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The Pindus Traverse: Rock ’n’ Rolling Along the Backbone of Greece

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The Pindus Traverse: Rock ’n’ Rolling Along the Backbone of Greece

We were chilling in a hostel in Kathmandu, enjoying warm showers and the internet when I realized this Coronavirus situation was getting serious. In a few days, Ryan Wilson and I had packed up, booked tickets to wherever we considered home at the time (aka with the parents, as we were both on an open-ended bike trip), said goodbye, and flew out. It turned out to be a wise decision, as in the next weeks the world would go into hibernation.

And so I found myself swapping the tent for my childhood bedroom. In lockdown. My surroundings had never felt so tight. Mapping out routes was still not boring though. And since I found myself living in Greece again after almost ten years away it became evident that this was the perfect time to plan a multi-day bikepacking tour through the Greek mountains: The Pindus Traverse.

From The Pro’s Closet: 1987 Doug Bradbury’s Own Manitou

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From The Pro’s Closet: 1987 Doug Bradbury’s Own Manitou

Many different forms of cycling contributed to the development of the mountain bike, including balloon tire bikes, touring bikes, and BMX bikes. Separate from that was the influence of motorcycles, and more specifically off-road motocross bikes. The early suspension fork pioneers — Paul Turner (Rock Shox), Mert Lawwill (Lawwill), Horst Leitner (AMP), and Doug Bradbury (Manitou) — all came from motorcycle backgrounds and knew the benefits of suspension. But before that innovation came about, Doug Bradbury began by building fully rigid mountain bikes. In this edition of From The Pro’s Closet, we look at Doug’s personal 1987 Manitou…

Four Seasons: Daniel and His Custom Black Sheep Titanium Fat Bike

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Four Seasons: Daniel and His Custom Black Sheep Titanium Fat Bike

Every bicycle has a story behind it, especially those that are dreamt up over a period of years and eventually brought to life and built from the ground up. This absolutely stunning titanium Black Sheep ‘Speedster’ fat bike is definitely no exception. One could argue it’s a bit of a stretch, but in this case, this bike’s story involves skateboarding and a decades-long journey from the east coast to the west coast, and finally the southwest.

Vuja De: Bikepacking New Zealand’s South Island

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Vuja De: Bikepacking New Zealand’s South Island

After first experiencing New Zealand‘s South Island during a life-altering thru-hike in 2015, Mckenzie Barney returns with a same-but-different journey in mind. This time astride her Kona Sutra LTD, Mckenzie reconnects with the familiar terrain through a new medium all while stitching together classic stretches of mixed-surface bike touring routes to cover the 1500km from Picton to Bluff.

Falling For Front Range Fat Biking: Josh’s 2014 Surly Moonlander

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Falling For Front Range Fat Biking: Josh’s 2014 Surly Moonlander

The first time I laid eyes on a fat bike was in 2011. I was picking up my race bib for the American Birkebeiner 50k, the famed cross-country ski race in Hayward, Wisconsin. Surly had an expo booth outside with their demo fleet of fat bikes prominently positioned so they’d be the first thing you saw. You couldn’t miss the line-up of jumbo-rubbered Pugsleys kitted out with 26×3.8″ tires, ready for a test ride. I made my way to the booth and asked about these foreign looking monster bikes. I was promptly told that I should ride one and find out for myself. As I looked down the row, I saw one with much larger tires than all the rest. It was a Moonlander, there to show off Surly’s newly announced expedition fat bike.

Semi-Supported and Ultra Rad: The 2022 Salsa Ochoco Overlander

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Semi-Supported and Ultra Rad: The 2022 Salsa Ochoco Overlander

Fresh pulls of espresso waltz through a cold September morning, dancing alongside a particular brand of nervous excitement. It’s a certain hum I’ve come to understand as unique to the start of bikepacking trips and the suckers who choose such endeavors as their vacation. Strangers who will become good friends in a few short miles clear the frogs from their throats to answer early morning queries about their hometowns, bike set-ups, and handlebar tchotchkes over hot breakfast burritos and steamy lattes slung by Autobahn Coffee as we all wait for the start of the Salsa Cycles Ochoco Overlander.

Eric’s Raw and Rusted 1985 Bridgestone MB-2 Wigsplitter

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Eric’s Raw and Rusted 1985 Bridgestone MB-2 Wigsplitter

I found this Bridgestone MB-2 as a complete on Marketplace in December of 2021. It’s January of 2023 and I’ve just wrapped up the build. The time in between was spent having some frame modifications made, aging the frame, making custom head badges and acquiring various components. Once I had my parts, the build should have only taken about a day but stretched into a week as I inched along with minor changes. The final outcome, though, is better than I could have hoped!

Brian’s Crystal FX Self Made Fillet Hardtail 29er: His Horse With No Name

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Brian’s Crystal FX Self Made Fillet Hardtail 29er: His Horse With No Name

It’s cold and blustery in Santa Fe these days so, much like Hailey, I’m riding more pavement than I’d normally like and have put riding the mountainous trails on the shelf for the moment. Winters are great for water levels in the west, especially ones like the winter we’re having this year. Not much gets me out of the house on windy days, and battling headwinds in a 20º “real feel” is not this desert rat’s cup of tea.

Yet, living in a tourist hub, I often get hit up to meet with travelers passing through town. Sometimes, they want to catch up over a cup of coffee, other times; they have a bike they want me to see. The other morning, I got a message from Brian, who was returning from the Baja Divide with a unique bike in tow…

1990 Klein Attitude Team USA

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1990 Klein Attitude Team USA

The mountain bikes of the late 1980s were not prepared for what the 1990s would bring to the American framebuilding scene, which was on the precipice of the aluminum revolution. Aluminum bikes were lighter and featured oversized tubing diameters, making a buff canvas for some wild paint jobs. This 1990 Klein Attitude is perhaps one of the most iconic bikes, donning the “Team USA” or “Dolomite” colors; green, white, and magenta—all sprayed on Klein’s thicc “Aluminum Power Tubing.”

While I was in Los Angeles, camping out at The Cub House, Sean got this bike all polished up for a quick shoot, so let’s check it out below!

Bike Piles Filled with Dreams: A Visit to Iron Wheel Trading

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Bike Piles Filled with Dreams: A Visit to Iron Wheel Trading

On a side street of Hayden, Colorado is an unmarked historical building. At first, I couldn’t even find which door led inside. Essam greeted me and invited me to wander around. Before long I’m enraptured with the stacks of bikes and parts that fill the small space. Once I pull my jaw back off the floor, Essam bends my ear with the tall tales from Hayden, how his shop got its name, Moots history, and the crazy injury that lead him down the path of owning Iron Wheel Trading. In a town that is mostly blown through by people on their way to Steamboat Springs, there is a special treasure waiting for those who stop to pay a visit to Essam and his shop.

One Merry Fellow: John’s Balloon Tire Rivendell Bombadil 29er

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One Merry Fellow: John’s Balloon Tire Rivendell Bombadil 29er

It’s no secret Rivendell Bicycle Works pulls inspiration from Tolkien’s Middle Earth. Grant Petersen is a big Tolkien fan and, over the years, many of the brand’s bicycles have adorned names from Tolkien’s writings. When it comes to beings of power and mystique, there are none more significant than Tom Bombadil. Older than Middle Earth and more powerful than any, Bombadil was omitted from the Jackson-envisioned big-screen movies for several reasons, but that didn’t keep Grant from naming Rivendell’s first mountain bike after the most powerful being in Middle Earth.

A Bombadil is a rare bird. Perhaps as rare as the fabled Legolas, Riv’s ‘cross bike, so I never expected I’d find one in my size, a 60cm. Then, one morning, an eBay alert popped into my email; there it was; a sunny Bombadil just begging to be purchased…

Spotted at The Cub House: CJ’s Salsa Ala Carte Commuter Conversion with White Industries

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Spotted at The Cub House: CJ’s Salsa Ala Carte Commuter Conversion with White Industries

While we love our share of vintage mountain bike builds, dressed with period-correct components, and embrace the patina that has been rubbed in over the decades, there’s something to the resto-mod style of vintage builds. Baskets, racks, modern bars, and the like all add to a bike’s longevity and encourage its use. Plus, a vintage mountain bike just oozes cool and generally is cheaper to build up from a parts bin than buying something brand new. On my last trip to Los Angeles, I was hanging out at The Cub House, avoiding the rain, when Simon, their mechanic, showed me a customer’s bike that rolled in for some TLC, and I had to document it…

SSCXWC 2022 Durango: Where Winners are Losers and Losers are Winners

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SSCXWC 2022 Durango: Where Winners are Losers and Losers are Winners

Here I am again, writing about a World Championships experience. This one is just a touch more debaucherous than the last one I attended in early October. I swapped the UCI regulations for one rule to rule them all: if you win you must get a tattoo. Single Speed Cyclocross World Champs is the not-so-underground, fringe, party event that calls itself a World Champs and, in many ways, it is. But instead of (doing drugs) (marginal gains) that make you faster, you do things that make you slower like keg stands, whiskey shots, and hot dog hand-ups.