Gravel build

Full of optimism, I decided it was a good time to get started on a new build.

Some time ago I built a winter/commuter/gravel/all-purpose cheap build with some parts I had lying around. Purpose of that was to test the concept of fat-ish tires on road-like frames.
It was AWESOME, truly best of both worlds, even with the budget / old components.

This time, the idea is to upgrade the concept to hopefully get it even better and even more do-it-all.

The frame choice for this is a Holdsworth Mystique ( or Pardus Uragano ) frameset.

Reasons behind this choice :

1- Tyre Clearance, through axles, flat mount disc brakes, BSA bottom bracket.

Those are the must have specs for this (or any) gravel build.

Tyre clearance is good for 700c x 45mm or 650b x 53mm (2.1" Aspens come to mind).
12x100 front 12x142 back axles, keeps all nice and tight.
You can argue with flat mounts, but they are the trend, so more models available here without having to mix-and-match. ( Shimano GRX or other newer Shimano drop handlebars groupsets are all flat-mount only). Should keep the build more future proof.
BSA bottom bracket, because, screw :D

2 - Geometry, geometry geometry.

Based on the past experiments (and some *epic* rides), I pretty much had a solid idea on the position I prefer, so, head over to this fabulous website :
https://geometrygeeks.bike/compare/planet-x-london-road-2015-s,holdsworth-mystique-carbon-gravel-2018-54,trek-domane-sl-2020-54-cm/

Where you can add all the bikes and sizes you want, and compare the stack and reach.
(You can also search by stack and reach).

This way, you can easily compare sizes, geometry charts, and see what bike and what size fits you best.

I was using the London Road frameset in "S" size.
The reach was perfect for me, so it had to be a close number on that.
On the stack, I was using around 50mm of spacers to get the handlebars to the height I wanted, so using a frame with a higher stack, would mean less spacers.

Hence, the Mystique frameset, where I could ride it *SLAMMED* !

3 - Quality vs Price. 

The frameset is VERY VERY REASONABLY priced, and I got 20% discount, so, perfect.

Quality. So far the quality of the frame has been a complete WOW. I traced it back to the "Shandong Taishan Ruibao Composite Material Co. Ltd" factory. (Not difficult to do, it had a sticker with the Quality control process).

The same factory is said to produce some very high-end framesets for "known" brands such as BMC, Scott, Factor, Argon-18,amongs others.

That is all very nice on paper, but looking at the frame, it looks flawless so far !
Very good details, finishing and tolerances. Everything lines up, bearings have been a breeze to install, and everything spins up nicely and evenly.

Choices : 

I will try to use as much stuff as I already have, at least to wear them out completely before upgrading. ( Some issues already presented themselves, details to follow).

One exception to this is BAR TAPE, you always need NEW BAR TAPE, even on old bikes.

I have boxes of bar tape laying around,but I wanted ORANGE bar tape on this.

(It is a necessity).

Choice was Fizik Tempo Microtex bondCUSH.

The colour matches perfectly and the tape seems cushy and grippy.

Updates to follow.