This is making me think seriously about building up a 32" bike.


I didn't see details on the cable routing. Do the cables run through the headset? I would greatly prefer external routing. I expect that many people will need to adjust their bar height and stem length to get a good fit, and that is harder with internal routing.

Three and a half years later, the paint hasn't held up all that well. There are a number of chips, and I gave up on touching them up after a while. It appears that the issue is with the Montana Cans colors not sticking tot he primer, as the primer is solid everywhere. I may have sanded the primer too finely so the top layer didn't have much bite.

I have the Seaboard GR02 aluminum gravel frame, and it's been great. No issues building it up, and the paint and welds look nice. I'm not sure if that is coming out of the same factory or not though.

Quote from: porkypete58 on November 12, 2025, 10:33:44 AM
Can anyone help me?
I've only ever built with J-Bend spokes and aluminium rims before but now I've just got some nice carbon rims to build up (Front 24H / Rear 28H)
One of the hubs I'm considering is the Goldix R180 but it is straight-pull spokes and although I can get dimensioned drawings of the hubs, the one piece of information I cannot find is whether the spoke holes are angled for 2-cross, 3-cross or something else?
Anyone out these with any input ?

I don't have any experience with those hubs, but most 24H wheels will be 2-cross.

Nextie has a lightweight 32" rim (~350 g) but it isn't available to the general public yet. Mike Curiak, a custom wheel builder, paid for the initial run and can build wheels with them.
https://www.mtbr.com/threads/nextie-alpha-32-rims-available.1242453/


Apparently there are some additional tires on the way (more aggressive than the Aspens) and several manufacturers are working on 32" bikes.

Quote from: Stravakiddo on September 26, 2025, 03:50:38 AM
Can you fit 45 or 50mm tyre?

No. They claim 42 mm is the maximum. I have WTB Byways that measure just shy of 44 mm and that is very tight. I wouldn't ride tires that wide if mud is a possibility.

Quote from: ediryppah on September 26, 2025, 12:26:01 AM
Care to share pictures of the bike?

I firts built it up as a 1x11 with Sensah brifters, GRX crank (40T), and an 11-34 cassette I had. I wanted a larger gear range so I upgraded it to Microshift Sword 2x10. The brakes are the Tektro versions of the TRP Spyres. They're OK but I need to get some better housing. Most of the other parts are from my spares or were purchased cheap.


It's primarily my commuter but it's too much fun to just be transportation.

Quote from: jonathanf2 on September 26, 2025, 10:40:41 AM
Were you seated while riding downhill? On my gravel bike, I'm always out of saddle on the downhills mainly for balance. Though it probably saves my seat posts from snapping as well.

I'm curious what amount of force is needed to snap a carbon seat post.

I was actually riding uphill on a somewhat rocky trail when I heard the crack. I'm also usually out of the saddle when descending. I do take that bike on some bumpy trails - more easy singletrack than actual gravel. I'm also about 95 kg, so that's asking a lot of a seatpost.


No issues with the one on my road bike though, and I've had that one for longer.

My Elitaone post developed some extra compliance.

I'm another happy GR02 owner. The welds and paint look really good and I had no issues building the frame up. Mine is mostly a commuter but I haven't had any problems with it.

I'm a big fan of Roger Musson's wheel building book:
https://www.wheelpro.co.uk/wheelbuilding/book.php


It's a bit less theoretical and more practical than the Jobst Brandt book. He also shows how to build a basic truing stand and dish gauge. I've built a couple wheels following his guide and it worked out well.

Tideacebike

I have Maxxis Ramblers in 700x50 on 23mm internal rims. They measure slightly wider than that. They're isn't much more room on the rear so I wouldn't go wider than that. The fork has a little more clearance but not much.

The Tsunami / Seaboard GR02 is another option, although it's a bit more of an all-road bike than gravel (42mm official max tire clearance, although may have been increased?). I have one for my commuter and it's been great - no issues building it up, and the paint and welds look good.


I only found one link for it, but I didn't search very hard:
https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256808732162134.html


You can get it direct from Tsunami as well, with more color and size options:
https://tsunamibicycle.com/product-category/products/tsunami-fixie-frameset-road-bike-frameset-gravel-frameset/multiple-speed-frameset/gravel-frameset/aluminum-alloy-gravel-bike-disc-brake-700c-internal-cabling/

It's not cheap, but it looks like the Ritchey WCS Carbon Brevet Road Fork meets those requirements.


https://ritcheylogic.com/bike/forks/wcs-carbon-brevet-road-fork