Singletrack/MTB
Gravel/All-road
Dirt-road Touring
Fat-bike
Our Reader’s Rig of the week comes from Michael Rasch of New Orleans, who shares his custom titanium irRascHional hardtail with unique anodization that matches his colorful trademark kit. Find build details, some backstory, and photos of his distinctive rig loaded up for the Gunny Loopy Loop race in Colorado here…
Words by Michael Rasch, photos by Neil Beltchenko
The character is lagniappe. This build was very last minute, and I almost didn’t get it done in time. I had an idea for a custom titanium frame for a while. I wanted something as irRascHional as my overall character. The outfit came about after being bored with just all-black kits for years. I just wanted to be more visible to drivers while riding my bike around New Orleans. Everyone is distracted these days, and nobody looks at the road while driving.
I’m a 6’3″ neon giraffe sitting on the bike or standing upright off the bike. You’d be surprised how many people say, “Oh, I didn’t see you,” while in traffic. I figured I might as well have a bike that matched. Polished titanium is great, but multi-color anodized is better. I started off messing with anodizing about a year ago. First, it was bolts, bottle cages, spoons, handlebars, and seatposts. I finally decided to try frames. I have a budget machine and just enough skill. It takes time and patience. I never have enough time, and I’m definitely not a doctor. There’s a lot of failure and disappointment along the way. I’d spend hours trying, only to be pissed well after midnight with the results. Sand it down and start over again in the morning.
I posted a sample of colors and opened suggestions from friends. In the end, I went with “just try to match my kit.” It didn’t come out perfectly, but I’m happy with the results. I’m still new to anodizing, after all. I also apply clear 3M helicopter tape over the finished product to save the frame from bag rub. I finally got the bike together the day before I left for Colorado. I rode it in the parking lot at the bike shop to make sure everything worked. The fit was kind of okay, and the fork was kind of tuned. It was good enough to hit the road.
Took it all apart, Voile strapped it all together, and put it in my bud’s bike bag. I slept for maybe 3-5 hours, got a ride to the airport here in New Orleans, and then handed it off to the TSA. I took a three-hour flight to Denver, got a rental car, and drove hours to Gunnison while enjoying the views along the way. I hate the drive, but I got to cross over the CTR route and North-South route along the way. The views are amazing. I got to the hotel to unpack and build the bike. TSA lost one of my black rubber bar-ends while inspecting for whatever. I dropped off the rental car and rode back to the hotel.
Upon riding back, I had no rear brakes. WTF!? I cut the line, we did a bleed job, and they had the same pressure as the fronts the day before I left. Sort this out later. I messaged Neil to see if he wanted to see the bike. He said yep, come on over. I rode over about a mile or so. He asked where the rest of the bags were because he wanted to do a Reader’s Rig. I had no idea there was a photoshoot coming. I rushed back to the hotel, put the bags on, and zoomed back over to Neil’s. After the photoshoot, I realized I never looped the drive-side seat bag strap through the seat rail. I found this out miles into the Gunny Loop when my bag was swaying really badly.
Probably around mile 75, I got my rear brakes another bleed job in Crested Butte, and was taking off my seat bag to put in the stand. The brakes worked awesomely after that, and they are some great “budget maven brakes.” A couple of photos, two tiny hands, and a bunch of laughs later, we were done with the session. A great long day. I had so much fun on CTR from Durango last year that I just had to come back for another Jefe ride. I’m from New Orleans, -4 feet of elevation. Colorado hurts a lot. I can’t breathe up in the elevation, I get sick, and I’m certainly not ready for the terrain or 4-5 mountain passes in a row.
- Frame: irRascHional Titanium with UDH
- Fork: Fox 34 Factory SC Grip SL 120mm
- Rims: NOBL
- Hubs: DT 350 28h (front) / Onyx Vesper 28h (rear)
- Tires: Vittoria Agarro 2.4″
- Handlebars: Whisky Scully 780mm, carbon
- Headset: Cane Creek 40
- Crankset: Cane Creek eeWings 175mm
- Pedals: Crank Brothers Stamp 7
- Cassette: E*thirteen Helix Race 12 speed 9-50
- Derailleur(s): SRAM X01 Eagle
- Brakes: SRAM DB8 4 Piston with metal pads
- Shifter(s): SRAM X01 Eagle
- Saddle: Trek Ajna
- Seatpost: irRaschional Titanium 31.6
- Stem: Origin 8 Everland 60mm 40 degree
- Front bags: Revelate Sweetroll
- Frame bags: Rockgeist
- Rear bags: Revelate Terrapin
- Accessory bags: Rockgeist
- Other accessories: Garmin 1040, Garmin InReach Mini 2, GoPro 9
Maybe I hiked a lot, maybe I starved for a few days, maybe I ran out of TP and wet wipes, or maybe I crashed two days in and broke my middle toe. Maybe I met the owner of the just-opened Pitkin Hotel at two in the morning, very awkwardly (thanks for not killing me and understanding). I apologized, we laughed, I slept for three hours, ate, and then got going. Awesome place, and great guy from Mississippi. Hard to believe, but I cursed a lot (a lot) along the way. I thought about quitting after breaking the toe. I sat off route at Mosca Campground for a while, pretty depressed about it, and then said f*ck it, just keep going.
It was a pretty day, and I was already out there anyway. What a route. I’m glad I brought my bike on that hike. I finished DFL, which also stands for Dying Flat Lander. I rolled into the Dilly Deli to tell Jefe “thanks” with a few other of my favorite words. I now need to get a new bolt-on frame bag so the frame and anodize job can actually be seen. I felt a little outnumbered while at Jefe’s with my Rockgeist bags—Joe from JPaks and the Dispersed Strempkes were there. I love meeting like-minded people for off-road adventures.
Most of this wouldn’t be possible without the help from my amazing, always busy, hard-working, wife/sponsor, Angela. Thanks again, Neil, for taking the time to take pictures. One day, I’ll upgrade my phone and camera, I promise. More rides and awesome titanium anodization jobs to come. My terrible, low-quality content can be found under Rasch Hole on YouTube.
You can follow Michael on Instagram.
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