Friday Debrief: Ultralight Visibility Vest, Axles with Built-in Rack Mounts, Fixed-gear Bikepacking, 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…

Apidura Visibility Vest

106 grams (S/M) / £45/€52/$58 at Apidura

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Apidura just launched their new Packable Visibility Vest. The vest comes in two sizes (S/M for chest size 90-105cm and L/XL for chest size 106-122cm) and weighs just 106 grams (S/M). The vest meets the EN 17353:2020 Type B3 standard, which is the European legal standard that some Audax and ultra-distance events mandate for day and night visibility. The vest packs into an integrated pocket, has adjustable straps with eight positions to fit wide range of body types, and features reflective graphics for 360-degree reflectivity at night.

Tanglefoot Moonshiner V2 Pre-Sales Open

Made in Taiwan / $1400 (frameset) at Tanglefoot Dealers

Tanglefoot has refined the original Moonshiner frameset with a number of updates and changes, including two new sizes, more tire clearance, a lighter fork, and more user-friendly dropouts. Tanglefoot added an XS that’s suitable for riders between 4’10 and 5’3 and a huge XL that’s designed for riders over 6’2”. All sizes fit 27.5 x 3.0″ tires with no to overlap. Pre-sales are live now from your local Tanglefoot dealer and are expected to arrive later this fall. Read all about the Moonshiner V2 here, and don’t forget to check out our review of the original version.

Outer Shell Rando UL Series

Made in USA / $45-$145 at Outer Shell

Designed specifically for the Paris-Brest-Paris randonneuring event in France, Outer Shell’s new Rando UL Series is made from an ultralight ULTRA 400X fabric and is slightly reflective for riding at night. The series includes their Drawcord Handlebar Bag, half frame bag, mini saddlebag, and roll-top saddlebag. While the other bags are made from the new fabric, the Drawcord Handlebar Bag Rando UL has some extra features such as stretch side pockets, a clear lid pocket, and sewn-in stiffeners to help it keep its shape.

Curve Relaxle Thru Axles

$43 AUD at Curve Cycling

Although it’s not brand new, we recently stumbled upon Curve’s Relaxle and thought others might like to know about it. The Relaxle is a standard thru-axle that adds a few extra features. It has four options for tightening in case one wears out, including 6mm hex heads on both ends and a 15mm hex head if the 6mm options get destroyed. Both ends also have M5 threads for mounting racks and fenders. The axles come in a variety of standard lengths and sizes.

Ass Savers x Squid Bikes Wing Wing Fenders

Made in Sweden / $30 at Squid Bikes

Sweden’s Ass Savers and Squid Bikes from California teamed up on a limited run of 128 hand-painted Win Wing fenders, no two of which are alike. For anyone who misses out on one-of-a-kind Win Wings from Squid Bikes, there are also screenprinted versions available from Ass Savers.

In Conversation

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

Singlespeed Bikepacking (or Dinglespeed)

Yesterday’s feature showcased Tom Farrell’s lovely Stooge Rambler set up with a two-speed gear using the Surly Singleator chain tensioner. Tom runs a 36-tooth chainring with a 19/21 cog combo and a 27.5 x 2.5″ rear tire. We’re curious to hear what gears other folks are running for single (or dingle) speed bikepacking (gears and gear inches—calculator below). Let us know in the conversation!

Around the Community

News from around the bikepacking world…

Dominick Menard’s Pan-American Bikepacking Setup

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Earlier this spring, Cass met up with professional Enduro rider Dominick Menard as he was passing through Oaxaca, Mexico. Dominick is currently on a year-and-a-half journey cycling from British Columbia, Canada, to Patagonia, Argentina. In his latest video, Dominick digs through his bags and provides an overview of the equipment he brought along on the ride and explains why he decided to bring a more capable mountain bike on this trip.

Loz, An Outsider

Bristolian fixed-gear purist Loz Walters decided to participate in the 1,400-mile 2023 Pan Celtic race on a fixed-gear track bike, adding a new dimension of difficulty to the already demanding race. Tailfin met up with Loz before the race to learn more about his story and how the simplicity of riding fixed further amplifies the harmony between Loz and his bike.

Commencal: SUMMER RIDES – KIM & KILIAN

In support of their new 365 gravel bike, Commencal just launched this beautiful short video that captures one interpretation a perfect day out on the bike. You can learn more about the 365 at Commencal.com.

Undefined Limits | The HT550 with Matthew Fairbrother

Eighteen-year-old professional enduro racer Matthew Fairbrother decided to take on the Highland Trail 550 (HT550) this year. This documentary delves into Matthew’s journey and the highs and lows of this exceptionally arduous challenge.

Events Starting Soon

What to watch this weekend and bikepacking events starting soon…

Trans North Georgia Adventure (TNGA)

The Trans North Georgia Adventure is a 350-mile mountain bike route through the mountains of northern Georgia on trails, forest roads, and paved roads featuring challenging terrain, beautiful scenery, and a whole lot of climbing. The 2023 grand depart takes off from the town of Mountain Rest, South Carolina, tomorrow morning at 8 a.m., and there are nearly 90 riders registered on Trackleaders. Follow along live here.

Transibérica

The Transibérica Ultracycling Race is an unsupported, single-stage road cycling race around the Iberian Peninsula. It’s a free route, which means the riders must design and follow their own track to reach the mandatory checkpoints. Most riders will travel around 2,700 kilometers. Follow along here.

Big Sky Spectaculaire

The Big Sky Spectaculaire starts and finishes in Bozeman in southwest Montana. It is a single-stage, self-supported competitive adventure bicycle ride around southwest and central Montana. The 2023 edition is ~910 miles long following mixed surfaces with approximately 400 miles of gravel and doubletrack. Follow it 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: Sage and Saddles

We only published it last week, but I’m already dreaming of riding the new Sage and Saddles route based out of beautiful Gunnison, Colorado, which I recently visited for the first time. Having heard glowing reviews from the crew who went on the initial scouting mission this summer, it’s now right at the top of my must-ride list for next year.

Weekly Social

Some things we found around the ‘gram and elsewhere. This week, a handful of updates from the Silk Road Mountain Race in Kyrgyzstan…

Further Reading

Make sure to dig into these related articles for more info...

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