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| 2012 Tomac Flint 29 Gravel Conversion |
THE BACKGROUND STORY:
My favourite cyclist of all time is John Tomac. The choice may be surprising as I have always been more of a roadie, but John Tomac in my opinion is a singularly unique talent in the world of professional cycling. Tomac either dominated or excelled at multiple cycling disciplines (BMX, cross-country, trials, downhill, and yes, even road) throughout an amazing career. Very few can claim his combination of winning with such an incredible level of versatility.
Unfortunately, the branding of his iconic name has not been as successful or enduring. The third attempt at Tomac-labelled bikes occurred between 2006 and 2013; higher-end bikes were designed and produced under the auspices of Joel Smith (formerly with Answer/Manitou) with direct input from Tomac himself. The bikes generally garnered stellar reviews but failed to find a lasting place in the competitive market. The iconic name has languished in limbo ever since.
Recently, I was pleasantly surprised to find a Tomac Flint 29 bike frame show up for sale locally. While not rare, Tomac bikes are at least relatively uncommon. Even better, the original owner let the near-mint frame go for a song. Score!!! This 29er XC frame was the 2012 version and had a standard threaded bottom bracket lacking the earlier Bushnell eccentric bottom bracket system (for singlespeed option). The AN6 aluminum custom-butted tubing results in the frame weighing a claimed 1400 grams. I like the look of the white pearlescent paint an awful lot, but I'm not sure if it will stay looking nice for very long.
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| 1. Sweet head tube badge 2. Downtube sticker 3. Signature of a legend 4. Frame & aftermarket rigid carbon fork |
In homage to a classic Tomac-esque move, I decided to convert the XC 29er into a dropbar gravel bike. I had been riding a budget garage-build dropbar hybrid rig on gravel up to this point. The process, however, was not without its hurdles. Primary among the issues was the choice of crankset and creating an acceptable chainline. I had originally hoped to run an oversized integrated spindle 2X crankset using a 110 BCD, but the 73mm BB shell and the very wide chainstays ruled out any road or gravel crank with a ~110mm spindle. Conversely, if I used a MTB crankset with a ~120mm spindle, the 104/64 BCD would not have the chainring sizes I wanted. The options were to run 1X (which I didn't want) or to run either an interchangeable spider or a DUB crankset and bottom bracket (not in my budget). I dug deep in my bins for a third option, using a Shimano cartridge bearing square taper BB with a short 107mm spindle and a dog's breakfast of a crankset (Truvativ Touro cranks with a Surly 46T big chainring and a Race Face 34T small chainring). The frankenstein combo works, but I may switch to a DUB when money and opportunity allows, possibly running a 46/32T.
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| Chainring / chainstay clearance |
I paired some SRAM Red 10-speed brifters I had kicking around with some SRAM X7 MTB derailleurs for a mullet shifting system. I would have preferred the X9's if only just for the rear clutch mechanism, but beggars can't be choosers. The front derailleur clamp butts up against the lower seat tube water bottle rivnut and can't be raised any higher; this normally wouldn't be an issue but as Surly chainrings seem to have fairly tall tooth profiles, the front cage just barely clears the 46T. Everything else works pretty much as expected. The build weight as completed sits at a respectable 11.6 kg. If I put on some better than entry-level wheels and went tubeless, I could easily shed some weight, but I'm happy with it for now. I will get back with some feedback once I get a few rides in.
PHOTO GALLERY:
SPECIFICATIONS:
RIDE REPORT: Pending
N1+1
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