Singletrack/MTB
Gravel/All-road
Dirt-road Touring
Fat-bike
Wrapping up our Reader’s Rig Week, we share a pair of Tanglefoot Hardtacks from James of Analog Cycles and Ariel of Fifth Season Canvas in Vermont. Meet James and Ariel and scope out their lovingly built bikes here…
Words by James Johnson and Ariel Ogden, photos by Miles Arbour
James’s Tanglefoot Hardtack
I’m James, and I run Analog Cycles, Tanglefoot Cycles, and Discord Components, all of which are based out of the tiny town of Poultney, Vermont. There are about 50 miles of singletrack in town and 70+ miles of dirt roads, so it’s a great place to ride!
My day-to-day job is fitting and refitting bikes, designing builds, working on new frame and part designs, and generally helping run Analog. My favorite rides are chill 15-to-30-mile rides with a mix of surfaces and a swimming hole/beer stop in the middle. I’m also into longer bikepacking trips, which I try to get out on a few times a year. This past winter, Ariel and I did the Monumental Loop in New Mexico, which was stellar.
I’m riding a prototype Tanglefoot Hardtack. It turned out to be no different than a production Hardtack, but this one is a pre-production model. When we developed the Hardtack, we looked at how to truly make a bike that fits a wide range of riders. One thing we messed with, outside of the industry norm, was fork offset. The Hardtack has way more fork offset than your average bikepacking bike, and the prototype I’m riding proved to us that this could work well. I’ve ridden this frame in a few configurations, normally set up with 29er wheels, but for this trip, I decided to build up some 27.5 wheels with wider tires.
- Frame/Fork: Tanglefoot Hardtack Prototype
- Rims: Rollcii Aluminum MTA30 32h
- Hubs: Schmidt 12mm (front) / Rollcii 12mm (rear)
- Tires: Conti Cross King Black Chili 27.5 x 2.6″
- Handlebars: Ritchey Beacon WCS Alloy
- Headset: Rollcii Sealed
- Crankset: Garbaruk with Garbaruk Ring, Raceface BB
- Pedals: Spank Oozy
- Cassette: E13 Helix 12 speed 9-52
- Derailleur(s): SRAM Rival with Ratio Cage
- Brakes: Growtac
- Shifter(s): SRAM Rival
- Saddle: Fizik Aliante Large
- Seatpost: Nitto S92
- Stem: Discord Creeemee
- Front bags: Fifth Season Canvas Handlebar Roll Prototype and Bulldog Front Accessory Bag Prototype
- Frame bags: Fifth Season Canvas Prototype Partial frame bag
- Rear bags: Fifth Season Canvas Prototype Nitto R-10 Rack Bag
- Accessory bags: Fifth Season Canvas tool bag strapped to R-10 Bag, Fifth Season Canvas V3 Cache Fork Bag
- Other accessories: Sinewave headlight, Peak Design phone mount on bars
I’ll say in retrospect, having now ridden the Monumental Loop, that I wouldn’t change a thing about the build. I’m really into the Garbaruk cranks, which are light and stiff. The Conti tires were perfect. We had a dozen or so known goat heads stuck in the tires at one point, no flats. The Rollcii rear hub and rims are on point. Good finish, decent engagement on the hub, stiff rim.
Ariel’s Tanglefoot Hardtack
I’m Ariel, and I run Fifth Season Canvas. I design and sew bags with the goal that they do not end up in the trash at the end of their life. To this end, Fifth Season bags are repairable and made with compostable waxed cotton canvas, hemp, and metal hardware.
I have been riding and sewing my whole life, but the pieces have recently all come together. I grew up in Vermont but moved west for a few decades. Since moving back east a few years ago, I’ve discovered riding in the woods. I don’t have much patience for hiking, but I love bumping along a barely visible path on a bike and seeing where I end up. James and I have been spending our days off exploring all over the state, unearthing lost towns, icy swimming holes, and other treasures accessible only by bike. It never gets old!
My bike was a gift from James. I fear it is much nicer than I can understand, but I love riding it, and that’s what matters to me. It has brought new confidence to my riding, and I am proud to ride a bike designed by my partner. We just got back from visiting the frame, fork, and paint factories where Tanglefoot bikes are made in Taiwan. I have a new appreciation for the design and craftsmanship involved in their production.
- Frame/Fork: Tanglefoot Hardtack V1 Medium
- Rims: Rollcii MTA30 Aluminum
- Hubs: SON (front) / Rollcii 142mm (rear)
- Tires: Conti Cross King Black Chili 27.5 x 2.6
- Handlebars: Ritchey Venture Max Classic
- Headset: Rollcii Sealed
- Crankset: Raceface with Wolftooth Camo Spider and Stainless Ring
- Pedals: Spank Oozy 2.0
- Cassette: E13 Helix 9-52 12-speed
- Derailleur(s): SRAM Force with Ratio Cage
- Brakes: Paul Klampers
- Shifter(s): SRAM Force with Ratio 12-speed mod
- Saddle: Brooks Professional vintage
- Seatpost: Nitto S92
- Stem: Discord Chromoly Creemee
- Front bags: Fifth Season Canvas Handlebar Roll Prototype and Bulldog Front Accessory Bag Prototype
- Frame bags: Fifth Season Canvas Prototype Partial frame bag
- Rear bags: Fifth Season Canvas Prototype Nitto R-10 Rack Bag
- Accessory bags: Fifth Season Canvas tool bag strapped to R-10 Bag, Fifth Season Canvas V3 Cache Fork Bag
- Other accessories: Edelux headlight, Peak Design phone mount on bars
The bags we used on this trip worked out pretty well. I’m in the process of refining them for production; some will be released very soon! And no, we don’t always dress to match our bikes :)
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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