In this special episode, we chat with Ultra-Distance specialist Kevin Benky Benkenstein on his bike and gear selections for a recent race across the Moroccan Atlas Mountain Range. That big ride is the Atlas Mountain Race (AMR), a beast of a ride that covers some 1,300 km with 23,000 m of elevation. It covers every surface imaginable, and both rider and bike are tested thoroughly in the little over four days that it took him to complete (good enough for a tied third-place finish in the men’s).

Designed to accompany an article that Kevin wrote for Escape Collective, this chat covers why a full-suspension frame ended up being the pick, why such trail-focussed tyres were selected, drivetrain choices, and plenty of geeky insight.

Enjoy! Oh, and don’t forget to check out escapecollective.com for the full write-up (or at least to see some photos).