Riding the Oregon Outback on the Ren Cycles Ivan
Photos and words by Gabe Tiller

Earlier this summer I set out for my fourth journey on the Oregon Outback. Each time I had ridden a different steed ranging from touring bike to plus bike and this round was no exception: I had the chance to borrow REN’s titanium cyclocross race machine: the Ivan. It’s an adaptable beast, perfect for those masochists who like to race singlespeed as well as Cat A/B. Luckily I was doing neither, and instead going on a 360 mile jaunt through Oregon’s famous Outback.

It’s a powerful bike and begs to go fast. I’m used to a playful bike and come from a MTB background but the Ivan isn’t having any of that. It is stable, confident, comfortable in the drops and wanted me to pedal—faster. And so I did, leapfrogging from shade splotch to shade splotch, through thousands of fresh cow pies, past the Sycan Marsh, through the Red Sauce, down the Trout Creek descent, over Horse Heaven’s pastel double track, and through the undulating grasslands of Wasco County.

The Ivan bore me—no, egged me—forward through it all. Its no-nonsense, aggressive geometry transferred power efficiently, and the Ti frame carried me comfortably all the way from California to the banks of the Columbia River.

Bike reviews like this are the best! But if you’d like more specs, pricing, build options and other tech jargon, hit up the fine folks at Ren!

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