Friday Debrief: New Ritchey Venturemax Bar, Fresh Wool Tees, a Post-Race Rig, 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…

Pinebury Summer Wool Shirts

Made in USA / $88+ at Pinebury

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Pinebury’s new Summer Wool collection includes a full lineup of cycling jerseys, more casual T-shirts, and long sleeves made from ultralight (100 gsm) Nuyarn merino wool. Designed for hot weather, the fabric offers UPF 40 sun protection, dries quickly, and Pinebury says it’s the most breathable and lightweight merino wool on the market. The collection comes in unisex sizing and a variety of colors, and T-shirts start at $88.

Ritchey SuperLogic VentureMax Handlebar

Made in Taiwan / $299 at Ritchey

The new Ritchey SuperLogic VentureMax handlebar is the first Ritchey gravel bar to be offered with their SuperLogic carbon construction. It features ergonomic tops for a more comfortable hand placement, a wide 24-degree flare at the drops, and an updated Bio-bend in the drops. It has internal cable routing and is compatible with a Shimano EW-RS910 junction box.

Limited Edition Fox Podium Gold Forks

Made in Taiwan / $1,009+ at Fox

As part of its 50th anniversary, FOX just released a limited edition line of Podium Gold suspension forks, and while they might not make you rider faster or better, they’re certainly flashy. The collection includes their FOX 40, FOX 32 Step-Cast, FOX 36, FOX 34 Step-Cast, FOX 34, and FOX 38 forks. Once they sell out, they won’t be restocked.

Wilde X Paul Zebra Anodized Collection

Made in USA / $170+ at Wilde Bikes

Yesterday morning, Wilde Bikes from Minneapolis announced a new limited edition collaboration with Paul Components USA that includes Paul stems, brakes, seatposts, and levers sporting a beautiful “Zebra Splatter” color way. Some items sold out very quickly, and a handful of others are still available.

HUNT Sustain Wheels

Made in Taiwan + France / $589+ at Hunt Bike Wheels

Today, UK-based Hunt Wheels launched their new Sustain Phase One wheel range, consisting of three new wheelsets centered around reducing their environmental impact while still offering condition-specific performance wheels. All of the wheels feature CNC-machined hubs, unpainted spokes to reduce chemical and energy usage, and a mix of recycled materials in the rims, depending on the model. The HUNT Sustain Phase One Trail Wide 29″ wheels look the most appealing from a bikepacking perspective, which have a 30mm internal width optimized for 2.2-2.6″ tires, a rim made using 75% recycled aluminum alloy, and their HUNT EUROPA Boost hub with a 7.5-degree engagement.

Hutchinson Caracal Tires

Made in France / €55+ at Hutchinson

French tire manufacturer Hutchinson expanded its gravel range earlier this month with the introduction of the new Caracal and Caracal Race, which they say are “designed to meet the needs of increasingly high paced elite gravel riding.” The Caracal is positioned as more of an all-rounder with bead-to-bead Hardskin, and the Caracal Race borrows compound from their performance road line and is claimed to be “the fastest gravel tire on the market,” weighing in at 475 grams. For now, both are available exclusively in 700 x 40mm.

Zpacks Goose Down Vest

104 grams (3.7 oz) / Made in USA / $249 at PLACE

Zpacks just announced their new ultralight Goose Down Vest that’s designed to strike a balance between heat retention and featherweight comfort. The inner and outer shells of the vest use the same 7 denier, 0.51 oz/sqyd Ventum Ripstop Nylon as their sleeping bags and quilts, and the vest is filled with water-resistant DownTek 900 fill power Responsible Down Standard certified goose down that is a byproduct of the goose meat industry.

In Conversation

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

Do Event Organizers Buy Insurance?

Whether bikepacking events are free or have an entry fee, we’ve been hearing that event organizers are buying insurance to protect themselves in case of an accident or mishap. While this seems totally practical, it’s also somewhat surprising that in many cases these folks are paying thousands of dollars out of pocket to get coverage. Are you an event organizer? Do you purchase insurance? Let us know in the discussion below.

Around the Community

News from around the bikepacking world…

Adrien Liechti: My Bike after Accursed

Over on the Rene Herse Cycles blog, ultra-distance rider Adrien Liechti shares a look at his Bombtrack Cale AL after racing Accursed, a 1,600-kilometer bikepacking event across Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo. What’s more, the organizers required participants to travel to the race by land, so Adrien pedaled from his home in Switzerland. See how it fared at ReneHerseCycles.com.

Bedrock Mountain Clog Sale

Among many others you’re likely to see, Bedrock Sandals is having a Memorial Day sale, offering 15% off any of their four Mountain Clog styles with code 15OFFCLOG at checkout. The sale ends Tuesday, May 28th. You can read our review here and shop clogs at BedrockSandals.com.

Northwest in Motion: Troy Hopwood and the XWA

Troy Hopwood, organizer and creator of the Cross Washington bikepacking route, was recently interviewed by Northwest in Motion. He shares the history of the route, his motivations, and talks a little about women in bikepacking as well. See it above.

Events Starting Soon

What to watch this weekend and bikepacking events starting soon…

Tuscany Trail

The Tuscany Trail ride offers the perfect taste of the essence of Tuscany, passing through enchanted forests and century-old towns and villages. It follows a 480-kilometer loop from north to south and back again, with around 7,000 meters of elevation gain. The grand depart took off from Donoratico, Italy, yesterday evening and you can stay updated here.

Hellenic Mountain Race

Created by the folks behind the Silk Road Mountain Race and Atlas Mountain Race, the Hellenic Mountain Race is a 883-kilometer unsupported bikepacking race through the rugged mountains of Greece. The clock doesn’t stop, and there are no prizes. There are over 70 riders signed up for the 2024 event, which takes off from Meteora tomorrow at 8 a.m. local time. Follow their progress live here.

Highland Trail 550

The Highland Trail is a self-supported mountain bike route that’s 550 miles in length with over 16,000 meters of climbing. It was inspired by events in the US like the Tour Divide and particularly the Colorado Trail Race (CTR). This year’s grand depart starts tomorrow morning at 8:30 a.m. local time, and over 60 riders have registered for live tracking. Follow them live here.

Weekly Social

Some things we found around the ‘gram and elsewhere. This week, a handful of photos from this year’s Buckshot in British Columbia, Canada…

Further Reading

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

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