Friday Debrief: Kibbles and Bit, Pre-Owned Kitsbow, Ascend Armenia, and more…

The weekly Debrief highlights little 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…

Last Chance for Goodday + Curiosity Spacer Cradle Rack

Gunnison, Colorado-based Goodday + Curiosity just started production on their Spacer Cradle Rack, which replaces a headset spacer with a minimal steel rack designed to support dry bags and handlebar bags. As of last night, there are 10 preorder spots available, and racks will be delivered by the end of February.

$150 / Made in USA / Details

Hunter Cycles Bar Ends Restocked

Hunter Cycles just restocked their touring and basic bar ends, which are available in both neon yellow and black. They feature a fillet-brazed construction and Chromoly steel tubing and sit at a 20-degree angle. As always, the Hunter Cycles bar ends are handmade in a garage based out of California. The basic version costs $135, and the touring model (pictured above) costs $185.

$135-$185 / Made in USA / Details

Kitsbow Experienced Apparel

North Carolina-based cycling apparel brand Kitsbow just launched a web store where you can buy and sell your pre-owned Kitsbow gear. Sellers have to snap a few photos of their gear and submit it online for review. When it sells, Kitsbow sends you a pre-paid shipping label to deliver the product to the buyer. Selling through the program is currently only available in the US. Sellers have the option of receiving cash or store credit for their goods. Learn more here.

Yellow Cat Industries Kibbles and Bit Bag Updated

Minnesota-based bag maker Yellow Cat Industries just updated their Kibble and Bit top tube bag with a revised shape that’s slimmer and slightly taller, a design change they say works nicely with gravel bikes. It has internal padding, a daisy chain, velcro straps, and it holds just under a litre.

$47 / Made in USA / Details

2023 Transition Spur Builds and Colors

The Transition Spur is a versatile full-suspension mountain bike with 120mm of travel and 29″ wheels. The Spur was just updated for 2023 with two new color options: Aqua and Raw Carbon, as well as new build kits from the base-level Shimano Deore build to the top-end SRAM AXS build at $8,500 USD.

$4,999+ / Made in Taiwan / Details

Around the Community

News from around the bikepacking world…

Winter Bikepacking in Canada Video

Last month, a group set out on a winter bikepacking trip to Elk Island National Park in Alberta, Canada. They experienced freezing temperatures, knee-deep snow, and cold headwinds. Watch the trip video by Dean Anderson above.

Made In: New England (Video)

Shimano’s latest “Made In” video series episode features Kevin Wolfson of Firefly Bicycles, who chats about all the different categories of gravel riding that exists depending on where you live and why gravel riding is so popular around Boston, Massachusetts.

Migration Gravel Race – Summer of 22 – Side A

Part one of a two-part series from Team AMANI, this 20-minute film takes an inside look at The Migration Gravel Race, a 650-kilometer semi-supported gravel race across the Maasai Mara, Kenya.

Ascend Armenia Race Manual and Route

Ascend Armenia is a self-supported ultra-distance bikepacking race following a 1,100-kilometre route over a diverse and challenging mix of terrain and surfaces. The inaugural event is scheduled for June 25th, 2023, and the organizers just released the official race manual and the latest route map. Check it all out at AscendArmenia.com.

Sand Rock Cliffs Campout with Geno Sack

The folks over at Geno Sack in Minneapolis, Minnesota, have been working on a bag brand and building a community through group rides, overnighters, and collaborating with a variety of talented artists around the upper Midwest. They recently got out on their last campout of the year and put together their first campout video, which you can watch above. You can also check out their route here, if you’re interested.

Events Starting Soon

What to watch this weekend and bikepacking events starting soon…

Shaky Isles Challenge

The Shaky Isles Challenge is a self-supported bikepacking challenge following a massive 2,800-kilometer route along the length of Aotearoa/New Zealand. There is a grand depart taking off from Southland at 8 a.m. on Jan 6th (local time), and you can follow along live here.

JayP’s Backyard Fat Pursuit

JayP’s Backyard Fat Pursuit is a 60 or 200-kilometer bike race on a network of groomed snowmobile trails. This is a backcountry event that will require some experience and winter survival skills. The grand depart takes off from Island Park, Idaho, this morning, and you can check in on the event here.

Wish We Were Here

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

Flint Zeigler: North Yorkshire Moors Ramble

My daughter Scarlet and I love books. One of my earliest childhood memories is listening to my mom and dad read out loud the James Herriot books of his veterinary practice in the Yorkshire area. I felt like I knew the roads and rolling pasturelands from the descriptions, and I’ve always wanted to experience that area. I kept the tradition by reading those books to Scarlet when she was younger, and she then went on to reread them on her own. We are hoping 2023 will deliver us to the UK to explore at the speed of a bike, and the North Yorkshire Moors Ramble caught my eye.

Weekly Social

Some things we found around the ‘gram and elsewhere. This week, some more #goodnight2022campout tags from Instagram…

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