Our new, updated croix de fer 853 frameset gives you a little more to think about, and we believe that's a good thing.
You can now officially run our original adventure bike with up to a 45mm rear tyre and a 50mm front tyre on 700c rims - and it doesn't end there. If you want to experiment with 650b wheels, you could run up to a 44mm rear tyre and a 50mm front tyre.
To some it might be the perfect canvas for a traditional tourer - while others will go off the beaten track and dabble with messier brush strokes.
What remains the same is the heart of the bike. Constructed from reynolds 853 tubing throughout, this is air hardened. The benefits of the process are particularly noticeable in the weld area where, unlike conventional steel alloys, strength can actually increase after cooling in air immediately after welding.
The material is also heat-treated to give high strength and damage resistance, and the steel properties allow thin walls to be used, so that lower weight but fatigue-resistant structures can be made.
Stick with the stock steel fork for a utilitarian build, or upgrade to the carbon cgr1 fork and add finish it with a 1x drivetrain for something a bit more daring.
Whatever your style, the croix de fer 853 features thru-axles front and rear, flat mounts for disc brakes, internal rear brake hose routing, a third bottle mount, rack and guard mounts and fixings for anything cages on the forks.