Friday Debrief: New Big Bro, 100 Women in Cycling, Black Foxes Film, and More…

We started “The Debrief” on our YouTube channel last year as a way of highlighting the week’s news and things that caught our attention on the website, in the conversation, and elsewhere around the community. To take this a step further, we’re posting a weekly Debrief here on the site to highlight all of those things and more, including upcoming events and interesting things 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…

Brother Cycles Big Bro in Woodland Brown

The latest Brother Cycles Big Bro features a fresh Woodland Brown paint job and is available for preorder now. The Big Bro is their all-purpose 27.5+/29er adventure frame made from 4130 double-butted Chromoly steel tubing and loaded with mounts for racks, cages, and bags. Frameset orders are expected to ship the first week of December.

£725 (inc VAT) / Made in Taiwan / Details

Atwater Atelier Mini Wedge

The new Atwater Mini Wedge is a versatile wedge-shaped frame bag for carrying ride essentials. It has a single drive-side zipper opening, bright interior liner, a top tube paracord lace-up attachment, and adjustable velcro loops along the base. The Mini Wedge comes in several X-Pac or Cordura colors and with your choice of paracord color. They’ve also added a new front decaleur made by Memento Cycles to their web shop, designed to support their handlebar bags. Check it out here.

$118 CAD / Made in Canada / Details

North St. Bags LTD Upcycled Bags

The new North St. Bags limited edition Upcycled Collection of packs and panniers are made from tents and banners used at some of the country’s most iconic endurance events. They’ve rescued 300+ pounds of usable fabric from hitting the landfill and have created a limited edition run of panniers, packs, and hip bags that are available now.

$60 / Made in USA / Details

Tarptent Moment DW Li

Just announced, the new Tarptent Moment DW Li is a Dyneema version of their popular one-person Moment DW tent. The Moment DW Li is their lightest double-wall, arch-pole shelter, weighing just 745 grams and comeing standard with a carbon arch pole and two Easton 9″ stakes. It’s bug-proof, has two doors, uses a fast two stake setup, and can convert into a freestanding tent with the optional crossing pole.

$639+ / Made in China / Details

We Are One Convergence

Kamloops, British Columbia-based We Are One Composites just announced an entirely new rim design that they say is at least 30% stronger than their other rims. The Convergence rims use an interesting 7.5° alternating spoke nipple face, a new ZRT material from Boston Materials in high-stress areas, and are offered in three internal widths: 33mm, 30mm and 28mm.

$2,000 (complete wheelset) / Made in Canada / Details

Updated Pack NW Ridgeline Roll-Top Hip Pack

Pack NW in Bellingham, Washington, just released an updated version of their Ridgeline Roll-Top Hip Pack with some promising updates. The latest version includes an improved waist belt, an optional water bottle holster, the main buckle is now positioned above the outside zipper, and there’s a little blinky light loop for when you need to be seen.

$105 / Made in USA / Details

In Conversation

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

Mandatory Sleep During Ultra-Races

Transibérica Ultracycling’s announcement of their new sleep deprivation rule, which requires riders must make at least one four-hour stop every 24 hours during their events, stirred up lots of discussion on the site this week. Find the original post here and let us know what you think.

Around the Community

News from around the bikepacking world…

The Black Foxes Film Premiers Tonight

The Black Foxes is an international collective of unapologetically Black cyclists and outdoors-people who are reclaiming their narratives and roles in the outdoors. Tonight at 5 p.m. EST, they are putting on a live virtual screening of The Black Foxes feature short film. Aside from the premiere, there will also be a discussion and a Q&A with The Black Foxes and film director B. Monet. On Saturday, November 26th, they will also be hosting a 60-minute Zwift virtual group ride, which can be accessed here. You can watch the film below when it goes live tonight:

Gaia GPS Highlights their Native Land Layer

For Thanksgiving, Gaia GPS honored the original stewards of our land and highlighted their Native Land map layer from non-profit Native Land Digital. Check out their blog post to learn how this layer refocuses the world map from Indigenous perspectives.

A Vintage Mountain Bike Parts Bin Build

One of our readers shared this vintage KHS Montana Pro mountain bike build video with us, and we thought it could serve as some inspiration for anyone on the hunt for a winter project. It’s a good reminder that old steel bikes are the perfect platform for parts bin builds and can be built up affordably with some parts and a few simple tools.

MADE Handmade Bike Show Dates Announced

MADE, a new industry and consumer bike event highlighting the craft of handmade bicycles, just announced the dates and location for their inaugural event. Their first show will take place from August 24th to 27th, 2023, at the iconic Rose Quarter in Portland, Oregon. Learn more at Made.Bike.

Cycling UK’s 100 Women in Cycling

Cycling UK just announced their list of 100 Women in Cycling, which aims to celebrate inspirational women who are encouraging others to experience the joy of cycling. There are a number of familiar names in the list, and you can take a look here.

SimWorks Visits Golden Pliers in Portland

SimWorks recently stopped by Golden Pliers in Portland, Oregon, for a shop/dealer visit and put together a video from their time there. Check out the video above to learn more about Golden Pliers and watch founder Kevin Purcell build some wheels using SimWorks’ new Standalone rims.

Events Starting Soon

What to watch this weekend and bikepacking events starting soon…

Across Andes

Across Andes is the first self-sufficient bikepacking race to cross the longest mountain range in the world, traveling 1,100 kilometers over seven days from Chile to Argentina. The grand depart takes off from the town of Melipeuco, Chile, on Sunday morning, and you can follow along live here.

The Munga

The Munga is a non-stop, single-stage, semi-supported mountain bike race across the middle of South Africa. Riders have 120 hours or five days to ride 1,000 kilometers and make the cut-off. The grand depart is next Wednesday, and you can learn more here.

Wish We Were Here

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

Logan Watts: The Summer

Yep, it’s only November, and I’m already yearning for the summer. Virginia and I went on an overnighter on Wednesday night to escape the holiday rush, forest bathe, and grab a few photos of stuff we needed for the upcoming Gear of the Year awards. It was nice, but it got pretty cold—especially by our standards. It had me longing for the summer at our favorite camp spot in the forest and remembering my time on The Real Pisgah route.

Weekly Social

Some things we found around the ‘gram and elsewhere. This week, some Instagram posts from the Hunt 1000 in Australia…

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