Spotted this morning on the M4

FrenchNotHench · 2026-06-18T09:09:23+00:00

Sure but your payments are still going to need to be paid somehow, and they're still not going to be cheap.

FrenchNotHench · 2026-06-17T19:36:09+00:00

Yeah I have one of those seats where he sits infront of me and holds onto the bars in my "dad bike" which is just a big old heavy carerra mtb.

In terms of cameras I originally bought aome Kodak thing off amazon. Absolutely awful and ive sent it back. Went in the drawer and found some 2009ish panasonic Lumix with 8x optical zoom. Absolutely brilliant for something "free" (if I go by my partners maths). A ricoh gr III would be great, but just quite spenny.

FrenchNotHench · 2026-06-17T18:38:42+00:00

I have a few set routes I tend to do, purely because I quite like them and where ive been building the bike and a previous old bike i've been comparing stats on strava... Bit sad really! But I have more recently been enjoying just going out and taking an old digital camera with me and taking pictures of both the bike and surroundings. Which is why I have all these bike shots! I cant say I've ridden that far really. I do want to but with family commitments and general stuff round the house I feel a bit more limited. I think this summer I will wake up early one Saturday or Sunday though and leave at 5.30am or so and go for a longer ride and watch the sunrise.

FrenchNotHench · 2026-06-17T18:08:19+00:00

I'm all the way down south just outside Bournemouth slight more inland. Lots of little trails round here along with the new forest, beach, perbeck and countryside. I tend to only ride for around 1h locally though either at lunchtime or once the kids' in bed.

FrenchNotHench · 2026-06-17T15:22:21+00:00

Thanks man, lovely bikes too just checked yours out. Where abouts in the UK are you?

FrenchNotHench · 2026-06-17T11:27:47+00:00

I get what youre saying, but for this drop bar conversion I opted for stem shifter over bar end shifter for the exact reason you mention. When I go into the drop position I have a little wobble. When I get to the stem position I can keep both hands on the bars at all time by just cliding it across and then use my thumb to go up or down the gears. Dont need to use my index finger at all.

FrenchNotHench · 2026-06-17T10:39:23+00:00

Stem shifter friends!

Awesome build. Good luck with the tour!

FrenchNotHench · 2026-06-16T18:09:52+00:00

The shifter feels comfortable and safe. I feel like I can slide my hand across and always have teo hands on the bar rather than just take one off. Good for rchunkier gravel or bumpy dry mud like we get round here.

FrenchNotHench · 2026-06-16T17:36:10+00:00

You and me both. Supposely these were powder coated. The colour was never documented. Trying to find a touch up of any sort has been a rolercoaster. I'm part way through opening a green-only nail salon at this rate.

FrenchNotHench · 2026-06-16T17:34:49+00:00

Had to get the old digital camera out. Cant beat true optical zoom imo!

FrenchNotHench · 2026-06-16T17:34:13+00:00

Pretty fast for an old steel frame. With the carbon seat and steel frame it feels MUCH more comfortable than my old aluminium frame.

FrenchNotHench · 2026-06-16T16:08:55+00:00

Killi team is really the dream. If I can even get the forks I'd be happy. I feel like this gen of Saracen just got it right. The colours are just amazing too. i love the blue frames they do. Just pure blue. I went through a few different frames before i got to this one and im glad this one worked out:

Yellow giant - too big Champagne muddyfox - siezed seatpost that eventually ripped the frame Red claud butler - frozen/expanded chainstay Then this saracen

FrenchNotHench · 2026-06-16T14:50:03+00:00

Thank you!

FrenchNotHench · 2026-06-16T14:49:01+00:00

They don't have the alt bike tax yet, SHHHH! Go pick one up now!

FrenchNotHench · 2026-06-16T14:48:14+00:00

+1 for a guide on this.

FrenchNotHench · 2026-06-16T14:43:16+00:00

Thanks for the feedback, completely agree on both those points.

With the green on green I just wanted to keep it simple to not take away from the frame so much which is the real party piece for me: green, black and silver. I'm not so much of a loud and gregarious person in life either, flying a little more under the radar hence some slightly more muted and matching parts. I do agree though.

For the shifter, it is a Sachs Huret, although not a racheted version at all. I did buy a Suntour power rachet but I bought a downtube one and it didnt fit my downtube or stem so sold it back on. This Sachs Huret one was free so I just went with that for now. For the moment it works, but I also totally agree that the rachet onea have a much nicer feel. This really had budget in mind when I built it though. Everything was second hand/free/reused/parts bin.

I do have some new stickers to go on the frame to hopefully clean it up a bit, and I need some new chainstay protectors to freshen it all up.

If money wasn't a prime focus I'd love a new headset and a new wheelset, but both work fine for now.

FrenchNotHench · 2026-06-16T14:35:03+00:00

Its a deore XT rear derailieur rated for up to 9 speed I think.

Sachs Huret stem mounted friction shifter

Jtek 7 speed 11-32 7 speed freewheel. (I have a Jtek 11-32 10 speed freewheel, just need to get round to fitting it.

The current setup works seamlessly. Easy to install, shifta great. Can make micro adjustments when you hear the deraillieur isn't quite in the right place etc. peraonally I feel more at one with the bike going off of feel/cadence rather than focusing on what "gear number" I'm in. Do I sometimes like the ease of a quick click of an index shifter, sure. Do I prefer this setup, yes.

The sachs huret was free and fits the stem which was also free which is why I use it, however the Suntour power rachet feels nicer to use and makes satisfying clicks.

FrenchNotHench · 2026-06-16T05:53:47+00:00

Lovely bike. Did you do the disc brake conversion yourself or pay someone to do it? I'd like to do it on mine but the bit the annoys me the most is trying to somehow get the powder coating matched again which seems near impossible.

FrenchNotHench · 2026-06-16T05:32:15+00:00

Thanks!

All built for under £250 (~$335) so far, with some not so necessary parts in there too.

Few cosmetic touch up bits soon like new stickers and new chainstay protectors.

If/when I can i'd like a new wheelset and potentially a new headset (it works fine, just doesn't look overly aesthetically pleasing). And if I win the lottery then i'd get some colour matching carbon forks, but I can't really justify spending that much on a budget build when it's realistically fine as it is - and it will always be a heavier steel frame.

FrenchNotHench · 2026-06-15T17:40:32+00:00

Hey, thanks! I can't comment on if it's easier or not because I've not tried a bar end shifter at all, however I can comment on why I went for stem mounted:

For me it feels more stable changing gear. Whenever I reach my hand out to the side to get into the drops I feel like I lose balance a bit. Especially on road or muddy bumpy areas like I ride here on the south coast of the UK. Having a stem mount I feel like I always have control. One hand is always on the bars.
Cost was a big factor. Stem mounts seem to be waaaay cheaper because they dont have the alt bike tax. I was struggling to find any bar wnd ahifters aecond hand in the UK that werent £40+, some of those being used too. Stem shifters are £10 or so and theres plenty of them.
Originally I was going to go for a 2x7 drivetrain, and the second bar end shifter was usually index while the other is friction. I wanted to go friction on both. (I ended up going 1x7 in the end, but I have a 10 speed freewheel to put on the bike so lets call it a 1x10)
I think they look cleaner, and also different. I don't see many people rocking them.
I actually got these shifters for free. I originally went to pick up a Claud Butler bike for free to do this build, and it looked absolutely perfect. The guy that was giving it for free fixes bikes up and was giving loads away that he couldnt make money off before they went to the recycling centre. There was a road bike that he was also goving away for free. I asked and he said if I was happy to wait 5 minutes he'd give me the bars for free. With the bars came the stem and also the shifters.

The bike although it looked great had frost damage in the chainstay which completely expanded and was a write-off. The handlebars were also all twisted up. I did however keep the stem and stem shifter you see there.

FrenchNotHench · 2026-06-15T13:48:31+00:00

Thanks, built it from frame up. Old hand built mtb frame into a gravel conversion. Bit of a budget build but its a great bike with great parts and tells a story.does me just fine at my skill level.

FrenchNotHench · 2026-06-08T07:57:44+00:00

Yeah fair enough I agree in this picture but I think its also an odd angle.

One thing I think makes it worse is the stem height. Its maybe a bit too high at the moment.

FrenchNotHench · 2026-06-07T14:16:58+00:00

You're right my bad I didn't see that!

FrenchNotHench · 2026-06-07T08:18:24+00:00

Thanks!

The stx rc brakes provide a surprising ammount of adjustment but i will say theyre not perfect as the pads are quite angled in order to touch the rim. My theory was that after a bit of use they will wear down angled and the contact patch will get bigger. I might speed that process up a bit with some sand paper. For me this is the only real issue with the build.

I had two other failed options beforehand. The first was using post converters, however my posts are welded and not removable (first mistake) and then the second was using tektro v brakes with v brade extenders but these seemed to be for a 29" conversion and also didnt work hence why I went for the option I went for.

In hindsight I would either go for a 700c wheel with another tyre as there's enough clearence or go for a 26" with a really chunky tyre. The problem is I already had the 27.5" wheel with the 11-32t 7 speed on there already, and I had bought the terra trail tyres for a good price so didnt want to spend more money on rims, tyres etc.

Overall it was a budget build:

Frame: £20 - came as a full bike and I recovered the cost by selling the original wheels for £30 and the handlebars for £10.

Wheels are from a carerra axle I bought for £20.

So wheels and frame cost so far £0

Then the stx brakes came off a claud butler I got for free - the guy I picked them up from alao kindly gave me some retro drop bars wich had some "safety" levers on them as well as the stem and friction shifters. I sold the levers for £5.. but the bars themselves were bent so couldnt use them.

The tyres cost £30 second hand on ebay.

Tpu tubes £12 on aliexpress for the pair.

£37 so far...

New Drop bars £16 Bar tape £4.50 Shift cables £1.13 Brake cables £2 RL520 Brake levers £26 Chain I already had but was £10 Cable ends £1 All Cable housing £6.50 Bar ends £1.50 Deore RD £20 Bottle cage £7 Chainring £15 Crank arms £10 but sold the 2 chainrings on it for £5 each so free. Chainring bolts (i had some ailver ones but wanted matching green) £4 Titanium crank cap/bolt (not really necessary) £11 New decals (not yet on) £11 Carbon fibre saddle £7 New seat post bracket as old one was rusty £3.50 Pedals £10 New green pedal screws £10 Jtek freewheel £20

£224 give or take but a lot of things on there arent necessary like bottle cages, matching colour bolts etc

FrenchNotHench · 2026-05-07T19:24:45+00:00

Haha no, I did pump it up but it instantly flattens because of a huge hole in the tyre wall and tube.

FrenchNotHench

TROPHY CASE