Reader’s Rig: Giovanni’s Bottecchia Sunkiss 26er

Words and photos by Giovanni Zati

Hi! I’m Giovanni, and I live in Bologna, Italy. Although I was born in the city, I have always had a great passion for the mountains of my region, the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines. My love for cycling led me to start a project dedicated to our mountain area a few years ago, in which we promote the area through mixed-terrain routes. It’s called Strade Montane, and you can discover one of our routes right here on BIKEPACKING.com.

After reading Bo’s Reader’s Rig article about her 1990 Giant Hurricane ATB, I decided to use my bike mechanics skills to build a bike I could use for traveling. Some time ago, I picked up an old mountain bike with 26-inch wheels for just a few euros. The rigid fork and steel frame were awesome for trying a conversion into a gravel bike. After a few attempts, I realized that the excessive length of the top tube didn’t make for a good fit, and I abandoned my plans for the bike but kept it around anyway.

This year, my friends and I were planning to cycle 500 kilometers on the roads of Transylvania, Romania. I figured it was the perfect opportunity to try out a new 26-inch tractor on the Romanian forest roads!

I wanted a bike that was reliable, could be repaired easily, and would allow me to find common spare parts in case of emergency. Instead of spending too much money on fancy new groupsets, I preferred to keep a classic and indestructible triple crankset with seven speeds on the rear wheel. Even on the steepest climbs and with the bike fully loaded, the 22×28 proved to be a suitable ratio. Surely, a 3×8 or 3×9 would have been even better, but the 3×7 proved to be really outstanding.

Finally, I wanted a bike with a raw look. I crudely stripped the whole frame, leaving the steel and letting it rust on the surface. Then, I used Owatrol, a clear anti-rust product, to stop the rust from advancing. The end result is a rough-looking bike in the post-apocalyptic style that Mad Max would love.

• Frame: Bottecchia Sunkiss
• Fork: Generic steel 26″
• Rims: Weinmann 26″
• Hubs: Shimano
• Tires: Schwalbe Marathon Plus MTB 2.25”
• Handlebars: Generic
• Headset: Original
• Crankset: Shimano FC-M341 triple 42-32-22
• Pedals: Shimano SPD
• Cassette: Shimano HG 7-Speed 12-28
• Derailleur(s): Suntour Accushift A-3040
• Brakes: Shimano Alivio BR T4000
• Shifter(s): Shimano Altus SL-M310 3×7
• Saddle: Selle Italia
• Seatpost: Generic
• Stem: Generic
• Front bags: Acepac
• Frame bags: Podsacs
• Rear bags: Acepac
• Accessory bags: Acepac

I rummaged through the garage among the piles of parts from bikes I’d cannibalized over the years, knowing I would need them sooner or later. I assembled the bike with all the components I had, spending extra money only on new tyres and more reliable brake levers. I also tried to convert the rims to tubeless without succeeding, so I opted for Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres in 26 x 2.25″, which also proved excellent on technical descents.

Certainly, there are some aspects to be improved, such as the handlebar height, which turned out to be too low, but overall, the end result is a bike that I built myself piece by piece, on which I am able to fix everything, and of which I know every single part. On the roads and trails of Romania, it proved to be an excellent and versatile bike, capable of holding up well on both asphalt climbs and the rougher sections of trail… 26ers aren’t dead!

You can follow Giovanni on Instagram.

Further Reading

Make sure to dig into these related articles for more info...

14

Inspiration

Rider’s Lens: Ralph Berwanger’s Illustrations

92

Bikepacking Bikes

Budget Bikepacking Build-Off: Lucas’s 1986 Diamondback

23

Inspiration

No Route, No Problem: Drifting in the Dolomites

13

Dispatch

Reader’s Rig: Bo’s 1990 Giant Hurricane ATB

8

ROUTE

Campari Long Ride

22

Culture

A Smorgasbord of Genosack Rides, Rigs, and More

Please keep the conversation civil, constructive, and inclusive, or your comment will be removed.