This week’s Reader’s Rig comes from Harry in British Columbia, who shares the first bike he built under the Sweet Treat name. Check out Harry’s custom single-speed hardtail with homemade bags and original graphics here…

Words by Harry Tudor, photos by Miles Arbour

Hi all! My name is Harry. I’m a teacher, environmental educator, bike coach, occasional racer, and full-time bike nerd living in Nelson, British Columbia. I grew up in the woods around Williams Lake, BC, riding Canadian Tire bikes on sketchy homemade jumps and trails.

Sweet Treat Hardtail

I discovered bikepacking through mountain biking as a way to access far-off trails and mountain areas I couldn’t reach on day trips. What started as pushing freeride bikes up scree slopes with a 70L hiking backpack has evolved into a passion of its own, and my partner and I have done a ton of bikepacking and route development since then. I tend to gravitate toward interesting, challenging riding rather than long distances, and I love building singletrack and stupid hike-a-bikes into the routes I ride.

  • Sweet Treat Hardtail
  • Sweet Treat Hardtail
  • Sweet Treat Hardtail
  • Sweet Treat Hardtail
  • Sweet Treat Hardtail

This is the first (but not last; I’ve got another currently cooking!) bike frame I’ve built under the moniker Sweet Treat. I got a ton of help from Kevin Armstrong of Six Mile Bikes on this. He was patient and held my hand through the process of bringing my vision to life. It’s a pretty aggressive 130mm hardtail, with a reach of 510mm, HTA of around 64 degrees, and chainstays that can bounce between 425mm and around 440mm. The goal with this bike was to build something comfortable on long, gravel-heavy routes that could also handle any trail I threw at it, loaded or unloaded. Success on all fronts; this bike has been so great and is ridiculously versatile.

Sweet Treat Hardtail
  • Sweet Treat Hardtail
  • Sweet Treat Hardtail
  • Sweet Treat Hardtail
  • Frame: Sweet Treat (self-made)
  • Fork: Marzocchi Z2 130mm
  • Rims: Ibis aluminum (front) / Reserve aluminum (rear)
  • Hubs: Ibis (front) / Onyx Classic (rear)
  • Tires: Maxxis Forecaster 2.6 and Rekon 2.6
  • Handlebars: Chromag FU 40. 800mm
  • Headset: Half Cane Creek, Half Hope
  • Crankset: Shimano Deore 170mm
  • Pedals: Oneup Clips
  • Cassette: Surly single speed cog
  • Brakes: Shimano Deore
  • Saddle: WTB Silverado
  • Seatpost: OneUp dropper, 210mm
  • Stem: Chromag, 40mm
  • Front bags: Dry bag in homemade cradle
  • Frame bags: Homemade 3/4 bag
  • Rear bags: Drybag on Mica Rack, a couple of Mica gear cages as well for extras
  • Accessory bags: Homemade bottle holder and top tube bag, borrowed Dispersed feed bag
  • Other accessories: Coros Dura, Wolf Tooth Mega Fat paw cam grips, SQ Labs inner bar-ends
  • Sweet Treat Hardtail
  • Sweet Treat Hardtail

Loaded up, it’s stable and comfy, and is super easy to ride all day. Unloaded, it’s playful but can still get rowdy, which I love. I’ve ridden this with some heavy-duty MTB tires, and it’s a bit of a trail-eating monster. I’ve ridden it geared and single-speed and prefer single-speed, as something about this frame comes alive with one gear. It’s been a very fun platform to try different setups with. This is currently my favourite, but who the heck knows what it’ll look like in a couple of months. I’m biased, but I think it’s the coolest bike I’ve ever ridden. So practical! So fun!

Sweet Treat Hardtail
  • Sweet Treat Hardtail
  • Sweet Treat Hardtail
  • Sweet Treat Hardtail

I built most of the bags I use, mostly from scraps from a local backpack maker. They’re pretty simple and utilitarian, but they keep surviving. I also made the sketchy front cradle for about $40 from stuff I found online. It ain’t pretty. Miles summed it up well when he first saw it by exclaiming, in the gentle, kind, and wise-beyond-his years way that’s made him a beloved and cherished member of the bikepacking community, “What the hell’s this janky shit?” It’s probably quite heavy too, but damn, it works really well. I’ve loaded it up for some seriously bumpy trips, and it has never budged a millimeter. All the graphics on the bike are painted-on versions of linocut prints I’ve made. I really love the little skeleton.

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