June’s steel cross-gravelbike

Before the recent Gravelbike explosion, cyclocross bikes were used to ride almost anywhere – long road rides, bikepaths, singletrack, dirt roads, and all on 700×34’s which by today’s standards is very small. They’re not that much different in geometry except for a little lower BB height, a little longer and slacker front end, maybe a shorter stem, and more tire clearance of course. Each bike I build is different from the next though since each bike is built for a different person. For this bike there’s a bit of top tube slope to help with standover and allow the use of a 100mm dropper post if desired. The addition of rear rack mounts make it flexible into the future as an allrounder that can be used on tours or as a grocery getter. I used small diameter tubing to personalize the look and ride quality. It’s not a stiff race frame, it’s my take on a steel cross bike that can be raced but will also be comfy while cruising the canal trails and endless dirt roads in the Sierra foothills.

Thankfully June was able to source the Shimano GRX components and wheels herself since I’m still waiting for any Shimano parts to arrive. I was able to get a Chris King BB and headset along with an ENVE G-series fork to add to the custom stem, Ritchey WCS Butano bars w/12 degree flare, Thomson Elite seatpost, and WTB Resolute 700×42 tires to finish the build. Enjoy the ride!

A note on powdercoats: everyone gets their choice on what color to powdercoat their frame by going to the Prismatic Powders website. However, there is a risk the result won’t look quite like the online swatch. As an example, this color is called “dynamic bronze” but turned out more silver/tan than bronze. Still a cool color, but not what was expected. Results can vary based on whether a clear coat is applied, what type of clearcoat, and on how much basecoat is applied. Also, when ordering just one pound they may mix the ingredients a little different than with bigger batches and introduce variation. Transparent powdercoats are even harder to match. We do our best but there may be variation.