I get asked about bike weights all the time, and I've never really cared that much. "It is what it is", I would say. In 2025, 3 things caused me to want top actually take a look.

Part of my overhaul of my 2013 Salsa Vaya this offseason is getting my wheels rebuilt (with Tuned/Honey Wheels). After 2 season and about 9,000 miles, I was starting to develop cracks in the rear rim. This was due to all of those miles being loaded touring miles, as well as a packing system that had a disproportionate amount of weight over the rear wheel (that is getting solved in another blog post).

718 Outdoors is a 1-person operation that has remained small, local and independent by design since 2008. If this resonates with you, your support is welcome and greatly appreciated! If not, that's cool too. My mileage Year-in-Review is completed. I know there are a few weeks left in the year, but I am beginning to take my bike apart to overhaul it over my offseason. (sorry, December) I use RideWithGPS for navigational and data tracking. The info then gets spit out into St

My 2 goals this off-season in terms of my packing for our 2026 season are to 1) reduce overall gear weight and volume, and 2) redistribute gear load from the rear of bike

2025 Year in Review

Free classes have been a part of the 718 DNA since our inception in 2008. For over a decade at our 3rd Ave location (2010-2019) we held free classes each Thursday no matter what, We also had additional programming like a Woman's Intensive Course as well as youth and other group programs.

I am redesigning my drivetrain this offseason. I am running what is referred to a 3x10 drivetrain (3 chainrings on the front derailleur and 10 cogs on the rear cassette) . The big picture here is that I have a drivetrain with 8,000+ miles on it that needs to be replaced this offseason. The changes I am looking to make are the shifters (more robust and reliable SunTour vintage bar-end shifters), a crank with a square taper bottom bracket (more weather and dirt protection)

This is a developing blog post, and I will update it as I get further along in the process. 718 Outdoors is a 1-person operation that has remained small, local and independent by design. If this resonates with you, your support is welcome and greatly appreciated! If not, that's cool When I built up my 2013 Salsa Vaya , I decided to use 650b wheels instead of the Salsa-specified 700c wheels . My initial thought were about building a stronger wheel, which the shorter spokes

Packing up your gear on your bike for a bikepacking trip is on of the biggest challenges of your trip. Gaining a strategy, through multiple trips, puts you on the path to making things go more smoothly.

I know it's early, but I have stated the bike mock-up process on my 2013 Salsa Vaya in anticipation of our 2026 Tour and Micro-Tour Season.

This isnt a "Top 5" list, or a lest of the "Best of 202x", it's just some tips that are rattling around my head that I'd like to share after leading over 175 group bikepacking trips

718 Outdoors is a 1-person operation that has remained small, local and independent by design. If this resonates with you, your support is welcome and greatly appreciated! If not, that's cool 718 Outdoors Tours are like our Micro-Tours in many ways (If you are coming to this post first, please first have a look at our "What is a Micro-Tour" article), but with some key differences. I have led over 175 self-supported bikepacking group tours, and these are my observations. Fo

I have given this some thought, and came up with 5 items for the bike camper (or regular camper, or regular person, or yourself) that I feel

Trying to figure out the whole bikepacking thing without braking the bank? Here is some bikepacking gear to consider

I've led over 175 trips since 2014, and I really wanted to challenge myself to see if I can truly describer what a Micro-Tour is.

2025 Micro-Tour 12 was a 58 mile (each way) self-supported bikepacking trip from NYC to Mountain Lakes in North Salem, NY on November 8-9, 2025

I led a lot of tours in 2025 (25 to be exact) and have taken hundreds of people thousands of miles. One of my favorite parts of this job is being exposed to so many types of bikepacking gear that folks bring on tour. Here is a list of the 5 best items I've used or seen on Tour.

A window into our 2026 bike tour schedule planning process

718 Outdoors is a 1-person operation that has remained small, local and independent by design. If this resonates with you, your support is welcome and greatly appreciated! If not, that's cool too. (Note: I am an Arkel Dealer. Clicking on links below in the body of this post will get you 10%, off, and gives 718 some $$ as well). As someone who basically hauls gear on a bike for many 1000's of miles per year, I am always looking at refining my setup. My setups have meandered

2025 Micro-Tour 11 was a 44 mile self-supported bikepacking trip from New York City to Croton Point Park (NY).