Today, Tumbleweed Bicycle Co launched a revamp to its Mini Pannier and T-Racks. The CroMo racks (T-Rack $140 Mini Pannier $150) are lighter and stronger than the previous versions and have improved features. Today, we’re discussing the all-new Mini Pannier Titanium. Weighing in at only 258 grams (confirmed), Tumbleweed’s Titanium Mini Pannier Rack ($400) is a new option, now available, for those looking for an ultralight rear carrier option. John got one ahead of its release and has a First-Look Review below…
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Saturday Rad Bazaar Finds
Today, we’ve got a fine selection of used goods from the Rad Bazaar, our Group Ride subscribers‘ selling platform, featuring some unique offerings. Let’s check it all out!
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~70% Reduction: A Classified Powershift MTB Hub Review
Sun and planet gears, proprietary internals, electronic signals, and precise shifting under load. Those are just some of the topics that John will walk us through in his Classified Powershift Hub for mountain bikes review below…
Radar
Friday Rad Bazaar Finds
Today, we’ve got a fine selection of used (and new) goods from the Rad Bazaar, our Group Ride subscribers‘ selling platform, featuring some unique offerings. Let’s check it all out!
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Wide Open: Mason Cycles Bokeh 3 Gravel Bike Review
While we give a lot of coverage to big, burly dropbar touring bikes, there’s something freeing about riding a lightweight and zippy gravel bike at a faster pace. Mason Cycles’ Bokeh 3 offered up this exact riding experience for John as he fled the frigid lands of Northern New Mexico in winter for a romp in the grasslands of Patagonia, Arizona. Let’s check it out…
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Readers’ Rides: Jan from True Love Cycles’ Roadkill All Road
Sometimes our weekly Readers’ Rides posts are repurposed, vintage MTBs turned into commuters and other times, framebuilders showcase their latest personal bikes. Today we have Jan from True Love Cycles in Warsaw showcasing his “Roadkill” All-Road bike, which also happens to be for sale… This one’s a stunner so let’s get to it!
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Our Favorite Fat Bike Reviews
Fat bikes are strange birds in the cycling world, with their crazy-wide q-factors and monster clearances, but they are also extremely capable platforms that lend room for a lot of creativity. As an arctic blast sweeps across much of the US, and snow blankets our favorite Southwest trails, we’re taking a look back at our ten favorite fat-bike reviews from the last few years. You’ll see a few of the usual suspects from Surly, but we’re also resurrecting one-off creations from the archives and even a Readers’ Ride. Drop into the comments and let us know how you’re getting ‘Fat’ this winter!
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RatKing and Back Alley Bike Repair Release The Lost Highway Bicycle
What is The Lost Highway bicycle? It’s a limited edition inspired union of Urban Wits and multi-terrain, backcountry RatKing Wanderlust frames. Read on to find out more…
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Readers’ Rides: Luke’s Soma Wolverine
The SOMA Wolverine is an affordable all rounder that can be built in a number of different ways. We’ve documented a number of these builds over the years and they always pull at our heartstrings. For this week’s Readers’ Rides, Luke, a longtime follower and commenter of The Radavist shares with us his stunning build…
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Easy Wins and Marginal Gains: Our Review Fairlight Secan Goes Ultra Distance
While most review bikes go back into a company’s demo fleet pretty quickly, the Fairlight Secan that Morgan Taylor reviewed back in 2022 has gone on to live an illustrious life of ultra-distance riding, mostly of the randonneuring variety, with their friend Andrew. In this re-review, Morgan and Andrew consider the Secan’s updated build and speak to the easy wins and marginal gains of preparing both bike and rider for very long days in the saddle.
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Dirty Sundays’ Velo Cosmos Event Recap!
Back in November, Dirty Sundays hosted the first Velo Cosmos event at the Holbrooke Hotel in Grass Valley, CA. We are honored to host an event recap, written by Whit at Meriwether Cycles and documented professionally by Reel 23 Films and Jean Paul Rose. Let’s check it out below!
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Falconer Cycles Now Offers Titanium Frames: A Look at Cameron’s Hardtail Touring Bike and Rack
Falconer Cycles is now making titanium frames and last weekend, he unveiled a stunning titanium hardtail touring bike to John…
For creatives – be it sculptors or painters – expanding into other mediums is often fulfilling and cathartic. Learning new methodologies and processes keeps makers engaged with their work. Lots of bicycle fabricators start out TIG welding steel frames and, later, expand into working with titanium. This offers new horizons for not only the brand but also for loyal followers to access a superior material.
Cameron Falconer is the latest builder to be documented here expanding into titanium from steel. While in Southern Arizona last weekend, John caught up with Cam who showcased a titanium hardtail touring bike with a custom titanium rack. This was “John’s modern bike shoot of the year” as he put it excitedly and you can see why below…
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Charlie Cunningham’s 2012 Personal 29er: So Many Details
The following post is a labor of love. Hours of tedious work went into not only documenting this bike but writing about it. It is by far the most ambitious story Tasshi Dennis from The Vintage MTB Workshop and John Watson have worked on. Charlie Cunningham was more important to the modern mountain and gravel bike movement than many know. His work spanned over four decades, and the bike you see here today was his personal bike.
Read on for a complete dissection of what has to be the most detailed bicycle ever to grace this humble corner of the internet. We hope you feel the love that was poured into this post…
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Radar Roundup: Starling Adds UDH Compatibility, Fern Illusion Grill Racks, Wilde and Yellow Bird Threadworks, Fizik Nanuq GTX Shoes, Bikepacking Roots and the BOLT Act, and Crust in Baja
Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. Read on below for today’s findings…
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Readers’ Rides: Bryan’s All-City Space Horse
For this week’s Readers’ Rides, Bryan shares his journey from a Specialized road bike to an All-City Space Horse with us. Read along to learn how this bike changed his perspective on riding!
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An Original MTB Saddle Gets Reissued: A Review of the Brooks B72
When Brooks England decided to resurrect the legendary B72 saddle ($190), the brand reached out to John to use his 1980 Ritchey as a model to showcase the saddle’s history of being mounted to some of the first mountain bikes. Then, to offer a modern comparison, they built up a stunning Stooge Cycles Speedbomb. The resulting builds are eerily similar in some ways and worlds apart in others, yet the Brooks B72 looks right at home on both bikes. Let’s check out the new B72, including John’s quick review, below.
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Down With the Thickness: A Race Face Chester Grip Review
Normally, this review would get shuffled into a Radar Roundup. Let’s be real, it’s just a mountain bike grip. But Travis Engel has been using the new Race Face Chester for a few weeks now, and he thought it deserved a spotlight, thanks to its two available sizes and surprisingly clever design. Also, the next Radar Roundup isn’t until Monday, and the Chester launch will probably be old news by then. It’s just a mountain bike grip.
Radar
Radar Roundup: Tumbleweed Stargazer Titanium Restock, Rogue Panda Dropper Block, VRNCLR Awesome Secret, CDC Heloise Trousers, and Crust Does LA Invitational 2023
Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. Read on below for today’s findings…