Friday Debrief: Microwave Pannier Colors, Vetra Rattlesnake Stem, Limited-Edition Brooks…

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…

Parsec Objects Big Peach

Made in China / $12 at Parsec Objects

If safety donuts and pizzas just aren’t doing it for you, the new Big Peach reflector from Parsec Objects could be worth checking out. It’s hard to imagine a more suitable reflector to hang from your saddle, ensuring nobody misses your rear end.

Brooks x JJJJound Limited Edition Saddles

Made in England / $265 at Brooks England

JJJJound, a Montreal-based design studio, teamed up with Brooks on two limited-edition saddles finished in their signature aesthetic. The drop includes the B17 and Flyer saddles with an all-white treatment and the underside of the tops left to their natural coloring. The side of each saddle is embossed with a dedicated JJJJound side stamp and includes a Brooks England x JJJJound hub shiner.

Vetra Rattlesnake Stem

Made in Germany / €178 at Vetra Bikes

Made by Vetra in Berlin, the Rattlesnake Stem features a polished chrome finish, an 80mm length, and a -6 degree rise, making it suitable for a range of classic and modern cockpit setups. It is designed for round-tube drop handlebars and is equally compatible with swept-back flat bars, making it a good fit for ATB, touring, and commuting bikes.

Nordest Supercross Ti Handlebar

Made in Taiwan / €349 at Nordest Cycles

Nordest’s new Supercross Ti Handlebar has a 50mm rise, 11° backsweep, and 6° upsweep that they say is perfect for “all-day riding, all-day ripping, and more.” The Supercross Ti is made from Ti3Al2.5V titanium, measures 800mm wide, uses a 31.8mm clamp, and weighs 465 grams.

Custom Rockgeist Microwave Panniers

Made in USA / $285 at Rockgeist

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For the first time ever, Rockgeist is offering custom Microwave Pannier colors. Customers can select any fabric and color from our fabric library when placing their order, giving them over 40 options to choose from. If you aren’t picky about holster colors, they will be making RX36 Black Microwave sets to keep in stock for faster shipping. Custom orders come with a 2-3 week lead time.

Fairlight Touch Up Paint

Made in the UK / £20 at GPaint

Fairlight has teamed up with GPaint to make their fantastic paints available in small touch-up bottles. Touch-up paint for all current Fairlight colors (including the new Iridescent Root Beer) is now available on the GPaint UK website, with US and EU availability to follow.

Keystone Bikes Friendly Mechanic Tee

$25 at Keystone Bikes

Keystone Bikes has released a T-shirt designed by Jessie Jay, a tattoo artist and friend of the shop. Emblematic of the rough roads in central Philly, it’s a dual-colored tee that supports a small business.

In Conversation

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

Obscure Shop Tools

The introduction of Knipex’s tiny SlimKnips got us thinking about those oddly specific tools that earn a permanent place in the workshop. Whether it’s a precision cable cutter or something even more obscure, what’s your favorite highly specialized shop tool, and why is it worth having around?

Around the Community

News from around the bikepacking world…

I Failed My 2,700-Mile Bikepacking Trip

In his latest video, Darwin onthetrail unpacks what went wrong on his recent attempt at the 2026 Tour Divide, sharing some reflections on what worked and what ultimately led to his decision to bail from the 2,700-mile route in Montana. Watch it above.

The Gralloch Ultra 2026

Markus Stitz’s latest film follows Josh Reid, Jenny Tough, and other riders as they take on the 2026 Gralloch Ultra, a 323-kilometer gravel race through the Galloway Forest Park in Scotland. It captures both the physical toll of the distance and the camaraderie that defines ultra-distance riding.

2027 KONA ATHLETE APPLICATIONS ARE OPEN

Applications for the 2027 Kona Teams are open through August 4th, 2026. The brand is seeking racers, creators, community builders, and bike-obsessed humans who make an impact—on the bike, behind the camera, in their communities, and within the cycling industry. Sound like you? Head over to KonaWorld.com for details.

The End of An Era: The Details Behind What Happened to Hardtail Party

Steve Hume, creator and host of the popular Hardtail Party YouTube channel, has been making videos as his job and passion for the past seven years. The channel has been quiet recently, and his latest video offers more insight into his health, his return to school, and what the future might look like.

Tout Terrain Shift:R Allroad

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New from Tout Terrain in Germany, the new Shift:R Allroad is an innovative system that lets riders link Shimano GRX shifters to a Pinion gearbox, enabling an easier connection between the comfort of a drop-bar cockpit and the weather-sealed reliability of a Pinion drivetrain. For now, the Shift:R Allroad is available exclusively on select Tout Terrain models, but it will be offered as a standalone upgrade in the future. Learn more at Tout-Terrain.de.

Events Starting Soon

What to watch this weekend and bikepacking events starting soon…

2026 Montana Bike Odyssey

The Montana Bike Odyssey is a 1,750-mile loop through Montana, starting and ending in Bozeman. For 2026, there are also 500-mile and 235-mile route options. This year’s grand depart took off this morning, and you can follow along live here.

The Ardennes Monster

The Ardennes Monster is Belgium’s most poetic ultra. Crossing four countries and hundreds of lovely climbs, the race blends cycling legends with forgotten roads, deep forests, and lonely plateaus. The event offers three formats: a massive 1,050-kilometer loop through the heart of the Ardennes, a 500-kilometer version with the same soul and the same sting, and a 300-kilometer option to taste the adventure in a more compact dose. The event started yesterday evening, and you can follow along live here.

Port Angeles Super Loop (PASL) 2026

The Port Angeles Super Loop (PASL) is an unofficial, solo, self-supported bikepacking ride on the north Olympic Peninsula of Washington State. It links everything that makes riding this little slice of heaven so special. This year’s event starts tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. local time. Follow along here.

The Capitals

The Capitals is an 840-kilometer ultra-endurance race connecting the four Catalan capitals: Barcelona, Tarragona, Lleida, and Girona. This year’s grand depart starts Sunday morning at 6 a.m. local time, with nearly 100 riders participating. Follow along live here.

2026 Transcontinental Race

Founded by Mike Hall in 2013, the Transcontinental Race (TCR) is an annual, self-supported, ultra-distance bikepacking race across Europe. The route varies for each edition, but participants are free to choose their own route between the mandatory checkpoints. This year’s event starts on Sunday from Trondheim, Norway, with well over 400 riders participating. Follow along live here.

Wish We Were Here

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

Lucas Winzenburg: Peru

Back in the early 2010s, Cass Gilbert‘s images from his time riding across the Americas were formative for many bikepackers, myself included. I was a devout reader of his blog, While Out Riding, and consider myself lucky to have spent the last decade and a half working with him. Naturally, I was thrilled to see that he was recently back in Peru, where he documented and shared the new 290-kilometer Conexión Oyón route, which I hope to experience for myself in the not-too-distant future.

Weekly Social

Some things we found around the ‘gram and elsewhere. This week, Kara Folkerts’ mini Bright Midnight writeup and Angus Young’s post-Tour Divide rig breakdown at the MASON barn…

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