This is the first build where, instead of starting from a full bike, I started with the bare frame and added the parts that I thought would best fit the image I had formed in my mind the first time I saw it. An interesting hack is the 10-speed SRAM GX MTB shifter mounted to the 31.8 mm section of the drop bars. I wrote a short tutorial about the process for anyone interested.
I am of course very pleased with the result. The only shame is that the frame doesn’t have mounts for a disk brake caliper. This limits the bike to older standards, and drastically reduces the choice list for brake levers (not many long-pull levers for drop-bars other than a few select models). I might try one of those adapters that allow you to install a disk brake caliper on non-disk frames in some future project. I’ve heard good things about the A2Z DM-UNI especially. Normally with these adapters there’s a concern that the frame is subjected to stresses that it wasn’t designed to withstand, but the A2Z has a very interesting clamping mechanism that looks impressively sturdy. It’s also been around for a very long time, and I haven’t heard about a single case of the frame failing because of it.
