Adventure bike cycling

When I first became interested in bicycle touring, the one thing holding me back from taking my first tour was the high initial cost of a touring bike. I was hesitant to spend over a thousand dollars on a bike not even knowing if I’d enjoy it. After some research, I found that vintage mountain bikes make for excellent budget touring bikes. This guide explains how to convert an old mountain bike into a touring bike #bicycletouring #bikepacking #bicycle #vintagebike #touringbicycle #bike…

I am, unashamedly, a huge gear nerd. I’m also a bit of a perfectionist, and having been cycling around the world for more than three years now I’ve had ample time in the saddle, literally thousands of hours, to puzzle over optimising my bike and gear setup. I’ve changed things up several times over the years, inching closer to what I consider ‘the perfect setup’. Now, finally, I think I’ve got as close as I can to that perfection. There are one or two minor things I might tweak, but after…

Two Years In... Packing for a Long-Term Bike Tour Photos and words by Ryan Wilson Packing for a trip that spans multiple years can be a bit daunting. Especially when you’ll be passing through just about every zone of climate you can possibly imagine, from the humidity and heat of the Peruvian jungle to the bitter cold of winter in the mountains of Patagonia... Dragging the bike up rugged 16,000ft hiking trails, across remote dirt roads, or even the occasional stretch of asphalt. Walking the…

After 15,000 kilometers we have our own five golden rules for bicycle touring. They are also good tips for a world trip by bike.

Big adventure bikes are expensive and it can be quite intimidating to get onto a motorcycle fully loaded with camping gear. This is even more true for inexperienced riders. There

I grew up working at a Specialized shop, and learned how to mountain bike by watching Ned Overend’s Performance Mountain Biking technique VHS. While I always appreciated the refreshing ideas of small makers, I thought it advantageous for larger brands to be able to invest more in their materials and construction. This was a time when top-end bikes were made of metal, and made domestically. Metal Matrix (M2) composite is a prime example of this. The big S sourced a 6061 alloy infused with an…

Where were you this June 23rd? We rounded up a dozen of the thousands of groups of bicycle travelers who were out riding and camping under the stars in celebration of the 2018 Swift Solstice Campout weekend. Here's a peek at what they were up to...

Looking to plan an active vacation? Everywhere in the world — from the United States to France to Japan — you’ll find excellent bike tours that cater to beginner cyclists.

Over the years, having had the chance to ride a lot of different bikes, I’ve whittled my personal preferences down to a few assumptions about geometry and materials. Based on these preconceptions, I wasn’t sure I’d be into the Ritchey Outback. Gravel bikes with carbon forks are pretty predictable in my experience: more capable and adaptable than the ‘cross bikes they evolved from, but too stiff to be enjoyable on rough terrain or long days in the saddle. Gravel bikes have also evolved to…