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Austin’s CyclEast and Flat Track Coffee Continue the Bikes and Coffee Tradition

Reportage By: John Watson

Austin’s CyclEast and Flat Track Coffee Continue the Bikes and Coffee Tradition

Wow! It feels like yesterday I was still calling Austin my home, riding the rolling hills and ripping around on the limestone and cedar tree-lined singletrack. Those were some magical years for me, filled with a lot of amazing memories, solid friendships, and watching my friends open their own businesses, only to have them bloom and grow when I left town.

I’ve been back through Austin a few times since leaving in 2015 but never really had enough time to settle in and document the spaces of these businesses. This past trip, we had all the time in the world, so I got to work documenting my favorite of the Austin scene: the space at Cycleast and Flat Track Coffee…

Salsa’s 2020 Rustler Comes in Aluminum

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Salsa’s 2020 Rustler Comes in Aluminum

Starting at $2,649 for the SX Eagle, or $3,199 for the SLX (pictured), the Rustler’s all-mountain capabilities are now available in a more affordable aluminum frameset. The 6066-T6 aluminum frame features 425 mm chainstays and 27.5” wheel size, with 130 mm of rear suspension travel, with a 150 mm fork, and a nicely-equipped component specification. Now, all three full suspension models from Salsa come with an aluminum frame option, making it a little easier to get your mitts on one. Head on over to Salsa to see the full spec rundown.

2020 Single Speed Arizona! Bisbee Edition

Reportage By: Nate Woiwode, Corbin Brady, & Josh Weinberg

2020 Single Speed Arizona! Bisbee Edition

Before I go into the story of Single Speed Arizona 2020, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Nate. I’m from Tucson, Arizona and I own a bike shop called Blue Dog Bicycles. I eat, sleep, breathe, shit, and fart mountain biking. I’ve been making unique and challenging routes around Southern Arizona for 11 years and heading out with my friends to try to push ourselves. I host 10-15 bike events a year around Southern Arizona. Everything from taco scavenger hunts to 400-mile gravel epics. Bicycling and the Southern Arizona cycling community are almost all that I care about at this moment in my life.

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Santa Cruz Bicycles Unlocks Downieville and Race Registration is Monday at 8pm PST!

After covering the Downieville Classic for three years now, I can honestly say if it’s the only MTB race I cover each year, then I’m a-ok with that! The Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship is the feature in Santa Cruz’s new video, featuring their eMTB the Heckler. If you want to race Downieville this year, I highly suggest it, just don’t miss race registration on MONDAY, February 17th at 8pm PST!

Wanna see our coverage? Hop on over to the archives…

The Roads To Take: Pacific Coast – Oregon to California on Highway 1

Reportage By: carmen aiken

The Roads To Take: Pacific Coast – Oregon to California on Highway 1

He thought there would be a limit and that would stop him. He depended on that.

“An Atlas of the Difficult World – VIII” – Adrienne Rich

Before I left:

A month before I left, a bus hit me on the sidewalk as I avoided² the dangers of an indifferent suburb riding to the job I did as pittance-paid worker on a bike industry profit trawler. The night before I left, I couldn’t get the tire off, sobbed, exhausted. Six days before I left, I stopped having fun at a race and decided to bail, tired, beer softened, slowed wrong, ate gravel, wrist sprained. Before I left I destroyed my shell in the wash. Before I left I shook nothing down. I wasn’t ready but it didn’t matter. I had to go. How would I keep on otherwise?

Some of us are hoping for limits. There are reasons for that.

Paul Component Engineering Does Another Run of Super Limited Van Halen Stems

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Paul Component Engineering Does Another Run of Super Limited Van Halen Stems

PAUL and his team of merry machinists made yet another super-limited batch of Boxcar Stems – 5 of each size – as an homage to Eddie Van Halen’s iconic home-painted “79′ Bumblebee” guitar as it appeared on the back cover of Van Halen II and throughout their 1979 Tour.

It’s a little known fact that Eddie himself brought the original guitar to Dimebag Darrell’s funeral in 2004 where it was placed in his coffin and buried with him. Much like the guitar, each one of these stems is totally unique, artistically splattered in black and gold anodizing by Scooter himself. Somebody get me a doctor!

The All-City Big Block Gets a Big Paint Update!

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The All-City Big Block Gets a Big Paint Update!

The Big Block is a tried and true offering from All-City. These street fixed gear bikes have a set of bottle bosses, increased tire clearance and drilled for brakes. The 4130 frame is tough and survives years of heavy use by bike messengers worldwide. For 2020, the Big Block got a wild paintjob, while the frame details and build kit stays the same.

Features:
612 Select chromoly steel with double-butted main triangle, tapered stays and brazed-on seat collar
4130 Chromoly double butted fork with lugged crown and tapered blades
Velodrome legal track geometry
All-City Signature investment-cast stainless steel Hennepin Bridge track dropouts with built-in chain tensioner
E.D. coated for durability and rust prevention
Tire clearance: 700c x 32mm; 28mm with fenders

Big Block (Midnight/Frost/Violet) Complete: $999 MSRP
Frameset: $550 MSRP

The Cervelo Áspero is the Brand’s Dirtiest Bike

Reportage By: john watson

The Cervelo Áspero is the Brand’s Dirtiest Bike

When I say Cervelo, chances are your mind doesn’t jump right to off-road bikes. It’s probably something aero like a time trial bike or an aero road bike. Big graphics, thiccccc downtube, lots of spandex, and other images pop into my mind. I’m sure I’m not alone. While it wasn’t exactly a surprise when the brand launched the Áspero – heck, everyone is putting out gravel bikes – I was taken back by how good the bike looked. The Áspero has a lot going on visually but delivers one hell of a ride. I’ve been putting in miles on one for a few weeks now and am finally ready to discuss what I like and what I don’t like about it so if you’re curious about the dirtiest bike in Cervelo’s catalog, read on…

Wolf Tooth Announces Their Fattest Grips Yet, the Mega Fat Paw

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Wolf Tooth Announces Their Fattest Grips Yet, the Mega Fat Paw

Fat grips aren’t for everyone and we all know that grip preferences are like saddles in that they vary widely between riders. While super thick grips don’t benefit everyone, a growing number of people actually benefit from the larger diameter, softer durometer grips being offered by many brands. These grips spread the load on your hands to reduce pressure spots, which is a huge concern to cyclists who have experienced finger numbness due to too much pressure on the ulnar nerve.

Wolf Tooth’s newest grips, the 11.5mm thick Mega Fat Paw and the Mega Fat Paw Cam grips look to offer their fattest diameter year. On top of the other issues they can alleviate, the fat diameter also provides excellent vibration damping. For even more tunable comfort the Fat Paw Cam grips can be rotated to fit your preferred grip patterning. All this with a 40mm diameter.

Head to Wolf Tooth Components to read more.

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Race Around Rwanda Teaser

Here’s a film teaser from Race Around Rwanda, a 1000km race through the country of a thousand hills, by Ryan Le Garrec and Lander Deldime.  It’s a bike packing race, non stop and unsupported, the fastest riders will finish it under 50 hours.