The Singular Cycles lineup was way ahead of the bike industry’s gravel craze. The UK-based company started making bikes with clearances for big tires, disc brakes, and off-road geometry before many brands, and the best part is it continues to push the envelope today. Singular’s forward thinking practices has brought it recognition world wide, which is how Robbyansyah found out about them in Indonesia, where he built up this Peregrine Mk III and has shared it with us today!
Hello, Radavist readers—wishing a “rad” day to all of you reading here!
Cheers from a dedicated follower from Jakarta, Indonesia. I’m Robbyansyah, or Robby for short, and I am a committed weekday commuter, and touring/graveling/coffeeshop-hopping weekend rider. In this Readers’ Rides submission, I’d like to share my latest iteration of the one bike that I rely on so much for all the things I need daily.
I started my nerdy obsession with cycling and bikes in the first year of the pandemic. Since then, I’ve continued to learn a lot about ways to build a bike, routes, and bike culture. The current frame I’m riding is a 2022 Singular Peregrine in Midnight Blue. I knew I wanted this frame when I saw the article here about it last year, and after seeing it as the bike of choice for one of the coolest guys in Japan, Ehara Tetsuo.
My previous frame, a Surly Straggler, was my first ‘proper steel bike’, so the parts migration process to the new frame platform wasn’t that hard. But along the way, I made various experiments, and necessary upgrades to make this bike not aesthetically-pleasing, but also comfortable to hop on and ride on anywhere I want. Six months later, I have no regrets. This bike has accompanied me on long climbs, a bike-camping tour to the beach, and twice a week to commute to downtown. Since the round trip commute from my home to the office is a little over 60km, I need to make this steed as comfy and snappy as possible.
In these photos, I’ve shown a barebones platform that I can throw any racks, bags, and other stuff on that might suit the needs of any specific ride. The groupset is a mix of GRX RD with modified Deore XT long cage paired with 44/28t VBC White Industries Crankset in the front, and a pair of silver R7000 Shimano 105 brifters. In the cockpit area, I’m using the wide Nitto M137 SSB or Gravel Dropbar in 520mm width to have plenty of space for a front bag, rack, or Wald basket without any interference with the levers.
I also still using a C15 Brooks Cambium saddle that’s always fit me perfectly since the first time I used it two years ago. For the wheelset, I alternate between two pairs, to maximize this frame’s ATB capabilities. For smooth, long, road rides, I use the Velocity Aileron 700c with slick Rene Herse Hatcher Pass tires, while a set of Velocity Blunt SS 650c with 2.2” Ultradynamico Mars rubber are my go-to for crunchy, mixed-surface terrain further out of town. Both of the wheels use White Industries CLD and XMR for easy swap-ability and minimal brake adjustment. For pedals, I’m using the MKS Ezy Superior mechanism to swap the pedal sets that I use for commuting and weekend rides. I always commute in sneakers but prefer to do long trip/touring with clipless, SPD shoes, so I chose the Simworks Bubbly and MKS Solution for each type of riding, respectively.
In the end, I just hoped to build and ride a bike that not only radiates my visual taste and aesthetic preferences, but also maximizes its full potential as a simple machine that can take me anywhere anytime with a genuine feeling of joy.
You can look for other iterations of this bike on my Instagram account.
We’d like to thank all of you who submitted Readers Rides builds to be shared here at The Radavist. The response has been incredible and we have so many to share over the next few months. Feel free to submit your bike, listing details, components, and other information. You can also include a portrait of yourself with your bike and your Instagram account! Please, shoot landscape-orientation photos, not portrait. Thanks!
