New Bike Day - Alchemy Ronin Titanium

Birds flying high, you know how I feel

Sun in the sky, you know how I feel
Breeze driftin' on by, you know how I feel
It's a new dawn, it's a new day
It's a new life, for me
And I'm feeling good
Feeling Good, Leslie Bricusse & Anthony Newly (1964)

Alchemy Ronin at home on dirt at Green Mountain Open Space Park in Jefferson County, Colorado.

After picking up my new Ronin Titanium gravel bike at Alchemy Bikes last Wednesday, I started pedaling on my first ride at about 11:00 am and didn't stop until almost 6:30 pm. Wow. What a ride. 

I flew along the Cherry Creek, South Platte and Bear Creek Trail bike paths to eventually reach the single track at Bear Creek Lake Park near Morrison. Those bike path miles were fun and fast, but the Ronin really came alive on the skinny dirt roads that park calls trails. Spot on fit, precise handling, silky smooth ride. Awesome sauce.

The next day I rode another two hours up and around Green Mountain Open Space Park in Jefferson County. Those skinny dirt roads were generally rougher, rockier, and steeper than Bear Creek Lake, but certainly nothing that the Ronin didn't handle with ease.

This is going to be fun. I can't wait to get it out on Black Hills forest dirt and Badlands gravel.

I will post more details and impressions as I ride this beauty, but for now, here are a few pictures and the specifications.

Working in my bike during Alchemy's company move, Bryce adjusts my saddle precisely to design.

On my first ride, I reach dirt at Bear Creek Lake Park after a 20+ mile bike path shake down.

Alchemy Ronin rocks Green Mountain Open Space Park on my second day's ride.

The Green Mountain Tail is about to turn steeper and looser. No problem.

Here are the specifications of my Alchemy Ronin Titanium gravel bike.

Frame Set

Frame - Alchemy Titanium, custom fit, geometry & tube shaping

Fork - Alchemy Carbon Fork

Headset - Cane Creek 40 Series, 41/52

Finish - Custom Cerakote, with clear coat titanium rear triangle

Seat

Saddle - Selle Italia Flite Flow Titanium

Seat Post - Alchemy Carbon Seat Post 31.6 mm, 0 degree offset

Seat Post Clamp - Alchemy Seat Post Clamp 31.6 mm

Rear Wheel

Hub - Industry 9 Torch Road Alloy Centerlock

Rim - Industry 9 Ultralite 250 Carbon TRA

Tire - WTB Byway 44 mm

Tubeless - Stan's

Front Wheel

Hub - Industry 9 Torch Road Alloy Centerlock

Rim - Industry 9 Ultralite 250 Carbon TRA

Tire - WTB Byway 44 mm

Tubeless - Stan's

Stem/Bar

Stem - Alchemy Carbon Stem 100mm

Spacers - 20 mm bottom, 10 mm upper

Handlebar - Whiskey No. 9 24F Carbon Drop Bar, 44 cm

Tape - Alchemy Tacky Black

Brakes

Front Brake - Shimano GRX Hydraulic BR-RX810-F

Rear Brake - Shimano GRX Hydraulic BR-RX810-R

Brake Levers - Shimano GRX Di2 Dual Control, ST-RX815-L

Brake Rotors - Shimano GRX Centerlock SM-RT800, 160 mm/140 mm

Drivetrain

Crankset - Shimano GRX FC-RX810-2, 170 mm, 31-48

Bottom Bracket - Shimano Ultegra Threaded, SM-BBR60

Cassette - Shimano GRX CS-HG800-11, 11x34 11 speed

Front Derailleur - Shimano GRX Di2 FD-RX815-F

Rear Derailleur - Shimano GRX Di2 RD-RX817

Shift Levers - Shimano GRX Di2, ST-RX815-L

Chain - Shimano CN-HG701-11

Chain Stay Protector - NA, clear coated titanium

Pedals - Time ATAC XC 8

Accessories

Bottle Cages - Alchemy Carbon Water Bottle Cage, x3

Top Tube Pack - Revelate Designs Mag-Tank bolt on

Saddle Pack - Revelate Designs Shrew

Frame Pack - Revelate Designs Tangle

Feeling Good, Michael Buble (2005)

The Waiting

The waiting is the hardest part

Every day you see one more card

You take it on faith, you take it to the heart

The waiting is the hardest part

The Waiting, Tom Petty (1981)

Social media image by Alchemy Bikes building a custom titanium frame.

ronin (roe' nin), noun, lit "wave man," a lordless Samurai in feudal Japan, also drifter or wanderer

Custom fit. Custom geometry. Custom tube shaping. Custom Cerakote. Custom build. Hand crafted in Colorado. Developed over decades of riding and brought to life by custom frame builder Ryan Cannizzaro. Shimano GRX Di2 drivetrain, Industry Nine UL 250 Trail Carbon wheels, and carbon bits.

Alchemy Ronin Titanium. The wait is nearly over. Time to wander a bit more. 

Social media image by Alchemy Bikes of a Ronin Titanium at Red Rocks, Colorado.

The Waiting, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, featuring Eddie Vedder (2006)

The n+1 Struggle Is Real

A common cyclist joke:  How many bikes do you need?
n+1, where n = the number of bikes you currently own.

But it's not a joke. It's an addiction.

At one point in time, not long ago, I owned 11 bikes, including five different types of single speeds and two different fixed gears. I could always find a reason to add a new bike, but not to subtract an old one. I usually kept the old bike as a backup or loaner or, better yet, modified it for a new purpose.

After 30 years of living in conventional n+1 land, I commit to a new mindset and embark on a brave new journey to dramatically reduce my fleet. It isn't all at once and it isn't easy. Definitely the hardest to let go is my beloved classic Italian, lugged steel cyclocross bike. Letting Go. But I persevere. Eventually, my fleet bottoms out at three: a 2014 Black Mountain Cycles MonsterCross geared for roads, a 2008 Kona rigid 29er single speed for trails, and a 1991 Specialized RockHopper fixed for commuting.

One reward for subtracting all those other bikes is to add a custom built Jones 29 Plus LWB, geared for all purpose mountain biking and outfitted for bikepacking. Jones 29+ LWB - What It Is. None of my prior or existing bikes possessed the capabilities of the Jones 29+ LWB, especially for day long single track rides and multi-day camping. It is a big add, and a lot of fun. All is good.

Salsa Stormchaser single speed gravel hauler. (photo by Salsa Cycles)

Then Salsa announces the arrival of the Stormchaser for 2020. Introducing the Stormchaser.

What's so special about the Stormchaser? It's a rigid single speed bike designed from the ground up for long rides in bad conditions on rough unpaved roads, from a bike maker in this field for as long as anyone. There's no other production bike like it, in function or form.

It's singular. It's striking. It's simple. It calls to me.

But I don't need it. No, I really don't need it, I repeat to myself. My Black Mountain MonsterCross sets up readily as a single speed. Indeed, for the last couple of years, I have regularly switched it between geared and single speed, depending on my planned rides and races. It isn't difficult and isn't time consuming. The Black Mountain is a great road bike for me, both geared and single speed. I don't need another.

However, pictures and reviews of the Stormchaser flood the media. It beckons. My mind drifts. I start thinking that it would be nice to have two all road bikes - one dedicated single speed and one dedicated geared. Oh, yes, that would be nice. Really nice. So signals the Siren Song of n+1.

It's alluring. It's seductive. As I stray closer to those treacherous n+1 rocks, a persistent thought lurches me to my senses and steers me clear. I simply don't want one. That is, I realized that I did not want a Stormchaser, because I did not want a bike that I did not need.

My Chaser Of Storms - Black Mountain Cycles MonsterCross set up single speed.

The day may come when I acquire another bike. But it is not this day. This day I stay at n.