A fun project...Tomac Ti

[2oldTi]

Long ago in the 80s, Ti bikes could be had...a great cost. Ti was relatively rare and expensive. Then, suddenly, with the fall of the Iron Curtin, there was a sudden influx of Ti tubing (of highly variable quality) from Russia. Raleigh, casting about for relevance, teamed with John Tomac to create a sort of affordable, Ti mountain bike called...the John Tomac. Not much info available on this model, which was only made for a year or two, I believe, around 1989-1991.

I was fortunate enough to find one of these deeply discounted at the LBS and enjoyed the bike for years on relatively mild single track, fireroads and some not too hairy technical terrain.

A pretty serious mt biking accident in Jackson, WY ended by mountain biking fantasies and the bike lay neglected in the corner of the basement for decades. Then, the advent of "gravel riding" lead me to consider a reincarnation of the Tomac. Replace the mt style bar and Deore thumb shifters with a drop bar and Ultra brifters from the parts box and upgrade the drivetrain with a compact triple, trade the knobbies for wide slicks (or whatever...there is acres of space to accommodate almost any tire, and the Tomac is reincarnated at a gravel + bike. Its pretty light, great geometry and the old Rock Shox Mag 21 fork still smooths out borderline rough rides and eases me over smaller tree branches and the likes

Its like having a uniquely capable new bike and reconnecting with a reliable and beloved old friend.

[mhespenheide]

That looks great!

Here's my Kona Ti Hei Hei converted to a monstercross gravel -- a very similar story: https://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=270807