For this week’s Readers’ Rides, Bryan shares his journey from a Specialized road bike to an All-City Space Horse with us. Read along to learn how this bike changed his perspective on riding!
It all started when I took my specialized road bike, which I squeezed 28mm tires onto, down a dirt path. I hit some soft sand, and before I could unclip, I was on the ground. While I sat there laughing, I thought, “I need a bike that can fit some bigger tires”.
What I wanted was a bike that had good tire clearance but looked like the lugged road bike frame I have set up as a single-speed. The All-City Space Horse fit the bill. This was October 2021, the pandemic bike boom had sucked up all the inventory, and there wasn’t a lot available. I walked into Golden Saddle Cyclery in Los Angeles, knowing they were one of the only shops in town that carried All-City but I wasn’t very confident they’d have what I was looking for.
Then like in a movie, there it was, in the back of the small assortment of bikes they had left, a beam of light shining down on it, a Space Horse…in my size…in the build kit I wanted. The angels sang from above. It was too good to be true. On the test ride I immediately felt like a kid again, back riding through the neighborhood with my brother and cousins on our BMX bikes, jumping curb cuts, and doing our best Cru Jones moves.
Shout out to Mick, who was the one at GSC who helped me out; he saw how stoked I was on the bike when I got back from the test ride and met me with equal stoke. We talked about the endless possibilities and setups the bike offered. Once the bike was mine, I took it home, immediately put pedals on it, and set out to find some dirt to test it on.
The first seamless transition from pavement to dirt was the beginning of a whole new world of cycling. It’s been so fun discovering all the trails available in my area, including random ones hidden inside the surrounding neighborhood.
Like all things I own it didn’t stay in its original form for long. In the two short years I’ve had it, the Space Horse has been continually transforming. A GRX rear derailleur so I could run a bigger cassette to do bigger climbs. Then wider, more flared drop bars for the descents that came with those climbs.
As I continued to push it into rougher terrains the bars got swapped again, this time for an “alt bar” consisting of Ritchey Kyote bars with bar-end grips mounted where the hoods are when running the drops. This has proven to be a fantastic all-around setup for me so far. As the rides got longer and further off the road, the need to carry more things arose.
Several bags have come and gone, I even sewed my first frame bag. Currently, a front rack/basket with a tote bag and a Dustin Klein x Chrome feed bag are the stashes for all my tools/spares and anything else I need on my adventures.
Earlier this year I took it on my first overnight bike camping trip on Catalina Island and more recently, biked around Paso Robles and Los Olivos/Solvang California with my wife, wine tasting for our anniversary.
It’s not my only bike but it certainly is the one that takes me the most places. After hearing that All-City will soon be no more, I’m beyond grateful for everything that aligned to bring this bike into my life.
PS: The Radivist water bottles were purchased for my 90s Hard Rock but just look oh so good on the Space Horse.
Build Specs:
- Frame – 2021 All-City Space Horse
- Wheels – WTB ST i23 (set-up tubeless)
- Tires – GravelKing SK 700×43
- Crankset – FSA Omega 46/30
- Brakes – Tektro Mechanical Disk
- Brake Levers – Tektro Eclipse MT 2.1
- Front Derailleur – Tiagra 4700
- Rear Derailleur – GRX RX400
- Rear Cassette – Sunrace 11-36 10 speed
- Shifters – MicroShift Centos (to match the Tiagra 4700 pull ratio)
- Handlebars – Ritchey Kyote (narrowed a bit)
- Rack – RackTime Top It
- Basket – Sunlite (Wald 137 equivalent)
- Seat – Specialized Bridge Sport
We’d like to thank all of you who submitted Readers Rides builds to be shared here at The Radavist. The response has been incredible and we have so many to share over the next few months. Feel free to submit your bike, listing details, components, and other information. You can also include a portrait of yourself with your bike and your Instagram account! Please, shoot landscape-orientation photos, not portrait. Thanks!
