The Hunt Cycling is a full service bike-shop, independent journal and collective consisting of three cycling enthusiasts based in Halle Saale. We try to explore, document and share our experiences in the field of cycling and beyond. Besides drinking shandy, lots of riding and intellectual discusses about bike parts and stuff, we enjoy riding with friends and running our showroom and bike-shop located in the center of Halle.
It’s a day tripper and a weekender. It’s a ‘rough road’ road bike. It’s a cyclocross bike with no pretense about racing. It’s a utilitarian townie. It’s a light-duty touring bike. It’s an all-weather commuter. This is how Surly describes the Straggler and that’s why we like the Straggler. The customer’s requirements were met by the Straggler and building could start immediately. Off road pursuit (ORP) could designate the intended use of this Straggler and should include light and medium terrain at higher speeds. Since we are friends of metalworking, manufacturers for the components were taken quickly. Hope supplied the wheelset as well as the headset and Sim Works the seatpost and stem. A fast rolling Soma Cazadero fits the concept very well and ensures enough grip on tarmac and loose ground. Having in mind the intended use, the remaining parts have been selected together with Manuel. And, on top, although the Straggler is completely black, it is very photogenic.
The intention of this Bridgestone Trail MB-4 custom build was to set up a comfortable companion for tarmac and sandy paths for a lady. A short wheelbase, roadbike-like geometry, wide tires and trekking handlebar makes it an agile and controllable bike. This matches the original intention from Bridgestone as you can see in the catalogue scans from 1988 below. Sheldon says: “In the ’80s this design was considered “radical” but it proved itself on the trail, and was copied by everybody a few years later. This Bridgestone design still is the standard for rigid frame MTBs.” The well-balanced mix of used and new parts were essential regarding the budget. But which modern parts would fit better than a combination of Shimano Deore DX / Araya wheelset with Shimano Deore LX crank and Shimano Deore XT group? We would also like to set up a second copy for us, but unfortunately they are rare to find. Thus we are still sad that Bridgestone frames are not produced anymore and pray for their comeback. In the meantime, we are pleased that Grant Petersen can realize his ideas and ideals at Rivendell.
This is our second Traitor Ruben built and in the mind of Traitor Cycles a Pacific Northwest style commuter designed with performance. The steel frame and fork provide an incredibly smooth ride that takes out the harshness of the road, and the disc brakes will have you stopping with complete confidence no matter what the weather conditions. The new swinging dropout system with built in chain tensioners allow the rider to switch between a geared or singlespeed setup with total ease. This is the most obvious change in comparison to the Ruben V3 we build up a while ago. René wanted a fast rolling setup for commuting and occasional gravel touring. That’s the reason for the sporty gear ratio (53/39 – 11/28) and the Panaracer CG CX 700x32c. All other parts are a mix of reliable and proven components for this purpose.
