In our inaugural installment of Reader’s Rig, we take a look at Pao’s drop-bar Velo Orange Piolet 29er. With ultra-wide Crust Towelrack handlebars and 29 x 2.6″ tires, this thing looks ready for a bit of everything. Plus, find out how to submit your bike to be featured in our weekly Reader’s Rig Dispatch…

Welcome to our new weekly Dispatch series, Reader’s Rig. Each week, we’ll select a bikepacking rig from our reader community to feature on the site. To learn how to submit yours for possible inclusion, check out the form at the bottom of the page. For our inaugural installment, Paolo Esguerra sent us details about his beautiful drop-bar 29er:

Based in the Philippines, Paolo Esguerra started off riding downhill and enduro around 12 years ago, but eventually discovered steel bikes and swapped out the suspension in favor of a fully rigid steed. You can often find him hitting singletrack trails on his single speed 29er, but his most recent addiction is bikepacking on his Velo Orange Piolet. It’s a bike he built up to be a go-anywhere, do-anything rig, with a focus on maneuverability on dirt roads and tracks, speed on paved surfaces, and serious stopping power, even when fully loaded.

Velo Orange Piolet, Drop-bars
  • Velo Orange Piolet, Drop-bars
  • Velo Orange Piolet, Drop-bars
  • Frame/Fork Velo Orange Piolet (medium)
  • Rims Velocity Blunt 35 rims with CN Spokes
  • Hubs Hope rear hub / SP Dynamo up front
  • Tires Maxxis Rekon 29 x 2.6″ tires
  • Handlebar Crust Towel Rack handlebar (615mm)
  • Crankset Shimano SLX 38/28 crankset
  • Cassette Shimano SLX 11-42t 11speed
  • Derailleur(s) Shimano R7000 105 Shadow rear / XT Front
  • Brakes Shimano Saint 4-piston calipers
  • Shifter(s) RS-505 11speed STIs
  • Saddle Brooks B17 Imperial
  • Front Bag(s) Custom saddle by Exodus Bikepacking Gear
  • Rear Bag(s) Custom bag by Exodus Bikepacking Gear
  • Accessory Bags Lezyne stem bag

Other accessories include a Sinewave Beacon light, Nitto M18 front rack, and a Safety Pizza. When using panniers, Pao has a pair of Brooks John O’Groats waterproof panniers that mount to Tubus Duo S Lowrider front racks.

Velo Orange Piolet, Drop-bars

You can follow Pao and his Piolet on Instagram @pao_esge. Also, be sure to revisit Lee’s review of the Piolet on this site. And, stay tuned for our forthcoming Gear Index of drop-bar 29ers, which includes this bike and others like it.

Send Us Your Bikepacking Rig

Use the form below to submit your bikepacking rig. We’ll choose one per week to feature in a Reader’s Rig Dispatch and on Instagram. To enter, email us your best photo of the bike (preferably at a 90° angle, like Pao’s), your Instagram username (optional), and a short description of you and your rig. If your bike is selected, we’ll need a total of five photos and a little bit more info.

Readers Rig

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