Singletrack/MTB
Gravel/All-road
Dirt-road Touring
Fat-bike
Our Reader’s Rig of the week comes from Karsten in Gummersbach, Germany, who shares the 2018 Scott Spark 720 he purchased secondhand and uses for trail rides and bikepacking getaways in the hills surrounding his home. Meet Karsten and learn about the adaptable handlebar bag/backpack and other luggage he sewed himself here…
Words and photos by Karsten Will
Hi, I‘m Karsten from Gummersbach, Germany. For me, bikepacking is a way to ride more as well as to enjoy solitude, minimalism, and nature. My favourite terrain is woodland hills with lots of trails, like those around my home or in the fantastic Pfälzerwald.
Whenever possible, I start my trips at the front door and go to my destination area by train. Ideally, not much more than arrival and departure are planned so I can ride as far as I want each day and then look for a place to camp. My style of camping is rather hedonistic—I often bring a hammock in addition to a tent and like to cook and eat real food: bacon, eggs, coffee, and orange juice in the morning or barbecued sausages, and bread and beer in the evening, for example.
The photos (except the one with me in it and the one with the disassembled bike) were taken at one of my favourite places: A castle ruin visible from my home village, where I ride almost daily and where I spent my first night wild camping.
I bought this bike, a 2018 Scott Spark 720, used without trying it first, relying entirely on reviews. Initially, I only wanted a “modern MTB” (full-suspension, 1 x 12 gearing, dropper post) to ride instead of my e-bikes some of the time for fitness. It quickly became clear, though, that its combination of a frame one size smaller than advised, 27.5 x 3.0″ tires, and adaptable short travel suspension is magical. By adaptable, I mean Scott’s Twinloc, where the fork and damper can be set into one of three modes simultaneously with a push of the left thumb.
The components the bike came with were quite good. I only made one significant upgrade in the form of some fine 35mm inner-width DT Swiss wheels. Other than that, I swapped/added contact points (inner barends, FTW), and every part of the brakes that broke was replaced with Deore XT. The aluminium frame has proven itself to be very sturdy, even when heavily loaded or disassembled to take on trains in Rinko-style. The Spark is also fun, fast, and comfortable on everything from singletrack to asphalt. I love it, and today, I ride it far more than all of my other bikes combined! So much so that I bought a second one in case it gets stolen or damaged.
- Frame: Scott Spark 720 (2018)
- Fork: Fox 34
- Rims: DT Swiss XM1501 (35mm IW)
- Hubs: DT Swiss XM1501 (effectively DT Swiss 240)
- Tires: Schwalbe Rocket Ron 27.5 x 3.0″
- Handlebars: Syncros Mini Riser (12mm rise, 9° sweep, 760mm width)
- Headset: Procraft
- Crankset: SRAM X1 Eagle GXP
- Pedals: Xpedo Spry (Magnesium)
- Cassette: SRAM GX 10-50T
- Derailleur(s): SRAM GX
- Brakes: Mostly Shimano Deore XT
- Shifter(s): SRAM GX
- Saddle: Selle Italia SLR
- Seatpost: Fox Transfer 125
- Stem: Syncros FL 2.0
- Front bags: DIY “KarstenCarry” Handlebar-Backpack
- Frame bags: DIY Rolltop
- Accessory bags: DIY 3-part Toptube Bag, 2x Decathlon Feedbag, Revelate Joey
- Other accessories: Scott Twinloc, DIY “Bumper,” Freddy McIntyre (Scottish red squirrel)
Probably the most interesting thing about my rig is the luggage. As my bikepacking includes many trails, having the bags invariably fixed to the bike is far from ideal. An unloaded bike is safer and more fun, even when the total system weight (rider + bike + luggage) is the same. It’s also advantageous when pushing or carrying the bike. For those reasons, riders crossing the Alps with MTBs traditionally have all their stuff in a big backpack.
I don’t like to carry a backpack, though. So, I looked for a way to have my cake and eat it too: bag(s) on the bike when the terrain is flat or I’m riding uphill, and on me for technical descents and hike-a-bikes. After my wife made me the fabulous rolltop framebag shown here as a birthday present, we still had a lot of fabric left over. But, believe it or not, she wasn’t too excited about sewing bags for all the other ideas I had. So, I learned sewing.
First, I made some simpler bags, such as two of the three parts of the toptube bag for my tent. Then, I created a unique handlebar bag and mounting system. It’s lightweight and has the volume of a typical combination of handlebar roll + seatbag. Its defining feature, however is that the bag is also a backpack and that it lets me switch between the two modes (on the bike or on my back) in less than 60 seconds!
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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Further Reading
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