I hope your winter break was refreshing and that you got some miles in over the Holidaze. We’re back in 2022 with the first of our 2021 year-end recaps, beginning with everyone’s favorite: the Top 10 Beautiful Bicycles of 2021. Like years prior, I compiled this list by traffic, comments, and social media/backlink chatter, also omitting bikes from Open House/Expo style showcases. There are some real gems in here, so let’s get to it!
“fat bike”
Search Term – Change
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Continuing the Klunker Vibes with Freewheelin’
We’ve already posted the Crested Butte to Aspen tour numerous times over the years, but we’ve never posted Freewheelin’!
“They’re called “Mountain Bikes” or “Fat Tire Flyers” by off-road enthusiasts and these dynamic human powered machines are at the leading edge of the bicycling revival sweeping the globe today. Action-packed and instructive, this film brings alive the new-found freedom, challenge and adventure which characterizes this exciting variation of self-propelled sport and recreation. Featuring expert bike handling and astounding trick riding skills, this film is pure motivational entertainment for youthful audiences and the young-at-heart of all ages.”
Thanks for sending this video in, Stephen!
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John’s Favorite Products of 2021
With the holidays approaching we like to spend some time looking back at 2021 and give some of our favorite products a shout-out. In this post, we look at John’s personal favorite products of the year. Some are cycling-related, others are just solid staples John’s enjoyed using this year, so let’s get to it!
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Rough Stuff Fellowship: Further Adventures in Rough Stuff Now Available
If you’re looking for something different this year for your holiday purchases and gifts, consider the second volume from Rough Stuff Fellowship, Further Adventures in Rough Stuff. The second volume of photos and stories from the archive of the oldest off-road cycling club in the world. The original members of the RSF, founded in 1955, were the godfathers and godmothers of off-road cycling as we know it today – mountain bikes, gravel, and cylotourists all follow in their tire tracks…
Available in a limited-edition hardcover and a regular softcover version at Isolapress.
Specs:
-270 x 210 mm
-Hardcover with flush-cut boards or softcover options
-208pp
-Matches Volume 1
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Donate For a Chance to Win a One-Of-a-Kind Surly Midnight Special!
Bike supply chain shortages got you bummed out? Love the Midnight Special but can’t get yer grubby mitts on one? Well check out this contest Surly is running with Full Cycle, a non-profit organization that uses bikes as a way to support and feed houseless youth in Surly’s hometown of Minneapolis, MN.
Read about how you can win this bike at Pillsbury United Communities!
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The 5th Annual 2021 Nutmeg Nor’Easter: A Personal Account
Arya and Ronnie, the two cuties that are at the front of our bike bag sponsor Ron’s Bikes, invited my partner Karla and me to come over to their event, the Nutmeg Nor’Easter. Described as “the non-competitive alt cycling world championship” and running its fifth edition, this would be the first Nor’Easter after a time where reunions were discouraged, but the organizers still took care of delivering an event 100% outdoors and only for vaccinated people, although no vaccination cards were verified. Because you see, this is the type of gathering where you are trusted to care for yourself and those around you, but in a non-coercive way. For Karla and me this would be our first time not only in Connecticut, but also east of the Rocky Mountains; the first impressions, provided by our Uber trip from the airport at 1 am, made us think we were in a good scenario for which stories, and local tales revealed we weren’t wrong.
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The Quirk Cycles SUPERCHUB is a Tricked Out XC Race Hardtail
Today we’re pleased to showcase framebuilder operation Quirk Cycles and its new model, the SUPERCHUB. Let’s take a look at this new bike, guided by Robert Quirk’s words and photographer’s Nikoo Hamzavi documentation of this stunning machine.
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American Classic Announces an Open Call for its Ambassador Program
American Classic recently relaunched as a tire company, offering a variety of sizes for road, gravel, and e-bikes at an approachable price point. Coinciding with the relaunch, American Classic has established an ambassador program and is currently seeking applicants.
All types of riders and racers are encouraged to complete the application form to be considered. American Classic will then follow up and provide tires to those selected in exchange for feedback, fun content, and the charge of spreading the joy of cycling.
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The Custom Gravel Beauties of the 2021 Chris King Open House: Baum, Bixxis, Legor, Prova, Victoire
For the past five years, we’ve hosted in-depth documentation of the annual Chris King Open House and for the second year in a row, this showcase has gone virtual. Yet, don’t fret, because we have a beautiful showcase of some incredibly talented, international builders for you today. With a catalog spanning the globe, ranging from Australia to Italy, Spain, and France, we’re bringing gravel offerings from Baum, Bixxis, Legor, Prova, and Victoire to the web for you to enjoy from the comfort of your home or office. These bikes feature an extremely limited run of grey and turquoise Chris King bits which won’t be available to the public but have informed the paint designs for each of these noble steeds.
I hope you’re ready for some delicious gravel bikes! Let’s jump right in…
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Rigid and Spellbound: The Sour Bicycles Pasta Party 29er SSMTB with BERD Wheels
In some form of intergalactic serendipity, this review coincides with the 2021 International Singlespeed Day, so hopefully, this article inspires you to dust off the ol’ Cruiser or SSMTB and get out for a sunset shred with your friends.
I’ve had the Sour Bicycles Pasta Party for longer than I’d like to admit for a review period but with supply chain shortages, I decided to scrap my original plans for the build as a geared hardtail and assembled it with various spare parts and some new fancy BERD wheels which ended up resulting in one very unique rigid singlespeed 29er.
The Pasta Party is a strange bird with a few clever details and a few quirks, so read on below for my review of this unique chassis offering from the German brand Sour Bicycles…
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Grand Rapids Urban Singletrack with Mitch Mileski, His All-City Electric Queen, and Grand Rapids Bicycle Company
In addition to riding some amazing purpose-built singletrack in my former hometown of West Michigan this past summer (more on that to come!), another highlight was linking up with Mitch Mileski for a very unexpected type of trail riding. Mitch manages the Fulton Street location of the Grand Rapids Bicycle Co. and, having also grown up in Grand Rapids (just much more recently than me) he knows the city very well and was generous to show off a few hidden gems. I met up with Mitch early on a moody weekday morning with a typical summer weather forecast calling for a 50% chance of precipitation.
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Homelands
This project has all the feels:
“Velocio Ambassador, Gregg Deal, found cycling first as a mountain bike racer growing up in Park City, Utah during the mountain bike boom of the 1990s. Today, the 46 year old father, husband, artist and activist lives in Colorado Springs and uses riding to inform and infuse his professional life.
To that end, we’re proud to collaborate with Gregg on a custom benefit jersey bearing his art and benefiting The Sovereign Bodies Institute for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2 Spirit and Illuminative, which aims to increase Indigenous representation in media. 100% of the profits from this jersey will be donated to these organizations.
We followed Gregg on a ride from Truckee, California to the Pyramid Lake Paiute Reservation, a 742 square mile plot roughly 35 miles northeast of Reno, Nevada. What we saw was the unique connection to place, an intimate look at Indigenous culture and a tie to bike that is rarely seen.”
Check out the limited edition jersey and more photos from Greg’s ride at Velocio!
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Derek’s Early 90s Diamondback Apex
You know, sometimes a great bike is just a bike, and that’s enough. It could be your favorite bike of all the bikes you own or have owned. It could also just be the only bike you own. Either way, if you love it, then that’s enough for it to be good or even great. Derek loves this bike. For him, it’s a great bike, great enough to bring back from the dead and give it another life.
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Readers’ Rides: Erik’s Stanton Switch9er 631 Hardtail
This week’s Readers’ Rides comes from Erik‘s Stanton (Made in the UK) hardtail. We love a good rowdy hardtail so let’s check this one out in detail below!
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A Fundraiser for Ride Group: Win This Baphomet Bicycles New Mexico Single Speed Rigid MTB
Today we’ve got something special from our lad Dillen at Baphomet Bicycles and Molly Cameron‘s Ride Group. We’re stoked to host a fundraiser in hopes of raising money for Ride Group so read on below for how you can win this bike, built up with lots of MUSA components and accessorized with New Mexico bag makers…
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Josh Uhl’s 2019 Triple Crown Attempt: A Personal Journey
The beauty of bikes is in the people who ride them—and how they all have a story. I have little doubt that everyone—serious riders, aeroed and grimaced, and carefree cruisers alike—have experienced that epiphanous fresh-air feeling of freedom that accompanies spinning your legs astride two wheels. Sometimes we just enjoy it at the moment—letting the short-lived wave of release and clarity wash over us during a weeknight burrito run, or a trip to the coffee shop. Other times we chase that feeling down with the hope that, somehow, it might change our life.
What first intrigued me about Josh Uhl was, however, not his history with bikes but his podcast Here For Now, which he started in February of 2021. Josh uses this platform to have intentional and intimate conversations with his guests about motivation, struggle, and the big whys of life. Listening to an early episode with Peter Hogan, where the recovering addict asserts that “Bikes aren’t God,” and to a later episode where the writer Zoe Röm reflects on the delusion of “authenticity” on social media, I found myself frequently nodding along. Yes, exactly.
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Simon’s Lavender Titanium Haley Cycles 29+ Rigid MTB
Santa Fe has long been a hub for travelers and this year, we’ve seen a good amount of cyclists roll through town while on their vacations and holidays. Most people just want to go out for a pedal and some bring a special bike. Simon is the latter, bringing along with him a really beautiful titanium 29+ rigid MTB, built by a company with a small internet presence called Haley Cycles. Let’s take a look at this beaut below.
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Wren Sports: Beefcake Carbon Gravel Adventure Fork
Wren Sports just announced the pre-order for their new Beefcake carbon adventure fork, designed for gravel bikes. The Beefcake has a 425mm axle to crown, with ample clearance for either a 27.5 x 3″ or 29 x 2.6″ tire. Its retail is $499.99 for the base fork or $549.98 for a 12mm thru-axle conversion kit. The pre-order is open now with an end of October delivery date.
Specs:
Material: Fully hand laid, aircraft grade carbon monocoque
Fits Wheels: 27.5 x 3.0, 29 x 2.6
Axle: 15 mm thru-axle standard. Optional 12 mm thru-axle kit available
Axle Material: 7075-T6 premium alloy
Hub: 100 mm
AC: 425 mm, plenty of room to clear mud and snow
Offset: 42 mm
Steer Tube: Tapered, 266 mm long
Post Mount: 160 mm standard, can run up to 203 mm rotor with adapter
Finish: Matte black with full color Beefcake logo on crown and gloss black Wren logos on each leg.
Weight: 770 grams
See more at Wren!