Friday Debrief: Waxed Canvas Utility Pouches, Exposed Derailleur Cables, kLite x Rodeo, and more…

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…

New Wolf Tooth Singlespeed Cog Colors + Lockring and Spacer Kits

Made in USA / $30+ at Wolf Tooth

Wolf Tooth Components recently expanded its singlespeed cog range with new colors for 2024, as well as its own machined-in-house spacer kit and stainless steel lockrings to complete your “made-in-Minnesota dream singlespeed setup.” Cogs are available in 17T-22T in black, blue, gold, orange, red, and purple, and spacer kits are available with or without a stainless steel lockring.

Dark Realm in Neon Orange

Made in USA / $50+ at Dark Realm

The folks at Realm recently added a bright new color option to their mix of Dark Realm cycling bags, providing a generous amount of high-vis safety. The new Neon Orange Cordura option is available for their Wald Basket Bags, Crossbody Bag, Saddle Tool Roll, and Jersey Pocket Wallet.

Race Face Era Wheels

1750 grams / $1,599 at Race Face

Race Face launched their new carbon Era wheels yesterday, and we gotta admit, they look pretty interesting. The wheelset features optimized rim profiles specifically for the front and rear wheels and Race Face claims the front wheel was designed to prioritize comfort and ride feel using a shallower, lighter rim to achieve additional compliance without sacrificing the overall strength. They also say they offer 5mm of vertical compliance. Highlight specs include 28 straight-pull spokes, a 30mm internal width rim, and the Vault hub with a 60-tooth drive ring offering three degrees of engagement. Race Face claims the 29er wheelset weighs 1,750 grams.

Mission Workshop Waxed Canvas Utility Pouches

$19-28 at Mission Workshop

Mission Workshop introduced three new Waxed Canvas Utility Pouches to add packing organization. The Utility Pouches are available in three sizes ranging from a minimalist wallet to larger versions for chargers, cords, or documents. All three come in a trio of color options.

Crankbrothers SOS Tools

Made in Taiwan / $29-$119 at Crankbrothers

Crankbrothers’ new collection of on-bike tools features a selection of mounting options and configurations to help you deal with unexpected trailside mechanicals. The lineup consists of the TS2 Tube Stash+, BC2 Bottle Cage+, TS18 Tube Stash Tool Kit, BC18 Bottle Cage Tool Kit, and the TT17 Twin Tube Tool Kit.

Skratch Labs Hydration Everyday Drink Mix

Made in USA / $1.65+ at Skratch Labs

Boulder, Colorado’s Skratch Labs released its first unsweetened electrolyte drink mix for hydration support earlier this week. The new Skratch Labs Hydration Everyday Drink Mix is sugar-free, low-calorie, and formulated with electrolytes and a squeeze of real fruit. It’s available in lemon/lime and tangerine/orange flavors and can be purchased in individual packets or a resealable bulk bag.

Spurcycle Distressed Denim Bells

Made in USA / $69 at Spurcycle

Spurcycle just added a new option to their lineup of US-made bells, inspired by an American icon of fashion: distressed denim. First, they apply a DLC (Diamond Like Carbon) coating to the dome, then brush it down to a partial coating, then Cerakote, each with a clear, glossy protection layer. They also add a PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) coating to the hammers in a deep Indigo color. Each bell is unique, and if you’ve ever used a Spurcycle bell, you’ll know they are a joy to use as well.

Search and State High-Viz Woodland

Made in NYC / $195 at Search and State

Our friends over at Search and State have come up with some interesting camo patterns over the years, but most have been more subdued. Their new High-Viz Woodland Camo S2-R Jersey is far from stealthy and will catch eyes anywhere. Like all SAS apparel, it’s made in NY and is available now on their site.

Rene Herse TPU Tubes

Made in Germany / $30 at Rene Herse Cycles

The experts in speed and efficiency over at Rene Herse Cycles have been working on a TPU tube to replace heavy and inefficient butyl tubes. According to Jan Heine, head of R&D, their TPU tubes are 1/4 the weight of standard butyl tubes, 1/4 the volume of standard butyl tubes, and offer less rolling resistance than butyl tubes or tubeless. Plus, they are using a patented all-metal valve that leaks far less than the standard plastic ones found on most TPU tubes. Rene Herse TPU tubes come in 700C for tires from 20 to 68mm wide, as well as in 650B/26″ for tires from 30 to 68mm wide. They offer two valve lengths: the 50mm valve stems are polished, and the 70mm are black.

In Conversation

Exchanges and ideas that caught our attention in the site’s conversation section…

Do you mind exposed derailleur cables?

Someone left a note in the Fairlight Faran giveaway Dispatch about a way to get around exposed derailleur cable and attain full-length housing—something that at least one of us on the team was excited about. Any guesses as to who that is, and does anyone else have any thoughts about exposed derailleur cable vs. full-length housing? At any rate, the solution the commenter noted are the Problem Solvers Housing Guides, two simple solutions to provide routing guides for brake or derailleur housing, one of which converts a cable stop to play nicely with full-length housing. Both of these are hydraulic line friendly, too. Link below.

$10-12 at Problem Solvers

Around the Community

News from around the bikepacking world…

Rodeo Labs x kLite Traildonkey 4.0 Build

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Rodeo Labs recently put together an extra-special Traildonkey 4.0 build as a collaboration with kLite. The build was designed to show of the Traildonkey’s ability for a super clean dynamo setup, complete with a fully integrated kLite headlight, taillight, and USB charging port integration in the frameset itself. All cables are internally routed, and there’s a USB-C charging port built right into the bottom of the top tube to charge a head unit, your phone, or a battery power bank via the energy that you generate with the dynamo hub. The complete build is currently available to purchase for $7,235. Find the full build kit and details here.

Fat-bike Bikepacking to White Mountain Peak (14,252′)

“Bikepacking Over 60” rode the Land of the Ancients Overnighter (with variations) and made a video of their ride. They started in Deep Springs at the “ghost town” of White Mountain City (WMC) and rode up Wyman Canyon to the summit of White Mountain. From the bottom to the summit was 34 miles and just under 10,000 feet of climbing to 14,252 feet.

Idaho Women’s Bikepacking on Joy Ride | Outdoor Idaho

Corresponding with the recap we posted earlier this week, Outdoor Idaho put together an excellent video overview of what Laura Heiner has built with the Idaho Women’s Bikepacking group. You can watch the short five-minute video above.

Kona Unpacked

Kona wants to see your bikepacking rigs! To participate, post your loaded Kona on Instagram and use the tag #konaunpacked. If they choose to feature your ride, you’ll receive one of these Unpacked patches. More on Kona’s Instagram here.

Detours Podcast: Meg Knobel on the Stagecoach 400

Hosted by ultra endurance and adventure cyclists Mel Webb and Cynthia Carson, the latest episode of the Detours podcast features Meg Knobel, organizer of the Stagecoach 400, a bikepacking event in Southern California that starts this morning. It’s well worth a listen if you’re interested in the route and/or want to know more about what goes into putting on a bikepacking event.

Events Starting Soon

What to watch this weekend and bikepacking events starting soon…

2024 Stagecoach 400

The Stagecoach 400 is California’s longest mountain bike route highlighting Southern California’s geographic and cultural diversity. It’s a masterpiece of dirt doubletrack, sandy desert roads, technical singletrack, urban bike paths, and rolling tarmac, highlighting the area’s unique proximity to mountains, desert, and ocean. The grand depart kicks off from Idyllwild this morning at 8 a.m. PST, and there are over 50 riders registered for live tracking. Follow their progress live here.

Doom 2024

Doom is a beautifully evil bikepacking route in the south, consisting of soul-sucking climbs, rough roads, and a whopping 43,000 feet of elevation gain. This year, there are two route options: the full Doom route of 408 miles (43,000+ feet of vert) or the 196-mile (21,000+ feet of vert) Despair route. There are over 100 riders registered for live tracking, and the grand depart took off at 7 a.m. this morning in Jasper, Arkansas. Follow along live here.

Wish We Were Here

Shedding a little light on a route one of us is dreaming about riding at the moment…

Ryan Le Garrec: Of Resilience And Hope

After seeing Belen and Tristan’s report from this route and hearing the most amazing things about Ernesto, I can’t stop thinking about riding it. I was all set to ride the Montanas Vacias route in April, but my plans were postponed, unfortunately. Today, I’m sitting in the editing room and daydreaming about riding Ernesto’s special Of Resilience And Hope route, which he designed with a printed guide and an audio piece to go along with it—a refreshing take on experiencing a route. The idea of a long and meditative ride through rural Spain captivates me like no other, and I can’t wait to get to the area soon.

Weekly Social

Some things we found around the ‘gram and elsewhere. This week, a handful of updates from the 2024 East Texas Showdown that took place last week…

Further Reading

Make sure to dig into these related articles for more info...

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