Singletrack/MTB
Gravel/All-road
Dirt-road Touring
Fat-bike
This week’s Debrief features the pros and cons of axle-mount racks, the 2025 Chamois Hagar, fresh Boneshaker Cacti Riser Bars, two events to follow live, and much more. Find it all here…
The weekly Debrief highlights small but important bits of news, products, and things that caught our attention on the website, in the conversation, and elsewhere around the community. These include upcoming events and interesting items our readers shared in the comments. Check out this week’s findings below.
Bits & Bobs
New products that are worth highlighting but didn’t make the Dispatch…
BoneshakerMTB Cacti Riser Bar
Made in Canada / $200 CAD at BoneshakerMTB
Handmade in Montreal from 4130 seamless Chromoly steel, BoneshakerMTB’s new Cacti Riser Bar is designed to balance comfort and control, sitting between a MTB bar and an off-road touring setup. With 22° of backsweep, 85mm of rise for a higher front end, and a wide center section to stabilize cargo and reduce bag flop, it’s built for both durability and versatility. Measuring 820mm wide and weighing around 680 grams, the Cacti bar comes in Raw, Clear Coated Raw, or Powder Coated Black finishes.
Chris King Jade
Made in USA at Chris King
Chris King’s new Jade colorway is now available across headsets, hubs, bottom brackets, wheels, seatpost collars, and lockrings, offering a perfectly matched look from cockpit to wheels. Debuting at the MADE show in Portland, Jade will be showcased on builds from Moots, Seven, Mosaic, and more. To celebrate, King also teamed up with Block 15 Brewing on a limited-edition Jade Buzzworks West Coast IPA, available at the show and across Block 15’s distribution this fall.
RUX Waterproof Tote Bag 30L
$170 at RUX
RUX’s 30-liter Waterproof Tote Bag is a welded gear hauler that can be worn over your shoulder, run in a basket, or lashed to just about anything. The bag features a structured construction that allows it to stand upright for hands-free packing with a roll-top closure. It packs like an everyday carry and seals like a serious dry bag. RUX is offering it in Bronze, Black, and Green.
2025 Evil Chamois Hagar
$4,499 at Evil Bikes
The Chamois Hagar returns with new colors, fresh builds, and full UDH compatibility, ready for SRAM’s latest T-Type transmissions. Blending mountain bike DNA with drop-bar efficiency, it’s a boundary-pushing machine built for everything from gravel and cyclocross to commuting and bikepacking.
In Conversation
Exchanges and ideas that caught our attention in the site’s conversation section…
Axle Rack Mounts vs. Dedicated Eyelets
There are a few conversations unfolding over in my Hunter Cycles Cargo Rack Review about the merits and downsides of axle-mounted racks. I think it’s the way. At this point, I’d gladly run axle mounts on all my bikes and stick with axle-mounted racks. Mounting a rack to the axle just feels stronger and more stable overall, and I love the fact that heights can be standardized for tire clearance and optimal deck placement. I just wish there were a single axle-mount standard. However, some folks raised eyebrows. What do you think? Do you prefer axle-mounted racks or standard eyelet mounts, and why? Leave a note in the conversation below. —Logan
Around the Community
News from around the bikepacking world…
MADE Bike Portraits!
Reminder: If you’re to the MADE bike show in Portland this weekend, we’ll be set up on Saturday, August 23rd, from 9 to 11 a.m. at the entrance to the bike valet area, photographing attendees and their bikes. Bring your unique ride by for a quick portrait before dropping it off. We’d love to document it! More here.
Pine Video
As featured the other day, Pine Cycles is a relatively new Seattle-based bike company producing US-fabricated steel bikes designed for adventure, commuting, gravel, and bikepacking—built to handle just about any ride. Founded and designed by Kevin McClelland, the brand centers on versatility and compatibility. The video above tells the brand’s story.
A Hundred Words for Wind Premiere at Rodeo Labs
Last year, Cody Cirillo and Matthew Tufts cycled the outer perimeter of Iceland with their bikes and downhill ski gear as part of a 35-day bike-to-ski saga. The film documenting their 1,700-kilometer trip premieres at Rodeo Labs in Lakewood, Colorado, on September 16th, and it’s free to attend. RSVP here.
No Crew, No Problem: How I Self-Filmed the Tour Divide
Josh Reid’s latest video reveals the gear and behind-the-scenes effort that went into creating his excellent Life in the Mid Pack 2025 Tour Divide documentary, which we published here. If you’re interested creating videos of your rides, it’s well worth the six-minute watch.
Rodeo Labs Makes Lockjaw Slider System Available For Builders
Rodeo labs out of Denver, Colorado, has made their sliding dropout system, Lockjaw 2, available for steel and titanium framebuilders. It’s the second iteration of their sliding dropout system, and one that they’re offering as a kit to small builders and anyone who wants to use the notched dropout system for their own creation. Each kit includes steel or titanium Lockjaw 2 frame components, UDH 7075 drive side slider, flat mount 160mm non drive side slider, 4x titanium M30 X 6mm slider bolts, and 7075 Lockjaw 2 interlocking plates.
I Have a Fork Problem
From the moment he began building bikes, Daniel Yang was never satisfied with the forks that were available. To him, they looked outdated, poorly suited to steel frames, and were largely designed with carbon bikes in mind. Seeking a cleaner, simpler aesthetic to match his builds, he set out to design and produce his own. Watch the process unfold in this video.
Events Starting Soon
What to watch this weekend and bikepacking events starting soon…
Log Driver’s Waltz
This year marks the fifth annual edition of the Log Driver’s Waltz Bikepacking Route. Located on the unceded and unsurrendered Territory of the Anishinaabe Algonquin Nation, the Log Driver’s Waltz is a challenging route that takes riders to and through the hidden gems of the Ottawa and Gatineau Valleys. With ~9,500 meters of steep, relentless climbing over its 805 kilometers, the route can sap the energy from even the strongest legs. The group event kicks off tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. Follow along live here.
MADE Bike Show
MADE is a multi-day trade and consumer bike show in Portland, Oregon, celebrating the art of handmade bicycles. Our team is back for the third year in a row to document all the bikes, builders, and new parts around the show. Follow along here.
Wish We Were Here
Shedding a little light on a route one of us is dreaming about riding at the moment…
Lucas Winzenburg: Montana
A trip north to Montana has been calling for some time, and the 112-mile Gallatin Trail looks to be just the ticket. With around 85 miles of singletrack, vast scenery, and opportunities to stay in classic US Forest Service cabins, a bikepacking trip through the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is high on my list for ways to return to a state I visited yearly as a child but haven’t been to in a couple of decades.
Weekly Social
Some things we found around the ‘gram and elsewhere. This week, a look at a bikepacking trip through Lombok, Indonesia …
Please keep the conversation civil, constructive, and inclusive, or your comment will be removed.
