Friday Debrief: Pink Weird Ass Bars, Funguy Reflectors, Righteous Gemstone Tour Divide Rig, 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…

Wizard Works Funguy Reflector

Made in UK / £20 at Wizard Works

If reflective pizza or donuts aren’t quite your thing, maybe the new Wizard Works Funguy reflector could be. The Funguy reflector can be attached your saddle, bags, or a basket (pretty much anywhere on your bike), and it’s made in-house at Wizard Works in London from a highly reflective silver fabric, stiff black Cordura, and red reflective vinyl.

REI Half Dome (20% Goes to National Parks)

$299 at PLACE

The REI Half Dome tent just celebrated 45 years. In this video, REI shares the design history of the Half Dome and a look at some of the people behind it. And, to commemorate this milestone, REI is donating 20% of proceeds from Half Dome Tent sales to the National Parks Conservation Association now thru April 30th.

Stomplox Trail Worm Pre-Order at Ron’s Bikes

Made in Japan / $370 at Ron’s Bikes

After a successful Kickstarter campaign last fall, Ron’s Bikes is opening pre-orders for the Stomplox Trail Worm shoes, with an expected delivery in June.A collaboration between Stomplox and Ronnie Romance, the Trail Worm is a barefoot shoe featuring a thin, highly flexible sole and a zero heel-drop design that keeps the heel and toe at the same level.

Ortlieb Dry-Pack How To

Made in Germany / $75 USD at Ortlieb

Featuring versatile daisy chains, O-straps for secure rack mounting, and an elastic cord system for extra gear storage, the dual-sided Ortlieb Dry-Pack is made in Germany, and it comes in Matte Black or Dark Sand in two sizes. Ortlieb just released this little video showing how it works.

Mica Rat Tail Restock

Made in Taiwan / $185 USD at Mica Cycles

The 410-gram Mica Rat Tail is a minimalist rear rack designed for bikes without threaded rack mounts. It has three-pack mounts on both legs and is perfect for support a 6-9″ (15-23cm) diameter drybag to serve as an alternative to a bikepacking seat pack. Plus, it allows full dropper post function. After a short hiatus, the Rat Tail is back in stock and shipping now. If you haven’t read it already, make sure to check out our review for a closer look at the Rat Tail.

Otso Waheela C in Seafoam & Maroon

Made in Taiwan / $2,700+ at Otso Cycles

Inspired by an older 2020 colorway, the Otso Waheela C is now available in a flashy seafoam and maroon paint job with cobalt accents, bringing the total number of current colors to eight! Otso calls the Waheela C the “ultimate all-around gravel race bike,” with clearance for 29 x 2.1″ tires, adjustable geometry, and enough bottle mounts to keep you hydrated on long rides. Framesets start at $2,700, and complete builds start at $3,400.

Bags by Bird Ranger Green Goldbacks

Made in USA / $235 at Bags by Bird

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Bags by Bird, owned and operated by Jay Ritchey, just added a timeless look to his collection of ready-to-order Goldback handlebar bags. The new earth-tone colorway features ranger green fabric, webbing, thread, and trim, and it has coyote buckles. There are two widths options available now.

BTCHN’ 4130 Weird Ass Bar in Pink

Made in USA / $220 at BTCHN’ Bikes

This week, BTCHN’ Bikes released a full size run of its 4130 Weird Ass bar (WAB) in a wild powdercoated neon pink. The WAB is a drop bar with a short reach and shallow drop, making it a good substitute to most flat-bar configurations and offering some extra hand positions for long rides. It’s compatible with standard flat-bar shifters and brake levers, uses a 22.2mm clamp diameter, and is handmade at BTCHN’ headquarters in Chico, California.

More on Silca’s ELETTRICO Mini Pump

Made in China / $119+ at Silca

The ELETTRICO Mini Pump was meant to be one of SILCA’s biggest launches of 2025—until global trade policies got in the way. In this video, Josh Poertner shares the inside story of their latest engineering breakthrough, explaining why it debuted around the world but not in the U.S., and what the situation signals for the future of cycling equipment.

Rekki DX25 on Kickstarter

Made in China / $190+ at Kickstarter

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Launched via Kickstarter earlier this month, the new Rekki DX35 is a top-opening handlebar bag with three distinct storage zones, and a massive 35 liter capacity. In my review, I shared that it’s likely too big for what most people need and it seems the folks at Rekki listened. They just added a smaller 25L version called the Rekki DX25 to the Kickstarter campaign for those who want something a little smaller and we’re guessing it will fit between drop bars better as well.

In Conversation

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

More Real-world Tariff Trouble

After sharing a couple pieces this week about the bike and outdoor industry’s tariff woes, several readers chimed in with additional stories from brands. One of which was this BBC interview video with the Showers Pass CEO. As troubling as these stories are, it’s important to hear how companies and brands are dealing with this massive impediment that’s fallen in our lap. If you’ve come across a similar story or have one of your own to share, please leave us a note in the Conversation below.

Around the Community

News from around the bikepacking world…

Two Idiots Cycle from Manchester to Marrakech (Ep. 1)

Episode one of Manchester to Marrakech follows a couple of friends on the first leg of a five-month ride from the UK to Morocco. It’s an offbeat look at a journey we’re excited to follow further south across Europe and into Africa. Stay tuned for more.

Treehouse Cyclery Kickstarter Last Call!

Colorado’s community-focused Treehouse Cyclery has raised around $10,000 of its $15,000 Kickstarter goal to reopen their shop in Boulder. There are just five days to go to help them reach their goal, and they have a variety of great items for backers, including a brand-new T-shirt design from artist Wyatt Hersey. Head over to Kickstarter to support them.

First Look: 4130 Trail Mountain Bike

After sharing the new State 4130 Trail hardtail mountain bike earlier this week, State put together an overview video that you can watch above. And judging by the comments, folks are stoked to see another affordable steel hardtail.

Katrina Hase’s 2025 Ozark Gravel Doom/Despair Video

On April 6th, Katrina Hase set out for her second attempt to finish a bikepacking race. This time around, she chose the Ozark Gravel Doom race series out of Jasper, Arkansas, opting for the mid-distance course, called “Despair”, which included 196 miles of rough, rugged terrain and over 22,000 ft. of climbing. Watch the video Katrina put together, and then visit our Doom Tracker page for all of our event coverage.

Rare Earth “Righteous Gemstone” Tour Divide Bike

Looking for a unique rig for the 2025 Tour Divide, Randy Windle reached out to Rare Earth’s owner, Brian Hall. The Rare Earth “Righteous Gemstone” was inspired by the original Breezer klunker and came with ti bullmoose bars, a dynamo wheelset with Berd spokes, and custom front and rear racks.

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Brian wanted to give the bike a patina look, and after much trial and error, he found a powder coat solution that achieved the desired effect. The cherry on top is a piece of turquoise from Hachita, New Mexico (the near southern terminus of the Tour Divide), that Randy sent Brian to integrate into the custom head badge. Visit Rare Earth on Instagram for more.

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WZRD Shop Vlog #5: Making a steel gravel frame, metal alchemy, & why I ride custom

WZRD Bikes in Victoria, British Columbia has been busy producing videos for a new vlog series. In this episode, Em shows how she locates and marks internally butted tubes, how frames are aligned with heat, and shares her thoughts on custom bikes and rim brakes.

Pitching the Hyperlite CrossPeak 2

Hyperlite launched its first-ever freestanding two-person tent, the CrossPeak 2, earlier this week, and we had the chance to test one out for several months ahead of the launch. Hyperlite just shared a helpful how-to video for those wondering how the CrossPeak 2 is set up, which shows how little effort it takes to get a perfect pitch.

Events Starting Soon

What to watch this weekend and bikepacking events starting soon…

Border Bash Aragon

Border Bash Aragon is a guided bikepacking event set in the stunning Sierra de Guara, Spain. The goal of the event is to unite like-minded people who enjoy biking in the beautiful, lesser-known region of Aragon. The camp started yesterday and you can keep an eye on how things are going on their Instagram page.

2025 Vento Gravel

Veneto Gravel is an unsupported adventure through some of the best countryside, hills and Venetian cities Italy has to offer. According to the organizers, it’s the biggest gravel bikepacking event in Europe with hundreds of participants attending from all over the world. Follow the event on Instagram to see how things play out.

Rockstar Challenge

The RockStar Challenge is a 270-mile mountain bike race from Rocktown (Harrisonburg) to the Star City (Roanoke). There are trail, gravel, and paved routes, ranging from 166 miles to 266 miles with 38,000′ of climbing. The 2025 grand depart takes off tomorrow and you can follow the riders’ progress live here.

Weekly Social

Some things we found around the ‘gram and elsewhere. This week, a neat illustration from Dean Liebau of the Sklar Tall Tale Miles reviewed. How do we know it’s the same one? The custom Rogue Panda frame bag was the giveaway!

Further Reading

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

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