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…

Apidura City Backpack – 20L

Entering their lineup alongside the 17L version, Apidura just announced a lightweight, fully waterproof 20L backpack that’s aimed at city riders who need to keep the essentials dry on their daily commute. Made from a CT420 Marle material, it features Hypalon-reinforced straps and attachment points, a waterproof zip, and low-profile, quick-drying back padding. It also sports a protected pocket sleeve, external zippered pocket, anatomical on-bike fit, and removable chest and waist straps.

$169 at Apidura.com

SimWorks Froggy Post in Polished Silver and Black

SimWorks just announced that their Froggy lineup of seat posts is now available in polished silver and black. It features a highly adjustable two-bolt design, 300 or 350mm lengths, 0mm and 23mm offsets, and a 27.2mm diameter.

Made in Japan / $130 at Sim.Works

New Wolf Tooth Echo Lock-On Grip Colors

Wolf Tooth Components just expanded the color options of their Echo Lock-On Grips. Nine new colors launched this week: blue, green, gray, orange, pink, purple, teal, yellow, and red. Each grip is paired with a black anodized aluminum collar and comes with their standard plastic Wolf Tooth Bar End Plugs.

Made in USA / $29.95 at Wolf Tooth

Velocio x Bivo 1% for the Planet

As members of 1% for the Planet, Velocio and Bivo have collaborated on a special edition version of Bivo’s stainless steel performance water bottle, with 100% of profits being donated to 1% for the Planet. “Stripped to the essentials, the raw bottle minimizes extra materials, finishes, and colors in favor of a laser-etched pattern that brings the intent of the collaboration all the way through the design.”

Made in China / $34 at Velocio.cc DrinkBivo.com

Easton EC90 ALX Handlebar

Easton’s new EC90 ALX is the brand’s first carbon handlebar that’s purpose-built with 10 degrees of flare and paired with size-specific profiles that enhance the flex profile for optimum vibration damping while maintaining torsional stiffness through to the drops. It has a 31.8mm clamp diameter, 80mm reach, and 123mm Drop and is available in 38-46cm sizes. It weighs just 205g in 42cm width, making it one of the lightest in its class.

$299.99 at EastonCycling.com

New Fidlock Hermetic Magnetic Hydration Bladder

Fidlock’s new Hermetic Hydration Bladder uses a row of powerful magnets and a wide opening that they say makes it easier than ever to fill and clean. The magnets self-seal, which means no finicky locking, clicking, or pushing is required for a tight closure. It comes in 1.5L and 2.5L sizes and includes a hydration hose.

€59.99 at Fidlock.com

Mission Workshop’s new Slice Frame Bag

The new Slice Frame Bag is part of Mission Workshop’s complete line of on-bike storage solutions. It’s a sleek, minimal bag designed to leave room for bottles and your knees, providing just enough room for ride essentials and extra snacks. The Slice Frame Bag comes in one size (1.56L), uses YKK Aquaguard Zippers, is weather resistant, and is handmade in the USA.

Made in USA / $110 at Mission Workshop

In Conversation

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

Maxxis Aspen Prototype Tires

A few of our readers pointed out that this year’s Atlas Mountain Race winner, Robin Gemperle, was running some interesting tires that appear to be some prototype Maxxis Aspens that were never officially released. They popped up on a few bikes back in 2019, but we haven’t seen them around since. Robin only had a single puncture during his race… Might they be a Vittoria Mezcal replacement?

Around the Community

News from around the bikepacking world…

Uyoksuryo’s Tour Divide Rig Illustration

Indonesian artist UyokSuryo recently illustrated one of the wildest Rigs of the 2022 Tour Divide and posted it on his Instagram feed. Find more about UyokSuryo in our Rider’s Lens feature.

Events Starting Soon

What to watch this weekend and bikepacking events starting soon…

2023 Tour Aotearoa

Tour Aotearoa is New Zealand’s longest bikepacking event. Stretching 3,000 kilometers from Cape Reinga to Bluff, it follows a combination of cycle trails, tracks, paths, and lanes connected by the most enjoyable country roads available. There is a massive group of more than 300 riders registered for this year’s event, and they’ll be taking off in waves from February 15th to 18th from Cape Reinga. 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…

Rob Thwaites: Khangai Mountains Traverse

In my mind, there’s no phrase that embodies the romance of travel more than “the Silk Road” and no place more synonymous with remoteness than Mongolia, a country that I still erroneously mentally prefix with ”Outer” as if to emphasise that remoteness for which it is has become a byword. For someone who is definitely at the dirt road touring end of the spectrum, I wanted the challenge of distance and logistics rather than technical riding, and Cass’s photos of the wide-open steppe put me in mind of Wyoming’s Great Basin that I’d crossed the previous year while hiking the Continental Divide. And so it was that I set out from Istanbul in the early spring of 2020 with the hope of reaching Ulaanbaatar, only for the whole world to close its borders a few weeks later. For me, the Khangai Mountains Traverse represents unfinished business, a journey barely begun.

Weekly Social

Some things we found around the ‘gram and elsewhere. This week, some posts from this year’s Huracan 300 event in Florida…

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