Tumbleweed Sunliner Rebuild - Part 2
A glance at the updated Tumbleweed Sunliner
As I wrote earlier in the week, my rides are now required to be casual and leisurely due to my knee injury and impending surgery. While I can’t do really hard efforts, heavy touring, or technical mountain biking, thankfully, I can still ride my bike!
This morning I got out early to do a Minnesota River Bottoms Ramble on my recently rebuilt and updated Tumblweed Sunliner. Whenever I ride this rig on the MN River Bottoms I am reminded of what a great all round ATB (All Terrain Bicycle) this thing is….Especially so with the component updates.
Here are the key updates for the rebuild.
Shimano XT 165mm cranks with STONE 104mm crank adapter. The shorter cranks are easy on my knees and the adapter allows me to change chain rings without fussing with and removing the crankset.
2nd titanium Tumblweed rack for the rear. As I noted on an earlier post, I am going away from the seat bag. The rack allows me to use a dry bag on the top to mimic the seat bag. It also allows me to add H2O bottles to the uprights or use a set of dedicated panniers. It’s also rock solid and carries the weight lower compared to a seat bag. Stoked on how the bike looks with both front and rear racks too!
Paul Klamper brakes with 180mm front rotor. I originally had these brakes on another rig, but I took them off to put them on my mtn tourer. I also upped the front rotor size. Myself coupled with the weight of all the gear is a lot of weight and I love the security of these brakes with a larger front rotor.
Industry Nine headset. I just wanted a single gold lower cup to compliment this build. I had to use a non Industry 9, reducer, lower crown race to get this to work with the straight steerer tube Tumbleweed fork. I am a bit embarrassed, but this update was for aesthetic purposes only.
2.5” Teraval Eh-Line tires. I simply love this tire. I originally set this bike up and toured with the 2.3” version. I put new 2.5” on as I wanted just a bit more float and comfort.
All in all, this rig is pretty much set. I have one more tweak to make, and that is to go to a 27.2 titanium post with shim. I’ll replace the seat clamp too to a double bolt to make sure there is no movement. I just like and want the compliance of a 27.2 titanium seat post versus a 31.6 post.
Here are a few detail shots.
The new 165mm XT crankset with STONE 104mm adapter, Wolftooth 104 BCD ring and steel bolts!
The trusty Paul Klampers. Notice the sweet, brass Forager Cycles cable ends! Nothing but the best on this rig.
A touch of gold! For pure aesthetic reasons, I installed a new headset. Didn’t need one. Just wanted it to look like this!
All in all, I must say I am a bit smitten with this build. It is so dang comfy and the Tumblweed crew absolutely nailed the geometry with this rig. I think it is pretty easy on the eyes too!
Lastly, here are a few of my favorite shots from this AM’s ride.
Just cruising on the MN River Bottoms Trail
Go this way! A little double exposure fun!
Ok…Enough for now. I”ve got more details of this rig to share at some point. Until then, I am just going to keep riding it and enjoying it. I hope you all got out too! Have a good one.
