Singletrack/MTB
Gravel/All-road
Dirt-road Touring
Fat-bike
Our Reader’s Rig of the week comes from Alex Tunbridge in Melbourne, Australia, who shares the 2020 Kona Sutra he bought complete and has slowly been transforming into his ideal bikepacking rig. Get to know Alex and his bike and hear about his upcoming tour in Indonesia here…
Words and photos by Alex Tunbridge (@alex_tunbridge)
Hi, my name is Alex. I’m 57 years old and from Melbourne, Australia. For as long as I can remember, I have loved hiking, cycling, and kayaking outside. When I was younger, I enjoyed road cycling and racing until one fateful day 15 years ago when I was struck by a car whilst out riding. Unfortunately, this left me with extensive spinal damage, including vertebral compression fractures. For many months afterwards, I was mostly confined to bed, and my mental health quickly deteriorated, unsurprisingly. Gradually, my physical health improved, and with it, my mental health. Finally, I was able to venture outside again.
Not long after my recovery, I met my now partner, Tracy, who introduced me to a cultural diversity I had never before experienced through her Chinese heritage. I was happy again.
After the accident, I found that road cycling alongside high-speed cars and the pollution they create no longer had the same appeal to me. In 2020 I purchased a bog-standard Kona Sutra with the intention of bicycle touring. During this time, I became more aware of bikepacking, so with a lot of help from Adam at Commuter Cycles in Melbourne, I converted the Sutra into something more off-road capable. I’m super pleased with how it turned out, both in looks and capability. It’s a very stable and confident bicycle and easily carries all my camping gear when heading out on multi-day trips.
In terms of my bikepacking bags, I guess you could say I have an eclectic mix. I like to keep my handlebars as uncluttered as possible. I prefer to carry the majority of my gear in front of panniers as I find them the least disruptive to the handling of my bicycle. I love my Tumbleweed T-rack mounted on the rear. This enables me to carry three litres of water and my tripod.
- Frame/Fork 2020 Kona Sutra
- Rims Curve Cycling Dirt Hoops
- Hubs DT Swiss
- Tires Vittoria Mezcal 29 x 2.25″
- Handlebars Salsa Cowchipper 46cm
- Headset Stock
- Crankset SRAM GX Eagle Lunar 175mm
- Pedals Entry-level Shimano SPD
- Cassette SunRace 11 Speed 10-46T
- Derailleur SRAM Rival 11 Speed
- Brakes SRAM Hydro Disc FM Rival22
- Shifter(s) SRAM Rival
- Saddle Brooks C17
- Seatpost Cane Creek eeSilk+
- Stem Stock
- Front bags Ortlieb panniers
- Frame bag Rogue Panda
- Other accessories Knog headlight
I guess I’m a bit of a loner. As such, I really enjoy solo bikepacking trips. For me, it’s a time of self-reflection and gives me the time and space to understand my priorities. To date, my trips have been within my home country and usually consist of a night or two. This coming March, I have a two-week solo cycling trip planned to Lombok, Indonesia, where I plan to see the island and meet its people. This will be my first time taking my bicycle overseas, and I’m super excited.
You can see more from Alex on Instagram @alex_tunbridge.
Send Us Your Bikepacking Rig
Use the form below to submit your bikepacking rig. We’ll choose one per week to feature in a Reader’s Rig Dispatch and on Instagram. To enter, email us your best photo of the bike (preferably at a 90° angle), your Instagram username (optional), and a short description of you and your rig. If your bike is selected, we’ll need a total of five photos and a little bit more info.
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