Reader’s Rig: Hannes’s Surly Karate Monkey

Words by Hannes Dossche, photos by Nore Van Kersavond

Hi, I’m Hannes, 25, and I’m currently riding this Surly Karate Monkey with homemade bags across the length of the Andes. When I’m not travelling or bikepacking, the city of Ghent, Belgium, is where I call home. It’s the place I’ve been living for the better part of six years, during and after my studies.

I got into hiking as a student, and during the pandemic, I wanted to take a break from university. Not sure what to do with my life at that time, I got lucky finding a job at a local outdoor retail store where I was able to make a living while working in a sector I grew to love. It was also the period when I got into bikepacking.

During my youth, the bike was a tool to get somewhere, mostly to and from school. Although cycling as a sport is really popular in Belgium, I never got into it, but riding my bike was something I enjoyed. I think I was seven years old when my dad took me on a bike trip for a couple of days in Zeeland in the Netherlands, but afterward, I didn’t travel with the bike until I was 18. I only have positive memories from that first ride with my dad, so I guess it must have left an imprint on me that would develop into something bigger when I got older.

Throughout the pandemic, I spent a lot of time watching Iohan Gueorguiev’s YouTube videos and reading everything I could find online about people who crossed entire continents on their bikes. Pretty soon, it was obvious to me that one day, I would be undertaking something similar. 

After borrowing my dad’s city bike for my first couple of bikepacking trips, I found a classic touring bike that wasn’t too hard on my student budget. It was a steel Fuji Touring with rim brakes. Now that I had a bike, I figured I also needed some bags to carry all the gear. At first I also borrowed the bags, but I got hooked on all the pictures of these fully equiped mountain bikes I saw online. The custom-fitting frame bag was something that seemed so cool to me, and because I ride an XL frame, it would increase my carrying capacity a lot. 

My mom had recently bought a sewing machine, and she let me use it to try sewing a frame bag for my new bike. The result really exceeded my expectations, and shortly after, I was making frame bags for my friends. 

These days, small brand of bikepacking gear is called Dosh Gear. It’s a passion project that might be getting a bit out of hand, but I am proud to say that my girlfriend and I are currently on a year-long bikepacking trip across South America with mostly self-made bags. It feels like the ultimate test to see if they will be durable enough for a ride of this magnitude, and I would love to use this experience and continue making and improving bikepacking gear for myself and others when I go back home.

• Frame/Fork: 2023 Surly Karate Monkey (XL)
• Rims: DT Swiss GR531DB (front) / Hunt EnduroWide 29 V2 (rear)
• Hubs: DT Swiss 350 (front) / Hunt RapidEngage (rear)
• Tires: Panaracer Driver Pro 29 x 2.60
• Handlebars: Surly Moloko
• Headset: Curve 44
• Crankset: SRAM Descendant Carbon Dub 175
• Pedals: Kona Wah Wah II
• Cassette: SRAM NX Eagle
• Derailleur(s): SRAM XX1 Eagle
• Brakes: Avid BB7
• Shifter(s): SRAM X0 Eagle
• Saddle: Brooks B17
• Seatpost: Contec SP101
• Stem: Contec Brut Mtn
• Front bags: Dosh Gear Custom Front Roll and Hip/Handlebar Bag
• Frame bags: Dosh Gear Custom Full Frame Bag
• Rear bags: Dosh Gear Custom Drybag + Ortlieb Gravel Packs
• Accessory bags: Dosh Gear Bucket Bags
• Other accessories: Tubus Cargo Rack, Blackburn Cargo Cages, and Fidlock Twist bottle
  

But about the bike. After doing a two-month solo bike tour in Bolivia on my Fuji with 50mm tyres, it quickly became clear to me that a cross-continental bikepacking trip would be a lot more fun on wide tyres—especially if I didn’t want to limit myself to paved roads. The 50mms were the biggest tyres I could fit on the Fuji, so during the trip, I was already thinking about a new bike frame that would be up for the job. I quickly landed on Surly because my local bike shop (Steershop in Bruges) was already distributing the brand, and I liked the bikes I had seen on display there.

Ultimately, I decided to get the Karate Monkey because it seemed to be a versatile steel bike that would withstand a beating and fit wider tyres. Also, I liked the purple paint job of the 2023 version and thought it would be a nice color to match with some homemade bags. 

Together with the fine people at Steershop, I worked on a build for the Karate Monkey with durability and repairability in mind. I explained to them that I planned to ride across South America and wanted a bike I could trust without breaking the bank. Ben, the shop owner, told me he had some secondhand SRAM Eagle drivetrain parts from his old Karate Monkey lying around and that he was willing to sell me those for a good price. The brakes are Avid BB7 mechanical disc brakes that are easy to adjust or repair on the go, and I got some pretty big rotors to handle the extra weight I’m carrying while bikepacking. 

I especially like the Moloko handlebars because they have many attachment points for bags and different riding positions. The flat Kona Wah Wah II paddles have also been very trustworthy. They provide plenty of grip when riding in my trail runners, which are the only pair of shoes I’m carrying on this trip, apart from some minimalist sandals.

The bag setup is centered around a custom full-frame bag with two zippers and a velcro divider to create two compartments. Next are what I call the Bucket Bags on the stem and handlebars. I use them to carry a water bottle and a big load of snacks for long days on the road. 

On the bars, I have a waterproof handlebar roll for my sleeping kit and an accessory bag for small bits and bobs. The accessory bag clips on easily to the Moloko bars and doubles as a hip pack when I’m off the bike. Last but not least is the big drybag on the rear rack, which holds all my clothes and some food. The only bags I didn’t make myself but still enjoy are the Ortlieb Gravel Packs on the steel Tubus Cosmo rear rack.

You can follow along with Hannes on Instagram.

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