Singletrack/MTB
Gravel/All-road
Dirt-road Touring
Fat-bike
This week’s Debrief asks, “What’s the most water you’ve carried on a bike?” and features the new Titanium Kyoot Rolly Polly, Kashima-coated Growtac Equal brakes, an orienteering tour across Europe, and much more. Find it all here…
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…
Titanium Kyoot Rolly Polly
Made in Taiwan / $3,000 at Kyoot
Made available for pre-order yesterday, the Titanium Rolly Polly is a single-size release of Kyoot’s popular mini-velo. Per the brand, “The Ti Rolly Polly is an experimental project with Anaheim Electronics and Kyoot Industries. With Anaheim fully occupied by another project, Kyoot subcontracted ORA Engineering in Taiwan to produce the Lunar Titanium Rolly Polly. Military-grade 3Al 2.5V titanium tubes were custom-drawn to spec, creating an ultra-light alloy not used in any mini bike to date. The project required three months of lab testing. ZERO compromises were made, resulting in a sub-six-pound frame and fork.”
Kashima Coating Colored Growtac Equal Brakes
Made in Japan / $405 at Growtac
The Growtac EQUAL mechanical disc brakes now come in a Kashima coating color. The brand says these are “focused on performance rather than decoration,” with the wear resistant coating applied not only to the caliper body but also to key internal components. This new color will drop from Growatac in mid-January.
In Conversation
Exchanges and ideas that caught our attention in the site’s conversation section…
What’s The Most Water You’ve Carried?
In Neil’s review of the Relentless Mule Rack, he mentioned its ability to carry 27 kilograms and added the equivalent volume of water for context. There was some missed math that led to a reader comment/correction, but that got a few of us chatting about the maximum volume of water we’ve ever carried on a bike. For most of us on the team, that was 5-8 liters, but we cited Dylan Kentch’s quote in his excellent Slow and Sandy story: “I left Laverton with 14.5 days of food, and at some points, I carried more than 30 litres of water.” So, now it’s your turn. What’s the largest quantity of water you’ve ever carried on a bike?
Around the Community
News from around the bikepacking world…
UNCERTAIN: Badlands 2025
Uncertain is a 22-minute short film about Anja Hellen and her experience riding the 2025 Badlands race, an 800-kilometer self-supported bikepacking event that crosses some of the most remote deserts and mountain ranges of southern Spain. The story begins with doubt and uncertainty but transforms into quiet, unexpected strength. For more from the event, dig into our event Tracker page.
Bikepacking San Juan Huts: Episode Two
The second of three episodes from Katrina Hase and Tony’s 30th wedding anniversary bikepacking trip documents their travels to huts two and three and the transition from high alpine to mesa country.
OVERALLS Route (Trailer)
The Overalls Route follows the Pennsylvania Dirtbags on a five-day, 505-mile mostly gravel bikepacking trip across Pennsylvania from Erie to Philly. Nobody had ever ridden this route, so they set out to see if it was possible. Stay tuned for the full film, which drops on April 19th, 2026. There are also screenings at Philly Bike Expo (March 15th) and Hush Money Bikes (April 18th). Learn more here.
Joe Nation Rides the St James Cycle Trail
Joe Nation’s latest video documents his first lap of the St James Cycle Trail as part of a larger loop from Hanmer Springs, New Zealand. The St James Cycle Trail is a remote 37-mile (59-kilometer) mixed-terrain route through the high country and an important travel route for early Māori.
Orienteering Across Europe
Jekabs Janovs’ latest video follows him and his brother on a 100-day self-supported cycling journey across Europe using only maps and a compass to guide their way.
Wish We Were Here
Shedding a little light on a route one of us is dreaming about riding at the moment…
Lucas Winzenburg: The Livigno Loop
Italy and Switzerland are two of my favorite countries to travel around by bike, so Tristan Bogaard’s latest route that features dreamy-looking singletrack and charming towns in both nations shot to the top of my list when we published it earlier this month. The six-day Livigno Loop “offers breathtaking riding at secluded elevations, tasty delicacies, and an unforgettable workout,” which is all I need to hear!
Weekly Social
Some things we found around the ‘gram and elsewhere. This week, a twofer.
12 Days of Mosaic
Mosaic Cycles showed off some very nice bikes on their Instagram and social accounts over the course of 12 days. That included this MT-2 hardtail in Rustica Nebula, a finish available as in their Artist Series. Check out their 12 Days of Mosaic out over on Instagram.
Courtney White in New Zealand
An update from Courtney White on her bikepacking trip across New Zealand…
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