If you want optimal stopping power from your brakes, make sure you have the disc brake rotors for mountain biking you can afford. SRAM disc brake rotorsAlong with the lever and caliper, the brake rotor is an essential and, some would argue, the most important component Continue reading

Our Reader's Rig of the week comes from Jenna at Transit Cycles in Tucson, Arizona, who shares an overview of her bikepacking-ready titanium Esker Hayduke LVS. Learn more about Jenna, the shop, and her lovely cargo-hauling midtail here...The post Readers Rig: Jennas Esker Hayduke LVS appeared first on BIKEPACKING.com.

CyclistWe who travel have stories to tell: The Pan Celtic Ultra raceThe squawk of a bird forces me to open one eye. Its 4am and rural Brittany is still impossibly dark. My face is inches from the damp tarmac and theres a faint smell of something youd associate with phone booths. Within minutes Im shambolically re-stuffing my saddlebag to leave it looking like a snake thats eaten some kitchen utensils. Pulling on my damp and filthy kit, I crack a can of baked beans, clip in, do a quick scan of my bus shelter bedroom and freewheel down the road. It has only taken three days of riding the Pan Celtic Ultra, but already this is my new normal. Related Posts The Cateran Dirt Dash: Bikepacking for beginners Another planet: The Atlas Mountain Race The Fred: Fred Whitton Challenge sportive review Started by Matt Mally Ryan in 2018, the Pan Celtic is an ultra-distance event that takes a different route each year, but always navigating the Celtic nations, of which there are six: the Isle of Man, Cornwall, Brittany in France, Ireland, Wales and Scotland. Welsh Mally has a fondness for every nation: Ireland is just so beautiful; the people are so nice and it reminds me of Wales. I like the tenacity of the Cornish people and the hardiness of the Scots. Brittany is spectacular, and I cant wait for the Manx experience next year. All nations have their special traits but yes, Wales will always be my first love and my last.Its a trifle early for celebrations given that this campsite in St Malo is the starting point. Actually, this is race organiser Mally giving a speech about rider safety before the dpart.Toms MontesEach race accepts around 300 riders, measures between 2,000-2,500km and takes in up to three of these nations. They often include gravel sections, a good few ferry crossings, a long and short option, and frequently end conveniently in Llandudno, Mallys home town. Whatever the distance, the races mantra will accompany you: An t a bhnn silach, bonn scalach. Or We who travel have stories to tell.Grand DpartThe 2023 race starts in St Malo, Brittany. On a Sunday. Whispers of closed shops and vacant boulangeries whizz around the peloton like escaping sealant. Within minutes of departing Ive stopped to buy eight bananas and a couple of baguettes to ensure I stay within the self-sufficiency rules.Mmorial 39-45 is an ancient French fort in St Malo that was commandeered by the Germans during the Second World War.Toms MontesFollowing the lead of famous ultra-events such as the Transcontinental and the Race Across America, rules are scarce but important. There are no stages, its just an A-B routed race including mandatory checkpoints. Drafting is banned unless youve registered as a pair. You can only accept help that is available to every other racer. And then obvious stuff like no shortcuts or mechanical doping. But the main rule is one Mally coined himself: Race. Make friends. Have a good time. Dont take life too seriously.The route takes us along coastline replete with oyster vendors and miles of sandy gravel track. We wind inland, skirting past historic Fougres and its thousand-year-old fortress, and onwards through endless fields of maize and corn. When night falls, I join a scattering of riders squatting around a colossal vending machine. Unbelievably, it is dispensing freshly cooked pizzas.The French leg of the Pan Celtic passes through a lot of wheat fields.Toms MontesEventually I bed down in a public toilet next to a church, which is warm but not for the sensitive of nose. Before sleep I check my stats for the day: 321km, 2,285m climbed, 24.1kmh moving speed, 16 hours elapsed. Bedtime 00:37.Early next morning, my befuddled brain barely notices the Alignements de Carnac: 3,000 megaliths from 4,000BC that rear up out of the ground like an army of horns. The Quiberon peninsula, however, is impossible to miss and pedal-stoppingly beautiful, peppered with craggy coves and the stone houses of fishermen.Wheels rattle as riders cross Le Bono suspension bridge in Morbihan, Brittany.Toms MontesDinner is steak tartare in Mnac before getting back on the road before 7pm; theres still another 100km before Checkpoint One. I share woes and Haribos with a group of riders for almost five hours and then collapse into the checkpoint at midnight. I inhale what I can find cold Bolognese sandwiched between four slices of bread and then shower using some washing up liquid. Its all perfect.Struggling throughDay three starts with a smoky cappuccino in a roadside Tabac, sodden gloves hanging mournfully on the radiator. Then its westwards towards the Atlantic Ocean, through the charming fishing town of Douarnenez and up the 10.5km climb of the Fort de Cranou. Dinner is a kebab in a deserted town, followed by skirting along an estuary to the sublimely illuminated Morlaix Viaduct. Bed is a bus stop with a roof. Its cold but at least its dry.Toms MontesBy now Ive covered 965km. Flirting with Frances northern coastline on day four provides a welcome antidote to the interminable maize fields. Green shoots of commerce spring up the further east the race heads. A group of us empties a boulangerie of baguettes, and later we eat pizzas in a graveyard. For a moment theres a deep contentment that comes from the simple combination of exercise, the outdoors, food and company.The high is fleeting. My bum and the ulnar nerve in my left hand are giving up the ghost. I stop to address a rattling spoke and have a brief exchange with Welsh Jacob, who is convinced he can still make the morning ferry. He looks just as ruined as me and would need to ride through the night without sleeping.The ferry is a welcome sight after five days on the road, if only because it offers a hot meal and at worst a warm floor to sleep on.Toms MontesThe night shift is long and cold. I stop in a village so that I can neck a can of beans in the glow of a street light.The following morning I pass Jacob, whose ferry bravado has evaporated like the warmth. Excluding disasters, anyone I meet on the road today should be safely tucked up on the 10pm crossing to Portsmouth. Despite the cold, I am blessed with blue skies as I pass the gothic spires of Mont-St-Michel, rearing above the sandy sea like a Disney castle. More architectural beauty arrives in the form of Bayeux Cathedral, only to recede again during my umpteenth visit to a branch of McDonalds.A 20-minute sleep behind a hedge revives my body slightly, although my bike continues to suffer. The rattling spoke has now evacuated. The wheel seems true enough so I loosen the brake slightly and pray to the cycling gods.The home stretch heads from Portsmouth to Wales via Salisbury, the Bath Cycle Path and Bristol. Remember to ride on the left side of the road on returning from France!Toms MontesThe final 30km on French soil is mercifully flat and, in parts, spectacular: scorched fields are stroked by the lengthening afternoon shadows while, down near the Utah and Omaha beaches, aged French townhouses peer across the harbour to Le Havre and the English coastline far beyond. The hang gliders above me get the best view.I arrive at the ferry port littered with bedraggled riders. The mood is exultant. Theyve broken the back of the race and everyone is assured a hot meal and at least a warm floor tonight. We are the lords and ladies of all creation.Back in BlightyWere definitely back in England.Toms MontesDay six. My lack of spoke is worrying me enough that I decide to make a lengthy mechanical stop in Salisbury, with thoughts of my wheel crumpling in a dark Welsh lane softening the time loss.I attack the horrendous cobbled climb of Dorsets Gold Hill, which at 140m doesnt sound like much but the 21% average shows me otherwise. Then its Longleat, the Bath cycle path, my home town of Bristol and a beautiful crossing of the Severn Bridge. After a full pub supper, the Llangwm descent to Usk almost 5km at minus 4% just as the sun is setting is easily my favourite nine minutes of 2023 so far.The Welsh scenery on the approach to Horseshoe Pass will lift the spirits on the final day.Toms MontesI weave through drunken revellers in Abergavenny and then theres nothing between me and Hay-on-Wye except hills and impenetrably inky darkness. Almost two hours of riding later, Im on the brink of bivvying down in that worst of locations, a dewy field, when out of the nothingness rises Clodock church and its ambrosial porch complete with freshly picked flowers for what must be tomorrows wedding. I feel like the luckiest rider in the race.Day seven is my birthday. My present is a series of ungodly 20% pitches on desiccated surfaces. I can scarcely appreciate the beauty of the Llangynog climb or Horseshoe Pass, so brow-beaten am I by a day of rain and wind. At one point I take shelter in a roadside barn and bail out water from my top tube bag with a spork.Montgomery Fish Bar in mid-Wales was a very popular stop-off point.Toms MontesThe birthday celebration culminates with a kebab in Llangollen and a bivouac under a church roof. I take some solace from the fact that I have now accumulated 2,000km.The last legThe final day. My left hand barely works and I smell like Im decomposing, but I feel strangely proud of my body. Following the climb west of Ruthin, I arrive onto a plateau in dazzling sunshine where I spin past reservoirs and forests and stare northwards towards to the sea where I know Llandudno is hiding.Toms MontesIts hot now. With just 45km to go, in full sight of Kimmel Bay and the northern coastline, I descend a hideously steep road that combined with the temperature does for my rear rim. I can feel the pad melting the track like a hot knife through butter. I loosen off my rear brake to allow for the warping, and pray that it lasts me.Approaching the finish, the route takes a final spin around the headland of Great Orme just to the north of Llandudno. After a week of 250km-350km days, my body is begging to be allowed to stop, but as I reach the peninsulas northern point, I know that right ahead of me, across the sea, lies the Isle of Man. Thats where the 2024 edition of the Pan Celtic Ultra is due to start from.Already an idea is forming in my mind.The detailsOne for Celtic fansWhat Pan Celtic UltraWhere (2023, pictured) St Malo, France, to Llandudno, WalesHow far Long route 2,293km, short route 1,716kmNext one Starts 6th July 2024Where Douglas, Isle of Man, to Inverness, ScotlandHow far Long route 2,295km, short route 1,842kmPrice 465More info pancelticrace.comLocked and loadedToms MontesPack for the Pan Celtic (dont bring any pans)For seven days and more than 2,200km of the Pan Celtic Ultra, this is a list of everything Cyclist carried on a (gently weeping) Genesis Equilibrium bike: Ultralight sleeping bag, inflatable sleep mat, ultralight down jacket, thermal base layer, legwarmers, windbreaker, rain jacket, helmet, cap, beanie hat, snood, musette bag, cycling shoes, shoe covers, two pairs of gloves, two jerseys, three pairs of socks, sunglasses with two types of lenses, chain lube, mini pump, tyre levers, cable ties, multitool, two inner tubes, tyre patches, bidons, suncream (lots), toothpaste (little), toothbrush, wet wipes, chamois cream, painkillers, Rennie, SiS Beta Fuel powders, Habanero Tabasco (makes anything taste better), spork (useful for more than just eating), bank cards, passport, two phones, two powerbanks, bike computer, USB front light, two USB rear lights, charging cables, plug/adapter, headphones. This article originally appeared in issue 151 of Cyclist magazine. Click here to subscribe Related Posts The Cateran Dirt Dash: Bikepacking for beginners Another planet: The Atlas Mountain Race The Fred: Fred Whitton Challenge sportive review The post We who travel have stories to tell: The Pan Celtic Ultra race appeared first on Cyclist.

Stage 6 of the Tour of Turkey was the queen stage and a key day for the overall classification. Franck van den Broek took his first pro win for Team DSM-Firmenich PostNL and has taken over the race lead.The breakaway of the day was formed by five riders: Jonas Rickaert, Nrbert Banaszek, Petros Meng...

If there is one thing Team DSM-Firmenich PostNL has always been good at, it's developing young riders. Today another one broke through the scene; Frank Van den Broek took the opportunity at the Tour of Turkey and has won the queen stage."To be honest, I didn't expect this at all. I'm overwhelmed. T...

Difference Between Bicycle and Motorcycle ShippingWhile bikes and motorcycles may look similar, the process by which they are transported is much different.But what does it take to ship a bike or a motorcycle, and what are the major differences?In this article, well go in-depth into the intricacies of bike and motorcycle shipping, and what to expect from both.If youre ready to learn more, read on down below.How to Ship a BicycleWhile it may not seem necessary, there are times when bicycles need to be shipped. When moving countries, as well as when professionals have a race to catch, shipping a bicycle is a necessity under niche circumstances.Not all bicycles are equal, and a high-end racing bike can cost anywhere from $10,000 to $14,000. If you have a high-end bicycle, then its necessary to take out enough insurance to cover the cost of the bike.Shipping companies lose packages every day, and under the unfortunate circumstance they lose a high-value item, youll want to be compensated for it. Below we will cover the conventional method of shipping a bicycle in a box, via a shipping company like UPS or FedEx.1. Disassemble the bikeThe first step is to disassemble the bike completely. Youll want to remove the pedals, front wheel, handlebars, and any accessories that may be on the handlebars. Take any small parts that are left like screws, and place them in a bag. Instead of leaving them inside of the box unsecured, you can tape the bag to the bike itself or take it with you.2. Package the bike and partsIf you dont have a box that will fit your bike, you can order one in advance so that you know it will fit. The best method of packaging your bike will involve securing the bottom first, so ensure the bottom of the box is taped as well as you can to avoid it opening during shipping.You can place packaging materials inside the box to lessen the chance that your bike will be moving around inside the box. Its recommended to use air pillows or peanuts to ensure safe handling. Once the bike parts are secured within the box, close the box and push it around a little bit to hear if any parts are moving within the box. If so, continue to add packaging material until the parts stay motionless while the box is moved.3. Seal the boxThe last step is to seal the box. Secure all sides of the box with the best tape that you can find that is also waterproof. You want a tape thats between 1.9 and 3.1 mm thick. Once thats all done just drop it off at your local shipping provider and purchase insurance for the entirety of the bike.How to Ship a MotorcycleOne of the biggest differences when it comes to shipping a motorcycle vs a bicycle is that youre going to need to work with a company that can ship motorcycles. Doing it yourself is possible, but considering the amount of red tape required, its never worth it.1. Find a reliable transport companyThe first step in shipping a motorcycle is finding a reputable motorcycle shipping company. You can call around for motorcycle shipping quotes and find yourself the best one. However, dont be fooled by enticing quotes, as transport companies do have a bad rap for bait-and-switch pricing.To avoid any predicaments, its a good idea to thoroughly vet any motorcycle transport company you are considering working with. You dont want to deal with any unforeseen delays, and vetting your transport company will avoid any problems that can arise from poorly organized companies.2. Decide on an open or enclosed trailerYou can ship your motorcycle in the open air, or you can purchase an enclosed trailer to haul your motorcycle. The enclosed trailer is a great fit for anyone who wants to avoid having their motorcycle out in the open during shipping.The downside for enclosed trailers is that they cost more than the open trailers. You can also opt to have your motorcycle crated which is a typical option when it comes to motorcycle shipping.3. Clean the motorcycleCleaning your motorcycle may seem unnecessary, but you do want to get it clean so you can take pictures of it before handing it off. This way, you have proper records should the motorcycle be damaged during shipping.4. Disable any alarms and give the motorcycle a quick check-upDisable any alarms that may go off during shipping. You want to check the fluids, tire pressure, and battery to ensure that nothing is leaking and the tires are filled to the right amount.5. Get the gas tank to 1/4th capacityIf you dont know how to remove gas from your gas tank, then you can have your transport company help you before you hand off the motorcycle. Some companies require less or more than 1/4th of capacity, so its a good idea to check ahead of time.6. Document any damages before handing off the motorcycleBefore the motorcycle is handed off, you want to document any pre-existing damages and sign it off with the transport company. You want to be on the same page, so verify any documents that they bring over once they do the inspection.Once the inspection is finished, you dont have anything else left to do and can wait until your motorcycle arrives at the destination of your choice.Final ThoughtsWhile bicycle and motorcycle shipping processes vary, whats important is that you verify the company you are working with is legitimate. The next step is to get as much insurance as needed for your bike or motorcycle so if any problems arise during shipping, itll be covered.

This weeks Debrief features new Maxxis tires, "what did we miss at Sea Otter?", the updated Cedaero Bar Hopper V2 Pack, Rocky Mountain Element C99, a new Rambler Bags wax recipe, more Sea Otter bikes, two events to follow live, and more. Find it all hereThe post Friday Debrief: Bar Hopper V2, New Maxxis Tires, Rambler Wax, and More appeared first on BIKEPACKING.com.

Alberto Contador is one of the riders who, in modern cycling, has attempted and came the closest to winning the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France. This monumental task will not be attempted by Tadej Pogacar this year and 'El Pistolero' believes he can certainly pull it off."We have Pogaar and Vinge...

We test mountain bike multi-tools. Light enough to put in your pack and carry all day, useful enough to fix a multitude of sins if your bike breaksWe test mountain bike multi-tools. Light enough to put in your pack and carry all day, useful enough to fix a multitude of sins if your bike breaks.