Retro Hybrid / 29'er Gravel Bike Love Thread

[dirttorpedo]

This probably will sink like a stone, but I've been riding my vintage hybrid built up as a drop bar gravel bike a lot this summer and thought it would be nice to create a dedicated thread as suggested in the recent Marin Sausalito thread - so here we go. This is the build thread for my Miyata Triple Cross - the bike doesn't look quite like this at the moment.

91 Miyata Triple Cross Rebuild

So I bought a 91 Miyata Triple Cross which isn't quite a mountain bike, but I figured it would get more love over here than on the road board which seems focused more on vintage light weights/racing bikes. I've been thinking about converting my commuter (a disc aluminum CX frame) to a steel...

www.retrobike.co.uk

Changes from the first version are tektro brake levers, a nitto 31.8 short reach stem from Crust, a new 105 / H Son Archetype wheelset and a Acera rear mech to replace the XT one I broke.

 

[ibbz]

Thanks for the link - will take a look!!
Why’re they called ‘Gravel Bikes’? Didn’t they used to be called Hybrids? Or something?

 

[dirttorpedo]

Thanks for the link - will take a look!!
Why’re they called ‘Gravel Bikes’? Didn’t they used to be called Hybrids? Or something?

Yes, they called them hybrids BITD, but as you can tell from my Miyata's name they were also thought of as cyclocross bikes by some. I'd toss Grant Pederson's Bridgestone offerings into this group as well. I also remember Bruce Gordon's Rock'n Road being sold as a flat bar 29er mountain bike or a drop bar mountain bike - he even developed a nice 29er dirt tire back then which you can still buy despite his passing. I've tossed in gravel bike because a number of members here seem to do what I've done - recognize that these old 700c steel bikes with decent tire clearance can be turned easily into a retromod gravel bike for not a lot of $.

 

[ibbz]

Yes, they called them hybrids BITD, but as you can tell from my Miyata's name they were also thought of as cyclocross bikes by some. I'd toss Grant Pederson's Bridgestone offerings into this group as well. I also remember Bruce Gordon's Rock'n Road being sold as a flat bar 29er mountain bike or a drop bar mountain bike - he even developed a nice 29er dirt tire back then which you can still buy despite his passing. I've tossed in gravel bike because a number of members here seem to do what I've done - recognize that these old 700c steel bikes with decent tire clearance can be turned easily into a retromod gravel bike for not a lot of $.

Thanks, I’ve been looking at stuff
In the net, Curious to see that as modern MTB’s get quite extreme, gravel bikes have filled the void where MTB used to be!
I was at first confused as the the difference between a CX bike and a gravel bike but it all then fell into place

 

[frkl]

In Germany hybrids that are primarily for the road are marketed as Trekking Bikes, and their cousins, also hybrids but with a bit more tire clearance that were aimed at primarily dirt paths or forest roads were marketed as Cross Bikes.

These were not cyclocross bikes, but 28"/700c hybrids, or I guess what are now sold as flat bar gravel bikes.

And they make nice conversions.

I would guess that the OP's Miyata may have gotten its "Cross" branding through the Koga-Miyata partnership and wasn't thought of as a proper cyclocross bike but a continental Cross Bike. These have an effective top tube length designed around flat bars, albeit with a 1990s long stem. With a shorter stem, drops fit right in.