Today’s Readers’ Rides is going to stoke a lot of you out. Chris sent in his Kruch “All-Country” Drop Bar 29er and it’s a real looker, so let’s jump right in!
After almost nine years in the bike industry, I wanted to build a custom bike, my dream bike. I sold many treasures out of my fleet, including a 1986 Eddy Merckx Super Corsa that I bought from the original owner in Boulder, CO, and brought with me to Canada. But the opportunity to build a custom bike with a local builder was worth it.
I wanted a bike that suited my needs for long-distance gravel rides, fun in-town singletrack rips that I can ride to, silly rides where I ride 50km out of town to rip XC trails and then ride back home. Also, I was over skinny road tires and was curious about big volume slicks for the little bit of road riding I do.
Corey, the fabricator, artist, and creator of Kruch, allowed me to have a blank canvas to dream upon. I wanted a long front end, adjustable dropouts, and more of a mountain bike geo rather than gravel. I based much of this geo and concept after riding the Hurt’n Albert’n 550 back in 2016 where I converted an old Gary Fisher Rig to a drop bar 29er. Comfy! Slacking HT at 68. Steepish SA at 75. 440mm chainstays and 1123mm wheelbase. FYI I am 5’8”.
The character of this bike I love the most, besides the versatility and the quality, is how well it fits and rides me. All those years of thinking of how I would build a bike have come to a point and I am not disappointed. That being said, I don’t think years of experience in the bike industry is needed to build a well-fitting and great riding bike. Find a local builder. Communicate with them. Enjoy the experience of building a custom bike! Your builder will help you find your dream bike.
Build Spec:
Custom Kruch Frame and fork with glow-in-the-dark powdercoat with custom locally printed decals by 54Blue
King hubs laced to Stan’s Arch rims
Tires are either Compass Antelope Hill 29×2.2, Maxxis Aspens 2.25, or Bontrager XR 4 2.6/2.4
TRP levers with Paul Klampers
White Industries M30 cranks with White Industries BB
Spank Flare 25 Vibrocore bar with Paul Boxcar 35mm
White Industries headset
PNW Loam dropper with Paul lever
Fabric Scoop saddle
SRAM 11 speed drivetrain with Paul shifter clamp
Porcelain Rocket partial frame bag
The next step with the “All-Country” is some custom front and rear racks and some overnight adventures.
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We’d like to thank all of you who have submitted Readers Rides builds to be shared over here. 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!
