The Radavist

I met Andrew years ago at a fat bike event we hosted here in Johnstown, PA. Playing polo and ripping around the parking lot on the big bouncy bikes looked like something fun to him. Until that moment, Andrew had visited several shops locally and always got the glance; you know the look if you’re outside of the “normal” scope of a cyclist, whether that’s your size, appearance, or, hell, I’ve been in the industry for nearly 20 years and I still get the look. Those eyes and words can pierce through all the stoke you may have as a larger cyclist, and make you give up before you even get to start your love affair with bicycles.

We had set aside that Autumn weekend months earlier, just after having briefly met at a bike race called Lost and Found in late Spring. Matt was planning an extended bike commute through my town and asked to camp in my backyard. I told him sure, I have a fire pit, so it can really be like camping, but I’m going to barnacle onto that trip because it sounds fun. This trip took on many different names, with the goal to write some mockingly weird shit about it, and this one stuck: Tour of the Barnacle: The Chronicles of Holding On. The Barnacle Tour fell through, and a story that will not be told passed between then and this, but hell, we decided to stick to doing some exotic bike trip that weekend.

Veld Notes: Faces in the Flemish Cyclocross Crowd
Words by Andrew Juiliano  and photos by Ethan Glading

Beneath the coniferous canopy of an Antwerpian pine forest, somewhere close the Dutch-Belgian border, I’m standing and waiting to hear my name. It’s the final of the DVV Verzekeringen Trofee, one of the two major cyclocross series in Belgium. The announcer rattles off the names of the cycling superstars who will line up in front of me. World Champion Mathieu Van Der Poel, Belgian National Champion Toon Aerts, Czech National Champion Michael Boroš…there’s about 30 more. I’ve been champion of a few group rides in California, but I’m not sure that news has made it onto the announcer’s list of fun facts.

Veld Notes: Rubber Side Up Hoogstraten Belgium
Words by Andrew Juiliano  and photos by Tomás Montes

Start Graf

The wind gusts. Rain blows straight through my skinsuit. I shudder. It’s Forty American degrees and pissing Belgian rain.  The grey buildings of Hoogstraten’s fruit-packing district try to blend into the angry sky.

“Dertig seconden…Thirty seconds to start!”

Neither rain nor wind nor biting chill will stop the penultimate stop of the Telenet Superprestige today, and this is the weather the sport lives for. The fans lick their chops at the shivering, skinny bike racers. The clock ticks toward start time, 3:03 p.m. on a wintery Belgian Sunday, and muddy entertainment awaits the Flemish masses.

Dutch Veld Dispatch: My Roller Romance (AKA Euro Bike Racing)
Words by Andrew Juiliano  and photos by Tomás Montes

Tien…negen…acht…zeven…

I hear the pitter patter of tiny feet and look out the window.

Zes…vijf…vier…

A little girl runs around the corner and crouches behind the car.

Drie…twee…één!

She locks eyes with me, and holds a finger to her lips. I don’t need to speak Dutch to understand the universal sign for “Don’t blow up my hide-and-go-seek spot, bro!”

Dispatches from the Veld: On the Road to the Pontchâteau World Cup
Words by Andrew Juiliano  and photos by Ethan Glading

It was just after midday in Western France when Max dragged two bike bags off the train in Pontchâteau. The 31-year old Californian had reached the end of his four-hour journey from Paris. For the past month, he’d paused his career as an upright bass player to race cyclocross across Europe. The tour had taken him to World Cups in Belgium and as far as the burgeoning Swiss EKZ scene. In two days, he’d be on the start line for the penultimate stop of the UCI World Cup circuit, right there in the small Bretton city.

Continuing our discussion, or at least my rant about proper nomenclature with drop bar bikes today, Andrew Low brought this prototype disc road bike to the 2017 NAHBS. Designed to ride on sealed or dirt road and everything in between, this bike features a tapered steerer, disc brakes, clearance for a 40mm tire clearance and 7005 FLEXshape alloy tubing.

Like all of LOW’s bikes, these are made by hand in San Francisco and feature smooth welds that are hand finished. I dunno about you, but I’d ride the hell out of that thing!

Massan’s Low – a San Francisco Giant!
Photos and words by Kyle Kelley

Massan has been around since the beginning of all this track bike shit. His fluid riding, effortlessly controlled hill bombs and huge Sugino Zen chainrings made his name a staple on bike forums and in bike shops long ago and his timeless style have earned him a lasting place in the bike industry as a whole. Unlike many of the early track bike videos, which are easily dated by old fixie tricks or bunny hops, Massan’s videos are only dated by the bike he is on. From the era of his blacked out Bianchi Pista Concept (remember the HUF bike?) to his time with Leader, his videos have always highlighted his effortless style and amazing bike control.

To say that Massan just rides is an understatement though. He never looks like he’s smashing, but he is. He never looks like he’s flying, but trust me, he is. Like many of the skateboarding greats, people have said Massan is boring to watch because he makes this shit look too damn easy. There’s never been a hill he wouldn’t drop or a gap he wouldn’t shoot. Massan’s calm/cool demeanor translates well to the bike, making him one of the most graceful cyclists on a track bike.

Years ago I was visiting San Francisco and made plans to hangout with Massan. Usually we spend our time talking about cassette tapes, hip-hop and b&w photography, but on that day I needed to swing by Andrew Low’s place to say hi and asked Massan if he wanted to come along. Andrew makes exactly the kind of bicycles that Massan likes to ride – oversized aluminum tubes, aggressive geometry and fast as hell! And it doesn’t hurt that they’re made in the city that he came from. The rest, as they say, is history. Andrew and Massan have been working together since that day and this bike is their latest collaboration.

Massan’s new Low is the SS Crit, the first production track bike designed specifically for the track bike criteriums happening these days. The first thing that comes to mind when I see this bike is the San Francisco Giants! I’m not sure if that was Massan’s intention, but what better way to show San Francisco pride than to paint your bike Giant’s orange. This build has Massan written all over it with the massive Sugino Zen chainring, Thomson post and stem, Vittoria rubber, Phil Woods and of course some HED Belgium Blacks!

Massan..I salute you!

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Follow Kyle on Instagram and Massan on Instagram.

For SF’s TCB Courier, the busy summer months aren’t easy with all their deliveries yet the hustle and bustle of a day to day life of a bike messenger aids itself well for staying in shape. Especially come ‘cross season. This year, the team will be racing on the new LOW ‘cross frames. These frames are decorated with blue and orange paint, with each bottom bracket stamped with the racer’s name.

While LOW Bicycles might be known best for their made in San Francisco track bikes, for the past year or so, they’ve begun to develop road and ‘cross frames. Debuted at NAHBS, the MKI road is Low’s first geared bike offering, selling in small production runs and starting as a collaboration with Cadence, a longtime supporter of the brand.

A lot has changed at LOW since my last visit. Andrew hired Michael full-time, who aids in everything from prep to production and finishing. This enables Andrew to focus on welding and keeping up with the ever-increasing demand for frames.

When I was at the shop, Michael was working on one of the LOW MKI ‘cross frames in their new color: safety orange. These frames are being raced by TCB Courier and should be available soon for purchase.

When visiting a longtime friend like Andrew, more time is spend chatting and catching up, but I did get a few photos of the shop, the new frames and his dog, Manny. Enjoy!

If you’d like to pick up a LOW, head to their web shop or email Andrew for availability of their new MKI road and MKI cross frames.

In the world of track crits, like Red Hook Crit and this weekend’s Wolf Pack Hustle’s Civic Center Crit, racers quickly realize that a standard track bike might have its limitations.

Let’s look at what a track bike is designed for: all left turns on a banked velodrome, with walls around 45º steep for a 250m track.

These crits however are completely different. For starters, the amount of people racing is almost three times what a miss-n-out or win-in-out would have competing. There are both right and left turns, yet no banked walls. In road criterium racing, you can coast through the corners and rail all the turns. With a track bike you need to pedal all the time.

That’s where Marc’s one-off comes into play. He and Andrew from Low Bicycles discussed options for a bike that was bred from the conditions of track crits. How is it different? Well, in all things related to bike design, a few millimeters here or there can make a huge difference. The bottom bracket is higher, to make for more crank clearance in the turns and the wheelbase is a bit longer to make it easier to hit those turns at speed.

So far Marc has raced three or four crits on it, as well as taking it to Hellyer, the local track to race.

Me, I just think it’s a beautiful fucking machine. Made in San Francisco by Andrew Low, fitted with Ritchey parts and with PAUL wheels made by Fresh Air Bicycles.