Dirt Touring Bikes
I built these bikes up for our dirt tour through Central America. Everything else that we carried with us was shepherded by these machines (it was a lot of gear!). These steeds saved us from many bumpy chicken bus rides and allowed us more flexibility in our route and daily schedule.
I spent a lot of time researching before building the my man cave back in London. Yes, we could have purchased off the shelf dirt touring / expedition bikes, but I really enjoy building bikes from start to finish. Building your own bike provides results in fairly comprehensive practical knowledge of bicycle maintenance. See my recent guide on how to build an off-road touring bike. I made a lot of mistakes in the process in order to learn how to do things better next time.
The Larsbred 29er
The On One “Inbred” 29er is a rugged, chromoly hardtail mountain bike frame designed for use with 700c wheels (or 29″ in trendy speak). I am calling my build the “Larsbred 29er”.
Lars’ Bike Kit
| Frame | On-One Inbred 29er Vertical Dropout | Excellent value for a double butted 4130 cro-mo frame |
| Fork | Salsa Cromoto Grande | 100mm suspension corrected 29er fork, with a few mounting bosses at the ends; shame they missed out the middle mounting bosses. |
| Chainset | Shimano M590 Deore | Shimano Deore groupset + hydro disc brakes. Good value and reliable. |
| Brakes | Shimano Deore Disc Brakes | We've carried a bleed kit, but we've never had to use it. |
| USB charger | The Plug USB Charger | For charging USB devices with the hub dynamo. It fits inside in the top of the steer tube with all wires and circuits tucked away neatly. It works okay, but has some annoying issues. I've since switch to the Sinewave Revolution. |
| Dynamo Lights | B&M D-Toplight Plus B&M Lumotec IQ Cyo N plus  | The front light was destroyed in some trail mischief and replaced with a Dosun U1. |
| Front wheel | DT Swiss TK540 SP PD-8 Dynamo Hub  32 hole 6 bolt disc (180mm rotor - I would recommend 203mm) Sapim Race spokes | At first glance it looks like a Schmidt SON hub dynamo, but with a reasonably lower price tag. 15,000km on this hub and still going strong. |
| Rear wheel | RYDE (formerly Rigida) Sputnik 36h 700c rim Sapim Strong spokes Deore XT 9 Spd Hub  (NOT RECOMMENDED) | Doublewalled and double eyeleted for extra strength. Quite heavy, but bombproof! Laced with Sapim spokes. On the other hand, the Deore XT rear hub is not suitable for touring. I've had two of these fail prematurely due to water ingress and the additional touring weight. |
| Bottom bracket | Deore BB51 | Cheap and cheerful; needs replacing every 5,000 or so. Probably worth investing in a higher quality BB next time. |
| Crankset | Deore 175mm arms with 48-36-22 chainrings | Not much to go wrong on these cranks. Simple and maintenance free! |
| Cassette | Deore 12-34 | |
| Tires | Schwalbe Marathon Mondial | Marathon XR 700cx50c... these are becoming more difficult to find. |
| Saddle | Brooks B17 Saddle | Need to keep this dry and oil regularly to maintain it. |
| Handlebar | On One Fleegle | I got this bar in a sale from On One. I like the wrap around and the price. It's lasted quite well. |
| Headset | Chris King headset | Fit and forget! Nuff said! |
| Grips | Ergon GP1 Grips | I cannot recommend these enough! They are really comfortable and they don't move around like standard rubber grips. |
Jenny’s Inbred 26er
Jenny is riding the 26″ version of the Inbred frame. It’s otherwise a very similar build to mine, though the frame size is 14″ (XS) rather than my 19″5 (L)! The size and geometry are intended to accommodate Jenny’s smaller body frame and shorter arms and provide a more upright riding position.
Jenny’s Bike Kit
| Part | Description | Our Thoughts |
|---|---|---|
| Frame | On-One Inbred 26er Vertical Dropout | Excellent value for a double butted 4130 cro-mo frame |
| Fork | On One rigid chromo forkOn One rigid chromo fork | Suspension corrected for 80-100mm, this 26er fork is simple and affordable. I only wish it had some mounting bosses. |
| Chainset | Shimano M590 Deore | Shimano Deore groupset including the disc brakes. Good value and reliable. |
| Brakes | Shimano Deore Disc Brakes | Same on both bikes. Solid and reliable. |
| Wheels | Sun Rhyno Lite rims w/ Deore hubs 36 hole front and rear Deore hubs front and rear | Wide and bombproof, but quite heavy! |
| Bottom bracket | SRAM GXP | Jenny's done over 12,000km on this BB and it's starting to creak a bit now |
| Crankset | Truvatic Firex Crank, 170mm arms, 48-36-22 rings | Fit and forget, only replaced the middle chainring after 10,000km |
| Cassette | Deore 11-34 | Replaced every 5,000km along with the chain |
| Tires | Schwalbe Marathon Mondial 26" x 2.00" | 26" x 2.0" Mondials are almost as good as the Marathon XR. One pair lasted over 10,000km. |
| Saddle | Brooks Flyer S Saddle | Women's specific saddle shape + bouncy springs for extra comfort. Very heavy! |
| Handlebar | Easton Riserbar (unknown) | An XC riser bar that we had lying around. Nothing special. |
| Headset | Cane Creek 40 | Not a bad headset for the price, but the seals are not great. Eventually had to replace due to rust after 12,000km. I recommend Chris King instead! |
| Handlebar grips | Ergon GP1 Grips | Same on both bikes. These are gold. |