Film:
Scratches

Everyone starts cycling for a reason. For some its for the pure pleasure of feeling the wind passing through their hair, or the adrenaline buzz of hitting trails. For others it’s a mean of therapy and escapism, a place to find peace and discovery.

'Scratches’ is a film by Ryan Le Garrec and Manu Cattrysse. What started as a film documenting the Silk Road Mountain Race, a 1200mile high altitude bike packing race around the Mountains of Kyrgyzstan, soon turned into something much deeper and personal for Manu. After a series of accidents left him injured and unable to cycle Manu had time to reflect on his journey with bikepacking, why he started and what it has now become for him.

Watch the film below to discover what bikepacking means to Manu.

Manu’s bike of choice for off road bike packing adventures is his Titanium Chiru Divide. Having already finished in second place at the 2022 Tour Divide and the 2023 Highland trail 550 on the bike, Manu was more than confident in its abilities for the Silk Road Mountain race. He opted to run a SRAM Mechanical group set rather than have the hassle of recharging batteries for an electronic group set and used his custom TAILFIN R&D division bikepacking bags to carry his gear.

Manu has been testing a set of HUNT Proven Beyond Dynamo wheels throughout 2023 and fitted them with the popular Vittoria Mezcal tyres for Silk Road. Keep your eyes peeled for the official launch of the Proven Beyond Dynamo wheels in the next few months. A RockShox SID ultimate suspension fork and Ergon grips kept Manu comfortable and a Klite Dynamo charging and lighting system keep him on the right route and riding through the night.

Mountain range, horse riders, sunset, Manu's bike

Full spec:

Frame- Chiru Divide

Fork- Rock Shox SID Ultimate 120mm

Groupset- SRAM XX/X01 Mechanical 32t chainring, 10-52 cassette

Brakes- Shimano SLX 4 piston

Wheels- HUNT Proven Beyond Dynamo Prototype

Tyres- Vittoria Mezcal 2.35 with cushcore insert in rear

Grips- Ergon GS1

Lighting- Klite Dynamo

GPS- Garmin Edge 1040

Bars- PRO Carbon

Aerobars- Profile T2

Stem PRO

Saddle- Fiziik Vento Argo 00

Seatpost- CEC carbon

Packs- Tailfin R&D Division custom bags

View of a lake
January 08, 2024 — Jacob Rubio