As for the 29er geo, I should be more clear, I wouldn't take the geometry of the SS, just the frame design. I think the top tube would be way to low though so I'll have to brainstorm some more.
I do like the twin top tube look for some reason. I know it's all personal preference though. One nice thing is that you can take one of the ball bungee cord loops and strap just about anything too the bottom of them. Malted adult beverages strap up nicely, just don't hit the trails with them strapped there. It doesn't end well. I'll be putting a few water bottle mounts on the frame to allow for gear. One nice thing about titanium is I don't mind strapping stuff directly to it. Even duct taping stuff down is fine.
The old Trek Sawyers were an amazing frame, and I do support the twin top tube, but that rear triangle doesnt do anything for me bowed upward. I personally curved seatstays ofa custom steel road bike the downward direction and think that looks much better.
Dropper is one of the main reasons for the custom frame. I measured the center of the bottom bracket to the center of the saddle rails on my 3 other bikes and the average is 682.5mm. And if my measurements are somewhat accurate, I should be about 25mm from fully inserted with the 125mm BikeYoke Revive. I could go a bit longer with the seat tube but I want to leave plenty of room for error in my measurements.
Thats good, little wiggle room dependant on final result/build is a good call.
As for the groupset, it might be a bit of a mix. I prefer Shimano shifters and brakes so I'll be going with GRX 810 with those. The rear derailleur is irrelevant to me, it's the shifters that matter. On my mountain bikes, I prefer XTR shifters with Deore derailleurs over the typical SLX shifter / XT derailleur combo. The crankset will be either a SRAM Force1 GXP crank or the GRX 810. I found a deal on the Force1 carbon crank for the same money as the 810, I just haven't hit the purchase now button. 6 out of 8 bikes in the house have GXP cranks and they've treated me well for years. Why quit now. As for the cassette, probably stick with the 11-42 shimano cassette. If a SRAM 10-42 cassette will play well, I may try that for a bit more range. I have a 480mm full carbon rigid fork sitting in the parts bin so that's one of the reasons to go with the longer fork geo. It saves me a couple hundred dollars now and gives me the option to run something like the new SID SL if I feel the urge.
Mixture of SRAM/Shimano should do fine as you've outlined it here. Just get that wide-range clutched derailleur in the back to cover the cassette of choice. You'll get into the issue of cable-pull ratio on mechanical dropbar to mountain derailleur, so be mindful of that. This is one reason we're seeing the AXS/Di2 groupsets really taking off in this discipline, for maximum cassette range, dropbar ergonomics, and cross-discipline compatibility tat has not previously existed without after-market resolutions.
Wheels are being built up as soon as the hubs arrive at the LBS. They will consist of Nextie rims (22mm inner, 23mm depth, 28 hole, 3k matte finish), DT Swiss 350 j-bend hubs, white DT Swiss Aerolite spokes, and pink double head nipples. They should weigh in around 1450 grams, not super light but definitely not heavy weights either. No set choice on the bar and stem combo. I'm new to drop bars so I'll go cheap and experiment with a few different options. I like the idea of the Salsa Cowchipper so I may try those at some point.
Carbon wheels will dramatically improve ride quality in this realm. Find the dropbar shape and width you like in aluminum before going to carbon for these as well. Wheel weight seems solid for this purpose, dont want to be worried about a featherweight setup in the woods. I do not ride with Flared bars, but there are more and more options hitting the market to accomodate those who do. from mild to wild. thankfully that will be easy enough for you to try out.
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I'm really second guessing the newsboy look so I may try for something more basic. Maybe to look just like the Warakin from the side but still have the continuous twin tubes. I'll see what I can come up with and check with the builders. I've thought about going with carbon to save some weight but I really like the idea of metal for this. We live in Maine and this will see some road slime and salt air. We have a house lot on MDI with two different ferry stations within 5 miles from us. Would be nice to check out some of the islands off the coast by bike.
I'd dispel the thought to go Carbon, you've got Ti and seem to have found a builder that will take your input and has delivered a solid product. If corrosion is a worry, I've not seen any issues with carbon in my time (last 15years, typically within an hour or two of the Pacific Ocean). Ti doesn't need to be frame-saved like steel, making it an easy coastal choice.
Here's some pictures of the 29er SS. The new wheels were added after the pictures were taken and the brakes have been swapped to the new XTR Race. Getting parts this past summer was a PITA. I still haven't gotten the fork for it that I wanted. I was set on the SID 35 Ultimate but that's been hard to come by. The silver Pike Ultimate would look nice too though. The bike is made for a 120mm low offset fork.
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That's a great looking build, why not grab the toptube/seatstay design from this? Albeit will need a bit of a bend at the seattube to accommodate for geometry changes, will still capture that essence and maintain ride quality too. May not need the extra bit in front of the seattube.
I hear you on the difficulty to source parts. Bike manufacturers are far from beyond the struggles of the supply chain issues due to international tariffs/shipping constraints and COVID. Buy what you can when you can, or wait unknown periods of time. The used market has seemed to do surprisingly well during this period. Glad to here you're supporting your LBS with the build.
Are the wheels pictured the Nextie rims? any complaints from the wheelbuilders on rim quality or how they laced up?
