Rigs of the 2021 Oregon Timber Trail

The Oregon Timber Trail is a 670-mile backcountry mountain bike route spanning Oregon’s diverse landscapes from California to the Columbia River Gorge. The route travels through a variety of scenery, communities, ecosystems, terrain, and, most importantly, mountain bike trails, with singletrack making up more than half of the route.

COVID-19 restrictions delayed last year’s inaugural grand depart, but the organizers are back for 2021, and although the playing field isn’t the biggest we’ve seen, those brave enough to sign up are certainly in for a beautiful and challenging ride. The actual route this year is closer to 540 miles due to closures in Mount Hood National Forest. We worked with the organizers and riders to compile a list of 20 rigs that will be out on the route this year, and as always we’ve included key details on their bikes, bags, and favourite gear.

The northbound riders take off just south of the Oregon-California border at Lily Lake Campground at 7 a.m. on July 10th. There are currently 19 riders registered on Trackleaders, although there are likely some others out there as well. Follow along live here.

Everett Ó Cillín

Age 36 / Unceeded Popeloutchom (Amah Mutsun) Territory, Santa Cruz, California (USA)

BIKE: I’ll be riding a 2017 Salsa Timberjack hand-me-down generously gifted to me by a dear friend. The components are a mix of Fox/Easton/Wolf Tooth/etc. that I blacked out all the logos on, most of which were a gift from another industry friend who is a true angel human because I don’t think I could participate in this ride without the support of my comrades.
BAGS: Small Fab’s Chest from Swift Industries & Ron’s Bikes, custom frame bag from DFL Stitchworks, a Snackhole by Makshifter, Top Tube bag by Becker Gear, and a Revelate Designs seatpost harness with a drybag I found in a dumpster.
GEAR HIGHLIGHTS: Full-face bug net shirt, mini Tarot Deck, and an easy-access top tube mount for my leatherman. I’ll also be bringing a Garmin InReach Mini and an eTrex 32x for navigation thanks to the support of the good folks at We Got Next.

Maxwell Lasky

Age 31 / Crested Butte, Colorado (USA)

BIKE: I will be riding Victoria, a 2015 aluminum Specialized Epic hardtail. 2×11 Shimano XT drivetrain and a FOX 32 float fork.
BAGS: A combination of Bedrock Bags, Revelate Designs, and Rogue Panda.
GEAR HIGHLIGHTS: 6500 lumen Magicshine light on bars, ultra comfortable bar configuration, massive storage space in the triangle for full cook and sleep kit, and a sweet fanny pack.

Elizabeth Sampey

Age 38 / Logan, Utah (USA)

BIKE: I’ll be riding the OTT on a 2021 Revel Ranger, equipped with a SRAM 1×12 drivetrain, TRP Evo brakes, Fasst Company Flexx bars, Revel RW30 wheels with Industry Nine Hydra hubs, and Maxxis Aspen 29 x 2.25″ tires.
BAGS: Custom framebag from Rogue Panda Designs, Alamogordo and Rincon top tube bags, an Oracle down tube bag, and two Bismarck handlebar bags. Revelate Designs Pronghorn harness for my front roll, Bedrock Bags Sinbad Stash Pack in the rear. One liter bottle mounted on the fork and a 20oz on the downtube. I’ll be carrying an Osprey Sylva 12L backpack to fill with extra chicken nuggets and cheeseburgers.
GEAR HIGHLIGHTS: Sleep system is a SplitWing tarp from SlingFin, Western Mountaineering Summerlite bag, a small Therm-a-Rest Uberlite pad, and the ragged merino longjohn shorts that I hacked apart with a pocketknife during a particularly sleep-deprived moment on the Arizona Trail. Navigating with my good old Etrex 20.

Conan Thai

Age 33 / Brooklyn, New York (USA)

BIKE: I love bad ideas and so I’ll be racing with a 1991 Trek 950, hopefully the most under-gunned rig in the field. I found it on Craigslist for $250 this past winter already powdercoated pink and in stellar condition. I swapped out all the touchpoints with my usual preferences and added a new-ish pair of 2.35” Maxxis Ikons. It was already set up with a 1×9 Alivio 11-34t drivetrain but I swapped out the chainring with a 34T Wolftooth Dropstop chainring. In all the training rides I’ve squeezed in, I’ve yet to drop a chain, even on chunky terrain, but this will be an extra safety measure.
BAGS: Full Revelate setup that has seen better days. Not shown is the Black Diamond Distance 15L pack I’ll be wearing with a 3L hydration bladder.
GEAR HIGHLIGHTS: SQLab 411s Inner Bar Ends and Ergon GS3 grips. Sinewave Beacon powered by an external battery. Sleep system is an OR Alpine bivy, Therm-a-Rest Neo Air Xtherm mat, and a light sleeping bag liner.

Ben Groenhout

Age 33 / Bellingham, Washington (USA)

BIKE: Rebula MTB Goshawk 150 equipped with Schwalbe Magic Mary 27.5 x 2.8″ tires mounted to Race Face ARC 40 rims, SRAM GX Eagle drivetrain, Marzocchi Z1 Bomber 150mm Fork and 175mm Transfer Dropper Seatpost, Magura MT5 Brakes, Cushcore rear tire insert, Race Face Cockpit and Crankset, MRP AMg Chainguide, Chris King T47 30I Bottom Bracket, Cane Creek Hellbender 70 Headset.
BAGS: Revelate handlebar bag and frame bag, Pack NW Top Tube Bag and ‘Hamster Stem Bag, Bedrock Tapeats Handlebar Bag and Black Dragon Seat Bag.
GEAR HIGHLIGHTS: The steel frame is crafted with precision and passion in Bellingham, WA, by Christopher Rebula to absolutely shred! This bike loves going downhill and eats up the technical stuff (very helpful for me) while pedaling nimbly uphill. Loaded down with bags and weight and it just feels more grounded. This is going to be fun!

Ryan Ross

Age 32 / Portland, Oregon (USA)

BIKE: I’ll be doing my first bike race of any kind on a 2014 Kona Explosif. The bike is all stock except for the Box Components Prime 9 wide-range cassette, a RockShox Reverb dropper post, and a Shimano narrow wide 34t chainring up front. I’m running Maxxis Ardent 27.5 x 2.4″ tires. I have the original RockShox recon 100mm travel fork.
BAGS: I have a Revelate frame bag, gas tank, seatpost bag (Shrew), and feed bags, and a Swift Zeitgeist handlebar bag. I mounted some King Cage stainless cages to the fork with XL zip ties and bike tube pieces for extra grip, they’ve held pretty well so far.
GEAR HIGHLIGHTS: I have to say the two most important things I’m bringing are a Jetboil stove mainly for coffee and the Revelate shrew seatpost bag. In my few short rides with the Shrew, it has been a game-changer. I hate wearing hip packs and everything I would carry in a hip pack fits in the shrew and I can still use the dropper which I heard was essential on this route. I also really like my tiny carved wooden spoon I got in Oaxaca last year.

Renee England

Age 53 / Hellertown, Pennsylvania (USA)

BIKE: Yeti SB 100 with a SRAM Eagle 1×12 drivetrain, 120mm Fox 34 Step cast fork, Fox transfer dropper post, Maxxis tires, DT Swiss wheels, and Ergon lock-on grips.
BAGS: Bedrock handlebar, frame, and seatpack. I also will be using a Revelate feed bag and a 3-liter osprey backpack.
GEAR HIGHLIGHTS: I’ll be using a big Agnes Copper Spur tent and a Big Agnes sleeping bag. For navigation a Garmin Edge 1030 and Gaia app on my phone for backup. I’m also using a DeLorme InReach SE satellite tracker for safety. I’m also trying out a Sawyer squeeze filtration system for the first time.

PHIL STIFF

Age 33 / Bend, Oregon (USA)

BIKE: Pivot Les (V2) w/ Shimano 12s drivetrain & 120mm Fox 32. Wheels are Nox Teocalli carbon rims on DT 240 EX Hubs with Vittoria Barzo 2.3 front and Vittoria Mezcal 2.3 rear. To help with some of the longer hours on the bike, I am running the SQlab 30x 12degree carbon bars, Ergon GS1 grips, Ergon SM Pro saddle, and PNW Dropper.
BAGS: Custom Loam fame bag w/ 3L bladder. Rockgeist Gondola dropper post bag, Honeybox Feedbag, and Cache top tube bag. Bedrock Bags Moab handlebar bag. Osprey Seral 7 w/ 1.5L bladder.
GEAR HIGHLIGHTS: Super excited about my new Fenix lights with replaceable/rechargeable batteries. This allows me to bring backup batteries & limit the amount of charging required for lights + ability to use batteries from the store if needed. Headlamp is HM65R Spot + Flood & handlebar is PD36R Rechargeable 1600 Lumen Duty Light. Other electronics include Garmin Edge 530, Goal Zero Venture 70 Power Bank, Spot Gen4 & headphones. Sleeping gear is an S.O.L Escape Bivvy, Exped SynMat HL Sleeping Pad, and Mountain Hardware Whisperlite Puffer.

Chris Phillips

Age 43 / Bend, Oregon (USA)

BIKE: Soma Valhallen with Fox 36 fork, DT Swiss H1900 wheels, Maxxis Rekon 27.5 x 2.8″ tires, brooks Flyer saddle, 30t chainring with shimano 11-51 11 speed cassette, TRP brakes.
BAGS: Brooks Scape seat bag, Brooks Scape handlebar roll, 2 Revelate feed bags, 2 Ortlieb fork pack plus bags, Ortlieb frame bag, squeezed forward to carry a 1.5 liter Nalgene behind it. Also added a Revelate Joey bag underneath to carry another Nalgene.
GEAR HIGHLIGHTS: Best gear has to be the Garmin Edge 830 gps, keeps me on the right path, I tend to wander.

Alan Z Chen

Age 29 / New York, New York (USA)

BIKE: I’ll be racing on a 2016 Cycles J Bryant NFD rigid bike. The bike is set up with SRAM GX Eagle, PNW dropper, Paul Klampers, Maxxis Rekon+ 27.5×2.8 on WTB i29 KOM Light rims laced to DT SWISS 350 rear and SON Deluxe front. Sinewave Beacon and headlamp for lighting. Wahoo Roam for navigation. Tumbleweed T-Rack for dry bags.
BAGS: Outershell handlebar bag, Revelate Designs stem caddy, Oveja Negra top tube bags, Porcelain Rocket frame bag, dry sacks on the rear rack, Salomon Active Skin 8 vest. I’ll have up to 6.5L water capacity, with ability to strap on extra water/food to the rack.
GEAR HIGHLIGHTS: Unfortunately, I broke the SON Deluxe connectors prior to the race, so I’ll power all electronics with two external caches (3000mAh total). Sleep system is a bivy, Therm-a-Rest pad, Sea to Summit Reactor Extreme sleeping bag liner, and emergency SOL blanket. Clothing consists of two long sleeve merino shirts, Swrve shorts, Velocio bib liner, knee warmers, merino long johns, two merino socks, Patagonia micro puff jacket, PEdALED Polartec alpha vest.

Ben Handrich

Age 34 / Salem, Oregon (USA)

BIKE: I’ll be riding the Timber Trail on a 2017 Why Cycles S7. A few key features include a SRAM X01 drivetrain, SRAM Guide Hydraulic brakes, RockShox SID 120mm front suspension, Industry Nine wheels on Hydra hubs, and Teravail Ehline 2.5″ tires (unless I swap them for something else). Most of the small bits of my bike are Wolf Tooth Components.
BAGS: I’m using an Oveja Negra Wedgie half frame bag, a Salsa EXP Series Anything Cradle on the handlebar, two Revelate Designs Feedbags, a Revelate Designs Jerry Can, and a Revelate Designs Shrew (or 8 liter, haven’t settled on that either).
GEAR HIGHLIGHTS: The thing most people wonder about are sleep systems, and mine includes an Outdoor Research Stargazer Bivy, Sea to Summit Ultralight Sleeping pad, and the Montbell UL Pants/Jacket combo. For navigation, I have a Garmin Fenix 5X watch with Ride with GPS on my phone as a backup. For water, I can carry around 4 liters if I fill my Katadyn Soft Flask water filter and carry it in my jersey pocket, but otherwise will have a 1.5-liter bladder, a 1-liter bottle, and a 750 mL bottle, for a total of 3.25 liters. Snack of choice: crushed up Fritos and/or sour gummy worms.

Kevin Lalli

Age 34 / Redmond, Washington (USA)

BIKE: I’ll be running my Chromag Rootdown with a Pike DPA, basic 11-speed SRAM kit with an OTT upgrade to SunRace 11-50T cassette, and 2.4″ Maxxis Ardents on Spank Vibrocores with Hope hubs.
BAGS: I am using the same Revelate bar and seat bag setup I did on the last trip, plus a Jerrycan. I filled out the cockpit with options from Green Guru and Blackburn which were gettable in current times. A couple of Backcountry Research straps will hold a flat kit and my soaked gloves or a beer as needed. The Wolf Tooth bag keeps my rain layer handy.
GEAR HIGHLIGHTS: Overall, I’m just trying to apply lessons learned from my earlier stretch, emphasizing load stability plus water and food capacity. My little Eureka two-pole/one-person tent has been around and is basically a glorified bivvy or bug net depending on conditions. A Lifestraw for inline filtering and Widefoot cages for the fork would be the new items I’m most excited about, especially for a potentially hot start on the Freemont Tier.

Dan Kelly

Age 34 / Boise, Idaho (USA)

BIKE: I’ll be riding my trusty Niner One 9 RDO (usually a singlespeed, but giving myself some relief with gears for this beast). Outfitted with Enve M50s and an Enve M60 Bar, XX1/X01 mixed drivetrain, Sid Select fork, mixed rubber: Schwalbe Nobby Nic 29 x 2.35″ up front X Maxxis Aggressor 29 x 2.3″ in the back, Schmidt SONN 28/Sinewave Beacon for main lighting/power.
BAGS: Ortlieb bar bag with my sleep kit: Simple REI bivy, Sea to Summit inflatable pad, Rumpl down blanket. Patagonia rain jacket in here, too. Rogue Panda custom Frame bag: Inflatable pillow, repair kit, pickle juice (little container for cramps), Sawyer water filter, foods. Revelate Terrapin saddlebag for clothes: rain pants, riding shorts, extra jersey, extra Assos bibs, socks, leg/arm warmers/coolers (opted for no down jacket with the warm temps to free up lots of room), food is here too. Wahoo ROAM, Spot gen3.
GEAR HIGHLIGHTS: Nothing too crazy in my kit, hopefully my legs and body are the highlight through this trip!

Max Morales

Age 28 / San Francisco, California (USA)

BIKE: I’ll be riding my steel On-One 45650B with a rigid Surly Krampus fork which got me through the Great Divide and most recently the Tahoe Twirl. The rig is set up as 1×10 with a 32T chainring and an 11-42t cassette. To keep me afloat, I’ve got Velocity Blunt 35s laced with a SON Dynamo hub and paired with Maxxis Ikon 2.35″ on the rear and Rekon 2.6″ up front.
BAGS: To start, I’ve got a hand-sewed frame bag by my buddy Chris. I’ve also got my Swift Industries Fab’s Chest supported by a Surly 8-Pack Rack. For my Twizzlers and hot sauce, I’ve got Feed/chuck bags by Oveja Negra. And finally, my Roadrunner buoy bags up front carrying my sleep system supported by salsa anything cages.
GEAR HIGHLIGHTS: Tumbleweed Persuader bars paired with Paul Chim Chim bar ends for ultra-comfort, Sinewave beacon headlight, and a Brooks Cambium Saddle. A Carradice bagman keeps my Therm-a-Rest Z-lite and Bedrock sandals off my rear tire and from booty rubbing. Can’t forget my bottle of Cholula hot sauce always powering me through tough times.

Sean Lerner

Age 33 / La Grande, Oregon (USA)

BIKE: Tumbleweed Prospector set up as a singlespeed hardtail with 32×20 gearing and a 120mm Pike Ultimate. PNW bars and dropper. Ergon grips and saddle. Maxxis Assegai up front and Rekon in the rear. SON 28 dynamo front and a Surly Singlespeed rear laced to Nextie carbon rims. Sinewave Beacon dynamo light.
BAGS: Custom framebag and stem bags from Hungry, saddle wedge from Ruthworks, top tube bag from JPaks, and a stuff sack Voile-strapped to the bars.
GEAR HIGHLIGHTS: After lifting my bike over endless deadfall at last year’s Cascadian Crossing Route 300, I switched to carrying most of my water on my back. I don’t love riding with a pack, but having the weight off the bike makes a difference when you’re lifting it for the hundredth time in less than a mile.

Rhett Jacobi

Age 35 / Carpinteria, California (USA)

BIKE: I’ll be riding my Diamondback Mason 27.5+ named Hercules. He’s a worn, beaten, brutalized savage of a bike. Not the lightest, not the fastest, but fun and rugged. 2×10 SRAM XS, Reba fork, avid brakes, and whatever tires were available that looked reasonably grippy and fast. I’m down with whatever doesn’t break and has round wheels.
BAGS: A generic seat post bag with added ski strap for compression, a Rockbros handlebar bag, Salsa anything racks hose clamped to the fork with stuff sacks (awesome my favorite), 2 generic collapsible water bottle holders in the cockpit.
GEAR HIGHLIGHTS: The sleeping bag liner, bivy sack, rechargeable bike light and headlamp, whiskey, endless salty and sweet snacks, and a massive dose of fun hogging GRIT. Oh, and a Sawyer water filter and roughly 120oz of water carrying capacity.

Deidra Bustos

Age 29 / Tuscon, Arizona (USA)

BIKE: Octane One Prone 27.5 aluminum, Fox 34 150mm travel fork, Maxxis Ardent 27.5 x 2.4″ tires, SRAM/Sunrace 12-speed drivetrain, XT8000 brakes, Brooks saddle, Thomson seat post, Reverse carbon 800mm riser bars, ESI chunky grips in sea foam, and Chromag 35mm stem.
BAGS: Porcelain Rocket frame bag, Revelate feed bags, Ortleib bar bags and saddle bag.
GEAR HIGHLIGHTS: Big Agnes Fly Creek HV UL 1 bikepacking tent, SPOTX Tracking and communication device, and my KOM hot pink tire plug tool.

Geo McGuire

Age 29 / Portland, Oregon (USA)

BIKE: I’m riding a steel frame 2017 Surly Troll XS (short riders represent!). I bought this bike off of Craigslist last September, intending to eventually use it for international offroad touring, but here we are. The original owner purchased it from Gladys Bikes here in Portland and ran it as a daily commuter bike with Schwalbe Marathons, so I’m proud of all of the work I’ve done myself to prepare it for singletrack bikepacking: I built a new wheelset to run 26 x 2.8″ Maxxis Minion tires, swapped the Shimano cranks for a Raceface set so I could mount a smaller 28T elliptical Wolftooth chainring, set up the XTR derailleur with a Goatlink to run a Shimano 10spd 11-46 dinner plate cassette on there, and much more. There’s very little I haven’t tampered with on this bike.
BAGS: I made a huge push over the winter to sew almost all the bags on my bike, save the Revelate Designs top tube bag I purchased second-hand from my workplace. I did take a lot of inspiration from existing bags (the handlebar bag is a Sweetroll knockoff, my fork bags are Salsa Everything bag clones, my frame bag takes features from the Porcelain Rocket roll-top frame bag, etc.) but I designed and built all the patterns from scratch from start to finish. Some particular design choices I’m patting myself on the back for include: making everything roll-top so I don’t have to fuss with zippers, adjustable shock cord webs on the outside to hold wet items or clothing so it can dry while I ride, and lining the lightweight Cordura outer with a thin neon orange water-resistant fabric inner to boost durability and aid with visibility when digging through the bags.
GEAR HIGHLIGHTS: Since I’m on a 26″ rigid steel frame, I’m particularly excited about having i39 Velocity Dually rims with fatty 2.8″ tires to optimistically bring me closer to the diameter of a 29er, and I’m hoping that running tubeless at a super-low pressure will also somewhat compensate for the lack of suspension. While I definitely fantasize about having a superlight 29er carbon hardtail for this race, I’ve made peace with the fact that I’m pushing a lot more weight than some other riders, and my goal is simply to get to the finish line in comfort and style. As a short rider, I lose a lot of space in the frame triangle (I can really only fit my tent poles, pump, and water filter in there, and refuse to ride with a backpack), so having extra mounts on the Surly fork for water bottles, food, and cook kit is invaluable, and the extra weight on the front end makes this bike stick to the ground and just crush over every obstacle in its path.

Mike Wingertsahn

Age 32 / Bend, Oregon (USA)

BIKE: Santa Cruz Blur TR (2019), SRAM 1×12 Drivetrain, Wolftooth 28T chainring, Fox factory suspension, Industry Nine wheelset with Maxxis Ardent (2.4″ up front, 2.2″ rear). Shout out to my old friend JT at Wilderness Sports for the setup, still going mighty strong in its third season.
BAGS: Mixed bag setup with a Bedrock handlebar roll and custom frame bag. Oveja Negra gas tanks and chuckbucket. Porcelain Rocket drybag strapped to a Loam Equipment saddlebag harness. An old military surplus bag is also included on the handlebar/cockpit for extra snack capacity.
GEAR HIGHLIGHTS: Sleep setup will include an Ultimate Direction bivy, Enlightened Equipment 40 degree quilt, ZPacks groundsheet used as an emergency tarp. The peanut butter jar on the downtube holds all repair and first aid equipment. Fenix lights on my bars and helmet for the nighttime, and will be navigating via eTrex 30.

James Folsom

Age 41 / Portland, Oregon (USA)

BIKE: Soma Riff hardtail. 1×11 SRAM Eagle NX with 130mm front suspension. Surly sunrise bars and running tubeless Teravail Rutland tires.
BAGS: Mix of bags, Revelate seat bag and feedbag. Apidura half framebag and Topeak toptube bag.
GEAR HIGHLIGHTS: My string of top tube bags. Keeping the gear accessible and the weight higher making the bike feel more nimble. Two feed bags up front holding water bottles and 6L extra water storage and filter in a packable backpack. For navigation, I’ll be using a Stages m50 and a phone as a backup.

More on the Oregon Timber Trail

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