The Legend of The Sam's Pants
The Sam's Pants is our longest-running model currently in production. Originally introduced in 2012 and fully revised for 2020, we hit the pause button on this bike for a couple of years to focus solely on SST and STEEZL production. 2025 felt like the perfect time to bring back an updated version of this fan favorite.
REEB was born from BEER and The Sam’s Pants was born to get Oskar Blues Brewery employees out on bikes. Much of the brew crew were mountain bikers back then, but not everyone. Dale committed to getting every Oskar Blues employee a free REEB after 2 years of working for the brewery so we needed a versatile bike that could do everything.
1993 Bridgestone XO-1
The Sam’s Pants was developed with influence by the old Bridgestone XO-1 which was beloved by our local bike shop owner, Dave Chase of Redstone Cyclery as a do everything bike. Where did the name come from, well you’ll have to stay tuned to find out about that character.
In August 2012 the first monster crossin, commuting, do everything Sam’s Pants went to longtime Oskar Blues employee Sean Kottenstette as an all around commuter. The bike would be built out a ton of ways for different riders from the most hardcore Colorado Trail Race podium finisher to casual employee cruiser style.
Sean Kottenstette riding The Sam's Pants
Chad Melis racing the 2012 Colorado Single Speed Cyclocross season on the The Sam’s Pants featuring Gates Carbon Drive drivetrain.
A 2013 Oskar Blues Brewery employee urban cruiser set up complete with Brooks Saddle, Civia Cycles fenders, generator Supernova Lighting Systems and Gates Carbon Drive. What a looker.
In April of 2014 an Alfine Di2 electronic drivetrain paired with the Gates Carbon Drive made waves at the North American Handmade Bicycle Show as reported on by BikeRumor HERE
Ultrarunner Joe Grant would take The Sam’s Pants to the next level in 2015. He took second place on a fully rigid The Sam’s Pants in his first attempt at the Colorado Trail Race (yes, that is a 500+ mile mountain bike race across the Colorado high country!). If you think that is intense, on July 26, 2016 Joe would set off from his home in Gold Hill, Colorado to attempt to summit all 57 of Colorado’s 14,000ft summits via bike and foot. Self-powered and self-supported Joe took just over 31 days to bike and run all the summits, ascending over 100,000ft during the runs and riding his REEB Dikyelous hardtail over 1,400 miles. Read about his bike set up HERE, the adventure HERE via Outside Magazine or via Joe’s short film The Middle Way. Joe is a rad guy and all-around creative badass, follow him at @alpineworks
Joe’s Colorado Trail Race tool of choice, his The Sam’s Pants spec’d with the Gates Carbon Drive and Rohloff Hub at Oskar Blues Brewery
Joe Grant at the highest point on the 2015 Colorado Trail Race, the Coney Summit located in the San Juan Mountains, at an elevation of 13,271 feet (4,045 meters) on his way to podium on The Sam’s Pants. Crazy.
Joe’s Sam’s Pants was displayed at the 2016 North American Handmade Bicycle Show complete with dirt directly from the Colorado Trail Race.
In collaboration with Blue Ridge Adventures and The Oskar Blues REEB Ranch, The Sam’s Pants inspired The Dirt Diggler Gravel Grinder in 2015. A rad event that traverses a mix of paved and backcountry gravel roads through DuPont State Forest and surrounding areas of Western North Carolina with a unique ending on a section of singletrack on the REEB Ranch. Dirt Diggler would go on to be the name of REEB Cycles cyclocross bike developed and launched in 2019. The limited ride is highly recommended If you want to see the beauty of Western North Carolina, sign up early as Blue Ridge Outdoors and Oskar Blues Dirt Diggler only allow 400 riders.
All around rad guy Bill Baldwin rolling The Sam’s Pants in the Dirt Diggler Gravel Grinder.
Extra credit: Anton Krupicka rode from his house in Boulder, CO to the 2016 Old Man Winter Rally100k race in nasty conditions in Lyons, CO. Yep, he also rode home after the race.
While endurance athletes were pushing the limits of themselves and the bike, we decided to remind consumers of the bike's versatility. We displayed The Sam’s Pants at the 2016 NAHBS with a totally different vibe: a do-it-all rig and commuter grocery-getter, complete with a six-pack of 19.2 oz. Oskar Blues Stove Pipe cans, Hotbox Coffee, and tons more.
In 2019 an updated The Sam’s Pants was released for the 2020 calendar year as reported by Bikepacking.com HERE The updated bike featured clearance for 29 x 2.1″ tires, a 73mm MTB bottom bracket shell, Paragon Machine Works sliding dropouts, and a 44mm head tube with a third set of bottle bosses under the down tube, plus a 31.6mm seat tube to fit modern (at the time) dropper seatposts.
Anton Krupicka bike packing on Marshall Pass through the Sawatch Range on the 2020 The Sam’s Pants.
In 2021 as the Gravel scene was blowing up and maturing, REEB Cycles committed 110% of our focus on developing, innovating, and building our award-winning SST and STEEZL full-suspension mountain bikes. In 2022 and 2023 the REEB SST was nominated as 2022 Pinkbike Outlier Bike of the Year, 2023 Mountain Bike Action Ten Best Trailbikes of the Year, 2023 Bikepacking.com Gear of the Year while the STEEZL was nominated for 2023 Pinkbike Bike of the Year. Read one of the reviews of the REEB Cycles SST here via bikepacking.com
In 2023 Jeff Lenosky participated in the 100 mile Gravel Revival event as a fundraiser for Can'd Aid. He got lost, rode 113 miles and raised over $5800 for charity.
In 2025 as we enter our 15th year of fabricating steel bikes, we felt it was the right time to revisit some of our longest-standing models. The gravel scene has matured and mutated, and we're stoked to deliver a modern version—with timeless steel ride quality, big tire clearance, and the durability that 'The Sam's Pants' first delivered 13 years ago
Kenneth Rizer riding The Sam's Pants prototype to a solid 6th Place Finish at the 2025 Old Man Winter Event.
Curious about that name? “We built our first gravel bike over 13 years ago,” said Tim Moore, REEB Cycles Sales Director. “At the time, no one at REEB was sure about drop-bar bikes or skinny jeans, so they named the new bike after a local shop kid, Sam, who introduced everyone to the latter, and The Sam’s Pants was born. While we’re still unsure about skin-tight denim, one thing we’ve learned over the years is that it’s hard to beat the sense of adventure found behind the handlebars of a gravel bike.”
Read more about the 2025 The Sam’s Pants at Bikepacking.com HERE, BikeRumor,and GearJunkie while you get your hands on more details and get your own new pants HERE.
CONFIGURE YOUR SAM'S PANTS HERE
Built by Hand. Built to Last.
