This week’s Reader’s Rig comes to us from Israel Cabañas Oria in Spain, who shares the rigid Orbea Alma he built up for scouting new routes in his region and heading off on adventures further afield. Meet Israel and his bikepacking rig here…

Words and photos by Israel Cabañas Oria (@israta)

Hello, I’m Israel, and I’m from Cantabria, a small region in the very north of Spain. I’ve worked as a nurse for the public health service since 2004, and the only connection between my job and bikes is that I usually go to work by bike.

Orbea Alma

Outside of work, I love outdoor sports, including mountain biking and getting outside to ride my bike for days. So far, I have ridden several bikepacking Routes in Spain: El Camino, Transpyrenees, Transcantabrian Range, Montes Universales, Celtiberic loop, Navarra Bikepacking, Cazorla Mountain Range, Canary Islands.

  • Orbea Alma
  • Orbea Alma
Orbea Alma

About the type of terrain I prefer to ride, I would say a kind of spicy-gently singletrack where there’s more than just spinning the pedals, and when riding long distances, I’m pleased when the terrain changes from time to time, which implies that the landscape does too.

  • Orbea Alma
  • Orbea Alma
  • Orbea Alma
  • Frame Orbea Alma Hydro Alloy
  • Fork Trifox 29er Carbon BOOST MTB Fork Rigid TMK200
  • Rims Syncros Silverton 1.5 CL
  • Hubs DT Swiss 190
  • Tires Onza Porcupine 29 x 2.4″ TR
  • Handlebars Giant Contact SL XC Flat, 780
  • Headset FSA
  • Crankset Shimano Deore XT, 32T
  • Pedals Shimano XT
  • Cassette Shimano SLX 10-51
  • Derailleur Shimano Deore XT
  • Shifter(s) Shimano SLX M7100
  • Saddle EC90 240 x 143mm
  • Seatpost Giant Contact
  • Stem Giant Contact SL
  • Front bags Topeak Frontloader 8L
  • Frame bags Topeak Midloader 4.5 L
  • Rear bags Topeak Backloader 15L
  • Accessory bags Topeak Fastfuel Drybag, Btwin Framebag 1.5L
  • Other accessories Riverside, Blackburn, and Topeak cages

I used to ride my carbon full-suspension bike with a single-wheeled trailer. But, in February 2021, I began to assemble a bikepacking bike, so our relationship hasn’t been too long, but it’s been intense. It’s a hardtail mountain bike frame and a rigid fork that I built to be light but still very durable and off-road-capable. When this bike cries, I’m crying as well.

Orbea Alma
  • Orbea Alma
  • Orbea Alma

With the bike built up, my next order of business was figuring out the most useful bags and accessories that would come in handy on long rides. I’m very happy with how it’s all come together so far. And, after all my bikepacking experiences to date, I felt the motivation to create a Bikepacking Route close to home. As a result, last year, Cabañas & Estacas (@cabanas_y_estacas) was born. I’ve been enjoying working on improving it while at the same time heading off to get to know new places by bike.

You can follow along with Israel on Instagram @israta.

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