Friday Debrief: Drop Bars on Full-Suspension Bikes, New Rodeo Labs Spork, Schwalbe Radial Tires, 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…

Rodeo Labs Spork 3 Updates

Made in Taiwan / $420+ at Rodeo Labs

Rodeo Labs just announced the latest version of their Spork carbon fork, the Spork 3 series, and it has more features and options than ever before. There are options for a tapered or straight steerer and 12 or 15mm thru-axle with an optional quick-release insert. There are now three-pack mounts on both fork legs, and it’s available with a 45mm or 50mm offset. Delivery times and availability depend on the options, but you can find everything you need to know on their website.

Esker Portage Rack Mount Bolts

$25 at Esker Cycles

While not technically new, we stumbled upon the Esker Portage Rack Mount Bolts and thought they were useful enough to share here. If you’ve ever struggled to mount a rear rack to a bike with no rack mounts but with Portage-style adjustable dropouts, then you’ve probably wondered if there was a clean way to attach a rack to the pre-existing bolt. Esker’s solution is an extension bolt that’s threaded on the inside, giving a place to bolt your rack in place without adding unnecessary hardware.

MEC Classic Kleversack Bag

Made in Vietnam / $69.95 CAD at MEC

The new MEC Classic Kleversack Bag is part of MEC’s limited edition ReMix collection. Part hip pack, part handlebar bag, the Kleversack is made from 500-denier ripstop nylon, has an internal roll top with magnet closure and external flap with adjustable buckles, and features two zippered external pockets. The bag comes with velcro loops to attach it to your handlebar, the hip straps stow away when not in use, and it has a 6L capacity and weighs 410 grams.

Pact Out Kit

$33 at Pact Outdoors

The new Pact Out Kit has everything you need to poop in fragile outdoor environments. The kit includes all the essentials: a durable outer bag for transporting everything safely; an inner bag, a deodorizing and dehydrating “poop powder,” two PACT Wipes, and a hand wipe.

Schwalbe Radial Tires

Made in Taiwan / Schwalbe

Is it possible to develop flexible tires with maximum utilization of the contact area that offer even more grip, control, and comfort? Schwalbe thinks so and unveiled their new radial tire tech this week on several of their more aggressive mountain bike tires, including the Albert, Shredda, and Magic Mary.

In Conversation

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

Drop Bars on Full-suspension Bikes?

This week, we saw two recognized athletes show off their respective rides, each tackling trail rides on full-suspension bikes and each running drop bars. First Ulrich Bartholmoes sent us his bike check for the Colorado Trail Race, and a lot of folks were surprised by his gear choices, especially the drop bars. Then, we ran across this Instagram post by Dylan Johnson who’ll be taking on the famed Leadville 100 aboard a drop-bar-equipped full-squisher. What do you think… are these two on to something?

Around the Community

News from around the bikepacking world…

“Tracing The Divide” Official Trailer

The film follows two lifelong friends as they embark on an epic adventure, cycling the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route from Canada to Mexico. Over 24 days, they face relentless challenges—wind, mud, and monsoons—that test their physical and mental endurance. Through these trials, they find the journey to be a profound gift, allowing them to rediscover themselves and uncover new purpose.

Mastering Titanium: How I Designed a Chainstay Dimpling Tool

Daniel Yang from Neuhaus Metalworks and Artefact Bike recently learned how one of the best titanium manufacturers, ORA Engineering, dimples their chainstays. In this video, he shows how he created a similar design using low parts.

Bikepacking Mull and Iona

Tom Wall of the Cycling366 YouTube channel recently went bikepacking alone on the Isle of Mull and Iona, as well as the Highlands of Scotland, and he put a video together from the trip. Here’s what Tom had to say about the trip: “The Highlands and islands of Scotland are some of my favourite places to go bikepacking. In my opinion, they are some of the most beautiful places in the world, and I’m lucky enough to be within a few hours of them. It’s one of my life goals to ride my bike on all of the major islands of the UK: I’ve already ticked off many of them, including The Isle of Arran, the Outer Hebrides, and the Isle of Skye, but there are many many more left to go!”

Studio Tour – Sklar Bikes Shop Tour

Next up in Sklar Bikes’ video series is a tour of the space where custom, one-off bike frames are fabricated. Although Sklar has made the transition from fully custom frames to production bikes, the shop is still used to design and build prototypes for the production Sklar Bikes. For a closer look at the new space and details on Sklar’s latest chapter, check out our shop visit story here.

Rapha Films Presents | Migration

Rapha Films’ latest release is a 23-minute mini documentary about the four-day, 650-kilometer Migration Gravel Race across Kenya’s Maasai Mara. It explores the importance of the event to Team AMANI and their Black Mamba Development Squad and how they’re building the sport in East Africa, nurturing the next generation of endurance athletes on two wheels.

ALUMALITH Makeover Handlebar and Tire Swap

In Ron’s Bikes’ new video, an occasionally shirtless Ronnie Romance gives his Alumalith a much-needed wash and a little makeover with a handful of new parts ahead of a planned mountain biking trip to Vermont. See it above.

Events Starting Soon

What to watch this weekend and bikepacking events starting soon…

2024 Colorado Trail Race

The Colorado Trail features 500 miles and 70,000 feet of elevation gain winding through the Colorado Rocky Mountains between Denver and Durango. Approximately 300+ miles of the route are on singletrack at elevations ranging from 5,500 to 13,200 feet. Over 90 riders are signed up for the grand depart, which takes off from Denver Sunday morning at 4 a.m. Follow along live here.

The Day Across Minnesota (DAMN)

The Day Across Minnesota is a gravel race from midnight to midnight—240 miles of Minnesota gravel roads by bicycle in a single day. There is also a 480-mile route to be completed in 48 hours if that’s not long enough. There are over 150 riders registered for live tracking, and the grand depart takes off tomorrow at midnight. Follow along live here.

The Great British Divide

The Great British Divide is an unsupported bikepacking event from one end of Great Britain to the other. The grand depart kicks off tomorrow morning with nearly 25 riders split between the full 2,000km route and the shorter 1,400km route. Follow along live here.

2024 TransAtlantic Way

The TransAtlantic Way is a 2,500km, one stage, self-supported road bike ride between Derry and Cork via The Wild Atlantic Way. Riders will travel through seven of Ireland’s westernmost counties and be treated to many of Ireland’s scenic showstoppers, welcoming towns and villages, heritage sites and plenty of unexpected thrills. The grand depart took off yesterday morning and the fastest riders are already over 600km through their rides. Follow along live here.

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