Bike Build Journey

How I built my bike and Rebuilt Myself

(And why small riders deserve big rides.)

By Myrna Humphrey

The first time I built a wheel, I wrestled with the rim, the hub, the spokes — and with myself. The math made sense. My hands did not. Eventually, somewhere between knowledge and experience, frustration gave way to understanding.

There is no success without hardship.” Sophocles

I didn’t expect the bike to teach me about trust, independence, self-reliance, and teamwork. But over two years, as I learned to build and ride a bike that really fit me, I rebuilt more than a drivetrain.

Fall 2022—The First Ride
My journey back into the world of mountain biking began in the fall of 2022, when I borrowed my son's girlfriend’s 29er hardtail. Compared to my 18-year-old Titus Racer X, it felt like a dream—no pedal strikes, smooth over rocks, and surprisingly effortless. Halfway through the ride, my husband called, and I said, “I know what I want for Christmas, a new MTB!” And that, folks, is how I started my journey.

Being 4 feet and 11 inches makes finding a bike a bit of a process, and bicycle technology has evolved considerably in the last 20 years.  My husband wanted to support the locals, and we have a bike manufacturing company in town, Revel Bikes. So we looked at the small Revel Ranger, which typically fits people five-one to five-seven. I didn’t know what I needed; I wanted a new bike. There was also a lot of trust in my husband and the friend who sized me up.

I threw my leg over the bike, did the traditional stand-over check, and pretended to ride it. It was cold outside in early December, and we had limited time. My husband put the order in, and out we walked.

A few months later, I learned about the delicate dance bike shop staff often navigate a tricky situation: assisting less-experienced customers while not offending those who believe they know it all. It's essential to communicate in a way that respects both the passionate cyclist and the newbie. A husband or boyfriend typically brings their partner to buy a bike, often with some ego involved. The salesperson can’t directly question who the bike is for without making the man look uninformed. People are more likely to buy when they feel heard and confident, rather than corrected.

Spring 2023—Lukewarm Love
My husband built my bike over the winter. When spring finally arrived I got the bike out on the trail; it rode better than the 26-inch bike. My husband asked me if I loved it, and I was lukewarm. I didn’t hate it, but I didn't feel at home in it either, and I didn't have the language to explain why. I tried to push my skills, but got frustrated. Turning felt awkward. Riding uphill the bike felt like the bike wanted to tip me backward. I couldn't touch the ground, clipping in and out on a sprained ankle wasn’t helping. I was trying to find the fun and struggling. By this time, I had started working at Aloha Mountain Cyclery. I enjoy learning new things and being handy; working with bikes would feed that part of my soul.  

Fall 2023—The Test Ride
In the fall of 2023, Rocky Mountain came to the shop and hosted a demo day. I was excited about demoing three different geometries for smaller adult riders. I threw three racks on my car, my Revel Ranger, the Element 29er small, and the 27.5 extra small. I took them all up to Prince Creek to test them—no friends or spouse to influence or distract me from trying to feel the differences between the bikes—just me and the bike. The extra small 27.5 felt agile and closest to being an extension of my body, and it flowed. I still could not necessarily reach the ground without dropping the dropper post - wow, what a cool feature. For the next 12 months, I mulled over the Rocky Mountain Element 27.5.

Spring 2024—Trial and Error
In the spring of 2024, I was ready to ride my bike again and signed up to take a class with my friend to learn how to ride my fancy 29er. I learned about the electronic shifting controls, aka beep-boops. If they are too close to the brake or handlebar and don't have room to move, they don't shift. I thought it was the battery and did the whole class in the wrong gear. Boy, do I try my best to learn by trial and error.

Fall 2024—Spreadsheet Obsession
In the fall of 2024, frustrated by my lack of progress, I built a spreadsheet to compare Extra Small 29er bikes and some 27.5 in the same range.  Since I already knew that the RM Element XS reach worked, I focused on the reach and less on the standover. The standover height isn't as important in modern bikes due to the geometry, but the reach and seat height impact the comfort, ease, and mobility. You need to be able to move the bike under you. If the reach is too long, you fall over backwards going uphill.  Your elbows and shoulders hurt from handlebars that are too wide. Biking should be fun. And it's not fun.

Winter 2025—Build Begins
The shop received a call in January 2025 from our Rocky Rep, who said that if I wanted the bike, I needed to order it ASAP. I ordered the frame-only to learn about all the different components and how they worked on the bike. The idea behind this bike build is to create something I can maintain and learn from.  

A coworker had accidentally ordered the wrong group set, which had a power meter. I was intrigued, and to top it off, the price was unbeatable for the XX Eagle Transmission with a spindle power meter. A group set is the drivetrain, which includes the rear derailleur, cassette, chain, crank arms, spindle, and chainring.

The easiest for me was building the wheels. After a lengthy discussion with the shop guys, I picked out the rims. I  chose the 28-hole [NXT27XM33] Premium 27.5" MTB Rim 32.6mm because I’m lightweight and not as aggressive as my teen boy. I went a bit wild and did a tiny logo on it; a 4-color fade of an outlined hummingbird. I wanted colorful hubs and chose the Hydra 2 6-bolt hubs in turquoise and the Sapim J-bend spokes. My husband has a cool and crazy lacing stand that allows you to lay the rim horizontally for lacing while holding the hub in the middle. I am used to the shop where we build the wheel on our lap and then true, round, and dish it using a basic truing stand. My husband showed me how to use his fancy tools, which confused me. So over several evenings when he was at his second job, I quickly laced both wheels over two nights after work. It is very satisfying to get that accomplished without constant supervision. Something about learning how to do something and then trying it out on your own and getting it done gives one a great sense of accomplishment.

I finally got some time at the shop, threw the wheels into the truing stand, and made them straight, round, properly tensioned, and dished. Then I took them home to see what my husband's apparatus said about my accuracy. Both wheels spent less than five minutes in his truing stand, where we took them to within a 100th of a millimeter. Yay! The wheels are complete, and my Stone Age tools did just fine.

The SRAM rep stopped by to show us the new RED stuff and politely told me to hold my horses and hold off on ordering a few items. He mentioned that SRAM would launch some new products over the next several months, but he didn't say what or when, just to be patient.

So, I researched suspension during the wait. I went with the RockShox Pike in a 130mm 27.5, then got the Sidlux Ultimate 3-position lockout (190x45) with the grip shift control. Rocky Mountain says you can use a cable-actuated rear shock in their manual. The 130 made it a bit more trail yet light enough for cross-country riding. Upon installing the rear shock, I discovered no cable guides or internal routing for the cable-actuated rear shock like Rocky implied. We made it work with some zip ties, and when I took it home, the husband had some self-adhesive silicone tape that held the cable in place. Crisis averted but aesthetics compromised - 1st world problems.

Then SRAM launched the new Reverb dropper post. They cleaned up the internals, made it much easier to maintain, and moved the brain and battery to a more convenient location. Their very cool calculator recommended the 125.It took me a minute to determine if I had any options outside the 125. Off I went to order it. When we went to install it, we realized it didn't automatically come with the pod controller, so I had to borrow a pod controller from the shop owner. I was getting a bit antsy about this damn bike that, at this point, was 7 months into the build. I wanted it done.

Next, I needed rotors. Decision fatigue was starting to overtake my enthusiasm for building the bike from the ground up. According to their manual, I had two options: 160mm or 180mm.  So I went with the TRP 180 mm 2.3 to go with the Slate EVOs I bought from a co-worker.  Thank goodness for the co-worker's offer. The TRP brake system is easy to install, but it may be a bit boring for this brain that wants to skip around and look at other shiny things. Still, it does teach you the basics of installation without getting overly precise and lots of minutiae getting in the way.

Summer 2025—Finishing Touches
While riding the Revel Ranger, I discovered that flat pedals improved my riding and confidence. The last thing to install, and I could take the bike out for a test ride. But first, I rode the bike path to set the brakes. Everything seemed to be functioning. So I took it for a ride with my husband and his friend up Prince Creek and down FOG, where we figured out I may have gotten some brake fluid on the front brakes. Argh! At least people knew I was approaching them!

I didn’t just get a new bike — I gained a whole new appreciation for bikes, the industry, and what I’m capable of. It’s not perfect. Neither am I. But when people ask about the bike, I get to say, ‘I built it, including the wheels.’

I would like to thank the Team of people who provided hearty conversations, advice, opinions, wit, and guidance along the way. Nic DeGross, Kyle Rozeki,  Eric Satre, Eric Young, James Hauser, Aaron Humphrey-the husband, and my son Dante.