Considering the calibre of parts now looking for a new home a reframe was an obvious choice, however as a lot of us know a road bike can have its limitations. Sure it was light, comfortable and fast but it also had an air of fragility that left a former skateboard hooligan craving something that was durable, fun and just downright cool. Being a weak willed classified junkie I alerted him to perfect candidate that I was personally trying to resist in the form of a Diamond Back Topanga SE.

A deal was struck and a brief was laid out. A daily commuter that could take on the odd packing trip and get to the pub via some flowy single track or at least any curb cut that dare cross his path. We modernised the drive train with some nice Shimano XT/SLX 10 speed goodies for range and reliability, ditched the front mech for a raceface narrow wide ring and updated the cockpit with a Demolition BMX stem and Fairdale MX bars clad in timeless Oury grips. A small rack up front and tubeless conversion has seen this 26er effortlessly crush day to day city life as well as romping from sea to snow on various excursions.