While the 2023 Enve Grodeo was chock-full of some of the snazziest bespoke all-road bikes from around the world, Spencer Harding’s eye was caught by an eccentric build noticeably absent from the show floor. Fortunately, he was able to get the bike’s owner, Clint, to stop throwing skids long enough to snag a closeup. Pulling influence from some strange corners of the bike world and outfitting the frame with some amazing and unique parts, Clint’s SaltAir stood out for more reasons than its single rear cog. Clint rode this pink dream on all 92 miles of the Enve Grodeo, a feat in itself regardless of it being a fixed gear 26-er. Let’s have a closer look!
For starters, no one should be surprised to see cool-ass fixed gears coming out of Salt Lake City. With the FOAD Gang continuing to pump out amazing videos, it seems the scene is alive and well in SLC. Nonetheless, it’s rare to see fixed-gear mountain bikes. Now, before the Tracklocross world descends on the comments, I see you; this is just another step above. There are so many cool things going on with this build:
This is Clint’s third bike from SaltAir Cycles, so when he approached Matthew about the build, the SLC builder really couldn’t say no. The idea originally started as a fixed gear 29+, but Clint soon realized it would be incredibly hard to spin up and stop such large wheels. As such, the wheels were scaled back to the classic 26″ size. Clint describes the geometry as a mix of Stridland’s Beach Comber and a Look 875 Track Bike. In an effort to keep the rear triangle true to a typical track design, Clint chose to use Cherubim Lugs, but modern details such as an integrated carbon seat mast, tapered head tube, and T47 bottom bracket keep this bike firmly in the 2020s.
The front end of the bike features a SON dynamo hub laced to a classic EDGE 26″ carbon rim, and an Enve MTN fork with 3-pack mounts keeps things light while accommodating a rack. On the rack, Clint’s mounted the SON light, a small bag of tools, and a ground score hedgehog for good luck. The Bullmoose bars are a custom titanium job from PIE and painted to match the frame. A super cool Trickstuff lever pulls on an Equal disc caliper for when skidding isn’t an option.
The Cane Creek EEwing cranks and ti bottle cages were custom anodized by Agave Finishworks. The chainring is from Raketa Components and oddly enough the chain is Eagle XX1. This might seem like an atypical choice for a fixed gear, but Clint tells me he’s in the process of switching all his fixed gears to Eagle chains. A hot take, but it seems like it’s working out.
The custom seat mast top is, of course, filled with ENVE internals and a carbon-railed Fizik saddle. The stay safe is a custom reflector Pochita from Neko Cycles. You may also notice the clever internal routing for that rear light which is powered by the Dynamo hub as well. So many ways to stay visible not including the brilliant pink paint job.
Build Spec
- Frame: Custom SaltAir
- Bars: Custom ti PIE
- Fork: Enve Mountain Fork
- Rack: Allygyn The Grill
- Lights: SON
- Front Wheel: SON hub to Edge 26″ Carbon Rim
- Rear Wheel: Profile hub to Edge 26″ Carbon Rim
- Cog: 28T
- Tires: Maxxis Ardent Race 26×2.20
- Brakes: Extralight/Growtac Equal and Skiddzzzz
- Handlebars: PIE Bars Ti Bullmoose
- Bottle Cages: King Cage Ti custom anodized by Agave Finishworks
- Headset: White Industries
- Cranks: Cane Creek EE Wings custom anodized by Agave Finishworks
- Chainring: Raketa Components 42T
- Seat: Fizik
I love so many of the details and decisions on this bike. In a sea of rather homogenous gravel bikes at the event, Clint’s Twentysixie really stood out and I’m so impressed he rode the entire Grodeo route on this bike. I’m glad Matthew at SaltAir let Clint’s imagination run wild with this deeply custom bike. In the end, his top cap says it all “You’re totally killing it, bro.”