u/Useful-Milk9864

New suspension, brakes, wheels, tires going on

Didn’t really plan this out—I just wanted a bike to ride more.

Started with a pretty basic Fuji Absolute that’s been gathering dust in my garage the last 7 years or so. Totally fine, but not that exciting. Then I started upgrading stuff one piece at a time the last few weeks and kind of fell into the rabbit hole.
At this point it’s turned into a legit project and I’m wondering if I’ve built the most customized basic frame of all time and have a pretty funky bike but I love it so far anyways.

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What I’ve added so far:
Ride feel / comfort was my main early priority, my bike at my size 225 pounds i just didn’t enjoy riding more than like 15 min:
Panaracer GravelKing 35s
Redshift suspension seatpost
Redshift ShockStop stem → just added, same idea for the front end will install tonight!
Ergon GA3 grips → my old grips had similar shape but always spun around on me i like how these lock in place
Specialized Allroad saddle

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Control / safety:
Kool Stop brake pads
Knog Blinder 1300 front + rear
Hafny bar-end mirror

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Drivetrain + wheels (this is where it escalated):
Shimano Deore 1x11 → in shipment. Hoping it’s a lot smoother. I’ve got this basic shimano 3x8 setup now I just stay on the 2nd big gear anyways and it’s kinda clunky
Hunt Aero wheelset (brand new) → just pulled the trigger in shopment

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Other stuff:
Flat Moko MTB-style pedals → way better grip
Lezyne saddle bag + multitool + tube + pump
Phone mount

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First real ride yesterday
Did about 14–15 miles on the East Lake Sammamish Trail and it was honestly shockingly easy.
Finished feeling like I could’ve just turned around and done it again
That was the moment where I was like… ok this setup actually works.

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What I noticed
Hands started getting a little numb toward the end
(ordered gloves next, maybe still dialing cockpit, carbon handlebar?)
Everything else felt really solid
Came home and bought the front stem suspension, wheels, drivetrain
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Bonus 🤣
Had a bee fly straight into my helmet vent mid-ride which felt like a rite of passage

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Appreciate any thoughts—curious if others ended up liking their upgraded hybrid this much