I have some thoughts swirling around in my head regarding my 177 and thought this would be a good place to vent and brainstorm
I want to do a 180 change with my whole bike stable (all of 2 bikes, lol) and the 177 is at the center of it all.
It all starts here: I currently own a Velobuild 177 and an alloy Poseidon X gravel bike with a SRAM mullet setup. What I really, really want is a shiny new rim brake road bike to complement these two but I only have enough space for 2 bikes (just 1 really, I make it work), so one has to go. I really, really want to keep my 177, but also really want a versatile wider tire bike in my 2 bike stable that gives me the flexibility and some of the all-road funsies I get from a true gravel bike.
My thought process goes something like this:
1. Put gravel bike up for sale
2. Start shopping for rim brake frame or full bike (oh the possibilities
)
3. convert 177 to some kind of all-road light-gravely kinda commuter cx bike thing with a 1x mullet setup and increased tire clearance
4. Purchase shiny new rim brake road bike
Now, the mullet conversion for the 177 is simple as I'm already running a SRAM 22 mashup. I would replicate what I run on the X: Apex/Rival/Force 1 derailleur with Garbaruk mod, 42 tooth chainring, 11-50 cassette, Gravelking SS tires and we're good to go. Maybe even a Ratio Technology kit and a 10-44 or 10-50 to go 12 speed. Tire clearance is the issue. I think the rear tire is not a big problem as my current tires balloon up to at least 31mm and there's maybe 4mm clearance on either side. The fork clearance is the issue, as we are all too well aware. That leads me to ask, has anyone experimented with a different fork on any of your road bikes? On a Velobuild? I'm considering seeking out a fork with a bit more tire clearance and sticking it on the 177 to fix my dilemma. Any suggestions/advice? FWIW my Poseidon X actually has a fork that originally belonged to a Trek Checkpoint and it all works together fine, but that conversion wasn't concerning as it's gravel bike - gravel bike and all dimensions are pretty similar.
The easy thing to do would be to sell the 177 and keep the X, but I'm more attached to the 177 and would prefer to have 2 carbon bikes. What do y'all think? 35mm clearance would be sick. Time to go down the rabbit hole...any suggestions, advice, stern words of disapproval, etc. welcomed!