Author Archives: Justin Fox

She’s all mine.

When I was working at MC Cyclery I got told off for taking way too long to build a bike from a box, but it took me 4hrs put this bike together. Not because I was in a rush, but because I was geeking the fuck out and savouring the entire process!

I’ve set the seatpost a little lower than usual. It’s a whack seatpost, insanely hard to adjust (not to mention I have to take the rear wheel off to tighten the bolt with the supplied torque tool) and I would much prefer having a dropper on there, but I’ll at least try it out as I’ve heard it really does do a good job with absorbing bumps. You can’t see it in this profile shot, but the tyres are super chunky, the bike is so light and god damn the wheelset is so porno!

I need to duck into a local bike shop to buy some tools (again, kicking myself that I threw out my bike stand and tools in the move). Mainly some grease for the pedals (I’ve only just lightly threaded them on for the photo), and also a crank removal tool for the Wahoo which came with an 11-speed cassette which doesn’t play well with my Reign’s 9-speed).

PS: That strange cloud formation in the sky has been posted all over social media today. Turns out it’s a rare rotor cloud.

She’s here!

UPS came good and I’m so glad I put off this morning’s ride with Nick and also an appointment with the bank to make triple sure I was home for delivery.

After much deliberation I pulled the trigger on a Canyon Grizl CF SLX 8 EKAR gravel bike. There are many firsts; it’s my first gravel bike, my first carbon frame and my first new bike purchase since 2008.

I bought it during Canyon’s World Bike Day Sale for $5,829 (was $6,599) making it the most expensive bike I’ve ever bought. I did really want a steel frame, and considered titanium too, mainly because I hate the fragility of carbon (ran some carbon handlebars on my MTB once, never again!). I also considered buying another Giant as I have a history with the brand and they’ve always been great value for money, but fuck me dead I’m glad it’s not another Giant! That said, Canyon are much like Giant in regards to being good value for money. They sell direct to consumer which explains how they’re able to be price competitive, but that also meant that I couldn’t test fit the bike before buying it as there are no local shops that stock Canyon bikes.

The Canyon web site bike fit tool suggested I buy an XS size bike based on my height and inseam. After much research it seems like Canyon bikes run large, and most people online have confirmed that buying a size smaller than usual is the right way to go. I was looking at a few of their 29’er MTB’s but sadly they replace the 29’er wheels with smaller wheels on smaller frames so that ruled out a lot of options.

The bike features a full new Campagnolo groupset. I considered Shimano’s wireless electronic shifting, and SRAM’s AXS electronic shifting too, but the thought of using batteries for shifting gears on a bicycle just doesn’t sit right with me. I hate wireless products and to this day I still use a wired mouse and keyboard and I hate batteries going dead on my TV and audio controllers.

The campy group is as rebellious as the paint job! I only wear black and only own black, white or grey things, so the idea of a full stealth black Canyon was always going to be a given, but something about buying a new bike, and being able to choose a colour made me open up to this wild “Blueberry Milkshake” colour scheme with tan-wall tyres.

Frame
Canyon Grizl CF SLX in XS
Axle dimension: 12×142 mm
Tyre Clearance: 50 mm
Material: Carbon
Weight: 950 g

Fork
Canyon FK0087 CF Disc
Axle dimension: 12×100 mm
Tyre Clearance: 54 mm
Material: Carbon
Weight: 518 g

Rear Derailleur
Campagnolo Ekar, 13-speed
Weight: 275 g

Cassette
Campagnolo Ekar, 13-speed, 10-44

Crank
Campagnolo Ekar 40T, 13-speed

Bottom Bracket
Campagnolo Pro-Tech Pressfit
Bottom bracket standard: PF 86.5
Weight: 50 g

Chain
Campagnolo Ekar C13 C-Link 13-speed

Shift/Brake Lever
Campagnolo Ekar Ergopower, 13-speed
Weight: 301 g

Brake Rotor
Campagnolo Ekar
Size: 160 mm
Weight: 157 g

Wheel
DT Swiss GRC 1400 Spline db
Axle dimension: 12×100 mm
Rotor mount: Center Lock
Rim height: 42 mm
Rim material: Carbon
Weight: 750 g

Wheel
DT Swiss GRC 1400 Spline db
Axle dimension: 12×142 mm
Rotor mount: Center Lock
Rim height: 42 mm
Weight: 863 g

Tyre
Schwalbe G-One Bite 45mm
Width: 45mm
Weight: 540 g

Thru Axle
Canyon Thru Axle
Axle dimension: 12×100 mm
Axle dimension: 12×142 mm

Stem
Canyon ST0035
Fork steer tube diameter: 1 1/4″
Clamping diameter: 31.8 mm

Handlebar
Canyon HB0064 Ergo
Clamping diameter: 31.8 mm
Width: 440 mm

Handlebar Tape
Canyon Ergospeed Gel

Saddle
Fizik Argo Terra X3
Weight: 238 g

Seatpost
Canyon S15 VCLS 2.0 CF
Material: Carbon
Setback: 13 mm / 25 mm
Technology: VCLS 2.0 | Fliphead
Weight: 220 g

Pedals
Canyon MTB Performance Flat Pedals
Size: 36-42
Weight: 380 g

Weight
9.03 kg

My 1st bike came with training wheels. I eventually took them off, but little did I know the tyres were completely flat! I rode with flat tyres for ages until my Dad realised. He used a pump which he plugged into the cigarette lighter of his car to pump them up and to this day I still remember the feeling of riding it down the footpath with air in the tyres. It was SO FAST!

Cheese! That’s my BFAM Eugene on the right. We literally grew up together since we were toddlers (he was a neighbour in the flat we were living in).

Early high school. Heavy rains caused massive floods in Centennial Park, so whaddya do? You go for a ride that’s what ya do!

Eugene and I. Check out the super strange handlebars we installed on our MTB’s. Inspired by triathlon aero bar setups.

My first Sydney to Wollongong ride was on this lovely roadie which I bought from Europa Cycles. I don’t think I’ve ever worn spandex again since (probably never will!).

I was without a bike for a bit, and Eugene lent me his Shogun Prairie Breaker (was a top spec bike at the time!) for the Sydney to Gong ride (he put slicks on it which helped out lots).

My new bike left the Canyon factory in Frankfurt, Germany on the 29th via UPS. It then got to Louisville, Kentucky in the United States on the next day, then Honolulu in Hawaii on the 1st.

It’s now sitting in Botany, just down the road from my place. So close yet so far!

I can’t even clearly remember what my last new bike was. My blog archive suggests it was a brand new Giant Anthem back in 2008!

This is functionally stupid. Can’t fit much and stuff might fall out into your frame, looks annoying to get shit back in there and to take shit out too. Surely that cover will be the first thing to break (or be the first thing you lose).

Surly Grappler is legit a MTB with drop bars (and it has a seatpost dropper too).

Canyon Grizl Trail features a dropper seatpost and front suspension! Really considered this but ultimately it doesn’t come in my size and as much as I love black/white/grey things the colour just wasn’t working out for me (and I figure since I’m in a position to buy new I may as well choose a colour I like!).

When looking at a modern road bike I started to let go of wanting a race bike despite loving the aggressive looks, stance, acceleration, lightness and how tight everything is because of the bike geometry. Much like motorbikes where I’m much more comfortable upright on a bobber/cafe style bike than the ‘lying down’ feeling you get on a road bike I just feel so much more at home in a more upright position (it’s so much more playful!) so I started looking at endurance bikes. Basically road bikes with a more relaxed geometry designer for more comfort over longer rides.

I almost pulled the trigger on a Canyon Endurance, but man Canyon have made some really questionable design decisions I couldn’t see past. That storage cutout on the top tube is functionally retarded (no doubt about it stuff would end up rattling in there or worse yet fall out and get lost in your frame somewhere!) and it looks tacky AF. Like the back battery lid of a TV remote control! It makes me feel that bikes these days aren’t meant to last. I have little doubt that in 20+ years from now all of these bikes will be sold with a big hole on the top tube as previous owners lost their little covers.

I like Surly bikes, but have never loved the look of them (we used to sell them at MC Cyclery). I think geo wise this bike would be super fun but that HUGE headtube will just forever look ugly to me (IMHO small bikes look way better than XXL bikes!) and at $3K with low spec parts I think I’d rather build my own Frankenstein.

This picture speaks to me. It may scream hipster to most, but personally it reminds me of 90’s mountain biking, specifically John Tomac, my hero as a young mountain biker.

Drop bars, a rear tension disc wheel, this is my dream bike. Always was, still is! American rider John Tomac was my 90’s MTB superstar. Different. Rebellious AF. He inspired me to try strange things to my bikes.

I made this post back in 2019. Interesting looking back as every bike I posted is a gravel bike.

A few years back I was visiting Nanami and her boyfriend at the time was crazy obsessed with road riding. He had a top spec Canyon aero thing, but also bought a matching (all stealth black) gravel bike. I remember laughing at it at the time. Why would you take a carbon road bike out on a trail? Even the smoothest trails I ride (Loftus Oval) has technical sections and lots of loose rock fire trails. That carbon frame would surely get damaged on the loose rock stuff and I think one stack on any technical section would be game over (and hey if you’re not stacking you’re not trying!).

Mountain Bikes are my thing, but I’ve always loved the weird and wonderful vs. pure efficiency. I’ve secretly wanted to put drop bars onto a mountain bike for ages. I think more and more these gravel bikes are becoming 90’s mountain bikes. Gravel bikes now come with disc brakes, dropper seatposts (my fave mod on my old Giant Reign) and front suspension (some now even have rear suspension!). I find it both hilarious in a “I told you so” kinda way, but ultimately I think more choice, more bikes, and getting road cyclists to get out of traffic and out riding in nature is ultimately a good thing.

You know what you’re into when you log in to YouTube. The algorithm is spitting out nothing but bike content on my front page and lots of it has been gravel bike related. I’ve really enjoyed spending countless hours researching gravel bikes over the past few weeks.

I’ve build up a titanium hardtail mountain bike before and I really struggled with it out on the trails, but it was full rigid, and I was comparing it to my dual suspended Giant Reign. I thought it felt way too sketchy out there, but I was riding with some pretty aggressive riders at the time, and in retrospect, trying to keep up with them on their suspended bikes with my hardtail was a mistake.

For the past week I’ve been excited about the idea of solo riding a retro 90’s mountain bike with a mix of modern components (front suspension, dropper seatpost and disc brakes) and drop bars out on the trails. I tracked down the bike in the image up the top. It’s a Velo Orange from the US and there’s one in my size in the country. There’s also the Surly Grappler, which is quite literally a mountain bike with drop bars. I researched the fuck out of these 2 options but in the end I think I’d rather pick up an old 90’s mountain bike off eBay Marketplace, strip it down, paint the frame and build up something on my own.

When I moved in to my new apartment I let go of so much stuff. I needed to at the time but now I’m kicking myself that I got rid of all my bike tools and spare parts (I don’t even own a set of tyre levers anymore!). There’s something really nice about supporting local business and paying the guys at the LBS to help me get my old 80’s road bike back on the road, but I personally get so much more pleasure from doing it myself.

So much time on my hands, and this obsessive compulsive side of me is out in full force once more. I’m excited about bikes again, and I laugh at how undecided I am from one day to another.

When I was planning to get back on the bike again to do social/fitness laps around Centennial Park with Nick I was so undecided between buying a “that’ll do bike” vs a dream road bike. When I showed Nick a $6K carbon aero bike I was looking at he laughed at me and suggested that’s not what I need in order to do easy laps around the park! He’s right, but want vs. need is a thing (funny enough I did have a giggle at some guys doing easy laps around Centennial Park with their full aero bikes).

I’ve gone and done something though. I’ve bought a proper trainer, and despite spending hours on eBay and Facebook Market place I’ve gone and bought a new bike. Not a new modern road bike. Not a mountain bike with drop bars, but a new gravel bike. The wildest part is, it’s not black!

It’s coming from the other side of the world so it’s going to be a while before it gets here, but I’m excited. I figure my old 80’s road bike can go on the trainer. This new gravel bike will be my fitness/social bike and my old faithful Giant Reign is begging me to take it out on the trails again (that 90’s John Tomac inspired MTB resto mod with drop bars can wait!).