The Radavist

Known for the Ultraswing spare tire and accessory swing out, in addition to the RambleRack bike rack, Southern California-based RiG’d Supply makes hitch racks that are burly enough for off-road use, yet convenient and intuitive for everything else. Today, RiG’d announced a preorder for their newest product, the RambleSwing, which is the first swingout for bike racks we’ve seen to boast a 300-pound carrying capacity in addition to a list of other clever features. Josh got his hands on a prototype RambleSwing a few weeks ago and, below, offers a look at some highlights and fitment considerations using his F-150 and 1UP USA Super Duty 4-bike rack.

If you’ve been a fan of The Radavist for long enough, you might remember when John was a full-time architect at the beginning of the website’s early days. Years later, that architecture bug has still got him, particularly in mid-century design. That’s where the inspiration for our Case Study bottles and socks came from. We converted a hand-drawn text treatment of “Radavist” into a parti pattern that wraps around these Case Study Socks and Water Bottles with an abstract, geometric flow.

Case Study Sock Specs:

• Sockguy Turbo Wool, which is thick, soft, and very comfy
• Unisex fit: S/M fits W6-10 and M5-9; L/XL fits W10-14 and M10-13.
• Designed by Cari Carmean
• Made in the USA

Case Study Bottle Specs:

Daniel Zaid and Karla Robles were able to get their hands on an early version of Forager Cycles‘ new Jemmy Bar ahead of the preorder for the handlebar that opens today. Daniel explains his journey from wide drops to wider flat bars and bringing a classic MTB into the modern world of 2023 with a quick bar swap. Continue reading for more about the Jemmy Bar!

This is not a review of the Trail Boss collapsible tool system as a whole. That’d be kinda pointless. These U.S.-made splined sectional trail tools don’t really have any worthy one-to-one competitors. So, until that changes, Trail Boss wins by default. But that’s not a bad thing. Although traditional tools are sturdier and cheaper, you can’t stow traditional tools inside a pack, do legit heavy tread work, then pop mad wheelies while comfortably carrying them home. So, instead of stretching my not-so-hot take for hundreds of words, I’m just going to talk about Trail Boss’ new made-in-house tool head, the Hoe Rake, and stretch that for a mere hundreds of words.

Like a repair kit, a packable, just-in-case layer is something we always throw on the bike before setting off, but like many things bike-related, we felt we needed to tweak the standard to achieve our ideal iteration. In collaboration with California-based cycling apparel manufacturer, Voler, our new Feldspar Ride Jacket ($119.99) hits the mark. This super breathable, minimal, USA-made layer packs up to burrito size and provides the sweet spot in protection for most three-season riding. After thorough testing and design back-and-forth with Voler, the unisex Feldspar jacket is finally on our digital shelves, ready to ship to you today IRL. Let’s take a long exposure look at them below…

We’re teaming up with our buddies at Ocean&San to give away one of our long-sleeve or short-sleeve Juniper Dapple jerseys, an O & S Camp Hat, and two Radavist Water Bottles to three lucky people… 

Read on below to find out how you can win!

At The Radavist, we look to the natural world and our unique Rocky Mountain locale for inspiration. The riding around Santa Fe occupies a semi-arid steppe, and native shade trees are scarce in these foothills. As such, dense juniper forests are often the backdrop to our rides, and we’re grateful for the shade these hearty, low-lying trees cast to counter the sun’s high UV radiation in these parts (an unfortunate byproduct of life at 7000′).

It’s during the fading hours of the day that these groves become truly radiant as the dappled light of sunset filters through their scrubby branches, onto the trail, and ourselves. On a ride, last winter, our product designer Cari Carmen snapped a photo of this dappled light hitting my shirt and commented that it would make a cool pattern for a cycling jersey. And so began our journey on The Radavist Juniper Dapple Jerseys with Ocean & San, a Los Angeles-based cycling apparel company. A year in the making, these limited-release jerseys are now in stock at our webshop, but let’s look at them in detail below.

Modern tech, bikes, and components were lost on me over the previous few years. Sure, I talk about all that here at “work,” but in my personal life, I have spent more time looking backward, not forward, with bikes. Maybe it was because all the major manufacturers wanted journalists (if I can even call myself that) to review new gear that wouldn’t hit consumers for another year or so. Or perhaps I felt like there was inherently more to learn from the past than new tech and its marginal gains mantra.

Having spent a lot of time curating a few vintage builds, re-evaluating my own stable, and pouring over old bike catalogs, there’s something about the aesthetic found in the 1980s and early 90s mountain bike components that hits the nail on the head. Be it the eeWings cranks, those nifty Cyber Cranks, or these Engin Cycles Port Royal cranks, what’s old is new again in terms of design silhouette.

When I first saw these cranks, I immediately felt like they were an homage to the first gen M700 Deore cranks by Shimano, which did in fact come in black. (Ritchey Commandos were specced with an all-black Deer Head group!) Yet, the thing I liked about them the most was the slim profile, 30mm spindle, and the fact that Engin Cycles, a framebuilder I hold in deep regard and respect for, machines these in Philly!

I’ve had the Engin Cycles Port Royal Cranks ($575) on my Starling Murmur for a while now and finally have some thoughts I can share with y’all, so read on below for a quick review…

As you might imagine, we’re bag and camera nerds over here at The Radavist. A lot has changed with cycling and photography since the days of pedaling around with a 35mm SLR jammed into an Ortlieb handlebar bag on tours and overnighters. The name of the game is simplicity nowadays, relying on handlebar straps rather than proprietary attachment methods.

There have been several wonderful handlebar-mounted camera bags that have come to market over the past few years, and the latest comes from Cedaero. The Two Harbors, Minnesota-based bag makers announced their new Viewfinder Camera Pack recently and John got his hands on a production model a few weeks before the launch. He’s spent some time with it and is ready to give you an Initial Reaction breakdown review below so read on…