Just when it felt like the first month of 2026 had flown by, suddenly we're already in mid-February. Until just the other day I was laid up with the flu. Influenza B is no joke. Please take good care of yourselves, everyone.
This time, the entry comes from Circles Tailored, which opened at the end of last year. Here's our proposal for an original complete build of the SKLAR BIKES PBJ, a bike I ride myself.
Trail rides, of course, but I also did a snow ride (a rare thing in Nagoya), entered OMM Bike on this bike, and above all, touring together with Adam and his crew was the highlight of last year. It's a truly dependable bike: with just this one, you can enjoy riding in all sorts of ways.
The PBJ is Adam's idea of the ultimate do-it-all touring bike, and you could call it one of the finished forms of the modern ATB. I put together my own interpretation of it: "If it were a complete bike, this is how I'd build it!"
We've built one each in Moss Grey and Salmon, with the same parts spec.
The main groupset is SHIMANO XT 12-speed. I use it on my own PBJ too, and with long-term use in mind, it's a can't-go-wrong choice for everything from trail rides to touring.
For tires, WTB Macro 29×2.4″. They have just the right volume, and the tread rolls relatively smoothly on pavement as well as on dirt, so personally I think they're the perfect tires to start riding a PBJ on.
For the cockpit, naturally the original PBJ Bar, paired with a NITTO MT-8 stem. What defines this bike is Adam's own riding position, derived from modern MTBs: a long front center combined with a short stem and a bar with plenty of backsweep that sits you down solidly on the bike. We chose these parts to nail that position.
If you're going to build a bike, I totally understand wanting to go all out with parts you're fully happy with. (Honestly, I agonized over my own PBJ and may have gone a bit overboard, lol.) But for enjoying the PBJ as a bike, I personally think this level of parts spec is just right.
Of course, if your budget allows, getting particular about the bearings and such will promise an even more comfortable ride, but it's also true that you can have plenty of fun with this build as is.
Either way, I'd love for you to ride it hard, and then, once you start picturing "I'd like to change this a little," update the parts from there.
If the ways of playing with a PBJ I mentioned above caught your interest, just start riding this bike and you'll have more than enough fun. It's a parts spec that lets you head out and play right away.
SKLAR BIKES PBJ Moss Grey Circles Original Complete Bike
Size : M
Color : Moss Grey
Price : ¥528,000 (tax included)
SKLAR BIKES PBJ Salmon Circles Original Complete Bike
Size : M
Color : Salmon
Price : ¥528,000 (tax included)
Both bikes are available to see and buy in person at Circles Tailored.
Depending on stock, we can of course also offer different sizes with the same build, so please feel free to ask!
