CHARLES’ NO22 DRIFTER

This week we are featuring Charles’ No22 Drifter.

Charles came to us looking to get properly fitted on his 1980’s Cannondale. As a veteran rider, he has a great collection of vintage bikes and has done thousands of miles on various types, from road to mountain bikes and more. But it’s touring that is his favorite. He enjoys the challenge of a long day, exploring new roads and towns as he goes, enjoying the solitude.

He was intrigued about the idea of exploring gravel roads and after learning about our adventure in Kansas at Unbound, wanted to talk to us about the idea of a custom gravel bike.

Charles is a bit over 6’1, with his age and flexibility indicating that a custom bike would suit him well. But with so many great options out there, it was hard to make a call. That was, until he saw a No22 Drifter on our social media.

The idea of a bombproof titanium bike appealed to Charles and the fact that it is 100% made in the US made it even better. However, it was the shape of the tubing, various modern touches and how beautiful it looks once put together, that ultimately stole his heart.

This project was designed with Unbound in mind. We wanted a wider range for tires to provide Charles with great stability on the uneven Kansas dirt roads. He also wanted a dynamo hub to brighten his ride and charge his phone while riding, an idea inspired by other builds we have done in collaboration with SonDelux and Peter White importers. All wires had to be internally guided to keep a clean look. Luckily, the guys at No22 recently launched its “adventure fork”, a carbon fork that has it all, internal wiring, lots of room for 50c tires, even fender and rack mounts for the ultimate gravel or touring experience.

We used the Shimano GRX Di2 electronic/hydraulic groupset for this project, going with a 2x system and wide cassette to provide a gear ratio that can ride everywhere without compromise. The Shimano GRX group has arguably the best ergonomics when it comes to gravel riding.

The paint job is absolutely beautiful. For a $500 upgrade, No22 includes this beautiful Blue anodize finish with special touches of anodization on each titanium water bottle holder, created by Silca.

Overall, this bike was inspired by many successful projects that took other clients to successful adventures. Here, we compiled many of those into one design just for Charles. We can’t wait to hear back from him after his Unbound adventure on his new Drifter!