Bombtrack at Bicycle Junction
We’re now doing Bombtrack at Bicycle Junction.
They’re a pretty good fit for the sort of riding we like. Bikes for getting around town, heading out on the gravel, or loading up and disappearing for a few days.
It’s much the same reason we’ve had Surly here for years. We like a useful bike. Something you can ride to work, put a rack on, take camping and change around as you work out what suits you. Bombtrack gives us a few more good options for all of that.
There’s quite a bit in the range, so here are a few worth a look.
Beyond 1: pack it up and head off
The Beyond 1 is probably the place to start if you’ve got a trip in mind. Steel frame and fork, wide tyres, flared drop bars and plenty of places to attach bottles, racks and bags.
It’s got properly low gearing too, which you’ll appreciate once you’ve packed the tent, food and a few things you probably didn’t need. The mechanical disc brakes are straightforward to work on, and the riding position is more upright than a lot of gravel bikes. All good things when you’re spending a few days on it.
We reckon it makes a lot of sense for the sort of mixed riding we have here. A bit of road to get out of town, gravel for the rest of the day, then somewhere to camp.
Beyond 2: the one with the dynamo
The Beyond 2 takes that touring idea and adds a couple of things we really like: a front rack and dynamo-powered Supernova lights, front and rear.
The dynamo is built into the front hub and generates power as the wheel turns. So there’s no remembering to charge your lights before heading home. Just get on and ride.
That’s handy on a trip, but equally handy when you leave work later than planned in the middle of winter. The front rack can carry your bag during the week and some camping gear at the weekend. It’s a good example of why we like these bikes.
Beyond+: built to evolve
The Beyond+ is our suspension-corrected take on the sort of bike we love the Surly Bridge Club and Ogre for. A steel bike you can load up, ride to work, take into the hills and keep changing as your riding changes.
It comes with a rigid fork and big 27.5 x 2.8-inch tyres, but the frame is designed to take a compatible suspension fork too. So if you want to head towards rougher trails down the line, there’s room to do that. Add a dropper, change the bars, put racks on it or strip it back for a day in the bush.
That’s the appeal for us. A bike built to evolve and adapt to whatever you throw at it, and look cool while doing so. We can see some very good builds coming out of these.
Beyond+ Midtail: very much a Junction bike
Then there’s the Beyond+ Midtail. A steel adventure bike with an integrated rear rack and a bit more room for carrying stuff. Somewhere between a bikepacking bike and a cargo bike. Pretty easy to see why we wanted this one.
Shopping during the week, camping gear at the weekend, or a custom build around whatever slightly unusual idea you’ve been working on. This is very much our sort of thing.
There are other good shops selling Bombtrack around the country. Once our incoming shipment arrives, we’ll be the only shop holding Beyond+ Midtail frames in stock in New Zealand. They’re not in the shop yet, but we wanted to bring in something a little different that feels properly at home at the Junction.
Our incoming Midtails are available to pre-order as frames, with the fork and build components chosen separately. Give us a yell if you’d like us to put a complete bike together around one. We can work out the build with you, depending on what you want to carry and where you want to take it.
Hook: gravel rides and the daily commute
The Hook is a good one to look at if most of your riding is a mix of road and gravel. Steel frame, carbon fork, Shimano GRX gears and hydraulic brakes, with mounts for a rack and mudguards if you want them.
Ride it to work, head up the Hutt Valley on the weekend, or put some bags on for an overnighter. There’s plenty of scope to set it up around what you actually do.
Arise Geared: a useful everyday bike
The Arise Geared is at the everyday end of things. Flat bars, a steel frame, hydraulic brakes and a front rack included. Nine gears, decent tyres and somewhere to strap your stuff.
We like that. A bike for going to work, doing the shopping and getting about, with a bit of exploring thrown in when you feel like it. Put a basket on the front and it’d make a very handy town bike.
There’s also the Audax to have a look at for long days on mixed roads.
So if you’ve been thinking about a new commuter, a touring bike, or something that can do a bit of both, give us a yell. Tell us what you want to do with it and we’ll help you work out which one makes sense, along with sizing and what’s available.
Have a look at the Bombtrack range here, or pop into the shop on Marion Street for a chat.
Header photo: Bombtrack Bicycle Co.
