Friday Debrief: Rodeo’s Top Bikes of 2024, Ghooost Flower Twists, DIY Zip Bag, 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…

WZRD Adventurer Bags in Stock

Made in Canada / $140 at WZRD

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The WZRD Adventurer Bag is a do-everything shoulder bag for adventures on the go. It offers four liters of storage, a smaller front zippered pocket, and sits close as a cross-body bag or over the shoulder. The stock strap will fit shirt size S-XXL, but if you fall outside of this, reach out, and WZRD make you a custom strap at no extra charge. Bags are primarily made of Challenge EXP200, which is highly durable, waterproof, and made from recycled materials. Highlight colors may be Cordura or Gridstop.

Ass Savers x Papersky Wing Wings

Made in Sweden / €27 at Ass Savers

Ass Savers recently launched a limited edition Wing Wing fender in collaboration with Papersky, a Japanese lifestyle and travel magazine, and the results are beautiful. There are three distinctive designs available, all drawing inspiration from Papersky’s Tour de Nippon ride series, which visits some of the country’s most stunning regions. In addition to the fenders, they’re also selling lovely matching cycling caps handmade by Keisuke Kawashima of Velo Spica in Japan.

Ghooost Flower Twists

Made in Japan / 770 JPY at Ghooost

We stumbled on these flower twists handmade by the Japanese brand Ghooost, which you may have spooted on the Yanagi Super Black Salamandra we shared a while back. You can use them to lash your cable housing together or just for decoration. They’re all handmade in Japan and are ridiculously cute.

In Conversation

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

Waterproof or Breathable?

Miles and Emily have been testing some of the top-rated cycling rain jackets, and they just published a roundup of eight they tested over the last few years. In the comment section, there’s been some discussion about balancing breathability versus waterproofness, more specifically, what’s more important for bikepacking. What do you think? Which attribute to you prioritize, and why? Let us know in the conversation below!

Around the Community

News from around the bikepacking world…

Sewing a ZPP Kit in Real Time

Errin Vasquez from California has been putting his sewing machine to work and just uploaded a video of him making a Ripstop By The Roll ZPP Kit in real time. Watch the video above, and then head over to Ripstop by the Roll to purchase your own DIY kit.

Timmermade Switches to Lottery System

Dan Timmerman, owner and operator of Timmermade in New York, makes some of the highest-quality outdoor garments and sleeping gear we’ve tried. Everything is handmade in Dan’s workshop, and most items can be fully customized for a unique fit, depending on your needs. Dan just announced that Timmermade is switching to a lottery system that will make random selections and should allow people to make purchases at their leisure, instead of a rushed first-come, first-served limited ordering system. Head to Timmermade.com to enter.

Gifting a 1988 Apollo Kosciusko for Christmas

Tim Atwood from the AdVANture ST YouTube channel bought an old Apollo Kosciusko months ago on marketplace and had been hiding it from his wife. He ended up gifting it to her for Christmas. Learn more about the bike and hear about some other life updates from Tim in his latest video above.

Pisgah Area Sorba Helene Cleanup Stats

In their latest Instagram post, Pisgah Area SORBA reflects on a year of significant accomplishments: over 60 public workdays, work completed on more than 40 trails, and nearly 5,000 volunteer hours logged. Among these efforts, 1,400 hours were dedicated in just two weeks in October to clearing trees and debris left behind by Hurricane Helene—a testament to the incredible community response. Take a look at the graphics showcasing the trails worked on and the remarkable surge in volunteer hours during October here.

Festive Frame Prep: The 4th Park Tool Yule Log

Cozy up, grab some nog, and relax to the soothing sounds of metal being ground and chipped away into tiny little shavings. It’s another Park Tool Yule Log, this time they’re getting a frame ready for its new life as a bicycle.

Events Starting Soon

What to watch this weekend and bikepacking events starting soon…

Franschhoek 500

Franschhoek 500 isn’t your typical wine tour but a daring exploration of beautiful gravel roads on the Western Cape of South Africa. The grand depart started this morning, and the organizers only allow 13 participants to enter. There isn’t live tracking, but you can learn more about the event here.

Tuscobia Winter Ultra

The Tuscobia Winter Ultra is a run, bike, or ski event held on the Tuscobia State Trail in Northern Wisconsin, and it’s a qualifying event for the Iditarod Trail Invitational. The event took off this morning at 6 a.m., and unfortunately, there’s not live tracking to follow.

Wish We Were Here

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

Nic Morales: San Juan Mountains, Colorado

I’m not sure if it’s Steve from Rodeo Labs’ consistent posting about them or a general urge to try and experience more of the American Southwest–a place I’ve spent almost no time–but I’ve been dreaming about the San Juan Mountains lately. And that’s sort of an odd thing to experience. Dreaming of a place you’ve never been, much less seen. Nevertheless, I’ve found myself scouring the site for routes, and the Alpine Loop seems to be the ticket. With the spring flowers, I’m ready to be enraptured by a sea of blooms in what can only be described as fodder for screensavers.

Weekly Social

Some things we found around the ‘gram and elsewhere. This week, Rodeo Labs built an impressive number of stunning bikes this year, making 2024 the most prolific year to date for their design, paint, and build team. To celebrate, they put together a selection of some of their favorite creations. The gallery is presented in no particular order and offers up a collection of serious eye candy.

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Further Reading

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

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