Life In The Saddle

For the last five years, I have toured across the European continent on a Kona Rove Titanium or Kona Private Jake. The trans-continental rides—including 3000+ kilometre epics , have mostly been on asphalt or light gravel trails. This year, a new machine came to be—one intended to 'Go the Distance' on real off-road bikepacking adventures… meet 'The Sergeant'. The Sergeant is a 2020 Kona Sutra Ltd. He earns his badge because I view this bike as a beefier, more outbound version of the fantastic Kona Private Jake —still my favourite bike to be built and ridden to date. This bike though, is the next rank above… With its army green paintwork and Reynolds steel tubing, the Sutra LTD is a bombproof adventurer. It will take 2.15 29er tyres for comfort and grip, and the 36x42T gearing is enough for the steepest dirt road passes. With mounting bosses across the frame and fork, there should be more than enough scope for laden luggage carrying too. 'The Sergeant' is...

As the time of the Grand Depart on the #7Countries7Passes tour approaches, this is the bike set-up that I have settled on, for the 3,000 kilometre journey from Copenhagen to Andorra. Read more about the #7Countries7Passes trip here The Kona Rove Ti frame is kitted out with a Kinesis ATR Disc Fork, USE 29er Carbon MTB Wheels, and a lightweight rear pannier rack. Luggage comes in the form of the Arkel Orca 25 Panniers, a Restrap Framebag, and Restrap Bar Bag. To finish the build, there are a variety of accessories from Lezyne, Wahoo, Bar Fly and USE Exposure Lights. The Roving Machine The rear rack holds two panniers, a make-shift frame-top bag, and a spare tyre Tools and spares stored in the Lezyne Caddy Food and supplies stashed in the Restrap Framebag (Small size) Cockpit set-up: USE Summit Alloy Bars, Wahoo ELEMNT, USE Exposure Six Pack, USE Trace Clement Strada USH Tubeless Tyres The Arkel Orca 25 Panniers house my clothing and camping ...

The Neil Pryde Bura SL is made to climb. The super lightweight 750 gram frame delivers that golden balance of being stiff and strong in the fore-triangle and bottom bracket; yet surprisingly forgiving on the rear seatstays, to aid long ride comfort. This season, I have two fairly mammoth climbing challenges: my #EquinoxEversting and the '5 Maratonas Challenge' . Ahead of the first of these, later this month, I wanted to share my current build set-up on the Neil Pryde Bura SL. Bike Specification: Frameset:   Neil Pryde Bura SL (56cm) Bike weight: 7.3kg Wheelset: Mavic R SYS SLR Wheels Groupset: Campagnolo Record (mechanical) Crankset: Rotor 3D24 52-34T Cassette size: Campagnolo Chorus 12-29 Handlebars: Fi'zi:k Cyrano R3 42cm Bar Tape: Lizard Skins DSP 1.8mm Handlebar Tape Stem: Fi'zi:k Cyrano R1 120mm Seatpost: Fi'zi:k Cyrano R3 Saddle: Fi'zi:k Arione VS with K:IUM rails Tyres: Mavic Pedals: Shimano Dura Ace 9000 Bottle Cages...

I'll admit that I wasn't quite sure how the Kona Rove Ti would turn out, when I first started building it. Would it be a 'Gravel Bike', a touring bike, or just another cyclocross bike?  The answer has been a satisfying yes, to all of the above. This bike is incredibly versatile, and incredibly capable. From the Dirty Reiver , to bikepacking expeditions ; it is a bike is built for adventure. I haven't quite got the set-up dialled to how I want it yet, so there is quite a mix of components in the below specifications. I'll post an updated profile once the set-up is nailed.  Bike Specifications: Frame: Kona Rove Ti 56cm (Large) Fork: Lauf Grit Carbon Headset:  Chris King Inset Stem: fi'zi:k Cyrano R1 Road Stem Handlebar: USE Summit Carbon 44cm Front brake:  SRAM Force HydroR 160mm rotor Rear brake:  SRAM Force HydroR 160mm rotor Rear derailleur: SRAM Rival Clutch Mech 11spd Shift levers: SRAM Force 1X HydroR Cassette:  SRAM PG11...