As a supplement to the Reportage we hosted from Chris Burkard, Emily Batty, Eric Batty, and Adam Morka’s trans-Icelandic route is this beautiful video, dubbed “A Line in the Sand”. Enjoy!
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Radar
Apidura Updates Their MTB Portage with the Backcountry Frame Bags and More
Modern mountain bikes are worlds different than their predecessors from even ten years ago. Even hardtails are pursuing the longer, slacker, lower approach to geometry. This means bikepacking bags need to be updated. Apidura has taken their Backcountry frame bags and updated them to fit modern hardtails better. They didn’t stop there however, these bags are completely redesigned with new compartments, improved details, 2.5, 4, 6L sizes, and more. Head to Apidura to see all the updated bags in the MTB lineup.
Radar
Big Agnes Bikepacking Line Expands for 2021
If you’ve had the chance to use the Big Agnes Bikepacking tents, then you know how convenient they are. With the short tent poles and bike harness pack, these tents pack down to a manageable size for bicycle touring. New for 2021 comes the Copper Spur HV UL3 and the Tiger Wall UL2/UL3 Bikepack Solution Dye (pictured). Head to Big Agnes to check out the full Bikepacking line in detail.
Radar
Apidura’s Racing Long Top Tube Pack
When it comes to ultra-endurance races, having everything you need within arm’s reach is of the utmost importance. Apidura has a pedigree for making bikepacking bags that are sleek and functional and today’s announcement of the Racing Long Top Tube Pack embodies those ideologies. These 2L packs stretch from stem to seatpost, offering a slim but spacious pack for snacks and other essential devices. Head to Apidura to see more.
Reportage
Tumbleweed Bikes: Tumbleweed Prospector Review, 8 Months in Asia
I’ll be honest, the thought of a new bike is not something that really gets me terribly excited these days. The places it can take me and the people I will meet along the way? Definitely! But when a post pops up on this site or any of the other bike-related sites I visit that starts getting into new-fangled hub spacings or microscopic geometry tweaks and angles, my brain tends to glaze over and forcibly pushes my hand toward clicking on the next article. The things I look for when selecting a bike for my next big trip are based almost entirely on practicality and reliability. I just want a bike that I don’t have to think about.
Radar
Revelate Updates the Pronghorn
The Pronghorn is Revelate’s ultralight, race-ready handlebar pack, for all minimalist tourers and bikepackers. It recently received an update, with an all-new material, Stratex 400, that’s lighter and more rip-resistant.
-Internal fiberglass stay provides a stable, lightweight mounting platform
-Dual cam locking straps integrated into handlebar mount secure your load
-Cam locking head tube strap with EVA foam spacer
-Removable spacer blocks to allow you to adjust for brake lever clearance
-Includes pocket clips to allow the addition of a front pocket
-Waterproof drybag built from Revelate’s new UHMWPE based fabric, Stratex 400
-Stratex 400 fabric is 60% UHMWPE woven fibers by weight
-Waterproof drybag constructed from Stratex 400 is more abraision resistant than other leading -lightweight fabrics
-Made in USA with domestic and imported materials
see more at Revelate.
Reportage
A Look at the New Agave Products Handlebar Bag: the Arroyo Backpack
One of the joys this website has brought me over the years is helping out small companies jettison their products into the world. From component manufacturers, apparel brands, frame builders, and yes, bag makers, there’s something special about watching a brand bloom over time and having been a part of that process. Last week, I met this fella named Jeff at Sincere Cycles where he showed me a new prototype bag he’s developing under the moniker Agave Products called the Arroyo Backpack.
Jeff and Agave are based in Austin, Texas, my old stomping grounds, and so this project plucked at my heartstrings a bit. Read on for a more in-depth look at the Arroyo Backpack…
Reportage
Kyle From Outer Shell’s 160mm Travel Falconer Hardtail MTB Ultra Light Loaded for the CDT
Northern New Mexico’s section of the Continental Divide Trail is quite the experience and with its popularity, more and more cyclists are coming to New Mexico to ride 70 miles of singletrack over a 90-mile route. One of my friends, Kyle from Outer Shell, recently came through town with his Falconer hardtail to take on the CDT, so I shuttled him to Cumbres Pass and bid adieu. After his trip, I linked back up with him and shot his wild Falconer hardtail, “loaded” for his time on the trail…
Radar
Restrap on Preparing for Winter
Restrap pulled together a quick video showcasing some tips to prepare for winter touring…
Reportage
Stefan Griebel and the Origin of the Colorado Trail Race – CTR
When I first heard about the Colorado Trail Race I was in fact riding part of the route, albeit one of the least engaging stretches. It was just ten days after I’d raced my bike for 200mi in Kansas and I’d been overly optimistic about my recovery when I’d agreed to a four-day tour from my home in Boulder through the South Platte (and on through Summit County) with my partner Tony.
Reportage
Split by the Panj: Riding Along the Tajik-Afghan Border
After our ride through the Bartang Valley, we arrived at the mighty Panj, a 921-kilometer long river that forms a significant portion of the border between Tajikistan and Afghanistan. Our next stretch of riding would take us along the river on the Tajik side for roughly 285 kilometers as we gradually climb through the lower Wakhan valley back up into the high Pamir mountains.
Radar
Matty and Clare: Lost Captures Trailer
Bombtrack-sponsored riders Matty and Clare took to Norway for a bicycle tour and have pulled together a full-length video documenting their travels. Here’s the trailer for Los Captures:
“Norway is a country close to Matty’s heart, a connection which only came to light after unearthing his Grandfathers previously unseen photo albums shortly after his death. They show a young and cheerful man, with a dry wit, exploring beautiful Norwegian nature by bicycle, endless gravel roads, stave churches and cascading waterfalls. All in the 1950’s. We both knew that we had to try, in some small way, to trace and commemorate his journey and visit some of the same locations and beautiful panoramas. Maybe, we dared to think, even recreate one of his images and come to find his ‘Lost Captures’…”
Radar
Unhurried: Scotland Coast to Coast
Markus Stitz documents his trip on the John Muir Way, which connects Helensburgh in the west with Dunbar to the east, crossing Scotland coast to coast in his latest video…
Radar
Ruta Chingaza: Bikepacking for Conservation
In February, legendary ultra-endurance cyclist Lael Wilcox, Joe Cruz, and the filmmaker Rugile Kaladyte traveled to the Colombian capital of Bogota, in partnership with Conservation International, Wahoo, and Bikepacking.com, to launch the Bikepacking for Conservation Program. The project was designed to explore and scout a bikepacking route that would connect the bustling metropolis of Bogota with rural communities and the Chingaza National Park. The resulting route — Ruta Chingaza — will help cyclists connect to nature and better understand the ecosystems upon which life and livelihoods in this area depend.
Chingaza National Natural Park is currently closed to cyclists, but Conservation International is collaborating with park authorities to make cycling a part of the park’s tourism strategy, and anticipate that cycling experiences (including bikepacking) will be permitted by sometime in 2021, though it is hard to anticipate when exactly due to COVID-19. Please do not travel to the park at this time
Film shot and edited by Rugile Kaladyte
Reportage
Bike-Camping Along Michigan’s North Country Trail on the Bombtrack Beyond+ ADV
The North Country Trail
Way back in the mid-80’s I was born about 30 minutes outside of Detroit, Michigan. The area I was in did not exactly lend itself to cycling becoming a hobby at the time, so I really never became interested in bikes and the outdoors until I moved to California and found the mountains as an adult. Fast forward to 2020 when my plans to ride through far-flung mountains in Asia all summer came grinding to a halt along with everyone else’s lives, I found myself back in Michigan for an unknown period of time.
Reportage
Dzil Ta’ah Adventure’s Navajo Youth Bikepacking Adventure Series: John’s Canyon
Recently, the Navajo Nation reinstated a 57-hour weekend lockdown due to the spikes in COVID in several communities. This put a hold on our first official Dzil Ta’ah Adventures youth bikepacking series outing in Nazlini, which was originally slated for September 26th. Once the lockdown is lifted, which we hope will be soon, we will proceed as planned with the Dine Composite participants. With the postponement of our first trip, we felt like this was an opportunity to leverage the extra time and continue to shape our mentorship program and build more of my team’s dexterity with an outing in John’s Canyon, Utah, at the southwestern base of Cedar Mesa.
Reportage
Learning to Love Local: Bikepacking in the Age of Covid
March 14, 2020, seemed like a normal Saturday ride for our group of gravel enthusiasts (the “Dirty Bird Crew”). Our route guru Brian had put together another fantastic route, exploring dirt roads and trails a short drive from New York City. Every weekend, year-round, we are out exploring the (surprisingly!) high-quality dirt roads and trails in the greater NYC area. We’ve gone out in nearly every weather condition, from swimming holes in the summer, to snow rides in the winter, and even riding across frozen lakes with studded tires when it’s bitterly cold, but nothing had prepared us for the months ahead. Drinking post-rode beers there was some talk about Covid-19 and the possibility that we may be working from home for a few days. We said our goodbyes until next weekend, but little did we know this would be our last group ride for months.
Radar
Swift Campout Video Challenge Finalist: Trikepacking Some Assembly Required
the Swift Campout Video Challenge has been narrowed down to a few finalists, including this beautiful short from Alaska:
“Last winter Geoff purchased a Schwinn tricycle in the hopes of easing himself into riding a bike of the two-wheeled variety and embarking on health-conscious commutes to work. Geoff spent the brief but vibrant Alaskan 2020 summer familiarizing himself with his tricycle. A singlespeed grocery-getter in nature, the trike wasn’t the ideal candidate for someone’s first bikepacking steed but – a firm believer in ride what you got – I set out modifying the trike with Geoff’s first bikepacking journey in mind. These modifications included finding a home for a Hamerschmidt internal gear crankset (originally intended for Downhill MTB use) I’d had tucked away for just such a frankenbike undertaking.”
Check out more information at the Swift Industries Youtube!
