Genesis cycletruck/Tricross/Solaris MAX - KingTwin tandem

Almost ready to roll for the Torino-Nice Rally next week, kit list has been just about finalised and luggage all sorted. Plenty of room for all my bivi kit/clothes/assortment of spares and tools, with the main compartment of the framebag left empty for food.

Bought the catchily named B&M Luxos U IQ2 light which also has a integrated usb port for charging phone/Garmin. Beam pattern is great on the road, plenty of light to cycle on unlit paths/roads though perhaps not at speed down Alpine passes!

Final bike prep for the ride included: full bolt/cable check, fresh pads in the front, fitted a manual shift 22t inner ring, and fitted the newly painted fork with longer steerer (still looks naff tbh but at least it's comfortable).

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Bike looks great imo.
Loving the matte fade paint job.
Personally, I'd de-sticker the rims though.

how are these road shifters working with the rear derailleur?

The Charge performed pretty flawlessly on the TNR, we did about 750km/21000m of climbing over the 7 days. I was very glad of the stupidly low 22/40 gear, particularly on the Colombardo. No mechanical issues to speak of, other than burning through two sets of pads and one puncture due to burping a tyre off the rim doing a jump..
Wouldn't hesitate to recommend the event to anyone, an incredible experience!

The main problem was the persistent finger numbness after the 4th day, even with the multiple positions of the flared drops. I believe this is in part due to a minor brain injury from a crash last year that annoyingly appears to have made my hands more susceptible to numbness/pins and needles. Still a small price to pay, as it's the only lasting consequence of the accident. Going to try and combat this by switching back to flat bars (On One OGs are tempting, anyone tried them?), with bar ends and aero bars.

Also got round to doing a full strip (new bearings/pads/Reverb bleed/new cables etc) on the YT, ready for winter.

!

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hey, have a couple of questions about the roadrat if you don't mind

• what's the largest tire you reckon you could get in the rear? 2.00" seem possible?
  
• is the horizontal dropout easy to use with a disc calliper for chain tensioning?
  
  

ta!

No worries!

I think a 2.0 would be pushing it, probably looking at about 45c max, with the seatstays being the tightest spot.

Horizontal dropout isn't really an issue, the calliper mount on the frame has plenty of fore/aft adjustment.

Edit: Just realised the image isn't particularly clear, there's ~53mm of clearance at the top of the current tyre which is a 35c Rocket Ron.

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thanks!

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Picked up an Alpkit Confucius looped bar and matching bag (Dropbear) from eBay for a decent price. With the loop taped it makes a reasonably comfortable support for tucking down out of the wind. Plenty of room for bells and lights etc. Happy with the variety of hand positions now too, should help with the finger numbness.

Now running Shimano XT shifter and SLX hydro brakes on the flat bars, which has improved braking feel considerably.

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Made a small pouch for under the saddle, to hold a tube/tool/tyre levers to save using a backpack or filling pockets. Should be ideal for short rides and will work with a dropper post too. Mk2 needs a slight taper to it and some Velcro on the flap.

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Can't seem to get multiple photos on one post..

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Mk2 seatpack has a taper and Velcro, survived two days being hammered down Bike Park Wales on the back of the hardtail.

Crashed the YT though, in the Peak District, putting a hefty dent in the downtube. Luckily covered for accident damage on the home insurance, meaning a new frame has arrived. Consolidating both the YT and the Titus hardtail into one new steel hardtail as I don't really ride enough stuff that justifies a 170mm travel full suspension.

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So, new hardtail time, which boiled down to a choice between the new Pace RC529 and the Cotic Solaris Max. Not much to choose between them, both Reynolds 853 with similar geometry and prices, but the Cosmic Black paint of the Cotic (and my love of Cotic having owned a couple previously and a Roadrat currently) swayed it.

The majority of the build has been taken from the Titus, with a few bits from the YT too. Running a 130mm Fox 34, self built wheels and Shimano XT 11speed. Had a first ride today at Grenoside Woods near Sheffield and it's something else! Reach is 482mm, considerably longer than any previous mtb I've had, which took some adjusting too. It rides incredibly smoothly for a hardtail and is very stable both jumping and when pointed down steep stuff, plus I think it looks great!

Next step will be to get some rigid carbon forks to occasionally swap out for bikepacking trips.

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nice work, I have the OG solaris used for many bikepacking adventures as well as fun day rides, I think it's such a great frame and I'd love to try the modern version.
are you selling those seatpacks? I'd love to buy one, it looks great.

Big up Greno and nice bike! Did you head over to what's left of Wharncliffe/Wharncouver?

@platypus in the new year I might look at making a few to sell, but my sewing skills leave a lot to be desired! Sturdy but cosmetically lacking.
@bobble not this time, just up and around Greno, need to get out for a big Peaks xc loop on it.

Finished work for Christmas, which meant getting my old road bike vaguely cobbled back together. Bikes now stand at:

1. Hardtail MTB - Cotic Solaris
   
2. Gravel/touring - Charge Plug
   
3. Town/commuter - Cotic Roadrat
   
4. Road - Geoffrey Butler
   
   

I'm not a big road rider but every so often I fancy it, so I've cobbled the GB back together. I picked it up for £50 about 8 years ago, a 1993 Geoffrey Butler 531c frame with a 7 speed 105/Deore LX, Cinelli finishing kit and Campag/105 hubbed wheels. Well worth the money but nothing fancy. It's since been a road bike/fixed gear/flat barred/SS.

Now sporting Sora R3000 shifters off the Charge and a bodged 9 into 8 speed cassette to go on the old 6/7/8 speed freehub. Only single ring at the moment but York is flat enough that it should be fine. Just waiting on cable guide adapters to go on the down tube bosses/bar tape/an inline seatpost. The old bars and stem give me the heebies due to being 25 yr old alu so they might have to be swapped, though the bike won't get a huge amount of heavy use.

Forgive the neighbours grubby wall/crap photo.

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Made a small framebag for the Solaris this evening, trying to ditch the Camelbak for MTB rides. Should be enough for tube/pump/snacks/jacket when combined with the mini saddlebag I made. About £5 worth of material and ~3hrs making, pretty happy with how it turned out!

Vague ideas of an oxy-propane brazing set up brewing in my head now, starting with racks and braze-ons, then perhaps a diy cargo bike..

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Popped the bag on the Solaris this morning, very happy with the fit. Also picked up a set of Flow MK3 rims on the new Superstar V6 hubs and a 2.6 Butcher for the front.

The other Cotic has seen a few component swaps, including:

1. Conti Sport Contact 42c tyres
   
2. Clarks M2 brakes
   
3. Chinese carbon inline seatpost
   
4. Front rack
   
5. Different saddle
   
6. SLX cranks as the square tapers were pinched for the GB
   
   

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Looks awesome! Where did you get the materials? Thinking of making a full frame bag but might just buy an Alpkit one

@Momentum cheers! All the materials were from eBay.

Edit: ballsed up the links to fabric etc. Search 'cordura fabric' on eBay and it's the second one. Then waterproof zips/double sided hook and loop tape.

Spent a few hours this afternoon making a roll top rando/rack bag for the Roadrat. Seems to work reasonably well, but rolling it is a little awkward. Held onto the rack with a pouch at the rear which goes over the vertical back of the rack and two pieces of Velcro around the front bar of the rack. Definitely improvements to be made with the next version.

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It is done! Inspired by @PhilDAS and @M_V I've purchased an oxy/propane torch set up. Went out yesterday and picked up a propane and Hobbyweld oxygen bottle from a local hardware shop. Torch and various accessories arrived on Friday (hoses/torch/variety of tips) and I've been collecting various other bits over the last couple of weeks (files/HSS drill bits/grinder/fire extinguisher!). Just waiting on the order from Ceeway now with some bronze rods, braze ons and a couple of practice tubes.

Set up the torch this morning and got some semblance of a neutral flame. I'm coming at this as a complete novice and as such I've been doing a lot of reading and YouTube watching and triple checking everything. Many mistakes yet to be made I'm sure, but as long as everything remains safe I'm happy learning by trial and error, as well as any input anyone reading this might have!

My main limitation is that although I have a brick outhouse to safely store the cylinders, it's literally the size of a shoe box and all work will have to be done outside. Rained off this afternoon but not before I ground the canti posts off the Roadrat.

Onto making a front rack and plenty of practice joints, before moving onto braze-ons and then a frame in a couple of months (+diying a jig).

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Yaaas!

Hobbyweld should be sending @Velocio a cut of their takings this year!

Very cool !

Do you have a list of what you've purchased for this setup ?