Cielo by Chris King 29er, steel is real

Update 5 April, ride report at bottom



Sometimes when you are not looking for it a really nice frame comes along.

Camino Cielo, “Sky’s Pathway”, is a narrow road that runs along the top of a ridge in the Santa Ynez mountains behind Santa Barbara. After rolling off the shoulder of La Cumbre Peak, Camino Cielo continues south for several miles roughly paralleling the coastline and the Pacific Ocean several thousand feet below. It’s on this rugged and adventurous road, and the many others like it in the foothills and mountains surrounding town, that Chris King discovered the values of a well-designed bicycle. Camino Cielo, it’s climbs and twists and turns and descents, was a laboratory and a test track, and the perfect retreat from a hard day’s work at the machine shop.



First thoughts are a polished aluminium theme on a modern 29er chassis.
updated pictures with my polished WI-Boone SS drivetrain fitted, more below.





enjoy!!

That looks really nice. I love all the little blue accents throughout

luv it. Same choice of hubs as my bike, too

Wow, really nice bike! Love the drop outs, lots of nice detail's all over

That is lovely!!!

SS Drivetrain fitted, the ENO cranks need a good polish really.
The gearing is 38/19 which is fine around here, Holland IS flat.

Only the brakes left to do, sometime this weekend I´ll hit the dirt.

Enjoy!!






Ritchey classic cockpit, modern 10D and 660mm


Attention to detail, Stainless tips with CNC machined logo atop the seat stays

Now that is very very nice;-)

Gorgeous frame and an awesome selection of components!

I'm very jealous.

How do the tyres ride? They look great!

I have a few rides on the Cielo now after fitting a set of Hope Tech 2 brakes a few weeks ago. Some pictures of the current build below. I rode mostly familiar tracks that I have done a few times on other bikes lately.

@ Neebsta, the Canis tires are fine for my local trails and SS, over here these are allrounders. Tread is similar to but more aggressive than Racing Ralphs. Beware though, local trails are not very demanding on tires. YMMV

And the Cielo rides lovely, at least as good as it looks. It feels versatile and a little different to my other bikes. For a rigid bike it is quite comfortable. And the front centre feels stretched out, but nicely so. I've felt this before with Ritchey 10D bars. The trick is to bend my arms and bring weight forward and low whilst remaining seated. And then it responds with speed and balance. This low forward attack position works equally on flowing singletracks and twisty turny bits amongst the trees on my local routes. I want to try it with a straight post later for just a bit more forward weight bias.
But overall this is still an XL sized 29er frame with a longish wheelbase. One review called the Cielo a "Gentleman" and I tend to agree. Gentemen don't wander off left and right at a mere hint of a turn. But when required they show pedigree and step up to a challenge.

The drive train meanwhile is solid and quiet, sliding dropouts work a treat. I know that tallish 38-19t gearing is spot-on for the local tearrain. It allows me to ride SS to the trailhead without going dizzy on the RPM, and I can still get up most short steep climbs OK. I will be playing with the set-up a bit, but for now this is my Singlespeed steed of choice:

Enjoy!!

Front brake line needs trimming, and I still think Tech lever is a bit bulky

Ritchey CLassic finishing kit is a keeper

bar ends have got bungs in them by now, not in the pictures

looking for a set of matching blue crank extractors