Just when you think handlebars can’t get any weirder, Redshift Sports drops the Top Shelf. But after riding them for a week, Travis found they actually felt pretty normal. Whether that’s a good thing is up to you.
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Radar
Oregon Timber Trail Gravel Edition
Oregon Timber Trail just announced a “gravel” route that takes riders off technical backcountry terrain and points them down forest roads instead. Travers north to south from outside of Portland all the way to the California border on this new route:
“A rider of the Oregon Timber Trail will spend well over half of their time on singletrack trails. Some of that singletrack is technical, isolated, and comfortable only on a bike with some give or suspension. Riding the trail portions of the OTT takes some grit and a level of comfort riding single track for hours a day. For those with a similar sense of adventure but who want to avoid trails, we’ve mapped a gravel version of the OTT, albeit it’s only a beta version. It roughly parallels the original OTT but sticks mostly to dirt and gravel roads that have little vehicle traffic. Short stretches of easy trail and pavement tie it all together. The scenery is just as striking but the chance for misadventure is less.”
Check out more at Oregon Timber Trail!
Radar
Fizik Vento Proxy Gravel Racing Shoe
The Vento Proxy ($249.99), Fizik’s newest racing shoe, is now available in coral/purple, white, and black colorway options–it has been developed for competitive riders seeking race-ready features and optimal power transfer on unpaved roads.
Radar
Wild Rye Goes Gravel
Wild Rye, makers of women’s activewear just announced an all-new gravel lineup including many choice pieces for dirty drop bar fun…
Radar
Panaracer’s Gravelking Gets a Revamp with the X1 Tread
Everyone knows the Panaracer Gravelking tire. Since it first launched in 2014, it’s been a crowd favorite for gravel riding and racing. The Japanese tire manufacturer just announced X1, the best Gravelking yet. Read on for more…
Radar
Rizzo Cycles Offers Special Deal on Custom Frame for 2024 ENVE GRODEO
Madrid-based framebuilder Rizzo Cycles will attend the 2024 ENVE GRODEO in Ogden, Utah. And this year there’s a chance they could bring you a custom frame all the way from Spain!
Radar
Marin Four Corners 2 First Ride Review
We recently highlighted the return of the Marin Four Corners 1 model, and today the brand released the more premium version, the Four Corners 2. This version features the same updated geo but with a few more modern amenities including: upgraded thru-axles, hydraulic brakes, and a 1x drivetrain while only clocking in at $1999 for a complete bike. Below, Spencer Harding offers a first look at Marin Four Corners 2…
Radar
VIDEO: The Rock Cobbler 2024
Check out this recap video from the 11th edition of The Rock Cobbler gravel event. Despite looming mud threats, riders experienced near-perfect conditions for one of the toughest editions yet. Check out what it’s like, along the Pebbler route, spanning 60 miles with over 5,000 feet of climbs through Bakersfield’s rolling hills…
Radar
Leatt 2024 Edurance Collection
Leatt started as the game-changing neck brace for moto in Cape Town, South Africa has evolved into a complete line that now serves XC and gravel riders. For 2024, Leatt partnered with Gregor Egger and Lukas Baum from
Speed Company Racing (winners Cape Epic 2022, and 2nd 2023) to develop best-in-class helmets and apparel.
Radar
Head of the Pack: Wolf Tooth ReMote Drop-Bar Dropper Lever First-Ride Review
Now that Wolf Tooth released the ReMote Drop-Bar dropper lever, Travis compared it to its one good (and three not-so-good) direct competitors.
Reportage
A Homecoming at the 2023 Hodag Country Ramble
The Hodag Country Ramble is a ride. It’s a tour, a campout. But it has also become so much more. Read on for an insight into the event and what makes it so special for its founder, Jeff Frane with some marvelous photos by Alex Horner…
Reportage
Road to Desolation: Gravel Racing Across the Karoo
The Karoo is not flat, both in personality and profile. The Road to Desolation gravel race seeks to capture the essence of the Karoo—the idiosyncratic small towns, the solitude of its expanse, and the way the bicycle represents the ideal vehicle for navigating the internal and external challenges of the terrain. Simon Pocock photographed the inaugural edition of the event in 2023 and writes about the Karoo’s imposing appeal.
Radar
Ritchey WCS and Comp Cabrillo Saddles
The Cabrillo, the latest saddle from Ritchey, takes a new look at ergonomics for drop bar pursuits. It combines a shorter nose with a wider body and a flatter shape to allow riders to move around on the saddle’s surface, reducing hot spots and is available at the WCS and Comp levels…
Radar
VIDEO: Three Dashes – The 2023 Dirt Dash Film
The Dirt Dashes are grassroots bikepacking and gravel events in the UK. Join us in 2024 by signing up on Dirt Dash ‘Three Dashes’ features footage from all three 2023 Dirt Dash events and feedback from the riders – who range from an experienced bikepacker from the US to another participant from Glasgow, who had not ridden a bike further than on his 20-minute commute. Film by Markus Stitz with music from Epidemic Sound.
Reportage
Wood Is Good: Twmpa Cycles GR1 Gravel Bike Review
Steel may be real but, for Petor Georgallou, that cliché begs the question: is wood good? Ever the curious reviewer, Petor has long wanted to test the ride quality of a wooden frame and the opportunity to ride a Twmpa Cycles GR1 gravel bike finally presented itself a few months back. But before Petor dips into his ride impressions, he shares an exchange with another wooden builder, Mark Kelly, about the characteristics that make wood an especially compelling frame-building material. After checking out Petor’s review of the GR1, drop into the comments and let us know…would you? Wood you!?
Reportage
A Fine Time in Raleigh, North Carolina With Fine Bikes and Oak City Cycling
Last year Mitchell Connell fell in love with a custom road bike he saw at a bike show. After missing an opportunity to test ride the bike, he took a road trip to Raleigh, North Carolina to find it and its creator, Charles Thompson of Fine Bikes. Along the way, Mitchell got to pay a visit to the iconic local shop, Oak City Cycling, and get the tour of Raleigh’s mixed-surface riding.
Reportage
Athens Divide: A Micro Adventure Race
The Athens Divide is proof that you don’t have to lose a night of sleep to experience the full range of adventure racing. Billed as a “micro adventure,” this point-to-point race hosted by Donhou Bicycles takes riders over Athens’ urban ridgelines where, no matter the bike, everyone’s hiking somewhere. Read on for Tom Donhou’s recap of the first Athens Divide, with photos from Maliakos Nikos.
Reportage
San Juan Splendor: Circumnavigation of Mt Wilson
While winter has already set in over in Colorado’s San Juan Mountains, Todd Gillman and a troop of friends snuck in one last hurrah of the year, a two-day leaf peep bike tour to circumnavigate Mt. Wilson while the leaves were still poppin’. Read on for Todd’s lively route description and file this instant backcountry classic away for next year—you won’t soon forget Aaron LaVanchy‘s stunning photo set…