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Held in Omaruru, Namibia this past July, the Onguza Loskop Local is a weekend festival with “great food, drinks & friends, with a wee bit of cycling thrown in for good measure.” After deciding the event looked really lekker Cape Town locals Stan Engelbrecht and Donnet Dumas made the trip out and each rode the event in divergent fashions—Donnet on a borrowed too-small Giant, and Stan on his ill-advised fixed-gear with skinny tires—and share a joint account of their adventure…
Jay Ritchey of Bags By Bird (BXB) recently started offering custom bags not only for fabric choice and all the usual options but also specifically tailored to the height of your bars and your desired width. For riders with a lot of front-end real estate or those with a minimal amount, this can be an amazing way to maximize your gear space. In true BXB fashion, the bag looks incredible and functions equally beautifully.
When Josh posted up his Alumalith, with a custom Portage bag he collaborated on with Cedaero, it caused a rukkus! Karl from Cedaero got flooded with requests for these throwback MTB bags from the 1980s and 90s, so we decided to make a run for our readership!
We made two colors; waxed canvas burgundy ($134.95) like Josh specced and all-black cordura ($124.95). These bags are bike geometry/size specific and Karl made them to fit the Alumalith but they will fit any bike but you’ve gotta be mindful with the sizing! Read on below for more information on how to size this for your bike…
This is the story of a perpetually unfinished project, but also of a really cool bike that’s taken me a lot of great places – and how it came to me is its own unlikely story. The fact that a custom Rock Lobster built for someone else has been the best fitting bike I’ve ever owned is pure coincidence, particularly as I would learn that it didn’t quite fit the original owner as they had hoped. Settle in for the Tale of the Humongous Rock Lobster.
Gripper Bar Tape, produced by the good folks at GREPP, is an adhesive-free, durable, and washable handlebar tape. Based in Sweden, GREPP founders Jan and Thomas initially set out to produce a milled cotton cloth tape (like many other classics in the market) but very quickly found that with the use of innovative new materials, they had an opportunity to produce a much more sustainable, long-lasting, and environmentally friendly product for the market.
Continue reading Sam and Bec‘s thorough long-term review of this innovative bar tape…
Does it get much better than small makers addressing niche demands within a niche sector of the bike industry? I don’t think so. One of my favorite parts about running this website is showcasing and highlighting cottage industry bike businesses. Shovel Research is a small machine and fabrication shop that makes well-designed products that address a niche demand. One of which is its Rod Steward, a bag support designed for the Fab’s Chest by Ron’s Bikes, but as I found out on my Rivendell Bombadil, it works well with a Rivendell Sackville BagBoy bag.
Let’s check out a quick review below…
This week’s Readers’ Rides comes from Ben, aka Bushtrucker here on the site, from down in Australia. He shared with us his custom Larkin Cycles “Nightmare,” the opposite of his Larkin/Crust “Dreamer” tourer. Let’s check out the bike and build kit below!
Like its predecessor, Drive to Survive, the new Netflix Unchained series seeks to humanize the World Tour’s automaton-seeming athletes that make up professional road cycling’s peloton. But as the exploding gravel scene in the U.S. faces “growing pains,” Nic Morales wonders if the effects of Unchained’s inevitable popularity will remain culturally abstract, or if they will serve to usher in an era of Road 2.0 on America’s gravel roads. Read on for Nic’s reaction to the series in this latest installment of The Dust-Up, our ongoing opinion column.
Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. Read on below for today’s findings…
Taylor‘s journey to rediscovering a love for bicycles included building a modern klunker from a 1954 Schwinn Hornet frameset. After plenty of experimentation with parts and modifications, an unlikely entry into a local race would prove fortuitous for Taylor and his vintage rig. Continue reading below for a detailed rundown of Taylor’s build project, racing his klunker at local events, and more from Skidway Island!
“If you can’t be with the one you love, love the one you’re with.” This is how James’ email to our Readers’ Rides inbox began and perhaps that’s what caught my attention. James has a Cannondale RaadX ‘cross bike that he’s used for everything. Its name is Dapple and today, we’re sharing it with you—enjoy!
Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. Read on below for today’s findings…
Over the past few months of riding Otso’s titanium version of their previously-released stainless steel Fenrir, I’ve strayed further into the morass of bike categorization than I ever thought I would, along the way asking myself such snake-eating-its-tail questions as: What is a gravel bike, what is a mountain bike, do modern ATBs even exist?
Fresh pulls of espresso waltz through a cold September morning, dancing alongside a particular brand of nervous excitement. It’s a certain hum I’ve come to understand as unique to the start of bikepacking trips and the suckers who choose such endeavors as their vacation. Strangers who will become good friends in a few short miles clear the frogs from their throats to answer early morning queries about their hometowns, bike set-ups, and handlebar tchotchkes over hot breakfast burritos and steamy lattes slung by Autobahn Coffee as we all wait for the start of the Salsa Cycles Ochoco Overlander.
Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. Read on below for today’s findings…
It doesn’t take long to understand why Leo Rodgers is such an inspirational figure in the cycling world, and beyond. After losing his leg to a motorcycle accident nearly a decade ago, Leo found bicycles as a positive outlet and has been spreading good vibes in communities across the world ever since. He’s always cracking jokes and makes riding bikes look the most fun you’ll ever have. Leo was excited about the upcoming release of his most recent collaboration project with BMXer Julian Molina when, the week before Christmas, he was involved in another accident that resulted in a broken neck and paralysis. Continue reading below for a recap of Leo and Julian’s project by James Luedde, video by Stew Johnson, and Jeff Zielinski‘s excellent photoset. There’s also a link to a fundraiser, which will help support Leo and his family during these difficult and uncertain times.
Each year, John highlights some of his favorite products he used in 2022. These run the gamut from camping gear to apparel, components, accessories, and more. Let’s check out what made his list this year below!
Miles Payton shares an overnight route on the edge of the outback that loosely traces the Llano River in Central Texas. The route’s remote nature, oft-accompanied by high heat eight months out of the year, deserves appropriate respect and preparation but, as Miles’ describes, traces some of the more unique and compelling geology Texas has to offer. The route is a reminder that sometimes joy and exhaustion are only separated by ten degrees Fahrenheit, or the soft buffer of a cloud bank, and also that the trips that leave mixed emotions can leave you with more to ponder over after they’re finished. Thanks for sharing Miles!
