Rigs of the Ouachita Triple Crown
Photography courtesy of the riders
The Ouachita Triple Crown route loops three IMBA Epic mountain bike trails together for one challenging bikepacking adventure.
The 185-mile route connects the Womble, the Lake Ouachita Vista Trail (LOViT) and the Ouachita Trail. For the past two years it’s been offered as a race coinciding with the Arkansas High Country Race’s grand depart in Hot Springs.
Here are some of the rigs riders chose to tackle the OTC this year as compiled by bikepacking.com.
For more rigs, including those of the full High Country route, visit bikepacking.com/bikes/2023-arkansas-high-country-race-rigs/.
Ariana Khu
Little Rock
BIKE: Lynskey Pro29 with a Fox34 Step Cast 120mm fork. Drivetrain is GX AXS with 30×10-52T gearing. Bontrager Kovee XXX wheels with Bontrager XR3 2.4-inch tires. Ergon saddle and grips.
BAGS: Custom frame bag from Dispersed Bikepacking, two Revelate Feed Bags and a Revelate Shrew saddle bag.
GEAR HIGHLIGHTS: An MSR Thru-Link for an inline water filter. Extra cache battery to run lights (Bontrager and NiteRider) fairly bright. The 12-hour nights are long, and there’s very little ambient light on the trails.
Aiden Holmes (Above)
Russellville
BIKE: Surly Karate Monkey.
BAGS: Frame bag is a Surly, which holds two 26-ounce bottles along with food, water filter, extra lights and a battery pack. Bar bag is a 15-liter dry bag, which holds a hammock, rain jacket and a change of clothes. Anything extra will be held on a Rapha waist pouch.
GEAR HIGHLIGHTS: An extra bottle cage has been mounted to the top tube. Garmin Edge 530 for navigation.
Travis Jolly (Above)
Knoxville, Tennessee
BIKE: Titanium Chumba Stella geared at 32x20T.
BAGS: A Nuclear Sunrise tank bag, Oveja Negra frame bag and Revelate Designs Shrew bag.
GEAR HIGHLIGHTS: Missing from the picture is a Nuclear Sunrise Silo bag with a sick camo finish with a DOOM gremlin bell permanently attached.
Shannon Allison (Above)
Erie, Pennsylvania
BIKE: Ibis DV9 hard tail with Maxxis Rekon Race tires and an oval chainring to help with climbing.
BAGS: Full frame bag, top tube bag and snack pouch by Hikes and Hose. Dry bag is a Revelate 14L bag.
GEAR HIGHLIGHTS: Aero Spider Rear Rack to make life easier. The full frame bag has a cutout for an Apidura frame pack hydration bladder’s hose.
Mike Chapman (Above)
Santa Fe, New Mexico
BIKE: Transition Spur.
BAGS: Tribulus Mini-Endover handlebar bag, Oveja Negra top tube and down tube bags, Revelate seat bag and feed bags, Alpine Luddites Spot Pouch.
GEAR HIGHLIGHTS: Aerobars for the 70-ish miles that aren’t IMBA epic singletrack.
Scott Dalton (Above)
Fairbanks, Alaska
BIKE: Orbea Alma with an OMX frame.
BAGS: Top tube pack, downtube pack, and fork mounts from Tailfin, seat bag from Revelate.
GEAR HIGHLIGHTS: Carver MyTi Carbon handlebars and Ground Control tires.
Chris Farney (Above)
Saint Joseph, Missouri
BIKE: Trek Top Fuel.
BAGS: Revelate Designs mostly. A water bladder in the frame bag and a bottle in the handlebar feedbag. Tools and bivy in the downtube bag and extra clothes under the seat. Snacks wherever they’ll fit.
GEAR HIGHLIGHTS: Garmin for navigation and tracking. Bar ends.
