Reportage

Kyle and His Singlespeed Sklar 29er Hardtail

Santa Fe is a very singlespeed friendly town, especially the in-town XC trails, with their swoopy turns, punchy, short climbs, and flowy descents. Kyle Klain is a photographer, a cyclist, a lover of the American West, and quite the character. We spent some time chatting about Four Corners and our favorite places to bounce around on dirt roads in 4x4s and on bicycles. While he has a very all-mountain capable full suspension, this Sklar hardtail just looks like a dream…

Kyle got this frame for a steal. $1,200 off a web forum, from a gentleman who didn’t even build it up. It originally was blue and after receiving the frame, Kyle wasn’t jiving with it, so he pinged local framebuilder and powdercoater O’Leary Bicycles to change the color up.

As you can see, this deep red really pops against the juniper and piñon hillsides, with subtle hints of gold on his Magura brakes, chain, and bottle bosses. The singlespeed drivetrain is run off an Absolute Black chainring and cog with a ratio of 30-16t.

His i9 wheelset with Bontrager tires, RockShox Sid fork, Whisky bars, and stem, with Ergon grips, Kona Wah Wah pedals, Bontrager Line Dropper, and an SDG Bel Air 2.0 saddle round out the build kit, resulting in a very playful, yet boss of a bike build.