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Gravel Gear

Giant gravel gear gallery from The Mid South

On race day in Stillwater, bikes, bodies, and gear were plastered with Oklahoma mud. But the day before, VeloNews took a look at what individual racers and brands brought to the 103-mile gravel race.

March 15, 2020 Ben Delaney

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Mid — Speedvagen’s Richard Pool (check him out on Instagram @BicycleCrumbs) illustrated these pins. Photo: Ben Delaney | VeloNews

Mid — Speedvagen brought a variety of rigs to Stillwater. Photo: Ben Delaney | VeloNews

Mid — Load bearing ranged from two bottles and a saddle bag to… this. Photo: Ben Delaney | VeloNews

Mid — Sometimes, a handlebar just isn’t enough and you gotta double the real estate. Photo: Ben Delaney | VeloNews

Mid — The MId South founder, District Bicycles co-owner, and nuclear-powered ball of energy, Bobby Wintle. Photo: Ben Delaney | VeloNews

Mid — On race day, many riders had the soil of The Mud South in their mouths. The evening before, however, there was a tastier option. Photo: Ben Delaney | VeloNews

Mid — Austin shop Cycleast owner Russell Pickavance samples the goods. Photo: Ben Delaney | VeloNews

Mid — Ride-enhancing drug use can mean something different at gravel races. Photo: Ben Delaney | VeloNews

Mid — Not sure. Will need to consult the rule book. Photo: Ben Delaney | VeloNews

Mid — Your results may vary. Photo: Ben Delaney | VeloNews

Mid — Tires were everywhere from 30mm to fat-bike widths. This is somewhere in between. Photo: Ben Delaney | VeloNews

Mid — Hayden Wylie was working support this year, but of course brought his Moots Routt 45 to Stillwater. Photo: Ben Delaney | VeloNews

Mid — Hayden Wylie don’t need no top-tube stickers. Photo: Ben Delaney | VeloNews

Mid — Wylie’s mullet build. Photo: Ben Delaney | VeloNews

Mid — A posse of Trek employees made the long drive down from Wisconsin. Photo: Ben Delaney | VeloNews

Mid — Salsa released its new Stormchaser singlespeed at The Mid South. Photo: Ben Delaney | VeloNews

Mid — You know, the bags and cages really tie the room, er, bike together. Photo: Ben Delaney | VeloNews

Mid — The Portland Design Works Sparrow cage. Photo: Ben Delaney | VeloNews

Mid — 45s were on the fat side for the mud. Photo: Ben Delaney | VeloNews

Mid — It’s always easy to spot the rig of Sammi Runnels, who finished fifth. Photo: Ben Delaney | VeloNews

Mid — Sammi’s SDG saddle. Photo: Ben Delaney | VeloNews

Mid — Squid bikes doesn’t do subtle. Photo: Ben Delaney | VeloNews

Mid — Fat bikes weren’t common at The Mid South, but a few were around. Photo: Ben Delaney | VeloNews

Mid — Wait, this tire was just launched. Who is riding it already? Photo: Ben Delaney | VeloNews

Mid — That new tire would belong to Zipp brand manager Declan Doyle. Photo: Ben Delaney | VeloNews

Mid — Josh Croom’s thumb grips. Photo: Ben Delaney | VeloNews

Mid — Croom is a two-time kilo national champ. This is his gravel rig. Photo: Ben Delaney | VeloNews

Mid — Ashton Lambie is down with District. Photo: Ben Delaney | VeloNews

Mid — Locals led a shakedown ride on Friday with SRAM. Photo: Ben Delaney | VeloNews

Mid — Roadrunner handmakes bags in Los Angeles. Photo: Ben Delaney | VeloNews

Mid — Neutral support looks different at The Mid South. Photo: Ben Delaney | VeloNews

Mid — The local Jeep club has been rescuing riders for years at the race. Photo: Ben Delaney | VeloNews

Mid — Red Bull wasn’t doing neutral support, but did provide neutral entertainment. Photo: Ben Delaney | VeloNews

Mid — Cedaero MountainWerks designs and builds bags in Minnesota. Photo: Ben Delaney | VeloNews

Mid — What would you put in a frame bag like this? Photo: Ben Delaney | VeloNews

Mid — Scissortail Cycles is an Oklahoma framebuilder. Photo: Ben Delaney | VeloNews

Mid — Moots had two people racing The Mid South, on two very different bikes. Photo: Ben Delaney | VeloNews

Mid — Definitely on the fatter side of things. Photo: Ben Delaney | VeloNews

Mid — The Blackburn fender was a good idea, but no one stayed clean or dry on race day. Photo: Ben Delaney | VeloNews

Mid — Narrow is aero, but wide is a nice ride. Photo: Ben Delaney | VeloNews

Mid — Another Moots race bike. Photo: Ben Delaney | VeloNews

Mid — The Baxter falls into the monstercross category – which is pretty much what The Mid South was on Saturday, a monster, multi-hour cyclocross race. Photo: Ben Delaney | VeloNews

Mid — The tires on the Baxter. Photo: Ben Delaney | VeloNews

Mid — Knuckles and elbow bumps were the common greeting at The Mid South. Photo: Ben Delaney | VeloNews

Ocoee — Litespeed makes carbon bikes under the Ocoee title.

Mid — A new Tennessee event is launching in May. Photo: Ben Delaney | VeloNews

Mid — Whisky Parts’ new No.9 MCX “monster cross” fork can fit 50mm tire with plenty of clearance. Photo: Ben Delaney | VeloNews

Mid — The Whisky No. 9 can take huge tires with room to spare. Photo: Ben Delaney | VeloNews

Mid — A golden eagle, er, Warbird. Photo: Ben Delaney | VeloNews

Mid — Speedvagen’s Patrick Gillham converted his singlspeed ’cross bike into a geared gravel grinder. Photo: Ben Delaney | VeloNews

Mid — Speedvagen’s elegant stem. Photo: Ben Delaney | VeloNews

Mid — With SRAM eTap, Speedvagen can add a rear derailleur to a singlespeed bike pretty easily. Photo: Ben Delaney | VeloNews

Mid — Wolf Tooth showed off its array of round and oval rings. Photo: Ben Delaney | VeloNews

Mid — Rapha was in on the party in Stillwater. Photo: Ben Delaney | VeloNews

Mid — Like Salsa, Surly, Whisky Parts, and Teravail, All-City is a brand owner by bike-shop parts distributor Quality Bicycle Products. Photo: Ben Delaney | VeloNews

Mid — When one is doing 100+ miles of muddy gravel, one needs… whisky and a singlespeed? Photo: Ben Delaney | VeloNews

Salsa Stormchaser GRX 810 1x Sus launches at The Mid South

The Grind: The Mid South on a fixed gear? Meet Corey Hilliard and check out his bike.

Gear and grit gallery at The Mid South