Volunteer-run, independent, and obsessed with riding dirt. We test the gear, map the routes, and tell the stories.

Meet Our Team

We're a global crew of riders, writers, and photographers, from Vancouver Island to France to Thailand. Some race, some tour, some just love a good overnighter.

barry lachapelle

Barry is the founder and creative director of Bike Gear Database, dad to two young cyclists, and rides the trails of Vancouver Island.

andrew McNeil

Andrew lives in Ucluelet on Vancouver Island, where he surfs, shoots film, and rides out of cell service to sleep in the dirt.

gerald haueisen

Gerald is a mechanical engineer, cyclist and photographer from Austria. Gerald focuses on mountain, gravel and bikepacking gear reviews.

immu bua-ngam

Immu is the founder of Spinning Bear Bike Shop in Thailand. When she's not in her shop you can find her bikepacking the steep jungle roads near Chiang Mai.

lewis bell

Lew rides gravel and mountain bikes across the UK searching for adventure. He also goes by Pedal Slip, documenting his rides, photography, and illustration.

tara weir

Tara is an adventure cyclist and bikepacker, 42,000 km through 21 countries. Off the bike, she is a forestry worker in Northern BC.

salty beard

Rob, better known as Salty Beard, is a Canadian bikepacking YouTuber and the creator of the Caves & Coves, a 1,350 km adventure race on North Vancouver Island.

meaghan hackinen

Sponsored Salsa athlete, award-winning author, woman's Great Divide winner and multiple FKT record holder, Meagan is always on the hunt for exceptional cycling routes. She lives in Kelowna, BC

mattie gould

Mattie is an adventure writer and photographer currently based in Australia. He especially loves cycling and camping in the beautiful snowy mountains.

tom powell

Tom is an adventure photographer, writer and videographer currently residing in Vancouver, Canada. He will also do anything for plant based baked goods.

thomas norman

Thomas is an avid bikepacker with a love for photography. When not abroad on a bike tour, you'll find him kicking up dust in his Crocs on the trails around Vancouver.

trevor browne

Trevor is a multimedia producer from Montreal who loves exploring the world on two knobby wheels and drinking his coffee outside.

sarah fix

From Squamish, BC, Sarah fuels her mountain adventures on her Surly Bridge Club. She coaches for Dialed In Cycling and teaches outdoor education.

matthew crompton

Matthew Crompton is an award-winning writer and photographer specialising in hikes, bikes and the mystical solitude of the way-out. He lives in Sydney.

tyler weber

Tyler is a photographer, educator, and dad from Alberta, Canada, always chasing adventure with a camera in hand and a good beer at the finish.

nicolas joly

Nicolas is a French writer and photographer who has shot everything from the Downhill World Cup to the Tour de France. He rides bespoke steel.

jeff bartlett

I love long rides on gravel and mountain bikes, and I can't leave my setup alone. Fast becoming BGDB's resident performance nerd.

erik binggeser

Erik lives full time on a cargo bike, rambling around North America in search of new roads and the limits of his bike gear.

abe alkhamees

A cycling and adventure photographer from Kuwait, now in Portland, Abe wants to bridge adventure cycling in North America and the Middle East.

davide lombardo

Davide is based in Turin, Italy, a growing zentensivist by profession and a commuting cyclist by choice, forever viewing the world through a camera lens.

tom hill

Tom is a freelance storyteller and sometime photographer based in the UK, with 15 years of product testing experience. From gravel to enduro, if it's off-road, it's all good.

colin tuff

Colin's a photographer, bike mechanic and outdoor adventure lover based in Ireland. He lives for dry trails, long runs in the hills and nights under the stars.

ron lewis

Ron Lewis is a writer, photographer, backcountry wayfinder and dreamweaver who creates and shares adventure cycling routes across the PNW under the name OMTM.CC.

clotaire mandel

Clotaire is an adventure cyclist, storyteller and photographer with 83,000km across 75 countries behind him. Fresh off an eight-year world tour, he's chasing local trails and mountains.

Bike Gear Database is proudly made in Esquimalt, British Columbia, Canada.

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