The Nxrth Goes South: Bike Check for Gravel Burn, South Africa

Josh from The Nxrth is heading to South Africa for Gravel Burn, a 7-day gravel stage race through the vast, rugged terrain of the Great Karoo and sharing the story through a series called "The Nxrth Goes South". For the trip, Compass Bike Lab built a fully custom Specialized Diverge 4, stripped to the frameset and rebuilt from the ground up into a race-tuned, adventure-ready machine built to handle whatever the desert throws at it. Here's a look at the bike details...

Words by Josh from The Nxrth

In a few days, I’ll be heading from Wisconsin to the Great Karoo in South Africa for the first edition of Gravel Burn, a 7-day gravel stage race across remote desert and mountain terrain. This story is part of "The Nxrth Goes South", my story of chasing a new adventure on the other side of the world to celebrate turning 40 this year.

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For the ride, Compass Bike Lab built something special: a fully custom Specialized Diverge 4 that’s been stripped to the frameset and rebuilt from the ground up. What began as a Diverge 4 Sport was reimagined into a light weight, race-tuned, adventure-ready machine.

It runs a full SRAM RED XPLR AXS drivetrain, a Roval Rapide cockpit, and an Alpinist seatpost to keep things light and responsive. The Light Bicycle wheelset paired with Vittoria inserts and Continental Race King 2.2s delivers a mix of speed, grip, and week-long rugged comfort for unknown terrain.

Why I'm Riding Gravel Burn in South Africa

This year I'm turning 40 and wanted to celebrate with an epic bike adventure somewhere in the world that I've never been. Gravel Burn is a brand new event put on by the founder of the world's biggest mountain bike race, Cape Epic, so I wanted to be a part of the first edition of this gravel race. I've been training all year and looking forward to riding through mountains, desert, and a country and continent I've never seen. Let's go!

I'll be sharing photos and updates from the trip as it unfolds next week! Follow along to see where I'm going and catch photos and stories from the week of racing and exploring South African gravel.