As 2023 comes to a close, Hailey Moore shares the gear that she turned to again and again this year. Read on for the products that have become indispensable in her bike-touring setup, a couple of apparel recommendations, an off-the-bike surprise, and her 2023 Ride Playlist.
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Radar
First Ride Review: PNW Components Loam Carbon Handlebar
With so many options for handlebars these days, it’s difficult to stand out in a crowded market. With their new Loam Carbon Handlebar, PNW Components claims they have achieved the optimal combination of compliance, comfort, strength, and value. Available today, the Loam Handlebar is offered in either 38mm or 25mm rise, trimmable 800mm width, and 35mm clamp diameter. Josh and Andrea recently installed the Loam bars on her Ibis Ripmo and, below, offer an overview and first ride impressions…
Radar
Bike Hacks: How to Keep Your Brake Levers Symmetrical on a Modern Gravel Handlebar
There’s a classic, time-honored technique to help you evenly position your drop-bar brake levers by using a ruler or straightedge. If you know, you know. But handlebars have changed, and the ruler method sometimes won’t apply. So, Travis Engel is here to share a bike hack to help keep the brake lever positions symmetrical on today’s shallow or oddly shaped gravel bars. There’s no ruler involved, but you will make use of some items you may already have in your home office.
Radar
Everything and the Kitchen Sink: Redshift Sports Comfort Components Review Roundup
Founded in 2013 by a group of mechanical engineers with a bad cycling habit (or, maybe the other way around?), Redshift Sports specializes in designing and manufacturing component systems to increase speed and comfort on the bike. In this review round-up, Hailey Moore assesses a handful of Redshift’s products—the Quick-Release Aerobars, Shocktop Pro Suspension Seatpost, Cruise Control Drop Bar Grips, and the Kitchen Sink Handlebar—and how they might benefit road and gravel-oriented riders as part of Redshift’s intended systems, or as standalone additions to any all-road setup.
Radar
Radar Roundup: Chris King Splash, Esker Limited Edition MRP ShredKote Purple Cerakote Japhy, Santa Cruz Skitch, Rune Bicycles Unnamed Drop Bar, Riv Silver Cranks in Stock, Wolf Tooth 3-Bolt T-Type Chainrings, Crank Brothers F-Series Tools, Ass Savers X Squid Bikes, and Whisky Scully Bar
Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. Read on below for today’s findings…
Radar
A 600-Mile First-Ride Review of Beast Components’ Carbon Hybrid Bar
Fresh off racing the North-South Colorado Bikepacking Race, where she finished 1st women’s and 7th overall, Hailey Moore is here to share her first-ride impressions of Germany-based Beast Components’ Carbon Hybrid Bar. The mtb-shift-and-lever compatible design allowed her to run her Bearclaw Ti Hardtail as a monster-tourer, drop bar 29er, but how did the modified design manifest in ride quality as she pedaled 600 miles down Colorado’s Front Range? Read on for her thoughts…
Radar
A Flat Circle: Our OneUp Alloy Handlebar Review Got Pretty Deep
It’s not every day that an aluminum tube inspires heavy philosophical questions about the bike industry. But that’s exactly what the new OneUp alloy bar did for Travis Engel. It’s a lower-priced alternative to the brand’s unique, innovative carbon bar, and after just a month, Travis is questioning a few long-held beliefs. We think he should relax. It’s only an aluminum tube.
Radar
Announcing Forager Cycles’ New Jemmy Bar: For Vintage MTBs and Modern Bikepacking Bikes
Daniel Zaid and Karla Robles were able to get their hands on an early version of Forager Cycles‘ new Jemmy Bar ahead of the preorder for the handlebar that opens today. Daniel explains his journey from wide drops to wider flat bars and bringing a classic MTB into the modern world of 2023 with a quick bar swap. Continue reading for more about the Jemmy Bar!
Radar
We Put a Light Bar on Moné Bike’s Light Bar So You Don’t Have To: A Review
The enigmatic folks behind Moné Bikes invested “new Honda Civic” money into the fabrication of their carbon riser bar. It was a gamble, but the results are impressive. Spencer Harding has become addicted to upsweep angles and while steel risers may work in many cases, sometimes you need to shave some grams. Read on for some silly memes, useless light bar mods, and a hot take on the handlebar bend you didn’t know you needed.
Radar
Last Call: Renovating the Surly Corner Bar
Released in 2021, the Surly Corner Bar was designed to reorient flat-bar controls into a drop-bar-style configuration. It’s decidedly low tech, with its steel construction and somewhat unrefined ergonomics, but it was too clever for Travis Engel to pass up. He’s owned a pair since they launched, and has a few suggestions if you’re considering dropping in.
Radar
Radar Roundup: MADE Handmade Bike Show, Wizard Works in the US, August Trees, Velo Orange Granola Moose, Goodday + Curiosity Spacer Cradle Rack, Brother Cycles Mr Wooden, Ortleib Repair Week, Santa Cruz Suspension, Charlie and Jacquie
Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. Read on below for today’s findings…
Reportage
Inside/Out at Oddity Cycles: Mastering the Dark Arts of Framebuilding
Looking at an Oddity Cycles-designed frame, handlebar, or fork, you might think that it was welded in a circus sideshow tent by a depraved, frazzle-haired, torch-wielding, radical. That these wildly bent steel and titanium tubes, contorted and bonded into freakishly beautiful forms, could only have originated in the darkest corners of a PT Barnum exhibition. And that’s exactly what Sean Burns, founder, designer, and fabricator wants you to think. So, on this eve of All Hallows, let’s pull back the curtain on this iconic framebuilder, and his assistant “Spooky,” along with a close look at a couple of Sean’s personal two-wheeled creations…
Radar
Radar Roundup: New Chris King Color “Midnight”, Steve Potts Original Dirt Drops, Kate George x Cosmic Dirt, Angel Revo Saddle, Soma Jawbone, Ergon BA Hip Bag, and Cycling to Argentina
Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. Read on below for today’s findings…
Radar
Radar Roundup: NITTO “Hi-bar”, Rene Herse One-By Crank, Three Rock Components, New Paint and Ti Cosmic Stallions, and Brendan Lehman with Bell
Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. Read on below for today’s findings…
Radar
Flex Appeal: A Long-term Review of the Passchier Gump Bamboo Handlebar
We’re living in the golden age of handlebar comfort. Never before have we seen such diversity, originality, or inclusivity for riders as right now. For a lucky few, long days behind an ultra-wide curly bar is analogous to lounging in their favourite La-Z-Boy. For others, a backswept alt-bar with more hand positions than the kama sutra offers the perfect perch to grind out those backcountry miles. But for so many riders, comfort on a long ride is still a thing of legend and fairy tales. With the laminated bamboo Gump handlebars, however, Passchier of New Zealand claims to have found the key to both comfort and performance.
Continue reading for our thoughts on how the Gump handlebar holds up after many months of trail riding and touring…
Radar
Radar Roundup: If You Give a Girl a Bike, SAS M-1, Para-cyclist Josie Fouts, Easton Gravel/Adventure Handlebar, North London Dirt, and Two Years on a Bike
Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. Read on below for today’s findings…
Radar
Wooden Bars? Why Not? New Zealand’s Passchier Bamboo Handlebars
If you recall our coverage of the 2021 Handmade Bicycle Show Australia, then you probably noticed those unique bamboo handlebars on some of the unique builds. Here’s a quick video showcasing Passchier Bamboo Handlebars. Would you ride them?
Radar
Ritchey’s Classic Kyote Mustache Bar
The new Classic Kyote from Ritchey is a $45 mustache bar, designed for your grocery getter or your touring bike. These bars feature a 27.5-degree sweep and 35mm rise, with a 800mm width, there’s lots of space for your accutrement. See more at Ritchey.