It’s new bike day, the best day of any year! I purchased a Rodeo Labs Trail Donkey 3.1. I love this bike for many reasons, the name is just one of them. At first glance one would think it’s just another gravel bike but it’s much more. I would classify it as an adventure bike.
It has three bottle cage mounts (2 in main triangle and 1 on down tube), fork mounts for bottles or gear, top tube mount, fender/rack mounts, internal routing for generator hub and rear flasher, can run 10 or 15mm front axles, and it can run a 27.5 x 2.25 or 29 x 2.0 tires.
I plan on riding everything from pavement to gravel to double track to single track on my new donkey.
Getting my new donkey put together was an adventure in of itself. I ordered the frame for my new trail donkey on December 28th 2020. I didn’t see it until mid September of 2021. Getting the parts for it was just as painful and time consuming. I had half of them by May and when it was clear I wasn’t getting the frame for a while and the bike industry was never going to fix it’s supply chain issues any time soon I stopped trying to get parts.
In September when I got the frame I said to hell with waiting for QBP to have inventory and looked to Ebay and other online sources. With some time spent and patience I was able to build up my donkey how I wanted and he’s amazing.
I can’t wait to get out and get him dirty. May miles and adventures await us. Below is a breakdown of components and his build.
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| FRAMESET | |
| Model | Rodeo Labs Traildonkey 3.1 + Spork 3.0 |
| COCKPIT | |
| Handlebar | Salsa Cowchipper |
| Stem | Redshift Sports ShockStop / 90mm |
| Headset | FSA Orbit ITA |
| Headset spacers | Carbon |
| Seatpost | KS LEV Integra Dropper Seatpost |
| Dropper lever | Shimano GRX810 Dropper Post Lever |
| Seatpost clamp | Rodeo 6066 |
| Saddle | Brooks C17 All Weather |
| Bar Tape | ESI |
| DRIVETRAIN | |
| Front Shift / Levers | Shimano GRX810 Dropper Post Lever |
| Rear Shift / Levers | Shimano GRX810 |
| Front Derailleur | None |
| Rear Derailleur | Shimano GRX810 / 11 speed |
| Wolf Tooth RoadLink Direct Mount | |
| Crankset | Shimano GRX |
| Chainring | Shimano GRX / 40th |
| Bottom Bracket | Praxis T47 / 68mm / external / EB |
| Chain | KMC 11 speed SL |
| Brake Caliper Front | Shimano GRX / flat mount |
| Brake Caliper Rear | Shimano GRX / flat mount |
| Shift housing / cables | Black |
| Brake Lines / Hydro | Shimano |
| Axle Front | Rodeo Thru Axle / 12 x 100mm |
| Axle Rear | Rodeo Thru Axle / 12 x 142mm |
| WHEELSET | |
| Rim Front | Rodeo Labs 2.0 Carbon / 700c |
| Rim Rear | Rodeo Labs 2.0 Carbon / 700c |
| Hub Front |
Rodeo Labs (SON generator in future)
|
| Hub Rear | Rodeo Labs |
| Spokes |
Pillar PSR Triple Butted / 2.2/1.7/2.0mm
|
| Nipples | Brass |
| Valve | Fillmore |
| Rim Tape | Whisky Tubeless Rim Tape |
| Tire Sealant | STANS Race |
| Tire front | Teravail Cannonball Tire – 700 x 42 |
| Tire rear | Teravail Cannonball Tire – 700 x 42 |
| Rotor front | |
| Rotor rear | |
| Cassette | Shimano XT / 11-46 |
| ACCESORIES | |
| Bottle cages |
Lezyne Flow Bottle Cage (1 Side Loader / 1 Regular)
|
| Tool storage | Salsa Anything Bracket w/ Strap and Pack |
| Handlebar bag | Leadout Mini Handlebar Bag |
| Lights |
KLite Gravel System with rear Qube Flasher (forecoming)
|
| Pump | Leyzne ABS Pressure Drive Mini Frame Pump |
The plan for this new steed is explore more and to add some versatility to my stable. His name is TARS, like the robot from the movie Interstellar. I haven’t settled on any acronyms yet, suggestions welcome.
I’m planning to do multiple gravel type backpacking routes, as well as some mixed terrain (paved, dirt, singletrack). Our first ride included all of these and TARS performed amazingly. Shortly I will buy a set of bikepacking bags just for him and photos and write ups will follow for your enjoyment.
As stated earlier, this build has been almost a year in the making. My excitement has been a roller coast during that time. As luck would have it, it’s almost winter here, so I probably won’t get much time in on my new stead this year.
With that said, I’m so glad I took my time building up the bike. I had a vision of what I wanted it to look like and it’s come true. No corners cut, no cheap exceptions. The only item TARS is missing a Wahoo Bolt computer.
Lastly, I’d like to thank my buddy Sammy for helping me build up TARS, as well as Justin White for advice and technical informational, and finally the multiple people from Rodeo Labs for their tireless work ensuring I was able to build the bike I WANTED.
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