Singletrack/MTB
Gravel/All-road
Dirt-road Touring
Fat-bike
This week’s Reader’s Rig comes from Chucky of Marygold Cycles in Chicago, who shares his custom Sam Mack frame with beefy tires, lugs, a beautiful rust patina, and an eclectic parts kit. Get to know more about Chucky and his one-of-a-kind frame here…
Words and photos by Chucky Berls
Hey, ya’ll! Chucky here from Chicago, Illinois. I grew up in the west suburbs of Chicago until I was 19, when I moved to Phoenix to pursue year-round skateboarding. I moved back to the Illinois suburbs briefly before moving to Chicago in 2015. I exclusively worked in the service industry for 16+ years until leaving a brewery to go full-time bike mechanic a year and a half ago. I currently work at Mack’s Bike & Goods three days a week and run Marygold Cyclery the rest of the week.
In March of 2022, I went into Mack’s for the first time for their anniversary party. It was the first time I met Sam and Kelly, who own the shop, and the first time I laid eyes on Sam’s custom-built, lugged steel, big-tired bike. I couldn’t take my eyes off of it. I just loved the thin tubing with the massive tires. Fast forward to November of 2023 when I texted Sam asking him to build me a frame, and he said, “Dude, I would love to.”
Within a couple of hours of that text, Sam had ordered tubes and lugs. We took some measurements off my Hardrock, double-checked my PBH, and Sam eagerly got to work. Most of the build was done with used parts, aside from the tires, cassette, chainring (thanks, Matt!), and pedals. I’m so happy with the outcome and so thankful that Sam was down to build it for me. Thanks a million, bub. It’s been perfect on the unpaved trails we have around the city, and it’s surprisingly pretty dang quick on pavement, too.
- Frame/Fork: Sam Mack custom (Columbus Life 7/4/7 and Zona tubing, Kirk Pacenti fork crown)
- Rims: Velocity Cliffhangers
- Hubs: Shimano dynamo (front) / Shimano (rear)
- Tires: Vittoria Mezcals 29 x 2.6″
- Handlebars: SimWorks Getaround
- Headset: 1″ Tange
- Crankset: Mismatched Shimano 170mm
- Pedals: Pedotec PT Thunder
- Cassette: Microshift 8-speed
- Derailleur(s): Shimano XTR Rapid Rise
- Brakes: Vintage Dia-Compe cantis with VO Grand Cru levers
- Shifter(s): Suntour thumbie
- Saddle: Brooks C17
- Seatpost: Parts bin
- Stem: Parts bin
- Front bags: Blue Lug waxed canvas 137 tote / Ron’s Abs
- Frame bags: Outer Shell Medium
- Rear bags: Road Runner Burrito Bag
- Accessory bags: Outer Shell Stem Bag
- Other accessories: Esgo Technologies Frame Pad, Koma Rear Light
Since I started this write-up at the end of January, and it’s now early May, I have taken my “Sam bike” to San Francisco, Kentucky, and Brown County. Having never ridden in SF, I stole the Suntour thumbie off my Hardrock for fear that the downtube shifter might be cumbersome on the trails. I also picked up an Outer Shell framebag during a shop visit, and I swapped the 175mm cranks for some mismatched Shimano 170s. It has been the perfect bike for all three trips. I plan on keeping the frame raw for a bit longer. It’s coloring (rusting) so nicely.
You can see more from Chucky on Instagram.
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