Friday Debrief: The ETRTO of the Beast, New Olive Parts, a Purple Japhy, 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…

Esker x MRP ShredKote

Made in Taiwan / $3,450+ at EskerCycles.com

Esker Cycles and MRP just launched a limited run of Japhy frames with a matching MRP Cerakote “ShredKote” forks. ShredKote is a ceramic coating that MRP provides as option on their forks and shock coils. It is thinner than yet more durable than paint. The result is a “Wild Purple” Japhy frame with a matching MRP Raven fork, which is available in sizes small to XXL and two complete build options. The SRAM GX Transmission build costs $4,950, and the Shimano XT build costs $3,450 USD.

Wolf Tooth 3-bolt Chainrings for SRAM Transmission

Made in USA / $77 at Wolf Tooth: Round Oval

Wolf Tooth direct mount three-bolt chainrings are now available in three offsets: 6mm for 49mm chainline, 3mm for 52mm chainline, and 0mm for 55mm chainline, which is optimized for SRAM Transmissions. They are also available in various tooth profiles, including Drop-Stop B, which works for SRAM T-Type Transmissions and is compatible with many other chains. This means that if you have older SRAM three-bolt direct mount crankset (or other crank with that pattern, such as Cane Creek or Praxis), you won’t need to buy new cranks if you want to jump into a SRAM Transmission.

Chris King Splash

Made in USA / $3,275+ at Chris King

Did you know that Chris King was the first company to add anodization to their bike component product line back in 1988? To coincide with the MADE show that kicked off yesterday, Chris King introduced a limited-edition “Splash” anodization. Splash features a rich bronze base color with vivid turquoise splatter. This series will be limited to only 50 complete kits, each with a headset, bottom bracket, and King wheels. Configurations are available for all-road, gravel, and mountain bikes.

Zpacks Summer Quilt

244 grams / Made in USA / $299 at Zpacks

Zpacks just announced an 8.6-ounce (244 grams) Summer Quilt that’s rated at 40F (4C) or above and can double as a winter liner. The bag comes in several sizes and contains ‘Responsible Down Standard’ certified PCF-FREE water-resistant 900 fill power goose down. It looks like a great option for those trying to achieve a super light pack weight on a long summer trip.

Salsa Autumn of Adventure Sale

35% off at Salsa

Salsa just kicked off their Autumn of Adventure Sale, though which they’re offering 35% off select bikes. Sale bikes include the Journeyer, Warbird, Spearfish, Rangefinder, and several other models. Find more details via the link above.

Wolf Tooth Olive

Made in USA / More at Wolf Tooth

Wolf Tooth just added new color to their permanent list of anodized options. Olive is available with several of their headsets, Waveform pedals, bolts, centerlock rotor lockrings, bar-end plugs, many seatpost clamp sizes, and more.

In Conversation

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

Wheel Size and New Standards

Logan: It’s hard to ignore the conversation popping off around WTB’s 750d prototype wheel/tire size. I personally like the idea of a tire that’s nominally bigger than a 29er but not as massive as the wildy huge 36er. Maybe it’s not for me, but I know a few riders who are over 6’5″ who might be keen to try such a thing. After all, some shorter riders prefer smaller non-29er wheels—proportional sizing matters. Still, the gut reaction in the comments for this type of sea change is usually negative. People don’t like new standards that can be perceived as a marketing Trojan horse, and I get that. There are also a lot of other negatives to contend with: rotational mass, wheel flex, etc. But, having ridden 26″ wheels/tires, 27.5″ wheels/tires, and 29er wheels/tires on the same (very) rooty/rocky trails around my home for a decade and a half, I’m really glad the 29″ Nano Raptor was brought to market in 1999 and thousands of other 29″ tires followed suit.

Without question, 29″ mountain bike wheels and tires immediately felt like they offered a much better proportional relationship to me and the bike than the 26″ tires I was used to. And, contrary to what Jan Heine believes, I have zero doubts that 29er hoops offer better rollover than 26″ tires. Perhaps not on smooth gravel, but that term is loaded. I don’t remember the last time one of my rides was only on smooth gravel. And I’ve gone over the handlebars enough times from stuffing a tire into rocky or rooty recesses to know the benefits of larger wheels. I think a lot of folks (particularly mountain bikers) agree with those arguments about proportional sizing and rollover. However, 29″ mountain bikes were met with the same skepticism when they were being rolled out back in early ’90s, which wasn’t that long ago. For us taller riders, they simply make more sense. Maybe a larger tire size makes sense for riders taller than me? Also, I agree with Sean’s comment, WTB totally should of made the new wheel size 6mm larger committed to a 666 ETRTO. Insert rants below.

Around the Community

News from around the bikepacking world…

Bikepacking Live: Colorado Trail Chat

We’re excited to be co-hosting an event tomorrow evening at Totem Cyclery in Denver, Colorado. It will be held live at the shop and streamed on our YouTube channel. Join us as we gather with ultra-endurance legends Alexandra Houchin, Brett Stepanik, and Katya Rakhmatulina. Our host, Neil Beltchenko, will guide viewers through an engaging conversation about the world of bikepacking races and the deep sense of connection these riders have to events such as the Colorado Trail Race.

Sofiane’s 2023 Silk Road Mountain Race Debrief

In Sofiane Seheli’s latest video, he provides a detailed recap of his third win on the Silk Road Mountain Race. He goes through how things played out and how deep he had to dig to cross the finish line.

PedalPower Adventures ride the Chauga River Ramble

Just after riding the Wilson’s Ramble, the folks at PedalPower Adventures YouTube channel set out to pedal the Chauga River Ramble in South Carolina as an overnighter, and it worked out perfectly.

Events Starting Soon

What to watch this weekend and bikepacking events starting soon…

The New Colo 2023

The New Colo is a self-supported, mixed-surface bikepacking adventure that starts and finishes in Durango, Colorado, traversing a rugged mix of terrain along the border of southern Colorado and northern New Mexico. The grand depart date takes off tomorrow, August 26th, at 6 a.m. MDT. Follow along on the Trackleaders map here.

Salida to Sea

Salida to Sea covers a section of the Trans America Trail in what was formerly called the American Trail Race. The route is over 2,000 miles with 147,000 feet of elevation gain from Salida, Colorado, to the Pacific Ocean. There’s no tracking map, as far as we know, but we thought it was worth plugging, nonetheless. Learn more about the event here.

Wish We Were Here

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

Virginia Krabill: Kenya Bike Odyssey

The Kenya Bike Odyssey is calling my name. I’ve never been to Kenya, but I have been fortunate to visit East Africa on a few occasions, and will always long to return for more. Beautiful landscapes, friendly people, and the opportunity to see amazing wildlife from the saddle… how could you beat that?

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