Otso model #1: the Fenrir

available with titanium and stainless steel frames and with geometry to run either a drop bar or a non-traditional alt-bar, these frames are designed for going anywhere while carrying everything. while designed to feel sporty even when carrying the kitchen sink, what's surprising however is just how nice they ride without a load. its fairly rare to find a bike that rides nice when carrying 50 lbs of gear, but is also enjoyable when unencumbered which means Fenrirs have the real possibility of being folk's mythical swiss-army-knife-bike that we often aspire to build, but seldom pan out in reality. Put some fat Rene Herse tires on the bike and you can totally do long road and gravel rides on them or max out that tire capacity (2.6" on 29" rims! and a smidge more for 27.5er, 2.8"!) and point the bike towards whatever trail you fancy. we can advise you of which rim / tire combo and tire widths would be best suited for your needs, but if you're like most Fenrir owners you'll quickly start thinking about having a couple pair or tires around the house to suite whatever days riding plans you have in store when the alarm goes off. bikepacking. gravel grinding. commuting. we've built them up for loads of different adventures.

here's a few of the different ways we've built up Fenrirs, each may have different bars, tires and drivetrains on them, but the heart of the bike remains the same.

the stainless steel Tour Divide ready drop bar Fenrir when you go to build up a frame like the Fenrir which was designed to be equally adept at running drop bars or flat / alt bars, you have the best of both worlds and we choose to build this Fenrir is full dropped with the new super wide ranging 1 x Shimano 12 GRX groupset to take advantage of being able to pair the best brifters in the biz with bikepack-able, low touring grears. 'skinny' 29x2.1" G-One tires make for a super fast ride on hard surfaces and can easily be swapped out for some super fat 2.6" knobby meat on the rides which require full-on mountainbike capabilities. so rock a build like this on the daily commute and when 5 o'lock comes, just add, some bags, bacon and a cast iron skillet and head out into the back country. of course, adding the full length fenders have made this rig more wet weather capable and I gotta say, the bike looks even more bad ass with em too. can you spot the super subtle espresso colored bling kit and the front and rear cameras?

the stainless steel Tour Divide ready Jones Loop Bar'd Fenrir not everyone wants to rock drop bars on the bikepacking rigs and this customer agreed that he could get even more comfort out of his saddle times if he had him build up his new Fenrir with some alt-bars (in this case Jones Loop bars). A traditional rear rack (a Tumbleweed mini-pan which is anything but traditional in design) will carry most of the load and the fork and under downtube mounts carry three pack racks to complete the gear carrying capability with the lashing of a Voile strap or two. if a more traditional two rack system is needed in the future for four pannier adventures, then we'd suggest adding an Old Man Mountain rack to the fork to really maximize gear carrying capacity. blue accents were chosen to kick the build up a notch.

the stainless steel Surly Corner Bar'd monster gravel Fenrir when you want to go fast, but don't know the type of terrain or the weather you'll encounter, you'd be hard pressed to find more capable rig than this one. built specifically to do some longer gravel and bikepacking events, the distinctive Surly Corner bar forms a super capable cockpit allowing the use of mtb controls in a drop-bar like stance. since we built this one up, this rig has done multiple extra long day gravel events in VT in rainy weather and whereas folks on traditional gravel bikes had to worry about mud filling the rear frames of their bikes, the Fenrir has clearance of days. a big overseas bikepacking trip is in this bikes future this summer so looking forward to seeing it pedaled abroad to show the Euro's how American's design their live-aboard rigs.

the stainless steel Koga Denham Bar'd super bikepacker Fenrir big adventures ahead for this bike, but before it tackles the named routes further afield, it is being ridden around Maine and New England. our awesome customer really loved the Koga Denham bars he has on his current bike so we made sure to put the same model on his bikepacker. followers of Alee Denham's (aka CyclingAbout) video logs and reviews will know all about these bars, but Koga doesn't sell them in the USA so we buy them from a bike shop in Amsterdam and get them mailed over. for those who would like bars essentially the same shape with similiar features, but with a little more rise we point folks toward the v2 version of the Velo Orange Crazy bar as being a darn nice bar too. the Cane Creek Thudbuster seatpost is designed to make riding the washboard as smooth as Yoplait and since this pic was taken a Redshift ShoxStop suspension stem has added even more comfort to the cockpit.

Otso model #2: the Warakin

with the Warakin gravel and adventure bike platform, you get a do anything, go anywhere gravel bike that is equally at home on the Wednesday night road ride, racked out on a summer's long road tour or blasting down the mixed surfaces of the regional gravel race - just swap the Tuning Chips (Otso's cool dropout system) in the back to change the chainstay lengths and swap out your rubber to suit the day's adventure. so put any skinny 700c x 32ish+ tire on Warakin or stuff up to 50mm tires in the rear and 54mm tires in the back (about 2.1"!) for those chunkier lite-bikepacking trips.
so while the Warakin is a great platform to consider for your next gravel bike, unlike most other choices on the market, you actually get to choose what material you want your frame to be made from. obviously, if cost is no object, get the titanium, but if it is (and when isn't it?) the stainless steel and 4130 chromoly steel options are elite riding and just as functional.
what's the deal with the giving us frame material choices? well, all of them share the same frame geometry and the same compliant Lithic carbon fork. the big differences between them come down to the weight, the ride, the look (bare metal vs. painted) and of course the $. no matter which one you choose, you can't go wrong with getting your Warakin made from titanium, stainless steel or even the new-to-the-market 4130 chromoly steel option. here's a quick blurb about each, call us to get nerdier about it:

titanium: folks will choose the titanium tubesetted frame because of its lighter weight and crazy snappy feel, the fact that ti is super corrosion resistant is a real bonus.
stainless steel: the stainless option visually looks a lot like the titanium option (both are shiny bare metals brought to a brush finish). the stainless has a some resistance to corrosion of its own which is super cool and it also costs a little less to manufacturer than titanium so we tend to refer to it as ti for those who have a more restrained budget. very, very few bikes are actually made out of stainless steel since it is such a difficult material to work with in the machine shop (we don't know of any other production maker in our 90 brand line-up that does), so if you choose this option, you'll be sure to have the most unique ride on the block.
4130 chromoly steel: the chromoly steel tubed Warakins are brand new to Otso's line-up as of the summer of 2024 and open up that sweet-to-look-at-but-with-a-killer-versatile-Warakin-ride to a whole new range of budgets. fyi, 4130 chromoly steel is what 99% of higher end bike-shop-quality steel bikes are made out of. 4130 chromoly (unlike ti and stainless steel) will rust if left unpainted so Otso offers them in three different paint schemes. as least pricey of the bunch, the chromoly steel frame still delivers that great Warakin ride on the roads and mixed surfaces, but at a still-a-custom-bike-but-not-a-custom-price price point.
with three such no-loose choices, you may have a tough time deciding how to build your new adventure rig up, but no need to stress about it because all three Warakin frame materials share the same adventure capable carbon fork and build up to sporty, live-aboard capable gravel bikes. with an easy flip of the chips in the rear stays it's easy to convert your bike between a performance road roady wheelbase to a longer more mellow, easier handling ride when the mixed terrain gets rowdy. check out some of the links below to see different reviews of the titanium, stainless and chromoly frames to help you decide between on the two.

in the meantime, here are a few of the different ways we've built up Warakins. Different frame materials, drivetrains, wheelsets and finishing touches on each, but the hearts of the bikes (their geometries) remain the same.

the big adventure ahead Ti beauty we built this lovely titanium rig up with 2x GRX drivetain for someone who has definitive high mileage adventures in their future who wanted a go fast, live-aboard rig that could also serve double duty as the daily road machine. with a custom Redshift cockpit (Redshift Kitchen Sink bars, Redshift suspension stem and Redshift top unders and low bottom grips) with carbon adventure wheels with dynamo front hub wired to a kLite USB charging and lighting system our customer can generate her own electricity to keep her navigation & entertainment systems (ie her phone) charged up on tour there won't me many situations where her Otso Warakin won't be up to the task. purple accents and a quick removing rear rack complete the build. big adventure ahead for sure!

go fast Ti adventure rocket we built this sexy titanium Warakin up with a super wide-ranging 1x 12 speed GRX drivetrain to ensure there will never be an adventure where easier gearing is more than a 5 min chainring swap away. we went with Easton direct mount cranks to ensure that future owners could take their pic between road, gravel, touring and mountainbike sized direct mount chainrings which means you can can get pretty much any gear inches under your legs your heart desires with minimum changes to your bike - something that will come in handy when you are racing at the front of a New England gravel grinder one day and bikepacking wih the kitchen sink in VT the next. IMHO, the gold bling adds a touch of class to the party as do the skinny 700x38mm coffee colored Rene Herse tires. pretty elegant for a bike that can also rock upwards of 700x55 or 29x2.1" knobbies right?

go anywhere stainless steel beauty so many great ways to build up a Warakin and their stock build kits allow us as a bike shop to add some personality to each and every Otso we build. this stainless steel Warakin may look identical to the more expensive Ti version and it does, but it's beauty runs more than skin deep. the price of stainless frames is bunches more than a non-stainless steel frame, but it 'steals' many of the same ride attributes from its more expensive Ti sibling while still retaining the same no-fuss outer finish. the stock Otso build packages are usually the best way to grab a bargain, but we're always here to swap in and off parts from those build kits to further customize the bike to ride as individual as your adventure.

a 4130 chromoly steel Warakin in Navy Gold if you want a great riding, well positioned gravel bike with a hellava lot of custom touches available, check out the chromoly Warakins. this one was built with an 11spd Shimano drivetrain and hydro disk brakes with some custom cockpit and aesthetic touches. rides great, looks great, so many custom options to choose during the build up phase and with a price that is barely more than most other brands stock un-customizable bikes. what's not to love? for sure, a painted Warakin is the bike to rule out before looking at any other brand's gravel bike. oh yeah, when you see the gold flake that is mixed into the navy blue paint hit the sun, look out!

a 4130 chromoly steel Warakin in Tangerine the painted chromoly Warakins all have a classy aesthetic, but this customer gave us the challenge and the free hand to build him something that was "loud and proud." I think we nailed it on this build and we'd be up to the challenge of trying to bring your dream to life as well. we walked him through the options that Otso offered and then with the customer's help we took the build to another level by doing lots of great customized options on the bike here at the shop while we were building it up. the most obvious are the Panaracer Gravel Kings in the special edition color: Matcha Green, but so many other great touches really set this bike apart from what could be done with most brands offerings. check out our social media pages for dozens of close-ups on this rig. hopefully, that inspires you to dream up theme for your own Warakin. we love an aesthetic challenge and we'd love a shot at creating your own head turner.

Otso model #3: the Waheela

while we love titanium, stainless steel and chomoly steel, carbon has a place in our world too and if you want the lightest Otso gravel adventure bike around, check out the Waheela as your go anywhere, do anything speed machine. check out the links to reviews below if you want more info or give us a shout to give you the TL;DR

racy, but oh so capable Waheela-C carbon doesn't mean not-adventure ready and the Waheela-C is eating that proves that pudding. so many great ways to flesh out and build up a Waheela, you really can't go wrong with any of the options that Otso offers on their site, but if you're looking for parts, accessories or bling options not listed that's where we'll happily take one of Otso's traditional builds and step it up a notch to really dial it in for your own adventure. check out a few of the reviews linked to below and get in touch to chat about what hidden-menu options we can bring to the build table for you.

Otso's fatbikes: Voytek 2's are their carbon offering and Arctodus's are their steel and titanium fatties

not hard to imagine why a company based in Minnesota makes such great fatbikes. what's super cool about them however is how nice they ride year round as go-anywhere-do-anything adventure bikes. you may even give up your hardtail mountainbike with one of these in your stable as even though they fit the widest fatbike tires available, Otso strives to make all their fatbikes with the least amount of Q factor possible so your feet don't feel like they are a fatbike width apart rather a mountainbike width apart - something which makes a huge different for folks who suffer from sore hips after riding traditional fat bikes. the fact Otso offers their fatty's in four different frame materials to suit all adventure types is truly icing on the cake.

Voyteks in the wild a customer sent this picture showing off his stable of Voyteks enjoying all New England has to offer

a side view of a sweet Voytek 2 from fast dirt trail riding, to loaded bikepacking adventure touring to riding in the whitest of the white stuff, the new v2 Voytek was 7 years in the making and was totally worth the wait

a cockpit view of that same sweet Voytek 2 a pic showing off Wolf Tooth's adjustable / tune-able headtube angle thingy

a side view of that same ultra sweet Voytek 2 tons of clearance for the fattest of fat tires but without the super wide cranks that all other fatbikes require - ie Voyteks have the lowest Q factor in the biz