12 April, 2017

Bike Build Ideas: Urban Day-Tripper

by Igor

Road bikes converted to flat bars are gaining a lot of popularity in urban environments. The combination of an upright position and ease of control makes this type of build a great option for those riders who mainly ride in the city and want to be a bit more comfortable on group rides.

This Pass Hunter Disc setup is our interpretation of an urban day-tripper to conquer any road condition that may crop up. We laced up some 650b wheels to be the basis of our build. By using the smaller wheelsize, we could increase the cushion of air the bike rides on. We selected the WTB 47mm Horizon tires, which end up being about the same circumference of a narrow-tired 700c wheel. Cobbles and potholes are vanquished, and hopping on and off curbs poses no threat.


The Postino handlebar is a great bar for converting drop bar road bikes to flat bars or just as an all-around city bar. It's the goldilocks bar for city rides - not too wide, not too narrow.


We opted to go with a wide range gearing because Annapolis and the surrounding area does have some hills. Our 50.4bcd 46/30t up front and 11-36t in the rear - enough to climb a tree.


Clint scrounged up some super clean Campagnolo downtube shifters which we mated to our shifter mounts to make the dangler and pusher move around.


The 7700-series Dura-Ace derailleur was never designed to work with a 36t cassette, so we used a Wolftooth Roadlink to extend the range of the cage. Shifting is fine, but not quite as fast as pairing the same derailleur with a 11-28t cassette. Then again, you're not shifting all that much around town, anyway.


You may have seen this constructeur-style stem that we were thinking about re-making on a previous blog post. After a couple samples, it ended up being far too heavy and expensive. But it looks really cool.


I'm thinking of making the "Bike Build Ideas" a more regular addition to our blog. We have several demo, sample, and show frames around that we look forward to building and re-building to give our readers some ideas for their own projects.

Complete build list:

19 comments:

Trent Huckstep said...

Awesome post! I really like seeing more practical builds that deviate from racing roots without looking sluggish!

Anonymous said...

How long have you had your urban?

anniebikes said...

I second the kudos. Love to see more posts like this.

Dmitri said...

That's a 7700-series Dura Ace derailleur.

VeloOrange said...

Dmitri, you're correct!

-Igor

Blood Sausage said...

Just curious, but what was the reasoning behind putting the front shifter on the downtube instead of the handlebar?

Anonymous said...

I think you mean Dura Ace 7600 on the parts list, not 7400.

Rad bike overall

Eric said...

Pusher? Dangler? Are you reading _the website_?

VeloOrange said...

@Blood Sausage, with the 46t chainring and wide range cassette, I don't have to shift the front rings very often around town. Just having a single downtube shifter makes the bike a bit lighter, a bit simpler, and a bit weirder.

@Anon, thanks for the catch.

@Eric, definitely not. Sometimes. Yes.

Unknown said...

@Anon DA 7600 was a track group of which I'm not seeing on this build.

Anonymous said...

I think there is a market for stems like the prototype. I would buy one despite the weight and even if it's expensive ---if it were available in 120-130mm lengths. For some riders with longer stems, rigidity is more important than weight. Cinelli used to market an odd looking CNC'd girder style stem about 20 years ago when everyone started selling CNC parts. This one is far more attractive since it replicates the style of the old constructeur stems. Please reconsider offering this stem. It would be great for stylish retro style road bikes, great for "gravel" or "allroad" or "adventure" bikes, great for mountain bikes, great for track bikes, and would not look out of place even on the most current carbon fiber technological wonders.

Scott S said...

Nice build. That internal brake routing gets me every time. It's so clean looking! In my humble opinion, this bike would look even more awesome with some shiny fenders. Things look real tight between the tire and fork blades on picture 2. Do you think you could cram some zeppelins in there?

Could you size down to a 42c tire to accommodate the fenders without getting the cranks dangerously low?

VeloOrange said...

Scott S,

The tires currently measure out to 44mm, so Zeppelins would actually fit with a bit of dimpling.

-Igor

clark said...

Yes, posts like this!

Anonymous said...

How much clearance does the frame have with the Horizons? Any more pictures of it?

VeloOrange said...

@Anonymous

They fit, but no room for fenders! The future Polyvalent will be better suited for the Horizons.

Anonymous said...

I have 650b x 42 Schwalbe Marathon Supremes on my Pass Hunter Disc and they fit great with fenders. So did the 650b Grand Bois Hetres

Unknown said...

Quick question... the Pass Hunter Disc page says it can't run Avid brakes, yet you're clearly running them here. What is the official stance on the BB7s?

Just want to know so I don't void any warranty.

VeloOrange said...

@Jeffrey Jay

Next run will work with BB7s!