Meriwether Fat Road

[cvbm]

Relatively new to the forum (or at least new to being active on it) and wanted to participate in show-and-tell.

This is my first foray into a fully custom bike, and also only my second time buying a new to me frame/fork. I've cycled through a pretty large number and style of frames over the last decade+ and started to feel like I knew what I do/don't like in how a frame rides. Plus, when I was looking to replace my Fairdale Rockitship, nothing stock on the market really ticked all the boxes in terms of features I was looking for.

Features that I wanted:
- road-like geometry
- larger tires
- classic frame lines
- fender & lighting capability
- 2x
- internal cables

Cue the search for a custom builder. I honestly am not 100% sure how I settled on Whit who builds under the moniker Meriwether, but he happened to be willing to accommodate many of those features, very easy to talk to, and I liked the idea of supporting a small scale builder.

The process took quite a while to be honest; deposit was submitted Oct-21 and Frame was received Sep-22. This was partially slowed by an accident he had that delayed is queue, plus the finish work being a little slow. Leading up to the build, there was a lot of back and forth on geo and specific features. Whit was very willing to listen to my input, and the geo was 100% designed by me (but blessed by Whit). Note that he typically builds more MTB oriented bikes and when I first reached out, my original idea was a more gravel-forward frame, which pivoted to a road-forward design between deposit time and geometry time. I think this built pushed Whit outside his comfort zone and there were a couple "firsts" for him, which I should've asked about up-front probably, but by the time we got to some of these issues fabrication had already started. Geo Below:



After a bit of playing around with the set-up, I think I am getting close to what works for me. Initially built up with DA 9120, I decided I wanted to swap to Campagnolo 12s. Still iterating on handlebars because I am having some issues with getting the Campy shifters to have a smooth transition from hoods to bars resulting in pressue points currently.

Current build list:

• Frame and fork: Meriwether Custom (55ish)
• Wheelset: HED Belgium+ laced to DT 350 rear / Son28 front
• Headset: Cane Creek 110
• Stem: Simworks Rhonda 90mm
• Seatpost: Nitto S65
• Handlebar: Ritchey Evo Max Cadence Edition 40cm
• Group: Campagnolo Record 12 (Chorus FD)
• Crank: Middleburn R02
• Pedals: Time ATAC
• Saddle: Specialized Power Arc Elaston 143mm
• Tires: Rene Herse Barlow Pass (Standard Casing)
• Bags: Outershell Medium Framebag
• Not Pictured: Son Delux lighting, Nitto Mark's Rack

Current:






Original Build:

[XXtwindad]

That is really cool. I love the clean lines and (almost ) level top tube.

Meriwether is one of those builders that flies under the radar. I’ve seen his bikes before and they looked cool. Isn’t he a former racer? For some reason, I thought he only built steel frames.

[herb5998]

Very nice! Cool to read about the process as well you went through, and happy you ended up with something you enjoy.

Re: bars they work well the Campagnolo levers, I’d recommend Deda zero100 or the Deda Zero 100 gravel, both use the RHM shape, the gravel has a little bit of flare.


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[cvbm]

Originally Posted by XXtwindad

That is really cool. I love the clean lines and (almost ) level top tube.

Meriwether is one of those builders that flies under the radar. I’ve seen his bikes before and they looked cool. Isn’t he a former racer? For some reason, I thought he only built steel frames.

Thanks! Yeah I like a classic look to my frames; minimal tt slope, skinny head tube, etc. I'm really pleased with the internal routing removing some of the visual clutter from cables running down the frame. I was a bit worried about full length housing for campy 12 speed but haven't had any issues so far.

Yes, I believe Whit used to race mountain bikes, pretty sure I read that on his blog. Whit was a real pleasure to work with and can definitely recommend him. He does seem the fly under the radar for some reason.

Originally Posted by herb5998

Re: bars they work well the Campagnolo levers, I’d recommend Deda zero100 or the Deda Zero 100 gravel, both use the RHM shape, the gravel has a little bit of flare.

Appreciate the heads up on the deda bars, I'll have to give them a try!

[thirdgenbird]

This is great. I love the part selection as well.

Is there any reason you didn’t mount the campagnolo derailleur to the direct mount hanger?

[cvbm]

Originally Posted by thirdgenbird

This is great. I love the part selection as well.

Is there any reason you didn’t mount the campagnolo derailleur to the direct mount hanger?

There is a special screw that is needed to use the campy rd with a direct mount hanger. It is "RD-ST105" and doesn't seem to exist online

[thirdgenbird]

I never checked availability. It does seem elusive. I wished they had just included it with the derailleur. I am curious how required the change is, or if a standard button or cone head screw would fit the bill.

[charlieclick]

What a Lovely bicycle.

I really dig the steel fork with disc brakes. I know it adds weight, but they do look much nicer than carbon.

Was there any resistance from your builder when you asked for a steel fork?

I ask because I spoke to a Ti builder who didn't seem to think it was a good idea. Not as stiff as carbon, not as light. Is the choice purely aesthetic, or do you have another reason?

How's the ride so far?

[phoenix]

Rad bike! I’ve got a Bantam Allroad that’s pretty similar. I went with internal dynamo routing with SL fork ends so I could run it connectionless, 73° square geo and 440 chainstays. Not that you asked, but if I were to do it all over again, I would go 700c with shorter shorter stays, and call it a day, but that’s just me nitpicking. Still may have another built around 700c and I imagine it would end up very similar to this. Also, I have nothing but great things to say about Wilt for anyone who’s given thought to commissioning him. Definitely under the radar, but he’s a wizard for sure!

[dcama5]

CV,
Thanks for posting that great bike. I agree with past posts, Meriwether seems to be a great builder that is not well known. Both builds look good, but to my eye, the 1st looked best - more gloss black to match the fork. You may prefer Campy and Middleburn though. Secondly, where are you? What lake is that in the background of that autumn pic?

[cvbm]

Originally Posted by charlieclick

What a Lovely bicycle.

I really dig the steel fork with disc brakes. I know it adds weight, but they do look much nicer than carbon.

Was there any resistance from your builder when you asked for a steel fork?

I ask because I spoke to a Ti builder who didn't seem to think it was a good idea. Not as stiff as carbon, not as light. Is the choice purely aesthetic, or do you have another reason?

How's the ride so far?

Thanks Charlie, the fork may actually be my favorite part. It's made with some NOS True Temper blades and is a segmented flat mount fork with internal routing for brake and lights. When I mentioned pushing Whit's comfort level, this was definitely a big part of it but he took the on the challenge and absolutely nailed it (and also said he'd never do it again, hah!).

It was a mix of aesthetics, getting all the features I wanted, and having it built by the same builder as the frame.

[cvbm]

Originally Posted by phoenix

Rad bike! I’ve got a Bantam Allroad that’s pretty similar. I went with internal dynamo routing with SL fork ends so I could run it connectionless, 73° square geo and 440 chainstays. Not that you asked, but if I were to do it all over again, I would go 700c with shorter shorter stays, and call it a day, but that’s just me nitpicking. Still may have another built around 700c and I imagine it would end up very similar to this. Also, I have nothing but great things to say about Wilt for anyone who’s given thought to commissioning him. Definitely under the radar, but he’s a wizard for sure!

Nice! Bantam was certainly in contention for me when I was starting out, I really admire his work too. I didn't want to commit to conneectorless ends, but kinda wish I had and it's definitely something I'd consider in the future if I get another fork made, it's just too clean!

Also I agree, while the geo chart says this frame can take 650bs, to be honest I don't think I'll ever run them. I like 700c and found that even when I did have a 650b wheelset, I never really swapped over to it since I do mostly road or hardpack dirt/limestone grade. I've never been in a spot where I felt like I needed the extra meat of 650b (for my riding at least).

[cvbm]

Originally Posted by dcama5

CV,
Thanks for posting that great bike. I agree with past posts, Meriwether seems to be a great builder that is not well known. Both builds look good, but to my eye, the 1st looked best - more gloss black to match the fork. You may prefer Campy and Middleburn though. Secondly, where are you? What lake is that in the background of that autumn pic?

I originally envisioned all gloss black, but once I had all the parts hanging off of it, I actually hated it! haha idk why but it was just too much black for me - maybe if I'd put the Rene Herse tires on then I'd have felt differently?

That would be Lake Michigan - that's a lovely overlook and the ride there and back gives me lots of options to extend or bail depending on how I'm feeling for the day so I end up doing it often.

[cvbm]

Same spot - 9 months apart

[d_douglas]

That is a beautiful looking bike in all ways. So classic looking...