Reader’s Rig: Josie’s Rawland Drakkar

Words by Josie O’shea (@goslowvelo), photos by Michael Williams (@bestdamn_van)

Hey y’all, my name is Josie (they/them) and I’m a 28-year-old nonbinary cyclist living car-free in Lexington, Kentucky. I work part-time at Broomwagon Coffee + Bikes on top of a non-bike-related day job. Before Covid, I organized a lot of community group rides here in Lexington and the local #CoffeeOutside.

I first got into bikepacking in 2017, starting with a backcountry trip on a too-small vintage Trek 520 with 35mm tires and a traditional rack setup. While that was a little more underbiking than ideal, I still enjoyed it and decided to upgrade to a more capable gravel bike shortly after. I haven’t done any long tours but try to get in one or two weeklong trips a year, as well as frequent sub-24-hour trips.

In 2018, I decided I wanted something a little more capable than a gravel bike with 42mm tires. I was leaning toward a Surly Ogre when I saw the Drakkar up for sale. I’d not heard of Rawland before, but I did some research on the frame and read the reviews that were out there and ended up pulling the trigger. It’s gone through several iterations but the one it was in the longest was as a monstercross basketpacker.

• Frame/Fork Rawland Drakkar
• Rims Velocity Cliffhanger 29″
• Hubs Shimano Alfine Dynamo (front) / Shimano Deore (rear)
• Tires Specialized Renegade 29″
• Handlebars Crust Jungle Runner
• Headset Cane Creek
• Crankset Shimano Zee
• Pedals Kona Wah Wah
• Cassette Microshift 10-speed 11-42
• Derailleur Microshift XLE10
• Brakes TRP Spyres
• Shifter(s) Microshift 10-speed thumb shifter
• Saddle Brooks Cambium C17
• Seatpost Bontrager
• Stem Velo Orange Cigne
• Front bags Large waxed canvas Fabio’s Chest
• Frame bags Custom bolt-on Schmidt Bags frame bag
• Rear bags Carradice Camper Longflap
• Accessory bags Road Runner Bags Auto-Pilot and Co-Pilot stem bags
• Lighting SineWave Beacon Dynamo Light and KiLEY rear USB light from Blue Lug
• Other accessories 2x Salsa Anything HD cages w/ Road Runner Buoy Bags, Carridice Bagman expedition QR

My Drakkar has been on several trips with me in Daniel Boone National Forest, Monongahela National Forest, as well as the Great Allegheny Passage and C&O Canal Towpath. It ended up with Crust Jungle Runners recently after my realization that I don’t really like drop bars all that much. I also moved away from the basketpacking setup with Surly’s heavy-duty front rack to a rackless Fab’s Chest and Anything Cage configuration. I haven’t gone on any trips with the new setup yet, but it’s killer for grocery runs and I have some tentative plans for the spring.

You can find more from Josie on Instagram @goslowvelo.

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