Does anyone have any recommendations on flared drop bars? Something similar to the Salsa Cowchipper would be preferred. I'd prefer something from a trusted seller as I'm still hesitant on generic carbon bars.

Drop: > 120mm
Reach: > 80mm
Flare: between 20 and 30 degrees

I did find this one with some decent reviews but I'm not a fan of the Di2 holes. They may be a non-issue but I see them as weak points.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000987256782.html?spm=a2g0o.cart.0.0.58083c00nB42PF&mp=1

Here's the Salsa Cowchipper for reference:
https://salsacycles.com/components/category/road_handlebars/cowchipper

So who wants to school me in the ways of CX bikes? That's the short version. Now on to the long version.....

Here is my "wants" and "needs" lists. This should help folks understand what I'm looking for. It's going to be all over the place as I'm not sure where the priorities should lie. Any help in putting the build plan together would be greatly appreciated.

Needs:
A new bike for riding pavement (25%), gravel roads (60%), and light trails (15%). Most of the riding will be in and around Acadia National Park in Maine. Something comfortable but still efficient on the climbs that I can be on for the better part of a day. There’s no need for a bikepacking bike as I’ll never be too far away from civilization. Also, there will be no racing involved so no need to get all crazy on that end.

Wants:

Frame: I’m thinking I will go for another Waltly titanium frame so I can customize it to fit my purpose. Something along the lines of the OTSO Warakin. I’ve put roughly 100 miles on one of those and it was great. It was a 56cm and I think I’d like to go up to a 58cm. I’m just under 6 feet tall (maybe 182cm) and prefer a longer reach than most cramped road bikes offer.

Stem / bars: stem probably in the 70mm range. I don’t need mountain bike short but I don’t want a 100mm stem either. Bars probably 46mm wide.

Fork: Rockshox SID SL run at 80mm. It’s roughly 1350 grams and I could run it on the higher side so I’d only use 40mm or so. Most CX bikes have a tall head tube so I think I could drop that by 80mm to be around 100mm and that would keep the overall front end height the same. It could create a problem if I want to run a rigid fork though.

Seatpost: I’m liking the BikeYoke Divine SL on my single speed so I think I want to stick with that. It’s not much trouble to give the frame a 31.6 seat tube with a hole on the bottom for the cable. The Divine has a bit of cushion to it so I think that would be nice. The cushion is normal if it isn’t at it’s highest setting.

Drivetrain: Shimano GRX 1x set up. That would give me disc brakes and dropper lever capabilities.

Wheels / tires: I’ll do another Chinese carbon rim / DT Swiss 350 setup here. The tough part is deciding on what inner width and spoke count I should go with. What’s the consensus on a 21mm inner width rim with a 24 spoke 2 cross pattern build? I know it’s on the narrow side for current CX / gravel wheels but this will see more pavement than trail. This bring me to tire size and I’m not sure what size would be ideal. Maybe the 40mm range?? Would 21mm rims be sufficient for 38 to 42 mm tires? Keep in mind that I have the Ti single speed with 29x2.25 tires so I don’t need to go all trendy with big tires on this one.

So those are my thoughts on what I think I want. PLEASE let me know where I went wrong. I do not plan on ordering anything until spring so right now it’s only being built on paper.

As far as my capabilities, I've been riding mountain bikes since the early 90's and have built more bikes from scratch than I have purchased "off the shelf" bikes. So I'm good there. As for road / CX / gravel bikes, I'm completely new. I have ridden a few here and there, and the wife has a Trek Domane 6, but that's it.

Just wanted to pass this along if anyone is looking for a nice 27.5 plus wheelset.

https://www.performancebike.com/industry-nine-torch-hubs-with-hed-raptor-carbon-rims-27.5-boost-wje27bajeaee2s/p1058401

I've decided to retire (give to my daughter) my Workswell 062 that's built up as a singlespeed and jump into the world of titanium. I was really hoping to go with a custom Seven build as they are somewhat (4 hour drive) local to me. Unfortunately I cannot justify spending over $3,000 on a hardtail frame at this time. I started looking into some of the custom Chinese manufacturers and I settled on Waltly as they seem to have a good reputation.

I first emailed Waltly on June 3, 2020. While eating my cheerios and checking my email the following morning, I noticed one from Amy from Waltly Titanium. The email was basic and to the point with few details on how the process works. I emailed her back with more information on what I was looking for and our discussion was started. Over 7 days and 34 emails, Amy has been great to deal with. I'm not one to sleep through the night so that has definitely sped up the process as there is a 12 hour difference in time. If I woke up at 1am, I would check my email and try to respond if I could. If not, every email would take 24 hours to process. She will give some feedback on dumb ideas or things that will not work, but overall, it's up to me to get it right. I have no complaints on Amy's communication as it's been as good as can be expected and isn't far off from what Peter would provide.

Overall, I've been happy with my WW 062 frame but I wanted to make some subtle changes. The headtube angle should be slacker, the chainstays should be shorter, the seat tube should be able to handle internal dropper routing, the top tube slightly longer, be able to run a Bushnell EBB, and base all of it off of the new 120mm RS Sid with 35mm stanchions. That seems like a long list but the changes to those measurements is minimal.

This is what I want the frame to look like but with some added reinforcement tubes between the seat tube and each top tube. Similar frame lines to the Kona Honzo. I sent Amy a link to this frame of theirs and asked her to copy the look but add my changes.
https://waltly.en.alibaba.com/product/62314783972-218697100/Direct_Factory_Price_High_Quality_Bicycle_Frame_650b_Titanium_bike_Frame_Small_size.html?spm=a2700.icbuShop.41413.16.1fff57dc01Q5Yh

I'm not sure how the geometry numbers will actually ride but I tried to find a happy medium between an XC race bike and a new school enduro sled.
Geometry:
Effective top tube measurement: 635mm
Chainstay length: 425mm
Bottom bracket drop: 60mm
effective seat tube angle: 73.5 degrees
Seat tube length: 450mm
seat post size: 31.6mm
Head tube angle: 68 degrees
Head tube length: 110mm
Head tube bore: 44mm top, 56mm bottom
fork offset: 44mm
fork length: 530mm

Notes:
clearance for 29 x 2.4 in tires
front chainring: 34 tooth
eccentric bottom bracket shell (68mm wide with 54mm bore for Bushnell EBB)
external zip tie cable guides on bottom of top tubes for rear derailleur and rear brake
external zip tie cable guides on right side of down tube for dropper post
internal routing in seat tube for dropper seat post
top tubes to seat tube reinforcement tube with small curve, one per top tube

So with that, here is the drawing she sent me. I'm a little curious on why the seat tube bore is 31.75mm as that seems big for a 31.6 post so I'll inquire about that one. If anything else looks off, PLEASE let me know soon so I can make any required changes.

I just had another set of wheels built up with some rims from Peter at XMCarbonSpeed. It's a good as time as ever to start a wheel thread. Feel free to add to the list so people can see what some options are.

This set consists of:
AS738C rims from XMCarbonSpeed.com, 38mm outer, 32mm inner, 28h, 820 grams for the pair, measured ERD 552mm to top of nipple head
DT Swiss 350 Centerlock Boost hubs, 28h, rear is running the 54t ratchet
Sapim CX-Ray spokes also from XMCarbonSpeed
Sapim double hex self locking alloy nipples
Decals from Slik Graphics (I live in a color matched world, I blame it on my 2 daughters, don't judge me  )
Total cost with labor was $950, that's using full retail on the hubs and $100 in labor.

This guy has some cool carbon testing videos. It looks like he gets to have some fun testing and cutting up carbon bike parts and frames. Here is a cut away and an tutorial on the differences between an Enve rim and a generic chinese carbon rim.



His youtube channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCY9JUMYI54lLOHpb_zbIedQ

If this has been posted before, well, now you get to watch it again....

I have some X0 carbon crank arms that I don't need. They are new and have never been installed. $175 plus shipping.