Friday Debrief: Revel Bikes’ UK Return, New Tires from Soma and Rene Herse, Brooks England’s Open House, and More
This week’s Debrief highlights Revel Bikes’ return to the UK, fresh tire releases from Soma and Rene Herse, Brooks England’s upcoming open house, collaborative product releases, Caletti Cycles’ Framebuilder Summit, a discussion on upcycling, live events to follow, and more.
Bits & Bobs
New products that are worth highlighting but didn’t make the Dispatch…
Send It Safely Stars and Bars Tees and Bandanas
Albuquerque’s Send It Safely has collaborated with bag-maker and graphic designer Kierstyn Breaux to create a new design on T-shirts and bandanas. Their “Staring at the Stars” design is available on multi-color shirts and bandanas.
Sunliner in the Co-op
A beautiful, size-small Tumbleweed Sunliner frameset (with a custom bag) has appeared in the Bike Camp Co-op. The frame bag was made by Rockgeist with CampAndGoSlow trim and has only been ridden 60 miles. It also comes with a silver Wolf Tooth headset.
Brooks England Factory Tour
Brooks England is opening their factory for an open house on July 18, 2026. Tickets are free and include guided tours through their historic manufacturing facility. If you’re in England in mid-July, this would be a great event to attend.
Dark Realm New Woven Snail Athletic Socks
Dark Realm Bags, based in Gainesville, Florida, has released new athletic socks with fun, variable tie-dye patterns. With four patterns to choose from, these hand-knitted socks are also available in plain white.
Topo Designs ReMapped
Topo Designs has launched a new recycled gear program called ReMapped. As they put it, “ReMapped is where the Topo good stuff lives on. Think sample runs, rare colorways, and used gear with plenty of miles left to go.” Available on their site, it’s a more sustainable way to get new-to-you gear at a lower price.
SMITH x QUOC Capsule
Cycling brands SMITH and QUOC have teamed up to release a fun, light-colored set of glasses, socks, shoes, and a helmet. The collaboration brings together SMITH’s legacy in protective gear and optics with QUOC’s history of performance cycling footwear.
Wilde x Cane Creek Headset
Wilde Bicycle Co. has teamed up with Cane Creek to offer what they describe as “a hole in the available high-end 1-inch threadless headset options.” The Cane Creek 110 ZN is a Wilde exclusive and features 110-quality cups paired with ZN40 bearings, minimal branding, and three color options: silver, black, and purple. It’s designed for 1 1/8″ threadless forks, EC34 upper and lower, and is machined from 7075 series aluminum.
Craft Bikes CANTII
Craft Bikes in the UK recently introduced their first frame with stock geometry, the CANTII, a titanium gravel bike with room for up to 29 x 2.1″ tires. Offered in small, medium, and large sizes, all CANTII frames are hand-built in the Craft workshop and feature the small brand’s signature 3D-printed yokes and dropout system. The lead time is around 12 weeks, and the price includes a UDH hanger, a 12mm rear axle, UK VAT, and shipping to the UK mainland.
In Conversation
Exchanges and ideas that caught our attention in the site’s conversation section…
Your Adventures in Upcycling
Readers responded warmly to Britt Walker’s “A Fresh Life for an Old Tent,” detailing her process of turning a well-worn tent into several new bags and accessories. A handful of commenters even mentioned their own past and future projects. In the spirit of making your own gear—something near and dear to us at BIKEPACKING.com—we’d love it if you could share examples (and especially photos!) of favorite things you’ve upcycled, repurposed, or repaired in the Conversation below.
Around the Community
News from around the bikepacking world…
Caletti Cycles Framebuilder Summit
John Caletti of Caletti Cycles has been building custom bicycles in Santa Cruz, California, for over two decades. The Framebuilder Summit is John’s way of paying it forward to the next generation of framebuilders, designed for folks running their own business or working toward making bicycle building their primary source of income. The summit runs from June 26th to 29th at Caletti Cycles in Santa Cruz. Apply and learn more here.
Revel Bikes Returns to UK
Revel Bikes has returned to the UK thanks to a co-ownership between founder Adam Miller and UK industry veteran Thomas Dibley. Revel Bikes UK Ltd has been formed to reintroduce the full Revel lineup to British riders, based in Abergavenny, South Wales. Complete bikes will continue to be offered on a consumer-direct basis via RevelBikes.uk, and UK bike shops can now inquire about zero-commitment, frame-only trade accounts, providing access to the Revel platform without the burden of stocking complete bikes. Learn more here.
Bikepacking the Lana Kingdom
Jordan Ross recently pedaled the roughly 400-kilometer Lana Kingdom bikepacking route in Thailand and created a 15-minute video capturing the sights, sounds, and flavors of the rugged track through the northern reaches of the country. Watch it above.
New Tires at Soma
Luke from Soma Fabrications is back on the brand’s YouTube channel to announce a few new tires they have in stock. The video goes in-depth on each new tire, his own experience with some of them, and where they might work best.
Joe Nation Attempts Sub-36-Hour Kahurangi 500
Starting today, Joe Nation is attempting to complete the 500-kilometer Kahurangi 500 route in New Zealand in under 36 hours. It’s a proper backcountry mountain bike route, with over 16,000 meters of elevation gain, and this isn’t Joe’s first attempt. He completed the route in 2024 in 36 hours and 36 minutes, but it was part of a media project and not what he considers self-supported. His latest YouTube video goes over his gear and plan, and you can keep an eye on his Instagram for updates.
Rene Herse All-Black Tire Crowdfunding
Jan Heine and the Rene Herse Cycles team have extended the crowdfunding deadline for their limited run of all-black tires to Monday, May 4th. They’re hoping to produce all-black versions of