Welcome to RECON where you will find all of our latest stories including gear reviews, ride recaps and industry news.
Recently I’ve found hip packs to be extremely useful for supplementing storage on a range of rides. Like handlebar bags and frame bags, hip packs are great option when going gravel casual. We give the new Topo Designs Subalpine Hip Pack a try and give it a full review.
Read MoreIt was an unlikely destination for a late-summer ride, but pandemic circumstances continued to push us further to the edges of San Diego County, exploring everything the region had to offer. Up before sunrise, we loaded up Jay’s 4x4 pickup with two Obed Boundary gravel bikes and headed east, past the Vulcan Mountains and down Dry Canyon to Borrego Springs, California.
Read MoreFor their third episode, the cool kids of Rodeo Podcast talk about their gravel adventure ride up Jones Pass. In their own words, “a perfect case study of what (big mountain adventure) riding is like”.
Read MoreIt started when I swapped the fat tires on my Otso Voytek with 27.5+ wheels, a Fox 34 shock, and a dropper post during a hazy period of COVID quarantine. Obviously this meant that I need to ride the Kenai 250, or at least that’s what told my wife when I asked her to pick up a giant curb-side box of parts at my local bike shop. That, along with “always wanting to check out those trails,” convinced me to spend the hefty $20 to register my InReach tracker with the event.
Read MoreOriginally released for cross applications in the 90s, the SpeedMax returned in 2017 as a tubeless and gravel ready option for riders looking to take advantage of their bike’s newfound clearances. But how does this unique looking tread hold up and perform compared to other options in the 40mm range? In this review, we take a closer look to see just how good Tom’s widest 700c tire is on gravel.
Read MoreI’ve enjoyed gravel adventures in Portland, Boulder, San Francisco, Vancouver BC, I always thought we just don’t have that type of riding out of our front door, until you start searching for it.
Read MoreTed King took no prisoners as he committed to the ultimate adventure across his home state of Vermont. Part Everesting and part DIYgravel DK200, Ted pushed the limits on the all-new Cannondale Topstone Carbon Lefty full-suspension gravel machine. Join us as we tune into the YouTube Premiere at 8:30pm EST on June 11, 2020.
Read MoreNot all bodies experience the outdoors the same. For those of us who experience heightened outdoor privilege, the current revival of the Black Lives Matter movement offers ample opportunity to reflect on what being outside, being privileged, and being citizens in a colonized nation means.
Read MoreOn June 9, 2019 the second annual Hunt of the North tested more than a rider’s speed. Not a race in the traditional sense, this gravel event pushed participants onto terrain that had no boundaries or course markings to rely on. Left only with their orienteering skills and proficiency on dirt, riders became Hunteurs as they searched for five pieces of uniquely colored gravel throughout the North. This is their story.
Read MoreApidura is one of the top bikepacking bag makers and has led the way in ultralight, rackless packing systems. They produce minimalist gear for multi-month bike tours, self-supported cross country races, as well as for a weekend get-away. As bikepacking and adventure riding continues to grow we have seen an increasing number of bag brands enter the market, pushing Apidura to stay on top of their game.
Read MoreI feel fortunate to have had an early winter full of bikepacking in Southern California where I was riding my Salsa Cutthroat equipped with Apidura’s Expedition line of bikepacking bags. I’m looking back to those trips with more fondness than usual. And now, in this liminal space, where we inhabit at socially acceptable distances from each other, I wanted to offer my thoughts on the three bike packing gems of Southern California - Santa Catalina Island, Cuyamaca Rancho State Park, and the formidable Stagecoach 400.
Read MoreAfter being announced for presale last summer, the Knolly Cache Steels have arrived! The Cache Steel is Knolly’s second gravel model in an otherwise mountain focused lineup. Here we check out Erin’s flatbar edition Cache that she uses on everything from pump tracks to off-road group rides.
Read MoreLarissa will be racing on the 2020 Juliana Quincy carbon gravel bike, equipped with a Shimano GRX Di2 drivetrain, Praxis cranks, and an e*thirteen 9-39 cassette. Unique to this build is a custom 3D printed Di2 junction box mount that has replaced an access port near the bottom bracket. Her husband Brendan (an engineer) printed the custom junction box plug to clean up the cockpit and allow room for two Wolf Tooth EnCase bar end plugs.
Read MoreIn this episode of the COVID Bike Diaries we check in with cycling apparel brand Velocio on the launch of the 2020 Unity Project that aims to give aid to those who need it most in the wake of COVID-19.
Read MoreThis week we hear from Jim Santos of San Francisco’s Outer Shell Adventure on life and business in the cycling industry under the Bay Area’s stay at home order due to the novel coronavirus, COVID-19.
Read MoreIt’s winter here in Southern California and that means training season for upcoming bikepacking adventures and races. In preparation, I’ve been trail testing some tires from Teravail, the QBP brand, that is well known for off-road tires. I was keen to try the Sparwood 29 x 2.2” tires on my Salsa Cutthroat for the last three months on mostly local gravel, mountain single-track, desert sand, and multi-day bike packing routes in varied terrains.
Read MoreAs the 2020 Stagecoach 400 rolled out of Idyllwild, CA this morning the rain had subsided for the 50 or so riders starting the Southern California bikepacking race. But while the air may have been dry at 8AM on Friday, March 13, the trails had little time to recover from the storm that came through for a few days before. The race organizers were told just hours before that some dirt sections were off-limits, forcing them to ask riders to ignore the previously supplied GPS route in some sections.
Read MoreIn the process of writing up the Top 12 Most Influential Gravel Events of 2020, we came across so many other great rides and races from across the gravel universe. And while many of them are well established, for others this will be their first year. These yet to be experienced races have the potential to take our sport into new territory with innovative new formats and uncharted host locations. So as a follow up to our previous list, we bring you the Top 5 New Gravel Events we’re most excited about for 2020.
Read MoreOn the beautiful Saturday morning of February 8, 2020 in Bakersfield, California, riders pushed east through bare hills, grassy slopes and sandy slots to the entrance of Kern Canyon.
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