Adventure Journal – The Denali Highway

The Denali Highway is often referred to as one of the loneliest roads in America.

A crafted blend of oversized internally double butted and thin walled straight gauge tubes make a responsive handling characteristic without losing the quality ride titanium frames are known for while keeping the weight as low as possible. As our flagship road model, the RS-1 can be delivered in any cofiguration of road components and spec: caliper, disc, etap, di2 and more. Complemented by full custom geometry and choice of raw etched titanium the RS-1 will truly be unique to each
rider.

As cyclists, perhaps it’s our nature to see a road and want to ride it. This specific dirt road lives just outside of one of the most famous national parks in the world, and while many confuse it as the road to the park, it no longer serves that purpose. It’s host to grizzly bears, caribou, ptarmigans, and moose. It’s old, it takes a while to get to, and even longer to drive across. In the winter, the road and almost all of the lodges along it succumb to ice and snow, leaving a very small window of summer time when it erupts in color and becomes passable to cars. At about 130 miles from end-to-end, riding its length or close to it seemed just long enough to feel like a tangible challenge to us: consecutive 100+ mile days, on fully loaded bikes, and on a road we were all curious to see from two wheels. Our ride would be a two-day out and back between the towns of Cantwell and Paxson. I haven’t done much bikepacking, and none of us seemed all that excited about tent camping in grizzly country, so we booked lodging along the way.

It seemed like the second we booked our tickets, my husband Aaron, who is also the owner, and visionary at Mosaic Cycles, drafted plans for a new adventure model, The GT-X. This was a bike that he’d been scheming in his mind for years: a big-tired gravel bike geared towards adventure riding and bikepacking. Most of our trips present new opportunities for Aaron to design and build our next dream bikes. Lucky me, I just get to ride them.

In early July, we stood in a parking lot in Cantwell, AK to meet a few friends before our departure. Kristen, Dani, Zach, Mark, Aaron, and I all had varying setups meant for long days on dirt roads. Cantwell Lodge’s bar served up some of the best fried chicken wings and enough beers on tap. The wood walls were covered in sharpie-scratched messages and old sexist signs about why a gun is better than a woman. We cheersed to the unknowns ahead, our bartender was amazed at our plan.

The next morning we started our ride early enough, knowing that it would likely take all day to get to the other end of the road. Sunlight wouldn’t be a concern, we could’ve ridden for 24 hours without experiencing darkness. We rolled out of Cantwell on a paved section for a few miles before it turned to dirt. We lost cell service after we dipped down beyond the first few rolling hills.

The road crosses a significant amount of water: the Susitna drainage, the Tanana/Yukon drainage, and the Copper River drainage. We’d stop to filter and were quickly swarmed with mosquitos. We all rode with various sleeves and layering options, and when we were moving the bugs didn’t seem to bother us. Most of the day we chattered about life or the scenery or nothing at all, letting the wind wisk by us and kick dirt up from our tires. While I thought that we’d truly be alone out there, the occasional cars whizzed by. Still, there were long stretches of time when we didn’t see anyone.

I was consumed most of the time with the possibility of a grizzly bear emerging from the dense bushes. I desperately wanted to see a bear from a safe distance, of course. We did have bear spray velcroed to our forks, just in case. That hope didn’t come true, but a porcupine did waddle across the road early on, and at some point on the first day we saw a family of marmots and a few moose too.

Our group bungeed apart and together throughout both days. Some moments we were tight and tucked, others we were all spread out fighting our own lonely battles with the persistent headwind, with the chunky loose gravel, or with the growing discomfort of pressure points that long rides on dirt roads seem to sustain. The road never actually enters into the mountains, it only skirts along the edges of the vast wilderness. This was different to us than some of the epic high mountain passes we’ve climbed in our home state of Colorado. As people from Colorado, we think we know scenery and mountains, but this place is different. It’s unique and jaw-dropping in new ways.

We arrived at the Tangle Lakes Lodge about 115 miles away from Cantwell. It was near dinner time, and we very excited that the sign outside largely advertised cocktails and pizza. Our host, Emil, helped us get settled in our cabins and arranged for towels and showers. At dinner, we boxed up a large amount of pizza that we’d ordered but couldn’t eat, then asked for cocktails only to find out that they didn’t really have cocktails anymore. We were ready to return to our rooms for the night when Emil emerged with a few bottles from his own personal stash of wine. We sat and drank and told stories, laughing with Emil as he started eating our slices of pizza as if he was on the ride with us.

A few lodges open In the summer months along this road, each one boasting a bar or at least a warm coffee to visitors. On our way back to Cantwell, we stopped at the midway point between Paxson and Cantwell at Alpine Creek Lodge, the only lodge that is open all year. Rows of dogs were lazily tucked into their dog houses, resting before their next run. We stopped again at The Sluicebar, further down the road, where dollar bills lining every inside inch of this bar. The hot dogs weren’t all that special but damn, the cold Coors tasted sweet knowing we only had 50 miles left.

By the end of the second day, some of us started struggling as the hills seemed to get longer, the headwinds harsher. Pressure points became pressure aches, and I rotated my positioning between standing and sitting. At the top of a particularly long stretch up, we all stopped to eat pockets of candy and whatever we had left to stomach. A few clouds covered the sun and the temperature became distinctly chilly. I was in pain and ready to be off my bike, but I couldn’t help but wish the moment would last longer. I’ve done enough rides in beautiful places to know that none of these moments last forever. That’s likely the kick that keeps us planning trip after trip to unknown place and unridden road.

As for this being a lonely road, I disagree. After a year of pandemic zoom calls and social media scrolls, riding the Denali Highway with these friends felt like a party and a coming home: full and special and connected in the ways we love the most.

GT-1 45 & GT-2 45 Chainline Update

GT-1 45 & GT-2 45 : Gravel Chainline

Our most popular framesets, the GT-1 45 and GT-2 45 are getting a little update. Starting today, by default, all GT-1 45 and GT-2 45’s will be built specifically for use with a gravel groupset/chainline. These groupsets include Shimano GRX, SRAM Force Wide, and all SRAM XPLR variations. So, what is a gravel chainline, you say? Learn more below…

When designing a gravel bike for riding fast over rough terrain, one of the biggest decisions to be made is tire clearance vs. chainring clearance & groupset compatibility. Big tires rock, and they continue to get smoother, faster, and more fun to ride. As tires get wider and the demand for clearance becomes even more important, the “window” that we have to slot the chainstay through between the tire and the chainring becomes narrower and narrower. Our solution to this has been to manually squish the chainstay and add a small dimple to the outside to give the chainring more room to breathe.

Moving forward, we will no longer be squishing/dimpling the chainstay by default. By requiring the use of a crankset with a gravel chainline, we gain up to 3mm of additional chainring clearance which negates the need for the dimple. This also comes with several benefits for you, the rider.

1: Increased Tire/Mud/Debris Clearance – By moving the GT-1 45 an GT-2 45 to a gravel chainline, we’re able to squeak a few more millimeters of tire clearance out of the rear triangle. Whether that means you want to run a slightly larger tire, or just have more room for those extra muddy & sloppy days, you’re in luck.

2: Increased Chainring Clearance – The GT-1 45 will now comfortably fit a 1x 46t chainring, so, mount up those big tires and big gears and let’s go smash some gravel.

3: Improved chainline – I mean… who doesn’t love a more efficient and quieter drivetrain?! By utilizing a crankset with a gravel chainline, especially if you’re running a wide range 1x setup, you will benefit from a more efficient and quiet drivetrain system. In most gears, the chain is able to maintain a straighter line between the chainring and the cassette meaning less unnecessary friction and noise.

Upon request, we can still squish & dimple the chainstay for use with non-gravel chainline cranksets. If you’re planning to build your GT-1 45 or GT-2 45 with a 2x crankset, or any other crankset such as Campagnolo EKAR, Cane Creek EEWings, White Industries, please work with your Mosaic dealer to make sure that is specified during the build process.

We’ll see you on the dirt!

Bike Checks – Our GT-X adventure bikes for The Denali Highway.

If adventure bikes need a thorough shakedown, then where better to put three prototype bikes to the test than the Denali Highway?!

The Denali Highway is a 135 mile stretch of unpaved and minimally maintained road, southeast of Denali National Park in central Alaska between Cantwell and Paxon. It’s an area that words don’t do justice. The Denali Highway is incredibly remote, off-grid, bumpy as all hell, and mesmerizingly beautiful. Before we told the world about the GT-X, we did our due diligence by nerding out on bikepacking gear, loading up, and heading to the Last Frontier for a few days in the wild to see what this adventure riding gig was all about. Needless to say, we’re hooked.

In an environment as remote and unforgiving as Alaska has a reputation for being, having the right gear was absolutely crucial. With a few “phone a friend” type calls, and a last-minute request to our friends at Orucase for some custom framebags, we had three very different, but very capable machines ready for Denali. Here’s what we rode:

Mark’s Gold GT-2X

Frame: Mosaic GT-2X
Fork: ENVE Adventure Fork
Drivetrain: Shimano GRX Di2 1x // 42t Chainring // 11-42 Cassette
Wheels: ENVE AG25
Tires: WTB Riddler 29×2.25
Cockpit: ENVE Stem, ENVE Seatpost, and ENVE G-Series Handlebar
Frame Bag: Orucase Custom Frame Bag
Handlebar Bag: Orucase Smuggler XL
Saddle Bag: Orucase Saddle Bag 25
Fork Cages: Topeak Versa Cage w/ Nalgene Bottles
Saddle: Brooks Cambium C13

Liz’s Green GT-2X

Frame: Mosaic GT-2X
Fork: ENVE Adventure Fork
Drivetrain: Shimano XT/GRX Mashup
Wheels: ENVE AG25
Tires: WTB Riddler 29×2.25
Cockpit: ENVE Stem, ENVE Seatpost, and ENVE M5 Handlebar
Frame Bag: Orucase Custom Frame Bag
Handlebar Bag: Orucase Smuggler XL
Feed Bag: Revelate Designs Mountain Feedbag
Fork Cages: Salsa Anything Cage & Anything Bags
Saddle: Brooks Cambium C13

Aaron’s Factory Finish GT-1X

Frame: Mosaic GT-1X
Fork: ENVE Adventure Fork
Drivetrain: Shimano XTR 12 Speed
Wheels: ENVE AG25
Tires: WTB Riddler 29×2.25
Cockpit: ENVE Stem, ENVE Seatpost, and ENVE M5 Handlebar
Frame Bag: Orucase Custom Frame Bag
Handlebar Bag: Orucase Smuggler XL
Fork Cages: Salsa Anything Cage & Anything Bags
Saddle: Brooks Cambium C13
Bell: Woody the Woodpecker.