Upcountry X-Road

[Upcountry]

Originally Posted by red7

That looks sharp. I enjoy your builds and the specificity of each one.
Could you share what kind of events/terrain this is for? Sorry if you covered this already!

I have done some riding in the Eastern Sierras where I think you're based, so I can see how this would be great for some of those fire roads into/in the mountains. At the same time, I also appreciate some suspension for the descents--also what I brought for that summer.

Glad that the super niché builds I've tended towards are enjoyed by others. I can definitely get in the weeds on some of this stuff... This build was put together with some bikepacking races in mind. I'm planning on two or three dirt ultras next year, and building towards a Tour Divide run in the next few years perhaps. Essentially I went into it building my ultimate Tour Divide bike, and this is it(obviously with a few tweaks and add-ons).

I hung onto the Rockshox Rudy XPLR fork that I ran on the Hakka for a bit just for this bike. I was hopeful it would fit, and I mocked it up successfully. It'll clear a 2.2" tire, so I could definitely see tossing it on for some rougher/longer events where the cush would be worth the weight.

[Upcountry]

Originally Posted by madsciencenow

Looks awesome! What rims are u adding?

I'll be building up a set of the hookless Nextie AGX36 rims, laced to some DT350's, 28 straight pull Sapim Race spokes.

[PortlyPuncheur]

Wow this thing is looking good!

[geordanh]

Clean AF! Love that zero offset post. Looks so good against the frame.

[dsjackson]

Beauty. What bar is that? An Easton of some sort?


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[madsciencenow]

Originally Posted by Upcountry

I'll be building up a set of the hookless Nextie AGX36 rims, laced to some DT350's, 28 straight pull Sapim Race spokes.

Never heard of these but they look plenty capable.


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[Upcountry]

It's all about the details...

[lavi]

Crisp and clean!

[Overshot]

Looks great! I am assuming they run the brake hose out of the downtube then external around the BB to the caliper?

[Upcountry]

I just love when a bike looks the part...
With long nights, and cold days, there has been a lot of tinkering around the bike shed lately, and its coming together for the first race of the year in March at the Stagecoach 400... I'd be lying if I said how wonderful this bike rides, but only as I have yet to ride it outside... haha! I'm on 72 days straight on the indoor trainer.

I still haven't laced up the wheels yet, but I did build an extra front wheel to match the rear wheel on my dynamo wheelset, and the 25mm internal width lends itself nicely to the fit of the bigger tires on here. I made all the bags from Liteskin fabric, with a mix of LS07 and LS21. Really happy with the layout, although there are always tweaks after using the system a bit.

[PortlyPuncheur]

Looks awesome Upcountry. Definitely begging for some time on remote trails. This somehow reminds me of those cars that are heavily modded for the zombie apocalypse.

[d_douglas]

I love a good monochromatic bike!

I would love to try GRX Di2 based on the levers alone - they look so comfortable to me.

[philhan89]

you seem to only know how to take it to 11. bike and bags look so good.

[rheosibal]

what was your reasoning for 3 bottles vs a bladder?

[Upcountry]

The three bottles is somewhat of necessity. I prefer bottles over bladders for a few reasons; refilling them is just simpler and quicker, its also easier to monitor my fluid intake and remaining volume, but also works better for me as I get a lot of my caloric/carb intake in the liquid form. I'll mix these bottles up with ~100gm of carbs each, and I know that one per hour will keep me rolling. Mixing into a bladder and then taking sips is hard to track, and messy.
But with that all said, this route requires both, so I'll be wearing a hydration vest(1.5L bladder plus room for collapsible bottles if desired) as well. There is a 50 mile stretch through the desert with no re-supply options, and based on past riders, even the fastest take around 7 hours to get through this stretch, so I'm planning on carrying a bit more than 4L going into that stretch, despite them recommending +6L.