Tyler's Bassi Le Montreal

Let me preface this with saying that bike fit is a huge PITA for me. I have the legs and arms of someone about 6'2" (91.5cm inseam!), the torso of someone 6 inches shorter, and the spinal flexibility of a dry noodle. With all this in mind, the super tall stack, short stem and setback seatpost were essential to getting my fit just right. My coworkers all joke that I'm basically riding a flatbar bike at this point and I suppose they wouldn't be too far off the mark, though this is currently the most aggressive/zippy bike I have. My other builds (Piolet and Hog's Back) are set up with chunky tires and the sweepiest of alt bars, so dabbling in drop bars has been a fun change.

I was pretty curious about the Microshift Sword groupset and decided to give it a try. I've dubbed the build "Grandonneur" as it takes some inspiration from Rando builds but with a 10x2 gravel groupset that has a decent enough high and low end without too many big jumps on the 11-38 cassette. It's all pretty modern looking, though I did throw some sweet Dia Compe cantis on to help keep some of the classic lugged frame charm. A wide-ish Nitto Dirt Drop handlebar and 42mm Cava Robusto tires lend the bike a little more offroad capability without taking away from it's zippyness on pavement. The wheels are built up on 700c Archetype rims, a Bassi touring rear hub, and like all my bikes, a dynamo hub up front. I love never worrying about charging lights and if I decide to stay out late on a ride I know I'm good to go on the way home. For now the bike is rack-less and (almost) fenderless, a conscious decision to keep weight down even if it does mean I'm a little grubby on my return home. I have plans to sew up a couple bags to keep all the essentials I need when out for longer rides, a project for the winter season while the bike awaits the spring melt.

Photos by Troy