0 CommentsTravel Time
Tomorrow I leave for North Dakota where I get to spend 2 days on the Maah Daah Hey trail followed by some time with family in Minot, ND. I'm so excited. I still won't get to ride the MDH trail end to end, but I should get some serious miles in on the trail, followed by a few days of gravel road grinding in the Minot area.
Since I am travelling next week, I thought it might be appropriate to introduce my newest one off project. I've been working on this for months and assembling the parts for even longer. Here's my new S & S El Mariachi. What can brown do for you?
I've wanted a travel bike for years. In fact, I bought the couplers about 5 years ago and they've just been sitting around. As you know if you've been reading our blog for a while, I love my El Mariachi. I just think it is the perfect bike platform for a do anything bike. It's a proven off road performer. I could put slicks on it and ride paved roads. I can put cross tires on and ride endless gravel roads.
I only made a few modifications to our stock El Mariachi. I used larger diameter tubes because I'm heavy and I already had the couplers in a specific size. The bike is a dedicated 1x9 meaning no EBB, and no cable stops for a front derailleur. I also had to remove the seat tube brace so the couplers would be in the right place. To top it off, I had two different CroMoto SUL stems and a CroMoto Grande fork painted to match. I think it turned out quite stunning. Overall, it's perfect (for me)!
Parts have painstakingly been collected over the years. In some cases, I didn't know what I was going to do with them, but I started collecting parts for a special bike several years ago. Highlights for me are the Nitto forged post purchased in Japan, the XTR ball bearing shifters and brake levers, and the stylish old XT Octalink crank without external BB cups. The final topper came courtesy of Jagwire and Dirtrag with the limited edition cable and housing set. I also used totally reliable and simple parts that can handle getting banged around as I stuff this thing into a travel case.
Well, that's it for me until July 10th or so. You are getting a break from the Butcher as I'm not doing any email, blogging, mtbr postings, or taking any phone calls. This is a real family vacation that just so happens to include a bike.
Happy 4th. Ride your bike(s).
Jason
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