This week’s Reader’s Rig comes from Brian in Portland, who shares the single-speed Mostly Forever Livingwell he recently took out for a spin along the Oregon Timber Trail. Meet Brian and check out his one-geared hardtail here…

Words and photos by Brian McGloin

I’m Brian, and I currently live in Portland, Oregon. I started racing BMX in the late 1980s in Connecticut and haven’t stopped riding bikes since then. I started riding fixed gear bikes around 2004, and from about 2008 to 2009, I was a bike messenger in New York City. From my early years riding BMX and dabbling in mountain bikes to now, I’ve mostly ridden bikes with one gear—sometimes bikes with brakes that can coast and sometimes not.

Mostly Forever Livingwell

Here in Portland, I lead social rides and our weekly Coffee Outside. Last November, I led a ride for International Single Speed Day, which included some sweet stuff from Paul Components to raffle off (a super lucky person won a ride in Paul Price’s dune buggy). During our summer-long bike festival, Pedalpalooza Bike Summer, I lead party pace rides I call Technically Singletrack, which follow Portland’s non-paved streets and alleys, footpaths, and side cuts. My social rides and Coffee Outside are meant to build community, show people around, and maybe plant the idea that alternate routes and fun are everywhere if you just look for them.

I very intentionally don’t have a car, so I use my Livingwell to commute to work, run errands, lead rides, and a take on a variety of bike shenanigans. Last month, I took it out on the Oregon Timber Trail as my first bikepacking race.

  • Mostly Forever Livingwell
  • Mostly Forever Livingwell

I met Max Keegan, the guy at the helm of Mostly Forever (and a beast on one gear), at a Chris King open house a couple of years ago, then ran into him again at MADE. I was stoked about his frame when I first saw it at Chris King; his single-speed build, frame details, and total lack of polish. His frame was bare steel and starting to rust. Somewhere in that time frame, I saw a write-up about Mostly Forever here on BIKEPACKING, and I realized, “I know that dude!”

Mostly Forever Livingwell
  • Mostly Forever Livingwell
  • Mostly Forever Livingwell
  • Mostly Forever Livingwell

This past winter, I was finally able to get my own Livingwell frame. Max included a discounted Wolf Tooth dropper post. By some weird timing, Fox 34 Step-Cast Factory forks were on super sale as well. This bike has a few firsts for me: a dropper post, suspension fork, and sliding dropouts. I’ve never been more stoked with a build, even though everything about it was different from the Surly ECR it partially replaced.

  • Frame: Mostly Forever Livingwell
  • Fork: Fox 34 Step-Cast Factory
  • Rims: DT Swiss XM 481
  • Hubs: SON 28 110 red (front) / Paul WORD 148 silver (rear)
  • Tires: Teravail Kessel 29 x 2.6″
  • Handlebars: Mostly Forever Norton titanium
  • Headset: Wolf Tooth Premium red
  • Crankset: Cane Creek eeWings 165mm
  • Pedals: Race Face Atlas red
  • Cassette: Profile 18T or White 22T freewheel
  • Derailleur(s): What’s a derailleur?
  • Brakes: Shimano XTR levers, SLX calipers, Jagwire hoses red
  • Shifter(s): What’s a shifter?
  • Saddle: SDG Bel Air III cheetah
  • Seatpost: Wolf Tooth Resolve
  • Stem: TNT BMX 48mm red
  • Front bags: Mostly Forever Olney or Revelate Pronghorn
  • Frame bags: Oveja Negra Bodega “converted” to bolt-on
  • Rear bags: Revelate Shrew blue
  • Accessory bags: Dispersed bolt-on top tube bag, Oveja Negra rear top tube bag, Wanderlust stem bags
  • Rack: Mostly Forever brazed steel rear rack
  • Light: Sinewave Beacon 2 red/black
  • Other accessories: Brass “one fucking speed” stem cap, Revelate Seeker 2-liter Hydration kit

I’m running Most Forever Norton titanium handlebars, cut to 750mm. It was nice to go way back to modern 22.2 mm bars that either needed a shim or a BMX stem, and since I’m too fancy for shims, I went old school with a TNT BMX stem, which happens to go nicely with my thread-on freewheel, flat pedals, and Vans.

  • Mostly Forever Livingwell
  • Mostly Forever Livingwell
  • Mostly Forever Livingwell
  • Mostly Forever Livingwell
  • Mostly Forever Livingwell

Mostly Forever included an elegantly brazed steel rear rack (mine’s attached with purple anodized titanium screws) that’s perfect for a small bag and/or sitting pad. It makes a great base for an impromptu fender for wet winter riding.  I have a Mostly Forever clamp-on mount for my Sinewave Beacon 2 light on the crossbar.

You can find more from Brian on Instagram.

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