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| http://www.somafab.com/archives/product/wolverine |
I received these pictures via text from my wife. Unfortunately, I did not have a chance to pre-sell the idea of me building another bike. She was cool but, I knew I had to buy her off and it would be honey do's for the next few weeks.
What I had planned to do was part out my all mountain Kona Honzo and then build up a do it all bike. I had always been intrigued with touring and had been reading lately about bikepacking.My Honzo was some what specialized for pointing it down mountains and it excelled at that however, it was not lightweight and not much fun on purely single track. I did love that bike and the idea of it but, I could never ride it to its full potential. Somewhere along the way I decided to build up a cheap drop bar 29er. I purchased a Gravity 29er SS,
What I had planned to do was part out my all mountain Kona Honzo and then build up a do it all bike. I had always been intrigued with touring and had been reading lately about bikepacking.My Honzo was some what specialized for pointing it down mountains and it excelled at that however, it was not lightweight and not much fun on purely single track. I did love that bike and the idea of it but, I could never ride it to its full potential. Somewhere along the way I decided to build up a cheap drop bar 29er. I purchased a Gravity 29er SS,
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| Gravity SS 29er |
I put some Gary OS bars on it and found I loved it. So as proof of concept I decided to pull the trigger. I knew I wanted a steel frame and fork, a somewhat slack head tube angle, enough room to run 50mm tires, disc brakes, and the ability to put racks or attachments on it, also, I wanted to run fully rigid with dirt drop bars and did not want to spend an arm and a leg for the frame.
I looked at the Surly Straggler didn't like the drop outs, Soma Double Cross, not wide enough tires, Salsa Fargo too close to a mountain bike and expensive frame. I looked at the Vassagio Fistacuff etc.
I finally landed on the Soma Wolverine. I really liked the Geometry, loved the color and the frame price was right.
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| Just unboxed |
Soma Wolverine Build |
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| Condition | Cost | |
| Brookes B17 imperial narrow | New | 129 |
| Promax seat post 27.2mm | New | 17 |
| Shimano Downtube stops/adj | New | 12 |
| Celt seatpost clamp 30.00mm | New | 12 |
| Deda perferated bar wrap | New | 13 |
| Jagwire racer cableset | New | 32 |
| Salsa Cowchipper 44cm | New | 75 |
| Microshift barend shifters | New | 69 |
| Derailleur Shim | New | 6 |
| SRAM Rival Front Derailluer 2x | New | 22.99 |
| SRAM Rival CX crankset 46x36 gxp | New | 142.86 |
| Tektro RL520 brake levers for vbrakes | New | 25.99 |
| Kalloy Uno 90mm stem 6 degree | New | 21.34 |
| 15mm - 9m qr adapter | New | 23 |
| Avid BB7 MTN Brakes | New | 75 |
| FSA Orbit Headset | New | 29 |
| Soma Wolverine frame 54cm | New | 529 |
| Kenda Karma 1.9 l3r KSCT | New | 52.24 |
| 10 spd shimano chain | New | 17.71 |
| Lizard skins chain stay protector | Used | |
| Wellgo c161 pedals | Used | |
| XT shadow 10spd Der | Used | |
| XT 11x36 Cassette | Used | |
| Crane creek cross levers | Used | 17 |
| Easton EA70XC wheelset | Used | |
| 1321.13 | ||
I started to assemble envisioning dirt and gravel roads, single track and bike packing.
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| Staring session |
The Wolverine frame is setup to take hydraulic brakes. Why is that relevant? well if you wanted to switch over it will be easily doable. However, If you are building this bike and purchase a JagWire Road cable kit you will run out of cable before you are finished. This is due to a full length cable and housing for the rear mechanical brake.
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| Soma Wolverine - Almost done! |
I was prepared that night to ride my new bike. I was really bummed because I had to purchase more cable and housing. I decided to adjust the front and rear derailleurs and the rear brakes and take it for a spin anyway. I cannot believe how solid this machine feels. I just took a run around the block. More to follow.
