{"id":2187173,"date":"2026-10-09T09:26:46","date_gmt":"2026-10-09T06:26:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2187173"},"modified":"2026-10-09T09:26:46","modified_gmt":"2026-10-09T06:26:46","slug":"are-modern-bikes-too-safe-we-got-a-reader-bike-build-that-brings-sketchy-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2187173","title":{"rendered":"Are Modern Bikes Too Safe? We Got a Reader Bike Build That Brings Sketchy Back."},"content":{"rendered":"
Published October 9, 2026 03:26AM<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
We got an email the other day from a reader we couldn\u2019t ignore. \u201cBikes are now better than ever\u2014I should be so happy,\u201d he said, \u201cyet I wasn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bikes are too good! <\/i>Now that is a zag I would like to hear more about.<\/p>\n
What Trayl Slayr (a Velo<\/i> reader who wished to stay anonymous, only identified by this incredible pseudonym) argued was the ultimate contrarian counterpoint. Modern bikes are too stable, too fast, and too much control.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe bike did most of the work,\u201d Slayr said. \u201cYou just had to pedal and steer. Rider involvement and experience felt like it was waning. Over time, riding became dull.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, I took back control by \u2018having less control,\u2019 if that makes sense. The idea guiding my thinking was to make a sketchy bike. Not crazy sketchy, just a bit sketchy. The ingredients I picked were a mash-up of modern goods with revived parts from 1990s mountain biking that I love.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe results of the complete build echoed that \u2018less control\u2019 mantra in action.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Sketchy by design<\/h2>\nThe front end of Trayl Slayr\u2019s build. <\/span> (Photo: Trayl Slayr)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
To make this slightly-sketchy gravel bike, Slayr started with a 1992 Alpinestars Cro Mega fully-rigid mountain bike. The frame is best known for its extremely elevated chainstay that ran all the way through to the middle of the downtube. The frame is steel, with True Temper OX Ultra II double-butted tubing, and has a brilliant custom powder-coated neon green-to-yellow fade finish.<\/p>\n
So far, this tracks. Gravel is just 1990s mountain biking, right?<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, it continued and just kept being a true beautiful mismatch. For a fork, Slayr had to go to AliExpress. Instead of a carbon fork, which most metal bikes are made with these days, the build uses a Tirus Titanium Segmented fork made for 650b wheels and cantilever brakes. This combination of a titanium fork and cantilever brakes is where much of the intentional sketchiness derives from.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThe steel elevated chainstay frame with titanium fork constantly requires my input to keep [the bike] in line,\u201d Slayr said. \u201cI am either rewarded or punished with lots of feedback depending on the terrain, my skill, and finesse.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fork flexes a bit too much, the brakes stop just enough to make me question my life choices, and keeping the cantilevers instead of doing a disc brake conversion was essential to get my \u201990s muscle memory back in my hands. I instantly became smitten with this always \u2018on the edge\u2019 riding experience.\u201d<\/p>\nSlimer, from Ghostbusters, seems to be an emblematic mascot of the build. <\/span> (Photo: Trayl Slayr)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
A retro base with modern trappings<\/h2>\n
Where the build opted for more modern trappings was in the wheel, tire, and gearing choices. Of course, with 650b wheels, modern is a relative term, but besides size, the build is much more modern than the frame and fork. Slayr has opted for a set of Kinlin XR31T 27.5\/650B rims, with 32-hole count Bitex Rar12 hubs and Sapim CX-Ray spokes. All of that is a complicated way of saying the bike has durable, yet relatively lightweight 650b wheels that were paired with a set of thick, slick Ultradynamico tires.<\/p>\n
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In terms of drivetrain specs, the build uses a mix of Shimano parts and AliExpress bits to make a modified 11-speed Shimano GRX groupset. While Slayr has, ostensibly, a GRX 11-speed system that uses a 11-42 cassette, the modifications allow Slayr to use a 11-50t cassette for a much wider range of gears. According to Slayr, it is an AliExpress derailleur cage extender and oversized pulley wheels that power the system.<\/p>\nIt might look like Garbaruk, but it\u2019s not! That wouldn\u2019t be sketchy enough. <\/span> (Photo: Trayl Slayr)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Throughout the bike, AliExpress is the underlying engine that brings the mismatched system together into one functional system. That only adds to the playfully sketchy attitude of this bike.<\/p>\n
We at Velo <\/i>can\u2019t recommend this particular build. In fact, the owner doesn\u2019t even seem to fully endorse it either, since they requested to remain anonymous. Yet, we can\u2019t resist engaging in a build that is one-of-one in a truly unique way.<\/p>\n
Trayl Slayr, keep slayng.<\/p>\n
Sincerely, the Velo <\/i>tech team.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Published October 9, 2026 03:26AM<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Sketchy-Bike-Cover.jpg”] Published October 9, 2026 03:26AM We got an email the other day from a reader we couldn\u2019t ignore. \u201cBikes are now better than ever\u2014I should be so happy,\u201d he said, \u201cyet I wasn\u2019t.\u201d Bikes are too good! Now that is a zag I would like to hear more about. What Trayl Slayr […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,71],"class_list":["post-2187173","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-velo-outsideonline-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2187173","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2187173"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2187173\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2187173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2187173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2187173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Sketchy](\"https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Sketchy-Bike-Detail-2.jpg?width=3840&auto=webp&quality=75&fit=cover\")
![\"Sketchy](\"https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Sketchy-Bike-Detail.jpg?width=3840&auto=webp&quality=75&fit=cover\")
![\"Sketchy](\"https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Sketchy-Bike-Detail-5.jpg?width=3840&auto=webp&quality=75&fit=cover\")