Winter is coming, and State Bicycle Co. just launched the 2nd generation of its Fat Bike, known as the 6061 Trail+ Fat Bike v2. The original Fat Bike was introduced in 2016 and hasnt seen a major update until today. The v2 features an all-new aluminum frame, updated geometry, and budget-friendly but functional components. Perhaps most importantly, State Bikes is keeping the price accessible, too.The Fat Bike v2 in Firehouse Red6061 Trail+ Fat Bike v2 DetailsState says that the Fat Bike v2 has an all-new hydroformed 6061 alloy frame. It comes with a rigid alloy fork (option to upgrade to rigid carbon) and has thru-axles front and rear. The frame has bottle mounts and accessory/cargo mounts on the top tube, along with cargo mounts on the fork. It has internal routing, including for a dropper if you want to add one, and comes with 26 x 4.5 tires with frame clearance up to 4.8 wide (4.6 on the alloy fork, 4.8 on the carbon).Tha Fat Bike v2 in RawGoemetryState says it gave the Fat Bike v2 a modern geometry with a slack-for-the-category 66 head tube angle. This should help make it more confident and capable when your fat bike adventures inevitably get weirder than you expected. The geometry details below are the same for all frame sizes.Head tube angle: 66Seat tube angle: 74Chainstay / rear center: 455mmBottom bracket drop: 65mmFork offset: 45mmFork axle-to-crown: 485mmTrail: ~109mmThere are three frame sizes: S, M, and L. Heres a quick sizing breakdown: Small (56 510), Medium (59 61), Large (60 65). The size-specific reach measurements are listed below; head to the State website for the full geometry rundown.Small: reach 450.5mmMedium: 467.9mmLarge: 480.3mmModernized cockpit setup.ComponentsOne of States goals with the Fat Bike v2 was to upgrade some of the components while still keeping the price reasonable. As such, the spec is budget-minded, but with some notable upgrades compared to the v1. This includes stepping up from Tektro mechanical to hydraulic disc brakes with 180mm rotors front and rear. Likewise, the v1 had quick-release axles, but the v2 has thru-axles at both ends, with a UDH dropout in the rear.Drivetrain-wise, State chose to go with an 8-speed setup that offers a wider range than the v1. With an 11-45T cassette, they say it offers 409% range for those times when youre slogging through snow, sand, etc. Additionally, State says, Eight speeds also means a cheaper chain, a cheaper cassette, and a drivetrain that tolerates being a little out of tune. On a bike that spends its life in sand, salt, and snowmelt, thats not a compromise its the correct spec.With the carbon fork upgrade.Trail+ Fat Bike v2 SpecsFrame: Hydroformed 6061 alloyFork: Alloy Rigid (carbon upgrade: +$300)Drivetrain: Shimano ESSA GS 8-speed, ShadowCassette: 11-45TCranks: alloy 170mm, 28TBrakes: Tektro HD-M275 hydraulic disc w/ 180mm rotorsWheels: 26 double-wall alloy w/ sealed bearing hubsTires: Kenda Juggernaut 26 x 4.5Cockpit: 740mm wide alloy handlebar w/15mm rise, 50mm stem, lock-on gripsFrame Colors: Firehouse Red, RawPricing and AvailabilityThe State Trail+ Fat Bike v2 retails for $1,200 and is available to order now. At checkout, buyers have numerous upgrade options, including a carbon fork, dropper seatpost, pedals, saddle, and more. According to the State website, both colors and all sizes are estimated to start shipping in late October. Head there to learn more or to get your order in before it snows!statebicycle.com

Our fall membership ends on Saturday, when well draw winners for about 20 fresh Collective Reward prize packages worth more than $12,000. See everything well be giving away and sign up to support our work in time to be automatically entered to win hereThe post Collective Reward Roundup: Another 20 Chances to Win Big! appeared first on BIKEPACKING.com.

Spanish cycling has a new generation of riders starting to make their mark and raising high hopes for the future: Benjamn Noval, Hctor lvarez, Alejandra Neira, Paula Blasi and others. Results in the development categories and early success as professionals have put several young riders in the spo...

Illegal bikes are a rational response to payment model used by large food delivery apps, says head of London-based delivery firm.Deliveroo, the app-based food delivery service, said it plans to monitor its delivery riders to assess how quickly they travel and compare the data with the legal speeds of e-bikes in the UK, but the company did not respond to repeated requests on whether it will implement the same technology in Ireland. As IrishCycle.com has reported several times, including earlier this week, a legal e-bike in Ireland is a pedal-assisted electric bicycle with a maximum continuous rated power output of 250 watts and a maximum speed of 25km/h before the motor stops helping. This is the basic rule across the EU and basically the same as the UK, where the limit is 15.5mph. Above these thresholds, or if the bike can move without pedalling (besides freewheeling) using a throttle, then it is legally considered a moped or even a motorcycle depending on speed and power.Deliveroo and Just Eat delivery riders are regularly seen moving without pedalling and at higher-than-normal e-bike speeds on streets in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, and Galway. Both Deliveroo and Just Eat were also contacted three times since last Friday, and both did not respond at the time of publication of this article on Wednesday after 6pm.Last week, The Times in London reported that Deliveroo would be implementing systems to crackdown on riders registering as having a bicycle or e-bike and actually using a moped or motorcycle. The speed technology is helping us better detect the use of illegal e-bikes by looking at sustained speeds. Where we see sustained speeds that are illegal, we will disable a riders account, Paul Bedford, policy and sustainability director at Deliveroo, told The Times newspaper. He said that GPS data showing a rider at higher speeds would have to be checked to see if they were going downhill at the time or if they were in an area known for poor GPS signal where an inaccurate speed might be recorded. He added: We are designing our approach to identify sustained patterns and avoid penalising riders who are following the rules.Bedford also said that Deliveroo were calling on the UK government to ban the sale of conversion kits which make it easier for non-electric bikes and e-bikes to be souped up, allowing for speeds far higher than allowed under the law. These kits and many types of imported overpowered bikes are also associated with fires. An illegal e-bike is the rational response to that pay modelIrishCycle.com also asked Deliveroo to respond to comments made by Ben Knowles, CEO and Co-Founder of Pedal Me, a cargo bike delivery company based in London. Knowles responded to The Times article last week, saying everyone could have seen the issue long before Deliveroo admitted it was a problem, and that the payment model to the food delivery companies to staff its service is a large part of the problem, as it incentivises poor behaviour.Huge congratulations to Deliveroo, who this week became the last people in London to notice the 30mph delivery bikes, said Knowles. And credit where its due: theyve now said it out loud. Their policy director has told The Times that some of their riders are on illegal e-bikes, and that theyre piloting technology to catch them using their own delivery data. Groundbreaking stuff.Who else had already spotted them? Everyone on the pavement. Everyone behind the wheel. The London Fire Brigade, putting out the battery fires. The Met, who seized more than 2,500 illegal e-bikes and e-scooters in the first seven months of this year. Basically anyone with eyes, said Knowles in a post on LinkedIn. Knowles said that The riders arent doing this for fun and pointed to the paid-per-delivery model pushes riders towards using faster bikes to make more money. He said: An illegal e-bike is the rational response to that pay model.Deliveroos solution? Ban the riders. Ask the government to ban the kits. The pay model that put them on those bikes stays exactly where it is. Meanwhile, the costs land on everyone else: fires in peoples homes, danger on our streets, police time, and a legitimate e-bike industry tarred by association, he said. Knowles company, Pedal Me, has prided itself on hiring staff directly rather than as contractors or self-employed. He said that solving issues that the gig economy creates feels like a game of whack-a-mole.He added: Every fix works around the same fact: the model depends on classifying riders as self-employed contractors, and that comes first. Ahead of common sense. Ahead of public safety. Ahead of the risk of modern slavery in the supply chain. The problem is the model. It will stay the problem until these riders are employees, so they can be paid fairly, kept safe, and the companies that profit from their work contribute to society like every other employer does.EU law edging toward viewing workers as staffIreland must transpose the EUs Platform Workers Directive into law by December 2nd of this year. During the summer, reports suggested this legislative change may force delivery companies to reclassify riders as employees, but its unclear how they will react.A Supreme Court judgment (The Revenue Commissioners v. Karshan (Midlands) Ltd. t/a Dominos Pizza) already ruled against delivery staff being counted as contractors, and after that, Revenue asked businesses to review the status of their workers.That Irish case, in October 2023, followed another in the Netherlands earlier that year, in which the Dutch Supreme Court upheld a Court of Appeal ruling that Deliveroo riders were legally employees, citing similar tests and reasoning on who is and isnt an employee or a contractor.The Dutch Court of Appeal ruling was made in February 2021, but in October 2022, before the Supreme Court ruling, Deliveroo announced it was ending its services in the Netherlands, although the company did not directly mention the judgment and said it was after it had determined that achieving and sustaining a top-tier market position in the Netherlands would require a disproportionate level of investment with highly uncertain long-term potential returns.The situation is different in the UK, where the courts ruled in Deliveroos favour in 2021 and said delivery workers are contractors. Deliverooalso did not respond to a request for comment on Knowles criticisms of their model.

Wolf Tooth Components believes that bike shops are the cornerstone of the bike industry. To back that up, Wolf Tooth tells us they started a new dealer program this year, and part of that commitment involves developing some exclusive, dealer-only products and limited editions. The Camo SHIFT Gravity Pedals are the first of these products to be produced in a limited run of just 150 pairs and available only through brick-and-mortar retailers. Wolf Tooth says that moving forward, it expects one or two dealer-exclusive products to be released each year.Camo SHIFT Gravity PedalsWolf Tooth completed its family of clipless pedals earlier this year when it launched the SHIFT Gravity Pedals. This added a large platform model alongside the CTRL (trail), ALT (XC), and DEL (gravel race) models that came out last year. Now, the SHIFT is the first product to get the dealer-exclusive treatment in a limited-edition Camo colorway.Based in Minnesota, Wolf Tooth says the fall colors are in full swing, so it makes sense to launch a camouflage pedal now. They worked with Ashley Anodized It (@ashley.anodized.it on Instagram) to create the one-of-a-kind camo finishes on the pedal bodies. According to Wolf Tooth, Each pedal body features a unique anodized camouflage pattern in olive, tan, black, and brown tones, finished off with a blaze orange end cap, because when you go all in, you go all in.Where Can I Buy Camo SHIFT Pedals?Wolf Tooth says that they pre-sold 130 pairs of Camo SHIFT Pedals to dealers. They have a landing page on their website with a dealer locator showing only the dealers with inventory of the Camo SHIFT pedals; check it out here. According to Wolf Tooth, they arent allowing any online sale of the Camo SHIFT Pedals; customers need to visit the shop (or call) to order a pair. The idea is to drive traffic to the shops that are so instrumental to our cycling communities.Dont see your LBS or another shop near you on the list? Wolf Tooth says it intentionally held back 20 pairs of the Camo pedals so any shop can order them for you, on a first-come, first-served basis. All the shop needs to do is reach out to Wolf Tooths dealer support team.Pricing and AvailabilityThe limited-edition dealer-exclusive Camo SHIFT Pedals retail for $289.95 and are available now at select retailers nationwide. Head to the SHIFT dealer locator here to find the nearest location with stock of the Camo pedals, or hit up your LBS to order you a pair before theyre gone. And if you head to the Wolf Tooth website, be sure to check out the limited-edition Camo merch; theyve got hats and long-sleeve T-shirts.wolftoothcomponents.com

CyclistMeet the Maker: Chris Yeomans and The Flying GateThe ride feel is what gets most people, says Chris Yeomans, current steward of the iconic Flying Gate marque. I often get comments along the lines of, I feel like I am being pushed uphill, or, Its like the wind is always behind me.Yeomans is fresh back from touring the east coast of Ireland with his wife, Dawn. For the trip, they each rode slightly different versions of what some might say is one of British cyclings great engineering curiosities.Juan Trujillo Andrades / CyclistConceived in the 1930s an era when time-trialling dominated the domestic racing scene the Flying Gate was originally known by its creators as the VS37 and commercially as the International TT. Its unconventional frame, with its cut-off seat tube, double sets of seatstays and additional vertical tube, created a gate-like silhouette, while its short wheelbase and stiffness made it ride like a spooked cat. It didnt take long for its nickname to eclipse the official title, and it has stuck ever since.Yeomans is the latest in a succession of custodians who, over the decades, have committed themselves to keeping the Flying Gate from drifting into obscurity. Originally designed and built by Bill and Reg Baines of the Baines Company in Bradford, the Gate went out of production in 1954 and remained in a state of dormancy until it was resurrected by framebuilder Trevor Jarvis of TJ Cycles in 1979.Chris Yeomans took over the responsibility for building a quirky bike that was originally designed for time-trialling in the 1930s. Having initially said no, he was swayed by the bikes loyal and enthusiastic fans. Juan Trujillo Andrades / CyclistOver the course of 35 years, Jarviss Flying Gates became known for their intricate lugwork and attention to detail qualities that have helped make many of his iterations highly sought-after collectors items. But he couldnt do it forever, and having entered his eighties he began looking for someone to take the reins.Initially I said no as I wanted to focus on my own brand, Smithy Frameworks, Yeomans says. Then I went to one of the Flying Gate Weekends. Its an annual gathering of enthusiasts that has been taking place for almost 30 years. Its a unique event, more of a family gathering than anything. I saw Trevor had created something quite special and I was hooked. He asked me again and I said yes. I still meet up with him regularly. Hell be 93 this year.Flying out of the gateA blacksmith by trade and professional framebuilder for the past two decades, Yeomans enjoys the process of building the Flying Gates unique frame.Creating things in metal has always been a real passion. The end result often felt more important than the financial benefit something Im sure many artists can relate to. Flying Gate frames are slightly more challenging to make than conventional frames so I guess I find them more rewarding.Juan Trujillo Andrades / CyclistThe bike he has just toured the Irish coast on isnt your run-of-the-mill Flying Gate (if there is such a thing). It comes fresh off the back of an award-winning appearance at Bespoked, where it took the Peoples Choice Award thanks to its striking mix of handcrafted beauty, elaborate detail and, lets be honest, sheer geometrical oddness.The componentry is quite a mix, says Yeomans. Hope hubs in silver bomb-proof for the Welsh roads and weather; Pacenti rims, silver obviously and durable too; Sugino Super Maxi 165mm cranks off Ebay square taper still has its place if youre not shy on maintenance, and I wanted to experiment with loose-ball bottom brackets to see if they could still hold their own, so I bought a Sugino one on eBay for 5 and a packet of loose ball bearings. It runs as sweet as any other bottom bracket I have used and was a doddle to set up.Theres some nice colour-matching too. The gold Connex chain, for example, perfectly complements the lug detailing and stem spacer.Obviously not essential, Yeomans admits, but it ties everything together.Elsewhere, the build is kept utilitarian and classic with a Brooks saddle, Cinelli bars, Grepp cloth bar tape and TRP levers. Theres also some rather pleasing period cabling for the brakes courtesy of Sim Works.Juan Trujillo Andrades / CyclistAs brilliantly curated as the componentry is, its the finer points of the frame that really make Yeomanss Gate sing. The stem is a prime example, crafted using his blacksmithing skills to match the lugwork and pick up on the box-lining from the top tube. Meanwhile the colouring has been achieved using a patination fluid to help highlight the lines.Then there are the lugs.Trevor has gradually been emptying his old workshop and passing relevant stuff onto me, Yeomans explains. Among which was a box of assorted old lugs. Hunting through them, I came up with a set, quite possibly Nervex, which I tweaked a bit and filed to what you see on the bike.Colour work and graphics are courtesy of Lee Morgan Artworx.I think the box-lining may have made him cry a bit, but he didnt let on, Yeomans says.Like what you see? Yeomans says a similar frameset to this one works out at around 2,500, with a lead time of approximately four to six months.The post Meet the Maker: Chris Yeomans and The Flying Gate appeared first on Cyclist.