Tag: bike design
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No Stupid Questions: Brake Lever & Shifter Options For Drop Bar Touring Bikes
A reader writes: I can understand ‘brifters’ (brake/shifter) for racers (or audax), but not for tourers. The only time I ‘drop down’ is to adopt a streamlined tuck position for >50kph descents. I do not need to change gear in this position, but I definitely need my brakes available. At all other times, I am on the top of my handlebars (enjoying the scenery), where I need secondary brakes, and gear shifters for optimising cadence on flattish parts, and moving to lower gears upon ascents. It seems this tourer usage of drop handlebars has been forgotten about. It is increasingly… Continue reading →
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First Look: The New Oxford Bike Works Outlander Off-Road Bikepacking Bike
In an incident that will likely prove exciting for me alone, I dropped in on Richard at Oxford Bike Works last week to pick up my first new bike in about ten years. Everybody say ooooh! Christened the Outlander, this new addition to Richard’s range of offerings is the typically principled Oxford Bike Works take on the rigid, steel-framed, off-road adventure bike – more burly than a gravel bike, more agile than the now-classic Expedition, and downright more fun than a traditional tourer, yet sitting somewhere at the intersection of all three. Aimed squarely at those who want a simple, durable,… Continue reading →