The fact that you built something that suits your needs the best is absolutely great. I wish I could do the same, but after years of riding vintage steel roadbikes I just can't imagine building myself a gravel bike with a top tube that's not horizontal. And old frames usualy don't really work with disc brakes nor wider tires. But for now 28mm is enough for my kind of adventuring, so I'm not complaining
I build a similar setup before but with Cx tires and tried this setup with an 26er frame and it was a very pleasant experience until you face the issue of unstable handling on the back end since the frame isn't drop bar friendly but overall it's a good cx hybrid bike. But yeah great video! I'm currently converting my xc 29er mtb to a rigid setup as it is faster on flats and a better overall experience on gravel or rocky terrains.
You know, if you have access to a grinder, you can remove the teeth from your big ring, and use it as a bash ring. Plus, you are less likely get cut by your outer ring in a crash, if you round off the big ring.
Happy that i found your channel, when looking for mtb convertions to gravel bikes. I like your bike. Buying is easy, building and finding solutions is so much fun. My mom is from the philippines, i visited with one of my brothers baguio City in 2010.
its great i love it, i am also a student and i have the budget of building a proper gravel bike but this is completely fine. The rawness to the trail is the best thing you can have as a commuter and mtb lover.
Super cool build dude! Think you did a great job with what you had and what you chose to change out. I agree with your philosophy on the 3x drivetrain, more gear range is better for a bike like this. Your levers seem to be really similar to the Sensah brand which directly borrowed from Shimano lever's ergonomics and SRAM lever's shift design called double tap.
the shifter is from Sensah (made in china)... look at Ali Express.... decent shifters... im using the Sensah Empire 11 speed..... keep the brake cabled for weight saving and cheap maintenance,,, anyway nice setup.... gravel bike is good to go cross country and road.
I like this video... Straight forward...youre only focusing on the essentials and what is only needed. Kudos to your channel.. I'm planning to build a gravel bike..
I got a mosso from turkey that's kinda built like this one, mountain bike frame and rigid fork, 27.5 by 2.1 tires, claris 2 by 8 and drop bars, it's a tank of a commuter
right on man monster crosser old school 29er frame is way better bang for buck gravel bike,then over priced brand name gravel bike .Dig it !! i will do the same soon myself.
Short answer = yes. Just replace your worn bearings with new ones, re-lube/replace your chains and brake cables, and put on new brake pads and your bike should be working like new again. No need to spend $1000+ on a new gravel/cx bike, and a flat bar bike is easier to control off-road than a drop bar bike too. Wanna save some weight beyond replacing a suspension fork with a rigid alloy fork? Get a lighter wheelset. Most MTBs use a 32 to 36 hole wheelset but you can get a 24 to 28 hole gravel/cx wheelset and tires. You could pretty much save the same amount of weight as an expensive carbon frame would.
Is it worth it? Absolutely!! I did the same journey, after I bought a new hardtail mountain bike, I used the my older mountain bike frame and converted it to a drop bar monster-cross bike. Year by year, just upgrade what you can.
That's a very stupid idea! I did the same conversion. After buying my new 29er Canyon I didn't know what to do with old mid-90's Specialized Stumpjumper. So I put drop bars on it (has very short frame), a cheap fork and a TRP/Spyre disc brake up front. That sucker makes so much fun now that I have no clue why I bought am expensive 29er XC bike in the first place. Damned!
Love from the US. You might consider some wider bars on your beast. It is supposed to help tame the gnar. I like that Mosso rigid fork, but it is similarly priced to a Toseek full carbon fork, at least for me here. And the carbon is a bit lighter.
Hey. Nice job in your conversion Pare. I did the same to my 2010 Lynskey Ridgeline 29er with 50c WTB Riddler tire but I left my Fox F29 100 mm fork in just in case I ride road to single track trails. Fun and challenging. Thx for sharing the vid.
I've bought some Sensah Empire shifter which change like that, they are Sram compatible, Sram levers have the same shift style but the double click shifting is on a lever behind the brake Lever.
Searched for “converting hybrid to monstercross” and your vid came up, really appreciate the chill tone of your voice. Bonus points for your content, I miss PH so much :) As for the conversion, is your frame 650B/27.5 compatible? It could make the ride more supple. Cheers from Toronto!
Neat project. Did you strip out all the MTB components and change to CX style? I have a ‘97 RM Hammer that I am thinking of doing this to. Inspiring video. I like that you just got into it and didn’t worry about the latest and greatest!
Perfect bike for what you need, great up-cycling, I have plenty similar bikes, its always easy to build something like this as parts from 26ers are plenty and cheap, and why spend more? Also you get great tyre clearance. what is the Brand of the Levers? Price? How does the pull ratio of the levers harmonise with the MTB brakes? Which country are you in?
Cheers mate! Currently residing in Manila and due to the language barrier I'm having a hard time getting info on how to convert my mtb to gravel. Currently have an entry level Trinx mtb 27.5. Your video helps a lot! Lemme know if you're in Manila, owe you one!
The bike that I'm riding now I built all the components with it I took the original ones out because clearly some of them are not up to spec as far as the type of riding I like to do but I definitely understand your adventure and trying a different type of frame and bike entirely you are a brave individual I say keep them both and go for what you like
You’re using this set-up more as a monstercrosser rather than a gravel bike. A gravel biker wouldn’t go to that length of traversing difficult trail paths and the most they’d do are difficult terrain surfaces and less trodden paths that are more horizontal than declines. Way back 2002 I’ve done this to my Trek Elite NOW OCLV by changing its fork into a rigid carbon and slick tires but retained the flat bar. Should’ve tested it with drops though, In the Philippines with so many Japan Surplus shops, converting MTB’s into monster crossers or gravel shouldn’t be an issue. The used cheap but good dates but premier brand MTB frames are unlimited. Anyway wonder how a gravel bike with bullhorns would ride?
Hi, cool video! What's your RD and FD? Are your SAGMIT shifters 2 x 8 (which explains why you don't go down to the smallest chainring)? Are your disc brake hydraulic or mechanical? I'm trying to get more information to turn my MTB into a gravel bike too.
Me who explored most of south west germanys mountains and downhill racing tracks on my 23c road bike, Listening to 23c cant survive, yes it can. It just isnt optimal for soft dirt. But going 80kmh effortlesly down a mountain road is something you cant do with thick tyres aswell.
I'm about a year late but can I know how you setup the road bike shifters with the FD and RD, btw I've watched this 4 times now really enjoy the content
tu bicicleta me parece muchomejor que la gravel bike original!! Your grabel bike is the best!! No gravel bike original, gravel bike mtb is thebest!! Yo me quiero armar una gravel bike mtb 29" espero lograrlo pronto 😂
Just look at the opening sequence. You'd have so much more control and be much more comfortable if you had flat bars. Drop bars just not appropriate for that kind of terrain. I have always found it iroinc that the one place gravel bikes are inadequate is ... on gravel!
I have my 29er single speed, gt 17 karakoram I bought mosso M6 I will convert it to be Monster Cross, salamat idol.... From 🇨🇦 btw 🍺⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ panalo yung bike
Nicely done ! Here's my Hyper Explorer Hardtail 29er 1x9 review, including Gravel Bike Upgrades: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-07AUPD-vWtc.html Shout-out to Kevin & KevCentral - for inspiring this Upgrade Project ! - David in Texas
