Friday Debrief: Scarab Andes, Fresh Surly Colors, Kazakhstan to Italy, New Bags, 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…

Wilde Aftermarket Forks

Made in Taiwan / $200 at Wilde Bikes

For the first time, Wilde Bikes is selling its Rambler and Supertramp steel forks separately from their bikes. The Rambler fork clears 700C X 50mm or 650B X 2.2″ tires, has a straight 1 1/8″ steerer, 100mm hub spacing, and is plastered in mounting points. The Supertramp fork has clearance for 29 x 2.8″ tires, a 450mm axle-to-crown, and uses boost hub spacing. Both are priced at $200.

Scarab Andes Brevet Bike

Made in Colombia / $4,000+ at Scarab Cycles

Scarab Cycles from Colombia just announced a new made-to-measure model, the Andes, designed for all-day brevet riding. It’s constructed with a mix of small-diameter Columbus Spirit tubing, has clearance for 700C x 42mm or 650B x 48mm tires, and features a T47 bottom bracket, disc brakes, and a steel fork built in collaboration with Angel Bicycles. The new “Condor” paint scheme details are stunning and well worth a closer look.

Redesigned Racelite Frame Bag from Lead Out!

$160 at Lead Out!

California’s Lead Out! recently gave their Racelite Frame Bag a complete overhaul, and the Dyneema bag now features a new Hypalon zipper tuck, a reinforced closure system with a high-density upper foam, upgraded heat-welded waterproof seams, and more. The bag sports a velcro closure system, internal organization pockets, weighs around 210 grams, and measures 18.5″ from front to back.

Surly Warm Cheese and OG Algae

Made in Taiwan / $1849+ at Surly Bikes Ice Cream Truck Wednesday

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Winter is coming! To celebrate, Surly just released fresh paint jobs for the Ice Cream Truck and Wednesday. The Ice Cream Truck is Surly’s largest-tire fat bike, with room for 26 x 5” tire on 100mm rims, lots of mounting points, and geometry suited for unknown terrain. The Wednesday is slightly more versatile with “the soul of a trail bike and a mind of a touring bike,” according to Surly. It can accommodate up to 26 x 4.6˝ tires on an 80mm rim and also plays nicely with 29+ setups.

RUX 70L Gear Hauler

Made in Vietnam / $269 at RUX

Part bag, part box, RUX’s 70-liter Gear Hauler is a collapsible tote with a modular attachment system that enables users to expand its capacity and capability with a lid, exterior pockets, internal dividers, and more. It packs flat for storage and features a weatherproof design, a lifetime guarantee, and multiple sets of carry handles for use on your back, shoulder, or hands.

Ride Forward Designs Rack Bagz

Made in USA / $135 at Jay Petervary

Jay Petervary has collaborated with Sagebrush Stitchworks (formally FBJ) on a limited run of rack bags, and the design looks dialed and very versatile. The first bag was made over a year ago, and Jay has been adjusting the design ever since. According to Jay, more products are on the way. It’s essentially a single-ended dry bag but has bungees on top for lashing items to, side pockets, a rear light clip, holds up to 7L of gear, and weighs just 140 grams. Jay is asking $135 shipped within the US and has them made in small batches. Reach out to Jay via email (jaypetervary@gmail.com) or contact him through social media to get one for yourself.

In Conversation

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

New Tracker Features

New this week, we added a few features to our Tracker pages. First and foremost is the new “Notes” functionality, which allows us to post quick entries about the race coverage. We’re unveiling this with the Badlands 2024 Tracker, so be sure to follow along for continued coverage leading up to the race and updates once it gets going on Sunday. We also added a few other bells and whistles to the Tracker. Check it out and let us know what else you’d like to see in the conversation below.

Around the Community

News from around the bikepacking world…

Help Wanted: FKT In The Victorian High Country

Maap’s latest film, Help Wanted, documents Mitch Docke’s attempt at a fastest known time riding across the Great Forest National Park in Australia’s Victorian High Country. This ride was part of MAAP’s Help Wanted program, connecting a passion for riding with a passion for protecting and preserving the natural environments we love so much. Learn more here.

RWGPS Cycle Map Update

Ride with GPS recently rolled out some big changes to the RWGPS Cycle map it announced in October. The new update further improves clarity and differentiation among various types of unpaved riding surfaces and features more defined rendering of unpaved roads, tracks, and trails with crisper visual cues to make planning and wayfinding faster and more intuitive. It also features an expandable and highly detailed legend on the web. Find full details here.

From Kazakhstan to Italy: Solo Cycling the Silk Road

Following a study abroad program in India this spring, Alessandro Cuneo decided to ride home to Italy rather than catch a flight, and he shot a 20-minute video chronicling his 6,500-kilometer journey. Watch it above.

Blue Lug’s Allez LA Shop Tour

The crew from Blue Lug in Japan recently paid a visit to Allez LA bike shop in Los Angeles, where they get a tour of the shop from co-founder Kyle Kelly, check out a couple of bikes, and take a spin to a nearby waterfall. See it all in the entertaining 15-minute video above.

THOR Trails x Merman Bicycles Fun Forward Raffle

THOR Trails sprung from grassroots enthusiasts working to build more trails close to home and offer more fun-forward trail experiences for Nebraska and Western Iowa. They’ve teamed up with Merman Bicycles to give away a $1,000 purchase credit to pick up your very own Merman Bicycles Unholy Diver mountain bike frame. Proceeds from this good-times raffle will kickstart the THOR Grassroots Project Fund and will be accepting community project proposals in 2025. Support the project and enter the raffle here.

PUSHING LIMITS: Bikepacking Colorado’s Vapor Trail

In July, Katrina Hase and her friend Traci travelled to Salida for a three-night bikepacking adventure on Colorado’s Vapor Trail. Katrina put together a 25-minute recap of their experience, which serves as a great overview of the route for those thinking about giving it a shot. Watch the video and then dig into our route guide here.

Events Starting Soon

What to watch this weekend and bikepacking events starting soon…

Gunny Loopy Loop

The Gunny Loopy Loop is a bikepacking event based out of beautiful Gunnison, Colorado. It’s rowdy, it’s beautiful, and it’s challenging. The 2024 Gunny Loopy Loop is on for tomorrow with a 4 a.m. start in downtown Gunnison, Colorado. This year’s route clocks about 255 miles and estimated 37,000 feet of climbing. There are 16 riders registered for live tracking, which you can check out here.

The New Colo

The New Colo is a self-supported, mixed-surface bikepacking adventure traversing a diverse and rugged ecosystem along the border of Southern Colorado and Northern New Mexico. The full route is nearly 1,000 miles long, but there is a 450-mile New Colo Lite option as well. It appears there are just three riders taking on the event this year, which starts tomorrow morning from Durango, Colorado. Follow their progress live here.

Terra Australis Bike Epic

The Terra Australis Bike Epic is a race through remote and diverse terrain 6,250 kilometers down the eastern regions of Australia starting at Cape York, at the northern tip of Australia, and finishing at Wilsons Promontory the southernmost mainland point. The race route is north to south—there is no other option. Entry is free, but that will be the least of riders’ worries. The race starts on Sunday, and there is currently one lonely soul registered for live tracking. Follow their progress here.

2024 Badlands

The Badlands is a non-stop, unsupported gravel challenge along the edge of Europe. This year’s route is 790 kilometers long with over 15,000 meters of elevation gain. There are well over 300 riders signed up for the event, and they traveled from across the globe to participate. The event kicks off on Sunday and we’ll be sharing updates along the way on our Event Tracker page.

Wish We Were Here

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

Sam Rice: Socotra Island, Yemen

Riding in the Middle East has always interested me, but it wasn’t until I saw the Dragon Blood route on the tiny island of Socotra that I began to plan my next adventure. The 230-mile (370-kilometre) route starts on the coast and takes riders through a tapestry of terrain, from the white-sand beaches and turquoise water of Detwah Lagoon to the Martian-like plateau of Momi, where pyramidal mountains, limestone outcrops, and alien-like bottle trees dominate the landscape.

And all that before we even mention the FOOD. Yemeni food is some of my favourite in the world. The homemade breads, sprinkled with black sesame and honey, the charcoal meats, and the mix of spices make it one of the most diverse cuisines in the world. Maybe I should go there just to create some more recipes for the next installment of The Bikepacking Cookbook?

Further Reading

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

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