Race Face Turbine SL Stem Flip Flops Between Race & Trail
The way Race Face sees it, stems have missed the boat on the “light trail” category. There are burly all-mountain stems handling everything from big trail to enduro, and there are lightweight stems for XC bikes. But nothing in between. Oh, and the current crop of XC stems haven’t really kept up with the slacker […]
Race Face Turbine Pedal Takes Grip to the Next Level
Yes, it has shin-destroyingly long pins, but the new Race Face Turbine pedal uses more than spiky bits to keep your foot from coming off. Some people (guilty) think that a glued-on feeling only comes with clipless pedals, that flats can’t deliver that. To which, Race Face answers hold my beer. By combining a dual […]
Review: Panaracer Gravelking SK+ Gravel Bike Tires
While prepping our bikes for a few days of unknown adventures in the desert, with the potential for fully loaded bikepacking, I knew the tires needed to be up for anything. But I didn’t want anything too heavy, or too knobby, because I knew we’d have a lot of smooth gravel miles to cover. Those […]
Review: MRP Baxter Levels Up Gravel Suspension Forks
When it comes to gravel suspension forks, you’d think there’s not a lot of opportunity to make 40mm of travel that different from the next brand. Turns out, you can, and the MRP Baxter makes the most of it while also packaging it in a more versatile, adjustable, and functional chassis than anything else out […]
Review: Kuat Piston Hitch Bike Rack
When the Kuat Piston Pro X debuted, it brought several novel features to market. The most visible was the integrated taillights and Kashima-coated sliders, but those weren’t really what made this rack special and unique. Fortunately, the followup Piston Pro dropped $300 from the X’s price by losing those “gimmicks” while keeping the thing that […]
Review: North St. Bikepacking Bags & Old Man Mountain Rack
Other than our legs, the real heavy lifting on our Japanese bikepacking adventure was done by North St.’s bags, with the rear cargo held by Old Man Mountain’s Divide pannier rack. We specifically chose this pairing because the then-new North St. Adventure Pannier bags were specifically designed to fit that rack. And their Roll-Top Trunk […]
Review: Sea to Summit Telos Bikepacking Tent (plus Pads & More!)
For my father-son bikepacking trip through the Kii Peninsula, Japan, I needed sleeping arrangements that were as light as possible, but also comfortable. And, as much as possible, a roomy tent. Sea to Summit is one of the few brands that offers everything needed to set up camp, and they do it with bikepackers in […]
Review: SRAM RED AXS E1, with Actual Weights
The latest SRAM RED AXS, which debuted in May 2024, took everything good about the prior Force & Rival updates, made it better, then took it further. Not only did the hood shapes improve like its siblings, but the brake levers and function themselves took a massive leap forward in power and ergonomics. Its ability […]
Factory Tour: How No.22 Bicycles Produces Rideable Titanium Art
As I was wrapping up my review of the No.22 Great Divide, an idea struck me. Why not return it in person and check out how it was made, too? I’m always down for a road trip, and upstate New York is a lovely area to ride, so a few emails later, plans were set […]
Lauf Patents an Infinitely Engaging Rear Hub Design
OK, so, technically this new Lauf Cycles rear hub design could have “thousands” of points of engagement per rotation, but that might as well be infinite. Also known as instantaneous. Either way, the effect is that the hub will engage so quickly that it will feel immediate, and it does this with a very clever […]
