It’s always good to start the new year with positive things. With nice bikes, for example. And as I do every year, I have found a few bikes that I think are very interesting and beautiful for bikepacking and cycle touring that I would like to introduce to you.
Veloheld Iron
Last year, I was intensively looking into the subject of Bikepacking MTB and then built myself an MTB (and have since sold it again). The Veloheld Iron was also on my list at the time. However, the Dresden-based company was already working on an update of the Iron at the time, which was then presented in the second half of the year.
I really like the ‘new’ Iron and if I ever consider a classic hardtail again, the Iron will be back on my list.
The frame is made from Reynolds tubes, which are very strong and light at the same time. The frame is manufactured in Leipzig, (presumably) by Rotor Bikes. This local production is of course a plus point.
The weight of the frame is around 2.4kg, which is ok for a steel MTB frame. I like the numerous eyelets for attaching bags, mounts and pannier racks. I also like the semi-integrated cable routing, which keeps the cables out of the way and makes it easier to attach bags to the clean frame. I would also like to see something similar for a possible update of the Salsa Fargo.
Another new feature is the 3D printed brake mount on the frame. On a classic MTB I would have expected a post mount, but the build kit uses the Shimano SLX brake, which is also available as a flat mount version. You should therefore consider this brake mount if you are planning your own build.
Veloheld has also changed the derailleur mount and offers the direct mount and via UDH also the classic mount. I find that contemporary. For the bottom bracket, the Dresden-based company – like many others nowadays – relies on T47. The axle standard is Boost, i.e. 12x148mm at the rear and 15x110mm at the front.
The frame is optimised for a fork travel of 44mm. A steel fork as well as a carbon fork or a 100mm – 120mm suspension fork can be fitted.
The Veloheld Iron can accommodate 29-inch and 27.5-inch wheels. For 29 inch wheels up to 2.4 inch tyre width, for 27.5 inch wheels even up to 3 inch tyre width.
Baum Cycles DBM
The Baum Cycles DBM spontaneously reminded me of the Paris-Dakar Rally. The colour scheme, the racy design and the profiled tyres look like the famous rally Porsches that drove through the Sahara back then.
Baum Cycles is an Australian manufacturer with a penchant for fine titanium gravel bikes. With the DBM, Baum has built a bike that combines ‘MTB in its DNA with gravel in its heart’. MTB in the back, gravel bike in the front.
The DBM is available with or without boost, a 92mm T47 bottom bracket and it is optimised for 1x drivetrains with a maximum of 44 teeth at the front. The maximum tyre width for the non-boost version is 2.25 inches. For the Boost version it is 2.4 inches.
Like all modern bikes, the Baum can also be fitted with direct-mount rear derailleurs (Transmission or RED, for example), or all other conventional rear derailleurs via UDH.
The Enve Adventure carbon fork has semi-integrated cable routing. It also has eyelets on the sides for attaching racks. Alternatively, there is also the Curve Seek 430 FM fork. I also like the fact that the DBM has eyelets on the top tube for attaching top tube bags.
Kona Ouroboros
With this model, Kona has created a bike that is designed for the toughest cases: days of bikepacking in demanding terrain. And it looks good too. The Kona Ouroboros is available in three versions: Supreme, Deluxe and Carbon.
The frame is made of carbon, as is the fork (in some versions). A suspension fork with 40mm suspension can also be fitted on request. The forward travel is 55mm.
And there are plenty of eyelets on the frame and fork for attaching frame bags, top tube bags and holders.
Depending on the model variant, the bike is equipped with everything that Sram has to offer. Transmission gears, Zipp wheels for tyres up to 2.1 inches wide and, if required, an electronic dropper seat post.
In addition to 1x, 2x can also be used at the front. The maximum number of teeth is then 44 for 1x and 48/31 for 2x.
The stack-to-reach ratio of 1.58:1 is pleasantly upright and should be ideal for long distances.
I like the colour scheme of the Supreme model and the elegant Kona lettering. Together with the suspension fork, it’s a drop bar MTB gravel monster bike, and ideally prepared for all bikepacking situations.
Fairlight Secan 3.0
You already know Fairlight and the Secan is also well known as a gravel bike. With the Secan 3.0, the Brits have given their steel frame a proper update, which in my opinion makes it one of the most interesting bikes this year. Fairlight also works with the Reynold 853 tubes, which can be used to build stable and lightweight steel frames.
The Secan 3.0 is interesting for those of you who are looking for a bike that you can ride on the road as well as off-road. To this end, Fairlight has adapted the geometry and, for example, optimised the handling and riding behaviour off-road with a more sloping top tube – without sacrificing efficiency for the road.
Fairlight has also made direct mount possible for the Secan in terms of gear shifting openness and added a corresponding feature with UDH.
UDH is a good example of how future-proof the Secan is and how far ahead the British think: they explicitly offer modular parts solutions so that they can react to new standards or developments without having to buy a new frame. And thanks to the customised dropouts – which are works of art in themselves – you can also react to any type of shifting.
And Fairlight doesn’t skimp on the eyelets either, although I would have liked to see eyelets on the top tube.
For more off-road capability, the Secan 3.0 can now also take 700 x 53mm tyres, or 62mm wide tyres with a diameter of 650.
There has also been an update for the fork: the Cempa 3.0 is a carbon fork with an extra opening for the dynamo cable to the light, eyelets for mounting brackets on the sides of the fork and the option of attaching so-called randonneur racks.
Take a look at the Secan 3.0 Detailed Design Notes. I would take the frame in this anthracite/gold design.
Fairlight offers the Secan as a full-bike version, especially with Shimano GRX gears. But of course you can also build the frameset yourself.
Tout Terrain Ceres
When I first looked at the Ceres from Tout Terrain, I was impressed because they had obviously listened very carefully to the market and its trends and taken the needs of many sporty gravel bikers into account: filigree and light steel frame, direct mount compatibility, more tyre clearance and prepared for the use of a suspension fork.
The Ceres takes its name from a gravel race in South Africa. And it is also intended for such use. It has 28 inch/700 cc wheels that can carry tyres up to 54 cm (2.1 inch) wide.
As is typical for Tout Terrain, there are of course many eyelets on the frame for attaching bags and holders. The TT Gravel Fork SL or the Cane Creek Invert suspension fork with 40mm travel can be selected as the fork.
The Ceres is supplied with an electronic Sram gear system (Transmission/Apex AXS combination), but can still be customised.
I’ll probably get the chance to test a Ceres in the spring and will report back then.
Mason Macro
The Mason Macro is definitely a real eye-catcher and also the only aluminium bike in this list. But the Macro would also be in my shortlist if I were to get a hardtail again.
Mason developed this bike especially for bikepacking ultra events like Silk Road, where gravel bikes don’t get you very far.
The aluminium hardtail was extensively tested by Josh Ibbett and Angus Young and found to be good. The lightweight MTB can be combined with a rigid or suspension fork (100-120mm) and has more than enough mounting points.
The direct mount rear derailleur option is now also available here and all other rear derailleurs can be fitted thanks to UDH.
The Macro can take 29 inch tyres up to 2.4 inches wide.
But don’t be fooled by the frame, because with a stack-to-reach ratio of 1.27:1 it is quite sporty. Speaking of the frame: it weighs 1,875g and is therefore quite light. I like the frame in the Tiltshift Metallic colour best.
And if you like, you can treat yourself to some loading space at the front with the Mason Condenser Rack.
Esker Lorax Ti
The Esker Lorax is a bike that I came across while researching bikes similar to the Salsa Fargo. Like the Fargo, it is also designed as a drop bar MTB and has a titanium frame. It also has a similarly long history to the Salsa, even though the Lorax started out as a gravel bike and has now grown into a drop bar MTB. Another similarity is the interchangeable drop-outs. However, Esker already offers UDH and therefore compatibility with direct mount rear derailleurs.
The Lorax Ti can accommodate 29 inch wheels with 2.2 – 2.6 inch wide tyres and a suspension fork with up to 120mm travel.
For bikepacking events of all kinds, the Lorax is recommended with up to 22 eyelets, where everything from bags to carriers can be attached.
The frame shape is also similar to that of the Fargo, but the Esker looks strange in the smaller frame versions, as the top and down tubes are then connected at the front towards the head tube, thus reducing the available space.
The Lorax titanium frame weighs around 2,300g, which is slightly heavier than other titanium frames. However, according to Neil Beltchenko, who tested the bike for Bikepacking.com, the Lorax is a very fast and comfortable bike:
If you have any practical information about the bikes presented here, ride or will ride them yourself (some will only be available later in the year) or know of any other remarkable bikes, please let us know in the comments!
