake configuration, maybe pad spacing?  You want the arms to be as close to vertical as possible.

Are your drop levers V brake friendly?  Remember V brakes have a different pull ratio than conventional brakes.

Slam the stem!  Looks a bit silly at this point. 

Honestly the 32t is a little low anyway so a 34t will help. It isn't staying single speed or I would spend more time trying to get rid of the tensioner. I am going to run an Microshift Advent 1x9 at some point.

The brakes stop it fine tbh. I hate setting up rim brakes so they may need some more adjustment.

Yeah the drop levers are Tektros made for V-brakes.

And no I am not slamming the stem. This is comfortable.

Cool!

This is great! I've got plans to do something just like this swirling in my head. I'm on the hunt for an old 90's mtb, just not finding anything at the moment that's reasonably priced. A jack-of-all-trades bike is right up my alley, something I can hit dirt paths on, ride the neighborhood with the kids, or put some slicks on and do some semi-road riding.

I'm interested to know what you think about it and what you'll tweak/change as you put some miles on it. Those bars seem to be the go-to for this type of conversion...what are your thoughts?

93EXCivic said:

93gsxturbo said:

Thats a nice looking start!

 

Few suggests:

Half link chain will get you where you need to be.   A clever man then adjusts sprocket sizing and runs without a tensioner.  Eccentric bottom bracket will help if needed.

Something is amiss in the V brake configuration, maybe pad spacing?  You want the arms to be as close to vertical as possible.

Are your drop levers V brake friendly?  Remember V brakes have a different pull ratio than conventional brakes.

Slam the stem!  Looks a bit silly at this point. 

Honestly the 32t is a little low anyway so a 34t will help. It isn't staying single speed or I would spend more time trying to get rid of the tensioner. I am going to run an Microshift Advent 1x9 at some point.

The brakes stop it fine tbh. I hate setting up rim brakes so they may need some more adjustment.

Yeah the drop levers are Tektros made for V-brakes.

And no I am not slamming the stem. This is comfortable.

where are you planning on getting it from? i can't find it for sale anywhere...

In reply to Dieselboss15 :

I think you can buy the whole advent group set out there. Just have to do some searching. Maybe eBay. I have the group set on my bike w/the bar end shifter and it's fantastic.

I love this sort of use for old MTB frames... I also love that there are budget 1x9 super wide gear range options now for such a reasonable price now ($120 for the parts new on universalcycle) 

looks like a great budget build... I can also see easily spending way too much money on something like this haha... a nitto dirt drop stem would look swanky on it :) 

In reply to dxman92 :

i just found the stuff on worldwide cyclery.i was somewhat hesitant in buying it and that was my downfall. i bought the cassette and derailleur from worldwide cyclery and the shifter from Cambria bike. now i am going crazy waiting for them to come because i am too cheap to pay for expedited shipping

93excivic, what are your plans for the slack hardtail? looks like a sweet bike

Can you change the tensioner to push up on the chain instead of pull down? I flipped my Surly singleator that direction to get enough chain wrap on the sprocket. 

PS: I promise there's no rubbing on the chainstay. It's just suuuuuuuper close.

dxman92 said:

In reply to Dieselboss15 :

I think you can buy the whole advent group set out there. Just have to do some searching. Maybe eBay. I have the group set on my bike w/the bar end shifter and it's fantastic.

wholeheartedly agree on the bold. it feels so nice especially compared to my old shimano crap. the clutch works wonders. i was kinda worried about the chain for length.... i bought a kmc x9/9x chain and i only took off two links that $125 was well spent