Journal | Hunt Bike Wheels

Hunt open Dev rider Claire Frecknall has recently returned from the Turin - Nice Rally, a bike packing ride across the alps to the Mediterranean sea. Read on to find out how the ride went and to see some stunning images from the mountains... 

The Torino-Nice Rally is a self supported bike-packing adventure criss crossing the French-Italian border for around 700km (with around 15,500m of climbing) between Turin and Nice. There’s tarmac, gravel and some tough hike-a-bike for those who choose it.

We catch up with our supported rider Rodney Soncco. Rodney has been making waves in the world of Ultra racing over the past few years and has recently returned from the Inca Divide in Peru.

Read on to find out about Rodney’s cycling career, his path into the world of Ultra cycling and how Inca Divide went for him.

The one-way bikepacking trip is a fantastic way cover a large distance and experience a vast array of landscapes and cultures. It can take you across a mountain range, connect 2 cities or if you pedalled for long enough could cross continents.

But how would you go about planning such an adventure? Read on for some top tips on taking on a one-way trip.

‘It’s an autonomous bicycle adventure race around the Ariege department of the Pyrenees, there will be hike-a-bike’. That’s how Further race Director, Camille Mc Millan, sold the event to us and it’s a good job that he doesn’t work in marketing.

Further was about more than riding bicycles up big mountains and brutal hike-a-bikes. Yes these were a key feature of the event, however the real ethos of the event is to collectively celebrate the beauty of suffering, the beauty of the mountains and the beatify of a shared passion.

Further is an intriguing event in terms of equipment. The race route around the Pyrenees is based around a series of 'sectors' which must be completed in chronological order, however the riders must plan the best route between each sector.

We took a look at some of the bikes of Further to see what riders thought was the fastest option...

We were stoked when Bombtrack invited us along for the 2019 edition of their Groundwork event; a few days in the forests of Kürten in Western Germany with key media, team/sponsored riders, distrobutor staff and even a couple of lucky connected brands (including us!).

Usually around 40-50 of the "Bombtrack family" go along each year, and we sent Ollie to get the scoop on the 2020 range and suffer in the dirt. Click the link below to find out why Ollie ended up back in Belgium watching a pro Kermesse for a day, how not to remove a SRAM NX Eagle mech from a bike, and just how bad Tom Hill is at childrens-bike cycling limbo...

Further is a brand new bike packing race based in the Ariege department of France. Despite the growing number of bikepacking and ultra races on the calendar, Further stands out as something a little different.

The brain child of cycling photographer Camille McMillan, Further aims to showcase the Ariege region of France in the form of an autonomous adventure bike race. The event is aimed at more than just racers though, the Further Rally allows supporters and families to gather and enjoy the long weekend while the race is on.

Camille McMillan is a cycling photographer and the brains behind Further, the new long distance cycling event based in the Pyrenees. Camille grew up racing bicycles before picking up his camera and documenting bicycle races.

He has followed the Tour de France and shadowed the Garmin-Sharp Professional Cycling team. He's edited journals and curated exhibitions, but now he turns his focus to creating and new and different bike race. We caught up with Camille to find out a bit more about his history and about Further.

We are pleased to be supporting Rodney Soncco with Hunt wheels . Rodney grew up near Cusco, high up in the Peruvian Andes before moving to Italy.

Rodney has been making waves on the ultra cycling scene over the past few seasons dominating the Bikingman series. In the past 2 years Rodney has won Inca Divide twice, Bikingman Oman twice, Bikingman Corsica, and Bikingman Taiwan.

If you ever wanted to find Jenny Tough then you'd probably be best to start in the mountains. Jenny spends her time exploring the world via human power. Her ongoing project is to run across a mountain range on every continent, however when she's not running across mountains she can be found on her bike.

Jenny will be lining up in Burgas, Bulgaria for her second attempt at the TransContinental race. Her first attempt ended with illness and a scratch so she back with a point to prove