Bike Check: Clay’s Mystery Machine Mountain Bike
While mostly known around Victoria for riding all sorts of trails you shouldn’t ride on a cross bike on his road bike, Clay does have a mountain bike that he rides occasionally. What bike it is remains a mystery – – though it looks an awful lot like you could ride Rocky stuff on Mountains with it – – but it looks pretty sweet. Ahead of a trip deep into the wilderness of B.C.’s interior, Clay brought his bike by the shop to fix a couple things from his last adventure – of which you will hear more shortly. We took the opportunity to try find out what we could about the digi-camo clad mystery machine.
While it’s origins are shrouded in mystery, rumour has it that Clay acquired the bike as a plain white frame. Clay’s took that blank canvas and made this digi-camo look, which he painted by hand himself. We can tell you that the green paint is covering a Rockshox Reba, and that it’s fitted with an array of different Shimano and Chromag parts that keep it running smooth. The standout features are either the Time MTB pedals, which are an endangered species at this point, or the 9-speed 1-by setup. Without further ado, lets take a closer look and see what we can find out…
Hiding in plain sight…
Flouro decals help keep tabs on the bike in the woods, where it really disappears
This is very detailed for something Clay did at home – solid camo work
Clay’s raced stages of BC Bike Race, Campbell River 50, Island Cups, on top of all sorts of other miles
Smooth, not ‘too’ distinctive seat stay junction, and more camo work
Chromag Bars, Reba lockout lever, and a 9-speed shifter setup
Shimano Deore LX stoppers keep Clay safe wherever he’s riding
An array of different carbon bits propping up a Ritchey Pro stem
Tacx waterbottle cage has a pretty nice minimal look
The last remaining pair of Time mountain bike pedals.
Simple is better – the classic homemade spare tube chainstay protector
Shimano SLX shifter bits
Those crazy Time pedals are driving a XT Shimano crank et
And a Chromag Sequence X-Sync chainring
Blacked out rims are driven by bright red Chris King hubs, front and rear
With matching red spoke nipples
Schwalbe Rocket Ron’s out front
Paired with Schwalbe’s Racing Ralph out back
