Singletrack/MTB
Gravel/All-road
Dirt-road Touring
Fat-bike
This week’s Reader’s Rig comes from our friend Tommy Ransome in Berlin, who shares the story of how he ended up with one of the most well-traveled Bombtrack Beyond Plus frames out there and how he’s given it a second life since then. Learn more about Tommy as his bike here…
Words by Tommy Ransome, photos by Joshua Meissner and Andrea Securo
G’day all. My name is Tommy and I enjoy getting mildly loose on overpacked bikes and snacking. I’m originally from Melbourne but moved to Berlin about four years ago, seeking the healthy open-air lifestyle and rich sandwich scene.
I love bikes. And I currently spend most of my time at the Rückenwind Bike Workshop (@rueckenwind.berlin), coordinating repair and supply of bikes to people from a refugee background. When my hands aren’t lathered up with WD40, I play drums in the internationally renowned (our mums love our music; they’re in Australia) country band Easy Read (@easy___read), and I thoroughly enjoy ruining the peace and quiet of the local forest with my Bluetooth speaker Voile strapped to my handlebars.
The bike presented to you in this post here is a very special bike. It had a full and prosperous journey before the universe bestowed it to me, and the story goes something like this…
The first time I saw a real-life bikepacker in the wild was when my brother Pete and I met Neža Peterca (and her green Bombtrack Beyond) by chance out the front of a bakery in Pozo Alcón, Andalusia. Neža’s stories from the trail made my eyes wide, and my mind was quickly made up: I needed to be just like Neža and get myself a green Bomtrack Beyond!
Some time passed, and Neža was selling her Beyond, but it was too big for me. However, Neža advised me that Dave at Guten Biken (@guten_biken) in Munich had two second-hand Bombtrack Beyond frames intended to become build projects. I jumped at the chance! And before I knew it, I was at the Guten Biken shop building the bikepacking rig of my dreams with Dave, Peter, and Franzi from Tales on Tyres (@talesontyres), because it was Franzi’s old bike! She was there to hand over the frame and document the build. Now, this was the stuff dreams are made of!
My first ride down on the Isar Trails in Munich was as close to a religious experience as I’d ever had. The bike climbs like an adolescent mountain goat and descends like an Audi on the Autobahn! Nothing beats the feeling of hurtling down the rocky Alpen singletrack on this bike with bags flapping, freewheeling purring, and the “whoops” being thrown all around.
We’ve had a great 2021 together, and this bike has enabled me to meet some amazing and inspiring people, push the limits of my riding, and see some incredible sights. I’ll round out this year’s season with some short local trips and look toward getting back into the Alps next year.
- Frame/Fork 2017 Bombtrack Beyond Plus
- Rims WTB Scraper i40 27.5 (front), DT Swiss M582 27.5 (rear)
- Hubs Hope Pro 4, Purple
- Tires Maxxis Rekon+ 2.8″
- Handlebars Jones with SQ Labs grips and Carhartt bar ends
- Headset FSA
- Crankset SRAM NX
- Pedals Something orange, not sure about the brand
- Cassette 11-speed Shimano SLX, 11-46
- Derailleur SRAM NX
- Brakes Avid BB7 Road
- Shifter(s) SRAM NX
- Saddle SQ Labs 611
- Seatpost Stock Bombtrack with shim
- Stem Stock Bombtrack (approx. 40mm)
- Front bags Blackburn front roll with harness
- Frame bags Blackburn
- Rear bags Ortlieb Seat-Pack M
- Top tube bag Apidura top tube bag
- Stem bags Blind Chic small; Blind Chic x Guten Biken x What Happened Outdoors large
- Other accessories Big foot cage, Blackburn anything cages, magic pink pretzel valve cap
Thanks to Neža for being my bikepacking hero and for helping me find this bike, and to Franzi for being super inspiring and for graciously bestowing this bike to me, and to Dave and Peter at Guten Biken for being all-round great people, great mechanics, and for enabling this build project, and special thanks goes out to Josh who took these unbelievable photos!
And last but definitely most importantly, I am so, so sorry to hear the tragic news about Iohan Gueorguiev. For me, it was a sobering reminder that it’s ever increasingly important to check on the health of our friends/family/loved ones both inside and outside the bikepacking community. I’m forever grateful to those who have supported me during recent scary low points, and the least I can do is pay it forward. So, I want to extend an open invite to anyone in and around Berlin to drop me a line if you want to go for a roll to clear your head, need some advice, or just want someone to listen. The least we can all do is take care of each other on and off the bike. xo
You can keep up with Tommy on Instagram @tommy.ransome.
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