Bikepack Racing Gears vs Singlespeed with Katie Strempke

Bikepack Racing Gears vs Singlespeed with Katie Strempke

Katie walks us through her inspirations for riding singlespeed and why lately she has been gear curious.. She drops some solid gems in here for reasons to ride either style!

After lots of contemplation, I decided to build up my new Chumba Sendero Ti with gears. I went with a full Shimano XT setup with a 30 tooth chainring for most of my rides, and a 28 tooth chainring for loaded bikepacking, including the Grand Loop race. The Grand Loop was the first time I’ve lined up for a bikepacking race with a derailleur on my bike since 2018. Watch the video for reflections about bikepack racing with gears vs. on a singlespeed!

Which way would you bikepack with your Sendero? Let us know in the comments.

Bikes Shown:

Hannah Simon and the Hellenic Mountain Race

Hannah is in Greece for the first of her international ultra-races this year. First up, the Hellenic Mountain Race, approximately 559 miles in distance, with 98,000 feet of climbing! Hannah is racing on her Sendero Titanium built up with components from: Cane Creek, Industry Nine, SRAM, Old Man Mountain and bags from South City Stitchworks.

Hannah texted us these photos along with the note “bike is DIRTY but perfect!”

You can follow Hannah’s dot here: Hellenic Mountain Race 2025