At the start of July 2025, ultra-distance racer extraordinaire Sofiane Sehili set off from the west coast of Portugal with one destination in mind – Vladivostok in the far south of Russia. As you probably already know, his record attempt didn’t go “exactly” to plan and Sofiane ended up spending nearly two months incarcerated in a Russian prison, after attempting to enter the country illegally. Fortunately, he was eventually freed and returned to his native France. We chatted with Sofiane recently and he gave us some fantastic insight into his bike set-up for his record attempt.

What kind of bike would you take for a 18,000 km trip? What’s the right tool for such a mind boggling task? What’s the ideal groupset? The right tyres? The perfect cockpit? What about frame material: steel, carbon, titanium? These are some of the questions I had to ask myself before embarking for my longest adventure to date, last summer. The crossing of Eurasia from Lisbon to Vladivostok. The goal was simple: trying to set a new world record by riding the distance in under 64 days. 

"What kind of bike would you take for a 18,000 km trip? What’s the right tool for such a mind boggling task?"

But the goal was pretty much the only thing simple. All the rest, from route planning to choosing the right bike and gear, that was quite the headache. For comfort, sturdiness and versatility, I opted for a titanium gravel bike : the Bombtrack Hook EXT Ti. Carbon wheels for their stiffness and aero properties. PRO discover handlebars and missile extensions, for the ideal cockpit. These were the easy choices. An even easier choice was going tubeless. Tubes puncture much more frequently and take longer to repair. 

But what about the rest? Conventional bike traveller wisdom has it that you should go with sturdy, easily replaceable parts. While I get the appeal of parts that are widely available, I couldn’t bring myself to settle for thumb shifters and mechanical brakes.

"If you factor in the comfort, the precision of the shifting, for me going Di2 was almost a no-brainer. "

Because bike tourers are often people who ride bikes for the sole purpose of traveling, they’re not very interested in all the new technology that comes from the cycling industry. They’re quite reluctant when it comes to electronic shifting. But as a traveller who is also a racer, I have extensive experience of using Shimano’s GRX Di2 groupsets. And what I have gathered over the years is that Di2 is actually as reliable (if not more) as its mechanical counterpart. If you factor in the comfort, the precision of the shifting, for me going Di2 was almost a no-brainer. 

One of the question marks I still had was the wear and tear. How often do you need to change a 12 speed chain over the course of 18.000 km? Once, twice? More?? I decided to send myself a package in a hotel somewhere in Kazakhstan, roughly 8000 km away from the start. The idea was to change the cassette, the chain and the brake pads. After my longest stage of this world record attempt (more than 800 km along the Caspian sea), I arrived in a city called Atyrau to discover that my package had never made it to the hotel. The plan now was simple: take really good care of my drive-train and pray that it would make it to Vladivostok. Spoiler alert: to my amazement, it actually did! 18,000 km: one chain, one cassette. Zero problem.

"I got hit by a car that was overtaking another vehicle. The impact damaged the hydraulic fluid reservoir, causing a leak and leaving me without a front brake..."

But no transcontinental trip would be complete without unexpected challenges. And a few days after leaving Atyrau, while riding in the small town of Beyneu, I got hit by a car that was overtaking another vehicle. The rearview mirror smashed into my left shifter, throwing me to the ground. Thankfully, I got back up with just minor scratches. However my shifter was not so lucky. The impact damaged the hydraulic fluid reservoir, causing a leak and leaving me without a front brake... 

Of course, if you have to lose one brake, the better choice is the rear one. The front one being the one that stops you more effectively. But I didn’t have a choice and there I was, with just a rear brake. I was pretty nervous at first. But after a few days, I stopped worrying. I have always been a big fan of Shimano brakes. I find that they always have been very good. But recently, I think they went from very good to truly exceptional. And even with just one functional brake, I ended up being fine. Of course I had to be more cautious when tackling technical downhills, but all in all I never felt unsafe. 

"I spent an average of more than 12 hours a day on this bike, covering close to 300 km."

It’s hard to plan 2 months and 18,000 km of riding through remote regions. And it’s impossible to foresee the setbacks that will inevitably occur. You try to make as few mistakes as possible, but you inevitably end up making a few. There is no perfect setup. Friction shifter, 3x8 speed drivetrain, mechanical disc brakes... yes, maybe you can find replacement parts for such a setup anywhere. Maybe it would survive being hit by a rearview mirror. But what kind of performance and comfort do you get from such components? The job I asked of my bike was to deliver consistent performance all day, every day for two months. And, in the end, it did just that. I spent an average of more than 12 hours a day on this bike, covering close to 300 km. It allowed me to do so in the most comfortable way.

"I couldn’t cross the border legally, so I tried it outside of a designated checkpoint. Bad idea... I got arrested."

It almost completed its mission which was to bring me to Vladivostok in less than 64 days. We failed a mere 200 km away from this goal. It was not a mechanical, but border crossing complications that decided the fate of this attempt. I couldn’t cross the border legally, so I tried it outside of a designated checkpoint. Bad idea... I got arrested. 

My Hook Ti and I then spent a couple months apart:  me in a pre-trial detention centre, my bike in a military facility. Did the border guards take it for a spin once in a while? I will never know. Probably it just waited for me there, enjoying a well-deserved rest after this crazy adventure. I just know one thing, I never had to complain about this rig. I think I’ll keep this setup for a long time and many adventures. I just replaced the broken shifter last week, and now I’m just waiting for the weather to get a little better to introduce this bike to a place not very familiar to it: my home turf.

If you would like to find out more about Sofiane and his love of bikepacking, gravel riding and ultra-distance racing, then head over to his Insta account. 

 Images courtesy of Edoardo Frezet and Matteo Secci