“chumba”

Search Term – Change

Nils’ Chumba Ursa 29+ MTB

Reportage By: John Watson

Nils’ Chumba Ursa 29+ MTB

Nils, aka #PartyNils has been getting a lot of social media love these days and it’s easy to see why. When he’s not bringing a camp stove to LA River Camp Coffee, he’s racing ‘cross on his cargo bike or this Chumba Ursa 29+ rigid mountain bike.

The Ursa 29+ frames are a killer deal for anyone looking for a 29+ bikepacking rig or even a rigid MTB and Nils has his set up with all the creature comforts you’d expect from a guy who lives life on the bike with a smile.

A bent Brooks saddle with just the right amount of sag, solid platform pedals, comfy grips with a little extra twine on the side and a shellac’d chainstay to muffle any slap that might occur. If you see Nils partying away on this thing, give him a shout!

Chumba USA’s Made in the USA Ursa Major Fatbike

Reportage By: John Watson

Chumba USA’s Made in the USA Ursa Major Fatbike

In the short time that Chumba found a new home outside of Austin, they’ve been pushing hard on expanding their made in Texas frame catalog. With rowdy hardtails, 29+ and finally, a full fatbike, the brand has something for everything from bikepacking to daily trail riding. Their first full fat platform bike, the Ursa Major has landed and it’s one of the most surprising fatties I’ve ridden.

Austin isn’t exactly ideal stomping grounds for a fatbike. Not a straight out of the box kit anyway. Once you dial in your tire and rim selection, go tubeless and can achieve the much-needed traction for both loose corners and slick limestone, you’re good to go. Getting that tire pressure right is crucial, especially with a suspension fork. That takes a little bit of trial and error and a few trialside adjustments. In my experience anyway.

What Morgan touched on with his Ice Cream Truck and RockShox Bluto review applies here. While a lot of what he was talking about in his review was foreign to me at the time, even after just a single afternoon on the Ursa Major I began to understand his points.

Chumba USA’s Made in Texas Stella 29’r Hardtail is a Ripper!

Reportage By: John Watson

Chumba USA’s Made in Texas Stella 29’r Hardtail is a Ripper!

The history of Chumba is one with a somewhat rocky past but it appears the brand has finally hit smooth trails with its recent rebranding and relaunch. When a couple of guys from Austin, Texas took over, they had one thing on their minds: steel. That and making mountain bikes in Texas, designed to thrash our local trails and still perform in the mountains of Colorado.

Earlier this year, we looked at their 29+ Ursa model and yesterday, I met the Chumba team out at Pace Bend Park, a 45 minute drive from Austin, to shred their new made in Texas Stella 29’r hard tail.

Chumba Cycling’s Made in the USA 29+ Midfat MTB Frames

Radar

Chumba Cycling’s Made in the USA 29+ Midfat MTB Frames

The name Chumba has been around for some time in the mountain bike world. Back in the early 90’s, Chumba first began making frames in California. The company has since gotten a bit of a facelift and a new home base just outside of Austin, TX. With its California and Colorado heritage, the team at Chumba has started designing frames in Austin and fabricating them in Oregon.

At the 2014 Mellow Johnny’s Classic yesterday, I got to check out one of Chumba’s first prototype MTBs, in the 29+ platform. Along with Orange Seal, Chumba will be offering their bikes tubeless-ready, which means lighter wheels and overall build weight. Utilizing True Temper, Whisky Parts and Paragon hardware (not pictured), these bikes come in pounds lighter than other 29+ offerings on the market.

The final production run will use Ceracote, rather than powder, have new graphics, a stainless head badge and an oversized OX Plat downtube. Completes will be built with Race Face cranks and Thomson parts. MSRP on the frame will be around $1,200 – but that’s not finalized yet.

Being that Chumba is located outside Austin, I’ll be following up on their projects as events warrant. For now, their team is racing and riding these bikes on our local trails and putting in PR&D as needed.

Follow Chumba on Facebook and Instagram for more!

Paul Paul
Mondraker Mondraker
Industry Nine Industry Nine
Singular Singular
Silca Silca
State Bicycle Co State Bicycle Co
Leatt Leatt
Rivendell Rivendell
SimWorks SimWorks
The Radavist The Radavist