Jack’s Steel Touring Bike
The perfect frame finish for fall
Most “off the rack“ touring bikes are overbuilt, designed to handle the extremes of rider and baggage weights. For lighter riders carrying moderate loads these bikes have a uninspiring ride quality at best, and at worst make the prospect of multi-day touring sound more like a punishment than a vacation.
Jack had such a touring bike when he approached me to build him something a little more tailored for an upcoming trip abroad. We’re about the same size, so we swapped bikes for test riding. Jack came back from riding my gravel bike with a grin, saying “I want that, but fitted to me,“ and I returned with memories of the “omafiets“ I rode in the Netherlands rushing back to me. There’s nothing wrong with those bikes for city use, but they’re not well suited to the long haul. With that broad spectrum to work within, I had Jack get fitted locally and went to work designing his frame.
Jack wanted to run a Jones H-Bar, which works best with a slightly longer top tube than one would traditionally have on a frame like this. That extra length also adds to the front-center dimension of the bike, which adds stability and room for larger tires and fenders. If he ever wants to run flat or drop bars on this frame he’ll be able to do so with a shorter stem, which is all the rage these days anyway.
I selected a mix of Columbus tubes for the front triangle to fit Jack’s fit and intended use. A large downtube helps the bike track well even when loaded and aids in power transfer to the T47 bottom bracket. Meanwhile lighter top and seat tubes allow for some vertical compliance and keeps the frame from riding like a tank. I also maximized space for a frame bag while preserving standover clearance and leaving room for a dropper for off-road touring.
At the rear of the bike I set the chainstay length at the goldilocks lenght of 435mm. This length works well with modern 1x drivetrains and clearance for large tires/fenders without having to dimple the stays. This frame will clear up to a 50mm tire in 700c or a 57mm tire in 650b. The right side dropout is UDH/Transmission compatible and the left side has a modular brake insert that can mount an ISO brake adapter as pictured, or a flat mount insert for drop-bar use.
All the cabling runs externally for ease of service and a user-friendly mix of TRP and SRAM Eagle components will keep the bike stopping and going for miles on end. I laced up a dependable set of wheels featuring DT-Swiss 350 hubs and locally sourced Astral Wanderlust rims. Jack opted for a variety of Wolf Tooth anodized components in their “Olive” finish. The frame itself has a Cerakote finish in “Blood Orange,“ which has a subtle metallic flake to it that’s difficult to photograph.
Once fully assembled I took the bike for a test ride, and was surprised how smooth it rode. My own bikes often have a few inches of drop from the bars to the saddle and prioritize power transfer over comfort. Jack’s bike on the other hand is the kind of bike I could see myself riding for days on end, and I look forward to watching Jack do just that.