Featured Bike: Open Cycle U.P. aka “Fozzie Bear” – Owned by Katie Bolton

Meet “Fozzie Bear”. “Fozzie” began life as a humble Open Cycle U.P. do-it-all frame and fork, until bike shop proprietor and general all-around bad-arse, Katie Bolton, decided to build “Fozzie” to her exacting needs.

I came upon Katie and “Fozzie” at a bike packing / slack packing / glamping trip known as Rocks, Reggae and Roads. You should probably check out the video link I linked, for an idea of how much fun was had! For more of Katie, check out this interview.

According to Open Cycle, “The 3 members of the U.P. (Unbeaten Path) family all combine a road riding position with clearance for mountain bike tires. Get out of town on asphalt, hit the gravel roads or switch to singletrack. Your position gets you there fast; the big tires make you unstoppable.” Sounds like fun, right?!

Katie’s ride is the “The Classic U.P.” with 3T Luteus II fork and post-mount disc brakes. When Open first released these bikes to the public, the Classic U.P. was the only version, and available in two colors only. “Fozzie Bear” color and Orange.

Starting at the front end, Katie has chosen Shimano’s well-proven Ultegra 11-speed mechanical shifting, but in this case with hydraulic brake power. Shimano does a nice job of keeping their hydro systems looking reasonably minimalist, especially on the top-tier Dura-Ace group.

FSA SL-K stem, with a Barfly computer mount fitted backward, so as to center Katie’s computer of choice over the stem.

The FSA theme continues with the company’s Energy handlebars.

A bit of extra steerer tube is useful… for positions changes or resale value.

The view from above illustrates a pretty clean cockpit setup.

Food and hydration are important, and X-Lab’s Stealth Rocket 200 bag totes around Katie’s goodies.

On the subject of hydration, Katie believes more is better, or at least have the option to have more. The Open U.P. features three bottle cage mounting points.

And, these bottles from Katie’s bike shop say it all! If you want your own, visit the website or give the shop a call!

What sets this Open Cycle U.P. apart from many other bikes is its unique drivetrain. Pictured above is the Wolf Tooth Components Tanpan. Known as “The Negotiator”, the Tanpan “brings the range and security of Shimano mountain rear derailleurs to Shimano-equipped drop-bar bicycles.” “Tanpan amplifies road shifter cable pull to allow for seamless communication with mountain derailleurs”.

Pictured above is a Shimano XT 11-speed mountain bike rear derailleur, paired with a SRAM XG-1195 10-42 cassette.

A single chainring / 1x Quarq Else RS power-enabled carbon crankset put’s Katie’s power to the ground, along with a 42-tooth Wolf Tooth Components DropStop 1x specific chainring.

Humungous cassette aside, Open does a stellar job of keeping the U.P. looking neat with internalized cable routing.

Along with a svelte thru-axle interface / dropout.

The backside view of that gigundo cassette.

An overall view of Katie’s drivetrain, which on its lowest gear offers up a one to one ratio. Very handy for uber steep climbing!

Shimano’s XTR pedals are lightweight and reliable with excellent mud clearing capabilities.

If you haven’t figured it out yet, Katie’s Open U.P. rolls on 650b wheels.

Enve’s M50 wheelset is in reality an MTB wheelset, but it works perfectly fine on gravel roads, gnarly or not.

At the heart of every good wheelset is a pair of nice hubs, and DT Swiss 240’s fit the bill nicely.

Katie’s tyres of choice are Maxxis Crossmark in 27.5″ / 650b x 2.1″.

Due to a clever drop-down drive side chainstay, there is ample room for big tyres.

The all-carbon tapered steerer tube fork offers plenty of tyre clearance.

Above, a Shimano Icetech 160mm center-lock rotor and R785 hydraulic brake caliper, post-mount style.

The same, identical braking setup on the rear.

Katie’s seating arrangements are handled by the Specialized Power saddle.

A zero-setback FSA carbon seatpost with aluminium head keeps Katie’s saddle in place. Saddle bag by Fizik.

Katie’s Open Cycle U.P. aka “Fozzie Bear”:

• Frame: Open Cycle “Classic” U.P.
• Fork: 3T Luteus, tapered carbon 1 1/8″ to 1 1/2″ steerer tube.
• Headset: Cane Creek 40.
• Stem: FSA SL-K.
• Handlebar: FSA Energy.
• Bar Tape: Fizik in classy white!
• Brakes: Shimano R785 hydraulic.
• Brake Rotors: Shimano Icetech 160mm.
• Brake / Shift Levers: Shimano Ultegra ST-RS785 6800 11-speed.
• Front Derailleur: N/A.
• Rear Derailleur: Shimano XT 11-speed with clutch mechanism.
• Cassette: SRAM XG-1195 X-Dome 10-42.
• Chain: Shimano CN-HG701 11-speed.
• Crankset: Quarq Elsa RS Power Meter crank with Wolf Tooth Components 42-tooth DropStop chainring.
• Bottom Bracket: SRAM.
• Pedals: Shimano XTR.
• Wheelset: Enve M50 carbon 27.5″ / 650b rims with DT Swiss 240 center lock disc brake hubs.
• Tires: Maxxis Crossmark in 27.5″ / 650b x 2.1″.
• Saddle: Specialized Power.
• Seatpost: FSA SL-K carbon with zero setback.
• Bottle Cages: Unknown.

Open Cycle

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