Oddos Raleigh Ronniewagon, Brexit Crust Wanker Hybrid, Gravel Bieks and anodized aluminum

Thank you @Josh and @Maj <3
I am still hoping for some company to make a silver dropper.

I just came back from 2 weeks staying with my parents.
Those who follow me on Instagram know that this usually means unnecessary updates to my old teenage mountain bike to ride it around the local forest.
Going through this thread I realised I didn't share the latest winter Christmas updates. It makes sense though. I wasn't in a good place back then and didn't have any capacity for updating this thread.
Anyways here is what I did:
I was really annoyed by the old sr suspension fork. It is just super heavy and bottoms out on the slightest bump. For a long time, I thought it wasn't replaceable though because the bike has a 1 1/8th threaded steerer and I couldn't find a suspension-corrected fork for it. Took me a while to figure out that I could just replace it with a regular threadless 1 1/8th headset and run a more modern fork.
Snatched a good deal on the Planet X segmented 26er fork even with brexit involved.
Next up replacing those quite narrow risers. I think they are what I used to ride on my first fixie back in the day so definitely below 50cm. Not very confidence inspiring off road. Last but not least I was still using the same super cheap brake levers that came with the bike about 21 years ago. They were sticky and wobbly.
So new headset, fork, wider handlebars, ESI grips, new brake levers and brake pads this is what I got.

Here is a stupid little video of me riding it around in the forest.

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Before I headed to my parents this time I knew I wanted to turn it up a notch. With the rigid fork and wider bars, this bike was already riding way better.

Recently I've been dreaming about a Stridsland Beachcomber. Specifically, exactly this one:

That bike and the latest mood board of good stuff made me long for a bit more of a klunky vibe. The usual suspects like the Velo Orange Klunker bar were just too expensive for this cheap Hi-Ten frame that I only ride every once in a while and do not necessarily treat very well.
Doing some googling I realized I could just buy cheap motorcycle handlebars and a BMX stem to fit the 22.2mm clamp diameter. It was a bit of an experiment but it turned out so well.
Throwing in some fatter and more aggressive rubber for better cornering was also a no-brainer when I saw these Schwalbe Rapid Robs on sale for 8 euros each. The Billy Bonkers are really nice cruisey tyres but lack the grip in the forest. There was also a lot more space in the frame to go from 2.1 to 2.25".

Something I wanted to put on this bike since I initially started tinkering with it again was a dropper post. I was quite disappointed when I found out there are no dropper posts in 26.8mm and already had ideas of reaming the seat tube.
Luckily I am just an idiot. Digging through the archives of the brand of that bike I realized it's a 28.6mm seatpost, not 26.8 🤦‍♂️
So last minute I packed this lever-actuated 27.2mm dropper post from the parts bin and ordered a shim.
Tada, the poor man's #brexitcrust wombat formerly known as shed shred was born. Now with 120% more klunkyness.

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And oh boi, this bike is so much fun now. It's basically a big BMX to smash around the forest.
Here are some more pictures and an overly dramatic edit of me riding it down a patch of dirt.

P.S.: Random Magic Gear on the 42x20 ratio.

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To finish this up and truly make this the poor man's #brexitcrust wombat appropriate decals were required. So I went to the next best online sticker seller searched for wombat and ordered a "head badge" and model decals.

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solid upgrades, the fork, the dropper, the stickers, just solid. thread emanates good brain worms.

looking so swish

Everyone should have a bike like this at their grandparents house

Surly 1x1 vibes

You have a magic touch.

Thank you, everyone, for the kind words on the Wömbät (seems more fitting than #brexitcrust Wombat since it's in Germany with my parents).

In other news: I paid a quick little visit to your lovely island to take part in Brother in the Wild. Last year I thought it would be my last one due to the move but when the tickets came up for sale I couldn't resist.

There was a new route and mistakes were made, life choices were questioned. The brand new YTF (why the fuck) route was named on point as it was mostly riding through long stretches of mud hidden by hip and up to shoulder high nettles. No pubs, no swimming and seems like only a handful of other people did it so we didn't really meet anybody.
Next time it's classic routes again for sure.

A few brave souls rode the new Woods YTF route, I had several people come up to me and ask, ‘Are you Tom?’ and proceed to tell me off for creating such a horrible route, admitadly the stinging nettles are in full bloom, and on the YTF, Will and James had certainly not been out trimming the hedges.

src: https://www.thewoodscyclery.co.uk/journal/shop-news/brother-in-the-wild-2023/

Bluebells, stinging nettles and singletrack were the themes of my test ride on the southern part of the new ‘Woods YTF’ route a couple of weeks ago.
For the brave souls who took on the route over the weekend, well done. For the ones that had to go to hospital due to swelling from stings, I apologise 😬

src: https://www.instagram.com/p/Csi2s3lsVhw/

Other than that it was an amazing weekend as always with BITW.
It was my fourth one and I continued with the trend of bringing a different bike every year. This year I was lucky enough to borrow a Fairlight Holt so I didn't have to fly one of my bikes over.
The Holt I got was a medium which was an okay fit but I guess if I were to buy one I'd go for a large. In general, It was a super fun bike to ride. I think I never rode anything with a quality squishy fork before. It is way lighter than my inbred and the gear range is crazy I think I didn't use the largest or smallest cog that much whether it was a fast road section or steep offroad climb. Might need to buy an XT group for the Inbred now. Genuinely sick bike. Would recommend.

One thing I knew I wouldn't be okay with was the contact points though. For long days I prefer my own saddle and pedals and after my accident, I just can't ride straight bars anymore. Luckily all the mtb controls are clamp-on so it was a piece of cake to swap bars and stem.

I also briefly met fellow LFGSS Holt rider @spinnnout and we got a double bike portrait in.
See his CP here: https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/381070

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A few more BITW shots
(I fucked up the settings on the camera a bit so they all came out with more "creative grain" than intended)

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more

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Momentarily shat myself when I saw what I thought was the new bike being ridden around camp. :D

Part of our group did the YTF, they are still itching their stings. Classic all the way!

And the double portrait

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This picture is wicked!!

Interesting front basket/ aero extension ;)

Everybody should have a aero basket dad 29er hybrid wanker steel bike with front suspension.

There was a new route and mistakes were made, life choices were questioned.

lmao i also rode this route after having ridden the other long one by woods the day prior. felt a strong need for having a word with the route designer halfway down after getting out of the endless, slowest ever going side of field section. thought there'll be somewhere to resupply after my two bottles of water and a burrito were consumed, but nothing anywhere. ended up breaking into someone's house for water.

it got much better after that, but i took so long that pretty much everyone, including the route designer had packed up and left and i couldn't voice my feedback. so yeah, doing it on your thread now haha. hope this soothes your wounds at least. on top of all this, i found two ticks on my leg when having a closer look at home and am now certain lyme's is on its way.

anyway, sick photos and vibes! i wish i had a more portable camera and the nerve to stop to capture gold like this.

Oh, so I guess did indeed spot the Gunnar? I wasn't quite sure and didn't have time to come over. Shame. Would have loved to have a chat.

WTF and YTF mad respect. I was really done after the YTF on Saturday.
We added a slight detour to include a pub on the YTF and managed to roll in just 5 mins before the kitchen closed but we too were really low on water and snacks.

i too felt like having a word with the route designer [...]

You may rest assured, we had words ;)

i think you did! hayley texted me to keep an eye for you but i never clocked anyone that resembled you or your bikes. the loaner must've confused me. think i was also spending a bit more time on the routes than others seemed to. more beer for the itinerary next year.

glad someone managed to make the route designer aware of the shortcomings of their plotting haha.

Time for my bi-monthly (as if) update.
More fun on bikes was had. Me and my partner went on a overnighter from Vienna to Bratislava which was super nice. Amazing weather, great route and little kit to take. Finished it off with a swim in the Danube.
First time in ages the Inbred went on a tour with Luggae and I loved it. Felt so great, balanced and capable. Maybe the best Touring/Bikepacking bike I ever had. Still in Love with the amazing full frame bag that @Tijmen made for it.

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I liked touring on it so much that I did again soon after.
Next up Brother in the Wild Munich. Now that I live in Vienna that was actually quite easy. Found a direct train, hung my bike on the wall and sat down for 4 hours. Done.

Really nice event. A lot smaller than the Dorset BITW. Apparently in total we were 80 people but I spend most of my time with @PhotonBelt and parter and Vee and Harry (aka Wizard Works).

Guten Biken, the shop in Munich who collaborates with Brother on this, is pretty sweet. All the cool bits and bobs for sale and more. Davo, one of the owners, showed me and Bennet (aka Ballern.Cycleworks) around his workshop and catacombes were he occasionaly builds frames and stashes loads of retro components.

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This stash of old Tange stems really caught my eye. We also took turns trying that Bike Friday Allpaka and drooled over the details on Bennets new Tracklocross.

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BITW Munich is a ride out, camp and ride back loop format so unlike BITW Dorset you always ride with all your gear. Day one was quite easy going. Some beautiful forest bits to protect us from the heat, a swim break, Pretzels and Bavarian country side. Quite flat for it.

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