Alice’s Gravel Commuter
Not quite built-from-scratch levels of custom, but still custom.
You won’t see many bullhorn Metrea bikes out there for sure. The shifters weren’t that hard to find, what was hardest to find were the bars; since the groupset was a flop, only two companies ever made compatible bars: Shimano PRO and NITTO. NITTO is very expensive and PRO had no stock in North America so these were sourced from South Korea.
Metrea is an Ultegra-level groupset, both performance and price-wise, and was aimed at commuters. No wonder it failed. Likewise, they share the same pull-ratio as 7000/8000/9000-series 11-speed groupsets, so an Ultegra-RX rear derailleur was used for its clutch feature. Unfortunately, they are NOT compatible with road-series brake calipers as they use a different hydraulic hose size.
Ergonomically, I like the levers as they give me much better braking modulation than hydraulic-STI levers, However, while Shimano does offer reach adjustment, I believe the ergonomics would benefit from a 10-15mm extension in lever length, as even with my not-small hands, I have to reach for them unless my hands are positioned pretty far forward.
Cables are looking a little long. Will have to shorten them when I get the chance.
A mushy Selle Italia saddle for maximum commuting comfort.
I was quite curious about these Lauf forks after seeing that video by the GCN. Decided to give one a shot. Overall they’re pretty decent. Cornering on hard pavement is somewhat mushy compared to a rigid fork, as expected, but it really does make the commute quite a bit more comfortable.
And while I can’t NDT test it, the build quality of my particular specimen appears to be excellent. The finish is smooth and not wavy as you find on some carbon parts, and most importantly, the brake caliper mounts are dead parallel, making brake installation very easy and rub-free.
The integrated crown is something to be expected these days, however, on a fork built for rough terrain, I would’ve liked to see a metal race, just to shield the soft carbon from the hardened steel bearing race. I have never bottomed this thing out yet, and it’s slightly unsettling to think that those leaf springs can flex up to 30mm – I don’t plan on putting that claim to the test.
As much as I would’ve liked to have gone full Metrea, the 42T crank just doesn’t cut it for the flat Chicago landscape. SRAM’s Force 1 cranks come in a good range of chainring sizes, and the 50T was the one I ended up choosing. It’s a good balance of weight, customizability, and aesthetics in my opinion.
Deore XT 42T in the rear on DT Swiss 240S hubs. Ultegra rotors, though in hindsight I should’ve bought either Dura-Ace or SRAM Centerline XR, for the black color scheme. Ah well, guess I’ll just be dragging the brakes a lot hoping they wear out soon…
