Friday Debrief: Cheater Bar, Fool’s Gold Midnight Special, an OTT Winner, Rim Brakes, 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…

Road Holes x Rodriguez Cheater Bar

Made in USA / $240 at Rod Bikes

The new Cheater Bar is a collaboration between Road Holes and Rodriguez Bikes. It has a “Cats Paw” U-bend designed to keep your bags off your head tube and a crossbar for lights and other gadgets. The trimmable bars are 860mm wide and have a 10° backsweep, 45mm rise, and 0° upsweep. All bars come with a stainless “cats paw” and a 25.4 to 31.8mm shim and are clear coated with polished logos.

Rockgeist 52hz Framebags for Esker Hayduke

Made in USA / $240 at Rockgeist

Rockgeist recently added a product page specifically for an Esker Hayduke-sized 52Hz roll-top waterproof frame bag, so you’re guaranteed a perfect fit. The 52Hz, originally designed by Porcelain Rocket, was the first fully waterproof, seam-welded frame bag, and it’s a great option for anyone who regularly rides in rain or mucky conditions. It comes in two colors, Light Black or Cranberry Bog, and four sizes to fit the Hayduke.

Ornot Lightweight Mission Pants in Nightshady and Stone Blue

Made in USA / $165 at Ornot

The Ornot Lightweight Mission Pants are stretchy do-it-all pants for work, life, and riding bikes. They are made in California from a durable, bluesign-approved fabric made from recycled content, have several pockets, and there is a little reflective hit on the inside of the cuff for when you need it. The Lightweight Mission Pants are a favourite of Lucas and Miles and earned a spot in Miles’ summer 2024 Editor’s Dozen roundup.

Zpacks Ultralight Sunglasses Case

Made in USA / $34.95 at Zpacks

Is your rigid sunglasses case too bulky? Simple microfiber sleeve not protective enough? The new Zpacks Ultralight Sunglasses Case is made from a lightweight yet durable Robic material, has a fleece liner, and a slick magnetic clasp keeps your glasses secure. It comes in two colors, is made in the USA, and costs $34.95.

Surly Midnight Special in Fool’s Gold

Made in Taiwan / $2349 at Surly Bikes

The Midnight Special is Surly’s all-day road bike designed for comfort and speed that extend beyond smooth paved roads. It can accommodate 700 x 42mm or 650b x 60mm tires, has rack and fender mounts, and the latest complete build features a 2×12 Shimano R7100 105 drivetrain and Teravail Rampart 700 x 38 Light and Supple tires. The complete build costs $2,349, and the frameset will set you back $799 USD. The latest color option is called “Fool’s Gold.”

Industry Nine Bronze

Made in USA / Industry Nine

On their Instagram account yesterday, Industry Nine announced: “Bronze is back by popular demand! We are stoked to announce the addition of Bronze to our standard color options. Wheels, hubs, stems, headsets, ect will all be available in a brilliant bronze anodized finish. Go solid bronze, or mix and match with your favorite complementary color(s).”

New Colors and Sizes from Curious Creatures

$85-180 at We Are Curious Creatures

Bozeman, Montana, bike apparel brand Curious Creatures announced new colorways and extended sizing for the women’s Sun Dog Pant in black and four-leaf clover green, along with the Ramble Scramble Shorts. The Sun Dog Pant is made from a blend of performance-driven polyester and designed for warm-weather riding. The material features a bluesign-approved bio-based stretch yarn instead of spandex, making it recyclable. The Ramble Scramble Short is now available in three colorways, featuring a slim fit, mid-high rise, and multiple pockets. Both the Sun Dog Pant and Ramble Scramble Short now come in extended sizes, with the pants available in sizes 0 through 18 and the short in sizes 0 through 22.

In Conversation

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

Rim Brakes in 2024?

Many commenters chimed in to add their feedback on Lucas’s Brother Cycles Mr Wooden yesterday, with a number of folks sharing their appreciation for his retro-inspired builds. Most of our team has long since switched to disc brakes and never looked back, but Lucas still loves using them on his all-road bikes. Are you still using rim brakes on your bikes? Let us know why or why not and share a photo in the Conversation below!

Around the Community

News from around the bikepacking world…

Kyle Phillips Wins Oregon Timber Trail 700

This week, Kyle Phillips became the first to finish the full 700-mile Oregon Timber Trail route. Kyle pedaled along the spine of Oregon from the California border to the Washington border, ending in Hood River on Monday evening. His official time was 9 days, 12 hours, and 56 minutes, and he was followed by Sebastian Ospina, Sarah Konefal, and Chris Wilson, who were the only other riders to finish the full route. Congrats!

Norco Bikes 60th Anniversary

Norco is celebrating its 60th anniversary with an entertaining short video that simultaneously honors its roots and looks forward to the future. Watch it above and then head over to Norco.com to read more about their story.

Rookie of the Year with Alex Kowalski: Ope! Bikes Podcast

The latest guest on the Ope! Bikes Podcast is the 2024 Tour Divide singlespeed winner Alex Kowalski. Alex finished the epic 2,700-mile race with a total time of 17 days, 22 hours, and 16 minutes, and he did so on his rookie attempt, which makes his win all the more impressive. In the episode, Alex shares more about his Tour Divide experience and his intention to tackle the Triple Crown of bikepacking later this year.

Magic of the Bicycle (1965)

This 1965 film popped up in our feed the other day. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, Magic of the Bicycle was produced to stimulate an interest in cycling among people of all ages. The film portrays the origins and development of the bicycle through modern times in the ’60s.

Velo Orange: Overnighter on the C&O

Igor of Velo Orange recently snuck out for an overnighter with Nic Morales on the C&O Canal Trail. The 184.5-mile multi-use trail runs from Washington, DC, to Cumberland, Maryland, and makes for a great bikepacking route, whether you’re looking to head out for one night or a week. They put together a video of their ride that you can watch above.

Events Starting Soon

What to watch this weekend and bikepacking events starting soon…

Around Norway

Around Norway is a self-supported bikepacking event across some of the most scenic regions in Norway. There are two routes, the 3,000-kilometer highlight route, and the 1,000-kilometer adventure route, which is more remote and has 25% more gravel. The start and finish is in Oslo, with the grand depart kicking off tomorrow afternoon. Follow along live here.

Basajaun

Basajaun is the self-supported, long-distance gravel event on the edge of Basque Country, in the north of Spain. Basajaun, the lord of the forest, is a mythological guardian of the most virgin and remote forests and the protector of the flocks. The 2024 grand depart starts from Gasteiz on Sunday, and you can 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…

Logan Watts: Northern Spain

With the beautiful Ibérica Norte route and Rioja Alta Loop and the photos from the Catalan Pyrenees this morning, it’s hard to ignore the draw of northern Spain and the mountains in that part of the world. It seems like a sign to start planning a fall trip.

Weekly Social

Some things we found around the ‘gram and elsewhere. This week, two posts from Clandestine of the beautiful cargo bike they had on display at Bespoked. We opted to show the Carrier in our coverage of the event, but this one’s well worth a look…

Please keep the conversation civil, constructive, and inclusive, or your comment will be removed.