I had a Trek Boone. I had cantilever rim-brakes. I had rim-brake ‘cross wheels. Everything was fine. Braking was bad. Life was good. I was all set for another season of cyclocross.

And then my no-good, design-lovin’, gear-pusher of a teammate—Clay Parker Jones, who took all the pretty pictures in this post, by the way—shared some sketches of potential custom paint-jobs for the 2018 Steeple CX Bike from the Garneau DreamFactory. One of his mocks featured a baby blue, cream-forked bike; and that’s when I knew that Clay had a complete disregard for my wallet, my life as a rim-brake Boone user, and it’s when I knew that I was definitely, 100% going to sell my old bike and everything else I needed to sell to become a disc man and buy this sweet, sweet baby-blue-painted ‘cross machine.

It’s all your fault, Clay. Thank you. I love my new bike. It’s the best.

Build Notes

• Garneau Dream Factory Steeple size XL, custom painted TBD colorway

• Shimano Ultegra Di2 group set (shifters, rear derailleur, 46/36 crankset, hydraulic disc brakes) 

• Hed Stinger 3 Carbon Tubular Wheels – CX Build

• Challenge Chicane Tubular Tires 33mm

• Zipp Service Course SL Seatpost, Stem and Bars

• Specialized Power Arc saddle