Pondo’s parts, projects and ponderings

[Pondo]

I seem to be dragging home cool junk regularly so I’m just going to keep track of it here.

Most recently I grabbed another Rail for an upcoming MBBO. It’s a good start but incomplete so the parts searching has begun. I really like these long frame Huffys and this one has these cool tires. The rear dropout took some damage in shipping but it’ll be fine. Straightened it out, bolted it loosely together and now I have a fresh muscle bike project in the library again.

 

[Tintmanpa]

Cool bike. I’m collecting parts for my next MBBO. Last Sept was my first. I enjoy the deadline build.

 

[Pondo]

Have you ever bought a bike you expected to love and had the opposite experience? This Steppenwolf is that for me. It’s a German brand that I know very little about. I bumped into these back in 2019 when I was looking for a light carbon fiber hardtail. It was on Amazon and listed for around $1500-1600 at the time down from $2300 as it was an older model. It’s spec’d really nice with an XT group, Rock Shox Solo Air fork, Avid Elixir brakes and other nice bits. I thought about it for a few days and checked back on the listing. It was $200 lower. The next day it was $100 lower. And it kept going down each day by a little less, mostly around $40-50 a day. Really weird. I kept watching until it was down to $750 and had only been reduced by $7. I didn’t think it would go down much more and might go back up so I bought one. The next day it was back to $1500. They sold the last of them during the bike boom a few years ago for $2300. I feel like I got a pretty good deal on it. It got lost in shipping and they had to send me another one too. Just a strange story on this thing.

So I got it assembled and adjusted and started taking it on rides. It’s a nice bike but it wasn’t comfortable for me and it just wasn’t inspiring. The last time I rode it a few years ago I got a pinch flat on the back and just never fixed it. It’s still pretty much like new.

So I’ve been wanting to get it back out and figured I should try to make it more comfortable. I ordered some ‘alt’ style bars from Velo Orange to try out. Today I got to it.

The first I tried were these interesting bars they call the Granola-Moose bars. They look comfy but the cables and hoses are too short to accommodate them and I don’t want to mess around with all that. So these will go on a different bike.

Next up was their Seine bar. Nice and wide, swept back with a little rise. I installed them with a short stem and they fit with no issues.

Also installed a more comfortable seat

Air in the tires and I took it for a spin in the woods. I was hoping for good results and this was a big win. It’s a totally different bike now. Comfortable, light , fast and fun!

I want to try a little longer stem but otherwise I’m very pleased so far. This thing is tubeless ready so I think that’s going to happen soon. That should improve ride quality and grip a good amount. Hopefully I’ll get those Granola-Moose bars on something soon too.

 

[Captain Awesome]

Have you ever bought a bike you expected to love and had the opposite experience? This Steppenwolf is that for me. It’s a German brand that I know very little about. I bumped into these back in 2019 when I was looking for a light carbon fiber hardtail. It was on Amazon and listed for around $1500-1600 at the time down from $2300 as it was an older model. It’s spec’d really nice with an XT group, Rock Shox Solo Air fork, Avid Elixir brakes and other nice bits. I thought about it for a few days and checked back on the listing. It was $200 lower. The next day it was $100 lower. And it kept going down each day by a little less, mostly around $40-50 a day. Really weird. I kept watching until it was down to $750 and had only been reduced by $7. I didn’t think it would go down much more and might go back up so I bought one. The next day it was back to $1500. They sold the last of them during the bike boom a few years ago for $2300. I feel like I got a pretty good deal on it. It got lost in shipping and they had to send me another one too. Just a strange story on this thing.

So I got it assembled and adjusted and started taking it on rides. It’s a nice bike but it wasn’t comfortable for me and it just wasn’t inspiring. The last time I rode it a few years ago I got a pinch flat on the back and just never fixed it. It’s still pretty much like new.
View attachment 288747

So I’ve been wanting to get it back out and figured I should try to make it more comfortable. I ordered some ‘alt’ style bars from Velo Orange to try out. Today I got to it.
View attachment 288748

The first I tried were these interesting bars they call the Granola-Moose bars. They look comfy but the cables and hoses are too short to accommodate them and I don’t want to mess around with all that. So these will go on a different bike.
View attachment 288749

Next up was their Seine bar. Nice and wide, swept back with a little rise. I installed them with a short stem and they fit with no issues.
View attachment 288750
Also installed a more comfortable seat
View attachment 288751View attachment 288752View attachment 288753

Air in the tires and I took it for a spin in the woods. I was hoping for good results and this was a big win. It’s a totally different bike now. Comfortable, light , fast and fun!
View attachment 288754View attachment 288755View attachment 288756

I want to try a little longer stem but otherwise I’m very pleased so far. This thing is tubeless ready so I think that’s going to happen soon. That should improve ride quality and grip a good amount. Hopefully I’ll get those Granola-Moose bars on something soon too.

I can feel how comfortable those bars are through the screen!!!