Friday Debrief: SRAM S-1000 Transmission, Hot Taco Bike Race, a Triple Crown celebration, 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…

Cotic Calver High Bars

Made in Taiwan / £45 at Cotic

The Cotic Calver High Bars are a new version of their Calver bars with a 38mm rise for tall riders or anyone who wants a more upright riding position. The bars feature a 780mm width, 31.8mm clamp, 5° upsweep, and 9° backsweep. They are only available in black and can be purchased directly through Cotic.

New Knolly Cache Steel Colors

Made in Taiwan / $4,599 CAD at Knolly Bikes

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Knolly just added two new color options for their Cache Steel, Sand and Plum Red. The Knolly Cache Steel has a 4130 Chromoly steel frame, carbon fork, mountain bike inspired geometry, and clearance for 700 x 50mm or 650b x 2.4″ tires. It’s available as a frameset or a complete build with a 1x or 2x drivetrain.

SRAM S-1000 Eagle Transmission Drivetrain

OE only at SRAM

Earlier this week, SRAM announced the SRAM S-1000 series, their most affordable Eagle Transmission drivetrain to date. While it’s only going to be specced on stock bikes, and can’t be purchased aftermarket, it should make Transmission-equipped bikes available at a more accessible price point. The lineup includes the S-1000 Derailleur, XS-1270 Cassette, and S1000 Eagle Crankset.

Updated Brother Cycles Carbon MTB Fork

Made in Taiwan / £399 at Brother Cycles

Brother Cycles just updated their Carbon MTB fork with triple cage mounts on both fork legs, internal cable routing, clearance for 29 x 3.0″ tires, and boost axle spacing. It weighs 670 grams and has a 490mm axle-to-crown length, which should enable it to replace most 100-120mm travel suspension forks.

Free Factory Second Austere Buckles

Made in USA / FREE at Austere Manufacturing

Sometimes Austere Manufacturing makes buckles that aren’t quite perfect and they want you to have them! Here’s how it works. Add one buckle to your cart, then use code “FreeBlem” at checkout. This week has some colors that haven’t been in stock for a while.

Portugal Bike & Sketch

€35 at World Sketching Tour

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Portugal Bike & Sketch is a narrative encapsulating Anisa Subekti and Luís Simões’ 180-day journey, fusing the art of sketching “in situ” with the intimacy of bike touring. The book unfolds more than 5,000 kilometers, divided into 21 routes, including the Via Algarviana, Historical Villages, and the Atlantic Coast. In addition to the visual journey, it incorporates nutrition advice, recipes, and how to travel slowly, savouring the essence of Portugal in every sketch and pedal at a time.

In Conversation

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

The Perfect Brake Levers for Bikepacking

This morning, a reader (thanks, Adlan!) shared the TRP C2.3 brakes with us asking if we had any experience using them. Unlike most hydraulic brake levers, the TRP C2.3 brakes are designed for cargo bikes with the brake hose tucked right up against the handlebar for a clean cockpit. They look even more bikepacking bag-friendly than the SRAM Stealth brakes released last year. We can’t help but think these would make great brakes for bikepacking. Have you used these brakes? What’s your ideal setup?

Around the Community

News from around the bikepacking world…

Hot Taco Bike Race

The Hot Taco is a women-only (and those identifying as women) bikepacking race, beginning and ending in Boise, Idaho. The route is 200-ish miles with about 20,000 feet elevation gain. The goal of this inaugural race is to get ALL women across the finish line. Learn more here.

Justinas Leveika on the Detours Podcast

This year’s Tour Divide winner, Justinas Leveika, was recently a guest on the Detours podcast hosted by Mel Webb. In the episode, they talk about his record breaking ride, what he changed from last year’s ride, and what the Tour Divide means to him. Listen to it above.

Bikepacking the Triple Crown with Kristen Tonsager

On Saturday July 13th from 4-6pm, Jpaks is hosting a special get together celebrating Kristen Tonsager’s 2023 Bikepacking Triple Crown completion. Join Kristen and friends at New Image Brewery in Wheat Ridge, Colorado for presentations, Q&A’s, bike/gear displays, and more.

Brother Cycles Big ‘Un Tickets on Sale

Brother Cycles Big ‘Un gravel event is back for 2024 and tickets are on sale. The Big ‘Un is a challenging one-day gravel ride starting and finishing at Brother HQ, with coffee at the start, food and drinks at the finish and a place to camp-out for the weekend. The original route is 115km with an even bigger route of over 140km for those that feel up to it. Sept 6th to 8th 2024 in Kent, UK. Get your tickets here.

Events Starting Soon

What to watch this weekend and bikepacking events starting soon…

North to South Colorado Bikepacking Race

The North to South Colorado Bikepacking Race is a 600-mile bikepacking race that starts in Fort Collins and ends in Trinidad, Colorado. The route is packed full of long climbs, historic mining towns, and stunning vistas within the Rocky Mountains. This year’s grand depart started this morning and there are 28 riders registered for live tracking. Follow their progress along live here.

Montenegro Mountain Madness

Montenegro Mountain Madness is a 700 kilometer off-road unsupported bikepacking event around Montenegro (who would have guessed!). The 2024 grand depart took off from Montenegro’s capital, Podgorica, at 9:00am local time and there are over 40 riders registered for live tracking. 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…

Miles and Emily: Summertime in British Columbia

It’s hard to wish to be anywhere but where we are right now. Early summer in British Columbia is a delightful time of year; the trails aren’t blown out yet, the smoke from forest fires hasn’t drifted in from the interior, and the excitement of warmer weather is felt by everyone. Emily and I are currently scouting bikepacking routes in the Kootenays and we both agree we’re exactly where we want to be.

Weekly Social

Some things we found around the ‘gram and elsewhere. This week, a handful of photos from the Sisters in the Wild Slovenia Bikepacking Expedition…

Further Reading

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

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