The Salsa Fargo Bikepacking Machine: Gregory's South Island Adventure

Gregory is setting off on an epic bikepacking journey through New Zealand’s South Island. Explore the custom-built rig designed for his adventure.

This incredible bikepacking rig was meticulously built for Gregory, a New Zealander living in Indonesia. After 40 years since his last fully self-supported ride, Gregory is embarking on an epic journey through the South Island of New Zealand with his longtime mate.

The journey begins at the new cycle trail extension at Lake Waihola, where Gregory will tackle the Clutha Gold Cycle Trail before continuing onto the Central Otago Rail Trail. From there, he’ll ascend Omarama Saddle and traverse the Hakataramea Pass, McKenzie Pass, and Mt. Somers along the inland scenic route, ultimately finishing in Christchurch.

For an adventure of this scale, Gregory needed a bike built to endure the toughest conditions. That’s when he reached out to us to craft the perfect machine. After numerous discussions about bike brands and frames, we settled on the Salsa Fargo as the ideal choice for his trip. Using details about Gregory’s existing bikes, physical attributes, and the demands of his expedition, we carefully selected the components to create a robust, adventure-ready bike.

The result was a custom build focused on comfort and durability for long rides. We equipped the bike with a Cane Creek suspension stem and seatpost for superior ergonomics. The wheels were built using SimWorks x Velocity Standalone rims, paired with a DT Swiss 350 rear hub and a Shutter Precision (SP) boost dynamo hub for reliable performance. For gearing, we chose SRAM’s latest 12-speed road drop bike-packing groupset, the APEX XPLR, ensuring smooth and versatile shifting.

Self-sufficiency was a top priority for Gregory, allowing him to carry his food, shelter, and essentials while powering devices like his Garmin, power bank, and bike lighting. The SP dynamo hub powers Busch & Müller lights and a B&M power charger, which conveniently charges his power bank stored inside an Ortlieb Tube Pack.

The finished bike is as comfortable as it is capable, delivering a smooth, confident ride across diverse terrain. It performed so well during testing that we were almost reluctant to part with it—but we couldn’t be more thrilled for Gregory to take it on this epic journey. While we initially considered the Tailfin Aeropack, we ultimately opted for the SimWorks x Nitto Off the Road rack, a perfect fit for his needs.

Now, Gregory is ready to take on New Zealand’s breathtaking backroads with a bike built to conquer anything that comes his way.