The bike to take over the world

Hi all,

I'm just about to embark on my bike build - having purchased a singular gryphon (see attached) which arrived today. I'm relatively new to the forum and wondered if people wouldn't mind giving me some pointers throughout the build to guide me along the way. I know some stuff but its safe to say their is some massive voids so any comments will be useful!

I'm planning to use this bike for long, fully loaded, off-road tours across the summer and gravel stuff over the winter.

Here comes the first hurdle:
I'm pretty set on flat bars (surly corner bar seems ideal for switching between touring and gravel), even though the bike is designed for drops, because I find them more functional - especially for off-road touring. However, I'm 6ft5 which is right at the top end of the height limit for the frame (reach is 408mm), and I'm aware that running a flat bar could make the cockpit too small for my height (unless I use a pretty long stem).

Does anyone know if I could make it work/ or whether the frame simply isn't long enough?
(probably a question I should have asked before i bought the frame)
Much appreciated!

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I'm 6'4" and i run a similar bike with a flat bar (a 22" La Cabra). I reckon you can get away with it, probably with a setback seatpost and a longer-than-average reach between bars and stem.

Have you ever tried the corner bars? I can't make my mind around how can those be comfortable, considering how low and wide the hands end up.

I suggest you to take a look at Ritchey kyiote bars (or the same model with some rise, i don't remember the name): good reach, a lot of backsweep and very affordable.

P.s. Welcome!

Nice looking frame and great color!
Do you have a current bike you can compare the geo to? I have no experience with Surly Corner bars but it looks like they bring the part where you hold you hands backwards a lot (if that makes sense). So it's probably too upright with the short reach frame.
I'm sure you can make it work with different bars

Nice frameset and really good colour!

If you haven’t already, I’d recommend going on bike insights dot com and comparing the geo of the Gryphon against a bike you’ve been comfortable on before. Such a good website!

I echo @Marcootsee on the corner bars but appreciate bars are a really personal choice. Another good site which you might know of already is what bars dot com which allows you to compare most (but deffo not all) options out there so you can make an informed decision.

Brilliant thanks for that! I haven't tried the corner bars but just thought they'd be a good for switching between touring and gravel - although you're right I'm not convinced they look overly comfortable!

Yh I get you, thats a concern I had. Not really, the last bike I toured on was an old (discontinued) Saracen which i cant find any geo data on whatsoever. And the only other bike is my road bike (reach is about 16mm shorter).

Ah thats brilliant, thank you! Yes comparing this frame to frames designed for flat bar really shows how snug it'll be in the cockpit. I think it could be back to the drawing board.

Thats a lovely frame. Big fan of Singular here. 3 swifts, an OG Nevi Ti pegasus (lols), a Puffin and a Rooster down the years.

At your height, not only bar reach but also height might want to consider. Ritchey Kyotes a good consideration as one of few bars where hand position is in front of stem/bar. Also have a good sweep to be comfy.
Sam has designed the latest Singular frames following the Surly way, so they are mid way between being long enough for flat bars, high enough for drop bars.
Whatbars.com a good resource to check.

Looking forward to following this build

Thanks for the info, will have a look!

Plenty of steerer tube there for some appropriately high drop bars..! I know you're set on flats, and that's fair enough, but I wonder if it's worth exploring why drops aren't doing it for you? They'd sort the reach issue and might well be comfortable if high enough...

Those Surly Corner bars are not really flats

My 2p is you should start with a cheap kalloy stem and some on one Og bars. Keep the cables on the generous / long side.

Then put some miles on and work out what feels good, what doesn't, etc.

Good all rounder. Low cost of entry. Easily resealable. Cheap enough for the parts bin.

Good point

Solid advice!
(Unless he decides he wants drop bar levers)

There was an article on bikepacking.com about bars with sweep but enough forward bend to not loose it reach. Might’ve been Ritchey Kyote, will see if I can dig it out.

Also really depends on how wide you are going on the bars. The on one OG are rather narrow by todays standards and at 6ft5 I assume your shoulders are pretty wide? The wider you go on the bars the shorter the stem you end up running so it could work if you were that way inclined.

Yh, after a bit of reflection, I think I agree with you. I had ruled out drops for various reasons, mainly because when I use them on my road bike (specialised allez c.2017) i find my back starts to hurt when I'm on longer rides but I suppose a more upright position negates this? (just dont want to be in that super stretched out position for too long).

I was also thinking they reduce handleability a bit compared to flats but when i spoke to my brother (whos currently cycling through south america - attached) he said that on a fully loaded bike your never really going fast enough for that to matter. And, although hes on flats, he said there is times when hes on long straights when he would be really grateful for drops.

Then my final reservation was on getting the gearing to work, because I'll want to run something with a granny gear of circa 19/20 inches. I understand that this is more complex with drops.

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Good advice thanks!

Oh I didn't know that! Thats good to know although shoulders arent too wide, I'm built sort of like victorian lamppost.

Not to get all Rivendell bike cult, but you can also set drops much higher and closer to you than a lot of people tend to.

Full disclosure: I haven't tried alt bars. Although a long time ago I did put bar ends in a sort of tt style position on a commuter not dissimilar to today's alt bars. It's all personal preference really but for me drops win 2/10 times. That 2/10 is when you need great stability like tricky offroad or with your kids onboard (stability plus cockpit space).

Still my main point was based on your initial uncertainty around sizing. So I'd just want to get the bike on the road ASAP so you can work out if its a goer rather than trying to refine something your unsure on the fundamentals.

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Yh I like the look of them. What I haven't perhaps made clear is that I want the bike to have two main functions. I think the primary function is light gravel day trips (nothing single track just unpaved) around the UK for the majority of the year. For this purpose I think drops are better as I'll want to tuck in and really chew up some kms (like i would on my roadie).
The secondary function is for 1-3week tours around europe - mainly following the bikepacking off-road routes. For this, flat bars seem the better option but equally I'd hope that drops will be fine - especially as to connect different routes I'll probably spend quite a while on roads.

ideally I'd like to set up with both and see which one i prefer, but given the different components required it seems like I need to commit now

Basically I suppose what I'm asking is whether theres any particular reason why (flared) drops would be an issue (or significantly worse fit) for my above stated riding requirements.

Ps apologies for my swinging preferences am currently learning as i go along. Although, it could make the build more interesting as who knows how itll end up.

Flared drops seem like exactly what this build would suit :)
Wide drops for off road control and slightly narrower hoods for efficient road miles.
So many styles to choose from. Freshtripe is a good place to window shop different flared bars.
I like Nitto Randonneur style, but that’s a personal choice.

I’m just going to throw this out there.
Clamp on Down Tube shifters, cable brakes and change cockpits as much as you like, until you fall on the right setup. Then replace the bits you want and sell the retrogroutch bits on or decide you like them are keep them :)

Flared drops seem like exactly what this build would suit :)

Wide drops for off road control and slightly narrower hoods for efficient road miles.

While it's a bit more faff with threadless than with a quill, you can also raise wide flaired drops when you know you're going to be going off road.