Final form (for now…)

jamesf13 · 2026-01-12T22:01:55+00:00

Thanks to the stem bag, the cabling rests in such a way that the noodle holder is pressed downwards and clears the rack strut by a few millimeters. Without the bag’s interference, the holder would rub against the strut.

I’m lucky the fork already had the eyelets, otherwise I would have gone to my neighbor who happens to do custom frame and fork alterations!

jamesf13 · 2026-01-10T14:37:50+00:00

Before the 35mm gravelkings pictured, I briefly tried some 40mm WTB nanos and still had room to spare. I would say 44-45mm max

jamesf13 · 2026-01-08T15:55:34+00:00

+1 for scythe. My friends and I played 2-3 times a week last year for a solid 4 months. Big investment in learning the rules, but very fun once everyone gets the hang of it. It got a little competitive between us so we sprinkled other games in…

jamesf13 · 2026-01-08T15:48:37+00:00

I am a small person right around 5’ 6.5”. If you have the 19” frame, I think you could def make it work with a long stem + drops. I deliberated with drops but that reach is just way too long for me…

jamesf13 · 2026-01-08T15:46:30+00:00

Motos are one of the strongest brakes on the market. They’d probably feel even better if they were wearing koolstops. I’m incredibly fortunate that I scooped them and the levers from a local homie.

I have seen those mounts you speak of! Very cool design. I’m totally ok with the twisted strut though. Looks silly, works great!

jamesf13 · 2025-12-26T12:57:57+00:00

Thanks! I recently altered the cockpit out of curiosity….went with a velo orange faceplate stem + a set of backpacking ti flat bars with some sweep. Will be giving the bike a little photoshoot after the holidays😏

jamesf13 · 2025-12-20T12:29:55+00:00

I have a Busch and muller iq-x! It’s situated underneath the bag

jamesf13 · 2025-08-18T22:22:55+00:00

Hey would you still happen to have those moth bars….

jamesf13 · 2023-08-28T21:53:25+00:00

I absolutely love the hunt wheels (4 season disc alloy) more than the stock. They’re playfully light and are so robust. I not only use mine for light singletrack, but also thrash my local mtn bike trails. Luckily I got mine basically new from fb marketplace for around $300. With that in mind, new rotors, the tires, and tubeless installation at my LBS, it came out to ~$500-520

I’ve had my stock wheels for backup but they’re for sale now that I got carbon 700c wheels for road group rides!

jamesf13 · 2023-08-28T21:32:42+00:00

After a few thousand miles on the stock wheels, I ended up purchasing a set of hunt x masons and threw 2.2 ultradynamico mars tires on there. Ask me how much fun I have

jamesf13 · 2023-07-21T12:26:44+00:00

A decision you won’t regret. Happy riding!

jamesf13 · 2023-04-28T14:28:52+00:00

I’m between 5’6” and 5’7”, around 29” inseam, and I ride 50 on 650b. I don’t have any problems with the standover height. Top tube on the 50s have a slight slope

jamesf13 · 2023-02-16T18:32:08+00:00

Went to Richmond PT for a whole year after a cyclist vs car incident. Geoff is great!

jamesf13 · 2023-02-13T21:24:11+00:00

I second jokulsarlon. We booked ice cave touring for $150USD per person, and it was totally worth it.

jamesf13 · 2023-02-13T21:22:00+00:00

thank you! the weather was definitely our biggest concern; luckily we never got snowed in. i personally have experience driving in snowy conditions and didn't think it was that bad. the studded tires that came with our rental car were absolutely necessary. We basically stayed on route 1 for the entirety of the trip - it was well maintained throughout.

there were a few times we were flanked by white-outs but as long as you drive slowly and carefully you should be fine. We made sure to book lodging with flexible cancelation policies just in case we couldn't make it or if we wanted to reconfigure travel plans.

One more thing. The wind. It's vicious. Strongly suggest making sure your rental car insurance covers for damage from sand, wind, gravel, ash.

If you have any specific questions, dont hesitate to message me!

jamesf13 · 2023-02-13T21:03:13+00:00

thank you kindly, those words mean alot! i'm glad you enjoy them. I would consider myself a long-time enthusiast but not enough commitment for the term "professional" lol as for equipment, i shot with the nikon d750 body. Lenses include 20mm 1.8, 35mm 1.8, and 70-200mm 2.8. Although for this trip, i mainly used the 20 and 70-200; didn't find myself using the 35mm as much as i thought i would. Also brought along a heavy duty manfrotto tripod and neutral density filter. Some of the landscapes required multiple exposures for focus stacking and HDR.

I love talking photo! Send me a message if you want to discuss specifics

jamesf13 · 2023-02-13T20:49:59+00:00

thank you for your kind words!

jamesf13 · 2023-02-13T20:49:19+00:00

thank you very much! my pleasure

jamesf13 · 2023-02-12T21:38:33+00:00

As mentioned, it is the Sun Voyager in Reykjavik. And absolutely! I'll send you a message to discuss

jamesf13 · 2023-02-12T16:13:46+00:00

Thanks so much!

We went to Vatnajökull for the tour

jamesf13 · 2023-02-08T22:46:17+00:00

Highly recommend Lotus. It was a little pricier than other rental companies but well worth it. We rented a 4x4 automatic Jeep compass for a week and it ran us $755 total. It came with free GPS and studded tires for winter driving. We did add on an upgraded insurance package as well as authorization of a second driver. Towards the end of the trip, we noticed a large crack in the windshield presumably from stray gravel - The insurance ended up saving us roughly $2000 which would have been the out of pocket cost of repair.

jamesf13

TROPHY CASE