Bikepacking Bikes

Aside from those strapping 29×3” tires, Deadwood “the sequel” SUS shares just one similarity with the original steel dropbar bike of the same name — it makes folks wonder. We took the 29+ Deadwood SUS on flow trails, dirt roads, gnarly singletrack, and into the backcountry trying to make heads or tails of this curiosity…

Joe took the 27.5+ titanium Why Cycles S7 to southeastern Utah for a bikepacking trip and trail rides on several Moab classics. Read the review to find out what this beautiful beast is all about, down to the engraved Ed Abbey quote and the torx-head bottle mount bolts…

With a belt drive, Pinion Gearbox, 27.5+ tires, and an oddly colored titanium frame, the Viral Skeptic might come off as something of a concept bike when it’s clean and shiney. But after a couple months getting it dirty, the sum of its parts equals a rather slick future-proof rig. Read our comprehensive review as well as a detailed look at the Pinion P1.12.

Back in the fall Logan and Joe borrowed a pair of Salsa Warbirds to ride the Green Mountain Gravel Growler. Here are their thoughts on the bike after a week of riding gravel, dirt tracks, plenty of singletrack… and Vermont’s infamous Class 4 roads.

In an industry that can often be oversaturated with new upgrades, ultra-light carbon everything, and electronic components; there are still those that believe in rock solid bikes with reliable parts. The Rocky Mountain Blizzard -30 is a sturdy fat bike that offers plenty of packing space and mixes just the right amount of modern ingenuity with time-tested features.

In the first of a new series, Rider & Rig, we take a look at Joe Cruz’s Seven Treeline SL titanium fat bike. Find out more about the bike, the journeys he takes it on, and how he packs it…

Following the Troll’s recent revamp, it was only a matter of time before Surly’s 29er all-rounder, the Ogre, underwent a similar transformation. Read on to discover details of its 2017 incarnation and thoughts on its frameset, set up with 27.5+ wheels. Also included are musings on the relative merits of different Plus sizes, depending on the style of your backcountry explorations.

The CHUMBA Stella Ti is designed to feel equally at home ripping the local XC course as it does lightly loaded racing the Tour Divide. But does it hold up to fully loaded bikepacking? Colt Fetters took it on Cuba’s roughest tracks to find out…

The Prospector is Tumbleweed’s upcoming fat/plus/Rohloff do-it-all expedition bike. We find out more about the company, learn what it takes to set up a micro brand, and share some first impressions on the bike itself.

The new 3T Exploro has a dozen built-in, proprietary technologies. Nameplates like ‘GravelPlus’, ‘Sqaero’, and ‘RealFast’ permeate its marketing. Such labels generally make our eyes gloss over. But considering the implications behind the bike’s name, as well as its tagline – Going Nowhere Fast – Logan just had to try it. Read on to find out if the Exploro lives up to both its aspirations and its tech cred…

Why Cycle? This is the question that lies at the heart of new bike brand from Utah. Anthony Pease takes the R+, their featherweight adventure rig, across tarmac roads, forest tracks, goat paths, hike a bikes and chunky downhills, to see if they’ve figured out the answer…

As the popularity of multi-day mountain biking soars to new levels, many bike manufacturers have set out to build bikepacking-specific models, aiming to split the difference between a touring bike and a mountain bike. Kona has made no such effort within their Honzo hardtails. The Honzos were built to be fun and capable trail bikes, with no apparent consideration toward the idea of carrying more than a single water bottle. Yet, by refusing to compromise on trail handling, Kona has by accident created an outstandingly comfortable and capable bikepacking machine – the Big Honzo DL…