Looking back at another Saturday and Sunday on two wheels, three folks from our global bikepacking community share scenes from their rides in today's Weekend Snapshot. We join them in British Columbia, Colorado, and Peru this time. Peek at all three and share a shot from one of your recent adventures using the quick submission form here...The post Weekend Snapshot appeared first on BIKEPACKING.com.

Accounting for two of your contact points when you ride, a good pair of shoes is a key piece of your riding kit. This spring, Crankbrothers announced their Stamp Trail BOA, a lightweight MTB shoe designed for adventurous trail or enduro riders.Ive been riding the Stamp Trail BOAs for over three months now, and they quickly became my go-to trail riding shoe. The BOA system makes it fast and easy to get them on and off, the soles offer ample support and great grip on different flat pedals, and I love how lightweight they feel on my feet. Theyve also proven their durability and offer a fair bit of weather resistance.Crankbrothers Stamp Trail BOA Shoes- Construction Features:(Photos/BikeRumor)For complete details on the Stamp Trail BOA shoes, check out my launch article. But since youre here, lets briefly run through their key specs and features.The Stamp Trail BOA features an asymmetric BOA closure system with their Li2 dual-direction dial. The dial pops up to release the cable and pops downwards and twists to tighten it up. At the cuff is a quick and easy hook-and-loop strap.There is some ventilation in the Stamp Trail BOAs; The toe is perforated and there are hidden vent zones on both sides of your foot. The padded tongue is also perforated to allow airflow.These shoes feature Crankbrothers new MATCH outsole, which was designed for solid grip on and off the bike. The sole offers deep, multidirectional lugs and is made from high-friction MATCH MC2 rubber. The tread pattern is optimized to pair well with Crankbrothers flat pedals, but should find ample traction on any pedal. The sole also features an extended heel for good grip and stability when youre walking around on the trailside. Inside the shoe is a vibration-damping EVA midsole.The Stamp Trail BOAs lightweight uppers are made from a ripstop material, and a TPU panel up front provides some toe protection. The shoes are also weather-resistant, and include elastic collars to keep dirt and mud from getting in. The heel area has extra padding inside the cuff to help your feet stay planted in the shoes.Crankbrothers claims 320g for a size 9 shoe, and my size 9.5 hit the scale at exactly 320g!Ride Impressions:Ive been riding the Stamp Trail BOAs since mid-February. On the first ride, they were perfectly comfortable. I didnt think about them at all during the ride, which tells you how good they felt right out of the box. The Stamp Trail BOA shoes feel very lightweight on your feet, and have a lean profile.Fresh out of the box the Stamp Trail BOAs soles felt pretty stiff, only giving up a bit of flex under hard pedaling. After a few weeks, I noticed they had lost a bit of that initial stiffness. Fortunately, the shoes just broke in a tad and remained fairly stiff, offering a supportive feel on the pedals but enough flex for good off-bike traction.Im very pleased with how grippy the MATCH MC2 soles are. Theyre not so grippy that adjusting your foot position is difficult, but once planted your feet want to stay in place. I did ride these shoes with Crankbrothers Stamp 1 pedals, but also with my Chromag Scarabs and FUNN Python pedals. The shoes gripped all three equally well.After more than three months of riding my Stamp Trail BOAs arent showing any signs of damage, early wear and tear, or lost stiffness (beyond the initial break-in).BOA System:The BOA system and hook-and-loop cuff strap both make it quick and simple to get these shoes on and off. The BOA dials release function makes it super easy to kick off the shoes after a ride. Just pull the cuff strap, pop the dial up and the shoes slide off easily.I did notice some slight extra pressure from the BOA system under the dial around the top stretch of the cable. This extra pressure is very minor and does not create any comfort issues, but on my feet, that area is oh so slightly tighter than the rest of the uppers. I have had no functional problems with the BOA dial or cable.Fit/Comfort:The Stamp Trail BOA shoes have a nicely padded tongue, which keeps your foot comfortable under the BOA retention system. My feet stayed firmly in place inside the shoes, with no heel lift. I never had any problems with friction or excess room allowing my feet to shift around.When walking around off the bike, I did notice the shoes thin uppers can be felt buckling in at the sides while youre putting a good bend on the toe. This is never an issue while riding, its just a minor thing I noticed when off the bike.With their thin uppers, the Stamp Trail BOA shoes are not super protective. On one ride I kicked a flying rock and the thin TPU toe cap lessened the blow, but I still had a sore toe afterward!I cant say I notice much effect from the shoes ventilation as I ride, but these lean shoes are definitely not excessively warm to wear. Weather Resistance:I got one chance to ride these shoes in light to steady rain for just over an hour. By the end, my gloves and pants were soaking through, but my feet stayed completely dry. The Stamp Trail BOAs elastic cuffs keep 95% of debris out. I would get the odd piece of grass in them, so I still checked and shook them out before each ride. Puddle splashes and mud splatter are easily fended off by the Stamp Trail BOAs.The Stamp Trail BOA shoes are available in Black/Gold only, and they sell for $199.99. Sizes range from mens 5-15 and womens 6.5-16.5 (USA), or euro sizes 37-49 and UK sizes 4-14. crankbrothers.comThe post Crankbrothers Stamp Trail BOA Shoes Offer Good Grip, Low Weight, and Quick & Easy BOA System appeared first on Bikerumor.

The infrastructure, built in the same city where a cyclist was recently incorrectly fined 100 for riding on a shared-use path, could "revolutionise people's journeys" according to a local cycling group

Arnaud De Lie looked for all the world like he was about to power towards the victory on stage 2 bunch sprint finish of the 2024 Tour de Suisse. Sadly for the Belgian however, an badly timed stroke of bad luck denied him that opportunity.In the battle for the line, Bryan Coquard opened things up an...

The custom framebuilders at Firefly in Massachusetts just released what they're calling the "ultimate all-terrain bicycle," designed around a custom titanium frame, 29 x 2.6" tires, flat- and drop-bar compatibility, and the option for their new custom titanium fork. Find everything you need to know about the Firefly ATB here...The post Introducing the Firefly ATB: A Custom Titanium Go-Anywhere Bike appeared first on BIKEPACKING.com.

In a frantic finale to stage 2 at the 2024 Tour de Suisse, Bryan Coquard took just his second ever World Tour win from a reduced bunch sprint. A few moment earlier however, the peloton was rocked by a scary crash.Among those brought to the ground in the incident was BORA - hansgrohe's German Nation...

Updated June, 2024: The Real Pisgah was originally published in July, 2021, and was updated in 2024 to incorporate the new Searcy Creek and Butter Gap singletrack reroutes. This also enables the route to exist as a non-overlapping, continuous loop, but it now requires a hearty but short hike-a-bike up the Farlow Gap trail. Note []The post The Real Pisgah appeared first on BIKEPACKING.com.

With a key few weeks coming up for UAE Team Emirates as Tadej Pogacar looks to reclaim the Maillot Jaune and complete a Giro d'Italia/Tour de France double, Adam Yates is among the riders preparing at the 2024 Tour de Suisse.According to Pogacar himself, Yates will be the Slovenian's "Right hand ma...

Nearly 100 years ago, H.B. Reese created the worlds most delicious confection:No doubt its transcendent deliciousness inspired the engineers at Trek, who in 2003 introduced the LeMond Tete de Course:You got your titanium in my carbon! You got your carbon in my titanium! And a classic was born:This engineering marvel was a rolling hedge for the status-obsessed rider: half the bike Lance Armstrong was riding, and half the material people ascribe mystical properties to, the Tete de Course owner could roll up at the group ride confident that he wouldnt be out-bikedunless of course someone else rolled up on a less corporate carbon-and-titanium wonder bike:Though the advantage of corporate bikes over some of the boutique ones is that they only come in stock sizes so youre less likely to wind up with a wonky freak bike:Please note I said less likely, and not that it was impossible, because obviously any bike can be butchered:Though unlike a wonky custom bike a stock one can always be rescued.Riding the Tete de Course has been a pleasure, and as Ive probably mentioned elsewhere it feels exactly like they tell you a carbon and titanium bike is supposed to feel: smooth, responsive, blah blah blah. But how much does this arranged marriage of materials inform the ride? What about other stuff, such as the wheels?Apart from one ride with the Spinergys, during which I was preoccupied with their conspicuous appearance and various mechanical issues, Ive only ridden the LeMond with the Rolf Prima wheels with which I received it from Classic Cycleuntil this past weekend, when I removed them to do some maintenance. The rear wheel was exhibiting a small amount of play, and while it was quite minor I figured I might as well adjust it, if only to learn how it worked.Rolf wheels came on the scene at the turn of the 21st century, when Trek licensed the name and the whole paired spoke thing and put them on all their bikes:[Pic from here.]Even I briefly had a pair of these wheels at the time, being a sub-mediocre Cat 3 and all, and as I recall back then the hubs were made by DT Swiss or something. Then in 2001 Rolf and Trek parted ways and Rolf became Rolf Prima, which is what the wheels on the LeMond are. Apparently Rolf Primas hubs are made by White Industries, which I discovered while researching how to adjust them. In fact, as of 2023, White Industries owns Rolf Prima:I happen to think they missed a huge opportunity to rebrand themselves as White Rolf, but perhaps they were concerned that they might get sued by Rolf White, who a popular search engine informs me is a financial planner in Minnesota.As for the rear hub adjustment, it was ultimately very simple:Though I did fumble with it for awhile until I read in the actual online instructions that you might have to tap out the end cap with a quick release skewer and a hammer.Anyway, while I was still figuring out the White Rolf hub, I put different wheels on the LeMond to see how different it felt, if at all:Having ridden the bike just the day before, I will say that it didnt quite have the same spring in its step as it did with the Rolf Whites. Was the bike ruined? Compromised? Besmirched? Not by a long shotand how could you not enjoy being out on a fancy road bike on a day like this?Still, clearly lighter and more aerodynamic wheels count for something quantifiableor maybe it was just the tires, since the Ralph Wiggums were also sporting slightly wider and fancier tires too.Speaking of wider, I almost passed out sucking in my gut for this Pearl Izumi Fred Suit selfie:They sent me this fancy summer stuff last year and its finally warm enough to wear it again. Also, its on super sale:I know its hypocritical of me to make fun of companies like Pas Normal and MAAP while squeezing myself into a sausage casing and sharing a link to said casing, but I reserve the right to giggle at PNS hoods:Dont worry, if the PNS hood grosses you out it also comes in circumcised:Theres even a PNS sock:Its ribbed for her pleasure.Speaking of double entendre, I had to do something of a rim job on the the wheels on the LeMond. Id gotten two pairs of these wheels awhile back, and I subsequently learned the hard way that a tubeless compatible rim requires tubeless tape even if you dont plan to set it up tubeless. The reason for this is that a tubeless rim has a deep channel in the middle, and if you use a regular rim strip like I did it slowly works its way down into the channel like a thong into an ass crack, eventually exposing a nipple hole and bursting the tube. (Rims really are the most suggestive part of a bicycle, arent they?) So before putting the wheels on the LeMond I wrapped them in tubeless tape.Another issue when using tubeless-compatible rims with tubes is that they fit snugly so if you have to fix them out on the road its not always possible to get the tires seated properly on the rim if your pump isnt big enough. (Sorry, for all the innuendo, but what can I tell you? I blame Pas Normal and their PNS line.) I was acutely aware of this before heading out, but having just put on that new tubeless tape along with brand-new tubes and an almost-new pair of tires, I thought to myself, What are the odds Ill get a flat immediately after all that?Apparently they were pretty good:This happened just before the nicest part of the ride, and I was all annoyed that Id have to limp home on a wobbly unseated tire, but fortunately with lots and lots of massaging and wrist action I was able to get the tire seated, even with my tiny pump.Sorry, Ill stop now.In any case, the upshot was that I got to enjoy the good roads in total smoothness:I also encountered this research facility:See?Clearly these were chicken scientists and Id just stepped into a Far Side cartoon:Or maybe the geese were the scientists:I look forward to their 5,000 page paper on crossing the road.

Cofidis fast man Bryan Coquard has long been viewed as a dangerous sprinter. Incredibly though, the Frenchman's sprint win on stage 2 of the 2024 Tour de Suisse was just the second ever World Tour level win for the 32-year-old.The biggest victory of my career!It was a difficult stage, with a toug...