After Denise’s recent foray into the “gravel bike” world with the acquisition of her 2022 Cinelli Zydeco, I thought it would be fun to make the city-smasher 1998 Klein hardtail mountain bike to be more gravel-friendly. I had long gotten rid of the knobbly off-road tyres, using very fat 2.2″ Maxxis “Holy Roller” street tyres, which smooth out the rough city streets quite nicely.

Let’s consider what I didn’t do, things I often see in videos of mtb-to-gravel conversions for old 90s mountain bikes, which are all very popular at the moment. I did not install a 1X11 drivetrain, derailleur, shifters etc; I did not install a dropper post; I did not convert to 650B or 700C wheels & tyres and disc brakes. Not only are all these things incredibly expensive, but to me they don’t improve what already exists for this bike, and would be nothing more than vanity additions. The seven-speed cassette and triple crank on the original work just beautifully, I never have problems shifting into whatever gear I need and the entire system is inexpensive and effective. I have a hard time believing 650B or 700C wheels & tyres offer a dramatic improvement over 26″ — though I could be wrong, maybe some day I’ll test this — but for now I’ll stick with what I’ve got.

What did I change? I got rid of the RockShox IndyXC suspension fork in favor of a rigid fork, meaning I had a 2″ limit on tyre width, so I went with Michelin “Country Rock” 1.75″ tyres. Slightly thinner tyres and a lighter fork should make the bike better on the road. The old, torn and worn out Bontrager mtb saddle got upgraded to an extremely fancy gravel-specific Selle Italia Novus Boost (found it secondhand for a huge discount). The shorter nose of the saddle, but mostly the vastly improved cushioning, should make riding anywhere, at all times, a better experience. The biggest change was the handlebar, going from an aluminum straight bar, to a Surly Control Bar, along with a slightly shorter stem. Let’s have a look at this.

I wanted a flared drop bar, something wide and with more hand positions, than what the old flat bar afforded. Unfortunately, the problem of a road bar having a different clamp diameter for the controls meant needing a solution on how to reuse, or replace, shifters and brake levers.

That Surly provides a solution to getting a handlebar with a drop bar feel without having to get new shifters and brake levers is very cool. This is the point of the Surly Control Bar, it’s wider than the old flat bar, and with the curve and flare, along with the little “horns” for mounting the controls, provides different hand positions, which will be nice on the road. The width should make it easy to maneuver for any off-road riding.

Seems tough enough to find nice gravel trails within cycling distance of the house. Having to cycle 20kms across the city to get to something offroad and “fun” isn’t so appealing, especially in the winter. I hope a little research can result in finding new routes to explore; but it may be the case this bike gets relocated to France sooner rather than later, where there are infinite gravel trails through vineyards and countryside.

As Denise is already accustomed to long spins into the great unknown, I need to up my game, get with the program, and get out on the bikes more often. Will I be able to keep up with her? She’s already a lot faster than I am!