Singletrack/MTB
Gravel/All-road
Dirt-road Touring
Fat-bike
Our Reader’s Rig of the week comes from John in South Carolina, who shares his custom-built Carver titanium rando rig that was designed for a past edition of Paris-Brest-Paris and features S&S couplers. Learn more about John, his bike, and his cycling advocacy work here…
Words and photos by John M.
Hi, I’m John, living in South Carolina, USA (on Cherokee lands). At this time, I am retired. I started biking with my grandfather some 53 years ago at age 14. I raced some as a junior but really got into cross-country mountain bike racing and cyclocross while in the US Army stationed near Seattle. After many years of racing, I became more interested in bicycling for transportation and my personal response to climate change as I wanted to decrease my environmental impact.
Nowadays, I am very involved in active transportation (biking and walking) advocacy. In the past four years, I have combined my love of nature with my love of cycling and found bikepacking. I am grateful to live near Pisgah National Forest and have made several multi-day trips, including the Looking Glass Loop, Appalachian Gravel Growler, and The Wilson Ramble, all during the pandemic when travel was restricted, as well as many local overnighters.
About a year and a half ago, as I prepared to do the Blue Ghost section of the Eastern Divide Trail, I was severely injured in a bike crash and sustained a traumatic brain injury and six spinal fractures. Recovery has been long and tortuous. At this time, I can ride, and biking is a key part of my recovery program. Recently, on a ride, I was buzzed by an owl that flew directly at me, passing so close over my head that witnesses thought we had collided. I have taken this sign to set my sights on the future in my advocacy work for safe walking and biking. My biking plans include competing in the 2024 Arna Westfjords Way Challenge.
The frame is a 2015 custom-built Carver titanium S&S coupled randonnuese designed expressly for Paris Brest Paris by a well-known Asheville, NC, randonneur and brevet organizer. After he completed PBP, I purchased the frame along with a Soma Low Trail Touring fork. The setup was a classic low-trail design with 37mm trail. I built it up traditionally, and while I loved its all-day comfort, I grew less enchanted by the low trail. I experimented with various used forks with varying degrees of success while learning through experience how trail affects handling.
- Frame: Carver Custom
- Fork: Rich Adams custom
- Rims: HED Belgium plus 700c
- Hubs: White Industries (28H front, 32H rear)
- Tires: Rene Herse Endurance knobbies, 700c (48mm/44mm)
- Handlebars: Ritchey WCS VentureMax 520 mm
- Headset: Cane Creek 40 with Viscoset
- Crankset: Shimano GRX 600, 46-30
- Pedals: Time Speciale 8
- Cassette: SRAM 11-36, 10-speed
- Derailleur(s): SRAM XX1, 10-speed front/rear
- Brakes: Paul Racer
- Shifter(s): SRAM Force
- Saddle: SQ Lab 611 Ergowave
- Seatpost: Cane Creek eSilk
- Stem: Redshift
- Front bags: Apidura Expedition
- Frame bags: Apidura Expedition
- Rear bags: Apidura Expedition
- Accessory bags: Apidura Accessory Pocket, Backcountry top tube pack and Expedition top tube pack
- Other accessories: FSA Trimax Team clip-on mini aero bar, Rockiest Barjam bag support
Finally, in early 2023, I asked my friend Rich Adams in Pennsylvania to build me a custom fork. I wanted mid-trail numbers and more tire clearance than could be managed with carbon unicorn forks. We increased the AC from 380 to 390mm and spec’d a 50mm rake, resulting in a 55 mm trail and knocking half a degree off the HTA to 72.5 degrees. The Pacenti Brevet cast steel biplane fork crown allows room for up to a 55mm tire, although 44-48 is the sweet spot. Columbus New SL fork legs and investment cast stainless dropouts complete the classic look with handling and a ride that none of the prior forks could match. Plus, the direct mount posts for the Paul Racers give powerful braking.
I’m constantly tinkering with this bike and now am very pleased to have sourced SRAM XX1 10-speed derailleurs front and rear. Before 11-speed, SRAM road and mountain drivetrains were interchangeable, so I used SRAM 10-speed Force brifters for shifting and braking. Early this year, I took this bike to Costa Rica for a couple of months. At that time, I had a SRAM compact road double crankset on it. The road outside our house averaged 22% grade for a little over half a mile (maximum measured grade 27.5%), and my 1:1 low gear was inadequate for that climb. Once I returned to the US, I got a Shimano GRX 46/30 double crank to improve the low end, and I’ve been very pleased with my “mongrel” drivetrain.
As a biking and walking advocate living as near a car-free life as possible, I ride this bike every day. I have several other bikes, but this is my favorite. It is extremely versatile, as I have three wheelsets with different tires for different uses. This is my fast, lightweight gravel bikepacking rig.
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Further Reading
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