Mike’s Seven Evergreen S Tourer

This week’s bike of the week is Mike's Seven touring bike, a beautiful but also super practical machine that’s designed to be loaded up and ridden off into the wilderness without a backward glance. Miles away from civilization or bike shops, this bike is built for ultimate reliability. 

This is Mike's second bike from Signature and also his second Seven touring bike. His first had early generation Shimano Di2 electronic shifting and rim brakes. Seven is now offering UDH-equipped frames, so this updated Evergreen S model sports a SRAM AXS electronic 13-speed XPLR groupset and disc brakes, but Mike has opted to stay with cable actuated brakes. Thanks to SRAM’s impressive ecosystem, with backwards compatibility that’s second to none, we were able to pair second-generation Force AXS shifters to the new XPLR gravel group and Paul Klamper mechanical disc-brake calipers. 

Mike plans on travelling far and wide with this machine and wanted to be able to adjust his brakes without having to visit a bike shop – and the Klamper brakes from Californian specialists Paul Components are easily adjustable in the wild and perfect for deep wilderness bike touring where field serviceability with nothing but a good multitool – or in this case a simple barrel adjuster – is crucial to getting back to civilization alive.

The Seven Evergreen S is made of straight-gauge titanium tubes for the strongest and most durable option. In Seven’s words, it is “rugged and dependable”. For a beast of burden that will be loaded with gear, frame strength is critical. And of course being made from titanium it is weatherproof for long distance travel in rain, snow or sleet.

We opted for a BSA threaded bottom bracket shell in order to keep with standards that are reliable, trusted and true.

Tire clearance on this bike is up to 700x47, although we chose to first outfit the bike with 700x35 tires for a solid balance of speed and versatility.

The wheels are a custom-built set of Astral Wanderlust carbon rims laced to White Industries XMR hubs with Sapim CX-Ray spokes. The combination of stiff high-flange hubs to carbon rims makes a very efficient wheelset – and they’re beautifully framed by the classic-looking SKS Bluemels silver fenders that supply full coverage.

At the front is a Zipp XPLR handlebar that supplies a comfortable position in the hoods with shallow, easily usable drops, and a silver Thomson Elite stem to match the metal theme.

To top it off, the Thomson titanium seatpost is a perfect complement for the Ti frame and Mike has chosen the comfortable and versatile Specialized Power saddle.

We wish Mike many years of happy travels on this very special long-distance touring machine.