{"id":534428,"date":"2026-04-16T16:59:18","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T16:59:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/534428\/"},"modified":"2026-04-16T16:59:18","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T16:59:18","slug":"xtracycle-omnitierra-pre-order-bikepacking-com","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/534428\/","title":{"rendered":"Xtracycle OmniTierra Pre-Order – BIKEPACKING.com"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Miles<\/a><\/p>\n

By Miles Arbour<\/a><\/p>\n

Associate Editor & Events Manager<\/p>\n

2,426 Posts<\/a><\/p>\n

Teased last year, the Xtracycle OmniTierra is a titanium mid-tail cargo bike designed in collaboration with John Freeman and his border collie, Mira. Pre-orders open today, and we met up with the dogpacking duo ahead of this year\u2019s Sea Otter Classic to hear more about their travels and their purpose-built setup. See it here\u2026<\/p>\n

\t\"Wheels<\/a><\/p>\n

Over the years, we\u2019ve shared many stories from the internet-famous dogpacking duo, John and Mira, including an in-depth guide to bikepacking with your canine friend, and we\u2019ve seen a few variations of John\u2019s dogpacking setups in that time. From mid-tail fat bikes to trailers, bikepacking with a dog requires a unique set of considerations, and it\u2019s hard to imagine anyone more suited to help design the perfect dogpacking bike. In 2023, John even had a custom Pinion dogpacking bike<\/a> made, inspired by the Salsa Cycles Blackborow<\/a>, and rode it on the Tour Divide. <\/p>\n

At last year\u2019s Tour Divide<\/a>, John rode a pre-production version of the newly released Xtracycle OmniTierra, a titanium mid-tail cargo bike with a custom rear rack, fat bike hub spacing, internal dropper post routing, and plenty of mounting points. We shared a teaser before his ride, and we were excited to hear that Xtracycle was moving forward with a production run and that a crew from Priority Bikes and Xtracycle, including John and Mira, would be riding up to the Sea Otter Classic. We couldn\u2019t resist a first look ahead of the show, and Neil and I met up with John to learn more about his multi-year, around-the-world dogpacking trip, the development on the OmniTierra, and when they\u2019ll be available.<\/p>\n

\"John<\/a><\/p>\n

\"John<\/a>
\n\"John<\/a><\/p>\n

John met Mira as a pup at a ranch in central Alberta, Canada, and they found themselves traveling in Spain shortly after. That\u2019s when this massive multi-year trip kicked off, and since before COVID, they\u2019ve been slowly taking on bikepacking trips in North America, sometimes stopping to reset, recharge, and for John to work. They\u2019ve ridden the Tour Divide and through Central America as far south as Lima, Peru. In June, they plan to return to Peru to continue their ride. <\/p>\n

From Peru, John and Mira will ride the Peru Great Divide into Bolivia, then criss-cross the Andes through Chile and Argentina. At some point, they\u2019ll likely return to Canada and will eventually make it to Europe to ride the European Divide into Africa. Traveling with Mira poses some challenges, with wildlife and strict quarantine requirements in some places, but John just sees it all as part of the experience. <\/p>\n

\"John<\/a><\/p>\n

John has been bikepacking with a dog for over a decade now, and before Mira, he had a dog named Melan, short for Melancholy. Back when he first started, there weren\u2019t many people riding off-road with their dog. He tried a Bob trailer behind his bike, which worked pretty well. He moved on to a Salsa Mukluk with a trailer, but it bounced all over the place and didn\u2019t track that well. Plus, simple things like getting into an elevator were a serious challenge, so it wasn\u2019t a great logistical option. <\/p>\n

After Salsa released the Blackborow, John found dogpacking bliss with its big tires, mid-tail stability, and oversized rear rack. For the first time, John could ride with Mira, keep the bike well-balanced, and also ride where he wanted, which was mostly off-road. The new Xtracycle OmniTierra is essentially the amalgamation of a decade of experimenting and testing.<\/p>\n

\"John<\/a>
\n\"John<\/a><\/p>\n

The OmniTierra Story<\/p>\n

In 2020, John met Ryan Van Duzer in San Ignacio in Baja, Mexico. They became friends and rode some of the Baja Divide together, later meeting to peal the San Jose del Pacifico route in Oaxaca<\/a>. Later, Ryan started working with Priority Bikes, releasing several collaborative bike models, the most recent being the belt-driven Bruzer touring bike. Priority is Xtracycle\u2019s sister company, and they heard about John and Mira through Ryan and decided it was time for John to have the dogpacking bike of his dreams. <\/p>\n

With Salsa no longer offering the Blackborow, John and Xtracycle worked on a titanium mid-trail suitable for hauling big payloads over varied terrain. Some design elements that came up included a belt-driven Pinion transmission, a mountain bike feel, and the ability to carry heavy and precious cargo, like Mira. They landed on a durable but lightweight titanium frame, a massive aluminum rear rack with a 100-pound load limit, and a FOX 34 SL fork up front. It has been a learning experience for John. \u201cIt was a great process for me to learn a lot about, and to continue to learn about how geometry affects the ride, you know, wheelbase and head tube angles and reach, and how they interact.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"John<\/a><\/p>\n

One unique feature of the OmniTierra is its 197mm-wide rear hub, which allows it to be set up as a fat bike. Pinion<\/a> has different spiders to move the belt outward to accommodate wider tires, and riders could run a fat bike fork up front for a true, go-anywhere cargo hauler. There are lift handles integrated into the rear rack, the open space between the seat tube and rear tire is designed to accommodate a custom bag, and it has loads of mounting points for different kinds of setups. <\/p>\n

John loves how it can be set up in so many ways. He has done trips using all of his custom-fitting bags, carrying tons of gear, and has also ridden lightly loaded with a more minimal setup. The long wheelbase offers plenty of traction and stability, whether it\u2019s loaded with gear or not. John described the rear end as feeling \u201clocked in\u201d on climbs, and the front end stable, but surprisingly maneuverable. Even weighted down, John doesn\u2019t find the frame flexing or twisting when standing up and hammering on the pedals. <\/p>\n

\"John<\/a>
\n\"John<\/a><\/p>\n

\"John<\/a><\/p>\n

Xtracycle OmniTierra Details<\/p>\n

As Xtracycle puts it, the OmniTierra is designed for \u201cultra-long-distance bikepacking with the capability to travel the world.\u201d It features sliding rear dropouts, clearance for 2.4\u2033 to 4.0\u2033 tires, and a build kit designed for heavy hauling. The stock build includes a chunky WTB Vigilante 29 x 2.5\u2033 front tire, Trail Boss 29 x 2.4\u2033 rear tire, four-piston TRP Trail EVO brakes with 203\/180mm rotors, and a OneUp dropper post. There\u2019s a 120mm travel FOX 34 SL Performance fork up front, and Xtracycle landed on a Pinion Smart.Shift transmission with its electronic shifting, Gates belt drive, and a massive 600% gear range. <\/p>\n

Although John simply zip-ties Mira\u2019s basket to the rack, the rear rack can also accommodate quick-release accessories, like child carriers, and more. We\u2019re excited to see what kind of attachments and add-ons Xtracycle comes up with down the road. <\/p>\n

\"John<\/a>
\n\"John<\/a><\/p>\n

\"John<\/a>
\nXtracycle OmniTierra Geometry<\/p>\n

Size
\nMD
\nLG<\/p>\n

Effective Top Tube
\n613
\n647<\/p>\n

Standover
\n729
\n757<\/p>\n

Reach
\n434
\n460<\/p>\n

Stack
\n623
\n643<\/p>\n

Head Tube Angle
\n69\u00b0
\n69\u00b0<\/p>\n

Head Tube Length
\n110
\n130<\/p>\n

Seat Tube Angle
\n74\u00b0
\n74\u00b0<\/p>\n

Seat Tube Length
\n443
\n457<\/p>\n

BB Drop
\n70
\n70<\/p>\n

Wheelbase
\n1320
\n1347<\/p>\n

\"John<\/a>
\n\"John<\/a><\/p>\n

The OmniTierra is available for pre-order today, and Xtracycle is offering a $1,000 discount for orders placed before May 31st, 2026. The discounted price is $5,699 USD for the complete build, and after May 31st, the price will be $6,699. They are expected to ship to customers this fall. <\/p>\n

Visit Xtracycle.com<\/a> to learn more. And stay tuned for updates from the 2026 Sea Otter Classic! We have a whole lot more coming your way soon.<\/p>\n

2026 Sea Otter coverage is supported by<\/p>\n

<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

Further Reading<\/p>\n

Make sure to dig into these related articles for more info…<\/p>\n

Please keep the conversation civil, constructive, and inclusive, or your comment will be removed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Miles Arbour Associate Editor & Events Manager 2,426 Posts Teased last year, the Xtracycle OmniTierra is a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":534429,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[173302,173298,173299,173303,50635,173300,50634,4985,101,173305,173301,387,56,54,55,173304],"class_list":{"0":"post-534428","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-adventure-cycling","9":"tag-bicycle-touring","10":"tag-bike-touring","11":"tag-bike-tours","12":"tag-bike-packing","13":"tag-bikepacking","14":"tag-cycle-touring","15":"tag-cycling","16":"tag-sports","17":"tag-stealth-camping","18":"tag-touring-bikes","19":"tag-travel","20":"tag-uk","21":"tag-united-kingdom","22":"tag-unitedkingdom","23":"tag-world-travel"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/534428","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=534428"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/534428\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/534429"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=534428"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=534428"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=534428"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}