Our Reader’s Rig of the week comes from Josh Uhl in Wisconsin, who shares his custom Good Grief S.E.A.R. Machine, a bike that’s unlike anything we’ve ever seen before. Find a detailed look at Josh’s double-single-triple dingle 26+ mountain klunker here…

Words and photos by Josh Uhl

I’m Josh Uhl, and I first met Chris Schmidt of Good Grief Bikes when I needed some tubes replaced on a bent-up old Surly 1×1. I had reached out to several Colorado framebuilders who all politely declined to replace the Surly’s top tube and downtube. My vision was to build a fixed-gear freestyle-inspired 26+ mountain klunker. Chris jumped at the opportunity, being a fixed-gear, all-terrain bike weirdo like me. You can see more about that bike project here.

Good Grief S.E.A.R. Machine

Chris and I hit it off, talking about all kinds of unique bike concepts and sharing photos of previous bike builds. My first fat bike was a Surly Moonlander. I was captivated by the design’s resourcefulness. It used an offset frame and fork to run 135mm hubs front and rear, allowing you to swap the front and rear wheels for ultimate utility and versatility. To this day, I still believe that the first-generation Surly Moonlander is one of the greatest bikes ever made. I owned a Moonlander for many years, but I never could get it to fit me quite right. I was pleased to learn that Chris had been building single-speed/fixed-gear bikes with 135mm spacing up front and back so he could swap wheels around, offering more gear ratios on board, whether fixed or free. This greatly piqued my interest, as this format was something I sought after.

  • Good Grief S.E.A.R. Machine
  • Good Grief S.E.A.R. Machine

The Idea

I had been scheming for years about a single-speed fat bike that cleared 26 x 5.0” tires and had the common boost 148 spacing front and back so I could swap from freewheel to fixed by just swapping the front and rear wheel. Another design key for me was using vintage square-taper cranks so I could run 2 or 3 chainrings. This all centered around the geometry of my trusty Chumba Stella Ti, a bike I have ridden thousands of miles on and never had a fit issue. I tossed the idea out to Chris to see if he thought it was possible and if he’d be interested in taking on such an odd project. One text later, Chris was on board! I was so excited to see this bike come to life as the Good Grief Scorched Earth Advanced Research Machine (S.E.A.R.).

Good Grief S.E.A.R. Machine
  • Good Grief S.E.A.R. Machine
  • Good Grief S.E.A.R. Machine
  • Good Grief S.E.A.R. Machine

The Design

When Chris started working on the design, I imagined he would mirror the Monlander, given its similarity to the bike at hand. When I received the first design drawings, I couldn’t believe my eyes! Chris had taken the idea and envisioned something truly unique. He had scoured the internet for images of some of the first “modern” bikes that used wheels from cars and motorcycles and taken inspiration from these single-speed, tube-steel behemoths. This design was not a bike; it was an exercise in conceptual, functional art with low-slung double top tubes, curved triple stays, and a truss fork. Floored by how creative this design was, I could not wait for it to start coming together.

Good Grief S.E.A.R. Machine

The frame’s design constraint posed some challenges, however. To clear 5.0” tires with 148 boost hubs and a square taper bottom bracket made for some complex math beyond my comprehension. Offset, not a new concept with fat bikes, but there was nothing to mirror here; Chris was pioneering a brand new design. As he started building, Chris iterated on his design and refined the concept down to a 17mm offset.

The Components

As the frame and fork began to come together, I started collecting my dream selection of parts. To start, I needed Paul Components Boost Disk WORD Hubs, one fixed and one free. These hubs are what make this bike possible. Thank you, Paul! The rest of the wheel build includes Surly My Other Brother Daryl rims. There are few options for double-drilled rims these days. I am thankful Surly still makes these; without them, I would not be able to build a strong wheel for a 17mm offset frame.

  • Good Grief S.E.A.R. Machine
  • Good Grief S.E.A.R. Machine
  • Good Grief S.E.A.R. Machine
  • Good Grief S.E.A.R. Machine
  • Good Grief S.E.A.R. Machine

One of my favorite details on this whole bike is the spokes. I used hand-cut, straight-gauge Condor Spokes from SimWorks by Hoshi, made with hearts on the end of the J-bend. They were, of course, finalized with some Mone raw brass nipples. After a lot of gear inch calculations, I decided on a White Industries high-engagement double freewheel, 20/22, and a discontinued Surly 21T fixed cog. Driving the thing is a 100mm x 164mm JIS square taper bottom bracket with Shimano 94/58 BCD 175mm cranks. The natural choice was to run Surly Stainless rings, 32/30. It’s worth noting that I can also run an array of 58 BCD chainrings for maximum crawl. I could run as low as 20 x 22 on this thing if I so choose.

Good Grief S.E.A.R. Machine

For the controls, I chose Paul Klampers and Love Levers, connected with Sim Works by Nissen Cable and housing, capped with Cable Cherries. I need not say much about these brakes, as we know they are among the best. Stopping is cool, but take off the brakes and swap the wheels, and this bike skids with the best of them in fixed-gear mode. The stem is yet another unique fixture upon this machine. The S.E.A.R. Tower Stem with 140mm of stack and 32mm of reach connects to the Good Grief Nice bars. Named after the legendary fixed-gear bikepacker Fixie Dave. Shout out to Dave for being an inspiration and contributing stoke to this project!

  • Good Grief S.E.A.R. Machine
  • Good Grief S.E.A.R. Machine
  • Good Grief S.E.A.R. Machine
  • Good Grief S.E.A.R. Machine
  • Good Grief S.E.A.R. Machine

The bike has Wolf Tooth Mega Fat Paw grips for ultimate comfort, a SimWorks seatpost, and a White Industries headset. I was fortunate to work with Adam at San Util Design on the custom frame and top tube bags. I wanted to maximize storage in the middle of the frame so the bike remains playful and balanced even when loaded down. Adam knocked it out of the park with these. These bags nearly double the frame bag space I have on my regular mountain bike for bikepacking. The component selection here is meant to complement the frame and fork’s unbelievable artistic design, from the cut-out chainstay to the extra-long, laser-cut Good Grief-branded dropouts with brazed stainless inserts. The details are endless. You can see the serial number etched into the non-drive side of the seatpost—it’s #0007. Chris painstakingly hand-sanded the entire bike, and we decided to use a lacquer finish to allow for some unique patina. Lastly, a special detail not pictured here, because it’s just for me, the letters PLZHLP etched into the bottom bracket shell.

S.E.A.R. Build Kit

  • Frame: Good Grief Scorched Earth Advance Research (S.E.A.R.) Machine
  • Fork: Good Grief Asym Offset Truss
  • Rims: Surly My Other Brother Darryl (32H, 26”)
  • Hubs: Paul Boost Disc Word 148mm (front) / Paul Fixed Boost Disc Word 148mm (rear)
  • Tires: Schwalbe Jumbo Jim 26 x 4.8
  • Handlebars: Good Grief Nice Bars (24-degree sweep)
  • Grips: Wolf Tooth Mega Fat Paw
  • Headset: White Industries Polished
  • Crankset: Shimano XT JIS Square Taper, Surly 30T/32T rings
  • Pedals: Shimano XTR
  • Cassette: White Industries 20T/22T freewheel, Surly 21T fixed cog
  • Derailleur(s): 5mm Allen key
  • Brakes: Paul Klampers
  • Shifter(s): Baked Beans
  • Saddle: WTB Rocket, Wide, Ti rails
  • Seatpost: SimWorks Froggy 27.2mm
  • Stem: Good Grief S.E.A.R. Tower
  • Front bags: JPaks Refugi XL
  • Frame bags: San Util Design custom frame and top tube bags
  • Rear bags: Oveja Negra Gear Jammer
  • Accessory bags: San Util Design and JPaks
  • Other accessories: SimWorks Condor Spokes, Forager Cable Cherries

What is this even for?

This bike is for everything, from cruiser rides to the coffee shop to sub-24-hour overnights and expeditionary epics. The intent is to experience no limits to where this bike can take me over any amount of time. I recently traded my home in the mountains for a life in the North Woods. The S.E.A.R. Machine is right at home on the snow-covered trails and endless quiet back roads here. It will be equally comfortable in the formidable landscapes of the desert and mountains, no doubt. The first big endeavor for this machine was toeing the line at the Tuscobia 160-mile fat bike race in Wisconsin. Fully loaded San Util and JPaks bags with everything I’d need to survive in subarctic conditions, it didn’t blink an eye—only the engine lacked some of the power required for maximum performance. I see endless possibilities with this bike; it opens doors I didn’t know existed. This bike, this work of art, took over a year to develop, and now the Scorched Earth Advanced Research Machine is out in the world conducting research in ways we can’t even imagine.

Good Grief S.E.A.R. Machine
  • Good Grief S.E.A.R. Machine
  • Good Grief S.E.A.R. Machine

Bikes as Art

I have long considered the bike an art form, beyond the obvious visual design and component choice. Bikes are deep self-expression, wrapped in emotion and romance. They’re both nostalgic and modern. How ride is performance art. How we speak of bikes is theological—bikes take and give and evoke repose. Many of us create with this medium just for ourselves, and many create for others. The medium is infinite and finite all at once. It’s a vessel to experience the world from a unique perspective.

Good Grief S.E.A.R. Machine

Good Grief’s Take

Chris does a perfect job of summing up this bike:

“The Scorched Earth Advanced Research (S.E.A.R) Machine. A truly new take on a single-speed/fixed-gear fat bikepacking bike. The concept is built around two Paul Components Fixed Boost Disk Word hubs and a 17mm offset. Utilizing boost spacing front and rear allows the S.E.A.R. Machine to have endless gearing options with a quick wheel swap. And, using the White Industries double single-speed cog and Surly dingle speed, each wheel can be swapped out for manual gear changes. Triple-capable chainring clearance means the rider will never need to compromise on ratios for even the most extreme terrain, and it has earned this bike the affectionate nickname of “double-single-triple dingle.” The elevated chainstays mean the rider can clear any front ratio they desire. Plus, a 100mm BSA bottom bracket and square taper mean they can dial in that Q-factor just right.

Optimizing the frame for a low standover height while maintaining plenty of stack ensures the largest possible framebag can be squeezed into a normally tight triangle. Double custom-butted top tubes ensure style and strength for days, and custom extra-long track dropouts allow for quick tensioning and a touch more style. The S.E.A.R. Tower stem, with 140mm of stack and 32mm of reach, offers a level of comfort previously achieved only by moto-style bars. The Nice Bars feature a 24-degree sweep and 840 width, allowing for comfortable, variable hand positions for long spins and plenty of control on singletrack.

Boasting 26 x 5.25”, 27.5 x 4.5”, or 29 x 3.0” tire clearance, this machine is made for all-season bikepacking, no matter how you run it. With a Paul and White Industries build kit, this beautiful bike is a brute and a babe. Coming in at just under 32 pounds, it’s a full-steel machine ready to ride out the apocalypse.”

Good Grief S.E.A.R. Machine
  • Good Grief S.E.A.R. Machine
  • Good Grief S.E.A.R. Machine

A Little About Good Grief

Good Grief Hand Built Bicycles is run by its sole proprietor, Christopher Schmidt. With over 15 years of experience, Chris trained under master frame builder Koichi Yamaguchi. Good Grief is an entirely in-house builder. Good Grief is Indigenous-owned, and Chris is proud to be Native American and a member of the Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe. He is a light in the industry, doing his part to support underrepresented minorities and to bolster small makers through his work. On top of creating space to welcome any and all folks into the bike community. I’m truly grateful to have met Chris and to have the privilege to own the incredible machine he brought to life. Go hit up Good Grief, talk to Chris, and get a custom-built bike of your own!

You can see more from Josh on Instagram.

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