SERK is a cycling business in Beijing. We have a fab shop with a range of modern and vintage bikes. We organize some epic ride experiences all over China.
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Everest Base Camp pre dawn today. That wraps up another season in Tibet. Thanks to the weather gods for keeping us dry, warm and smiling. Thanks to our guests for entrusting Serk to guide you through this amazing part of the world. Thanks to all the staff for keeping up safe and sane! Photo - Andy Smith.
Great Ocean Road Gravel trip with . Fine tuning a little bit before we offer the trip to our international clients. Let us know if you’d like to join a trip in this stunning part of Australia.
4800m and still rising. Tibet 2019. 📸
Spending time off the bike in Tibet is one of the most rewarding parts of the experience on our adventures. While the adrenaline rush of low air resistance descending is addictive, there is nothing like sitting in a quiet corner of a temple and watching the Tibetans go about their incredibly devout and peaceful lives.
One of the highlights of our Everest trip is rolling past the Karola Glacier at 5000m altitude. After a leg sapping climb for the previous 90 minutes it’s a relief to know you’ve finally made it to the top of the pass.
After a COVID hiatus we are finally back in Kyrgyzstan with an 11 day adventure along the Northern Silk Road along the Kyrgyzstan/ China border. 10 riders from 5 countries are off on this adventure today. There has been quite a bit rain recently so fingers crossed for the multiple river crossings. Follow our stories for more updates from riders on route. 📸
Camp life. Kyrgyzstan 2018.
Itching for adventure after a couple of years on your home roads? Join us in July for a stunning gravel trip in Kyrgyzstan.
‘Roads were made for journeys not destinations’. Confucius
Featuring clearance for 700C x 45 / 650B x 55 tyres, full internal cable routing, T47 bottom bracket and dropper post compatibility the bike is ready for adventure. We've also included a new flip chip fork so you can alter your fork rack between 47mm and 52mm giving you the ability to tweak the handling.
The vehicle of choice on our recent trip to Gansu was the ‘Dissident’ A21. This is the 3rd edition of our gravel bike designed specifically for the type of frontier cycling you’ll encounter on our gravel trips.
By this time next year this remote dirt road in Gansu will be paved. The area is one of China's last frontiers where there are no tourists, no shops, no villages and even no phone reception (a rarity for China even in the most remote locations). The road is known as Joseph Rock road and is named after the Austrian - American botanist and explorer who was the first westerner to explore and document the region. From wikipedia - " Beginning in Dec. 1924, Rock set off on his most ambitious expedition lasting over three years. The primary purpose was to collect plant and bird specimens in Gansu province. For much of this time he based himself in Choni (Jonê County), Gansu as the guest of the prince or chieftain (tusi) of this small Tibetan kingdom, and his explorations included visits to the great Kumbum, Labrang and Rakya Tibetan monasteries. The entire region was wracked by warlordism and ferocious Tibetan-Muslim conflicts. "
Our trip was nowhere near as adventurous and dangerous as traversing this road would have been in the 1920's but we certainly got a taste of what Rock and his crew would have experienced. Difficult weather - extreme temp differences from bottom to top, rain, freezing wind, slippery roads and a lack of shelter made the journey difficult but incredibly rewarding.
The new pavement will open this road up to regular tourists next year. It will no doubt be popular with tourists and road cyclists thanks to the spectacular scenery and the interesting history.
For us it was exhilarating to explore it on gravel bikes while it was still raw and relatively unchartered.
We are off to explore the dirt roads of Gannan Gansu in August. Remote villages, high mountain passes up to 4000m and kilometers of frontier roads. Www.serk.cc/gansu
Riding into Basecamp is a slow and mostly silent affair. The landscape is barren and uninhabited apart from the occasional bird 🦅 or Tibetan Antelope. As the road rises towards 5200m and less oxygen is available you struggle to move through the landscape, like a tiny ant inching your way across a huge sandpit. Your throat is dry from wind and altitude. Around each corner a glorious new Himalayan vista is revealed but you secretly hope that Everest will be the next so you can finally celebrate with a can of Lhasa beer. The last corner arrives and there she is in all glory.
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From this point at the top of the Gawa pass you descend 60 something switchbacks and 1000m down into the heart of the Everest Base Camp park. From there a slow slog up to Base Camp. The road is a simply breathtaking and features on dangerousroads.org. 💁♂️
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Panoromic view of the Himalaya at the top of the Gawa Pass inside Everest Base Camp Park. Behind the clouds are 3 peaks over 8000m. 🔍
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Click link in the bio for more info on our upcoming cycling adventure to Everest.
We have been fortunate to have talented photographers come along and document recent trips to Everest. came along for Road Tripping series in 2017. Here are some of his images that capture the uniqueness of the journey. Riding on the highest tarmac roads in the world and experiencing the ancient cultures of Tibet from a bike seat is both an enlightening and inspiring experience.
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Click the link in the bio to read the full story of that trip on cyclingtips.com
Here are some of our favourite drone shots over our years travelling through the Tibetan landscapes. Scenery that never grows old and continuously inspires. How many shots can you spot Everest in?
Click the link in the bio for trip info - next departure late September.
The Queen stage is over one of our new favourite climbs in China - the unpredictable Bilou Snow Mountain. The road was opened recently but has almost been destroyed by constant landslides, rain and bad weather. We climb up the damaged side through landslides, water, mud and temperamental weather. The descent on the other side is supreme. Sound like a great day out on the bike?
Click the link in our bio for more info. Still a few spots left on our upcoming late May trip.
We travel to some very remote regions including right up to the border with Tibet. There are now some top notch accomodation options in this region and we've chosen the best boutique hotels, restaurants and a few small home cooking locations to ensure the time off the bike is also a big highlight.
Next trip leaves on May 22nd. Still a few spots left! Check the link the bio for more info.
Next trip up is the majestic Three Rivers adventure in Yunnan. May 22nd - 30th. The area is part of the formidable Hengduan mountain range at the eastern end of the Himalaya and is UNESCO World Heritage listed. Home to three major rivers that drain the eastern Tibetan Plateau (the Yangtze, Mekong and Salween) the area combines mountains with peaks over 6000m and deep valleys providing dramatic landscapes. Thousands of rare plants and animals live alongside precious ethnic minority groups provided a incredibly rich cultural and natural experience.
Places still available - click the link in our Bio for more info.
We always throw a little bit of unexpected challenge into each of our adventures. For years we had heard about this quaint little Tibetan town 65km deep into the mountains around Danba. We finally had the chance to explore it yesterday as the road has finally been extended. The last 15km was gravel and it was like traveling back in time to a Tibet we experienced almost a decade ago. Horses, yaks and monkeys roaming freely and kids with big smiles. We stopped at a local house for a hastily cooked lunch and a round of posing with the owner. Oh and some double decker Lycra dance moves on top of the van 😜
We are now high up on the Tibetan Plateau above 3500m. The trees are gone and yaks roam free on the grasslands. A few years back we came across this backroad detour through a small village with glistening monasteries and monks. Each year we visit the local Tibetan library along the road and donate stationary for to the locals.
Into the Himalaya. First trip of the year is through the Garze region of Sichuan. A traditionally Tibetan region with 1000’s of km of spectacular cycling.
Peeking duck. Serk A21 Ekar build. Serk 650dx 24 N3W wheels / Shimano Pro Discover / Vittoria Mezcal / Supacaz
Check out some imagery of our new A21 “The Dissident” gravel bike on our titanium specific feed
Sponsoring bikes as a small brand is a not as easy undertaking. The business case just does not add up unless you are sponsoring a world renowned team or huge influencer (which we can’t afford anyway). However when the opportunity came up to support we jumped in head first. The story is so inspiring, so real and so aligned with our brand values (pushing frontiers, community building, durable bikes) we threw the business case out the window and went with our hearts. Our amazing community backed us up and helped raise half of the funds to make this happen. This was a chance to sponsor a team which is going to contribute to real community building. A chance for our bikes to ridden by talented athletes who’s success can transform and inspire a community. This was a chance to test the durability and ‘bike for life’ concepts of our titanium bikes in the harshest of conditions. At the end of the day shouldn’t this be what sponsorship is all about? We think so. Thanks to everyone that contributed thus far to make this project a reality. GO Masaka GO!
For the past 5 years we’ve run a community challenge over the Chinese New Year break - ‘The Firecracker 400’. Riders are encouraged to get out of deep winter hibernation and kick start their spring campaign by riding 400 km in 7 days. We use the collective kilometres to raise money for a good cause.
The put out a call for two gravel bikes to enable two of Uganda's best riders to compete in the in Kenya this June. Some of the worlds top gravel riders will be duking it out with Africa's best on African soil over 4 days. Serk sponsored two fast frames and the community raised the remaining funds to build the bikes out. Collectively they rode, ran or walked 30,456km. Amongst those km were some super human efforts including a group that traversed all 5 urban ring roads around Beijing - 400km in one ride.
In the last 15 months we tragically lost two much loved members of our cycling community - John and Filippo. As a tribute we decided to name each of the sponsored bikes in their names. Under the chainstay a short quote was engraved that summed up their unique spirits which will hopefully inspire the Masaka riders to ride that little bit harder. The John Martyn and Filippo Nicosia will soon be riding free and no doubt fast across the plains of Africa.
The Masaka team believe their riders have a chance of a top 10 finish in the migration gravel race provided they are on an equal footing equipment wise. We are excited to give them this opportunity. We can’t wait to to see the bikes pushing new frontiers in Africa!
We are very excited to officially announce our support for the Masaka Cycling Club in Uganda, East Africa. For over a year now our community in Beijing have been donating funds to help this aspiring club. Step by step we hope our small contributions can make a real difference to the cycling dreams of the male and female youth in Masaka. If you are not already following them check out . Truly an amazing and inspiring initiative by Ross and and a generous group of donors and supporting businesses across the globe. If you've been following any of the African cycling stories you'll know that success in sport has real power to inspire hope and provide pathways to realise dreams.
After all that Frontier Cycling you’ll need a bit of a break. We have that totally covered on this trip too of course. We’ve booked some world class boutique hotels and scoped out some great places for sampling the fabulous local cuisine. Coffee is always a feature on our trips and there is no shortage of coffee stops. We've picked the best local coffee houses and our Serk Frontier Vehicle is ready at random scenic spots for a mid ride espresso. Join us in early June www.serk.cc/threerivers
Our newest route in the less explored northern and western area of Yunnan along the border with Myanmar.
The area is part of the formidable Hengduan mountain range at the eastern end of the Himalaya and is UNESCO World Heritage listed. Home to three major rivers that drain the eastern Tibetan Plateau (the Yangtze, Mekong and Salween) the area combines mountains with peaks over 6000m and deep valleys providing dramatic landscapes.
Serk take you deep into this mythical and unique region for an unforgettable cycling adventure. Click the link in the bio for more info.
Over the years Liman and I have ridden over many of China's remote mountain passes. Last year we finally got a chance to ride over the Bilou Snow mountain close to the Yunnan / Tibet border after being on our list for years. It didn’t dissapoint and now rates amongst my top 5 China passes ever (Everest is number 1, Duku in Xinjiang is 2). The Bilou mountain has it all - a difficult climb rising above the clouds to 4000m, the threat of regular landslides make every ascent an adventure and the descent on the good side is one of the best you’ll ever do. Add to that the eery forest landscape of Chinese Cork Oak, roadside waterfalls and changing shades of red sediment rock its a must do ride. Join us at the end of May to tackle it on our Yunnan Three Rivers tours - www.serk.cc/threerivers Click the link in the bio for more info.
2021 - The year of domestic China travel - https://mailchi.mp/f0639aafd64d/2021-the-year-of-domestic-china-travel See our 2021 trip offerings here!
Follow to keep up to date with the development of our bikes!
Carefully painted by in durable ceramic paint this bike is primed for a frontier adventure.
We recently released our new M**O paint scheme. Inspired by the contour lines of Beijing's Miaofengshan.
Exploring Dali. Three rivers tour Yunnan.
It's been year since our hardest ever trip began. ⠀
Here is how it all started -⠀
It's late November 2018 and I'm sitting in the office staring at the frozen canal out the window. The season is over and the day dreaming about projects for the coming one start to take centre stage.⠀
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It only takes a few weeks of winter setting in for the seeds of new projects to be sewn. Sure enough the next day I received an email.⠀
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"Hi, I'm with 5 cyclists and we'd like to discover the Himalaya." After replying with a link to our regular Everest trip a response soon came back - "we want something tougher - can we have a chat about that?"⠀
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A few weeks later the group leader ⠀
and I had a chat and the project was hatched. He called it the 'Himalaya Project'. The brief was simple - more climbing, more distance, more Himalaya, Everest Base Camp and throw in some gravel if you can find it.⠀
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After a bit of poking around on strava it was obvious these riders were serious. Besides being mostly Dutch (still yet to meet a non hard core Dutch rider) they had ridden a bunch of other frontier locations around the world. It was clear they were up for a specially challenging route.⠀
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Research began in earnest via our fixers, maps and snippets of notes we'd made on previous trips. Way back in 2014 we'd driven the old way into Everest via a dirt road - it was time to ride that and explore further west towards Mount Kailash. Click on the link in our bio for the full story and more amazing images from ⠀
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The last few months we've been lucky to have the freedom to explore some of the gravel riding within 4 hours of Beijing. There is some absolutely stunning scenery out there. Next time you are in Beijing let us know if you'd like to ride some gravel!⠀
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We've been making titanium bikes since 2014 in Beijing. With the global pandemic halting most of our multi-day adventures this year we've finally had time to focus our efforts on Serk Titanium. We have a bunch of awesome bikes designed specifically for the frontier lands we explore. Keep in the loop by following our bike specific channel
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SERK is a cycling business based in Beijing. We organize cycling adventures to new frontier lands in Asia including Mount Everest, Tibet, Xinjiang and Sichuan. We manufacture titanium road and adventure bikes perfectly matched to frontier cycling adventures we curate. Our base camp is in Beijing where our bike shop and cycling club are based.
