Nick's XL SuperSomething

Hello, Nicholas here. You can call me Nick. I'm the other half of Sklar Bikes.

I wear many hats here, and one of them is "Token Tall Guy". I'm 6'3" – that's tall, but not extremely tall. I usually fit on a size XL mountain bike, and all of my drop-bar bikes have been in the 60+cm range. My average Saddle Height is 830mm, my average Bar to Saddle measurement is 570mm, and my Cubit is 510mm. Those are the three measurements that I ask for when answering sizing questions, so it's only fair to share mine.

Check out this video we made about how to find the right size bike!

When I first got my new SuperSomething frame, I was inspired to build my ideal version of a fat-tired all-terrain dropbar bike with a nice comfy riding position so I could do my usual meandering "let's see where that dirt road goes" or "whoops, I'm riding MTB trails on my road bike"-type jaunts. I also wanted it to allow me to keep up with my fast roadie friends. Sometimes I like to go slow and sometimes I like to go fast and I love a bike that can do both comfortably.

My last gravel bike was built in 2015. It's a steel frame with rim brakes and SRAM Rival 1x11. It's still running great, but I've been putting it through the wringer for over a decade (replaced the downtube twice). In that time, much has changed within the world of gravel bikes. There has been a lot of bleed-over from mountain bikes. Things like disc brakes, thru-axles, UDH, and progressive frame geo make the SuperSomething considerably more capable than my dear old bike. I was ready for an upgrade.

The fact that I rode one bike with its original groupset for over a decade should be your first clue that I'm not an early adopter of new technology. I waited for years until I got my first smartphone. I like things that work reliably for a long time. That being said, I love the simplicity of modern 1x shifting, and I was ready to try out the latest and greatest. 

The new SRAM Force AXS XPLR 1x13 had just been announced when my pre-production frame arrived, so I decided to give this wireless thing a try. I've been a bit of a reactionary when it comes to batteries on bikes in the past. Keep your damn dirty robot hands off my precious mechanical bicycle! I'm still a die-hard lover of simple, low-tech, unplugged experiences, but now I can say with authority that I've tried AXS... and it rules.

This SuperSomething surprised me with its capability. I knew it would be a fun off-road bike, but it feels quicker and lighter on the road than I expected. The 700x50mm Maxxis Rambler tires are surprisingly fast on pavement and predictably grippy on trails. The Sklar Titanium Seatpost soaks up the chatter of neglected Sonoma County country roads and works in concert with the compliant steel frame. All in all, it's become the first bike I pick anytime I want to go out for an unpredicted ride.  

Here are the details of my custom build.

Frame: Sklar SuperSomething, XL, Atmospheric River
Fork: Steel SuperSomething fork, Atmospheric River
Groupset: SRAM Force AXS XPLR 1x13
Brakes: SRAM Force, 160mm rotors
Stem: SimWorks Rhonda, 50mm
Bars: Ritchey Classic VentureMax, 46cm 
Wheels: DT Swiss GRC 1400 DiCut
Tires: Maxxis Rambler 700x50mm
Seatpost: Sklar Titanium Seatpost
Saddle: Ergon SR Allroad Core
Bags: Outershell

If you have any questions about this build (or anything else), you can always email me directly at nicholas@sklarbikes.com. Thanks for reading!