Friday Debrief: RIP Charlie Cunningham, Finding the Limit, Crafted Handmade Bike Show, 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…

Zefal Universal Cage Mount

€12.95 at Zefal

The Zefal Universal Cage Mount is a versatile bracket that can be installed on almost any bike. It has a wide silicone-coated hook-and-loop strap and a soft mounting pad to ensure a secure grip and protect the bike’s finish. The mount fits tubes up to 80mm in diameter and can be easily shortened. The mount comes with bolts and can carry a bottle cage, lock, mini pump, or other accessories with standard bottle cage spacing.

Circos and Fluent MTB Wheels Get Hub Upgrades

Made in Taiwan / $600+ at Teravail

Teravail’s line of gravel and mountain bike wheels has received a hub upgrade. Across both their Circos and Fluent wheel models, complete wheelsets can now be purchased with DT Swiss 240 or Hope Pro 5 hubs, and a lower spoke-hole count is available for maximum weight savings. Nic reviewed the launch model of the gravel-oriented Circos wheels earlier this year, which was equipped with the ever-reliable DT Swiss 350 hubset.

Firefly’s 3D-Printed Titanium Radar Mounts

Made in USA / $125 at Firefly

Firefly recently launched its own 3D-printed titanium radar mounts. Compatible with both Wahoo and Garmin devices, these 3D-printed mounts are made of titanium and attach directly to their seat collar design. Unfortunately, Firefly says these are only compatible with their seat collars.

Slow Coast “Snack Break” Fundraiser T-Shirt

Made in Canada / $38 CAD at Slow Coast

• 
• 

Organized by Emily Heron, Slow Coast in British Columbia is gearing up for its third annual community-focused bikepacking event in the qathet Regional District. This year, Emily is offering a few discounted registration spots to help reduce the financial barrier of attending the main event this August. The “Snack Break Tee” is a fundraiser for these spots, featuring a fun design by Kate George to remind everyone to take a break and have a snack. Pre-orders are open now.

Love Machine Spring 2026 Drop

Made in Canada / $10+ CAD at Love Machine

Love Machine in British Columbia is dropping some fresh merch on their web store this morning at 9 a.m. PT. The drop includes the “Practice Ego Death Nylon Hat” for $42 CAD, the “Freaks, Freds, Fanatics Tech Tee” for $65 CAD, and a $10 sticker pack featuring a “Disc is Dead” sticker that rim brake lovers are surely going to swoon over. Due to tariffs, Love Machine is only shipping within Canada at this time.

Quarry Cycling Fox Podium 32″ Adapter

Made in USA / $165 at Quarry Cycling

• 
• 

Quarry Cycling Co. in Lisbon, Wisconsin, just released a nifty adapter that allows the Fox Podium to clear 32-inch tires. The adapter replaces the stock air-side top cap assembly, reducing bottom-out fork travel by 30mm to provide additional tire clearance. It’s compatible with all travel versions of the Fox Podium.

In Conversation

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

Tour Divide Wishlist

We’ve been covering the Tour Divide for over a decade, and we’re excited to be kicking off our sixth year with photographer Eddie Clark at the helm. Eddie will be traveling down the Great Divide once again to share timely, amazing photos from the storied event. On his social media, Eddie recently asked, “What would you really like to see from this year’s edition?” Be sure to let us know in the Conversation below. Also, find all his past coverage here.

Around the Community

News from around the bikepacking world…

Finding the Limit

This year, the Dales Divide had its largest ever field of riders. Among them was Jesse Yates, tackling his first off-road ultra. Once again, Restrap teamed up with Friction Collective to tell the story of what unfolded on his ride. Testing the Limit explores what motivates us to race ultras, although there’s clearly no singular answer.

Rest in Peace, Charlie Cunningham

We were saddened to hear the news of the passing of 77-year-old mountain bike innovator and WTB co-founder Charlie Cunningham this week, whose many contributions to the bike world span several decades. Jan Heine of Rene Herse Cycles is currently hosting a fundraiser for this wife, Jacquie Phelan. Everyone who donates $25 will receive a free copy of Bicycle Quarterly 29, which includes 23 pages of interviews with the iconic mountain-biking duo. Donate at ReneHerseCycles.com.

Cane Creek CRAFTED

Cane Creek has launched a new bike show cased called CRAFTED. Intent on highlighting new gear, small builders, and everything in between, CRAFTED is hosted by Cane Creek in Fletcher, North Carolina, on September 26-27, 2026. Admission is free and open to the public. Exhibitor applications are currently open at this link.

A Tree to Sea Mini FKT

Miles created a shortened version of the full 1,000-kilometer Tree to Sea Loop on Vancouver Island so folks could get a taste for the route in a more condensed, logistically straightforward format. Last weekend, our friend Jeff Bartlett and Mark Donkers decided to tackle the 242-mile route as fast as possible. It might just be a new fastest known time! Here’s what Jeff had to say about their ride:

“Mark Donkers and I completed the Tree to Sea Mini in 23 hours, 23 minutes, and 23 seconds. We are curious if this might be the unofficial FKT for the 242-mile route. As a single-day effort, Tree to Sea Mini was a big challenge. The longest and steepest climb came 20 hours into our ride. Resupply was also difficult because we couldn’t reach Gold River, Woss, or Sayward during business hours. Overnight temperatures hovered just above freezing, which meant we lost a lot of time adding layers to descend and removing them to climb. I really hope to see more people attempt the loop in this way. There is plenty of room to go faster.”

A Stunning Fern Bikes Custom

• 
• 
• 

Fern Bikes in Berlin posted an incredible custom bike this week that features some equally stunning bags from Gramm. Per their post, “The whole bike design is based on the iconic Paul Smith stripe design, originally painted on a 1965 Porsche 911 owned by James Turner. The biggest challenge was translating those stripes onto a bicycle frame and bags, and everyone involved had to walk quite some extra miles to make it happen. Annetta and Jacek Orlowski did a fantastic job with the paintwork, Markus spent a lot of time finding the right colors, and Tine had to jump into this project and create custom bags with perfectly matching colors and lines. She probably hated me for my initial idea to make the bags in the same color scheme as the bike, but in the end, she absolutely nailed it.”

Chasing Soi, Rural Thailand: The In Between

Garrett Murphy of the Move With Murph YouTube channel spent the winter touring through Thailand and Northern Laos by bike. He filmed the entire trip and is in the process of uploading a four-part video series. Part one covers Bangkok to Chiang Mai, an unplanned stretch that became one of Garrett’s favorite segments of the entire trip.

2026 Bespoked Inclusivity Scholarship

Now in its fourth year, the SRAM x BESPOKED Inclusivity Scholarship continues BESPOKED and SRAM’s shared commitment to helping create a cycling industry that is more welcoming, representative, and accessible. Recipients will exhibit at BESPOKED Dresden 11-13 September and receive funded exhibition space, mentoring support ahead of the show, promotional opportunities and components support from SRAM. Applications opened on Monday, June 1st, and close on Thursday, June 25th. Find complete details at Bespoked.cc.

The Curve Seek 500 Fork Fits 32 x 2.4″ Tires

Curve in Australia was doing some experimenting with 32-inch wheels and confirmed that their Seek 500 fork does, in fact, clear 32-inch tires! The Seek 500 has a 500mm axle-crown, making it a good replacement for 120-130mm travel suspension forks, and perhaps convert your 29er to a mullet 32er? Learn about the Seek 500 fork as CurveCycling.com.

Events Starting Soon

What to watch this weekend and bikepacking events starting soon…

BAM! – Bicycle Adventure Meeting

BAM! Bicycle Adventure Meeting is the world’s largest gathering dedicated to bicycle travel and adventure cycling. Each year, thousands of riders converge in northern Italy to celebrate the bicycle not as a sport tool, but as a means of exploration, connection, and freedom. This year’s event starts today in Villa Contarini, Italy. Learn more here.

Sisters in the Wild Summer Gathering

Back for its sixth year, Sisters in the Wild is a weekend of riding, inclusivity, and skill-building in the Lake District, UK. Attendees can expect two days of gravel riding for all levels, communal grub, basecamp fun, and a bunch of adventure skills and inspiring sessions, all surrounded by a gorgeous, supportive, and inclusive atmosphere. The event takes place this weekend. Learn more here.

Seven Serpents

Seven Serpents is an unsupported 1,000-kilometer bikepacking challenge from Ljubljana to Trieste through the Croatian islands, following gravel and side roads. This year’s grand depart starts on Sunday with nearly 200 riders participating. Follow their progress live here.

The Pyrenean Rally

The Pyrenean Rally is a two-chapter odyssey across the Pyrenees, from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic on a mixed-terrain route over endless Spanish pistes, and back to the Mediterranean on an all-paved route over legendary French cols. This year’s grand depart takes off tomorrow morning local time, and a small group is registered for live tracking. Follow along live here.

BT700

The BT 700 wanders along a mixed surface of gravel roads, rail trail, rowdy, unmaintained roads, and forested singletrack for a nearly 800-kilometer loop involving some of Ontario’s most amazing bikepacking terrain. This year’s grand depart takes off from St. Jacobs, Ontario, on Sunday morning, and you can follow along live here.

Lael’s Around the World Ride

On Sunday morning, Lael Wilcox will ride away from Chicago’s Buckingham Fountain, heading east in a fresh record attempt. Chasing Mark Beaumont’s 2017 time of 78 days, 14 hours, and 40 minutes, she’ll pedal some 18,000 miles (29,000 kilometers) across four continents on her quest to establish the new record for fastest circumnavigation of the globe by bicycle. Follow her progress here.

Weekly Social

Some things we found around the ‘gram and elsewhere. This week, a bikepacking Neutrino and a SRAM AXS bikepacking kit…

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