Words and Photos by Sarah Swallow Bikepacking trips and events can require months of training and preparation, financial investment, and time off work and away from loved ones. So, what leads us to quit things we have put so much emotional, physical, and financial energy into completing? How do we avoid quitting? How do we know when to stop, when to pivot, or when to … Continue reading Quitting: A Cyclist’s Guide to Graceful Exits
Words and images by Stephen Shelesky Equal parts joy, escapism, and self-therapy, I’ve found a lot of reasons to gravitate towards ultra-cycling. Since entering the sport less than two years ago, riding ultra has led me through one of my largest life transitions to date and increased my self confidence tenfold. Ultra takes many forms, bikepacking races being one of them. One of the pinnacle … Continue reading Bridging Identities During the Silk Road Mountain Race
Words and photos by Sarah Swallow Having fun together is vital to relationship satisfaction, according to the Gottman Institute. The research shows that the stress that couples experience must be balanced with a certain amount of connection and fun to build a positive relationship perspective. In other words, we need to have an archive of fun experiences so that when times are tough, those positive … Continue reading Bikepacking for Couples Part II: Strategies for Experiencing Joy and Managing Conflict
Words and photos by Sarah Swallow The setting was the Bolivian salt flats outside of Uyuni. The time was November 2019; Adam and I were one-and-a-half years into our relationship. It was the end of a month-long bikepacking trip that had started with getting stuck in La Paz during a coup d’état of Bolivia’s then-socialist President Evo Morales, and some of the most intense and … Continue reading Bikepacking for Couples Part I: Lost on the Bolivian Salt Flats, A Story
All drop bar complete bikes using Shimano GRX 11-speed are up to 25% off. This includes Waheela C, Warakin bikes, and Fenrir bikes in all sizes and colorways – even the new colorways for Waheela C. The sale is good for 1x and 2x options with either GRX 600 or GRX 800 levels. The discount is on the base build only; upgrades are still available … Continue reading Save up to 25% on Gravel Bikes
Words and images by Sarah Swallow If you are new to the world of bikepacking, you may be wondering what the difference is between bikepacking and bicycle touring. Theoretically, bicycle touring and bikepacking represent traveling by bike through a place but in different forms and fashions. While touring is used to distinguish between the pace or intention of a ride compared to racing, bicycle touring … Continue reading Introduction to Bikepacking: Tips, Tricks, and Pack List
We’re excited to welcome Sarah Swallow to our community of Otso ambassadors. Sarah is an adventure cyclist, event organizer, route developer, storyteller, and a very good person. You may have read her work. Or maybe you joined her on a ride for her Ruta del Jefe or Sky Islands Odyssey Route Project. She’s a strong rider and an even stronger advocate for cycling with respect … Continue reading Meet Sarah Swallow
The people have been asking for it, and we’re excited to say that we now have a Single Speed Tuning Chip Conversion kit! Continue reading New: Single Speed Conversion Kit for Tuning Chip™ Dropout, Plus Instructions
Our patented Tuning Chip rear dropout system is found on all bike platforms in our collection, and adds an element of versatility to any Otso Cycles bicycle purchase that can make your bike feel like three different machines. Continue reading Tuning Chip Technology on Otso Bicycles: Everything You Need to Know
When we released the Warakin Ti at the end of February, the most common question we received was if the bike includes a fork with mounting points. We listened to your feedback. All of our gravel bikes now have a fork mount option available in our Custom Bike Builder. This includes framesets and complete builds. Continue reading New Fork with Mounts Available
