Built for the rugged trails of Canada's East Coast, the Fluent Frameworks Dead Sailor is a rigid 29+ single-speed mountain bike that recently caught our attention on Instagram. Read about the bike's backstory and find detailed shots of this one-of-a-kind, sea-inspired wonder here...The post The 29+ Fluent Frameworks Dead Sailor is a Single-Speed Showstopper appeared first on BIKEPACKING.com.

Yorkshire handmade mountain bike builder Carbon Wasp once again updates their most-popular Truffle 120 XC-to-trail bike with all-new materials. In a move to try to make their frame building more environmentally sustainable, Carbon Wasp is introducing recycled carbon to their layup mix. Plus, by switching to a machined alloy rocker link, theyve simplified manufacturing. And at the same time, added a new machined alloy lower shock which enables further geometry & suspension customization within their otherwise stock frame molds.2026 Carbon Wasp Truffle mountain bike gets recycled carbon(Photos/Carbon Wasp)Carbon Wasp explains that the move to adding recycled content is still in its early days. For now, the total carbon make-up is just 10%. But its a first step, as they seek to make their mountain bike frame building more sustainable, even looking into more ecological bio resins, too.Using recycled carbon typically means much shorter fibers, random orientation, and significantly lower total strength. But Carbon Wasp is working with a local UK company named Lineat that developed a technique to align those shorter chopped fibers into pre-preg UD tape that retains 80% of the strength of continuous fibers. For now, the recycled fibers come mostly from pre-consumer dry industrial scraps. But Carbon Wasp hopes to expand to even post-consumer, end-of-life carbon as their manufacturing evolves, and once more high-quality material becomes consistently available.The new recycled carbon is used throughout the Truffle 120s layup. And overall frame weight, strength & stiffness remain unchanged. Then, to top it all off, Carbon Wasp also uses it for the new outermost layer of the bike, replacing their conventional 22 twill weave with a more modern look, also highlighting the newly recycled content.New alloy links and mounts, tooBeyond composites, Carbon Wasp described their switch to alloy rocker plates as improving ease of manufacture. But while it simplified bearing installation and ensured higher overall long-term quality, it also opened the door for more customization. First off, the new machined rocker plates are the same weight as the previous carbon ones. But they also opened Carbon Wasp up to replacing their previous carbon lower shock mount with alloy as well. This effectively means that it will be much easier (and quicker) for them to CNC-machine custom links that would allow them to tweak the Truffles geometry (or even travel) to suit an individual buyers needs.What all stayed the same?Other than a few material upgrades, the rest of the 120mm travel Truffle 29er remains unchanged. The same do-it-all and trail-ready progressive geometry. The same customization potential. Same straight-out-of-the-mold finishes wrapped with a splash of color. And all still made in Carbon Wasps Leeds, England workshop.Tech details120mm single-pivot, flex-stay cross-country to light trail mountain bikefull carbon mainframe & rear triangle, now made with recycled carbon in the UKCNC-machined alloy rocker linknew CNC-machined lower shock mount allows extra geometry customization29 x 2.6 tire clearancefully guided internal cable routing (entering through sides of the downtube)internal frame storage with room for at least 6 pork pies (can be omitted)ZS56/44mm tapered headset (can be customized to ZS 56/56 for angle-adjust headset)BSA threaded bottom bracketISCG tabsUDH with Boost 148 spacing4 stock frame sizes available (S-XL)6 options for chainstay length to tune the ride (435-460mm, in 5mm increments)2026 Carbon Wasp Truffle Pricing, options & availabilityThe updated Truffle 120 is now available, starting at 2700 / 3286 for frame-only or 3050 / 3712 including a Cane Creek DB IL Air shock. Carbon Wasp hasnt painted the Truffle for several years now. Instead, the frames get a single-color vinyl wrap that covers most of the frame tubes, protects high-wear areas, and still shows off the straight-out-of-the-mold carbon. This bright Wasp Yellow is their default frame color, but any other single-color of your preference is included in the frames price. They also offer custom patterned wrap finishes as an add-on, too.Carbon Wasp is a small UK-based company and builds each bike for the individual buyer. They mostly sell frames only, not complete bikes. But can put together a partial or complete bike build if you prefer. Frames ship on average about 3 weeks after ordering!CarbonWasp.com

Zwift has officially launched its latest Watopia expansion, adding another 17km of flat roads spanning three new islands.The new landscape is inspired by the California coast, with ocean views and added wildlife.The expansion sits between the Mayan Jungle and Jarvis Island and, Zwift says, adds extra connectivity to Watopia, enabling you to bypass the jungle and add some extra flat kilometres to your rides. The 17km of flat roads enable you to bypass the climbing in the Mayan Jungle. There are nine new cycle routes added to the map and Zwift says two collections are aimed at crit racing. There are three new running routes too, if you want a change from cycling. Zwift offers you breaching whales and more in its Wild Isles expansion. Zwift suggests you slow down to see the wildlife too, with breaching whales, egrets and bison. Although bison are not native to California, apparently theres a captive herd on Catalina Island, off the coast of Los Angeles. Zwift aims some of its new roads at crit racing. Zwift first announced the Wild Isles expansion to Watopia when it previewed its plans for the app last month. These also included a full programme of races, where the islands feature too in Stage 4 of the current Tour of Watopia.It also launched version 2 of its Zwift Ride smart indoor bike, with more adjustability, including variable crank length.

UPDATED October 26, 2026 BY Guest Author IN Viva Italia no comments My Highlights Of The Viva Italia Cycling TourSara Frenning was the Content Creator on the 2026 Viva Italia Cycling Tour.My parents live in a very small village in the Swedish countryside. Its the kind of place where, in winter, rain falls horizontally, and the cold seems to sink straight into your bones. In summer, it does get warmer, but never enough to forget where your jacket is or to fully trust a sunny day. Its about as far from Italy as you could come in terms of both weather and culture. Yet in my parents house, on a wall in the kitchen sits a sign reading Ici on sert LAperol (Aperol is served here). They brought it back from a train trip to southern Italy, along with the habit of having a glass of Aperol basically any chance they get.It looks completely out of place against Swedens lemon-less fauna, but it serves an important purpose. It lets my parents transport themselves back to warm summer evenings in Italy with a specific bright orange beverage, if only just for a moment.Its the same kind of sign Ive biked past multiple times in souvenir shops all over Italy. Shops filled to the brim with trinkets people can bring home to remember the brief time they spent soaking up the Italian sun and the Italian culture. More than just a trinket, or a sign marking the presence of Aperol, I think what people are trying to bring back home is a feeling, a lifestyle, or perhaps even a personality. The ease of life, the flexible relationship with time, late dinners, and the love of siestas is perhaps Italys biggest imaginary export. Everyone wants to live life like Italians, even if its just having an Aperol Spritz in Swedens afternoon sun.After biking along much of Italys coastline, I get it. There is something special in the air that I cant help but be inspired by, and whatever *that* is, it seems, for me, to be nestled into Italian people.Sunset in CefaluIts in the way Mario, a local farmer, stopped me on my bike to hand me two bags of figs and grapes after he saw me reaching on my tiptoes to pick some from a tree. Its the way the local market man asks me endless questions in Italian and doesnt let the fact that we dont speak the same language stop him from conversing, or the way the roadside fruit vendor quickly hires me as his personal photographer (I was paid in grapes) and asks me to take his photo again and again. Its also in the way the shopkeeper refuses to keep his shop open even just a minute longer if it encroaches on his siesta time. Its in the way people see you and respond to you, even when its in the form of an angry mano a bolsa. I also want to take that feeling home with me, and I wonder if I should get a trinket to remind me how life feels the Italian way.When I think about the highlight of my Viva Italia tour, I keep coming back to the people and the Italian way of life. Although the places we visited and the views we saw were incredible, its not them I will try to resurrect by pouring a generous amount of olive oil on my food, or taking a siesta once Im back home in Kathmandu. I will do so in the hope that, in its own tiny way, it will let me live a little more like an Italian. And perhaps that is the best kind of souvenir. (But if Im forced to pick one specific highlight, it would be Sardinia, and the whole Tyrrhenian Sea. I had some of the best swims of my life there)RELATEDTOURViva Italia It has been said that All roads lead to Rome and the Viva Italia cycling tour is simply more proof that this may indeed be the case... Related Posts:Leave a Comment for "My Highlights Of The Viva Italia Cycling Tour" Cancel reply

Visma | Lease a Bike's 2027 Tour de France plans are already beginning to line up, providing the Dutch team with a selection headache as they balance Jonas Vingegaard's general classification hopes, Wout van Aert's Tour return and a rampant Matthew Brennan's potential debut on home roads. With a Uni...

In this pair of videos, Julley heads into Mongolia's remote Khangai Mountains on a mini velo, where isolation, challenging conditions, and the kindness of strangers make for an unforgettable journey. Watch the first two episodes of their unconventional bikepacking adventure here...The post Bikepacking Mongolias Khangai Traverse on a Mini Velo (video) appeared first on BIKEPACKING.com.

Fall is a delightful time to engage in the riding of bicycles just as long as you can keep yourself from contemplating the fact that those beautiful bursts of color are really the death throes of summer and very soon the landscape will be transformed into a frozen wind-swept wasteland:Like this:Though maybe the knowledge that its so fleeting is precisely what makes fall so delightful, I dunno.As for the bicycles Ive been riding lately, I continue to delight in the diminutive PashMo:I like it when Im riding it because it feels fast and smooth, and I like it when Im not riding it because it takes up very little space in my home, which allows me to violate my One bike at a time inside my actual apartment rule. (I store the others downstairs.) Presumably this is why mini velos have become popular:[via Velo Orange]In fact they even come in full modern integrated eletronic dick-break guise, like this one shared by a commenter:Though it looks like youll have to order it from Dubai:Just make sure you wear an equally tiny PNS jersey while riding it:By the way, you might think all PNS models are young and depressed:But some are old and depressed:Though they only model the low-intensity clothing, which seems ageist:This must be part of their new JBARA line:Holy crap, the AI absolutely nailed that.And you know whats even wilder? I didnt mention Pas Normal Studios, Just Buy A Rivendell Already, or even bicycles in the prompt! I just told it to make me an image of a group of Democrats on their way to the polls for early voting.The above image is also generated by AI, and the prompt was A pair of Republicans who will be voting on Election Day.Besides the PashMo, I also continued to flog my other test-cycle, the Anti-Riv:Part of the reason Ive been riding it so much is that its fall and lately Ive been inclined towards what we used to call mountain biking back when I was younger, before mountain biking turned into this:And what used to be mountain biking became gravel riding, or just GRVL:But of course I have the Jones for old-fashioned mountain biking, and the other reason Ive been riding the Anti-Riv so much is that I will tend to fixate on a bike until Ive got it working just so. I realize this sounds ridiculous given the slovenly appearance of most of my bicycles, but I do have certain standards. However, most of those standards are based on acoustic criteria rather than aesthetic ones, and for awhile the drivetrain of the Anti-Riv was running a bit noisily.My big fear was that the noise was coming from the i-Drive itself, because the idea of tinkering with it in any way scared the crap out of me:However, removing, lubricating, and re-tightening the crank and sundries seems to have quieted things considerablythough during the process I did marvel at Shimanos pathological obsession with splines during the Octalink era. Somanysplines:The photo above is not of this crank, it is from here. Of course splined chainrings have since become the mountain bike crank standard, but between that and the bottom bracket these XTR cranks are there own universe of obsolete splines. Fortunately after removing the grandparent ring I was able to remove the lockring with a regular lockring tool, and now that everythings Dumonded and back together and I enjoyed a smooth and quiet ride to the Forbidding Trails Behind The Mall I finally feel psychologically able to set the bike aside.Thusly liberated, on Sunday I moved on to the Faggin:Note the saddle, which a reader was kind enough to send me after I mentioned the other day that I liked them. Not only does it make the bike that much more comfortable, but it also rounds off the whole Italian themeplus, he sent me this pin:I am extremely fortunate to have such thoughtful and generous readers.Feel free at any time to send me other things that I offhandedly mention I like that youve just got lying around, such as single malt Scotch, luxury watches, precious jewels, or just vast sums of money.

16-year-old Ezra Bateman recorded the fastest time at yesterdays British National Hill Climb Championships, powering up the 6.6km Porlock Toll Road in 14 minutes 31.9 seconds.The Decathlon CMA CGM Juniors Team rider completed the course a fraction faster than Asso UK Race Teams Ed Laverack, who won the open individuals category with a time of 14 minutes 32.1 seconds, having won the championships seven years ago.Andrew Feather came in 1.2 seconds behind Laverack to finish in second place and record the third fastest time on the day. You may like: The 2025 National Hill Climb Championship was perfect all bike races will be judged against itAnother junior rider, Oliver Swinburn of Velo Club Lincoln, also set a faster time than many of the senior riders. Swinburn completed the course in 14 minutes 58 seconds, placing him second behind Bateman in the open youth and junior category and fourth fastest overall on the day.Bateman has been in formidable form during this years hill climb season. He finished in second place just seconds behind Ed Laverack at the Snake Pass Hill Climb on 11 October.The following Sunday, he won the Prospect Hill hill climb in 3 minutes 25.4 seconds, equalling 2021 national hill climb champion Tom Bells course record.Bateman joined the Decathlon CMA CGM Juniors Team last year. He shows how the course to professional cycling is changing, with riders being picked up by teams at younger ages similar to another Decathlon CMA CGM rider, Paul Seixas. View this post on Instagram A post shared by The British Continental (@thebritishcontinental) At last years National Hill Climb Championship, Bateman finished second in the boys' category behind then world junior race champion Harry Hudson.Following the 2026 championship, Ed Laverack told the British Continental: Its incredible, isnt it, what Ezra is doing? Hes been coming up through the ranks with strong performances over the last couple of years, and I think this year has just cemented what we already knew about his talent and his climbing ability.Its awesome to see lots of youngsters doing really well at the hill climbs, because its a different racing option to the time trials we often see. Theyre doing a great job, inspiring even me.Cardiff Ajax CCs Illi Gardner won the womens open category in 17 minutes 33.1 seconds.Shibden Cycling Clubs Mabli Phllips won the female youth and junior category in 19 minutes 36.6 seconds.You can view the full results on the Cycling Time Trials website.

Illi Gardner rose to the occasion at this year's National Hill-Climb championships, winning her fourth title on Porlock Toll Road in Somerset on Sunday. The mens race was won by Welshmen Ed Laverack (Assos UK Race Team), but the fastest time of the day was set by 16-year-old Ezra Bateman (Decathlon CMA CGM Juniors) who finished in 14:31, beating Laverack by 0.2 seconds, but he was awarded the junior title, rather than the senior version. There was no such controversy in the Womens race, with Gardner, who wears the colours of Cardiff Ajax CC, stopping the clock atop the 6.6km-long climb on to the shoulders of Exmoor at 17:33, beating second-placed Maria Holdcroft (Cowley Road Condors CC) by 40 seconds.There was some confusion over third place, however, after it was initially given to Rebekah Hendrickse (EMC Cycling), who was then listed as disqualified in the provisional results (seeming for failing to sign on properly), with the last podium spot going to Karolina Zydelyte (Dulwich Paragon CC).(Image credit: Markovich James Photography)Gardner, who successfully defended her Everesting World Championship title earlier this month, said the weather conditions were awful, but the long course suited her. On the day I kind of freaked out a bit, and didn't handle it very well, she told Cycling Weekly afterwards. But in training Ive been forcing myself to go out and do efforts when it's not so nice outside, and I think that helps a lot.It's always difficult when it's quite chilly as well. Obviously aerodynamics are important, but it feels horrible to be wearing just a jersey and shorts when it's 10 degrees.The 27-year-old admits that her training was a bit up-and-down. I didn't do a huge amount of hill climbs in the lead up, unfortunately, she told us, although she did have a solid excuse. I was hoping to do more, but I did the Everesting World Championships about four weeks ago, so that was obviously a lot longer. It's a 14-hour event, and I was kind of focussed on training for that for a while.Neither did she stick to her game plan on the day, but it all worked out well in the end. I was hoping to pace the effort and leave a bit more energy for that upper section, because, I'd heard people were facing pretty horrific headwinds, Illi explained. But I got a bit excited and ended up doing the opposite, and setting out way too hard, and then I was really slogging it into the wind at the top.

According to local reports, the motorist crashed into a group of 30 cyclists on a Halloween-themed ride in California, killing two and seriously injuring one, before ditching his blood-stained car and fleeing on foot