Singletrack/MTB
Gravel/All-road
Dirt-road Touring
Fat-bike
One Gear at Doom 2025: The Singlespeed Story
Why would anyone want to race a bikepacking event without gears? In our final report from Doom 2025, Aaron Arnzen examines the ever-growing singlespeed division and reports on how this year’s gearless riders fared in extremely difficult conditions. Read on for the Doom 2025 singlespeed story with a gallery from Kai Caddy here…
PUBLISHED Apr 18, 2025
Additional photos by Kai Caddy
Self-described as a “rough stuff gathering for the ages,” it’s no surprise to those of us who follow bikepack racing, particularly in the South and lower Midwest, that Doom is one of the most challenging and engaging races in its class. Just coming off its fourth iteration, the annual event and route itself has evolved a bit each year, like any good gathering ought to, while still maintaining the heart and soul that Doom master Andrew Onermaa has poured into it from its inception.
After some weather provoked last-minute route changes due to area flooding and high-risk water crossings, this year’s route totaled just over 400 miles with an average cumulative elevation gain peaking 45,000 feet across all devices. Adding all these bits of information up, the math stops making sense when you see 30 singlespeed riders sign up for this year’s full course offering, not to mention another half dozen singlespeed riders signed up for the shorter offering.
For lack of better words, this might just be the unofficial Bikepacking WorldSS, but how did we get here?
To learn where the singlespeed history of the event originated, we need to visit the oldest tombstone in the Doom finishers’ graveyard, buried in Oark, Arkansas, deep in a holler next to the Mulberry River. On the bone-chilling night of January 6th, 2022, Madison, Wisconsin’s Brett Stepanik became the first person to ever complete the route in a self-supported manner. Riding geared simply wasn’t an option for him, further (un)paving the way for singlespeed-interested riders to follow in his hike-a-bike footsteps for years to come.
To learn a bit more about Brett’s trend-setting ride in the depths of a cold Ozark Winter, visit the BIKEPACKING.com report here, Patrick’s Bikes or Death interview, or see the bone-chilling imagery for yourself through Kai Caddy’s gallery.
Just a couple of months later, the inaugural Doom Grand Depart launched from the General Store in Oark, Arkansas, on May 13th. Jacob Loos of Illinois was the first singlespeed rider and second overall finisher that year, matching the tone set by Brett and further inspiring more riders to embrace the Arkansas Ozarks with one gear. To reiterate, these two riders have established themselves as singlespeed enthusiasts in general, but is there more to the Doom picture with their singlespeed times stacking up next to some of the more experienced “geared” riders in the States?
While there has been a consistent representation of local riders at each iteration, there has also been a significant pool of riders lured into the Ozarks from around the United States, bringing a wealth of endurance cycling experience to the graveyard. Why then, has the singlespeed category grown exponentially each year?
As Andrew describes the Doom course on the Ozark Gravel Cyclists website, it presents a “blend of mountain/gravel bike terrain with hills ready to tear your equipment and mind apart.” Unlike the rolling gravel hills of Kansas and Oklahoma that often turn to peanut butter mud after a steady rain, the gravel roads within the Boston Mountains are hard on equipment in a different way. Sure, the roads were a bit messy on this year’s first day after record-setting rains soaked the area leading up to the event start, but nothing that would stop a drivetrain dead in its tracks.
Instead, endless amounts of steep, pitchy climbs on varying surfaces lead to inconsistent, rutted descents that almost always end with an engaging creek crossing. Gravel types range from pea-sized creek gravel to basketball-sized “chunder,” as regular riders in the area refer to it. Collectively, this relentless Doom terrain offers a drivetrain no break, with over half of the field regularly scratching from the event, often due to mechanical.
This understanding has surely led to a multitude of riders opting for the mechanically simple and reliable singlespeed bike throughout the years, with nine single speed riders toeing the line the next year in 2023. That singlespeed turn-out inspired many, including Onermaa himself, who got his first SS mountain bike shortly thereafter. Prior to the Grand Depart, the 2024 route was pre-ridden mile for mile on this very singlespeed, a practice Andrew has consistently maintained within a month or so of each event. Coincidentally, the 2024 route was the first to include various stretches of backcountry singletrack. This prompts the thought: does the notion of riding with fewer gears make room for more opportunity?
In a similar light to the Arizona Trail Race and its long history of singlespeed ridership, not to mention those who have won the overall event on a singlespeed, the overarching Doom riding experience caters to the rider carrying less mental weight. Sure, the average rider would prefer their 50-tooth rear cog on a day ride on this terrain, but when you stack up 400 miles of it, the singlespeed experience of just riding your bike instead of constantly thinking about how to ride your bike is something worth an infinite amount to 30 riders on this year’s sign-up sheet. It’s magic to some, and it’s common sense to others. However you cut it up, the singlespeed stoke was alive and well at the start line of this year’s grand depart.
This magic of the singlespeed approach to Doom reaches far and wide, way beyond an unusual concentration of SS junkies, although there was no shortage of those this year. Several folks, like fifth-place singlespeed finisher Nick Gilbert, were simply honoring race director Onermaa’s strong recommendation of riding a hardtail mountain bike with at least 2.25-inch tires, with which his Surly Krampus just happened to be set up singlespeed. Contrary to this happenstance, many other singlespeed riders toed the line under the belief that with a well-executed strategy, there’s absolutely no reason a strong singlespeed rider doesn’t have an opportunity to win the overall, especially in the sloppy conditions that riders encountered on day one.
Being a mostly singlespeed-specific endurance rider myself, these are the thoughts that frequent my mind, especially when I see an unprecedented 30 singlespeed riders sign up for one of, if not the hardest, bikepacking events in its distance class in the world. This year’s SS class was thick as thieves, with many repeat offenders, including the only pair of three-time Doom finishers, Jacob Loos and Nate Griffee, alongside longtime singlespeed veteran Chris Joice and his Knoxville neighbor Travis Jolly, who is coming off a wildly impressive Overall win at last summer’s Trans North Georgia aboard his head-turning full-suspension single speed Specialized Epic. Back for his third attempt after second and fourth-place finishes, respectively, Edward Rogers decided to leave his gears at home this year and surely couldn’t be bet against in the overall.
While out on course chasing media coverage halfway through the first morning, it was no surprise I saw Travis Jolly exit the Buffalo Headwaters singletrack section near mile 40 in first place overall, with Edward Rogers not far behind him. Last year’s singlespeed Tour Divide winner Alex Kowalski also exited the trail shortly thereafter, before his 200-mile Despair race bid came to an end due to bike and body mechanicals. Minutes later, my theories continued to prove themselves after encountering five more singlespeed riders wheel-to-wheel on the final switchbacks of this singletrack section of riding. This included Jacob Loos, Nate Griffe, Chris Joice, Joe Fox, and the eventual 200-mile singlespeed Despair winner Evan Hamann of South Carolina.
As the race settled into its first night, the rain finally settled while frost advisories blanketed the region with temperatures hovering in the low 30s. The beginning of the end came for Roger’s race with seemingly endless tire issues before eventually running out of plugs, tubes, and patches the next day, calling it in Harmony near mile 275. Around 3 a.m. on the second morning, Loos had overtaken Jolly and maintained that lead throughout the next day and night, riding solo for over 24 hours into the finish. Jacob’s winning singlespeed time of 2 days, 9 hours, and 34 minutes was not only good enough for third place overall but also knocked two hours off his winning time in 2022, an impressive feat considering the route was almost 30 miles shorter then, with no singletrack.
When asked about his approach to Doom over the years, Loos said, “I love Doom because every year has had different conditions, and the route has been slightly varied. Every year feels fresh, even though I know those roads really well at this point.” His appreciation for Doom’s constant variation shines through in his technical approach too, noting that “Riding singlespeed out there is a constant learning curve, which is why I’ve used a different ratio every year.” To make this year’s finish a bit sweeter for Loos, he piloted the same Salsa El Mariachi from 2022, this time with a custom “DOOM” head badge made by race sponsor Slow Southern Steel.
Rolling in with a grin, Travis Jolly clocked an official time of 2 days, 12 hours, and 58 minutes, good for second place in the singlespeed category. Rounding out the Doom Single Speed podium was Nate Griffee out of Fayetteville, Arkansas, with a time of 2 days, 14 hours, and 59 minutes, joining Jacob as the only other four-time Doom finisher. Overflowing with stories, Chris Joice rolled through the finish in fourth place later that night with an official time of 2 days, 17 hours, and 51 minutes, stacking four singlespeeds in the top 10 overall. Despite a handful of singlespeed DNFs throughout the event, other 2025 Doom singlespeed finishers include Nick Gilbert, Preston Williams, Johnny Townsend, Dave Easly, Les Acker, and Daniel Mckinney, totaling just shy of one-third of all finishers on a singlespeed.
While the stories continue to roll in across socials from this year’s Doom, there’s no denying the strong singlespeed presence in the OzarkSS, displaying a balance of grace and grit for the rest of the world to see.
Check out the Doom Tracker page for all of our coverage from the 2025 Doom event, including updates, winner’s posts, and more. Find it here.
Please keep the conversation civil, constructive, and inclusive, or your comment will be removed.
