by Damian Stones
When I saw that there was a new Santa Cruz Stigmata I instantly upgraded and thought that the West Coast Wilderness trail would be a great inaugural ride for my newly configured gravel bike where I could set-up with a set of 650b wheels with the frame having more clearance to run bigger 2.0 tyres.
The frame has had some geometry upgrades with a slacker head angle, more room for gear, and much more compliant. What does all this mean? For me, this bike means more adventures, the ability to join the dots between sections of single track and gravel roads, and when you hit the single track this bike is a rally machine.
My wife Catharine came along for this adventure on the Ibis Hakka MX gravel bike set up with pretty impressive 29er Ibis 700c D30 wheels and some fast rolling gravel tyres. Considering our days were pretty long, Catharine was stoked to have a light, fast moving bike to rip along the West Coast trails. It was a fantastic couple of days on the Coast.