Tumbleweed Sunliner Review: A Timeless Mountain Touring Bike

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Tumbleweed Sunliner Review: A Timeless Mountain Touring Bike

The Tumbleweed Sunliner ($3775 complete) continues a long-held tradition of equipping a mountain bike with touring accoutrements. Since the mountain bike’s inception, people have been bolting racks and strapping bags to them, taking advantage of its beefy chassis and wide gearing to pedal deeper into rugged terrain than ever before. John has been riding the Sunliner all year in the Southern Rockies, both unloaded as a trail bike and loaded on camping trips. Read on for his thorough assessment of this timeless touring bike…

Meriwether Cycles Ponderosa Adventure Gravel Bike Review

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Meriwether Cycles Ponderosa Adventure Gravel Bike Review

Yesterday we looked Inside and Out of Meriwether Cycles via an in-depth Shop Visit. In that post, we offered a sneak peek at Whit’s production adventure gravel bike, the Ponderosa. John has been riding a prototype all year, providing Whit feedback for the final production model, which we’ll look at it in detail today. Read on for a full review of this tall and sturdy dream bike platform…

Rodeo Adventure Labs Shop Visit: Ride. Explore. Create. Better.

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Rodeo Adventure Labs Shop Visit: Ride. Explore. Create. Better.

Rodeo Adventure Labs was founded as an open-to-anyone team a decade ago by Stephen Fitzgerald and a group of friends in search of less rules and more fun on bikes. Since becoming a production bike company with an emphasis on versatility, customization, and—always—refined design, Rodeo has retained a culture of questioning the norm. Today, Hailey Moore shares a long-form profile of the high points and headwinds Rodeo has navigated over the past ten years, and exciting insights into how the company is thinking about its future. To accompany this Shop Visit, we’re also sharing people-and-bike portraits of the folks behind Rodeo Adventure Labs in a separate Radar.

From Beretta to Bicycles: Tom Ritchey on Investment Casting and 1990 Eisentraut Mountain Bike

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From Beretta to Bicycles: Tom Ritchey on Investment Casting and 1990 Eisentraut Mountain Bike

We’re in a seemingly new era of bicycle framebuilding with the proliferation of 3D-printed components. While this movement might feel “unprecedented,” a similar thing happened with framebuilders in the mid-1980s and into the 1990s with technology borrowed from the Beretta gun manufacturer in Italy.

In what has to be one of our most intriguing Vintage Bicycles articles to date, John hops on a phone call with Tom Ritchey to discuss a rare 1990 Eisentraut mountain bike that Tom had recently acquired and the technology that made it possible.

Far from Alone: Meaghan Hackinen’s Invisible Support Network Behind her Solo Tour Divide Finish

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Far from Alone: Meaghan Hackinen’s Invisible Support Network Behind her Solo Tour Divide Finish

This June, Meaghan Hackinen set out to compete in the Tour Divide. While no stranger to big rides or bikepacking races, this would be Meaghan’s longest off-pavement adventure yet. After a neck-and-neck race with Ana Jager, Meaghan reached Antelope Wells in a time of 15 days and 23 hours, winning the 2024 women’s division (7th overall) and setting the fastest women’s time for a grand depart.

In this reflective essay, Meaghan weaves together snapshots from her experience while exploring the invaluable but less visible support network that helped her achieve this Tour Divide win. 

Supporting photographs from Seth DuBois, Alexandera Houchin, and Megan Dunn

SRAM RED XPLR AXS Review: 13-Speed, Lightweight, Durable, and Fast

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SRAM RED XPLR AXS Review: 13-Speed, Lightweight, Durable, and Fast

Announced today, SRAM’s RED XPLR AXS groupset combines elements of its UDH-compatible mountain bike components with its high-end road group for an all-new gravel-specific product lineup. SRAM designed it to be light, fast, and durable for the needs of today’s gravel racers and riders wanting the highest performing upper echelon groupset.

To discover how RED XPLR AXS stacks up and who it’s best suited for, check out Josh’s review below.