Friday Debrief: New Frames from WZRD, Apidura Stem Pack, Are Cantilevers Back? 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…

Tout Terrain Touring Pedal II

€84 at Tout Terrain

The Tout Terrain Touring Pedal II combines a griptape-coated platform with a clip-in system. The pedals feature an aluminum monobloc body, sealed ball and plain bearings, and a chromoly steel axle. They use a Shimano SPD clip-in system, weigh 400 grams, and the platform dimensions are 65mm x 100mm.

Apidura Stem Pack

Made in China / $68 at Apidura

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Apidura’s latest offering is a welded, waterproof pack designed with one-handed usage in mind. Featuring a Fidlock magnetic snap closure, the pack is compressible and attaches via three-point mounting system. It’s equipped with a series of vertical and horizontal lash loops users can attach the pack to their bars, stem, or, really anywhere.

WZRD WHISPER OF RECKONING SPELLCASTER Pre-Order

Made in Canada / $150 CAD at WZRD

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WZRD bikes on Vancouver Island has opened up pre-orders for the next batch of the Whisper of Reckoning Spellcaster slingshots. This time, the steel components are 100% made in Canada and then brazed at WZRD’s workshop outside of Victoria, British Columbia. They are being offered in four fresh color options: prismatic spray (purple), hail of thorns (green), flesh to stone (rainbow), and sleet storm (off white). Pre-orders are open through the weekend, and slingshots will ship mid-April.

Cargo Bike Movement T-Shirt Fundraiser

£24 at Everpress

Scotland’s Cargo Bike Movement relies on volunteers to pick up surplus food from 11 supermarkets in Edinburgh and drop them off at the Zero Waste Hub, where they’re sorted and then delivered to those who need it. They put together some fun T-shirts as a fundraiser to help cover future costs, including cargo bike maintenance, insurance, and storage. There are only three days left to pre-order your shirt.

Jones Bikes Spring Sale

Made in Taiwan / Up to $750 off at Jones Bikes

Jones Bikes is kicking off the season with a special spring sale, offering significant savings on a range of their bikes and components. Folks can take advantage of $75 off pre-built Jones Spec. aluminum wheels, $450 off steel framesets, and $550 off complete bicycles—all with free shipping. Titanium framesets are discounted by $750, also with free shipping.

MEC Spark UL Tents

Made in Vietnam / $449+ CAD at MEC

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MEC’s Spark tent series just received a promising update and is apparently 27% lighter than the previous version. It’s available in 1-, 2-, and 3-person models, features a 15-denier nylon floor and fly, and includes DAC NSL aluminum poles. It’s semi-freestanding and the one-person model pictured here weighs 979 grams.

Updated Jetboil Flash and Zip Stoves

Made in China / $99+ at Jetboil

Jetboil recently launched redesigned versions of their best-selling Flash and Zip camp stoves with some promising updates. All stoves now feature a new burner head with a textured grip area, improved pot to burner connection, a new flame adjustment valve with a position indicator, and can boil water in just 120 seconds.

Manzanita Cycles Whippet Pre-Order

Made in USA / $2,600 at Manzanita

Launched earlier this year, the Manzanita Cycles Whippet is a performance steel gravel bike with clearance for 29 x 2.25″ tires and plenty of bosses for cages and gear. Owned and framebuilder Nick Jensen recently opened up pre-orders for another small batch of Whippets, with an expected delivery in June and July. There are only six available, so don’t wait up if you’ve been eyeing it up.

In Conversation

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

Are Cantilevers Back?

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When we shared the Singular Kookabura prototype a few weeks ago, it got people talking. And not just about the beautiful design consistent with Singular Cycles, but the presence of everyone’s favorite brake standard: cantilevers. Since then, through various posts about brakes, such as our Growtac Equal review, people have been making sure to voice their pleasure or displeasure with the antiquated brake standard. So, when we saw this lovely custom tracklocross-style frame from WZRD Bikes on Instagram, it got us thinking, “Are cantilevers back?” They seem to be having a moment in the culture at the moment. So, what say you, dear reader? Are you interested in a resurgence of cantilevered frames? Or would you rather see those kinds of bikes culled from the Earth? Let us know down below…

Around the Community

News from around the bikepacking world…

Durston x Easton: Improving Tent Pole Reliability

Shortly after Durston released its first freestanding tent, the X-Dome 1+, they discovered a manufacturing issue with the tent poles where the aluminum inserts joining the sections were sometimes not glued well enough into place. Durston worked with Easton on a solution and put together a nifty overview video that shows how the ultralight carbon tent poles are made.

EU Bikepackers: Last Chance for Custom Framebags from Rogue Panda Designs

Rogue Panda Designs in Arizona has opened some room in their custom framebag queue for EU customers looking to grab a bag before the new tariffs hit. The deadline to order is March 23rd, so you’ll need to act fast if you’re looking for some bags. Visit RoguePanda.com to order.

7mesh x Further Series

Canada’s cycling apparel brand 7mesh just announced it will be collaborating with the Further series, founded by Camille McMillan. The series will include three 7mesh-backed bikepacking events that will test rider’s limits through the steep, unrelenting climbs of the Pyrenees, the raw and windswept Scottish Highlands, and the twisting, untamed tracks of England’s Eastern fringe. Keep an eye on Further’s Instagram profile for more.

Roads Toward a Supreme Fiction

Contributor Matthew Crompton recently published Roads Toward a Supreme Fiction, a 230-page book recapping his four-month solo bikepacking journey through the mountains of Tibet, China and Central Asia in 2017. It’s by turns interesting, insightful, funny, and deep, and it’s available now in print and ebook formats. Learn more and buy a copy here.

Basecamp Boons

After a few years in development, we finally launched Basecamp earlier this week. With tons of community-oriented features that allow our members to collaborate, ask questions, coordinate rides, and even buy, sell, and trade their gear, Basecamp is one of the coolest and most comprehensive new features here on the site. For more details on Basecamp, be sure to take a look at the full announcement here.

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One of the standout features of Basecamp is the Co-Op function, an area for members to buy, sell, and trade gear. Moving forward, we’ll try to spotlight some of the best and most unique things listed in the Co-Op. This week, we’ve got a great hip bag from Crust/Hungry and a banger of a deal on a complete Kona Sutra LTD Logan reviewed a few years back.

Events Starting Soon

What to watch this weekend and bikepacking events starting soon…

Fried Clay 200k

The Fried Clay is a self-supported endurance gravel event that takes you through Georgia’s Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest. This year’s event starts tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. local time, and although there isn’t live tracking, you can follow along via their Instagram page.

Wish We Were Here

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

Nic Morales: Monumental Loop

After reading Miles’ fantastic write up about the wider story of the Monumental Loop, I experienced a pronounced sense of longing for a place I’d never been. Despite all my travels, I’ve never actually visited the American Southwest. As a distinctly Southeastern person, it seems something entirely alien to my humid, tree-covered sensibilities. Nevertheless, after learning of the route’s history, I feel compelled to fill out the blank corners of my domestic exploration through a route I’ve heard a lot of great things about.

Weekly Social

Some things we found around the ‘gram and elsewhere. This week, more from WZRD: a handful of photos of a new custom bikepacking rig from WZRD Bikes that will be heading to the Doom gravel event. This particular frame and rack was designed around a 120mm fork and is made with comfortable geometry and clearance for 29 x 2.6” tires. The frame is equipped with an array of mounts, including quad downtube mounts, triple cage mounts, and snack-pack mounts for optimized storage. The custom rack keeps weight low and secure, while Paragon sliding dropouts provide adaptability for evolving standards and an emergency singlespeed setup if needed, ensuring this machine is ready for any challenge the trail throws its way.

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