The Radavist

Ride Farr announced today two new framesets in their catalog. Known for their aero bars and other ultra-endurance accessories, these frames are a milestone for the brand. The Gravel Monster (GMX) aluminum frame ($695) and All Terrain Bicycle (ATB) steel ($495) frames were designed from the ground up, with bikepacking, and long rides in mind. The GMX features its own 483mm Axle-to-Crown steel rigid fork that is suspension corrected for 100mm 29er travel, while the ATB rolls on a steel chassis and 120/130mm travel. Head to Ride Farr to see all the details.

Matt and Brad have been riding together for years, on increasingly difficult rides and races. This is unexpected for Matt, as he was told “no bikes for the rest of your life” by his doctor after an injury, only to take on Ireland’s Transatlantic Way, a 2500k route along the west coast of Ireland years later… Matt and Brad finished in 7 days, 15hours, and 43 minutes, finishing first place out of seven teams!

For this week’s Readers’ Rides, we’re featuring Steven’s own, self-built Slug gravel bike. This one is very detail-oriented so we’ll let Steven do the talking…

Here’s my bike, my only bike. After working in the Cycling industry for several years, I realized that I had far too many bikes, and I’ve subsequently sold off all but this one. The story of Slug is pretty random, and I’m not necessarily the one to tell it. I will tell you about the bike, however.

Our friends at Sim Works are throwing a raffle to raise money for a handful of organizations, with the goal of aiding in social reform. The raffle starts today, June 26th, at noon, and closes on Friday, July 3 at 5pm (PST).

$25 for a raffle ticket (per entry). 100% of proceeds will be donated to the organizations.

Also, all customers spending $100 or more in the SimWorks web store will be added to the raffle participants list, and 10% of their merchandise total will be donated to the organizations that SimWorks has elected to make financial contributions.

–BLACK LIVES MATTER
–DON’T SHOOT PDX
–NAACP
–BIKEPACKING ROOTS – THE BIPOC ADVENTURE GRANT
–WTF BIKEXPLORERS

Head to Sim Works to buy a raffle ticket at 12 noon PST today!

Made in their Leytonstone, East London workshop, in small batches, the new Groadinger UG frame from Stayer Cycles offers up a modern gravel geometry, frame details for ultra-versatile builds, and a beautiful finish, with a wishbone seat stay. Stayer offers these new frames in two build kits as well with the ultra-sporty HOPE superfast Grav Grav build (pictured above) or the Danglemug realness double camo build (pictured below) with an olive drab paint and a double crankset.

Pricing for a frameset with either a Ritchey or Whisky fork begins at £1,650.00, with a pre-order opened now. The next batch of UGs will be ready to paint the last week of August 2020. The Stayer pre-order will close on August 1st.

Head to Stayer Cycles to see more!

Two names in the outdoor industry with industry-leading apparel have joined forces to develop a special kit for women. Outdoor Voices and Rapha teamed up for a special riding kit and we think it looks great! See more from this collaboration at Rapha and see the full gallery from this photoshoot by Cait Oppermann below.

Fede Cabrera has an interesting story:

“During the last 6 years I rode more than 30.000 km through remote areas in South America, where I donated 500 printed portraits as well as 350 solar lights, water-turbines and filters. And I won’t stop.”

See the full story at Bombtrack!

Our friends at Big Agnes are always pushing the boundaries of shelter design. A current example is their new for 2020 “Crazylight” lineup, featuring tents lighter than a pound, like the new Scout 1 tent. This single-walled tent uses either trekking poles or alternative tent poles to create a large, head-entry door, with plenty of room for your gear and proper ventilation. This ain’t a glorified bivvy sack. With a trail weight of 369g and a packed weight of 539g, this three-season tent is indeed “crazy light.” See more information at Big Agnes.

Hope is great at many things, the first being their ability to machine some of the nicest parts right in the UK and the second being nailing all the anodizing colors you could want. Their new colored center-lock lockrings offer a splash of color to your disc brake bike. They’re compatible with 15mm thru-axles, weigh 9.5g and are in stock now. Head to Hope to see more.

The Disc Trucker is Surly’s disc touring bike and this year, the brand revamped it a bit, adding a bunch of crucial details:

Updates:
-Dynamo routing on the fork, plus three-pack mounts on the blade and every braze-on you’ll ever need for racks, fenders, water bottle cages, and more
-12mm thru-axles for a stiffer feel and increased stability when fully loaded
-Shortened seat tube and slightly sloped top tube for improved stand-over clearance, plus increased stack height for a more upright and comfortable riding position on those long hauls
-Spec’d with the Truck Stop Bar and tubeless ExtraTerrestrial tires for dependable handling and traction
-Flat-mount disc brakes
-Frame sizes 42–56cm are available with 26” diameter wheels, while frame sizes 56–64cm are available with 700c diameter wheels
-Clearance for 26” x 2.1” tires with or without fenders, or 700c x 47mm with or without fenders

Check out this video for all the info and head to Surly to see more.

Wolf Tooth first launched its grip lineup last year and this year, the Supple Bar Tape is the brand’s first-ever bar tape. This stuff is extra thick, extra wide, extra soft, and extra tacky. Wolf Tooth’s grips that are made from the exact same silicone material and like the grips, the new Supple Bar Tape is designed for comfort and damping the vibrations from riding rough terrain.

Specs:
-5mm thick for extra comfort
-40mm wide with tapered edges designed for overlapping wraps
-Tacky texture adds grip with or without gloves
-Washable surface is resistant to wear
-Self-fusing silicone finishing tape provides a clean final look
-Available in black for now, with more colors on the way

See more at Wolf Tooth Components.

This is an exciting announcement from our friends at Blackburn and Bikepacking Roots!

“The National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA), Blackburn Designs, and Bikepacking Roots are excited to announce a new partnership that establishes a bikepacking curriculum and traveling gear library for NICA student-athletes and coaches. Bikepacking Roots is providing the on-trail expertise and Blackburn is providing the funding and bikepacking kit for 20 riders as part of their Bronze Level sponsorship with NICA for 2020.”

Keep an eye here on the site for more coverage from this exciting announcement!

The Black Foxes is a collective of black cyclists and outdoors-people who have created a platform to share and control their own narratives. Check out their introduction video here and then visit theblackfoxes.com for their manifesto.

Some of our friends are petitioning Lifetime Sports to change the name of Dirty Kanza. This comes after DK founder Jim Cummins was let go from the race organization for making racist claims in support of the fatal shooting of Rayshard Brooks by police. The petition is as follows:

“#NameTheChange is a campaign to end the use of the slur “dirty Kanza” as the event name of DIRTY KANZA (DK) in Emporia, KS.

We, a united collective of Indigenous advocates, cyclists, people of Faith, educators, Elders, youth, local Kansas residents and builders of a Just world, ask that the name of the gravel event be changed to honor the dignity of the land and Indigenous people. The campaign calls upon the owners of the “DK”, organizers, and sponsors to do the right thing and bring an end to the use of the racial epithet.”

Read the full demands and sign the petition at Change.org.

We have a piece on the site this week that will dive deeper into this controversial subject, so stay tuned.

Colt Fetters takes us through his gear list for bikepacking trips in the desert. As you can imagine, the desert is one of the harshest environments to tour through, so check out Colt’s recommendations here.

Revel’s new Ranger XC bike is a lighter and snappier version of its big sibling, the Rascal. Designed around a 29×2.6″ or 27.5×2.8″ wheelset, the Ranger is a 120mm front and 115mm rear travel bike, build on a CBF-engineered chassis. Think lightweight but still capable. The Ranger comes in three build kits, ranging from $4,999 to $9,999 and a frameset, which is priced at $2,799. You can pre-order now at Revel with a mid-July delivery estimate. See more at Revel.

Specs:
-Wheel Size 29″
-Front Travel 120mm
-Rear Travel 115mm
-Shock Spec 190 x 45-22.2 x 8 Hardware Spec
-Boost Axles 148mm rear / 110mm front
-Seatpost Diameter 31.6mm (use our size guide to choose the best dropper height!)
-Bearings: BOLU 6801 VRS full complement, 12mm x 21mm x 5mm 6pcs per bike
BOLU 6901 VRS full complement, 12mm x 24mm x 6mm 12pcs per bike
-Rear Brake 160mm post mount / 180mm max
-Tire Clearance 29″ x 2.6″ or 27.5″ x 2.8″
-Bottom Bracket Threaded (73mm English threaded)
-Chainguide Custom Revel guide included
-Tapered Headtube IS42 upper / IS52 lower
-Colors Johnny Green Jeans / De La Coal
-Sizes S / M / L / XL
-Frame Warranty Lifetime Warranty

Freeride legend Eric Porter took some quarantime to build a jump line in his backyard for his kids and in this video, they build a big plywood roll-in!

Check out what the LA Bicycle Academy is all about, as Justin Williams inspires the future of black cyclists in Los Angeles…