In early October, a ragtag group of singlespeeding cyclocross racers from around the world descended on Madison, Wisconsin for the Singlespeed Cyclocross World Championships (better known as 2024 SSCX Worlds). Photojournalist Erik Mathy returned to his hometown to document an event that was filled with fall colors, incredible bike infrastructure, and Wisconsin-style cycling shenanigans.
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Vedangi Kulkarni: Cycling Around the World (Twice) Isn’t About Being The Fastest
In 2024, Vedangi Kulkarni made her second attempt to break the record for being the fastest woman to ride around the world. But in the middle of Kulkarni’s 18,000 mile ride, Lael Wilcox broke the Guinness World Record. In this piece, Caroline Dezendorf writes a story of one young woman’s journey of perseverance and self-discovery on a bike ride around the world.
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Golden Pliers Bike Shop Visit: Portland’s Home for Quality Repair and Nice Things
Now that Golden Pliers has settled into their new Portland, OR location, it was time for us to make another visit. Just a few days after the MADE bike show concluded, Spencer Harding stepped into the welcoming arms of the Golden Pliers crew for a much-needed decompression from all the bike show hubbub. Below, let’s look inside one of our favorite bike shops that is filled with beautiful bikes, nice things, and wonderful humans…
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Fara Cycling: Exploring The Gravel Cycling Capital of Scandinavia
With over 400 kilometers of trails within an hour’s ride of the city center, Oslo has established itself as an adventure destination. Conor Courtney spent a long weekend riding with Fara Cycling, a local bicycle brand uniquely aligned with Norwegian geography and adventure culture. Continue reading below for a look inside Fara Cycling and the stunning location they call home…
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Esker Smokey Ti Review: Hardcore Hardtail
When Esker Cycles released their new Smokey hardtail, initially in titanium then shortly after in steel, they proclaimed it a hardtail with “big travel for big days.” With a 160mm travel fork and aggressive geometry, is the Smokey a wildfire or does the spark not catch? Find out in Spencer’s review below…
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The Witches Cycle – Chapter 6: Halfway Finale
Tony Concrete is back with the sixth chapter and final of his ongoing illustrated series The Witches Cycle. Today, in addition to the final chapter of the Witches Cycle, he shares some personal recommendations for other comics for further reading. Check it all out below!
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The Legend of DAMN: 240 Miles and 24 Hours Across Minnesota
Returning triumphantly after a brief hiatus, DAMN brings 24-hour gravel racing to the North Star State. Renee Hoffmann reports alongside Abigail Wark’s photos from the grassroots event that sees riders rally across the entire state of Minnesota.
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Curious Creatures Scramble Ramble Short Review
Who wears short shorts? Blix Croell tested the Curious Creatures Ramble Scramble short ($139), a unisex mountain biking short made by Curious Creatures, to see if casual cycling apparel can be both gender-inclusive and full-featured.
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Rampage Is For The Girls
For the first time in history, there is a women’s field at Redbull Rampage. Serena Rio breaks down all the gnar alongside Dominique Powers’ amazing imagery. Don’t miss this historic event and the heroines who ride it…
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Bespoked X SRAM Inclusivity Scholarship 2024: King Fabrications
Our European correspondent Petor Georgallou recently visited four North American framebuilders who have been awarded SRAM’s Inclusivity Scholarship to attend Bespoked in Dresden, Germany, on October 18–20. In the fourth chapter of this series, Petor joins Li King of Berkeley, Ca of King Fabrications. Petor chats with Li about their lifetime dream to become a welder and NorCal’s specific style as they prepare to head to Germany.
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Bespoked X SRAM Inclusivity Scholarship 2024: Memento Cycles
Our European correspondent Petor Georgallou recently visited four North American framebuilders who have been awarded SRAM’s Inclusivity Scholarship to attend Bespoked in Dresden, Germany, on October 18–20. In the first installment of this series, Petor joins Memento Cycles of Montreal, Québec. Take a look behind the collective at Memento Cycles…
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Ozarks Odyssey Fayetteville: Riding the Rise of a New Adventure Cycling Capital
Ian Graber-Stiehl explores the current state of cycling in Northwest Arkansas, where Bikepacking Roots is working with the growing destination city of Fayetteville to establish six adventure routes that provide 750 miles of trails and pathways in the Ozarks. Does Oz live up to the marketing hype? Read on…
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State Bicycle Co. Titanium All-Road Long-term Review
Contributor Nic Morales is back with a more in-depth look at State Bicycle Co.’s titanium offering. In this long-term review of the recently released Ti All-Road frame, he digs deep into the discourse around titanium as a real-world frame material, how it exists in the zeitgeist, and other philosophical pondering. Read on below for Nic’s Titanium All-Road long-term review!
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Introducing New Tailfin Bar Bag Systems
Today, Tailfin are announcing new bar bag systems for both drop and flat handlebars. The bags are available with a WaveLock closure for drop bars or a traditional roll-and-buckle for flat bars. With plenty of mounts for accessories and pockets for everything, it’s an entire front storage system! Check out all the details below.
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Reflections on the Inaugural Arkansas Graveler: This Is Personal
A local Arkansan who grew up in Bentonville, Hilary Lex left home after high school, swearing never to return. Fate brought her back and she rewrote the narrative of her relationship with The Natural State because of one unexpected thing: The Inaugural Arkansas Graveler. The Arkansas Graveler is a mixed-surface, 6-day ride across the state of Arkansas that takes cyclists from the rolling hills and hollers of the Ozarks down into the Arkansas Delta river bottoms. Read on below for Hilary’s personal recap…
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Mega Mid South: Love Letters Written in Red Dirt
Erik Mathy returned to Stillwater, OK for the inaugural Mega Mid South, a 300-mile gravel cycling endurance event hosted by Bobby Wintle and the team who bring the Mid South to life every year. Below, feast your eyes on a gallery full of Erik’s unique handmade images and enjoy quotes and prose from the Oklahomans who welcome these events into their communities. Without further ado… this is the Mega Mid South.
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Obscura: Erik Mathy’s Handmade 4 x 5″ Film Camera Review
Photographer Erik Mathy has a problem: he has a hard time doing the same thing twice. For every project he takes on, he wants to use some new combination of camera, lens and film. When Bobby Wintle announced the Mega Mid South ultra endurance race, Erik decided to build his own camera to bring with him to Stillwater, OK. In this latest edition of Obscura, Erik shows us his latest handbuilt large format camera and explains how he went about putting it together.
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San Util Design Roly Poly Handlebar Bag Review
San Util Design‘s Roly Poly is just at home on the Colorado Trail as your local gravel ride. The Roly Poly is a simple roll top handlebar bag that is adaptable and lightweight for wherever your bike adventure takes you. Check out Spencer’s review below…