Custom steel bike frames for your next adventure

Around May this year I get it in my head that it’d be fun to do a bikepacking race. Type II fun for sure, but something that’s worth trying, at least once. I’m getting to that age (42) where my body is starting to break down. I have a Morton’s neuroma, creaky knees, my hearing and eyesight are getting worse, and I’m definitely not as mentally sharp as my 20- or even 30-year-old self. While my body is still relatively strong, I want to keep challenging it.

Panniers are the worst. They’re heavy. They rattle. They’re not aero. They require racks. They bump into you when hike-a-biking. Sometimes they eject from the rack and tumble along the road behind you. Why would I ever want to use them?