The Crust Bikes Lightning Bolt is a wonderfully classic frameset and this week’s Readers’ Rides comes from Matt in Oakland. Read on as he shares his build with us today!

I’m Matt in Oakland, California and this is my Crust Lightning Bolt. I’ve set it up using tips I’ve learned from this website over the years. Think: bikepacking style/ethos, but for road riding!

This lightweight setup served perfectly for a recent trip down the coast. I can carry about 40 liters (including the three 1L water bottles) and really appreciated losing bulky panniers on the steep climbs of Big Sur. Instead I run the “Buoy Bags” by RoadRunner, which mount to each fork leg using the Widefoot Cargo Mount cage. Combined, these two drybags offer 15L of storage, or about the same as a single Ortlieb front pannier. Even when overstuffed with rain gear as they are here, once cinched down with Voile straps the bags stay put! The other bags are a mix of West Coast makers (Swift Ozette, Outer Shell half-frame) and a couple of my favorite Rockgeist bags in the Gondola + Cache.

The rest of the bike is what you’d consider ‘modern rando’, I suppose… fenders + front rack by Velo Orange, Rene Herse 650b tires, SONDelux hub, Sugino OX series wide-step double and of course the lovely Paul Klamper brakes. I can’t say enough good things about the B&M IQ-X headlight — not ideal for off-road, as you need to be rolling at ~6mph to keep the light on, but on the road the wide, dispersed beam is perfect.

This bike is a dream to ride. Matt from Crust really nailed the geometry and thin tubing of the BQ-style randonneuring bicycle, but in a package that’s accessible to all of us who will never be able to afford a custom bike! I like it so much that I sold my beloved Litespeed Tuscany to make room for it — once you go wide, supple tires you don’t go back:)

*Photos taken along the famed 17 Mile Drive in Monterey, California

P.S. Yes, that’s a small bluetooth speaker mounted to the handlebar cables. Playing your favorite tunes is the best climbing aid I’ve tried yet!

Build spec:

Crust Lightning Bolt v2
White Industries rear hub, SONDelux front hub, laced to Stan’s Crest rims
Rene Herse 650b X 42mm tires
Sugino OX crankset (46/28)
Shimano one-sided SPD pedals
SRAM 11-32 10-speed cassette
SRAM RED 2×10 shifters
SRAM Force front derailer + GX clutch rear derailer
KMC chain
Hope bottom bracket
Christ King 1″ headset
Paul Klamper brakes w/ Shimano IceTech rotors
Velo Orange fenders + leather mud flap
Velo Orange Flat Pack rack
Widefoot Cargo Mount cages (mounted to lowrider eyelets using a Wolftooth B-rad bar!)
Easton EA70 handlebars wrapped in Supacaz tape
Spurcycle bell
Cateye wireless computer
Ritchey stem
Nitto seatpost
Specialized Toupe saddle
King cages w/ 3 Zefal 1L bottles
B&M headlight + taillight
Original Free Range pump mount
Rockgeist Gondola + Cache
Roadrunner Buoy Bags
OuterShell half-frame bag + shock cord holding spare inner tube
Swift Industries Ozette w/ flap accessory bags
Ottolock
Jagwire ‘Pro’ cabling

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!