Forager Cycles has developed a new cable end treatment with their Cable Cherries. Say goodbye to single-use cable crimps that can make on-the-trail repairs a pain. With the Cable Cherries system, these 7mm aluminum spheres use a 1.5mm set screw to crimp your cable.
These patent-pending Cable Cherries come in olive, black, gold, and silver, retail for $16.69, and pre-orders ship December 10th-18th from Washington State. Head to Forager Cycles to pre-order a set today.
ENVE just released a new stem and no, it’s not carbon, it’s cold-forged and then machined. These stems also have a no-gap faceplate, clamped by stainless M5 hardware, to really clean your cockpit lines up. The new Mountain Stems come in 35mm, 50mm, 65mm lengths, 31.8mm or 35mm, and 0º rise. Retail is $125. See more at ENVE.
The Golden State Skyline is a human-powered, self-supported linkup of all fifteen 14,000’ peaks in California, stretching from Mt. Shasta in the Cascades to Mt. Langley, the southern tip of the Sierra. Along with my friends Jonny Morsicato and Charlie Firer, followed by film crew Colin Rex and Nick Smillie, I set off to complete the Golden State Skyline on August 14. Our planned route covered 800 miles by bike, 100 miles on foot, and 100,000 feet of vertical gain, including technical difficulties up to 5.9. But life had other plans…
We’re always down for made in the USA goodness, especially when it goes to a good cause! Spurcycle just released another limited edition bell, featuring a sapphire-anodized clapper. They’ll be donating $25 from each bell sold to raise money for two community non-profits: San Francisco Bicycle Coalition and Bend Bikes. These are in stock now for $69.00 at Spurcucle.
Our friends at Search and State opened up a Holiday Sale for today only. Use the code “Holiday2020” at checkout to receive 20% off their entire catalog.
My first taste of full suspension came when I was working as a wrench at a shop in Quakertown PA just after graduating from college and not really having a plan. On mornings off, I’d take out a demo and ride the local trails up on South Mountain in Emmaus. Those bikes were terrible. But at the time, I was young and loving any bicycle I could get my hands on. That was 1998. A degree project when I went back to school confirmed I didn’t have a clue about geometry, handling, let alone suspension kinematics. Fast forward to 2012 when I hung my shingle out starting 44 Bikes, I became solely focused on honing geometry and understanding fit. But deep down, I wanted to build a full suspension bike but I knew I wasn’t ready. Which brings us to the here and now. Things began to click after building hundreds of bikes and dozens of prototypes where I finally felt like I had a grip on geometry and handling. I wanted a new challenge. So in the Spring of 2019, I started acquainting myself with a platform I had largely ignored.
I feel like we’ll take all the laughs we can get these days, so let’s have a collective chuckle at this ‘Tandem’ that’s in the Dunkin’ Donuts webshop for $500. I’m really curious to see what is going on with the rear wheel and drivetrain too!
One of the riders on the TransIceland trip Reportage we hosted with Chris Burkard was pro cyclist Emily Batty. In this video series, she documents the journey across Iceland from her perspective. Episode one is the setup and episode two covers the beginning of this harrowing ride…
Jack Carthy takes on the Fort William trails with his new team, Hazzard Racing…
Wolf Tooth’s Pack Pliers are a very clever way to keep a chain maintenance kit handy while out on a ride and their new 8-Bit Pack Pliers just upped the ante with a whole new level of functionality. The 8-Bit Pack Pliers are capable of 17 functions via eight attachments that are nested neatly inside the handle of master link pliers. The whole system stays nested thanks to a series of magnets and each of these attachments fit inside an 8mm detent swivel head with a 4mm opening for the various hex bits. On top of all that, the 8-Bit Pack Pliers also have a tubeless valve cleaner integrated into the handle.
Specs:
-17 functions: spoke wrench; valve core wrench; flat head #3.5 and Phillips #2 screwdriver bits; 2, 2.5, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 8mm hex; and T10, T25 Torx-compatible bits; install and remove master links; clear tire sealant clogs from valve stem; tighten valve stem lock nut
-Magnets keep all bits in place
-Ball detent swivel head helps access hard-to-reach places
-Handle doubles as breaker bar for extra torque when head is bent
-8mm hex bit tested to over 40 Nm torque
-Retail: $69.95
See more at Wolf Tooth.
For $899, the new limited edition State Bicycle Co and Bicycle Nomad (Erick Cedeño) 4130 All-Road look to bring a steel chassis gravel bike to the masses for not a lot of coin. Built on State’s 4130 All-Road platform, the customer can choose either a 700 or 650b wheelset or buy both wheelsets for an $349.99 upchage. This includes both the wheels themselves but also brake rotors, cassette, tires, and tubes.
Only 100 of these Bicycle Nomad edition All-Road bikes will be available to the public.
State Bicycle Co x Bicycle Nomad edition 4130 All-Road Highlights:
4130 Chromoly Steel Frame and Fork, 12×100/12×142 thru-axles
4 sizes- XS-Lg to fit riders from 5’1” to 6’5”
Two Wheel Set Options:
Tubeless Capable 700c Wheel Set
Tubeless Capable 650b Wheel Set
$349 BOTH option: Get both above wheels w/ addition tires, tubes, cassette, and rotors. Everything you need to switch back and forth in minutes!
Bars- Custom State Bicycle Co. All-Road 1
Brakes- Promax DSK-300R Flat Mount disc
Drivetrain- State Bicycle Co. All-Road 1 (1×11 Drive Train)
Crank – State Bicycle Co. All-Road 1 (42t)
Cassette – 11-42t
MSRP: $899.99
Available to Pre-Order for December Delivery
See more at State Bicycle Co.
With cockpits usually getting crowded, integrated mounts like the new ZIPP Quickview can really tidy things up. This mount replaces the ZIPP stem faceplate and can hold your computer and light or camera, so no more jockeying for position with multiple mounts.
Specs:
Computer compatibility: Garmin™, Wahoo™
Accessory compatibility: GoPro™
Lights: Niterider Lumina Series™ (with adapter), Light and Motion™, Bontrager™ (with adapter), Gloworm™ (with adapter), Lezyne™ (with adapter), Infini™ (with adapter), Sigma Sport™
Lifetime warranty
Retail: $70
See more at ZIPP.
Andrew stops mid-sentence, pauses, “ooooooh!…….. Oooooh…. oooooh!” his pitch rises to a maniacal school child giggle of surprise and wild childlike delight, like a two-year-olds first taste of cake. Visceral and uncontrollable joy. “Tom!?! Is this a prototype or is this a FUCKING!…. ok…. That’ll do it!” a long pause of wild-eyed observation glancing desperately around the room, eyes hungry for an affirming reaction but forced to settle for Tom’s grinning but nonchalant response of “yea, they’ve gotten lighter as well”. Another longer pause as dust from Tom’s stoic “yogi bear” response settles, a mumbled and affectionate “asshole.” The recording tapers off into minor expletives, mumblings, and the low noises people make to indicate affection for bits of metal when they’re together in sheds.
The Standard Rando is Twin Six’s flagship do it all drop bar bike. Tour, gravel, commute, ride road, whatever on this versatile bike. Build it with 650b or 700, buy a frameset or a complete, and now, you’ve got one more color to choose from if the lastolive drab release wasn’t your style. This limited edition color is available now from Twin Six in a frameset ($700) or complete ($1950), so hop on over to Twin Six and check it out.
There are a lot of dropper posts on the market, yet very few that retail for $199, and hardly any that allow for travel adjustment, or customizable color hits. The PNW Components Loam dropper does all that, allowing for up to 30mm of travel adjustment in 5mm increments. Why is that important? It ensures you get the most travel from your dropper based on your sizing. For instance, if your bike can fit a 200mm travel dropper but your resultant saddle height is 5mm too high, this allows you to lower the dropper height and still gain the full travel to your seat tube collar. On top of this nifty advancement, PNW Components offers colored collar bands, allowing you to customize a small color hit.
Head to PNW Components for more!
These days, if you want a bike to go touring or bikepacking on, you end up with a lot of vacant cargo bosses when you’re not loaded up. Japan’s Runwell Tools makes various cycling accouterments, including these punk, metal studs that screw into cargo bosses. Velo Orange is now the US distributor for Runwell Tools, so head over to their webshop to see all the offerings, which vary from NJS chain tools, hammered stem caps, and handlebar grip shifting knobs for autos. Unfortunately, the punk studs are sold out but they’re expecting more in stock soon!
Covid has brought about new fastest known time records on various trails. Last week, we received an announcement of Kurt and Kait setting new FKT on the Kokopelli, and this week the mighty White Rim had a new FKT set by Peter Stetina.
Sometimes a bike is worth more than the sum of its parts. You know, that feeling of home that isn’t just about having your favourite bars and saddle in the right place. My Kona Unit began life as a $999 single speed complete – a heck of a good value, and a bike I never knew I’d come to love so much.