Otso Journal

We're excited to welcome Sarah Swallow to our community of Otso ambassadors. Sarah is an adventure cyclist, event organizer, route developer, storyteller, and a very good person. You may have read her work. Or maybe you joined her on a ride for her Ruta del Jefe or Sky Islands Odyssey Route Project. She's a strong rider and an even stronger advocate for cycling with respect for the environment and natural history of the places we enjoy. All good things.

Here's the full announcement from Sarah:

I am thrilled to announce my new bicycle partnership with @otsocycles!

@otsocycles is the bicycle brainchild of the mechanical engineers at @wolf_tooth_comp. If you have experience with @wolf_tooth_comp, you can expect the same innovative design and high quality in @otsocycles.

While I spoke to many bike brands over the last few months, I was drawn to Otso because they are a small yet growing brand based in Minnesota that makes bikes that last and are specifically designed for the adventure/bikepacking riding that I do. They also support other rad cyclists who I look up to and focus on improving the adventure experience for all levels of riders.

I'm excited to add the Fenrir Ti in a drop bar and flat bar variation for most of my bikepacking trips, the Waheela C as my gravel bike, and the Voytek for my larger expeditions on more challenging terrain.

My bud, @seantrandolph, built up my Fenrir Ti drop bar just a couple of days before the Sky Islands Odyssey grand depart last weekend, so I had the opportunity to experience my first impressions over a challenging and technical 240-mile route with 17,000 ft of elevation gain over three days. I was immediately impressed by how lightweight and comfortable I was on the bike.

What's cool about these bikes is that they come with a tuning chip in the rear drop-out, which can be adjusted to shorten or lengthen the wheelbase and raise or lower the bottom bracket. Setting the bike up in the front position of the tuning chip will give you a quicker and more agile ride, while the rear position allows for more stability and comfort, particularly under load and on descents.

For the Sky Islands Odyssey, I set the bike in the rear position, which gave me confidence and stability with the fully rigid set-up on the technical, steep, and loose descents prevalent throughout the route. I'll be playing around and experimenting with these bikes a lot this year and will surely share my experience!

Keep an eye out for a series of how-to guides I will write for Otso's website this year.