One Of A Kind - Jones Bikes 20th Anniversary

One of a kind love affair, 

Is the kind of love that you read about in a fairy tale.

Like the sun that shines on a rainy day,

It's a cloud of love.

One Of A Kind, Joseph B. Jefferson (1973).

Jeff Jones recently announced a 20th Anniversary celebration of Jones Bikes. Jones 20th Anniversary. That's quite an achievement for an eccentric tinkerer who fortunately focused his creative energy on bicycle frames and forks. That's also my cue to mark the occasion by linking my various blog posts over the years about the amazing Jones 29+ that I bought in the spring of 2018. To be fair, every blog post on bikepacking the Cloud Peak 500, Black Hills Bounty, and Great Divide Mountain Bike Route involves my Jones 29+. I love this bike.

Not from a catalogue. Jeff Jones sent me this image of my bike before shipping it in 2018.
That fork! That chain stay! That wheel base! Those angles! That upright position!
Even with those 3.25" knobby tires, that clearance, both front and rear!
What in the world?

In early 2015, I started researching mountain bikes for riding single track and rough roads, especially loaded for multi-day bikepacking. I sought to take my overnight rides on my Black Mountain Monster Cross to the next level of rough stuff and distance, maybe even something way out there like the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. Eventually, I stumbled across JonesBikes.com, where Jeff explained the inspiration, experimentation, and evolving designs of his frames and forks in a series of detailed articles and videos over some years. I loved his innovative thoughts, iterative process, and hands-on trials, but so many individual pieces seemed so far off conventional thought. How does all that come together?

With no Jones bike to borrow or demo and with virtually no used Jones bike market (that says something), I ultimately took a leap of faith and bought a new, custom built Jones 29+ LWB in the spring of 2018. Jeff spent over two hours on the phone with me going through, in great detail, the selection of every single  component for my build. Every. Single. Component. It was unforgettable. A Mountain Bike By Jeff Jones (decision thought process); Jones 29+ The Build (initial build); Jones 29+ What It Is (first month of riding). After 4 1/2 years of riding, I could not be more pleased.

New bike joy on M-Hill.
(photo by Chani Groseth)

For me, the Jones 29+ is a perfect bike for single track and rough back road riding, loaded or unloaded. It has flawlessly carried me over many miles and days, including my 2021 ride of the entire 2,500+ mile length of the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. The Jones 29+ performs with exceptional comfort, control, and capacity riding rough stuff all day, day after day after day, fully loaded for touring.

Here's a link to my posts of the Jones 29+ as I prepared for my 7 day ride of the Cloud Peak 500 route in the Big Horn Mountains of Wyoming in August 2020. Gearing Up For Cloud Peak. After Cloud Peak, I reviewed the Jones 29+ to prepare for riding the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route in the summer of 2021. Cloud Peak 500 - Jones 29+ Next Time. Then I analyzed its performance on the Great Divide for future rides, including a possible return. The Great Divide - Jones 29+ No Change. It's worked out great.

My Jones 29+ about 1,000 miles into the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route in 2021.

So, Happy 20th Anniversary to Jeff Jones and Jones Bikes! Thank you for your unique contributions to the bicycling community. I love my Jones 29+ and hope to still be riding it for your 40 year anniversary.

One Of A Kind, The Spinners (1973).

Cloud Peak 500 - Packing Up

Some folk built like this, some folk built like that
But the way I'm built, you shouldn't call me fat
Because I'm built for comfort, I aint built for speed.

Built For Comfort, Willie Dixon (1959).


Over the past two years, I have ridden a variety of roads, paths and trails on my Jones 29+ bike packed for one and two night trips. But it's time to step up for the Cloud Peak 500. Now I'm packing for an 8 day self-supported ride on unknown remote roads with higher elevations, unfamiliar weather patterns and uncertain re-supply opportunities. Oh, and 40,000 feet of elevation gain.

I need to get this right. Here's my plan for packing the bike for the Cloud Peak 500.

Ready to roll for 8 days in the Big Horns. Just add a rider.

Truss Fork Bags (fork):  In addition to being light and strong, the Jones truss fork provides a built-in structure to support a pair of bags. Recognizing this potential, Jeff Jones and Revelate Designs created these bags, each offering nearly the capacity of a seat post bag. I pack the left side bag with a sleeping bag and a rain jacket. I pack the right side bag with a down jacket, sleeping pad, pillow and a stuff sack of extra layers (liner gloves, head band, skull cap, buff, arm warmers, leg warmers).

Harness + Salty Roll (handle bar):  My small tent occupies less than half the volume of the Salty Roll. So I stuff it into the middle, leaving more than a quarter of the bag remaining on each side for all my clothes.

Egress Pocket (handle bar):  Strapped to the Harness and atop the Salty Roll, the Egress Pocket holds my camera, wipes, toilet paper, paper, pens, and sunglasses/glasses.

Adventure Cycling Map Case (handle bar):  This map case is sized for the Adventure Cycling maps (like the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route), is water-proof, sits atop the Loop Hole H-Bar bag, and doesn't move at all in use. Perfect.

Loop Hole H-Bar (handle bar):  This bag is not visible, because it's under the map case and tucked into the space between the lateral tubes of the Jones handle bar. It is bigger than you think, is a great use of space and is on the bike full time. It holds a pump, first aid kit, sunscreen, lip balm, aspirin, Tums, and insect repellant.

Mountain Feed Bag (handle bar):  Bear spray. Yes, this bag is big enough for a large water bottle, but instead holds a large canister of bear spray a few inches from my right hand. Quick draw.

Mag-Tank 2000 (top tube by the handlebar):  This handy bag holds 2,000 calories of on-the-fly food and gels.

Showing a little dust from the last couple of weeks of riding, the Jones 29+ is loaded for the Cloud Peak 500.

Jerry Can (top tube by the seat post):  This sneaky little bag holds an entire tool kit, including a patch kit, tire plugs, CO2 cartridges, extra sealant, chain lube, extra chain links, bolts and cleats, spare derailer hanger, mini-tool, and LeatherMan.

Terrapin (seat post): This modular setup comprises a harness that attaches to the bike and a 14 liter dry bag that easily removes from the harness. I pack this dry bag with food, so I can readily remove it for overnight storage away from my sleeping area. Think grizzly. As shown, this bag contains breakfast, lunch and dinner for 8 days without re-supply, as well as kitchen utensils.

Frame Bag (main triangle):  The frame bag is divided into top and bottom compartments. The right side of the top compartment holds a 100 ounce water bladder and easily holds more. The left side of the top compartment is a relatively thin sleeve that holds maps, wallet, car keys, phone and mud scraper. The bottom compartment holds spare tubes, water filter and rain pants.

Down Tube Cage:  Strapped to the Salsa Anything Cage on the down tube is my stove and fuel.

Rear Axle Cages:  Bottle cages near the rear axle hold two large water bottles. I use one for an electrolyte drink and one for extra water.

In addition to the bags and their contents, I mounted a Cateye head light and tail light, a Cateye cyclocomputer, and a Stem Captain compass. I also mounted some old, odd-shaped bar ends near the levers on the Jones handle bars for some really different hand positions. The crowning touch is the Slow Moving Vehicle sign strapped to the back.

That's where everything goes. At least at the start.

Built For Comfort, Willie Dixon (1959), 

performed by Howlin' Wolf (1963).