Singletrack/MTB
Gravel/All-road
Dirt-road Touring
Fat-bike
Our Reader’s Rig of the week comes from Brendon in Washington, who shares his late ’80s Schwinn Sierra cargo conversion and a little about his appreciation for restoring and riding old bikes. Meet Brendon and scope out his Xtracycle-equipped 26er here…
Words and photos by Brendon Reed
Hello, I’m Brendon. Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, I currently reside in the foothills of Mt. Rainier in the small mountain town of Enumclaw, Washington. I spend the majority of my spare time building, fixing, and experimenting with all sorts of bicycles, from making a mini-velo out of a kids’ bike to retro-modding an ‘87 road bike with 11-speed SRAM, and everything in between. While my cycling goals have changed over the years, I’ve always appreciated older bicycles, and I love restoring or rebuilding them to keep them on the road.
This is a 1987 Schwinn Sierra, a middle-of-the-road Schwinn frame with a sublime smoked chrome finish. It’s seen a handful of different configurations over the years and has slowly morphed from its humble beginnings into a full-on cargo bike. A couple of months after I bought the bike, I found a great deal on a used Clydesdale fork with a 1” steerer. I drove two hours to pick it up and installed it later that night. I loved it in this configuration and used it for the next two years as-is with no complaints.
Eventually, my urge to tinker got the better of me, so I picked up a used Xtracycle FreeRadical kit for a song and decided it was just what the Sierra needed. My goal lately has been to avoid using my car for all my errands in town, and this rig makes that easy to accomplish. Full grocery runs, metal recycling dropoffs, bike purchases/transport, and anything else you can imagine—this rig really puts in the WERK. Is this its final form? Time will tell.
- Frame: 1987 Schwinn Sierra
- Fork: Crust Clydesdale 1”
- Add-on: Xtracycle FreeRadical kit
- Rims: SunRingle Envy (front) / Alex Z1000 (rear)
- Hubs: Shimano XT (front) / Formula DC22 (rear)
- Tires: Schwalbe Billy Bonkers 20” x 2.0 (front) / 26” x 2.1 (rear)
- Handlebars: Soma Eagle
- Handlebar tape: Brooks leather
- Headset: Cane Creek Forty 1″ threadless
- Crankset: Specialized “Flag” (Sugino) 38/28
- Pedals: Suntour XC II bear trap
- Cassette: 9-speed 11-34T
- Derailleur(s): Original Shimano FD-Z204 (front) / Shimano Alivio (rear)
- Brakes: Avid BB7 Road (front) / Shimano DXR MX70 (rear)
- Brake levers: Avid Speed Dial 7
- Shifter(s): Suntour LD-2800 Power Thumb Shifters
- Saddle: Brooks B-17 Champion Special
- Seatpost: Original SR CTE-110
- Stem: Velo Orange Happy Stem 90mm
- Front bags: Dark Realm Wald Basket Bag 139 or Swift Industries Motherloaf
- Frame bags: Overland Equipment
- Rear bags: Jannd Mini Mountain Wedge
- Accessory bags: Swift Industries Rando Pocket
I love both the Swift Motherloaf and the Dark Realm 139 bags on this. I use the Realm bag for grocery trips for the extra space and the Motherloaf for shorter rides + mostly off-bike carry. The front fender is actually a 26” fender, cut in half, gently bent, and secured to fit the 20” wheel. I still have the original fork, headset, and wheelset, so I can revert to the classic setup if desired.
You can follow along with Brendon on Instagram.
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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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Further Reading
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