tag
Our friends at London-based Quirk Cycles are best known for their custom steel gravel bikes with stunning finishes and, this week, they’ve announced two new exciting road bike models. Let’s take a closer look at the Durmitor ULTRA and RAT PENAT below…
Starling’s very first hardtail, the Roost, had to be something special, so the UK MTB framebuilders went all out to make a bike built for pure, undiluted fun. Made to go anywhere and do anything, it’s as suited to back-country epics as it is bike park blasts. A handbuilt, zingy steel frame makes light work of rough and rowdy descents whilst mullet wheels bring that perfect balance of flick-knife and magnum. With room for a 120mm to 160mm fork, you’ve got plenty of options to custom build your own perfect setup. It’s not a spindly XC whippet, it’s not a sickly ‘hardcore ‘hardtail. It’s a ride-wherever, ride-whatever, tough-as-nails stainless do-it-all that’s built to take on whatever you can throw it at. And, of course, it’s built-in beautiful stainless steel for that shiny, rust-free raw style.
When you’re done with the video above, check out more photos of the Roost below and check out the pre-order at Starling Cycles. Pre-orders are open now with frames shipping to customers in early April 2022.
In an age where rubbing disc brakes, dead electronic shifting, and fussy integrated cockpits rule the market, the idea of a simple bike with none of the above starts to look very appealing. A steel frame with a mechanical groupset has an analog quality to it that is hard to beat. It has undeniable panache, aero and weight don’t matter. I introduce to you my Affinity Anthem, a stainless steel workhorse of a bike mated to a groupset that is as timeless as they come.
Otso’s latest bike model is named after a monstrous wolf in Norse Mythology (or perhaps you saw him in Thor Ragnorak?) and begs the question: drops or flat bars? When run with flat bars, an 80-90mm stem is recommended for ideal reach but with drops, you can run a shorter stem and wider bars. This new touring bike has mounts a go-go, a geometry tuned for touring, and is made from stainless steel. The tire clearance is plentiful, offering 29×2.6″ or 27.5×2.8″ tires, and thanks to the unique, proprietary sliding dropout design, Fenrir can be converted to singlespeed with ease. Check out the whole 411 on this beautiful stainless chassis or build up your next complete at Otso Cycles.
Look for our in-depth review shortly!
As I drive home to Barcelona from a photoshoot in the South of Spain, I dream about the next three days. They will be calm and tranquil while I worked from home. Then, my phone buzzes with a message from Mike, a friend and owner of a bed and breakfast in the Pyrenees Mountains in France. He needs help with a last-minute photoshoot further north in the Basque Country. By last minute, he means tomorrow. No time for a rest. I live for photoshoots. It’s my job. My passion. The lure of home will have to wait, as the car stays packed and continues northward toward France.
A few hours later I am in the French Basque Country, in the town of Saint Jean de la Luz. Mike has brought me to his friend, Julien’s house. It is like the rest of the neighborhood, an etxea, in typical Basque construction with white walls crossed by solid timber beams, covered with a clay terracotta roofs. And there in this iconic French village sits the subject for the day. It’s a fresh, stainless steel 2-11 Cycles. So fresh that it’s barely been out on the road yet.
Stainless steel is real and the new Affinity Cycles Anthem road bike expands on that. This is the latest platform from the Brooklyn-based brand and it’s full of details. These new frames comes with a 1 1/8th to 1.5 inch tapered head tube, a carbon fork, internal cable routing, T47 bottom bracket, and premium sandblasted finish with polished graphics.
To enhance the buyer experience, 3 levels of complete builds are available via Affinity Cycles with customizable options including a premium weight weenie edition, tricked out the most insane parts in the industry.
The Affinity Anthem is also sold as a stand-alone frame set, headset included.
Other details include:
-Custom drawn 2205 stainless steel butted tubing with ovalized seat stays for strength and comfort.
-Removable set screw cable guides and plates for mechanical, Di2 and Etap builds. The devil’s in the details, this clever design feature ensures a clean and tidy build.
-Race-ready geometry available in 4 sizes, the Affinity Anthem covers a full spectrum of riders from 5’2” to 6’3”.
-Standardized 27.2 seat post diameter, removable der hanger, 100/130 spaced, 68mm bb shell, 43mm carbon fork with built in crown race, fits 28c tires
Check out more photos and pricing information below!
People have all kinds of ways for showing their admiration of Columbus’ tubesets. Of course, you could always just put a decal on one of your bikes, noting the tube but that’s not the case with the latest from Firefly…
My favorite camping / outdoors company, Snow Peak has collaborated with Japanese frame builder Muller on a Reynolds 931 stainless light touring frame.
This S&S coupler frame is currently being offered in three build kits, either with Shimano Dura Ace / Di2 or Campagnolo Veloce and it comes ready to be loaded! This might be one of the most tricked-out light touring / camping bike collaborations to date.
See more details at Snow Peak and more photos below!
Now that looks nice! New in from SOMA, the Smoothie Stainless Steel:
“The Smoothie SS uses the same efficient semi-compact geometry developed for the original Smoothie. We chose U.S.-made KVA MS2 stainless for the tubing. The strength and anti-corrosion characteristics of MS2 is really more in the league of titanium than other steel micro-alloys. With MS2 you get the road connected feel that steel is famous for, plus but with noticeably crisper power transfer than you come to expect with steel.”
See more information at SOMA.
