CRUST x Thereabouts : Bombora 'Dark Canyon’
The story of this bike begins as most good stories do, with a group of kids, a backyard, and the bikes we got for X-mas. We would spend every afternoon after school modifying our bikes removing the brakes, and switching the wheels, twisting the forks, and reversing the handle bars all to suit our childish logic. Then we’d race them around the yard, until dark. To us, that was cycling. It wasn’t about going faster or longer, it was about making it our own.
That childish curiosity is how we’ve looked at the bike ever since.
As a form of expression, discovery and freedom, it’s that idea that has taken us from the Frankenstein bikes in our backyard across the roads of the entire World. Our bikes are the tool that has allowed us to do what we love in the most beautiful places in the world with the most interesting people.
With that in mind we teamed up with Crust, SRAM, Zipp, Ultradynamico, and Brooks to create a special Bombora we’re calling the ‘Dark Canyon’. Named for an unrideable 8 mile stretch of Canyon in Southern Utah we recently had the pleasure of pushing our bikes through in pursuit of the experience, and whatever it was on the other side. This build was built up just for this trip.
When thinking about what we wanted in a bike to ride the Utah desert on, we knew it has to be two things above all else, hardy and easy to push.
So we landed on Crust’s Bombora, a bomb proof steel frame and fork that provides the comfort and livery of steel with sound resilience to guard against whatever we had to ride (walk) over, or strap to it. The Bombora is a frame we have loved at Thereabouts since Crust came out with it, and so we love that we are able to do this special creation. Knowing we were going to be doing a ton of steep climbing, and pushing with loaded bikes we knew we needed to think light, but be smart about where we chose to save weight. The Bombora frame is relatively light, but no weight weenie and so we sought out a wheel set that was light, to reduce rotational mass, robust and slightly aero for the occasional tarmac and long hardpack roads. The Zipp 303 650b setup was a no brainer. Us coming from a road background, Zipps are known as innovative but above all sturdy wheels and their pedigree is no different on a mixed surface. We included a Son hub and light so we can ride into the night with no worries.
SPECIFICATIONS
Only ten Thereabouts x Crust Bombora's have been produced for this first edition.
Frame: Thereabouts x Crust Bombora
Wheels: Zipp 303 650Bs with Son Hub
Shifters: Sram eTap AXS
Rear Der: Eagle AXS rear
Cassette & Chain: Sram Eagle
Bars / Stem / Seatpost: Zipp Service Course
Saddle: Brooks C13
Bar Tape: Brooks Cambium Rubber Tape
Tires: Ultradynamico Rose Robusto
Head Unit: Hammerhead Karoo
For the finishing kit, we stuck with Zipp, again, they are light, robust and tailored to steering on softer surfaces. Our call to go SRAM Eagle E-tap was down to its wireless capability, and the fact that the technology has been tried and tested. Limiting cables means less to catch and break, it makes strapping bags easier and more efficient, and it looks dang cool. The range with Eagle we also wanted to make it up those steep hills with a loaded bike. For saddles, it was about comfort, but also saving some grams where possible and for that we landed on the Brooks C13 Carbon. For bar tape, we wanted something that would survive sweat, and harsh sunlight and of course, Brooks Cambium Rubber Tape was another no brainer. For Tyres, we wanted something Dynamic, Ultra, Dynamic and so the choice was easy, a set of the Ultradynamico Rose Robusto provided us a rare opportunity to meet both our needs, and wants – a soft supple ride, with incredible durability. For navigation we needed a head unit that had a detailed, colour display, long battery life and incorporated all the POI's, predominantly for water re-supply we marked out for our trip. We settled on the Hammerhead Karoo, as it ticked all these boxes and provided an interface that was easy to figure out.
The Crust x Thereabouts Bombora: ‘Dark Canyon’ epitomises the power of the bike to transport you to places you’d never thought you could end up and introduce you to people you’ll never forget.
Born in Australia and developed with us on every ride in every continent, The Bombora Dark Canyon is an extension of that, an extension of us. A bike that is designed to be used in ways we’ve never even thought of.
