#gravel-bike

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Patrick from the Bikes or Death Podcast and His Chumba Stella Ti Drop Bar 29er

Reportage By: john watson

Patrick from the Bikes or Death Podcast and His Chumba Stella Ti Drop Bar 29er

A little while back, Patrick from Bikes or Death reached out, saying he was going to be in Santa Fe and was hoping we could sit down for a podcast interview. Naturally, I obliged, and last night we hung out at our office here in Santa Fe and talked about bikes, photography, other randomness related to this website. I won’t give too much away but I was really stoked on how it went. Doing interviews is a great way to bond with a person and afterward, I just had to shoot Patrick’s Chumba Cycles Stella Ti. While the podcast episode won’t be out for a few weeks, I wanted to feature this rad build while it was all still fresh on my mind, so enjoy!

Far Quarter Gravel: Gravel Rides Around Trinidad, Colorado

Radar By: Juan Delaroca

Far Quarter Gravel: Gravel Rides Around Trinidad, Colorado

Two years ago Backshop Bikes introduced one of the first gravel cycling tourism efforts in Trinidad, Colorado. The perception was that gravel had already matured to the point where as a category it would evolve towards a destination model akin to mountain biking. If it worked, then suddenly rural drive-by towns had a chance to leverage gravel bikes towards social prosperity. This is why we created the Explore Las Animas campaign in 2019, which included a website with community and route information. Unfortunately, it came down and I’ve been brainstorming on ways to get one back up since…

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Flashpoint MVMNT

Our friends at Giro have sponsored a new collective of athletes and brands that stand united in a common goal to introduce new audiences to cycling. Read the full press-release on this group below!

Salsa’s 2021 Warbird and Stormchaser Have New Colors and Build Specs

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Salsa’s 2021 Warbird and Stormchaser Have New Colors and Build Specs

Salsa’s flagship gravel bikes are back this year with new paint and new specs. The all-carbon Warbird still fits a 700c x 45 mm or 650b x 2.0″ with a racey geometry. New for 2021, the Warbird comes laced with AXS wide ($6,999) at the top end or Apex 1 ($2,799).

The aluminum Stormchaser can cram a little bigger tires at 700c x 50 mm or 650b x 50 mm, yet is designed to be raced in muddy conditions with a 42mm tire for ample mud clearance. The Stormchaser also has a slacker head angle to battle the muck. The Stormchaser comes built as shown as a singlespeed ($1599) or as a frameset with a geared or singlespeed option ($1199).

See more at Salsa.

Kevin’s Bearclaw Beaux Jaxon Titanium Touring Bike

Reportage By: john watson

Kevin’s Bearclaw Beaux Jaxon Titanium Touring Bike

That feller up at Bearclaw Bicycle Co is doing some really amazing things. The whole catalog is composed of some paradigm-shifting designs and a crowd favorite is the Beaux Jaxon. If you dig drop bars and chonk tires, that’s the frame for you. Throw in a titanium segmented fork and you’ve got a dream machine. Kevin Hinton is a tattoo artist here in Santa Fe. He also runs his Adventure Bikepacking Instagram account as a side project, which hosts overnighters, and tours in the area.

Originally from Los Angeles, Kevin cut his chops touring all over California, specifically in the desert, taking on the Stagecoach 400 multiple times. This particular loop goes from high pine country down through Anza Borrego and into San Diego before climbing back up to the pines. The Anza section is particularly sandy, so when Kevin built up this dream bike, he had some specific requirements and took that list to Sincere Cycles for the build…

Workbench Review: Ratio’s 11-Speed Road to 12-Speed Eagle Drop Bar Conversion Kit

Reportage By: John Watson

Workbench Review: Ratio’s 11-Speed Road to 12-Speed Eagle Drop Bar Conversion Kit

I’ve got this bike. It’s a touring bike. So when it’s loaded down with gear, it can get quite heavy. To remedy this, I built it up with an Eagle GX rear derailleur and cassette, giving me a whopping 10-50t range (the new GX goes to 52t even). To shift this range, I used a barcon shifter from Microshift because as you are well aware, SRAM doesn’t make a cable-actuated road shifter that’s compatible with their MTB mech lineup.

Now, there’s nothing wrong with the Microshift barcon. I was and have been more than pleased with this option but then Ratio, a small startup out of the UK announced a 11-speed road to 12-speed mountain upgrade kit.

I think this is one time when we can ignore that old Eddy Merckx adage “Don’t buy upgrades, ride up grades…” Sorry Eddy, Johnnie’s bike needs this.

We posted about Ratio’s kit back in October. I ordered a kit the day the post went up but didn’t get motivated to do the install until I felt like I had a reason to. A few friends here in Santa Fe are taking on an all-road tour in April, and I wanted to get this bike dialed in before that trip, so last week, I swung by Sincere Cycles with the Dreamer and Ratio’s kit with hopes of rolling around on an 11-speed road shifter working with a 12-speed mountain…

Fearless Bikes’ Warlock Light Tourer

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Fearless Bikes’ Warlock Light Tourer

The Warlock is a beefy gravel bike/light tourer from UK-based Fearless Bikes. Built around either 650bx58mm or 700x47mm tires, with a unicrown fork, flat mount brakes, 1x dedicated routing, internal dropper compatible, and more.

Warlock framesets are £720 for customers in the UK and £600 outside of the UK including EU countries.

Specs:
Tubing: Double Butted Chromoly Steel. Internal E.D coating and powder coat paint
Dropouts: Rear: 142 x 12mm thru axle. Front: 100 x 12mm thru axle
Tyres: 700 x 47c, 650b x 58c (27.5 x 2.25″)
Brakes: Flat Mount 160mm front & rear. Post mount- 180mm front, 160mm rear
Seatpost: 30.9mm. Dropper post routing
Headtube: 44mm- tapered carbon fork compatible
Headset: 404 Type 2 Fork: Top cup- ZS44/28.6, Lower Cup- ZS44/30. Tapered fork: ZS44/28.6 top cup, EC44/40 lower cup
Front mech: 1x dedicated
BB Shell: 68mm width. BSA/English thread
Chainring: 1x road (Sram 1x Road, Shimano 1x road conversions) – 42T. 1x Shimano GRX – 44T
Fork: Straight blade 4130 Chromoly Steel. 404mm A/C. S & M size frames- 52mm offset, L & XL- 48mm. Mid-blade rack mounts, eyelets for mudguards and carriers, 2x sets of cargo cage mounts
Color: Cool Grey, Faded Olive

Check out many more details at Fearless.

The Made in Germany Nicolai Bikes Argon GX Gravel Bike

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The Made in Germany Nicolai Bikes Argon GX Gravel Bike

These days, gravel bike designs can be very redundant, something German manufacturers like Nicolai Bikes are looking to overcome. Their newest design, the Argon GX, is as much a gravel bike as it is a touring bike but look closely for some clever manufacturing detailing.

Through 3D modeling and engineering, Nicolai is able to construct durable and lightweight 7020-T6 frame components. Each of these pieces are made on modern 5-axis CNC machines and allows for the construction of so-called “Hollow Mill” assemblages. The bottom bracket and chainstay yoke in the Argon CX use this technology to both shed weight and set their offerings apart from their competitors.

Other details include the option for a Pinion gear box, fender/rack mounts, flat mount disc calipers, internal routing, and designed geometries to fit just about any body type. Head to Nicolai to see more!

High Plains Byway Extended Edition: A Sandhills Odyssey

Reportage By: Hailey Moore & Anton Krupicka

High Plains Byway Extended Edition: A Sandhills Odyssey

This Reportage took place a year prior to the pandemic… please be considerate and avoid traveling to small towns during the pandemic.

Some trips stay with you more than others, and this trip is one of those. Nebraska isn’t often touted (read: never) as a cycling destination, but the truly unique and varied geography we encountered offered some of the most quality riding I’ve had the opportunity to experience. The state’s remoteness—a combination of the incredibly low population density and vast, often exposed, landscapes—was initially a concern but in actuality lent a heightened sense of adventure to our days. This is also still the longest tour I’ve taken and being able to fully settle into the rhythm of passing the days—sun up to sun down—on the bike for a week straight was a pretty intoxicating experience.

A ‘Send It Safely’ Rivendell Sam Hillborne

Reportage By: John Watson

A ‘Send It Safely’ Rivendell Sam Hillborne

Send it Safely? What’s that? Nick lives in Albuquerque, where he’s got a good group of riding buddies that enjoy taking to the local trails on their singlespeeds. When he first moved to town, he was jarred by the lack of trail etiquette, mostly by cyclists. Mountain bikers would plow downhill, hardly even yielding for hikers or other riders. For those unaware, uphill traffic always has the right of way. That’s when Nick thought of the phrase “send it safely” and started making stickers.

It was through these stickers that I first got to know Nick. Well, as well as you can know someone on the internet. Admittedly, I haven’t been to ABQ once since moving here, as we’re trying to play it safe during the pandemic, so Nick and I had never met before the afternoon I shot his Rivendell Sam Hillborne…

The Hypothermics

Reportage By: Tomás Montes & Mike Tucker

The Hypothermics

It was the speed at which it happened that shocked me the most. One minute Tomas and I were laughing hysterically as I tumbled into the snow for the umpteenth time, the next I was genuinely scared my buddy was about to collapse into some awful hypothermic coma. It was terrifying.

Paul Paul
Mondraker Mondraker
Wolf Tooth Wolf Tooth
Singular Singular
Silca Silca
State Bicycle Co State Bicycle Co
Bikeflights Bikeflights
SimWorks
The Radavist The Radavist