NEWS

A long overdue Fustle Family ride out after what feels like the longest winter on record was a welcome distraction as nearly 20 riders set off this morning around Glenariff(e) Forest and the surrounding area.

There’s a point on the Big Dog route at the Lakeland Gravel Grinder where it all settles in and you realise exactly what kind of day you’re in for. The early buzz fades, you find a rhythm, and it becomes about getting stuck into it, long climbs, fast descents, endless forest tracks, and the occasional view that makes you look up and take it all in before getting straight back to work. It’s a properly epic big ride. The kind where the hours stack up, the terrain keeps changing, and you just keep rolling through it, one section at a time.

Gary from UK Gravel Collective has been a big part of our journey since the very beginning, and as an off road enthusiast with a background in MTB, his approach to gravel biking aligned perfectly with ours as we both set out to discover this shiny new world of Gravel back in 2018/19. 

The development process of bringing a new model to market starts much earlier than you might expect.

Then we draw up some data comparisons from other competitors products, focussing closely on those which we have ridden ourselves.

In the cause of the Causeway G2, we went through 2 revisions making subtle changes to geometry, tubing positions and cable routing, then we had a carbon prototype made by hand with all of the refinements to validate everything.

We often refer to our #fustlefamily and ever since one of our customers coined the term, we have slowly grown our gravel biking family across Ireland, UK and further afield. However, there is 1 very special family member who until recently, was without her very own Fustle (and wasn't afraid to let it be known!)

We gathered our team of riders, some were experienced cyclists, and some were not. For 2 or 3 team members, this event would be the first time they had swung a leg over a bicycle in 20-30 years. No easy task when you consider the event takes place on open roads, throughout day and night, and with the ever reliable Northern Irish weather to keep you on your toes.