Singletrack/MTB
Gravel/All-road
Dirt-road Touring
Fat-bike
Our Reader’s Rig of the week comes from Maxwell Johnston in Austin, Texas, who offers a look at the Crust Scapegoat he built up with desert tours and bikerafting adventures in mind. Learn more about Maxwell and find a striking set of images of his rig here…
Words and photos by Maxwell Johnston (@mt.johnston8)
Hey y’all, I’m Maxwell from Austin, Texas. And when I’m not driving all over Texas pushing CLEAN Cause for my day job, I’m trying to ride bikes as much as possible and hopefully capture some images along the way.
Over these last few years, bikes have become a focal point in nearly all of my recreational activities. Whether it’s going on a quick trail ride with my dog, a neighborhood cruise, or hitting up a local overnighter, being on two wheels seems to be the only way to keep my mind from getting too tangled up with nonsense. I’ve grown very fond of the clarity a bike ride can provide, and more recently, I have been enjoying photographing many of the varied experiences one can have on a bike.
I hadn’t been bikepacking for more than three months before the pandemic hit, and like everyone else, plans for the next couple of years radically shifted. I was still able to go on local overnight trips and longer day rides, however, due to land access here in Texas, multi-day trips are harder to pull off, at least for someone with limited vacation time for long road trips. This newfound passion for bikepacking had to be harnessed somewhere, and this is where the aspirational purchase of the Crust Scapegoat comes into play.
I had been dreaming of desert tours, weeklong singletrack trips, and bikerafting adventures, and the Scapegoat was the perfect tool for all those excursions. So, when I saw it come up for sale and at a good price, I pulled the trigger, knowing I would be ready as soon as those trips became more realistic. Since building this beast, I haven’t been able to check all of those trips off the list, but this bike has already taken me on a few bite-sized adventures, including my first bikerafting experience! Not only is the Scapegoat the most versatile bike I’ve ever owned, but it can carry more gear than I could ever need and, more importantly, it does so comfortably.
- Frame/Fork Crust Scapegoat
- Rims Sunringle Duroc 30
- Hubs Sunringle SRC
- Tires Teravail Coronado 29 x 2.8″
- Handlebars Tumbleweed Prospector
- Headset Chris King NoThreadSet
- Crankset White Industries M30 with a 34T Chainring
- Pedals Raceface Chesters
- Cassette Shimano 11 Speed 11-46
- Derailleur Shimano 11 Speed XTR
- Brakes Paul Components Klampers
- Shifter(s) Shimano XTR
- Saddle Brooks C17 Carved
- Seatpost Salsa Guide Seatpost
- Stem Crust 60mm
- Front bags Bags by Bird Custom Goldback
- Frame bags Rogue Panda Designs Roll Top Full Frame Bag
- Rear bags Rockgeist Armadillo Protector with a Zpacks Dry Bag
- Accessory bags Revelate Designs Feedbags and Mag-Tank, Custom Randi Jo Fab’s Middle M.U.T.
- Other accessories Tumbleweed T-Rack, Ron’s Bikes Pec Dec, Widefoot Litercages and Cargo Cages
I purchased this bike used, with some great parts already installed and built up with 29er wheels and 2.8″ tires. It was a setup that I wasn’t sure I would keep, but I have grown to love the big wheels and rigid steel frame. One key detail with the Scapegoat frame was that it is non-suspension corrected, giving me a ton of frame space for a massive Rogue Panda roll-top frame bag. My favorite bag is up front, and it’s my trusty custom Goldback from Jay at Bags x Bird. It is firmly supported by a Ron’s Bikes Pec Dec. These two bags stay on the bike almost permanently, mostly to carry my camera gear on day rides.
Another honorable mention is a set of M.U.T. bags Randi Jo Fab built for me to use with Widefoot’s Litercages. They fit my sleeping pad in one and cook kit in the other! For extra storage needs, I have the Tumbleweed T-Rack in the back to support a packraft or dry bag wrapped in Rockgeist’s drybag protector. And for the finishing touch, I’ve tried to incorporate as much of Campandgoslow’s bar tape into this build as possible. Overall, I’m extremely pleased with this build, and this may be my favorite bike I’ve ever owned. I’m stoked to share it with y’all!
You can find more from Maxwell on Instagram at @mt.johnston8.
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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