Radar Roundup: Starling Adds UDH Compatibility, Fern Illusion Grill Racks, Wilde and Yellow Bird Threadworks, Fizik Nanuq GTX Shoes, Bikepacking Roots and the BOLT Act, and Crust in Baja

Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. Read on below for today’s findings…

Starling Cycles Announces UDH-Compatible Frames and a Downcountry Murmur

Big news from one of our favorite UK-framebuilders. Starling Cycles made another update to its frames: the intro of UDH hangers on Swoop, Twist, and Murmur frames. It’s been a while coming, but wasn’t something the brand wanted to rush into and it’s a big shift for a smaller brand. Today these frames are rolling out with UDH compatible swingarms.

AND as a bonus, Starling has built up a special DownCountry version of the Murmur to celebrate the launch. Shorter travel, steeper angles and built up with some super special, boutique components and lightweight DT Swiss Wheels – its a real rocket ship. The DownCountry build pairs up the Murmur frame and a 210x50mm rear shock to create a hard-charging, big-pedalling, fast and super exciting short-travel 29er.

Rear travel is reduced to 120mm with no impact on geometry and then a 120mm fork steepens the head and seat angles by 1.2° to 66.2° and 79° respectively. The build as shown here weighs in at just 12.7kg – although as we all know, bike weight doesn’t matter. And with fast-rolling Michelin Force tires and lightweight DT Swiss wheels, it absolutely flies.

Check out more at Starling Cycles.

Fern Bicycles Illusion Grill Rack Colors

Fern’s Grill Racks just got a bit brighter with a limited run of candy-powdercoated colors. Illusion Blue, Pink, and Purple racks are now available direct from Fern Bicycles’ Webshop. By default, all Illusion racks will be shipped with black hardware and short stays (270mm) for mid fork blade or anything cage mounting points!

Fern can also ship the rack with long stays (420mm) for fork dropout mounting and we can also send it with silver hardware in 270mm or 420mm. Please drop us a line in the checkout comments area if you want the hardware in silver or black color and if you need long or short stays.

If you are in doubt about which length you’ll need always go for the long stays,… you can always cut them down to the right length.

See more at Fern Bicycles.

Wilde and Yellow Bird Threadworks

Yellow Bird Threadworks makes neat-o brass top caps and bar ends and Wilde has recently collaborated with the small manufacturer on two sets of designs.

The Cap is 100% produced and finished in Chester, Connecticut out of brass and held snug with an American made Titanium bolt. Each cap is hand finished, so there will always be small variations in color and shine. The brass will age with time and exposure to the environments our bicycles take us through. As time goes on, each one becomes more unique.

And these brass bar end plugs are the perfect match to the headset top caps. These caps are designed around a drop handle bar but also work well with flat and other handlebars. These are made by me right here in Chester, Connecticut.

Check out both the “Sweet Leaf” and “Tanglewood” designs at Wilde.

Fizik Terra Nanuq GTX Flat and Clipless $279

The latest shoe in the Fizik Terra lineup is the Nanuq, a Gore-Tex insulated winter riding shoe, available in both flat pedal and clipless pedal soles. These insulated, waterproof MTB shoes built with a single BOA® Fit System, cold-stopping fleece lining, and waterproof GORE-TEX membrane for the ultimate winter performance.

Specs:

GORE-TEX Koala membrane
BOA L6 dial & zippered ankle cuff
Ripstop fabric: Woven fabric resistant to tearing and ripping
X2 outsole: Nylon shank, EVA midsole and Vibram tread, stiffness index 3
Weight: 438 g
Sizes: 36-48 (37 to 47 also in half sizes)

Check out more at Fizik.

The BOLT Act and Bikepacking Roots

This week, the House introduced the EXPLORE Act, a bipartisan package that aims to protect and expand outdoor recreation on America’s public lands and waters. This means that the Senate and House have now introduced complementary packages of outdoor recreation policy: America’s Outdoor Recreation Act (AORA) in the Senate and the Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences (EXPLORE) Act in the House. Both packages include the Biking on Long Distance Trails (BOLT) Act, as well as several more great bills for bikepacking and outdoor recreation.

This is an important step! Last year the BOLT act was actually successful in passing through both the House and Senate, but it did so as a stand-alone bill in the House and part of a package in the Senate. This meant it was unable to move forward before the end of the Congressional session. Earlier this year, the bill was re-introduced in both chambers, but again as a stand-alone bill in the House and part of a package in the Senate.

The introduction of the EXPLORE Act in the House moves things closer to passing companion recreation packages in both the House and the Senate. To read more about other components of the EXPLORE Act, check out this recent post from Outdoor Alliance.

For the past two years, Bikepacking Roots has been a lead advocate for the BOLT Act, alongside important partners including the International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) and Outdoor Alliance. The Biking on Long-Distance Trails (BOLT) Act will identify at least 10 existing long-distance bike trails and identify at least 10 areas where there is opportunity to develop or complete such trails. The bill will also allow the Department of Interior to publish and distribute maps, install signage, and distribute promotional materials.

The voice of the bikepacking community will matter tremendously in moving this package along and ensuing the BOLT Act is a component of the package. Make your voice heard by writing your lawmakers about it today.

Customizing & submitting a message to all of your representatives about both the AORA and EXPLORE packages is easy! Find the Action Alert set up by our partners at IMBA in the blog linked below.

Tell Your Representatives To Support The BOLT Act Here!

Rad Bazaar Finds

We love seeing the support for our Rad Bazaar, a service we host for Group Ride members. For now, you can read all about how to sign up for the Group Ride and Rad Bazaar here.

Lil’ Bruce Gordon Rock n’ Road $500

For 700c wheels. 41cm seat tube c-c 45.5 c-t. 52cm top tube. Canti brakes, three water bottle mounts, mid fork mounts and a Bruce made rear rack. Paint has lots of patina but no dents or serious scratches. FSA 1″ threaded headset included.
Will ship

Ritchey Swiss Cross Prototype $4500

This is a Prototype, Custom Painted Ritchey Swiss Cross. 57cm
Paragon Sliders (420mm-440mm chainstay length)
SRAM Red AXS 1x
172.5 Cranks
Direct Mount 42T ring
Ritchey Logic Cockpit (44cm bars, 110mm stem, 0 offset post (Optional 42cm, 100mm bars on request)
Ritchey WCS Zeta GX Wheelset**
Challenge Getaway 42c TLR Tires
**OR Hunt 30 Carbon CX Tubular Wheelset with choice of Grifo, Limus or Flandrian

This bike was custom painted by Chris Namba (of Squid bikes) using Spray Bike. There are some chips in the paint from a short cx season.

Bassi Hog’s Back (58cm) Basketpacker $2400

For sale is my Bassi Hog’s Back in purple/orange. This bike was built by the great team at Kissing Crows Cyclery and has been my go-to bike for summer touring, winter commuting, and zipping around locally. Comes with a dynamo setup, Dark Realm basket bag, and a beautiful half-and-half frame bag from Field and Forest.