Three generations of Bluetooth Speakers – L-R Boombotix OG, Noxgear 39g & Boombotix Mini Hi, my nombre esta es Gomez and I’m a gadgetaholic. I’m especially addicted to gadgets that play music. I remember all the way back to the 1960’s, when I was just a kid, we would listen to WLS (a Chicago top […]
Archive | Accessories
The Ranger Waterproof Hip Pack by Showers Pass – by Greg Gentle
The fanny pack has an interesting history. Once celebrated as an essential accessory for the bespoke wilderness hiker, it’s undeniable charm and versatility crossed over to the urban landscape in 1980s. It had a good run until its popularity plummeted in the 1990s. To wear a fanny pack in the 2000s was deemed risky behavior. […]
Tifosi Sledge Review by Dustin Marsh
Tio Gomez must have noticed that my trade show giveaway sunglasses had replaced my worn out and definitely no longer in style big “O” brand cycling shades. Almost out of the blue, a package appeared in my mailbox from Tifosi Optics. I’m not usually a fan of bright or showy items as a part of […]
Super Sparrow bottles
For the past few weeks I’ve been using these Super Sparrow water bottles after they dropped into Wales. Super Sparrow was founded in 2015 with the aim of providing people with the ability to easily enjoy both hot and cold drinks and always stay hydrated on-the-go. The bottles I chose to test were a 500ml Sports […]
Salsa Updates the EXP Series Anything Cradle and Anything Cage systems.
On September 2, Salsa will be releasing updated versions of its EXP Series Anything Cradle and Anything Cage systems. EXP – Platform Update The Anything Cradle collection now features: Arms compatible with 35.0 mm bars (includes shims for 31.8 mm bars)New Side-Load and Top-Load Dry Bags for easier use with flat or drop barsA redesigned EXP […]
PDW Hot Take Review by Dustin Marsh
Portland Design Works Hot Take After a lovely weekend ride at the storied Levis-Trow Mounds trail, I returned to my vehicular device to find a funky little beverage holder gadget named Hot Take made by Portland Design Works (PDW). Some gnome must have dropped it off while I wasn’t looking. PDW makes all sorts of […]
Revelate Designs & Wolftooth Components collaborate to release the ToolCash
Two of our favorite innovators in the industry have teamed up to create a bit of kit that we’ll be testing and reviewing soon. This Alaska/Minnesota collaboration pairs Revelate Designs and Wolftooth Components together and the resulting product is called the ToolCash. The following info is taken from the product news release sent to us […]
Hidden Groadie Gadgets from Close the Gap
Ahhhhh the Dutch! They invented the ‘Dutch Reach’ and have developed an incredibly vibrant cycling culture. A new (to us) Dutch component company called Close the Gap sent us a couple of their ‘hidden’ accessories to check out and share. I bolted them onto our Framed Basswood Groadie test bike and today we’re ready for […]
Hydro Flask Down Shift 14 Litre Hydration Pack
Luckily in the last few weeks of testing the new Hydro Flask Down Shift Hydration Pack here in Wales, the weather has been kind by throwing up some unusually warm weather. So with warm temperatures, a cool drink has been a welcome treat. Hydro Flask was founded in 2009 in Bend, Oregon. They have been […]
First Look – Hydro Flask Down Shift 14 Litre Hydration Pack – by Jeff Price
Editor’s Note: Hydro Flask is an up and coming newish-type brand of hydration that hit the US market a couple of years back. Last season you might have seen Dustin Marsh’s review of the Hydro Flask Journey Series 20 L Hydration Pack. This year HF has introduced the Down Shift 14 Litre Hydration Pack and […]
Oveja Negra Frame Bag Seven Year Review
In the waining days of 2011, I started the Moonlander Space Suit Bag Project (MM1-SSB). Back at the end of 2012, we received this brand new custom frame bag. The Moonlander Space Suit Bag Project (MM2-SSB/ON) from Oveja Negra. We published a first look and then later published a long term review of the bag. It’s […]
Fat (video) Tuesday – Aberlady Dawn – Blackburn Bag Contest
Gary Buckham is one of the pioneers of fat biking in the UK and we’ve featured a number of his videos during the early days of the site. You may know his work from ‘Pugsley on Patrol’. Today we feature another video from him called Aberlady Dawn. I got a nice chill vibe from this […]
Niche Bike News – Ritchey Outback V2 – Kindernay IGH – Tifosi Sledge – New Moots – Wolftooth Gold – Silca Super Secret Lube – Pirelli Tires – Stashers Contest Winners
Ritchey Outback V2 Tom Ritchey rides about 10,000 miles (16,000 km) per year, and most of that is off-road. Combine that with his more than 40 years of designing and building bicycles, and it’s no wonder the Outback has become an icon in the gritty world of gravel and adventure bikes. Updated for 2020, the […]
Stashers Bag Review by Andy Amstutz
Bags…Bags…get ya bags here. I have fallen in love with bags on my bikes. What used to be a simple “under the saddle” bag with a tube, tire lever, multi-tool and maybe some CO2, has evolved into carrying keys, phones, pumps, snacks and oh, maybe, just possibly, a few adult beverages for the mid-ride social […]
Cedaero Top Tube Pack Review by Dustin Marsh
Cedaero Tank Top Bolt-on Pack final thoughts I always carry too much stuff on my rides. A full-frame pack just doesn’t cut it some days. When I ordered my custom frame pack from Cedaero Bags, I had them sew up a Tank Top Pack to match. I’ll consider them as enablers for my pack-rat ways. […]
Revelate Designs’ Spinelock Reinvents Hardware Mounted Seat Bags
Anchorage, Alaska, March 18, 2020 Forge into the future with the new stabilized Spinelock seat bags. Revelate Designs set out to create the most stable seat bag with the lowest profile mounting hardware on the market. The result is a feature-loaded, waterproof seat bag that checks all the boxes. The Spinelock integrates user tested and […]
Steadyrack Fat Rack Review
As owner of a new garage (and house), I’ve been trying to sort out the bike storage situation. I figured I should get it right the first time instead of the hodgepodge that inevitably comes to the surface. In the past, I’ve used the ubiquitous garage utility hooks, Gladiator bike hooks, and Delta Cycles hanger. […]
1Up USA Rak Attach
Our neighbors and amigos at 1Up USA over in Dickyville Wisconsin manufacture an accessory for their excellent hitch racks called the Rak Attach that allows the fully loaded rack to pivot ninety degrees and lock into position so you can gain unfettered access to the back of your vehicle. (photo below) The Rak Attach is […]
Rack Stash by 1UpUSA
The 1UpUSA Rack systems are are some of the best options for getting your bike to where you want to ride it, but what do you do with your rack when you’re not bringing your bike? Do you set it on the floor? Do you clear out shelf space? Do you just lean it up […]
Wahoo Elemnt Roam Review
I’ve been using a Wahoo Element Roam GPS Cycling computer for the last 110 rides. We published an initial story about how the first phase of the Roam test went. Even though we were only at the beginning, it was clear that an old dog can learn new tricks! The Roam is as easy as […]
Last Minute Gift Ideas – by Greg Gentle
Last Minute Gift Ideas for That Buddy or Loved One You know you blew it. It’s now the week before Christmas and you have a handful of gifts to pickup and your back is against the wall. But you’re cool and collected. You’re not sweating it because you know you’ve got your friends at Fat-Bike.com […]
Tifosi Alliant & Slice Review
I’m old enough to have owned a pair of Oakley Factory Pilots. They were red to match my 1986 Specialized Rockhopper. We all wore them because Greg Lemond wore them and he won the TdF. In the years between then and now, I’ve sunk thousands of dollars into high-end fashionable cycling eye protection (sunglasses). I’d […]
The 2019 Fat Bike Holiday Gift Guide
The 2019 Fat-Bike Holiday Gift Guide
New Trail Ready Gear From Revelate Designs
Check out the latest addition to Revelate Designs’ collection of bikepacking gear that leads the industry in innovation. This is their official product news release. For Release November 27, 2019 Anchorage, Alaska – Answering the call for carrying capacity in hard to use spaces, Revelate Designs releases the Hopper frame bag and Joey downtube bag. […]
Product Spotlight – Cedaero Bags – by Dustin Marsh
I first noticed Cedaero bags when they sponsored the Marji Gesick 100 a few years ago. I saw some wildly colored top tube bags with tidy stitching. The business was just getting going in the back of SpokeNGear bike shop of Two Harbors, Minnesota. That’s way up nort der, just a bit past the big […]
Product Spotlight – Click Stand
When I was out in Washington last month, my main man Randy Pulk had one of these and as soon as I saw the Click Stand in action, I knew that I’d be ordering one. Randy had bought his Click Stand for bikepacking in high open ‘sagebrush’ trips that don’t have trees to lean your […]
Bontrager Adventure Bag Review
I met with the folks at Bontrager at the Sea Otter Classic earlier this Spring to talk about what they had in the pipeline for 2019. One of the products that piqued my interest was the promise of Bontrager coming out with their own line of adventure bags. Some time passed and somewhere near the […]
1 Up-USA Equip-D Rack Review
(L) – 1Up-USA Equip-D Rack (R) – 1Up-USA Heavy Duty 2″ Rack I’ve been testing a 1UP-USA Equip-D Beta Hitch Rack for the last six months along with a couple of dozen other consumers and industry folks. I’ve been a 1 Up-USA Rack owner for quite a few years and I’ve been involved with fat-bike.com’s […]
Revelate Designs Releases Micro-Sized Shrew Seat Bag
News release from our amigos at Revelate Designs Anchorage, Alaska – With roots in camping centric mountain biking adventures, Revelate Designs diversifies their line up with the Shrew, their smallest seat bag ever built for long days on gravel, singletrack, or utilizing the dead under your seat space while using a rack. The Shrew is […]
Revelate Designs & Apidura Fork Bag Shootout
We spotlighted two new fork bags from our amigos at Revelate Designs and Apidura this Spring and I’ve been testing them ‘side by side’ on both the Trek 1120 that we have in for review and my Fatback Aluminum bike (named Otis) mounted to King Many Things cages. It’s been a great cycling year for […]
Revelate Designs Egress Pocket & Salty Roll Dry Bag
Testing bags at Kettle Moraine photo by Justin (Case) We have two bags from our amigos at Revelate designs in for review. The Salty Roll Dry Bag and the Egress Pocket. I’m integrating these two new components into my bikepacking set up alongside the fork bag test that we’re running. Egress Pocket Let’s take a […]
Doc’s Skincare Chamois Cream
The more that you ride the more you need a little tender loving care for certain areas of the body that experience higher friction during the natural biomechanical process of bicycling. Whether you call it grundle butter, crease grease, gootch balm or chamois cream this ointment can literally save your ass on a four day […]
Growler Grabber – Secure Transport – Easy Access!
Words by Tony Berger, Photos Tony and Greg Smith Were you a fan of “That Seventies Show” like I was? Do you remember the episode where Hyde made the pot brownies to sell at the bake sale and Eric’s parents accidentally ate them and Red ended up selling the Vista Cruiser? “It’s a Vista Cruiser, […]
FBJ Creations Custom Frame Bag
Today’s product spotlight takes us on a journey to Island Park Idaho to talk about a relatively new bag company called FBJ Creations. Some of you may be familiar with them because FBJ Creations is run by none other than Bryon Vordermann, Fat Bike Jesus his own bad self (as mi amigo Russel T. Jobs […]
Tifosi Swank Review – by Braven
Last winter I bought a pair of (my favorite color – ORANGE!) Tifosisunglasses from Chris at Zion Cyclery after a big group beach ride. They were only $25 and really nice. So when Gomez asked me if I wanted to review a pair of Tifosi’s Swank SL sunglasses, I was like…Sure! I’ve been wearing a […]
First Look at New Fork Bags from Revelate Designs and Apidura
We’ve reviewed and used a variety of Fork Bags over the years and this year both Revelate Designs and Apidura introduced new fork bag models that we’re lucky enough to get a chance to test this summer. We’ll be testing the bags mounted to both Salsa Anything Cages and the King Many Things Cage. Let’s […]
Hydro Flask Journey Series 20 L Hydration Pack Review by Dustin Marsh
Hydro Flask was started ten years ago in Bend, Oregon. They are well known for insulated water bottles that keep water cold, coffee mugs that keep coffee hot, and beer growlers that keep beer delicious. The Journey Series is their introduction into the hydration pack market. The selling point for this line of packs is […]
2019 Sea Otter Classic SITREP
The 2019 Sea Otter Classic has become the best bike show in the US and they just announced expansion plans for Sea Otter Europe. The US version of the Sea Otter Classic is held at the Laguna Seca Race Track out near Monterrey, California about an hour drive from Silicon Valley. It’s quite beautiful there. […]
The Bikeiowa Pogie Lite Review – by Adam Blake
The Bikeiowa Pogie Lite – A Pogie for all seasons Bar Mitts, Pogies, hand covers… whatever you want to call them, Pogies (true term) have become go-to accessories for fat-bikers, gravel riders, and commuters. Providing water and wind resistance a good set of pogies can mitigate cold hands. I also always tout that while wearing […]
Fat News – Revelate Releases Fork Mounted Polecat and Overhauls Flagship Seat Bag
News Release from our friends at Revelate Designs Anchorage, Alaska, January 23, 2019 – Constantly innovating and improving, Revelate Designs pushes forward with the release of the Polecat, a unique drybag built for use in large volume cargo cages, and the Terrapin System 14L, a full redesign of their flagship seat bag. “Cargo cages have […]
Henty Enduro 2.0 Backpack
Who’s Henty? That was my first question too. Founded in Tasmania, Australia, (yeah, that’s a real place) Henty started out making suit and garment bags for business clothes. They’ve been adding different versions of these bags and have a line of bags and packs specifically designed for active commuting. The Enduro was launched […]
Product Review Burley Design’s Coho XC
Late last summer Burley Design released the Coho XC cargo trailer. We highlighted the specifications for this innovative single-wheel trailer here on fat-bike.com, at the end of October. Since then we’ve had the chance to test it out in the wild. We took this trailer up to the Big Holes, to get an idea about how […]
2018 Holiday Gift Guide by – Tio Gomez
We’ve done a few of these holiday gift guides over the years. In the past, we’ve had our testers chime in with what they wanted as gifts and we’ve done the ‘what’s the hottest new bike’ thing, so this year you get what a grumpy old gomez thinks the fat-biker on your gift list […]
Oregon Timber Trail Gear List
People like to geek out on gear lists. I am one of those people. I always get ideas by seeing how other people roll. To give back to the bike packing community, here is my addition to the gear list cannon. This is what I used for 18 days and around 800 miles of riding […]