Rob's Overland 29'r
So here it is, Rob’s Atlas Mountain Race Overland 29’r, which is Quirk Cycles model prototype no.4. There are a lot of little details on this build and new ideas that have been tested out, keep reading to find out more.
First thing most people will notice are the custom frame-bags made by Wizard Works. Colour matched to the paint and designed to bolt directly into the frame, these beautifully functional bags have the distinct advantage of no straps that can ruin the paint. The fabric is uniquely printed to match the paint design - that’s not two pieces of fabric sewn together - which gives us infinite options for having great bags that are made to work and look at one with the bike.
Next you may spot that the bar roll doesn’t actually hook to the bars at all, rather it appears to float, suspended above the front wheel. The front harness actually mates to a unique rack, designed to bolt directly to the fork crown. The advantage of this design is that it frees up valuable space on the bars, keeps the roll off the front of the bike avoiding the cables, and offers a stable platform with a lower centre of gravity to improve handling. The design also means that removing the roll from the bike is super quick and easy.
For this build we went full rigid utilising the awesome 28.6mm straight unicrown fork blades from Columbus. When designing a long fork such as this, the girth of the blades help to spread the extra stress we can expect. Also, with the triple anything cage mounts on the side of the fork it’s good to know it will take the extra weight when loading loading this up. The eagle eyed will also notice some standard rack mounts if the need arises.
The paint is utilitarian using a vintage yellow that was found on Japanese jeeps from the 1970s. These simple but rugged machines offered a lot in terms of inspiration for this overland 29’r. Keeping in tune with these jeeps we finished the rear in an industrial textured grey rubble finish. Rubble is a super tough coating perfect for the abuse of bikepacking and off-road riding and using it on the rear and lower quarters of the frame where we would expect the most abuse to the paint to occur is the perfect use of this product.
Although setup to with a SRAM Eagle GX drivetrain, the frame is compatible with many drivetrain standards. This is because the stays split apart at the dropout and use interchangeable aluminium inserts which means the same frame can run Rohloff gear hubs, carbon belt drives, and single speed setups. This makes the frame immensely versatile and utilitarian.
There’s two triple cage mounts on the downtube, one on top and one underneath, so carrying extra water or luggage won’t ever be a problem.
The frame rolls on juicy 29x2.35” tyres with plenty of mud clearance left over and is compatible with 27.5x3.0” tyres for those who want maximum floatation. As always we specced the excellent Fabric saddle for maximum cush-on-the-tush and something new to use are their excellent ergo grips to spread the load on the hands.
Saving the best until last the rig is shod with Enve M525 wheels laced to Chris King ISO hubs. It was decided that the finishing kit should provide maximum comfort for the long distance efforts this rig would be going through so we opted for Enve bar, stem and post combo. Carbon is often a contentious material for long distance racing but the added benefits are undeniable. Lightweight and strong with the ability to dampen the ride, the benefit of the added comfort should not be underestimated. This rig rides so good because of it!
Custom Quirk Cycles frame painted by Cole Coatings Workshop
Columbus 29’r and Zona tubing
Custom Quirk Steel Unicrown Fork
Wizard Works Custom Bags
SRAM Eagle GX Groupset
Enve MTB controls
Chris King Headset and BB
Enve M525 rims laced to Chris King ISO hubs
Photos by Nikoo Hamzavi