22.2 Ain’t Dead! A Look at the Paul Component Engineering 22.2 Boxcar 6-Bolt Face Stem

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22.2 Ain’t Dead! A Look at the Paul Component Engineering 22.2 Boxcar 6-Bolt Face Stem

⌀22.2mm or 7/8″ bars were all they had back during the genesis of the almighty MOUNTAINBIKE. Riders would take the entire cockpit off their dirtbikes and flat track racers: Magura L363.20 bars, Magura brake/clutch levers, and even Magura grips, mounting them to SR or Cinelli quill stems. A lot has changed since the late 1970s but one thing remains: people love these small-diameter clamp bars for their mountain cruisers, klunkers, hardtails, and rigid MTBs. You know, the bikes that get ridden super hard!

Paul Component Engineering offers their normal Boxcar stem in a ⌀22.2mm clamp, but today they announced a 6-bolt faceplate Boxcar Limited stem ($147.50 – $166.50).

John got his hands on one before the drop and has some photos and thoughts below…

2023 Bespoked Handmade Bicycle Show Part 3: Avalanche, Ballern, Black Sheep, CMG, Fern, Huhn, Rheintritt, Rossman, Repete, and Timba

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2023 Bespoked Handmade Bicycle Show Part 3: Avalanche, Ballern, Black Sheep, CMG, Fern, Huhn, Rheintritt, Rossman, Repete, and Timba

The 2023 Bespoked Handmade Bicycle Show just wrapped after three action-packed days of talks, parties, and drooling over the heaps of amazing craftsmanship on display. Josh was on the ground at the Dresden, Germany airport where this year’s event took place, and, below, shares his final gallery of bikes and a couple of interesting components. Let’s get right into it!

2023 Bespoked Handmade Bicycle Show Part 2: Auguste, Actofive, Bididu, Manivelle, Quirk, Star Fish, Tim Tas+Rek, True Love, Posedla, Gramm, and Allygn

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2023 Bespoked Handmade Bicycle Show Part 2: Auguste, Actofive, Bididu, Manivelle, Quirk, Star Fish, Tim Tas+Rek, True Love, Posedla, Gramm, and Allygn

The 2023 Bespoked Handmade Bicycle Show just wrapped after three action-packed days of talks, parties, and drooling over heaps of amazing craftsmanship on display. Josh was on the ground at the Dresden, Germany airport where this year’s event took place, and, below, shares his second gallery of bikes and a couple of interesting components. Let’s get right into it!

2023 Bespoked Handmade Bicycle Show Part 1: Atelier Pariah, Boucif Custom Bikes, Cicli Bonanno, Dlouhy, Drust, Meerglas, Sour, Ingrid Shifters, and Cyber Cycles Forks

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2023 Bespoked Handmade Bicycle Show Part 1: Atelier Pariah, Boucif Custom Bikes, Cicli Bonanno, Dlouhy, Drust, Meerglas, Sour, Ingrid Shifters, and Cyber Cycles Forks

The 2023 Bespoked Handmade Bicycle Show just wrapped after three action-packed days of talks, parties, and drooling over heaps of amazing craftsmanship on display. Josh was on the ground at the Dresden, Germany airport where this year’s event took place, and, below, shares his first gallery of bikes and a couple of very interesting components that will be launching soon. Let’s get right into it!

Pump It Down: Why Every Rider Can Benefit From Volume Spacers, and How to Use Them

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Pump It Down: Why Every Rider Can Benefit From Volume Spacers, and How to Use Them

Before you even hit the parking lot to test ride a suspension bike, most shops will walk you through a careful sag and damping adjustment. But few of them will tell you that there is a whole other dimension of control inside your fork or shock’s air spring. By inserting or removing volume spacers, you can make your suspension more or less resistant to bottom-out. In turn, that may allow you to run more or less preload. This deceptively simple adjustment has gotten a reputation for being only for racers, or nerds, or nerdy racers. But Travis Engel believes everyone can benefit from volume tuning. So, he has this quick explainer on what it can do for you, and how you can try it for yourself.

Titanium Touring Perfection: Singular Gryphon Drop Bar 29er MTB Review

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Titanium Touring Perfection: Singular Gryphon Drop Bar 29er MTB Review

Over the years, I’ve had the ability and privilege of throwing my leg over a number of fat tire, drop bar touring bikes. From the almighty Tumbleweed Stargazer to the readily available Kona Sutra ULTD, these robust bikes with an off-road and load-bearing geometry make for great interstitial, genre-bending machines for all sorts of riding.

Yet before brands like Salsa were even making high clearance, drop bar, 29er, disc brake, production touring bikes, a brand called Singular Cycles in the UK shifted the paradigm with its Swift in 2007 and, later in 2008, Gryphon models. These frames featured high stack numbers, fit big tires, and most importantly, had rack/fender/cargo bosses aplenty.

This year, Singular debuted its custom Gryphon Titanium, and once again, I’m questioning which bike to crown “best in class.” Check out my full-length review below…

What’s Old is New Again: Crust X Ron’s Bikes Alumalith Rigid MTB Review

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What’s Old is New Again: Crust X Ron’s Bikes Alumalith Rigid MTB Review

Unveiled at the 2022 Philly Bike Expo to much fanfare, the Alumalith is a realization of Ronnie Romance‘s dream to incorporate his favorite aspects of vintage mountain bikes into a deciededly modern offering. Featuring a non-suspension corrected Switchblade-style fork, rim brakes, sharp angulation, and 6061 aluminum fabricated by renowned craftsman Frank Wadelton–but with internal dropper routing, clearance for 27.5 x 2.6″ tires, and a contemporary approach to geometry–the Alumalith is nostalgic delight for riders of today. Josh picked up an Alumalith earlier this year and has spent months building it, riding, refining, and riding some more. Continue reading below for his review of this niche yet capable and fun machine…

A Familiar Feeling: A Review of the Sklar Bikes SuperSomething

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A Familiar Feeling: A Review of the Sklar Bikes SuperSomething

Adam Sklar has been building custom bikes for close to a decade—and we’ve featured plenty of them on this site! But, in 2022 he decided to move production of a new model overseas to Taiwan. Dubbed the SuperSomething, this first production Sklar has road bike bones while still (subtly) paying homage to Adam’s mountain biking roots. Hailey Moore has been riding our signature Radavist edition SuperSomething all summer and, below, shares her review, along with insights into Adam’s design intent for this all-steel gravel bike.

Inside / Out at Musette Bicycles and Coffee in Bordeaux, France

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Inside / Out at Musette Bicycles and Coffee in Bordeaux, France

After six months of traveling the world–sans bicycles–Gideon Tsang and his partner Christie touched down in Bordeaux, France. With a full month’s stay ahead of them in the southwestern French city, the couple scooped up two 80s flat-bar “road bikes” for commuting and almost immediately fell in with the wonderful community-centered Musette Bicycles and Coffee. Read on below for Gideon’s insightful shop visit and interview with co-owner Rob Lawrence…