Bike Builds

Bikes I’ve built, ridden, and lived with—each one shaping how I evaluate components.

Projects Dear To My Heart

One-off builds shaped by real constraints, deliberate choices, and hands-on experience.

Over time, these projects grew more complex — and more personal. Each build taught me something new, often demanding more time, effort, and investment than initially planned. I’ve always aimed to make every bike distinctive, never reusing components across builds, whether period-correct restorations or full restomods. Each one holds a special place for what it taught me along the way.

bike builds

Riding the Look 795 Blade RS: 6,000 km of Speed and Restraint

Introduction For a long time, I didn’t own a proper road bike. I showed up to local club rides on a restomodded 1990s mountain bike,

bike builds

Why I Own a Fully Stock Rocky Mountain Element C70 (A Rider’s Perspective)

Introduction Most of the bikes on this site exist because I couldn’t leave them alone. Restorations, rebuilds, and ground-up projects are how I’ve learned what

bike builds

Mongoose Tetra SX Restomod Commuter: Building a 1×10 Daily Rider From a 1998 MTB

Why This Bike Exists This bike didn’t start with a hunt, a saved search, or a plan. It was donated to a fellow mechanic, sat

bike builds

A 1994 Giant Coldrock Restoration – And Why Giant Still Matters

This article is going to be about Giant and my history with the brand, and the Giant Coldrock from 1994 I restored. Although I have

bike builds

Restoring a Trek 800 — a Bike Built to Last For My Daughter

I recently did an article on how to do a cheap bike restoration and this Trek 800 was featured. In this article I’m going to

bike builds

Cannondale Scalpel Team Replica – From Trash To Treasure

Why This Bike Was Different From the Start This Cannondale Scalpel Team Replica from 2007 came to me as part of a small but remarkable