Volagi Viaje 2024 Update
Following in the footsteps of the 1x12 conversion of my Nordest Albarda, the Volagi Viaje naturally has to be taken there, too. Volagi brought this bike to market in a Kickstarter campaign in August 2012. It was designed for the bike components of that time. Whenever new stuff comes out, message boards and comment sections fill up with cyclists moaning and groaning about the bike industry, forcing new standards upon us. I’m not one of them. I love seeing bike technology advance. I don’t adopt everything. In fact, a lot that’s supposedly “forced” on us isn’t my cup of tea. I’ll never buy a bike with fully internally-routed cables, for instance. I just won’t. But I love options. And options we have. Besides, when you can take an 11-year-old Volagi Viaje and throw the very newest components on it, where’s the reason to moan and groan? Standards haven’t changed all that much. You just need to be smart about the bikes and components you’re choosing.
I had a very clear idea of how I was going to convert the Nordest Albarda to 1x12. Things were a bit fuzzy with the Viaje. Initially, I thought about using the same setup as on the Marin Gestalt X12, SRAM Rival AXS XPLR. Then, I noticed that I could get the recently released Force AXS XPLR for only a little bit more money. But I’m using neither of the two. I stumbled upon Garbaruk’s cage kit for SRAM AXS road derailleurs. And I removed just such a derailleur from my Nordest. The most cost-effective way to bring the Viaje into the 1x12 era is to use the SRAM Red AXS derailleur I already have, replace its cage, and buy a pair of Rival AXS shift/brake levers. They’re inexpensive, and their stealth black finish looks cool, too. The Garbaruk cage is black with red pulleys to match the bike’s color scheme.
Here’s the detailed list of changes:
- Crankbrothers Eggbeater 3 pedals
- Garbaruk 44T oval chainring
- Garbaruk rear derailleur cage kit for large cassettes
- Industry 9 Torch XDR freehub
- Prologo Scratch M5 Nack saddle
- Rotor Aldhu 5-bolt 110BCD spider
- SRAM Force FlatTop chain
- SRAM Rival AXS shift/brake levers
- SRAM Red AXS rear derailleur (from Nordest Albarda)
- SRAM XPLR XG-1251 10-44T cassette
- Wolf Tooth 6mm chainring bolts
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Nordest Albarda 2023 Update
My Nordest Albarda was built on a budget in the fall of 2019. I used a Nox Composites wheelset that had previously been on my red Volagi Viaje. The braking system and 2x11-speed SRAM Red eTap HRD drivetrain were borrowed from my Ritte. In 2020, I purchased a SRAM Red AXS groupset for the Nordest and moved the eTap HRD parts back to the Ritte. In the spring of 2021, I asked 47° Nord to lace a pair of Chris King R45D hubs to a set of Light Bicycle 650B WR35 carbon rims. That’s how I’ve ridden the bike for the last two and a half years, sometimes swapping out the wheels using the Nox with grippier tires during the winter months.
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Nordest Albarda 2021 Update
When I built my Nordest Albarda in the fall of 2019, I didn’t spend the money to get all new parts for it. I took the SRAM Red eTap HRD groupset off my Ritte and used the Nox Composites wheels that had been on my red Volagi Viaje, which I had sold. A year later, the bike finally got its own drivetrain components. When I switched to 650B RoadPlus with my third Volagi Viaje, I was immediately sold on the slightly smaller but wider wheels. The Viaje felt way better with 650B wheels. If I weren’t climbing and descending as much, I’d be perfectly happy rolling around on 700C, but in the mountainous Jura, 650B just feels better.
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Volagi Viaje SL
The third. In March 2014, I built a red/black Volagi Viaje as a road bike, and in 2016 an all-black one into a 1x11 gravel bike. To distinguish the three, I called the red one the RD, the black one the CX, and the creme one the SL. The RD went through several changes in the five years I rode it. With over 13'000 km, it's become the road bike I've liked most. In August 2018, someone posted in the Volagi Vanguard Facebook group that they were looking for a titanium Viaje. Out of curiosity, I just googled "Volagi Viaje" and discovered that a German bike shop still had some NOS Volagi material. There were several carbon Liscio framesets and one creme/black Viaje. This frame was just my size, and the price was far lower than the original retail price years ago. I loved this bike so much; it was the last chance to get my hands on a new Viaje and extend riding one for several more years. In early August, this frameset was mine.
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