Friday Debrief #141: Aluminum Survey Results, Shiny Silver Stems, “New Pig Smell” Lowside, 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…

New Cane Creek GXC Stems

96-120 grams / Made in Taiwan / $69.99 at Cane Creek

Cane Creek just announced the GXC stem, a premium lightweight stem made for gravel and cross-country mountain bikes. The GXC is forged and machined from 6066 aluminum alloy and designed to match the overall size, shape, and proportions of modern, carbon gravel and cross country frames. It’s impressively lightweight, ranging from 96-120 grams, depending on size; it’s offered in five lengths in 10mm increments from 60 to 100mm, each with a +/- 6-degree stem angle and a 31.8mm bar clamp. The GXC stem has a illustrious high-polish finish in silver or black and comes with stainless steel bolts and laser etching that indicates the stem length and bolt torque. All GXC stems are available starting today for a fairly reasonable $69.99 USD at Canecreek.com and select dealers and retailers.

Lowside in “New Pig Smell” pink

Made in Taiwan / $1,499 at Surly Bikes

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Following their updated Krampus and Karate Monkey, Surly just announced the that the Lowside is back for 2025. It’s the same simple single-speed hardtail, but it’s wearing a new paint color called “New Pig Smell” pink, and it comes with ultra-grippy 26 x 3.0″ Dirt Wizard tires.

Hope Evo Now in 135mm

Made in UK / $380 at Hope

Hope’s just announced its Evo cranks in a new 135mm crank-length option, taking short cranks to even shorter lengths. We’ve put some miles on the Evo cranks over the last year and really like the, so this might be exciting news for a select few—smaller riders looking for more clearance or folks seeking a durable crank option for a child’s bike, perhaps. The 135mm Evo is available in the full range of Hope colors, too.

Discounted Extra-Small Wilde Supertramps

Made in Taiwan / $900-$2,450 at Wilde Bikes

In an effort to get more 27.5″ specific extra-small Supertramps out in the world, Wilde is currently offering both framesets and complete builds at a special discounted price. The framesets (frame + fork) are now just $900 (regularly $1,200) and the complete build is $2,450 (regularly $2,750). The extra-small Supertramp fits up to a 27.5 x 2.8″ tire, and the bottom bracket height, headtube angle, and chainstay length have all been optimized for the smaller wheel size. You can find our original press release here.

PNW Loam Stem

Made in Taiwan / $99 at PNW Components

Released earlier this week, the PNW Loam Stem is a new CNC-machined stem designed to pair perfectly with PNW’s other “Loam” components. It’s made from 6061 aluminum, includes zinc-coated steel bolts, and is offered in four flashy color options: Blackout Black, Blood Orange, Fruit Snack, and Lightning (silver). The Loam Stems comes in your choice of a 31.8mm or 35mm clamp diameter, and two stubby length options: 32mm or 40mm.

More Wilde x Paul Zebra Splatter Parts

Made in USA / $170+ at Wilde Bikes

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

New Thomson G2 Stem

Made in USA / $151.95 at Thomson

The new Thomson G2 Stem is a redesign of Thomson’s popular X2 road stem. Crafted from a one-piece 7000 series aluminum, it’s designed to be stronger and more durable, and has a redesigned 2-bolt faceplate to go with it. The G2 stem comes in six lengths, a single 10° angle, and in black or silver.

Ocean and San Pathfinder Hat

$44 at Ocean and San

Ocean and San released the Pathfinder Hat this week, a light, packable polyester cap designed for active wear. It includes an adjustable bungee drawstring to keep it secure and looks like it might make a good camp hat to toss in your frame bag.

Search and State Hi-Viz Fully Reflective S1-J Jacket

Made in USA / $285 at Search and State

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The new Hi-Viz Fully Reflective S1-J Jacket is Search and State’s most “exciting and innovative release of the year.” It features a full dig-camo reflective coating that lights up like a Christmas tree so you can be seen while riding at night. It has a higher level of water-resistance and wind-resistance compared to the standard S1-J jacket, with a slim (but comfortable) tailored fit, and works well in 30°F to 65°F temperatures. The Search and State Reflective S1-J Jacket is handmade at their shop in New York City.

Redesigned Panorama Chic-Chocs 3

Made in Taiwan / $2,899 at Panorama Cycles

Just in time for winter, Panorama Cycles in Quebec just released a totally redesigned version of their Chic-Chocs fat bike. The new Chic-Chocs 3 is designed around a 66.5° head tube angle, 75.5° seat tube angle, 450mm chainstays, and is suspension-corrected for a 120mm fat bike fork or a 140mm 29er fork. A new downtube internal storage compartment compliments the 18 existing mounting points and the frame now uses a SRAM UDH rear dropout for SRAM T-Type drivetrains. The Chic-Chocs 3 is available for pre-order, with delivery expected starting January 2025. The bike is available as a frame/fork set or as a complete bike starting at $3,599 CAD (2,899$ USD).

Handup Pisgah VIII for BeLOVED Asheville

$29 at Handup

The new Handup Pisgah VIII gloves are part of Handup’s “Glove That Gives” program and all proceeds will go to BeLOVED Asheville, an organization that has been doing some tremendous work in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. The gloves feature a topographic map of some of their favorite Pisgah trails, UPF 50+ sun protection, and touch-screen compatible fingers.

In Conversation

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

Aluminum Bike Survey Results

In last week’s Debrief, we asked our readers to weigh in on the merits and popularity of aluminum as a bike frame material. The results are in with over 1,600 responses. We can’t say there’s anything too surprising here, but it’s certainly interesting to see. What do you think, is this an accurate set of data that might be reflected in the future of aluminum bikes?

Around the Community

News from around the bikepacking world…

Revelate Designs is Hiring a Marketing and Content Manager

Our friends at Revelate Designs are hiring a Marketing + Content Manager to join their team. The position is full-time, based at Revelate headquarters in Anchorage, Alaska, and they offer health and retirement benefits, paid time off, a collaborative, fun, and creative working environment, and industry discounts. Learn more and apply here.

TwoTone’s 10-Year Anniversary Merch and Party

Eclectic bike industry agency Twotone Amsterdam just hit the 10-year mark and is celebrating with a big party on Nov. 29th in Amsterdam, and they also released a new merch drop inspired by Bad Brains’ PMA ethos and 80s Dutch PRO team PDM. You can see more here and use the code twotonemilestone to save 20% on your order.

A bikepacking familly adventure in Costa Rica (video)

Join Alexandre Beauchamp, his partner Camille, and their 1.5-year-old daughter as they embark on an unforgettable ride on the Gira Costa route in Costa Rica. Pedaling a rolling family caravan over an impressive 900-kilometer loop, their journey begins in Liberia and spans a month and a half as they experience Costa Rica’s beaches, mountains, and rugged roads, and meet the warm-hearted folks who make the trip special.

New Hammerhead Karoo Battery Save Modes

Hammerhead’s latest software update for the Karoo cycling computer allows users to to customize their Karoo for more than 35 hours of battery life. With the update, riders can choose from three different battery states: Default Ride Mode (15+ hours of battery in standard use cases), Battery Save Mode (30+ hours of battery), or Advanced Battery Savers (35+ hours of battery). Make sure to read Neil’s review of the latest Karoo cycling computer here.

Events Starting Soon

What to watch this weekend and bikepacking events starting soon…

Tassie Gift

Described as a “scenic trip to hell,” Tassie Gift is a relentless 1,800km bikepacking event along roads, trails, goat tracks on the island of Tasmania. This year’s grand depart, which took off yesterday morning, has over 30 riders registered for live tracking and the fastest riders are already around the 300km mark. Follow their progress live here.

Wish We Were Here

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

Neil Beltchenko: Madrean Rugged Ramble

As the cold season settles into Colorado’s high country and sleeping outside turns into more of a chore, I’m starting to dream about winter trips to warmer destinations. Arizona is always at the top of my list—last January’s Madrean Rugged Ramble was proof of that—but I’m excited to consider new spots like Texas or Southern California. I’d love to hear your suggestions for go-to winter bikepacking destinations out west. Let me know in the comments what you recommend for a quick 3-5 day trip!

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