Friday Debrief: Bombtrack Beyond Ti, PACE RC-100, Bag Buddy, 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…

Bombtrack Beyond Ti

Made in Taiwan / €3,099 at Bombtrack

It didn’t make it into their 2024 catalog because it’s only offered as a frameset, but the new Bombtrack Beyond Ti is officially here. It features a Titanium 3Al-2.5V frame, UDH derailleur hanger, Seido MGV full carbon fork, thru-axles, lots of mounting points, and a familiar go-everywhere geometry. Relative to its steel counterpart, the Ti model has a slightly more slack head tube angle (70.5° vs. 72° on the size large), steeper seat tube, lower bottom bracket, longer wheelbase, and a little more tire clearance with room for 29 x 2.25″ rubber.

The Bag Buddy

Made in Canada / $70-$90 at Outdoor Cycling Essentials

The Bag Buddy from Outdoor Cycling Essentials in British Columbia is a lightweight, minimal bag support designed to provide some extra stability for smaller day-ride-style handlebar bags. It works like other bag supports we’ve used, replacing a small headset spacer and providing a hook for your favourite handlebar bag to loop onto. Word is they are working on a beefier version for larger handlebar bags and we’ll be sure to share it when we know more.

Feathered Friends Winter Sleeping Bags

Made in USA / $993+ at Feathered Friends

Seattle-based Feathered Friends just updated their Winter/Expedition sleeping bag range with several new models for 2024. All of their sleeping bags are made in the USA, use premium goose down, and are constructed with high-quality materials. They have several models within the lineup with temperature ratings from 0ºF (-17ºC) to -60ºF (-51ºC).

Chris McClean’s SRMR Zine

Printed in UK / £20 at Chris McClean

British photographer Chris McClean, who just won a 2023 Bikepacking Award for his superb coverage of the Atlas Mountain Race in Morocco, recently published a small run of beautiful 60-page photo zines from this year’s Silk Road Mountain Race in Kyrgyzstan, and they’re available for pre-order from his website now.

The Connecticut Tool Wallet

Made in USA / $79 at Ron’s Bikes

The new Connecticut Tool Wallet from Ron’s Bikes features a ratchet set made by Chapman Manufacturing, who’s been making them since 1936, a handful of bicycle-specific bits, and a Connecticut-made leather wallet with a magnetic face to keep everything organized.

Wilde X Yellow Bird Threadworks

Made in USA / $50-$60 at Wilde Bikes

Wilde Bikes teamed up with Yellow Bird Threadworks on some extra-special US-made brass top caps and bar end plugs, both of which are handmade in Chester, Connecticut. They come in two design options, Sweet Leaf or Tanglewood, and the latter is named after a road on one of Wilde’s favorite local long riding loops.

Hope Cyclery Holiday Drop

Made in USA / $20-$290 at Hope Cyclery

Hope Cyclery in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, just announced their holiday drop, which includes a variety of limited edition accessories and bags. The drop includes Blue Lug x Hope Cyclery reflectors, waxed Cordura bags from Ron’s Bikes featuring their new kalmia latifolia patch, and they also did a limited run of Hobo Hubworks X HopeCyclery Pea Shooter Pocket slingshots. Those signed up for their newsletter will get early access today, and whatever is left over will be up on their website tomorrow at 12 p.m.

In Conversation

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

Awards Season: What’d We Miss?

We announced our 2023 Bikepacking Awards for film, photography, writing, and art earlier this week, which included many of our team’s favorite contributions from the year. A number of commenters seemed to have connected with the same stories and videos, but we’d love to know if there are any other pieces on the site that you think we missed. Let us know what else you think deserves some recognition down in the conversation below.

Around the Community

News from around the bikepacking world…

Joy Ride: Bicycling in Idaho

The latest episode of Outdoor Idaho’s video series explores the many facets of cycling and how Idahoans are using bicycles to explore the state, from backcountry hunting to rural commutes and from hot springs to secret camp spots. The Smoke ‘n’ Fire bikepackers also gets some screen time!

English Cycles PACE RC-100 Homage

Remember the stunning homage to the original Pace RC-100 that English Cycles brought to MADE earlier this year? Rob just published a blog post that dives into more of the details and specs, and it’s worth a look. While the square steel tubing steals the show, there are a lot of other interesting details that Rob he elaborates on. Check it out here.

David Lamb on the Socal Desert Ramble

Earlier this month, David Lamp rode our 500-mile SoCal Desert Ramble through the Anza-Borrego Desert, Slab City, Joshua Tree, and Big Bear. He put together a video recapping his eight-day journey, which he says was the adventure of a lifetime. Watch it above.

DIY Double-Ended Drybag from Duffel X

The folks at Duffel X are back with another do-it-yourself tutorial to make your own double-ended dry bag with a nifty integrated bungee system. The best part? They are providing free printable templates and a list of potential material/hardware suppliers depending on where you are in the world. Find the full guide here.

Events Starting Soon

What to watch this weekend and bikepacking events starting soon…

Evergreen Grinder

The Evergreen Grinder is the Pacific Northwest’s premier gravel adventure races. It follows a 100-mile route that promises long climbs, fast descents, and enough unpredictability in weather and road conditions to keep even the most prepared participants on their toes. There is no live tracking this year, but you can keep an eye on their Instagram for updates.

Cross Florida Individual Time Trial

The Cross Florida Individual Time Trial is Florida’s Premier off-road ultra-endurance event. It’s a unique coast-to-coast bikepacking/ultra running challenge, the only one of its kind in the United States. The official start is tomorrow morning, and there are more than 30 riders registered for live tracking. Follow along live here.

Wish We Were Here

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

Miles: Escape L.A.

After working with the riders and organizers of the inaugural Escape L.A. event on the recap we published earlier this week, I can’t stop looking at photos from the route and dreaming about a winter escape to check it out for myself. I appreciate well-designed routes that start from city centres and find interesting ways to get out into the wilderness, and Escape L.A. looks like it has a lot to offer. Learn more about the event and route here.

Weekly Social

Some things we found around the ‘gram and elsewhere. This week, a handful of photos from the GranGuanche Audax Trail event going on this week…

Further Reading

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

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