The time is approaching. Red Bull Rampage is this weekend. Technically, it has already started with riders and their dig crews putting in long hours transforming the Virgin landscape into (barely) rideable terrain. Rampage gives us some of the gnarliest lines in the sport, but it also gives us a chance to check out the custom bikes whipped up just for this event.
Ari Bikes welcomed Kyle and Rachel Strait to the family earlier this year, meaning this is the first Rampage that Kyle will ride on an Ari. It’s also the first time that both Kyle and Rachel are riding for the same brand.
For Rampage 2024, Kyle will be riding a slightly custom version of the Ari Superior Peak which was just launched in September. Kyle’s bike gets a special paint job that is “And Ode to the Southwest,” given that the region has been instrumental in shaping Kyle’s career from trusting his skills, to digging trails, and of course Red Bull Rampage. The finish also includes pearl snap-inspired accents with “engine-turned” silver leaf, and hand-painted pin-striping.
“This place has shaped so much of my career. As a young 14-year-old coming out here for the first time, I couldn’t believe the possibilities,” says Strait. “It’s been 23 years, and that freedom still feels so real. The custom paint job on this bike is my way of bringing a piece of that with me into this year’s Rampage.”
Kyle remains the only person to have competed in every Red Bull Rampage since it started in 2001 when he was 14 years old. That’s even more impressive when you consider his crash in practice for the 2022 event which left him with a broken back.
Strait’s Superior Peak started as a stock bike, but gets 27.5″ wheels front and rear (with a 29″ fork), plus a custom rear end. Ari added a custom seat stay to shorten the rear end which includes a seat stay bridge to stiffen the frame. Strait is running the GA Link chips in the position for short chainstays and the high BB setting with the progressive shock mount.
Build Spec Highlights
- Frame: Custom Painted Ari Superior Peak
- Suspension: Custom Painted RockShox Boxxer Ultimate 200mm, Vivid Ultimate
- Wheels: Stan’s Flow with Custom Painted Onyx hubs
- Brakes: SRAM Maven Ultimate
- Drivetrain: SRAM X0 DH
- Cockpit: Deity
Watch Kyle send it on his custom Ari during the men’s final on Oct. 12th, at high noon EST.
