Singletrack/MTB
Gravel/All-road
Dirt-road Touring
Fat-bike
Our Reader’s Rig of the week comes from Joe in England, who shares a peek at his Stooge Rambler. Find a gallery of photos, some notes on his journey from BMXer to bikepacker, and details on his custom build here…
Words and photos by Joe Fordham
Hey, I’m Joe! I’m from the South East of the UK and work as a graphic designer at a university. I’ve spent most of my life riding bikes, mainly BMX. I never really found a bigger bike that clicked with me. Though I had a track bike for a few years and even tried a full-suspension mountain bike, neither gave me the same satisfaction of ripping around on a BMX.
In recent years, I started combining BMX with wild camping trips, hitting skateparks and spots in the South West and then camping in some beautiful places like Dartmoor and the Brecon Beacons. This sparked an obsession with visiting beautiful places and riding bikes together. So, getting a bigger bike to open up adventures entirely by bike felt like a no-brainer, and it seemed like a rigid setup was the way to go.
After searching online and nearly committing to another complete build, I stumbled across a bike check for a dingle speed Stooge on this very site and instantly fell in love! My previous plans went straight out the window, and I knew I had to get my hands on a Rambler. Luckily, a pre-order for a new batch had just opened. When the frameset arrived, I started gathering parts and piecing it together, and in January, I had a complete bike.
- Frame/Fork: Stooge Rambler
- Rims: Halo Vapour 35
- Hubs: Halo MT
- Tires: Maxxis High Roller 27.5 x 2.4 / Forekaster 27.5 x 2.35
- Handlebars: Nitto B802AAF
- Headset: Brick Lane Bikes
- Crankset: Middleburn RS7, Stridsland chainring
- Pedals: Nukeproof Horizon
- Cassette: Shimano Deore XT CS-M8000
- Derailleur(s): Shimano Deore XT RD-M8130
- Brakes: TRP Spyke, Avid Speed Dial 7 Levers
- Shifter(s): Shimano Deore XT SL-M8130
- Saddle: Brick Lane Bikes Raven Saddle
- Seatpost: Brick Lane Bikes Track Seatpost
- Stem: Velo Orange Threadless Stem
- Front bags: Wizard Works
- Frame bags: Zola Works, custom made
- Other accessories: Blackburn Outpost Cage, Safety Pizza
Choosing brakes and a drivetrain felt alien to me, having only ever ridden a brakeless BMX, but I think I made some solid choices. The Rambler is a super versatile bike. It’s comfy on longer overnighter adventures, but if I strip the bags off and take it out through local woodland and farmland, it rips! It even had a few laps around the local skatepark and held its own.
Although most of my rides so far have been shorter daily rides of around 30 miles, I managed to get in a handful of overnighters over the summer, and the Rambler has been brilliant. I can’t wait to take it out for more bigger and better adventures!
See more from Joe on Instagram.
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