Next up in our year-end recaps, Josh shares a list of his favorite products that span an eclectic range from cycling components and apparel to car camping creature comforts and even laundry detergent. He also reflects on a career-defining project, his approach to reigniting creative sparks in response to waning social media interest, and shares some pivotal music and books that inspired him along the way. Read on below for Josh’s favorites…

Allygn and Gramm Tourpacking Diamond Rack/Bag $249 (bundle) and Micro Racks/Panniers $289 (pair, bundle)

Allygn, which is the component brand of Berlin-based Fern Bicycles, along with their bag-making partners at Gramm Tourpacking, launched the Micro Rack and Panniers earlier this year. This system builds out their rando-inspired catalog anchored by the popular Diamond Rack and Bags.

I’ve had a Diamond Rack and bag floating around among my collection of bikes since I reviewed it with the State All-Road back in 2022. I run the setup mostly for commuting, with the exception of a few overnighters, and find it easy to install, super sturdy, and a pleasure to use. The bag attaches quickly to the rack via one wide hook-and-loop front strap and a single quick release in the rear. Clip on a strap to the side anchors, and it becomes a convenient on-the-go shoulder bag. Depending on how much room is available between handlebar drops, two sizes of Diamond Bags are now available: 7.5 L and 11 L.

Years in development, the Micro Pannier rack and bag system are incredibly clever. Utilizing Fidlock snap magnets, the bags pop on and off the racks easily and can be fitted to nearly any fork with at least two cargo mounts. At around 6 L capacity, they are the perfect size for fork mounting, as packing much more on the blades of gravel and road bikes can be cumbersome and adversely impact ride quality. I am the lucky owner of a Fern gravel touring bike now (swoon), and I had custom racks made for the rear end with mounts for Gramm Micro Panniers. Since the rack mounts are placed differently than what is typically considered standard, these racks are only available on Ferns, at least for now.

Industry Nine SOLiX Wheelset $2300 as shown; price varies

Back in March, Industry Nine released new hubs for gravel and road applications called SOLiX. They are a redesign of the brand’s classic hubs and have a lot in common with the highly regarded Hydra mountain lineup, including fast .59° engagement via continuously phased five-pawl freehub. Yet, SOLiX has a sleek design that’s more congruent with road and gravel bikes, with reduced drag and less noise than you’re used to hearing from their mountain hubs.

Available in G and SL configurations, wheelsets built around the SL platform feature CFD-designed rims and straight-pull Sapim CX-Ray bladed spokes, and G wheelsets come from I9 laced with 24 aluminum straight-pull spokes. In a nutshell, SL is more for road/all-road, and G fits more with gravel and some XC bikes.

Following their release at the Sedona Mountain Bike Festival, I set up my Sklar Super Something with a SOLiX G gravel wheelset that includes their UL 250 rims. I’m using a classic HG driver, and for the first few months, I ran the Super Something geared with 11-speed Shimano GRX. Then, when Wolf Tooth released their single speed spacers and cogs, I stripped off the derailleur and drop bars in favor of the flat bar singlespeed build pictured here.

This Super Something is my most used bike. When it was a geared gravel bike, I rode it multiple times per week on relatively rough and dusty roads and trails. Now that it’s a singlespeed, I commute on it most days and, a couple of times per month, take it out on gravel grinds throughout town. I’ll even hop on some urban singletrack for extra credit. For me, quick engagement hubs are important. Oftentimes, the best compliment I can give to a wheelset is that it remains maintenance-free regardless of what I do to it. After nearly nine months of varied and heavy usage, the SOLiX wheelset is as smooth and true as when it was brand new, essentially disappearing beneath me. And they look damn good, too.

Fizik Antares Versus Evo R1 Adaptive $299

Saddles are one of the most personal components of a bicycle. Even if a rider has a dialed bike fit, saddle choice can make or break their experience. I don’t tend to be picky about the fit or feel of many parts on any of my bikes (as long as they look good), but saddles are always a priority, and I’ve found plenty that haven’t agreed with me over the years. After about six months of road riding on the Fizik Antares Adaptive, it has become one of my favorites.

At $260, the price is steep, but I dare say it’s worth it. With the addition of Fizik’s EVO 3D-printed “adaptive” technology, the Antares and a few of their other popular saddles get the variable material density treatment in what the brand calls “tailored zonal cushioning.” This puts different levels of cushioning in places riders need it most, in addition to a relief channel that runs lengthwise from nose to tail. The unique padding comes from an interesting 3D-printing technique that uses “digital ultraviolet light projection, oxygen permeable optics, and programmable liquid resins,” producing a long-lasting final product that’s easy to keep clean.

Hammerhead Karoo Computer $475

I was a big fan of the previous-generation Hammerhead Karoo 2 cycling computer. Attracted by what was, at the time of its release, a huge bright screen in comparison with most other computers on the market, and an easy-to-use interface, I bought it right when it was released. Like most tech, however, there were a few pain points with the original, including reliance on WiFi to sync, mediocre battery life and data storage capacity, USB-A charging, and the absence of a dedicated power button.

Since my wife got into tracking longer distances on her gravel bike this year, she commandeered my Karoo 2 on many of her rides and I ended up letting her keep it. Naturally, I made that into an opportunity to start using the updated Karoo computer when it came out at the same time SRAM launched RED AXS XPLR. Yes, the new one is named simply “Karoo,” and the previous generation is “Karoo 2.” SRAM, as most folks probably already know, has owned Hammerhead since 2022 and released the new computer in tandem with their flagship gravel drivetrain as an integrated “single-point union to experience and control everything from your bike’s connected components.” This puts AXS and ANT+ device controls at my fingertips in a central location.

Additionally, the new unit has enhanced button functions (including a separate power button), much longer battery life, wireless syncing through a new phone app,  and a USB-C charging port. There are plenty of other UX updates as well, all making the computer even friendlier to use. I wish Hammerhead incorporated passive solar charging into the new unit as well, but I guess we’ll have to wait for the next Karoo to do that.

Wheels MFG ($120 SOLO-XD) and Wolf Tooth ($30 spacers, $55 alloy cogs) Single Speed Kits

It’s been a good couple of years to be a singlespeed rider. Well, it’s always a good year if you’re a single-speeder, but recently, a few brands have started paying a little attention to our weird little corner of the bike world. When I reviewed the SOLO-XD kit from Wheels MFG, I thought it was a big deal that someone had finally made an approachable and available adapter for hubs with XD drivers. But then the Colorado-based machinists stepped even further into the SS world with a first-ever solution for Microspline hubs.

From left to right: Wheels MFG Solo-XD, Wheels MFG Solo Spline, and Wolf Tooth Spacer Kit

While adapting HG hubs has been the legacy method for most singlespeeders, using spacers and specifically designed cogs, Wolf Tooth threw their hat in the ring this year. As spacer kits from the likes of Surly and others became hard to find, Wolf Tooth now offers a spacer kit for $30 and cogs in various sizes, materials, and anodized colors. Simple. Just as it should be.

Ride Concepts Tallac BOA $210

I go through a lot of mountain bike shoes. I ride trail a few days a week year-round, and my local terrain in southern Arizona is unforgiving. It chews up outsoles like a puppy with a pile of squeaky toys. When my Crank Brothers Mallets started to show their age, I turned to the Ride Concepts Tallac BOA.

The combination of burly reverse-hex tread and MAX grip rubber pedal contact area have been both super durable and comfortable when I have no choice but to hike-a-bike, or dismount mid-trail for a photo opportunity. Additionally, the uppers have been surprisingly breathable, even in our hot desert climate, with a dialed-in fit from the BOA + strap combo. The insoles are made from D3O – which is the same impact-absorbing material used in a lot of protective padding – for added cushion. And I love that they have a unique look compared to some of the alternatives that resemble skate shoes.

From a fit perspective, I have a fairly average width foot but rarely find that I am consistent in shoe size between brands. The Tallacs fit my arches well, with a bit of added space in the toe box. According to the RC sizing chart, I was between a 43 and 43.5, so I erred with caution and ordered the 43. They were initially slightly tight, but after a couple of rides, the internal cushion packed down just enough to offer a perfect fit.

Team Dream X Landshark Packable Wind Jacket

An instant classic collaboration. Sean from Team Dream and The Cub House got himself a gorgeous custom Landshark road bike this year and, to celebrate designed a capsule collection of apparel featuring John Slawta’s vibrantly colored collage prints. While this design won’t be available online for another couple of months, there are a variety of versions of this same jacket in the TD product lineup that just dropped last week.

I had been looking for a new wind jacket sans hood for winter riding and instantly honed in on this bold windbreaker when stopping by the Cub House last month for our LA premiere of Camera Corner. My go-to winter outer layer has been the Radavist-edition Voler Riding Jacket, but its hood isn’t great for faster road and gravel riding. The TD wind jacket features a similar material yet is slightly more windproof and warmer, with an added membrane for moisture resistance. It also packs into itself with a little bungee near the pocket for lashing around a stem or handlebar. I’ve been riding with it during mornings when temperatures hover between 45° F and 65° F, and it’s been ideal. Made in Italy alongside many of TD’s other kit and apparel.

Thanks to Tyler Nutter for these riding photos!

Super Pacific Huckpack System $795 for complete set (or sold separately)

Earlier this year, when I picked up my Super Pacific X1 camper, the team gave me one of their Huckpack Seat Back organizers to test out. Designed as a modular system rather than fixed pockets, it’s comprised of multiple accessory pouches (Huckpack cubes) of varying shapes and sizes that attach to a seatback panel via hook-and-loop. While I thought it was a clever approach to interior vehicle storage, I was skeptical about how much I’d like it and, more importantly, how it would hold up.

I try to keep my vehicle reasonably clear of clutter, but as my mobile motel and family transport, my truck has accumulated many bits and pieces to support our active lifestyle that would otherwise get shoved in a seatback pocket or glovebox. From AXS chargers to 1UP rack wheel locks and even toilet paper, everything now has a home in a Huckpack cube, staying pretty well organized. And some of the packs move around from inside the cab to the camper or truck bed. Even the ones with heavier items like locks or tools remain solid and securely attached to the panel nearly one year in. The MUSA construction and high-quality ripstop nylon and mesh materials really hold up.

Super Pacific recently released two additional products as part of the Huckpack system, which I got my hands on and have found equally useful during a few fall outings. With a clamshell design, the duffel The Huckpack duffel and gear loft feature the same panel and cube format as the seat back organizer, which means the cubes are interchangeable between products. In practice, this means you can grab your headlamp pouch from the seat back panel and your drawls pouch from the duffel, carry them up to the tent, and stick them to the gear loft for quick, organized access while in camp mode. As with most products manufactured in the USA with high-quality materials and innovative designs, the Huckpack System ain’t cheap, but I’ve found it to be a valuable addition to my camp and travel setup.

Dometic Go Water Container $70 jug, $100 faucet

While I’m on the car camping topic, I’ve had a Dometic Go water jug kicking around for at least two years now and lately it’s usurped my other water haulers as our primary large vessel. At first, I worried that it might be sort of gimmicky or that some of the components wouldn’t hold up. But it’s been bomb-proof.

I have a large water tank that lives in my built-out pickup bed. It’s large and cumbersome to fill, but necessary for extended outings in the desert. I usually pack a second accompanying water container when I head out on the road solo or with my family, or to use on short trips when the larger one isn’t needed. After our trusty auxiliary Reliance Aqua-tainer cracked, I replaced it with the 11 L Dometic jug. I liked its tall rectangular shape for ease of packing. I also liked that it’s compatible with Dometic’s touch-controlled faucet.

The faucet, which operates on a large USB-rechargeable battery, has a magnetic base and turns on and off with simple taps to the top of the device. With the magnetic base and adhesive-backed plates, the faucet can be mounted in a variety of convenient locations. A single charge seems to last forever, making the advertised 150 L dispensing claim believable (I haven’t attempted to calculate this yet specifically). After thousands of liters dispensed over the years, the water pressure is similar to that of the new faucet my friend recently purchased. I don’t like that it’s all plastic that is likely leaching into our water, but the food-grade BPA material leaves no funky taste behind like the big blue ones often do. We try to avoid letting the system sit in the hot sun, and the water cycles through pretty quickly as we empty the jug after each trip.

Dirty Labs Bio Laundry Detergent $26.00 for 21.6 oz

During a dinner party this past summer, we talked with some friends about recyclables, one of whom works for a waste management company. He was lamenting about all the plastics we think are recyclable but most likely aren’t, at least without specialized facilities. This includes the thick plastic containers in which a lot of liquid laundry detergent is packaged in.

Then, the party host went into her laundry room and came out with a small metal bottle of the detergent she’d started using from a brand called Dirty Labs. In the context of our conversation, the “infinitely” recyclable BPA aluminum bottle seemed like a reasonable alternative to the big-brand products we typically buy at the supermarket. But beyond the packaging, it was the liquid on the inside that made us want to try it ourselves.

With two kids and a dog, we’re outside a lot and produce a steady stream of dirty and smelly laundry. While we try to be conservative with the amount and type of soap we use, it all adds up. Dirty Labs is concentrated and requires far less volume for a standard load than typical liquid detergent. To be exact, that’s 8 ml of Dirty Labs compared to 41 ml of the Tide we were using. 8 ml is not much at all, and speaking from experience, it is difficult to eyeball when pouring into the detergent tray, so we use the handy little silicone beaker included with the first shipment.

Growing up in outdoor retail stores, I was trained to recommend powder detergent, especially for techy fabrics, because it’s supposedly gentler and less prone to sticking to fibers like liquid can. The enzyme-based Dirty Labs liquid, however, claims to be gentle on clothes and human skin, yet hard on dirt and odor, which we’ve found to be accurate so far.

Favorite Album of 2024 (1): Diamond Jubilee by Cindy Lee

2024 was an excellent year for new music, in my opinion. From The Cure’s first album in eleven years to Blood Incantation’s epic Absolute Elsewhere that John shared, my diverse sonic tastes have been plenty satiated. But two albums have stuck with me more than anything else in a long time. The first is Cindy Lee’s Diamond Jubilee. Lee is the drag alter-ego of Patrick Flegel, the former front of the band Women, and their side project has been maturing for a few years only to make a massive statement with this latest release.

Available only via a YouTube stream (above) or donation-based purchase on a funky Geocities website, the album is a massive two+ hour epic that transports listeners into a lo-fi alternate dreamy dimension. As one astute YouTube commenter so accurately surmised, it “Sounds like nothing I’ve ever heard, and everything I’ve ever loved.” I’m not sure how I first stumbled on the first few singles before the album was released, but they struck a nerve, and the full album is nothing short of perfection. I wish there were a way to purchase a physical copy, but, unfortunately, for now, it’s stuck in an old-school digital purgatory.

I was one of the lucky ones to see Lee perform this year. Their tour was small and short-lived. And I almost missed it. The show I attended was at the Soda Bar in San Diego. It was the weekend of Sea Otter, which, of course, is located in Monterey, and also the Rob Roberson retrospective party, which was in San Diego.

I made the decision to head to San Diego the afternoon before Rob’s party and catch the Cindy Lee show with Zach Small, who was also in town for the event. The drive downstate was epic, and I only stopped once for gas and a burrito, but it was one of the best decisions I’ve made in a long time. Cindy Lee absolutely blew our minds. Hit play on the video above to sink into Lee’s world, and you’ll understand what I mean. To read more about Diamond Jubilee and its resonance, check out Pitchfork’s rare raving review and a report from Stereogum about the San Diego concert.

Favorite Album of 2024 (2): Two Star & The Dream Police by Mk.gee

If Cindy Lee is my lo-fi artist of the year (decade?), then Mk.gee was the hi-fi companion. Superficially, the two artists are seemingly very different, but I find commonalities in their nostalgic musical references, arrangements, and feelings, which are endlessly appealing.

The solo project of the very talented artist Mike Gordon, Mk.gee has been releasing albums since 2018, but it was his 2023 single How Many Miles that became an earworm I never tired of hearing. That, plus a few other singles sprinkled in earlier this year, built up quite a bit of momentum to the full album release, Two Star & The Dream Police, which Spotify tells me I listened to most this year. At only about 35 minutes long, I have no problem looping it during long rides or road trips. Gordon’s sonic coos and otherworldly soothing guitar, combined with his reticent public persona, make him the kind of rock star we need right now.

Favorite Book: Stoner by John Williams

My family and I all got Kindles this year. The device has enabled me to disconnect from occasional cycles of doom-scrolling on my phone, especially at night before going to sleep. The Kindle doesn’t use a backlight, and the blue light it emits is far less disruptive than a smartphone or even a room or reading light needed to read a paper book at night. For my kids, it’s an easier way to get books into their hands, and they’ve helped keep reading fun. My son made the felt Kindle sleeve pictured above. Holler if you want one!

Having spent more years in Liberal Arts higher education than I’d like to admit, I have no idea how John Williams’ Stoner was off my radar. The book was originally published in 1965 to little fanfare, only selling a few thousand copies. Conversely, Williams’ later novel, Augustus, won the National Book Award for Fiction in 1972. Stoner was out of print until 2005, when it was re-published and gained momentum with a new generation.

When I was looking for recommendations after getting my Kindle, Stoner was high on many lists, so I tried it. Once I got into it, I had difficulty putting it down. It’s the story of a man, William Stoner, who matures from a rural farmboy into a college professor. The book chronicles his professional and personal life, which is tumultuous and full of unhealthy relationships. Through a lifetime of strife, Stoner navigates with pride and joy. While the storyline is memorable, it’s William’s writing style that turns an otherwise depressing account into a tome of inspiration.

Wild Ride: Making Camera Corner

My favorite ride is a little different than the rest of our editorial team. Rather than a specific bike ride, I’d like to highlight a special opportunity. In the film Camera Corner, Wende Cragg describes her experience documenting the early days of mountain biking in Marin County as “lightning in a bottle.” For her, she was in the right place, at the right time, with the right people. My experience making that film was exactly the same, and it’s something I never planned to do or will likely ever do again.

Wende and I met online (LOL, for real) and struck up a wonderful friendship that led to her writing one of my favorite articles to ever grace the pixels of this website. We knew her story could be so much more than just words and photos; and it deserved to be shared with the world. It just happened that we got rolling right before the bike industry really started hurting, and with the support of POC we began a multi-year project to give Wende what we hoped would be a substantial platform. At times, I didn’t think it would materialize. We had some significant setbacks but persevered with an incredible yet tiny team – Justin Balog (Director of Photography) and Chris Motta (Editor) are legends. I’ll forever be grateful to Wende and everyone who joined us on this journey. If you haven’t already watched Camera Corner, click play above.

Lessons Learned: Stay True to Myself

I used to enjoy sharing my photography journey on social media. Through Instagram and other platforms, I connected with a great community of other photographers and enthusiasts who offered inspiration and shared similar passions. My interest and motivation to participate waned as those apps shifted to more of a brain-rotting news cycle and influencer bias. But I never stopped taking photos, experimenting with new film stocks, and buying and selling odd and interesting equipment. Years ago, I was making short videos for YouTube, mostly for other people, that had a documentary or personal interest focus. I enjoyed the process, but they were time-consuming and eventually didn’t fit into my busy schedule, so I stopped.

Recently, I started making videos again at the urging of my kids (who I think want an excuse to make unboxing and “get ready with me” videos themselves). I just published my first one last week and have lots more in the queue. My goal is to stay true to myself and my interests. YouTube might not be perfect, but the process of storytelling through the medium of video is much more satisfying and motivating than tossing images into the digital void of social media. If this sort of thing interests you, smash that subscribe button!