Thanks to the generosity of our friends at Chumba USA in Austin, Texas, we’re excited to announce that we’re giving away a handbuilt steel Chumba Yaupon frame to one randomly selected member of our Bikepacking Collective. Get to know the versatile, trail-ready Yaupon ATB and get signed up for a chance to win one here…
Our 144th Collective Reward giveaway comes courtesy of the crew at Chumba USA, and it’s an exceptional one. We’ll be selecting one lucky member of our Bikepacking Collective to take home a handmade Chumba Yaupon drop-bar mountain bike in their choice of size and color, a $1,695 value for our winner. Chumba’s Texas-built steel Yaupon is ready to tackle all terrain. It’s designed around a 120mm suspension fork, will fit 29 x 2.6″ or 27.5 x 2.8″ tires, has dropper routing, and can be run geared or single speed thanks to its Paragon Machine Works sliding dropouts. The frame sports top tube mounts, two sets of standard bottle bosses inside the rear triangle, and a set of three-pack mounts under the downtube. There’s plenty of room for a full frame bag, too.
We think the Yaupon stands out amid the current renaissance of purpose-built ATBs coming to the market, and we named it one of the top bikepacking bikes of 2022 in our annual Gear of the Year Awards. Miles spent last fall riding one all over the Pacific Northwest for his review (linked in the Related Content grid below), and he found that it surpassed Chumba’s claims that it could handle “everything from singletrack to multi-day bikepacking or a long gravel grind.” The Yaupon’s balanced, trail-capable geometry and room for plush tires and a long-travel dropper had him pushing the boundaries of what he thought was possible on drop bars and enjoying long days out thanks to its comfortably upright riding position.
Our winner can choose a steel Yaupon frame in one of four sizes from small to extra large and their choice of Anthracite, Gloss Black, Hero Dirt, Lilac, Matte Papaya, Stoney Turquoise, or Team Light Blue paint. Chumba also offers a number of additional customizations for a fee, including other paint colors/treatments, internal cable routing, custom geometry, and more. See complete details about the steel Yaupon over at ChumbaUSA.com.
Here’s How to Win!
Everyone who has joined our Bikepacking Collective by 11:59 PM on Monday, April 17th, is automatically entered for a chance to win a Yaupon frame or one of more than a dozen other prizes. Our members are essential to ensuring the future of the site, and as a thank you for their support, they receive two issues of The Bikepacking Journal in the mail each year and have access to many other great benefits such as discounts and exclusive access to merchandise and other products. We’re largely reader-supported, and every member makes a difference.
Chumba Yaupon Ride Quality
The Yaupon steel is at home tackling technical trails, but it’s also built to make long rides as comfortable and fun as possible, whether that’s loaded bikepacking or all-day gravel rides. Here are some highlights from Chumba:
- A slack 68º head tube finds the flow in rough terrain.
- A steep seat tube angle and other geo numbers combine to keep the front end planted under difficult climbs.
- A balanced bottom bracket is positioned to bring out the rest of the geometry and plant the bike in corners whether seated or floating.
- The bike is spirited out of the saddle and rather huckable, but the comfort of the design allows for a long day seated.
- The wheelbase offers great maneuverability picking lines on the trail and threading through tight corners.
- Smooth and predictable compliance from Chumba Oversized Select Double Butted Tubing, built of the best tubing available.
Chumba Yaupon Build Quality
To ensure the highest quality possible and most attention given to every frame, all of Chumba’s bikes are built in small batches in house in Austin, Texas, and they come backed by a three-year warranty on material defects and workmanship. Here are a handful of Yaupon build highlights from Chumba:
- Seat stays are custom diameter to each frame size for the smoothest ride.
- Chumba Oversized Select Double Butted Tubing and PMW stainless steel sliding dropouts, mean this bike will exceed your expectations and provide years of reliable trail service. Oversized tubing yields larger tube miters for strength.
- Clean thoughtful cable routing w/ stainless steel braze-ons. Including stainless top tube bag mounts & cargo cage mounts under down tube.
- Flawless frame miters, all tubes are heat sunk and argon purged when welded to prevent distortion and material thinning.
- Machined head tube for tapered or straight forks.
Support from our members makes BIKEPACKING.com possible. If you’re a regular reader of the site, please consider joining our Bikepacking Collective. Membership is open to anyone, anywhere in the world, and members are automatically entered to win bi-monthly Collective Rewards (including this Yaupon frame, receive two issues of The Bikepacking Journal in the mail each year, have access to a bunch of exclusive industry discounts, and lots more.
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