Bikepacking kits are all the rage these days and with good reason. You can take a rackless bike, add bags and get on the road easily. Well, long before ‘cross bikes were loaded down with bikepacking bags, dedicated touring bikes or even road bikes were fitted with racks and panniers for multi-day trips. Rear loading on a road bike is usually easier than attempting to front load them, since the geometry doesn’t really add much wiggle room in terms of having weight up front. Most road bikes are designed with a high trail, which can make front-loading unpredictable and downright scary. Not to mention most road forks don’t have rack mounts or aren’t engineered for such a load. Yet, with a rear rack, you can put the weight up a bit higher and further back without any hassle.

Jeremy Sycip brought this bike with him to Japan to display at the Circles Personal Bike Show and to tackle our Mount Fuji and Oshima bicycle tour. I was stoked when I saw his setup: a Ritchey Breakaway frame, with long reach calipers that’ll fit a 32mm tire and an elegant steel fork make for one classic looking ride. Jeremy rode the Gourmet Century Asuke on this, then added his rear rack and handlebar bag for the tour.

This is such a capable travel bike, built for whatever you want to throw at it or on it and best of all: it fits in a box that evades extra charges at the airport.