Rider Rigs: Bailey's Hawaiian Island Hopping Yaupon

Bailey was one of our first customers to order a Chumba Yaupon. After some initial conversations about wanting a gravel bike that she could bikepack on, it was clear that the Yaupon was the better choice, given it’s capacity for bigger tires and more off-road capability. Read our conversation with Bailey about what makes her Yaupon rip around her current home in Hawaii!

Chumba Yaupon Titanium in Sunflower Cerakote with Bronze anodized graphics

How did you end up in Hawaii? What is the terrain like there?

Kinda a crazy story... over the holidays, I took my old gravel bike to Maui with the intention of bikepacking around the island, then heading to Oahu for more biking and celebrating the new year. On my last day on Maui, I stopped by a bike shop hoping to stash my bike there while I grabbed a bite to eat in town. I ended up chatting with the owner (who happened to have ridden many of the same trails I had in Colorado), and got the sense that I had casually been offered a job if I were to move to Maui.

I worked part time for Trek in Golden, Colorado at the time, but figured if I could find a way to move, that I was at the time in my life that I'd have to seize the opportunity. Within 10 days, I had quit my job at Trek, sold my gravel bike, BMX bike, and Wrangler in Colorado, packed up all my belongings, found a studio apartment and truck in Maui, signed and accepted a job offer from the Maui bike company, and was on my way.

The terrain here is remarkably diverse, which is part of the reason I moved here. You get everything from sharp volcanic rock freeride to smooth red clay flow. There's not much "gravel" as in packed limestone, and the dirt quality ranges from sandy kitty-litter to hero dirt to peanut-buttery mud. 

Where are you riding? What type of terrain and trips do you mostly do? Any trips currently have planned?

I ride any trail I can find on the island. My favorite place is an area called Makawao Forest. It is an upcountry trail system known for the classic flow jumpline, Pineapple Express. Most of my bikepacking experience has been on rail trails on the East Coast, and most of my gravel experience is around Boulder and Golden, CO (where I lived for the past 2 years before moving to Maui). I've done a couple routes in Utah, Colorado, and Florida, but wanted to get a bike more capable on true trails before bikepacking the mountains. I love bikepacking, but it comes second in my heart to true full-suspension mountain biking.

I got the Yaupon to combine my 2 favorite types of riding to maximize the time of continuous trail riding and adventuring. This bike is made to CRUSH the Triple Crown of MTB bikepacking on the mainland, and as of now, I plan to race it competitively in 2025 with one of my best friends (and professional bike touring guide/mechanic), Malcolm. As for sooner bikepacking ventures, we're planning to bikepack around Lanai, an island off Maui that is a lot more rugged with public-access to doubletrack and rugged gravel well-suited for the Yaupon, when he visits this summer. I'm also just excited to hit more and more jumps on the bike... full-sendin' it, yewwwwww!

Chumba Yaupon Titanium with rigid ENVE mountain fork on the beach

How does your experience with the Yaupon compare to a traditional gravel bike?

This is definitely a mountain bike. Wouldn't even consider it to be a road bike or gravel bike. It eats up jumps and corners and climbs. When riding on the road, I find myself over the bars using my forearms as makeshift aero bars... which isn't bad! It just means that if I want to use it for long road bikepacking stretches, I'd swap the stem, and wouldn't recommend it for anyone planning on riding it more that 20% of the time on roads! One cool thing I didn't forsee was me riding it so much like a dirt jumper. It's so snappy and fun to be a street punk on. I've been hitting pretty gnarly lines on it even without the suspension fork build. 

What are some key components you selected (or enjoy so far) for this type of riding? How tall are you and how does the Small fit? (Also can you detail the brakes you went with)

I love the ENVE dropper remote and Bike Yoke Revive post. Especially since the bike is fully rigid at the moment (have a fox fork that I might swap in at some point), having a dropper with adjustable play is awesome for trail riding. I have custom Onyx hubs that are smooth like butter and make me and my bike feel like a stealthy ninja, and the instant engagement is incredible. I also love my classy Engin Cycles Port Royal crankset (a little happy homage to my home state of Pennsylvania) and my blingy but intuitive PeatyxCK valves. And of course, always gotta express the stoke with Chris King products... I have the 2-tone black and gold T47 BB and Inset 7 headset to match the whole bike in it's reppin' of my Pittsburgh roots. 

As for my brakes, I found myself in a quandary because I wanted powerful 4 piston brakes with drop bar levers. Chumba had already helped me with Ratio Tech Conversion so that I could have SRAM drop bars with a mechanical Eagle drivetrain (I was not ready for all AXS has to offer). With that, I decided to run the new Hope RX4 brakes. They're beefy... just what I want (and need for aggressive downhills). So anyone who glances at my brakeset is likely to have to take a second look to soak in the conjugation of SRAM (levers), Hope (calipers) and Shimano (rotors) components (haha chaotic mechanical beauty). 

I am just shy of 5'5" and I'm pretty content with the fit. The Yaupon model capability covers such a wide range of terrains, but prioritizes trail handling, so the small feels perfect on mountain bike rides. I feel a little squeezed when sprinting on the road, but that's the inevitable trade off!

What's your go-to bikepacking snack? :)

P E A N U T

B U T T E R :)

... and Sour Patch Strawberries. I tried them for the first time on my first solo bikepacking overnight, and ever since only indulge in them (for sentimentality) when bikepacking. 

Bailey’s Current setup

FRAME

Chumba Yaupon Titanium Small - Sunflower Cerakote with Bronze Anodized Graphics

FORK

ENVE MTN Fork/Fox Factory 34

WHEELS

Velocity Dually rims with Onyx Classic hubs and DT Swiss Comp Race spokes.

TIRES

Vittoria Syerra 29x2.4"

CRANKSET

Engin Cycles Port Royal Mtn Crankset

BOTTOM BRACKET

Chris King T47 2-Tone Black and Gold

DERAILLEUR

SRAM X01 12spd

SHIFTER

SRAM Force w/ Ratiotech Conversion Kit

CASSETTE

SRAM X01 10-50t

HANDLEBAR

Ritchey WCS Beacon 44

STEM

ENVE Mtn

BAR TAPE

Supacaz Grippytack

HEADSET

Chris King Inset 7 2-Tone Black and Gold

BRAKES

Hope RX4+

SADDLE

Ergon SR Pro

SEATPOST

Bike Yoke Revive dropper seatpost 125mm

DROPPER LEVER

ENVE G-Series

PEDALS

alternating between Shimano XTRs and Tenet FPTs