Friday Debrief: Moonshiner V2, Bikepacking Budget Survey, Burgundy Waxed Canvas, 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…

Wizard Works Wiz Viz is Back

Made in UK / £42-£125 at Wizard.Works

Wizard Works’ high-vis bag collection, Wiz Viz, is back just in time for winter! Wiz Viz is made from a combination of two German-made black Cordura fabrics—one with a reflective dot pattern—and is available as a Framebagracadabra Frame Bag, Lil Presto Barrel Bag, Munin Mini Messenger, Shazam Saddle Bag Teeny Houdini Saddle Bag, and Voila Stem Bag. Wiz Viz is available until daylight savings returns in March 2024.

Ron’s Bikes Waxed Burgundy + New Tees

Made in USA / $25+ at RonsBikes.com

Ron’s Bikes recently added a few new items to their web store, including some beautiful burgundy waxed canvas bags and a fresh T-shirt. The new burgundy canvas collection includes their large and small Fabio’s Chest, Fab’s Abs, and Fabio’s Fanny.

Northwave Multicross Plus GTX Shoes

Made in Italy / $296 at Northwave

The new Northwave Multicross Plus GTX Shoes caught our eye as a promising option for folks riding in the cold and rain this winter. They use a BOA dial closure, large velcro strap on the upper arch, thermo-welded Koala Goretex liner, and a grippy Vibram sole. Plus, they have an extended ankle gaiter with an elastic opening that should keep the elements out on mucky days.

Ratio 2x12SH Kit

Made in United Kingdom / £99.50 at Ratio Tech

Ratio Tech announced another shifter/derailleur upgrade kit. This time, the new 2x12SH Kit allows you to upgrade a SRAM 2×10 or 2×11 drivetrain to 2×12 and use tightly spaced Shimano road cassettes (105, Ultegra, Dura Ace) and 12-speed Shimano chains. Note that these cassettes have proprietary sprocket positions, so the 2×12SH Kit is specific to Shimano road 12-speed cassettes. The kit includes a shifter ratchet and derailleur pulley wheels. There’s a big compatibility chart here if you’re interested. Also, be sure to read our review of the Ratio 1×12 upgrade kit.

Tanglefoot Moonshiner V2 in Stock

Made in Taiwan / $1400 at Analog Cycles

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 designed for riders over 6’2″. Analog Cycles has the Moonshiner V2 in stock and ready to ship.

The Bender Master of None is for Sale

Made in USA / $6000 at Bender Bicycles

Remember the stunning Bender Bicycles Master of None we shared in our coverage from the inaugural MADE Bike Show? Well, it’s for sale with a massive discount, and it could be yours. It’s a true ATB finished off with a premium parts kit and was one of Miles’ favourites from the show.

SimWorks LTD Homage Green

Made in Japan / $33+ at Sim-Works.com

SimWorks released of a couple of limited products showcasing their exclusive Homage Green anodizing, including their iconic SimDrops from Nitto as well as the recently released Taco Pedal from MKS (find Lucas’s review here). Don’t forget to pick up some of their Homage 26″ tires for the complete look!

Chris King & Robert Axle Project Anodized Thru-Axles

Made in USA / $65 at ChrisKing.com

Robert Axle Project and Chris King have teamed up to produce a new line of axles for drop- and flat-bar bikes in a selection of King’s most popular component colors. The colors for the initial product release are 3D Violet, Matte Turquoise, and Black, and they plan to add more colors in the future. The have axles to fit all Yetis, Santa Cruz, Pivots, Transitions, most handmade bikes, all ENVE forks, and more.

Industry Nine Limited Edition Bronze

Made in USA / $13-$1580 at IndustryNine.com

For a limited time, Industry Nine has added bronze to their custom anodization palette, allowing customers to mix and match it into custom wheelsets, hubs, headsets, headset spacers, and stems. Bronze is only available until November 14th!

Rogue Panda Designs Adds Ultra PE Fabric To Bag Lineup

Made in USA / $65+ at RoguePanda.com

After months of testing, Rogue Panda Designs just added Challenge Sailcloth’s Ultra PE fabric to their product lineup in Black Magic and Gravel Gray (pictured). Ultra PE is available for their frame bags, top tube bags, and all of their dry bags. Learn about their decision to bring in a new fabric here.

Quirk Cycles 3D-Printed Titanium Seatpost

Made in London / £395 at Quirk Cycles

The Quirk Cycles 3D Titanium Seatpost is the first of a series of components designed to complement Quirk’s custom frames. The post features a 3D-printed top welded to grade 9 tube, ENVE 2-bolt system, 27.2mm diameter, 350mm length, and weigh 225 grams with hardware included. First batch pre-order closes November 17th with deliveries expected by January 1st, 2024.

In Conversation

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

How much did you spend on bikepacking gear?

If you’ve seen our MYOBG series, or the launch of the new Budget Bikepacking Bike Build-off this morning, you’ll know that we aim to highlight inexpensive ways to get folks into bikepacking. That led us to the question: how much do our readers spend on bikes, particularly the bikes they use to go bikepacking? Please take a minute to answer this survey. Your answers are completely anonymous, and we’ll share the numerical results next week.

Around the Community

News from around the bikepacking world…

Good Rides Only Video Podcast

Good Rides Only is a three-part video podcast series by Hannah from the Queer Cyclist YouTube Channel. The first episode, which you can watch below, features Devin Cowens, and the following two will feature Pat Goral and Kate Gates. In the series, Hannah sits down with each to talk about their weird, wild, and joyful stories of bikepacking, cycling, and being in the outdoors. The series is a collaboration between Hannah and Old Man Mountain. Episodes two and three will air on November 1 and November 8, respectively. Keep an eye on the Queer Cyclist Instagram page for more.

Hodag Country Ramble–A Wilde Bike Adventure

Organized by Jeffrey Frane from Wilde Bikes, the Hodag Country Ramble serves up two nights of swimming, camping, community, riding, and revelry on his family’s property outside of Rhinelander, Wisconsin, in the heart of the beautiful Northwoods. The 2023 event was last month, and Eria Sabiiti from the Iowa Gravel Gang YouTube channel put together a 43-minute recap video you can watch above.

RatKing Cradle Artwork by Eric Marshall

Smith Levi at RatKing commissioned Eric Marshall (@LowPressureZine) to design an incredible graphic for the new RatKing Cradle, and we couldn’t resist sharing it here. The RatKing Cradle is a steerer tube/seatpost mounted adjustable rack that we’re eager to test for ourselves soon. Until then, you can check out some photos and info from our MADE Bike Show coverage here.

Contraire – Just an Ordinary Biking Journey (Full Movie)

In the latest film from Vaude, Jakob Breitwieser and Daniel Eiermann head into Swiss Alps to experience as many mini-adventures as possible during their eight days of summer vacation. They tackle the entire trip under their own power using only their mountain bikes and trailers to carry gear and climb six 3,000-meter peaks along tricky alpine trails.

Events Starting Soon

What to watch this weekend and bikepacking events starting soon…

2023 Japanese Odyssey

This sixth edition of the Japanese Odyssey started from Kagoshima City on Tuesday following a 2,700-kilometer route that travels virtually the entire length of the country from bottom to top. You can follow their progress live here.

Weekly Social

Some things we found around the ‘gram and elsewhere. This week, photos from the 2023 DangerBird 250 in New Mexico…

Further Reading

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

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