A parts-bin build on a Trek Émonda aluminum rim brake frame — Easton EC90 bars and crank, mixed-generation Ultegra 10-speed, American Classic wheels, and Vittoria Corsa tires. Comes in just under 16 lbs without pedals.
Steve was the original owner of this 2018 Trek Émonda SL6. It sold, came back as a trade, and now it’s a good excuse to talk about the bike — what it rides like, how Ultegra 2×11 holds up, and how it compares to what’s come since.
A custom Moots Routt RSL gravel build — double-butted titanium, Chris King throughout, hand-built HED Belgium+ wheels, and Shimano GRX 12-speed.
2025 Salsa Spearfish Deluxe – Full Ride Review Jump Ahead Video Review Overview & What’s New on the 2025 Spearfish Deluxe The 2025 Salsa Spearfish Deluxe we tested began as the stock XO Transmission + Flight Attendant build. For our Bentonville trip and the Little Sugar race, we swapped several components to match our preferred … Read more
2026 Cervelo R5 – First Ride Review Jump Ahead Video Review What’s New on the 2026 R5 Cervelo focused heavily on weight reduction for this generation. Nearly every component was trimmed: frame, fork, hardware, cockpit, and seatstays. The bike ships just under 15 pounds with TPU tubes. With both TPU tubes installed, it is slightly … Read more
2026 Bianchi Oltre Comp Road Bike Review Jump Ahead Video Review Frame & Geometry I’ve been putting miles on the Bianchi Oltre Comp, after also riding the Cervelo S5 extensively. The Oltre Comp is not the pro-level Oltre RC frame — this is the base carbon layup, and you can absolutely feel the difference. It’s … Read more
2026 Cervelo S5 – First Look & Frame Updates Jump to: Video Review • History & Setups • Review Summary Video Review History & Setups Review Summary 📍 We’ve got the brand-new 2026 Cervelo S5 in the shop. The previous generation is sitting right behind it, so this walkthrough focuses on what’s changed, what’s improved, … Read more
Today we’re talking about this custom Jamis Renegade. Jamis released a new Renegade this past year, and we brought some frames in to build them up. We put this one together at the end of last summer and put some miles on it through the fall. I’ll walk through the frame, how we have it … Read more
I’m Steve, and today on Bikes We Ride we’re diving into the Time ADHX 45. I built this bike for myself and have been riding it through the fall. So far, I’m loving it and wanted to share the full breakdown. We’ll cover the frame, drivetrain, wheels and tires, cockpit, my specific build choices, and … Read more
Today on Bikes We Ride, I’m reviewing the Cervelo Caledonia I’ve been riding for the past year. The Caledonia is Cervelo’s endurance road bike—built to ride farther, stay comfortable longer, and smooth out rougher pavement without giving up that fast, sporty feel. I’ll go through the frame, drivetrain, wheels, cockpit, and some of the changes … Read more
Hey there — Steve here with another Bikes We Ride from Maklin Bike Shop. Today I’m sharing my Niner RLT 9 RDO, which I’ve been riding for the last three years. I’ll walk through the build spec, how I had it set up over time, the wheel and tire combinations I ran, and my overall … Read more
This is Steve with another Bikes We Ride from Maklin Bike Shop. Today I’m sharing a pretty unique build: a previous-generation Niner RKT 9 RDO converted into a full-suspension drop-bar gravel bike. This is the older geometry—shorter, steeper, and lighter feeling than the current version—which made it a great candidate for this kind of setup. … Read more
Latest Review — First Look at the New Cervelo Áspero-5 This section covers the newest generation 2026 and later Áspero-5 . Previous gen review remains below. Jump to Section Video Review Frame Overview We’ve got the new Cervelo Áspero-5 in the shop, and I had a Cervelo S5 parked behind it while walking through the … Read more
This is Steve with another Bikes We Ride from Maklin Bike Shop. I’ve been riding the Niner RIP 29er for a couple of years now, and this is actually the second RIP I’ve spent meaningful time on. My first was the 27.5 version, and while that bike was fun, I’m 100% a fan of the … Read more
This is Steve with another Bikes We Ride from Maklin Bike Shop. I’ve been riding the Cervelo ZFS-5 120 this summer, built with the XO Transmission drivetrain. It’s mostly stock with a couple of swaps, and I thought I’d walk through how it rides and how it compares to the other bikes I’ve spent time … Read more
This is Lynn’s custom gravel bike—a Niner AIR 9 RDO drop-bar mountain bike conversion built specifically to help her ride the Badlands Gravel Battle with more confidence on the downhills. We ride a lot of different setups, but this one is easily one of the most unique builds we’ve put together. Since it’s part of … Read more
We’ve been riding the previous-generation Bianchi Arcadex for about a month and a half. We brought some of these in on a closeout, turned one into a demo, and started putting miles on it. We were already familiar with the Campagnolo Ekar drivetrain, so this has been a good way to see how that system … Read more
On This Page Build Overview This Salsa Spearfish custom build is set up as a more all-around, trail-focused version compared to the XC-oriented Spearfish build we shared previously. Fall is the season where we get creative in the shop — sifting through takeoff parts, leftover pieces from other custom builds, and mixing them with new … Read more
On This Page Build Overview This Salsa Spearfish custom build is a dialed-in, modern XC bike with 120 mm travel front and rear, progressive geometry, and the latest SRAM XX Transmission drivetrain. Built for a customer, this one is already sold — but we’re sharing it to show what’s possible as we plan more Spearfish … Read more
On This Page Build Overview This Niner AIR 9 RDO started life as a 3-Star build, which normally includes a GX drivetrain, Fox Factory suspension, and carbon touchpoints. For this one, we mixed in some 2-Star components from custom aluminum AIR 9 builds to hit an unbeatable price while keeping the core performance parts intact. … Read more
On This Page Build Overview This is our new budget-friendly custom TIME ADHX 45 build, built from one of the remaining closeout frames prior to the UDH update. TIME typically pairs these frames with higher-end GRX or Force builds, but we wanted to create something more affordable without giving up the ride quality these frames … Read more
On This Page Build Overview This is a custom Cervelo Caledonia Ultegra Di2 build that started out as one of my demo bikes. I had been riding this frame in a previous configuration with Easton wheels, but when it came time to flip it for its new rider, we made a handful of changes to … Read more
On This Page Build Overview This is our XC version of the custom Niner AIR 9 2-Star build. We created two configurations from the AIR 9 2-Star platform: a Trail build (covered in another post) and this lighter, snappier XC-focused version. The goal was to give riders who want a fast, efficient hardtail another strong … Read more
On This Page Build Overview This is a custom 2-Star Niner AIR 9 that we configured into a trail build. The stock AIR 9 2-Star is already a great value, but for this setup we made a few upgrades to push it toward a more capable trail bike. We’ve also built an XC version of … Read more
On This Page Build Overview This is one of our custom-built 3-Star Niner AIR 9s — the aluminum version. Niner doesn’t offer this configuration, but we ended up with extra 3-Star parts kits from AIR 9 RDO carbon builds and realized we could create some really strong budget-friendly hardtails by pairing those kits with the … Read more
On This Page Build Overview This is a custom Jamis Renegade we built from one of the newly updated frames that Jamis released this past year. We built it up late last summer, put some miles on it through the fall, and wanted to share what we’ve learned. The Renegade sits in an interesting place … Read more
On This Page Build Overview This is one of the custom builds we were most excited about this season. It’s a Time ADHX 45 built for a customer who wanted something fast, unique, and gravel-focused, and the final result turned out incredible. This frame is one of the last closeout versions without the UDH, but … Read more
On This Page Build Overview This Time ADHX 45 started as a frameset we brought into the shop and built specifically for Steve to ride and review through the fall. It’s not a stock Time build—this one was pieced together with parts we trust and wanted to try on this chassis. The frame itself is … Read more
On This Page Build Overview This Cervelo Caledonia is the endurance road bike Steve has been riding for the past year. It started as a stock Caledonia build and has gone through a handful of thoughtful tweaks to match the type of riding he does around our area. The goal was comfort without losing speed, … Read more
On This Page Build Overview This one started life as a stock Jamis Portal C3 with a full Shimano SLX drivetrain, but I wanted to spend some time on it set up more like the bikes I usually ride. I ended up turning it into a SRAM build and using it as a personal demo … Read more
On This Page Build Overview This Niner Jet started as a stock two-star build and was reconfigured for a rider who wanted a different mix of components than what comes from the factory. The stock bike uses a Fox Rhythm suspension package, SRAM SX 12-speed drivetrain, and OEM wheels—solid starting points, but not exactly what … Read more
On This Page Build Overview This Niner RIP 9 RDO started as a stock 2-Star build—Fox Rhythm suspension, house-brand wheels, and SRAM SX 12-speed. But the customer wanted something more capable without stepping all the way up to a factory 3-Star or 4-Star price point. With how often we customize Niner builds, we put together … Read more
On This Page Build Overview This Niner RLT 9 RDO started life as a stock 3-Star Rival AXS build—one of the best value gravel bikes on the market right now, especially with the current pricing. The customer wanted a bike that kept the excellent wireless drivetrain but received upgrades where they matter most: wheels, cockpit, … Read more
On This Page Build Overview This one’s a little different from the new RLTs and gravel builds we’ve been sharing. Instead of a fresh frame-up build, this project started with an older Masi road bike that the owner has had for a long time and still really loves. The frame was in great shape and … Read more
On This Page Build Overview This Niner RLT 9 RDO came in as a frame-up custom build for a rider looking for a gravel bike that would fit correctly and offer a clean, modern 12-speed electronic drivetrain. We compared the fit against a few other frames — including the Cervelo Áspero and Bianchi Arcadex — … Read more
On This Page Build Overview This project started as another one of our “bikes we ride” experiments—taking bikes we already own, moving parts around, and seeing what interesting combinations we can come up with. This one uses a previous-generation Niner RKT 9 RDO full-suspension XC frame and converts it into a drop-bar monster-cross style gravel … Read more
On This Page Build Overview The Niner MCR—MCR stands for Magic Carpet Ride—is one of the most unique bikes in Niner’s lineup, and this customer already owns one set up as a gravel rig. They love the comfort and ride quality of the MCR, so instead of swapping wheels and tires back and forth, they … Read more
On This Page Build Overview This is Lynn’s custom gravel bike—a drop-bar Niner Air 9 mountain bike that we converted specifically for the Badlands Gravel Battle. The idea came from trying to make the downhills more comfortable and confidence-inspiring. Last time we raced Badlands, Lynn was braking on descents where the rest of us were … Read more
On This Page Build Overview This custom build started with a Niner RLT 9 RDO frameset—Niner’s carbon gravel frame known for its versatility, neutral handling, and the ability to clear 50mm tires. We’ve been doing a lot of builds around this platform because it’s such a solid all-arounder, and this one has a drivetrain configuration … Read more
On This Page Build Overview This 56cm Niner RLT 9 RDO was built alongside the 53cm version as a custom pair for a couple upgrading their bikes. This build lands at what we’d call a “2.5-Star” configuration—primarily an Apex drivetrain with some smart upgrades, including a Rival rear derailleur and a few component swaps that … Read more
On This Page Build Overview This 53cm Niner RLT 9 RDO was part of a pair of custom builds we put together for a couple who already owned RLTs and wanted new setups similar to what they were riding. These bikes started as frame-up builds using our parts inventory, mixing components from different “star levels” … Read more
This was a Jamis Portal C3 when it came into the shop. We decided to demo it and like riding SRAM, so we swapped it over to a SRAM drive with electronic shifting while we were demoing. We had a customer looking at the C2 and ended up setting this one up with one of our mechanical demo GX kits for him and swapping the wheels out to hit his budget.
This custom Niner Jet 9 RDO mountain bike build turned out great with a nice SRAM Transmission drive upgrade. Video and build details…
We updated this old Massi with an 11 speed Ultegra groupset and a new cockpit. Details are in the video, but we installed a quill to treadless adaptor, so we could install a modern 31.8 bar. We kept the old crank and brakes, but updated the stem, bars, hoods, rear derailleur, cassette, chain and front … Read more
Lynn wanted a little more confidence going downhill for the Badlands Gravel Battle, so we put drop bars on her AIR 9. She rode a Salsa Warbird the previous year, which is a great bike, but mountain bike tires and 100 mm of suspension on the front end offered for more forgiving a and smoother … Read more
Custom Niner RLT 9 RDO Build Videos Custom 5-Star Niner RLT 9 RDO Gravel Bike Build This Niner RLT does use the stock Force drivetrain, but with the power meter spindle upgrade. Instead of using the stock carbon wheels, we went with HEDs aluminum Emporia GA Pro wheel set. I’ve been riding these for a … Read more
On This Page Build Overview We’ve actually built this Cervelo Áspero several times over the years with different drivetrains, starting back during the COVID supply crunch. The original bike came as an Apex build, but the customer wanted Shimano GRX—and since parts availability was tight, we stripped the Apex kit and rebuilt it as an … Read more
Niner RLT 9 Steel — Custom Build On This Page Build Overview This Niner RLT 9 Steel is one of several custom gravel builds we’ve been working on lately, and we’re making an effort to showcase more of them instead of letting them roll out the door without a proper highlight. Things move fast in … Read more
