BTCHN' Bikes is a small framebuilding operation based in Chico, CA. Specializing in everything from custom titanium handlebars and seatposts to wild, performance-oriented custom bike builds, the team consistently has something special to showcase. They created quite an interesting rig for this year's Unbound XL. So interesting, in fact, that we're not even allowed to see all of it...
Tyler Reiswig, founder and lead fabricator of BTCHN', has grown the business over the past few years from a one-man operation to a small team. Nathan Hobbs – who now lives in California but grew up in Newton, Nebraska – has become an integral staff member as Production Manager, overseeing a formalized build process for all components made by the brand.
The son of John Hobbs, who was an early pioneer of the Kansas gravel racing scene and recent inductee into the Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame, Nathan is riding this year to honor his father's accomplishments.
Nathan needed a new gravel bike to take on this year's 350-mile self-supported Unbound XL race after spending the past few seasons aboard an older 650b BTCHN'. In order to fit Hobbs' desired 29 x 2.4" tires with short 430 mm chainstays and 42T chainring, Reiswig claims to have "thrown everything I've learned into the frame," including what looks to be some skillful tube bending.
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