Unfinished on Purpose: Riding Zebraman’s Titanium CXC, by So
Hi everyone! So here! When my friend Zebraman (yes that’s his nickname, it’s a long story…) recently built a Titanium Omnium CXC with a pretty interesting setup, I naturally asked him if I could test it, take a few pictures, but also interview him to do some sort of a “bike review” here on SSS. So without further ado, here is what my Kansai homie Zeraman had to say about his new ride:
Having ridden almost exclusively fixed gear, I gradually found myself wanting a custom-built gravel bike. I wanted something with the spirit and geometry of a track bike, but adapted for off-road, an idea that I wasn’t sure already existed without going full custom. That was until I came across the CXC in Omnium’s lineup, which had recently started gaining attention in Japan thanks to their cargo bikes.
The CXC immediately caught my eye: steep head and seat tube angles, a high bottom bracket, clearance for up to 50 mm tires, and compatibility with single-speed, fixed gear, and even belt drive setups. I had never seen anything like it, and the possibilities for different builds felt endless. A true do-it-all bike.
After some digging I also learned that Omnium occasionally produces titanium frames on a preorder basis. For someone like me, who had only ridden fixed-gear bikes until now, it felt like the perfect transition, so I placed an order as soon as the next batch opened.
Yet, when the frame arrived, I didn’t have all the parts to build it as a full gravel setup, but by mounting a 6-bolt cog on the disc rotor mount, I was able to ride it as a fixed-gear first. The only real adjustment I needed was flipping the WHITE INDUSTRIES TSR30 chainring, so the 3 mm offset faced outward, a simple trick that eliminated noise and uneven wear.
As I’d guessed from the geometry, the Omnium CXC Ti became an incredibly nimble fixed-gear city bike before its later gravel transformation. It accelerates easily, corners like a champ, and has the same responsiveness and skid feedback I loved in my Mash Parallax. I started with 32 mm tires since the clearance allowed it, but switching later to bigger gravel tires gave it so much more stability on rough terrain. That’s also when I discovered the feel and resilience of titanium, how it absorbs small vibrations and softens the ride, which honestly made the whole experience completely new to me.
Having a bike that could fill so many roles made me feel like I’d keep it for a long time, and with titanium on top of that, it truly felt like a lifelong companion. But after so many years on track bikes, I wanted to be sure I chose the right components for my first gravel build.
For the peripherals, I went with trusted sources like Thomson, and a 460 mm ENVE drop bar. For the drivetrain, I decided to go for the widest range possible with a SRAM GX Eagle 10–52T cassette and GX Eagle rear derailleur, covering an incredible 520% range, which feels huge when you’re coming from fixed gear.
Since this setup would normally only work with flat bars, I used a Ratchet Upgrade Kit from Ratio Technology to make SRAM Apex 1×11 double-tap levers compatible with the 12-speed GX Eagle derailleur. That combination let me run mechanical disc brakes, a mountain-bike 12-speed derailleur, and a drop-bar setup together flawlessly.
Coming from fixed gear, I also intentionally avoided hydraulic brakes for maintenance and compatibility reasons. Instead, I went with Glowtac EQUAL mechanical disc brakes, known for their hydraulic-like stopping power.
The final result of this wild mix of parts is a bike that’s incredibly responsive and perfect for my daily commute. While I think the CXC is often overshadowed by Omnium’s cargo bikes lineup, it actually offers riding characteristics that most gravel bikes can’t. And with the right knowledge, it can be shaped into almost anything. To me, it’s an incredibly versatile and impressive bike.
At least in Japan right now, road bikes and track bikes tend to be center around how fast you can go, how light, or how simple they look as they fly past everyone else. But riding the CXC made me feel, for the first time in a while, like I was going back to basics. You don’t need to ride like a maniac, and it doesn’t have to be as light as carbon. You can just pedal, enjoy the scenery, and move at your own pace.
Even if I keep planning upgrades and switch between gravel and track setups depending on my mood, this CXC is, in a way, “conveniently unfinished.” And it’s that very incompleteness that gives it so much freedom, letting you enjoy it however you want.
Right now, that unfinished quality just feels right for me.