Nicholas Bersier's Basket-Packing Hog's Back
Nicholas wanted the full kit: dynamo, rack, basket and fenders. We used the Wiggler stock configuration as a starting point and spiced it up here-and-there to make a fully capable touring and commuting machine. Spicy bits include: Sim Works Half-Moon Rack (he later added the rear Off The Road rack to match the front) Wald 139 Shimano Alfine Dynamo Hub Supernova E3 Pro 2 Schwalbe G-One Allround 27.5x2.00" Axiom Flascheguard 27.5" x 70mm Brooks B17 Standard Brown Photos by Thomas Tessier
Harley's Technicolor Hog's Back
When Harley came to us for a versatile tourer slash townie slash singletrack shortcutter, he knew as well as we did that the Hog's Back would be a great fit. By adding a few purple ano Chromag and White Industries bits, Harley wanted to hearken back to his roots as a West Coast mountain bike grom. A Velo Orange Curvy bar and Brooks Cambium saddle keep things comfy, and a Rogue Panda Designs top tube bag is the cherry on top of a funky fresh build. Scroll through for pics of Harley showing off his MTB prowess on our favourite local, Mont Royal. SPECS Hog's Back frameset VO Grand Cru headset White Industries G30 crankset and BB Chromag Scarab pedals SRAM 1x11 transmission Alex MD21 rims laced to Shimano M525 hubs WTB Byway 650x47 tires Chromag Ranger stem VO Curvy bars Chromag grips Bassi seatpost Brooks C17 saddle Avid BB7 brakes All pics by the shredder behind the lens, @jochhoo
Brett's Hog's Back Chasse et Pêche
Brett has been a bike messenger in Montreal for 7 years now. He's also been touring all those years on brakeless fixies and big dumb cargo bikes, but that all changed when he got himself a Hog with big plans for practicality. Since he bought the bike last year, it's evolved with the addition of every single orange bit and bob he could get his hands on. Brett likes orange things, and his aesthetic muse for this build is a pickup truck covered in Bass Pro Shop hunting and fishing stickers. Brett hopes they'll let him into the forest this hunting season with a bike covered in real tree camo and hi-vis orange. The build features a full run of bikepacking bags courtesy of @sinkholemontreal. Pro pics by pic pro @jochhoo
Ben's Randonneur-MTB Hog's Back
Open pictures in a new tab to embiggen We've basically sold out of the first run of the Hog's Back (don't worry, we're getting more in late 2020), building most of them as our standard gravel-tourer. That doesn't mean we don't love custom jobs, though! Ben's HB is a perfect example: he's using a lot of our stock parts but brought us some of his for us to add or substitute. He Scotch-brited his Velo Orange fenders to dull them, he's using a comfy Selle Anatomica leather saddle, and his friend Max made him a custom randonneur bag, here seen sitting on a Velo Orange Campeur rack. We made Ben a custom Soma Grand Randonneur a few years ago, for good gravel and road long-haul rides. This Hog's Back is more or less a MTB-randonneur answer to that old build, for gnarlier routes. In Ben's words: Fun facts: it's so smooth and comfortable that I forget I'm riding it sometimes, really lets my mind wander and take in the scenery. And it descends rough stuff supernaturally well even with a full front load. That's the design intention for this frame, Ben nailed it! Thanks for the photos, Ben and Jo (@jochhoo)
Jenny's Hog's Back
Open images in a new tab to embiggen It was during the pre-COVID spring of 2019, on an Equipo Borracho group ride, that Jenny first thought about getting a Bassi Hog’s Back. On that day she had the good luck of tasting the sweetness of that beige baby when Julian lent her his prototype steed. Here's a fun pic of Jenny on Julian's bike and Julian on Jenny's bike from back in the day: Our camera guy Jo spoke with Jenny about her bike tastes and favourite types of riding. Here’s a little recap of that conversation. Jenny had been riding a classic Surly Cross Check for many years, taking it to the California coast, to Cuba, and on Ontario’s BT 700 bikepacking ride. She realized that for rougher terrain such as rural gravel roads and trails, a different bike would contribute to more fun. It was the toe overlap on that Cross Check that was most annoying to her (when the feet touch the front tire; caused by big wheels on small frames). She also longed for fatter tires and better braking. In the last few years, Jenny found herself riding more and more technical trails, dirt roads and eastern townships groads. One of her fondest memories is of the first year of the WTF Bikexplorers group rides. On the Montpellier VT area dirt roads, she found friendship, motivation and an amazing network of Women, Trans and Femme riders (she otherwise mostly bikes with men). In the COVID bike boom of 2020, Jenny pulled the trigger, bought that prototype frame and started talking at length about her new whip with Julian at C&L. Jenny has very specific tastes and wanted to make sure every single part was chosen wisely. The result in her own words: a modern-ish bike with classic touches. Some fun facts about the build. A Sram Rival/GX mix 2x10 drivetrain — when road and mountain parts mix for the better. Jenny knew she wanted lots of gear range for everything from open roads and tailwind to steep rocky mountain roads. A double crankset and 11-40 cassette would do the trick. We chose the new, rando-inspired Easton EA90 46/30 teeth crankset and pushed the rear GX derailleur’s capacity a bit. Some Tanglefoot wool tape, her faithful Brooks saddle, Stolen BMX pedals, fat 650Bx1.9’’ Gravel King tires, Salsa 46cm Cowchippers and a tiny 35mm MTB stem completes this Columbus steel machine. Add-ons include a Gurp Stitchworks stem bag and fanny pack, a Swift Industries Zeitgeist saddle bag in a Wald 137 basket atop a Soma Champs Élysées mini rack. Tying together the build nicely are the Shutter Precision dynamo hub and Son Edelux front light. Jenny’s shakedown ride on a 70km dirt/paved loop would confirm her carefully planned bike build, and she rode home happy. In her own words, it’s the perfect all-rounder! Photos and words by @jochhoo
Hog's Back Mauve de Mike
Ouvrez les images dans un nouvel onglet pour les voir en gros Donnez-vous quelques minutes sur un banc de parc ou le matin avec votre café. Je vous en assure ça vaut la peine, et pas juste pour le Hog’s Back mauve, surtout pour Mike, le seul, l’unique, le charmant, Michael Cadano. Je me souviens, il y a 7 ans, je rentrais dans un petit magasin, un placard ! Situé sur une petite rue que je ne connaissais pas, la porte qui bloquait un peu quand tu essayais de l’ouvrir, des veilles boiseries au plafond haut, quelques bikes d’une marque que je ne connaissais pas sur le plancher, de la poussière, pleins de cadres nus au mur, des vieux bikes de route italiens d’une marque plus connue couleur bleu céleste, des Aerospoke (vous voyez, ça fait longtemps), mais surtout un bonhomme fort sympathique derrière un stand Park Tool qui m’a finalement accompagné dans la construction de mon premier vélo sur mesure… Tel un archéologue commençant les premières fouilles dans la vallée des morts, je capotais d’avoir trouvé un endroit comme C&L Cycles. L’expérience du sur mesure a changé ma conception du vélo, de ce que pouvait être un bike shop. Pourquoi toutes les shop ne faisaient pas ça ? Mon histoire avec C&L ne s’est qu’embellie. La preuve : j’ai appris ma mécanique avec Jean-Daniel que j’ai rencontré pas trop longtemps après, j’ai donné un coup de main quand la deuxième succursale sur Rachel à ouvert il y a quatre ans et, maintenant, j’ai la chance absolument incroyable de pouvoir travailler à temps plein chez C&L et d’être entouré des plus beaux vélos en acier à Montréal. Surtout, j’ai la chance de rendre la pareille. J’en ai appris sur le vélo dans les sept dernières années (mais comme dit l’autre, j’en sais juste assez pour savoir que je ne sais rien). Je mange le vélo dans mes céréales le matin, et je vous assure que je fais tout mon possible pour que quand vous faites confiance à C&L avec un vélo sur mesure, le plaisir de rouler sera au moins égal à celui que j'ai depuis que j'ai mon Bassi. Mais parlons de Mike ! Un peu comme moi, Mike est rentré pas trop longtemps avant la fermeture un jour de l'été dernier sur Rachel. « Salut, comment est-ce que je peux t’aider ? » « Oh, just looking ! » Je sais pas pour vous, mais à voir ce que ça a donné, je suis content qu’il n’aie pas juste regardé, et je sais que lui est content de ne pas juste s’être rincé les yeux ce fameux jour d’été 2019. Il a commencé à me poser des questions sur les bikes, on a commencé à jaser. Le gars a un fixie de la mort, des composantes de la mort (exemple symptomatique du bike : moyeux Phil Wood), tout quoi pour attiser le coup de foudre. Pis le gars n’est pas à son premier rodéo en ce qui a trait aux vélos sur mesure. Malade ! Il pose des questions sur la shop, notre marque, sur moi. Je lui pose des questions sur lui, ses bikes, ses projets. Je ne sais pas trop comment on est atterri là, mais à un moment donné je lui descends du mur de derrière l’atelier ( il n’était pas à vue d’œil de la clientèle… et c’était voulu… grave erreur mon Sam ) le dernier prototype non peint de ce qui allait être le Hog’s Back. Je ne sais pas combien d’entre vous on déjà tenu un cadre brut en acier dans vos mains, mais c'est quelque chose de magique. Je sais pas si c’est le look des soudures, les bébé taches de rouilles, les traces du travail du maître soudeur ou les possibilités infinies d’un vélo sur mesure. Je m’étais mis le cadre de côté pour moi. L’idée de le peindre (ou pas), de choisir toutes les pièces, un projet pour soutenir mes carences de vélos au courant de l’hiver qui s’en venait. Toutefois, ce cadre-là, je l’ai mis dans les mains de Mike, et j’étais fait. De là, en quelques heures, Mike est devenu un de nos clients les plus réguliers. On a commencé avec une liste de pièces initiale qui a finalement changé mille et une fois. Mike rentrait avec des questions, voulait savoir si telles ou telles pièces ferraient du sens. Je lui donnais des « devoirs », d’aller lire sur tel ou tel site internet, de découvrir tel ou tel manufacturier. Le gars était en feu ! Je sais pas comment il était à l’école, mais dans ma salle de classe au 978 Rachel ce fut mon étudiant le plus studieux de 2019. Il a rencontré le reste de l’équipe, demandait l’avis de Luc, de Simon, de Julian. On a tous fini par s’asseoir avec lui au courant de ce fantastique projet. On a eu la chance d’appendre à le connaître, reconnaître le superbe entrepreneur qu’il est, mais surtout le bel être humain. J’aime les vélos, mais ces rencontres, ces individus que je croise par l’entremise du vélo, à la fin c’est ça qui me fait le plus flipper. De pouvoir ensemble réaliser un projet qui sera uniquement dédié au bonheur d’exister. Je pense que c’est ce que j’ai, ce que nous avons vécu avec Mike. Il nous a fait confiance, il a cherché, on a cherché, on s’y est tous mis et de là est né le monstre mauve que vous avez devant les yeux. Quand on a fini d’assembler le vélo en février dernier, je ne pouvais pas être là pour célébrer avec tout le monde, et avec Mike. J’ai pris le temps de lui écrire un petit mot : « Hey Mike. Je suis si content que le projet arrive à bon port et que ce soit toi qui est fini avec le dernier prototype. Honnêtement, entre toi et moi, c’était toi qui étais fait pour l’avoir. Ton enthousiasme immédiat et ta dévotion pour le cadre furent un de mes « highlights » de l’été dernier. T'es parfait, ton bike est sexy as fuck et j’ai hâte de te voir rouler ce monstre.» À voir ce qu’il en a fait, je crois que vous serrez d’accord avec moi qu’il y a fait honneur à ce Hog’s Back. Il aura toujours une place bien spéciale dans mon cœur comme mon vrai premier custom. J’espère que tu en profites en ce moment Mike de ton vélo ! En fait, j’espère surtout que dans sept ans, tu vas enfourcher ce vélo et quand tu le rouleras, comme moi avec mon Roma, tu auras toujours un sourire. Encore une fois Mike ce fut un plaisir, merci! Sam Les pièces de Mike Cadre Prototype Hog's Back 51cm Moyeu avant Shutter Precision Moyeu arrière White Industries XMR Jantes Hplusson Todestrieb Pneus Maxxis Holy Roller 26x2.4po Jeu de direction White Industries EC34 Pédalier Shimano SLX M7000 34d Jeu de pédalier Shimano Deore XT Dérailleur arrière Shimano SLX M7000 Cassette SLX M7000 11-46d Câbles et gaines Yokozuna Freins Paul Klamper Leviers Paul Love Lever Tige de selle Thomson Collet de selle Thomson Potence Thomson Selle Brooks B17 mauve bleuet (édition limitée) Pédales MKS Gamma Guidon Jones H-Bar Loop Lumière Busch+Müller IQ-X 100 Lux Photos par notre pote avec le beau Spec mauve et nouveau papa Jonathan Chhun
Keith's Drop-tourer Hog's Back
Keith is a friend of the shop and briefly worked with us last year, after being part of our social rides almost constantly for ages. He's a great dude and we'll miss him when he moves for school soon. Join us in wishing him good luck and happy rides! (ed.) I’ll start with some nerdy info about the components: this build is a classic mix and match of an assortment of new and used parts taken from older bikes, friends, and strangers on the internet. The drivetrain especially is an eclectic mix, where none of the components match each other. The left and right shifters are from two different sets of Ultegra 10-speed levers, the last of their kind to have external gear cable routing. The left shifter came from some guy’s indoor training bike, so the aluminum is all corroded from his sweat — gross. The rear derailer is a really cool long cage Dura-Ace that a friend gave me (I have good friends) when he was moving between houses. The crank is a mountain XT double with 40-28 chainrings, which is plenty fast for me. The front derailer is a Sora that I found in one of my parts boxes. I like 10-speed stuff because it’s relatively affordable, there are plenty of options in the used market, and it’s much less confusing trying to understand what components are compatible with what. If I didn’t have that cool Dura-Ace derailleur, I would have done my favourite drivetrain trick: using a shimano mountain 9-speed rear derailer with 10-speed road shifters and cassettes. The hubs I got off a free set of Bombtrack stock wheels that I delaced (again, I have good friends) and put on some WTB KOM rims to match the tires. Like many bike-obsessed people, I’m always trying to start a new project and make impulse purchases on parts that I either hold on to for years, or end up selling without ever putting on a bike. Some of my projects have lasted months, while others I ride to this day. For example, just before I built up the Hog’s back, I built up a road bike on impulse. It was cool and fun, but it’s really not the kind of riding I do, so I parted it out a few weeks later to build up the Hog’s Back. Other bikes and components last a very long time for me, and that’s what makes the Hog’s Back extra special. The handlebars are a very old set of Ritchey ergo bars that I had on the bike that I rode across Canada in 2015 and have sat in my parts bin since that trip was over. The seatpost has been on three different bikes, and also took me down part of the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route in 2017. The saddle clamp actually broke in the middle of nowhere in Idaho and I had to hitch a ride to the nearest town to find a replacement. You can see the silver clamp looks a bit out of place compared to the black seatpost, but it lives on! The front Burrito Bag is also something that has been on and off my different bikes since 2015. It’s a crappy generic MEC bag that has some infuriating design flaws, but I’ve had no real need to change it yet. My only regret is not immediately building a dynamo front wheel; I’ve been spoiled by unlimited power on my other bikes. The frame geometry doesn’t immediately make sense to put drop bars on, as it is quite a long frame. However, by sizing down (normally I would ride a 54), using a short mountain bike stem, and my weird body proportions, it fits me perfectly and is a joy to ride. The main motivation for me to build this bike came from two factors: first, I’ve wanted to build up a drop bar bike around those WTB tires ever since they came out, but I never owned a frame that was capable of wide 650B wheels until this one. There’s a big boom in the industry for bikes that work well with big gravel tires, but they’re all very ugly looking and always have something that becomes a deal breaker for me: press-fit bottom brackets, weird proprietary component or hub spacing, ugly oversized headtubes, etc, etc. The Hog’s Back checks all my boxes in terms of frame design, while still having the right clearances for these tires. Set up tubeless, they’re perfect for the type of riding I like to do with my friends (many of them are C&L staff!) Second, I am moving to Boston in the next few months to start my PhD. I’ve made such amazing friends and have such fond memories riding around Québec and Vermont, and I wanted something to commemorate my time in Montréal as well as the cycling community that I’ve been a part of. I always told myself I would buy an old Marinoni road bike, but when Julian came up with the Hog’s Back design, it became the obvious choice for me to bring and explore a new part of the world while still having something to remind myself of my time in this city. I’m hoping before the summer ends, I can take this on a big adventure with all of my friends like I’m used to doing every year. Photos by photo-mensch Jonathan Chhun
Two Hog's Backs
This week, friend Keith and C&L's own Julian both built up their dream Bassi Hog's Backs. Naturally, we had to go out riding with Jo for some sweet pictures. Story after the break! Julian moved over his parts from the prototype HB he rode in Peru last winter and was lucky enough to find a headset to perfectly match the pink lettering on the blue-black frame. You'll immediately notice the handsome randonneur rack and basket situation (zipties, always) with made-to-fit Atwater bag. Keith will talk more about his bike in a later blog post, but he stripped a few bikes and sold the frames to build this bad boy. The headset is a bootleg CK but seems to be working pretty great, and he's using a bunch of his old MTB and road parts. The mix-and-match is the beauty of 9-speed systems! Keith built the first ever Hog's Back with drop bars and he says it rides like a dream, as nice a gravel bike as you could hope for. Let us know if you want to build up your own Hog's Back, you can get away with a lot of different configurations with such a do-everything frame. Nearly all your old parts will probably fit somewhere. All photos by Jonathan Chhun