Yes. You all make it look easy. Part compatibility is annoying! Diameters of things. Thread types. I wish I could just enter my frame make/model/year into a website and order all new parts for it from one source and know that I am getting parts that are compatible with some old frame I bought on Ebay. Then the bike shortage would go away, haha!
This is exactly the type of video i need! My brother has a 90's Klein Attitude MTB and I've always wanted to convert it to a modern ish bike, with drop bars and rigid front fork (before Gravel bikes were a thing). My only issue is the brakes, i think they're cantilever brakes or V brakes. The front could be anything as i could get a fork to fit the type of brakes i would want, could be disc brakes, road style rim brake caliper, mtb rim brake caliper. But for the rear, what brake type would fit the mounting point if it was a V brake or cantilever brake? Would it only fit that type, or can i match with any new road or mtb rim brake caliper like the front? Would there be issues if i used different brake types front and rear? As it's 26in wheels, i would use 650b. But what issues would there be if i got a fork that would fit 700c or 29er wheel on the front and then put 650b on the rear?
I'm currently on the process of converting my mtb to a gravel bike. I used 25.4mm x 90mm stem and 400mm x 25.4mm dropbar and a micronew 3x10 sti and ltwoo A7 fd and rd. I have 11-42T cassete and 28-38-48T chainrings. I still need to buy barrel adjusters to adjust the cable tension since my local mechanic can't tune it correctly without it. I have mechanical disc brakes though I'm planning to change to cable actuated hydraulic brakes in the future or 2 piston mechanical brakes. And I'm planning to change my rear derailleur for something better but not that expensive. Lastly, I'll probably change the frame and wheelset someday.
just the thing i was thinking, made a budget build out of and old trek mtb, cost me 40 pund, even has a dropdown bar and everything, then again, he did not say budget, but i bet that you be able to get a faily good middrange Gravel bike, for less than what this build is gonna end up at, but lets see how it adds up.
By the time you add the price of the mtb he bought plus the cost of a di2 group set you can easily buy an new aluminum framed gravel bike with mid range components.
personally I would have never spent that much money on this bike. I bought a 2010 XC bike with hydraulic Magura brakes, Magura air fork (this one is a cheap coil crap) and XT 3x9 drivetrain and that cost me 500€ back in 2016. 500Gbp for that thing is a big no no !
I converted an early 2000s MTB to a gravel bike myself. Had a lot of fun. Although my budget was like 100€ (+ selling old parts). I stuck to the Deore LX 3x9 trigger shifters (but installed a 2x crank) and have them sitting near the brakelevers on the dropbars. It looks janky and might be heavy (12,5 kg total) but it's actually quit comfy. Might upload it to the App one day
I am not sure what the point of this video series is when you have thrown $2400+ at it, that's a pretty damn nice Specialized Diverge or Trek Checkpoint. People convert old mtbs to drop bar because it's a cost saving measure (or at lest that is why I'm doing it), so going balls to the walls will make this bike stand out from its converted brethren and probably not in a good way.
I made that mistake 4 years ago, I spent more than I could have bought a sora checkpoint for. And I had put sora on my build. Mostly it was the $800 I spend on new wheels. I parted back out my mistake and use those wheels on another bike. But I could have bought used carbon wheels for less, it’s two big mistakes.
USA hardtail MTBs in the mid 90s were the very best for cutting edge innovation and crafting -- Bontrager, Ritchey, Marin, Moots, etc. Once you ruled these out and set your budget too low, everything else was pointless -- because the frame is the soul of the bike. I personally have upgraded a Bontrager Race TiLite, a Moots YBB, and an Airborne Lucky Strike, all beautifully crafted Titanium, and all 3 perform better than modern gravel bikes at 3-4x the price. You can save money by not spending beyond Shimano XTR 3x9 dual-control, the best groupset ever made.
This comment exactly, you'd do far better with anything from the mid 90s, the thing he's got is about 10 years old and the components are below Deore, it has a Pinnarello badge and that's it and £500 for it is daylight robbery
wrong type of "old mountain bike". For a start it's too young and secondly it's got a suspension fork (please tell me you're not keeping that...) so the geometry will be all wack with a rigid fork lowering the front end. Late 90s full rigid after they stopped using quill stems is the era bike you want. They were more nimble (aka twitchy) than the slack head angle more modern bikes. And how can you use "keeping costs down" and "GRX Di2 groupset" in one sentence and keep a straight face? Wanna see how to do this properly? Go look at Old Shovel's channel, or Eric on Spindatt. I'm building a gravel(ish) bike from a Kona Smoke using some NOS 5600 10spd 105 shift levers on flared drops connecting to what was 9spd Deore mechs (it works, they run on a 10 spd cassette) and properly set up cant's will have more than enough braking force. It might all be old stuff, but it will have retro-cool that this pile of flashy parts could only dream of. Having said that... Messing round with building/modifying bikes is cool whatever kind of thing one is Frankensteining together. wrench on.
The fork wont be an issue (if he changes it), 26" suspension corrected rigid Disk forks are super easy to find even in carbon and they are pretty well sized to take a 650b. The biggest issue is the reach/top tube length.
Nice ride! I did the same thing with my 2010 Scott Scale 29er hardtail. -Stand Crest ZTR wheels with Vitorria Mezcal tires with Stans sealant. -Salsa cow chipper drop bars -Shimano 105 shifter coupled to a Tan Pan to keep shift ratios to an XT derailleur coupled to an 11x52 cluster and a single Wolf tooth 32 upfront. -The front brake is a hydraulic TRP brake to compliment the hydraulic 105 shifter/brake. -I replaced the Reba fork with a Surley Krampus. I ride this more than my road bike and mountain bike combined as it is so versatile. Keep riding
Wow, such a find, that bike, gorgeous. And I'm all for Alex doing whatever he wants with it, tho' he'd better not remove that triple. I know I'm dreaming as 1x is all the rage but I won't ever understand why 3x is not preferred for all-terrain, all-whatever riding. More NOS triples for me and all other smart riders, I suppose. :)
@@stanschmenge1965 Life is too short not to have a big ring, no? Let's leave the single-ring bikes to the letter-sweater clad on campus and ride the dusty trail like the wind to victory in the town at the edge of sunset.
Get a Pinarello in perfectly good shape and throw on it the priciest groupset Shimano has to offer. A great way of doing a Shimano guerilla ad. But let's be honest under the current global bike shortage the sensible choice would be just to ride the damn bike as it is.
Did the same. My MTB converted now. 700c tyres fitted. Kept the old SLX groupset with mechanical disc brakes. Geometry is different. Still cannot answer if it makes me happy riding the bike. The Build was fun however.
Just for fun, I recently converted an old 1989 Rocky Mountain Hammer to a "gravel" bike. Just changed over to drop bars and used a set of 3X7 Tourney shifters. Left everything stock. Works a treat. Leaves me with a coprophilic grin. Total cost, 160 GBP. (250 CAD)
I took a 2012 29er hardtail frame and made a sick drop bar MTB/Gravel bike out of it. Probably one of my favorite bikes that I’ve owned and it’s not even close
@@simonorr5987 I’m running a 100mm Manitou Machete suspension fork. I did go rigid but the suspension is sooooo much nicer. And on Road it’s plenty firm enough even when not locked out. Also have a suspension dropper post. It’s niiiiiice
@@matthewlewis2072 "The process of changing or causing something to change from one form to another." That's the definition from the Oxford dictionary, and it's exactly what they're doing in this video. What you're talking about is "upgrading."
FFS you could buy a decent new gravel bike for the cost of DI2 GRX. wheels, gears, chainset, seatpin, stem all fine (isn't that a carbon FSA seatpost???!) New bar, shifters (e-bay), possibly a fork. That's it. £200 max.
Who the hell puts GRX Di2 groupset on a cheap used '90s MTB? Would be better if you showed us how to convert a 90's rigid fork, rim brake MTB into a current disc brake gravel bike...
i have an 26er with 1.95 650b tires and wheels it fits my 26 frame and i have an alloy rigid fork and 100mm -35 stem and 1by with 42t chainring i mainly use it for flatroads and crit racing and sometimes light gravel
Bro just buy an alloy topstone at that point. You're getting a 105 2x drivetrain, no need to toss out what looks to be a great trail bike just to give it parts that it can't make full use of
dude - an old mountain bike did not have disc brakes or suspension - my oldest bike- " friction generator " had coaster brakes- kinda had to push them up some trails and they almost caught on fire on the long downhills - smoke coming out of them old brakes !!!!! then removed the coaster brakes and strung cables for brakes and built a rear wheel with like a 46 freewheel and a long cage derailleur-then some guy named Chris Chance made bikes----with out shocks----not many folks remember those those old days---turning two old Merlins from 1988 and 1996 into " Cross Bikes "-enjoy all-
My trek4500 26er was converted. The frame will take 700x38c. Chucked the front suspension & got a rigid carbon fork. Went microShift 1x10. The frame had bolt holes for an adapter so hydraulic discs. Surly corner bars.
@@peterharrington8709 It has a 40T chainring at the moment - it took all 116 links on the chain. Am thinking about dropping to 38T or 36T. At the moment the bike is in Florida where it's dead flat so 40 is OK, but the bike will be going home to the Isle of Man next year and I think it will need a smaller chainring.
You're probably gonna get a lot of stick for using such high end parts but I'm looking forward to this. Dozens of youtubers have cobbled together parts bin "Gravel bikes" which doesn't really tell you a lot about how they compare to bikes with more modern components. Di2 is probably pushing it though, for the price of one GRX group set you could get a mech' hydro gravel bike good enough to race on.
I really enjoy this kind of project but always on a steel high quality frame... there are so many interesting deals about Tange prestige, columbus, reynolds and True Temper... you can build a super steel gravel bike and stay close to 10 kg with normal components... also i believe the best frame is the with the rigid fork, with bigger tires you definitely don't need sospension fork, the secret is dealing with pressure to find your best ride ever :)
Put a drop bar and correct gear / brake levers and you have a gravel bike for less money. It seems that flat bar gravel bikes exist so don't do anything to the bike, don't spend any money and enjoy gravel riding.
I honestly don't know what is the fuss bout gravel bikes. Am a diehard mtber and a roadie for kicks, with these 2 distinct discipline, I don't find my life is short of anything fun.
I don't think this is really what people think about when they compare modern gravel bikes to retro mountain bikes. They are more thinking something maybe a bit more old school, steel, rigid fork bike. This doesn't really fit the bill, bit disappointed
Way way too much effort and overspend - you’ve basically built a new bike short of a frame - tyre change only - or you could have bought a new Trek Dual Sport for that money - which is what I did.
The idea of this video is awesome! I think it is a fair price to get a gravel bike in UK or US, but here in Brazil it is waaaay much more expensive! Almost to the point of not buyable! So the only option is to get a old MTB and try to do this! Even knowing it won’t be as good as a proper gravel bike, but at least it is a option! I am considering doing this for a really long time but I’m not sure about the parts compatibility! I hope to learn something with this series! Keep up with your good work!
I'm happy you're doing these videos on building a gravel bike as I'm planning on doing the P2A, I live in Ontario, next year and plan to build a bike myself.
I did it about 2 years ago... But I used a aluminum 29er MTB, one frame size under, rigid alloy fork and gravel bars... The only problem was the very long top tube lenght... And It was a "boneshaker" tio, due alloy frame & fork 🤣🙈
'A Pinarello Pina is quite rare to find' yeah, and with good reason - Italians can stick to making road bikes, like this bike, pretty much foray of theirs into MTB's isn't great... Entertaining series, but definitely not the base bike I'd start with (or be proud of starting with).
Woulda looked for a 90's- 2000 steel frame bike with rigid forks to take 700 or 29er wheels mesen. Or if using a mtb, at least fit a suspension corrected rigid fork.
Is lot easier with 29" but to compare to gravel You need at least: - Fit narrow 19mm rims (if lucky: narrow rims is standard, keep cost low) and fit 700c x45 or similar tyres (when lucky and have one with better rims: tape and magic - make it's tubeless) - "roadie" handlebar - option for more aero position (not must, but ride against the wind make difference) - maybe 2nd hand fork without suspension? or one lightweight from hybrid bike (short travel) Standard 29er is not very fast (usually) due to smaller front sprocket(s) if compare to gravel. So next logical step is change drive for "gravel" type. Or at least sprocket only. .... Keep original tyres (wheels)/handlebar/sprocket for winter :D
Yes, budget. A set of dart forks that feel like you've got a dead donkey hanging off your bars. But di2 shifting. I thing someone's not got there priorities set on this project!
You should look into "MTB RIGID SETUP" they're practically a mountain bike converted into a gravel bike. Has a rigid fork and a lower range cassette with a 1by chainring. Pretty solid as an all-rounder bike since road bikes wouldn't survive with the road conditions where I live.
I get absolutely sick and tired of hearing that gravel gravel bikes are 90's mountain bikes. They are not. But, I have went down the rabbit hole. I found a really nice Cannondale M500 frame I just stripped down, am buying a 1x groupset for and am converting to more of a gravel bike for my son for his commuter. (He moved and he is crying about his single speed being too hard on the steep hills. "Rule #5" is what I tell him, but an excuse to build out a cool bike is still an excuse.)
What always makes me laugh about that, is that specific Cyclocross bikes (which I think we can all agree are about as close to a gravel bike you can get without it being one) pre date Mtb by at least 25 years. I also suspect that originally the argument was more like "you can use an old mtb as a Gravel bike" or "Gravel biking is what we used to do on old mtbs" and fair enough I can buy that.
It doesn't seem like anything needed replacing. If you wanted to go with 700c, then the frame and fork would not be big enough. For 650b, you'll compromise the tire width in order to make the wheels fit. Best to start with a 29er. But then you're already starting with a modern bike.
Next, we take a gravel bike and turn it into a road bike! If you're in your 60s and want to wear spandex underwear in public, we got the ticket for you...
Struggling to see the point in this, the price of the bike and components could very easily buy a nice gravel bike. It's not as tho this can even be turned into a monster cross either with the limited tyre clearance.
as someone who has a 20-year-old MTB at home I wanted to replace some parts and upgrade it to be more "state of the art". but I have zero knowledge about bikes and bike part assembly :D
Same price as Ollie's Pinarello. Seems like something is brewing up for a challenge for a one on one. Hope you involve others then make a UK backpacking loop of several days to finish.💥✌
So the “Pina” mountain bikes were Far Eastern made bikes badged by Pinarello and used by British Cycling (who’s bike sponsor was pinarello at the time) For coaching kids in schools and clubs. These were not commercially available bikes but were made available for sale at the end of the sponsorship and would have been bought by cycling clubs. There’s absolutely nothing special about the quality of the frame and would make a terrible gravel bike IMO, sorry.
Great idea for a video, but the mega-dollar approach is not relevant to anyone. It would be cheaper to just buy a second-hand gravel bike. Do it again, and get cheap second-hand components like what your viewers will do.
Have you ever done your own bike build?
Yes. You all make it look easy. Part compatibility is annoying! Diameters of things. Thread types. I wish I could just enter my frame make/model/year into a website and order all new parts for it from one source and know that I am getting parts that are compatible with some old frame I bought on Ebay. Then the bike shortage would go away, haha!
This is exactly the type of video i need!
My brother has a 90's Klein Attitude MTB and I've always wanted to convert it to a modern ish bike, with drop bars and rigid front fork (before Gravel bikes were a thing).
My only issue is the brakes, i think they're cantilever brakes or V brakes. The front could be anything as i could get a fork to fit the type of brakes i would want, could be disc brakes, road style rim brake caliper, mtb rim brake caliper. But for the rear, what brake type would fit the mounting point if it was a V brake or cantilever brake? Would it only fit that type, or can i match with any new road or mtb rim brake caliper like the front? Would there be issues if i used different brake types front and rear?
As it's 26in wheels, i would use 650b.
But what issues would there be if i got a fork that would fit 700c or 29er wheel on the front and then put 650b on the rear?
Currently working on a similar build/upgrade to my first MTB. A KHS Alite 1000 from the early 2000s.
Yes, but Shimano blew me off.
I'm currently on the process of converting my mtb to a gravel bike. I used 25.4mm x 90mm stem and 400mm x 25.4mm dropbar and a micronew 3x10 sti and ltwoo A7 fd and rd. I have 11-42T cassete and 28-38-48T chainrings. I still need to buy barrel adjusters to adjust the cable tension since my local mechanic can't tune it correctly without it. I have mechanical disc brakes though I'm planning to change to cable actuated hydraulic brakes in the future or 2 piston mechanical brakes. And I'm planning to change my rear derailleur for something better but not that expensive. Lastly, I'll probably change the frame and wheelset someday.
Alex: "buy a suitible bike and keep the cost down"… moments later : "let's take the super expensive GRX DI-2…" 🤷🏻♂️😂
Thats just the normal stuff laying around everywhere at gcn megabase 😂
…and paying 500£ for an old bike…
just the thing i was thinking, made a budget build out of and old trek mtb, cost me 40 pund, even has a dropdown bar and everything, then again, he did not say budget, but i bet that you be able to get a faily good middrange Gravel bike, for less than what this build is gonna end up at, but lets see how it adds up.
By the time you add the price of the mtb he bought plus the cost of a di2 group set you can easily buy an new aluminum framed gravel bike with mid range components.
@@RazzFazz-Race One that isn't even 700C at that.
Pretty sure that is not how Venn diagrams work: looks like Dr. Bridgewood left the studio for too long
Alex explaining that diagram almost gave me brain damage.
too funny
Yeah kind off a reverse Venn diagram. :) it got the idea across.
Be lot more interesting if the donor bike was like £200 instead of £500
personally I would have never spent that much money on this bike. I bought a 2010 XC bike with hydraulic Magura brakes, Magura air fork (this one is a cheap coil crap) and XT 3x9 drivetrain and that cost me 500€ back in 2016. 500Gbp for that thing is a big no no !
*the whole build
I converted an early 2000s MTB to a gravel bike myself. Had a lot of fun. Although my budget was like 100€ (+ selling old parts).
I stuck to the Deore LX 3x9 trigger shifters (but installed a 2x crank) and have them sitting near the brakelevers on the dropbars.
It looks janky and might be heavy (12,5 kg total) but it's actually quit comfy. Might upload it to the App one day
Sounds awesome Viktor!
I am not sure what the point of this video series is when you have thrown $2400+ at it, that's a pretty damn nice Specialized Diverge or Trek Checkpoint. People convert old mtbs to drop bar because it's a cost saving measure (or at lest that is why I'm doing it), so going balls to the walls will make this bike stand out from its converted brethren and probably not in a good way.
It's an ad for Shimano, that's the point.
I made that mistake 4 years ago, I spent more than I could have bought a sora checkpoint for. And I had put sora on my build. Mostly it was the $800 I spend on new wheels. I parted back out my mistake and use those wheels on another bike. But I could have bought used carbon wheels for less, it’s two big mistakes.
Can't wait to spend 3 grand on my next 50 quid frame
Pro tip: Check out Oldshovel instead.
🙌 I’d recommend that too 😁
AGREED. It's like therapy
USA hardtail MTBs in the mid 90s were the very best for cutting edge innovation and crafting -- Bontrager, Ritchey, Marin, Moots, etc. Once you ruled these out and set your budget too low, everything else was pointless -- because the frame is the soul of the bike. I personally have upgraded a Bontrager Race TiLite, a Moots YBB, and an Airborne Lucky Strike, all beautifully crafted Titanium, and all 3 perform better than modern gravel bikes at 3-4x the price. You can save money by not spending beyond Shimano XTR 3x9 dual-control, the best groupset ever made.
This comment exactly, you'd do far better with anything from the mid 90s, the thing he's got is about 10 years old and the components are below Deore, it has a Pinnarello badge and that's it and £500 for it is daylight robbery
You need to ditch the suspension fork to be a true conversion
How is it a conversion then if all oyu keep is the frame? Not really sure it still qualifies by keeping even the fork and frame as well…
@@andrei0525 well converting the components is what makes it a conversion
@@macroglossumstellatarum3068 but he‘s replacing not converting…
@@andrei0525 he’s not using the same parts lol
@@macroglossumstellatarum3068 exactly…it‘s more of a bike build with a second hand frame…hardly a conversion
wrong type of "old mountain bike". For a start it's too young and secondly it's got a suspension fork (please tell me you're not keeping that...) so the geometry will be all wack with a rigid fork lowering the front end. Late 90s full rigid after they stopped using quill stems is the era bike you want. They were more nimble (aka twitchy) than the slack head angle more modern bikes.
And how can you use "keeping costs down" and "GRX Di2 groupset" in one sentence and keep a straight face?
Wanna see how to do this properly? Go look at Old Shovel's channel, or Eric on Spindatt.
I'm building a gravel(ish) bike from a Kona Smoke using some NOS 5600 10spd 105 shift levers on flared drops connecting to what was 9spd Deore mechs (it works, they run on a 10 spd cassette) and properly set up cant's will have more than enough braking force. It might all be old stuff, but it will have retro-cool that this pile of flashy parts could only dream of.
Having said that... Messing round with building/modifying bikes is cool whatever kind of thing one is Frankensteining together. wrench on.
The fork wont be an issue (if he changes it), 26" suspension corrected rigid Disk forks are super easy to find even in carbon and they are pretty well sized to take a 650b. The biggest issue is the reach/top tube length.
Nice ride! I did the same thing with my 2010 Scott Scale 29er hardtail.
-Stand Crest ZTR wheels with Vitorria Mezcal tires with Stans sealant.
-Salsa cow chipper drop bars
-Shimano 105 shifter coupled to a Tan Pan to keep shift ratios to an XT derailleur coupled to an 11x52 cluster and a single Wolf tooth 32 upfront.
-The front brake is a hydraulic TRP brake to compliment the hydraulic 105 shifter/brake.
-I replaced the Reba fork with a Surley Krampus.
I ride this more than my road bike and mountain bike combined as it is so versatile.
Keep riding
Wow, such a find, that bike, gorgeous. And I'm all for Alex doing whatever he wants with it, tho' he'd better not remove that triple. I know I'm dreaming as 1x is all the rage but I won't ever understand why 3x is not preferred for all-terrain, all-whatever riding. More NOS triples for me and all other smart riders, I suppose. :)
Damn straight. Are we the only ones that like to have a big ring on long, slightly downhill stretches, or if you’ve got a nice tailwind?
@@stanschmenge1965 Life is too short not to have a big ring, no? Let's leave the single-ring bikes to the letter-sweater clad on campus and ride the dusty trail like the wind to victory in the town at the edge of sunset.
Get a Pinarello in perfectly good shape and throw on it the priciest groupset Shimano has to offer. A great way of doing a Shimano guerilla ad. But let's be honest under the current global bike shortage the sensible choice would be just to ride the damn bike as it is.
why did you not just buy a frame and fork
😅😅😅😅 he has no brain
Did the same. My MTB converted now. 700c tyres fitted. Kept the old SLX groupset with mechanical disc brakes. Geometry is different. Still cannot answer if it makes me happy riding the bike. The Build was fun however.
You're gonna ruin a perfect MTB 🤦♂️
Why didn’t you just buy a MTB frame & plonk the groupo on 😂😂😂
Also that Venn diagram……well it isn’t one lol 😂
Just for fun, I recently converted an old 1989 Rocky Mountain Hammer to a "gravel" bike. Just changed over to drop bars and used a set of 3X7 Tourney shifters. Left everything stock. Works a treat. Leaves me with a coprophilic grin. Total cost, 160 GBP. (250 CAD)
Very cool indeed!
Dr. Venn will be turning in his grave when he sees this diagram
I took a 2012 29er hardtail frame and made a sick drop bar MTB/Gravel bike out of it. Probably one of my favorite bikes that I’ve owned and it’s not even close
@@simonorr5987 I’m running a 100mm Manitou Machete suspension fork. I did go rigid but the suspension is sooooo much nicer. And on Road it’s plenty firm enough even when not locked out. Also have a suspension dropper post. It’s niiiiiice
Wow, sounds awesome!
maybe use a rigid fork?
Not sure it qualifies as a conversion since you‘re only keeping the frame and maybe fork…
That's how converting works. You change parts until it matches what you need. This isn't a complicated subject.
@@mihalis1010 errrr...no, that's building up a frame. You could keep mist if what's there, replace bars, shifters, maybe fork. That's a conversion.
@@matthewlewis2072 "The process of changing or causing something to change from one form to another."
That's the definition from the Oxford dictionary, and it's exactly what they're doing in this video. What you're talking about is "upgrading."
FFS you could buy a decent new gravel bike for the cost of DI2 GRX.
wheels, gears, chainset, seatpin, stem all fine (isn't that a carbon FSA seatpost???!)
New bar, shifters (e-bay), possibly a fork. That's it. £200 max.
I love the idea of seeing more builds on the channel! Super into this stuff 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Thanks Jakob. We love making them too!
A projekt like this will always cost more in terms of time and money, than finding a complete bike at a reasonable price.
Trigger's broom.
Who the hell puts GRX Di2 groupset on a cheap used '90s MTB? Would be better if you showed us how to convert a 90's rigid fork, rim brake MTB into a current disc brake gravel bike...
It's not even that, it's a mid 2000s- early 2010s mountain bike shaped object
Even though we're using GRX Di2, the concept still applies!
The cycling media always shill expensive groupsets. Sensah and ltwoo are now the people's gear sets.
i have an 26er with 1.95 650b tires and wheels it fits my 26 frame and i have an alloy rigid fork and 100mm -35 stem and 1by with 42t chainring
i mainly use it for flatroads and crit racing and sometimes light gravel
GCN's Venn Diagram game is on point.
Why this video took so long to produce…….
Because it took 2 years to get the shimano components
😏😏😂🤣
Bro just buy an alloy topstone at that point. You're getting a 105 2x drivetrain, no need to toss out what looks to be a great trail bike just to give it parts that it can't make full use of
dude - an old mountain bike did not have disc brakes or suspension - my oldest bike- " friction generator " had coaster brakes- kinda had to push them up some trails and they almost caught on fire on the long downhills - smoke coming out of them old brakes !!!!! then removed the coaster brakes and strung cables for brakes and built a rear wheel with like a 46 freewheel and a long cage derailleur-then some guy named Chris Chance made bikes----with out shocks----not many folks remember those those old days---turning two old Merlins from 1988 and 1996 into " Cross Bikes "-enjoy all-
My trek4500 26er was converted. The frame will take 700x38c. Chucked the front suspension & got a rigid carbon fork. Went microShift 1x10. The frame had bolt holes for an adapter so hydraulic discs. Surly corner bars.
THAT is the proper job! Absolutely amazing that you even got that size wheel in with any tyre at all! What size chainring did you fit?
@@peterharrington8709 It has a 40T chainring at the moment - it took all 116 links on the chain. Am thinking about dropping to 38T or 36T. At the moment the bike is in Florida where it's dead flat so 40 is OK, but the bike will be going home to the Isle of Man next year and I think it will need a smaller chainring.
I’m soo glad you are doing this series I e been wanting to do this myself for awhile
You're probably gonna get a lot of stick for using such high end parts but I'm looking forward to this. Dozens of youtubers have cobbled together parts bin "Gravel bikes" which doesn't really tell you a lot about how they compare to bikes with more modern components. Di2 is probably pushing it though, for the price of one GRX group set you could get a mech' hydro gravel bike good enough to race on.
Scratch that last part, just had a quick look and you could buy 2 mech' hydro gravel bikes and have enough change left for a bag of chips.
Vintage. I love it the way it was. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Can't wait to see this build. Another epic Alex series!!!!
Thanks Steve!
Gorgeous bike, as-is! Here in the US, have never seen one! Slap some 650B’s on it, convert to 11 speed 1x, and ride it!
I really enjoy this kind of project but always on a steel high quality frame... there are so many interesting deals about Tange prestige, columbus, reynolds and True Temper... you can build a super steel gravel bike and stay close to 10 kg with normal components... also i believe the best frame is the with the rigid fork, with bigger tires you definitely don't need sospension fork, the secret is dealing with pressure to find your best ride ever :)
Italian + good build quality = oxymoron
Watching this with interest as I just bought a used 5 year old cannondale hybrid to start riding again. This is what I have in mind eventually.
Pina! Ez aztán jó márka! :D
Put a drop bar and correct gear / brake levers and you have a gravel bike for less money. It seems that flat bar gravel bikes exist so don't do anything to the bike, don't spend any money and enjoy gravel riding.
I honestly don't know what is the fuss bout gravel bikes. Am a diehard mtber and a roadie for kicks, with these 2 distinct discipline, I don't find my life is short of anything fun.
Yeah......been done, over and over ....
I don't think this is really what people think about when they compare modern gravel bikes to retro mountain bikes. They are more thinking something maybe a bit more old school, steel, rigid fork bike. This doesn't really fit the bill, bit disappointed
Way way too much effort and overspend - you’ve basically built a new bike short of a frame - tyre change only - or you could have bought a new Trek Dual Sport for that money - which is what I did.
The idea of this video is awesome! I think it is a fair price to get a gravel bike in UK or US, but here in Brazil it is waaaay much more expensive! Almost to the point of not buyable! So the only option is to get a old MTB and try to do this! Even knowing it won’t be as good as a proper gravel bike, but at least it is a option! I am considering doing this for a really long time but I’m not sure about the parts compatibility! I hope to learn something with this series! Keep up with your good work!
Would have been great to see a video converting a cheap unwanted old beat up MTB to a decent fast gravel racer. Sadly this is not about that😞
Thanks. There certainly will be some info in this series that will apply to you!
1x is silly for gravel
I wish I had 3x on my gravel bike. 3x is the new 1x
1:45 🤣
I'm happy you're doing these videos on building a gravel bike as I'm planning on doing the P2A, I live in Ontario, next year and plan to build a bike myself.
It's always good to give something a second lease of life
I did it about 2 years ago... But I used a aluminum 29er MTB, one frame size under, rigid alloy fork and gravel bars... The only problem was the very long top tube lenght... And It was a "boneshaker" tio, due alloy frame & fork 🤣🙈
I'm looking to do the same. You went a frame size under?
'A Pinarello Pina is quite rare to find' yeah, and with good reason - Italians can stick to making road bikes, like this bike, pretty much foray of theirs into MTB's isn't great...
Entertaining series, but definitely not the base bike I'd start with (or be proud of starting with).
I use a 2009 Kona Kula with original triple chainset works perfect for bikepacking. 🙃
Woulda looked for a 90's- 2000 steel frame bike with rigid forks to take 700 or 29er wheels mesen.
Or if using a mtb, at least fit a suspension corrected rigid fork.
Thank you for choosing "Italian"
exactly what i have been wanting to do with my mtb for some time now
It's certainly fun - you should give it a go!
Or just get a 29er hardtail and drop everyone on the tech sections and still keep up with everyone on the road sections...
That would be the most logical solution, but you know..... gravel 🥸😂
Is lot easier with 29" but to compare to gravel You need at least:
- Fit narrow 19mm rims (if lucky: narrow rims is standard, keep cost low) and fit 700c x45 or similar tyres (when lucky and have one with better rims: tape and magic - make it's tubeless)
- "roadie" handlebar - option for more aero position (not must, but ride against the wind make difference)
- maybe 2nd hand fork without suspension? or one lightweight from hybrid bike (short travel)
Standard 29er is not very fast (usually) due to smaller front sprocket(s) if compare to gravel. So next logical step is change drive for "gravel" type. Or at least sprocket only.
....
Keep original tyres (wheels)/handlebar/sprocket for winter :D
That was a big tease! 😂
Couldn't you've kept the chainset when just switching the three chainrings for one narrow-wide one with new screws? Just wondering.
in the real world, probably yes. If you're someone wanting to install a ultimate eletronic 2000€ groupset on a 20+ years old frame, probably not
I think you missed the whole point. 😐
That bike was in too good condition to start.
I would say a total waste of money but the parts are probably all freebees anyway.
Oh yes! I was planning to do this during the summer! Looking forward to this series!
Hope you enjoy it, good luck
@@gcntech I hope so too, and thanks!
Yes, budget. A set of dart forks that feel like you've got a dead donkey hanging off your bars. But di2 shifting. I thing someone's not got there priorities set on this project!
Looks like a interesting series
Keep it comin
OMG I liked it as it was .. Seemed a shame to strip it down .. Maybe you should of just bought a 2nd hand Frame only .. !
Interesting how my mountain biking has almost always been “gravel biking” on old treks and hard tail rockhoppers
You should look into "MTB RIGID SETUP" they're practically a mountain bike converted into a gravel bike. Has a rigid fork and a lower range cassette with a 1by chainring. Pretty solid as an all-rounder bike since road bikes wouldn't survive with the road conditions where I live.
I get absolutely sick and tired of hearing that gravel gravel bikes are 90's mountain bikes. They are not. But, I have went down the rabbit hole. I found a really nice Cannondale M500 frame I just stripped down, am buying a 1x groupset for and am converting to more of a gravel bike for my son for his commuter. (He moved and he is crying about his single speed being too hard on the steep hills. "Rule #5" is what I tell him, but an excuse to build out a cool bike is still an excuse.)
Around here any bike capable of going down a gravel road is a gravel bike.
What always makes me laugh about that, is that specific Cyclocross bikes (which I think we can all agree are about as close to a gravel bike you can get without it being one) pre date Mtb by at least 25 years. I also suspect that originally the argument was more like "you can use an old mtb as a Gravel bike" or "Gravel biking is what we used to do on old mtbs" and fair enough I can buy that.
It doesn't seem like anything needed replacing. If you wanted to go with 700c, then the frame and fork would not be big enough. For 650b, you'll compromise the tire width in order to make the wheels fit. Best to start with a 29er. But then you're already starting with a modern bike.
Solid concept, sponsored content makes it an absolute joke though.
Exactly. "keep the cost down" and then shortly after "all Shimano" and "DI2"... That's one expensive build. :|
Should be retitled "Buy a beautiful MTB and butcher it!"
Should have chosen the Unicycle!!!!!!
Wth? How can some old aluminium mountain bike with rubbish groupset cost 500 pounds?
Looking forward for the future videos how this turns out!
so, you bought a frame. & you want to stick an 800 pound groupset on it. Golf clap.
Next, we take a gravel bike and turn it into a road bike! If you're in your 60s and want to wear spandex underwear in public, we got the ticket for you...
This idea is so silly and so interesting at the same time.
Struggling to see the point in this, the price of the bike and components could very easily buy a nice gravel bike. It's not as tho this can even be turned into a monster cross either with the limited tyre clearance.
as someone who has a 20-year-old MTB at home I wanted to replace some parts and upgrade it to be more "state of the art". but I have zero knowledge about bikes and bike part assembly :D
Keep an eye out for the next episodes to learn a few new things!
So your gonna keep the suspension forks and flat bar setup and call it a gravel bike!? Pah!
Nah Gravel bikes are just pre 2000s TOURING bikes with disc brakes and modern tubing 😱🤘
Same price as Ollie's Pinarello. Seems like something is brewing up for a challenge for a one on one. Hope you involve others then make a UK backpacking loop of several days to finish.💥✌
£500 for a Pinarello Pina? You was mugged son
Just like Pinkbike with their Hi-Lo bike thing, I reckon you got this all wrong.
This is already a really good bike, i'd prefer leave it as it is
This is clearly giving me idea 🥳
Great! Let us know what you decide to do! 🙌
So the “Pina” mountain bikes were Far Eastern made bikes badged by Pinarello and used by British Cycling (who’s bike sponsor was pinarello at the time) For coaching kids in schools and clubs. These were not commercially available bikes but were made available for sale at the end of the sponsorship and would have been bought by cycling clubs. There’s absolutely nothing special about the quality of the frame and would make a terrible gravel bike IMO, sorry.
Great idea for a video, but the mega-dollar approach is not relevant to anyone. It would be cheaper to just buy a second-hand gravel bike. Do it again, and get cheap second-hand components like what your viewers will do.
Keep the Ritchey stem!
The group set alone cost $2000. Why not just buy an actual gravel bike like the Canyon Grail or Grizl ?
But don't we need a slightly smaller frame to math gravel bike geometry..!
Cyclo-cross bikes usually have slightly shorter top tube doesn't it .?
Love these kinda videos😍 can't wait for the next installment.... how long will you make us wait??
We're working on the edit now so shouldn't be long!
I think you might have to revise the description of the video a bit... Or perhaps not :D
Was there ever an episode 2??
Great idea look forward to the episode 🤩😉👍🚴
Thanks Pete!
That's not old, just used. Old would be my 1994 MBK MTB that came with V-brakes, 3x7 gears and a 1" threaded headset.