This post is a bit of a mash up between a Stooge Dirt Tracker bike review, a Sunshine Coast singlespeed bikepacking report, and a lightweight bike camping gear rundown. I’ve been intrigued by the idea of doing more bikepacking on a singlespeed bike. A Stooge Dirt Tracker has all the mounts for touring and easily setup SS so I gave it a whirl.
Dirt Tracker Build
The parts for the this build mostly came from a SS Pipedream Sirius S5 I was running for close to 2 years. I decided it was time for something fresh and put the parts on a Dirt Tracker. I’ll keep the Sirius frame and put it back into action down the road when I want a change and fresh ride again.
- Stooge Dirt Tracker 18″ Frame in Duster Blue
- Stooge Klunkpacker Bi-Plane Fork [455mm A2C & 65mm Offset]
- Stooge 100mm Rise & 820mm Width Junker Bars
- Tag T1 33mm Stem
- ~85mm Headset Spacers [Uncut Fork Steerer]
- Race Face 30mm Getta Grips
- Magura MT5 4 Piston Brake Front with 203mm Rotor
- Magura 4 Piston Brake Rear with 180mm Rotor
- Race Face 170mm Next R Cranks with Race Face BSA BB [70mm Shell]
- Race Face Steel 30T Round Chainring
- Surly 22T Cog and Endless Fibonacci Spacer Kit
- 9 Speed SRAM Chain
- Hope Pro2 Evo Hubs with Velocity Blunt 35 Rims
- Maxxis Rekon+ EXO DC 29 x 2.8″ Tires
- One Up V2 180mm Dropper with Wolftooth Remote
- Ergon SM Pro Saddle [Med/Lrg]
- Kona Wah Wah II Composite Pedals
- Rock Bros TT Bag
- Porcelain Rocket Half Frame Bag
- Porcelain Rocket Nigel Bar Bag
- Porcelain Rocket Microwave Panniers
- Old Man Mount [Front] Cold Springs Rack
- Wolftooth Morse Steel Cages
- Mudhugger Rear Fender [Medium]
- RRP Pro Max Front Fender
- PDW DT Splash Guard
Powell River
When thinking about a fun route to test out the idea of singlespeed bike camping the obvious place to start is Powell River. It’s a short ferry ride from my house, but it feels like a bit of an adventure since it’s not on Vancouver Island. The mountain bike trails above PR are super fun to ride so I knew it would be a nice way to kick things off. I grabbed the middle chunk of the Powell River Sampler route from Bikepacking.com to get me from the ferry downtown over to the Saltery Bay ferry that would take me to the Lower Sunshine Coast. Despite riding the PR Sampler backwards it flowed well and the mostly blue/intermediate trails offered enough challenge to be interesting without being crushingly difficult to ride on a loaded bike.
I popped out of the trails near Lang Bay and rode Highway 101 to the next ferry terminal. The forecast had been for dry weather the whole week so I was a bit surprised to get rained on as I rode to the ferry. I decided it was better to keep moving and not bother getting a jacket out or trying to protect any gear other than stuffing my camera inside its case just to keep it a bit drier. The highway was quite hilly which made me work for each KM, but eventually I enjoyed a nice downhill bomb to the ferry terminal. The Bike Gods were on my side because literally the second I got myself and my bike under a roof the heavens opened and it dumped rain for most of an hour. My timing could not have been better!
My usual shtick on a ferry ride with my bike is secure the bike on the lower deck [BC Ferries let’s bikes and foot passengers on first] and then hustle up to the cafeteria to get in the line for food. Eat my food, charge my phone and use the bathroom. All the essentials for a dusty bike tourist. With ferry sailings and the time taken on the water on both boats I only got a half day of riding in the first day, but it was enough to get me from my home in Comox through the upper Sunshine Coast via Powel River and over to Earl’s Cove at the north end of the Lower Sunshine Coast.
With sunset approaching I decided I would see if I could make it to the campground at Klein Lake before it got dark. My camping shelter was a bivy sack so I don’t need much space to sleep, but a proper campsite with flat a tent spot, picnic table and toilet is nice when it’s available. One downside to #BCferryLIFE is the ships dump you out at sea level and the mountain bike trails go up into the mountains so it was all uphill from the ferry to the lake. I wasn’t too worried about not making it, but in the event I rolled into a campsite at Klein Lake just as it got dark. The place was almost empty with just one other camper. I secured my food in the toilet structure and hit the sack.
Lower Sunshine Coast
After a bit of a chilly sleep with temperatures dropping close to freezing overnight I got rolling southbound mostly following the Lower Sunshine Coast route from Bikepacking.com. I had ridden variations of this route before, but always going south to north. Compared to the previous day the riding heading towards Sechelt was harder both in terms of steepness of the uphills, but also due to some technical riding that challenged a loaded bike. The sun was shining, it was nice and warm during the day, and I didn’t see another cyclist or hiker on the route. So I just enjoyed my day moving steadily towards the next town.
There was a bridge out over Vine Brook. The official detour was on the highway. I may have taken an unofficial [and slightly scary] detour over a giant fallen log across the gap. I will not confirm nor deny. The rest of the route had quite a bit of damage from erosion and fallen trees. No showstoppers, but pushing, pulling and lifting the Stooge over stuff was a regular part of my day. That’s all part of the adventure so I wasn’t complaining. This route follows a couple stages of the BC Bike Race from the days when it went all over the coast. It’s an interesting mix of logging roads, mountain bike trails and “other” trails like powerline access routes. There was always something interesting around the corner!
Sechelt being on the water meant a fun bomb downhill into town. I got there in the afternoon so I stopped for food and to charge my phone before heading out again. Starting out from sea level meant another serious climb back into the mountains to earn all that food I had taken onboard in town. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to push all the way to the ferry in Langdale that evening. On one hand it would be nice to be done the trail riding and get the two ferries I needed to take back to Vancouver Island while it was dark, but ending up in Nanaimo, which is a larger city, after midnight didn’t seem that appealing as I’d have to find a place to stealth camp. Not to mention the last section of the ride included some very fun mountain bike trails dropping down to the ferry terminal at Langdale. I figured it would be nice to hit those in daylight and feeling well rested. So I slowed my roll and found a spot to camp in the mountains between Sechelt and Langdale.
I think that was the right call as I really enjoyed the ride down to the ferry terminal the next morning. There are so many great mountain bike trails in the Roberts Creek area I really need to come back with my bike and no plans to go anywhere other than explore that specific trail network. Unfortunately I just missed the ferry I was aiming for and given the need to hop on two boats to go from Langdale to Horseshoe Bay and then on to Nanaimo I only got to Vancouver Island at 3pm. I happened to be texting with a buddy who was near the ferry terminal and heading to Comox so he kindly gave me a ride home. Saving me a long highway pavement slog into the evening.
Trip Overview
Well it’s no surprise the Sunshine Coast was a blast as always. If you get a chance to tour here jump on it. There is lots of variety to the riding and lots of great scenery to enjoy. Resupply points are spaced out nicely so you never have to haul too much food or water with you. Riding a singlespeed bike here was no problem. It was definitely challenging at points, but it would have been challenging on any loaded bike. When it was too steep to pedal I just hopped off and pushed. That was a nice change of pace and I got a break from sitting on the bike. It was also a convenient time to grab a snack and/or a drink of water. I got the ride done in under two days when considering the late start on Day 1 and getting to the ferry early on Day 3. That’s not bad and while I might have been faster on a geared bike and ridden some more of the climbs I don’t think riding a singlespeed had any real negative impacts on my experience. It just changed some of the pacing and flow of my days. Bottom line I was smiling and enjoying my time on this trip. I will definitely be doing more SS bike camping trips. The only caveat with that is I think it would work best solo or with other singlespeeders. I suspect trying to mix SS and geared bikes would be a bit frustrating for both groups as the way they cover terrain is kind of opposite.
Dirt Tracker Review
The Stooge Dirt Tracker is essentially a Speedbomb with a slightly different fork. So it’s worth going back and reading my Speedbomb review posts as they largely apply to this Stooge frame. My builds are different enough it’s hard to do a perfect comparison between the frames, but the way I have them setup they work well for their intended missions. The Speedbomb has the EBB almost all the way forward and with it’s lower offset fork the bike feels noticeably shorter which is great for a trail bike. The DT has its EBB almost all the way to the rear and with a longer offset fork the bike feels longer which is great for touring, gravel and exploring.
As a touring platform the DT is excellent [if it fits you]. The combination of the long-ish wheelbase, slack STA and moderately slack HTA come together nicely for a spacious [for my 5’11” body] upright seated position from which I can comfortably pedal all day. The frame is stiff enough to handle my camping gear and yet not feel noodly when I am standing mashing up a steep hill in my wrong gear. OTOH it’s flexible enough that it doesn’t feel harsh even riding unloaded. So at least for my ~190lbs out of the shower weight the DT frame works well. The frame and fork has a lot of mounting points for gear. I was able to throw on a small OMM front rack in the rear that perfectly fit the PR Microwave Panniers I wanted to use. The main triangle is large with room for a generously sized half-frame bag and two water bottles. There are more bottle cage mounts under the downtube that I didn’t use as water was plentiful this time of year and there are loads of mounts on the fork that I didn’t use because I don’t enjoy the way that affects my bike’s handling.
This trip was my first really extended ride on the DT and my first time carrying camping gear on it. So I expected some teething pains. But the bike worked pretty much flawlessly on the trip. Nothing came loose. Nothing needed adjustment. The bike just worked mile after rough mile. That’s saying something as piloting a rigid mountain bike down steep technical trails inevitably leads to some really hard impacts when you fail to pop, weave and dodge just right. I would happily run this particular bikepacking setup again. The Maxxis Rekon+ 29 x 2.8″ tires did a good job rolling me from pavement to gravel to dirt and back. They are not perfect at anything, but they can handle whatever comes my way.
So if you are looking for a Stooge and want room for 29+ rubber with the ability to easy haul anything the Dirt Tracker is a great choice. As of the writing of this post it’s the only Stooge frame actually in stock and available for purchase.
Bike Camping Gear
Here is a quick run down of the gear I had with me on this trip. It reflects where I am currently at with my touring equipment. I pack on the lighter side without really going full minimalist. Maybe I’d call it Ultra-Comfort-Light. This trip had quite cold nights with cool mornings and evenings then warm days. So a bit of everything other than a lot of rain. Since I have a pretty flexible schedule I don’t go touring if it’s going to rain a lot. I don’t enjoy that and it’s easy enough to wait a few days and head out during a dry spell in the forecast.
- Porcelain Rocket Nigel Bar Bag
- A variety of snacks [M&Ms, Dried Apricots, Oreos, Cliff Bars, etc…]
- Rock Bros TT Bag
- Sunglasses
- Nuuun Tabs
- Pristine Water Purification Tabs
- Porcelain Rocket Half Frame Bag
- Pump
- Multi-Tool
- Tire Plugs and Levers
- Spare Tube
- Small Roll Duct Tape
- Zipties
- Toiletries [TP/Brush, TP, Hand Sanitizer, Advil, etc…]
- Lighter
- F/A Kit
- Porcelain Rocket Microwave Panniers
- OR Helium Bivy Sack
- Thermarest NeoAir Pad
- Exped Pillow
- ZPacks Quilt
- Toque
- LS Wool Top
- Buff
- Osprey Rev 18 Pack
- Phone
- Camera
- Bike Lights [Front/Rear]
- Petzel Bindi Headlamp
- Charge Cables
- Money & Credit Card
- TNF Puffer Jacket
- Patagonia Houdini Jacket
- Baseball Cap
- Opsak Odour Proofbag
- Any extra food/drink picked up in town
- Worn
- Bike Helmet
- Gloves
- 5.10 MTB Shoes
- SS MTB Jersey w/ Pearl Izuma Sun Sleeves
- Patagonia Houdini Vest
- Endura Singletrack II Trousers
- Wool Socks
- 600ml Water Bottles x 2 [On Frame]
- Garmin Etrex 20 [On Bars]
I used just about everything I brought along except the F/A Kit, some of the flat tire/bike repair items and the bike lights. There wasn’t anything I wished I had with me during the trip. So I feel pretty good about my gear load.
vikapproved MK2 