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February 25, 2019

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Pete’s custom Ti 29er was designed for a few uses to go many places: primarily using 2.4 or 2.6’s for everyday trail riding and bikepack tours, a 3” plus bike when there’s a rough or sandy route like the Baja Divide, and as a “gravel” bike with 2.2” tires lowering the bottom bracket and steepening the angles with a rigid fork. It’s got the new Paragon sliding dropouts with chainstay length adjustment starting at 425 and going back to 445mm depending on the tire size and clearance desired as well as adding wheelbase options. Complete with four bosses on both seatstays to mount gear or bottles in a high/low position depending on whether his OMM rack is being used, triple under the downtube bosses for an anything cage or a big bottle, and an internal dropper port for up to a 175mm dropper with otherwise external housing for easy setup and maintenance. Excited to see where this bike goes! Will join his steel fatbike for a 2-Meriwether quiver. #meriwethercycles

Another from the vault. #tbt 2005 in Breckinridge with my Spot singlespeed set up as a 69er with a Wily fork (built by Black Sheep), Ti Discos (cog chain guides), 1995-era XTR cranks with Spot chainring and bash-guard, Thudbuster, and On-One Mary bars. This was before geometry slacked out so putting a 29” wheel on front really introduced us to what a slacker head angle rode like on a XC bike. Even with the higher BB it cornered and rolled over everything unlike any other bike at the time. The stem was long at about 120mm but the Mary bars (or OG Jones H-bars on my 2006 Hunter) placed our hands back so it was almost like having a shorter stem. Of course the reach and top tube lengths were still very short compared to today but I look back at this bike and it’s obvious why we liked them, compared to a 26er especially. Only a few 29ers had come out and were built with very steep 72 or 72.5 deg head tube angles to keep the trail similar to a 26er with a 71 HTA. This fork on this frame put the HTA around 69, very slack at the time with way more trail, and influenced what would later become the Trek 69er.

I love seeing the photos that One-drive sends each day to peak my nostalgia. These are from 2007 when I had an idea to ride my custom Hunter 29er from my home outside Boulder on as much singletrack as possible to the Great Sand Dunes National Park in southern Colorado. I created a paper route using Lat40 maps and USGS Topos with only a few trails I’d ridden before. I had no idea how long it would take or if I’d get there at all but to me that’s all part of the allure! The only non-pannier bag maker I knew that existed at the time was Jandd. Epic (now Revelate), and Carousel started up around then but IIRC were so busy it was hard to get in touch with them. My kit included a small stuff sack supported by a Moots Tailgator rack that housed my Hennessy Hammock, a backwards Jandd frame pack with raingear & snacks, and another compression sack strapped to my bars with my sleep kit and puffy jacket. I also had a backpack that was pretty overloaded. It’s absolutely crazy to see how big bikepacking has gotten and how many amazing bag makers there are out in the world and the wide diversity of bag designs. I didn’t make it to the Sand Dunes that tour, bailing out just past Salida on the Rainbow Trail but I learned a lot. I learned you should always bring a sleeping pad to insulate one’s arse while sleeping in a hammock. I learned that I hated riding with a backpack. I learned that some trails are on maps but not really there. I learned it’s better to be present on the tour and not focus too much on the destination. I learned that without a reason to link a couple of random places I’d never have had a reason to try and see what was out there. #nogogetlost

Agave Finishworks is now the sole spot to get titanium Meriwether Sweeper bars. They’re for sale now up on their website! Stunning beadblasting and anodization on both low-risers with 12 deg of sweep and 30mm rise, and the double-bend sweepers (flat bars) with 20 deg of backsweep. Only available at www.agavefinishworks.com/shop

Ilsina’s 27.5+ was built as an every day MTB, full fender commuter, and bikepacker. Throw a suspension fork on and it becomes a full-on trail whip. The tubeset and butt profiles were selected for her height and weight with the goal of making a light steel frame that could still handle loaded trail riding. Biggest front triangle possible with the desired standover and fork length, which you can see holds a beautiful frame bag that she built herself, along with the two handlebar bags! The frame has a portage handle for picking the bike up when you can’t grab the top tube. It’s got full fender bosses for 2.25’s and rack mounts for a Tumbleweed T-rack (cut 1cm shorter to hug the rear tire closer). The segmented fork has triple bosses for gear and an arch to mount a fender. This is what full custom is right here. Thanks for taking and sending such great photos of the build! #meriwethercycles

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