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The 2024 Downieville Classic Registration is Open!

Radar

The 2024 Downieville Classic Registration is Open!

You don’t have to race to enjoy the weekend at the Downieville Classic, but you will be missing out on one of the most stunning MTB races in the Lower 48. Registration is now open at Bike Reg, so get on it! Want to see what the Downieville Classic is all about? Check out our Reportage below!

Leave it All on the Trail and Go Baroque: the 2019 Downieville Classic

Gold Amidst the Dust: A Hardtail Gallery from the 2019 Downieville Classic

Practice Makes Perfection at the 2018 Downieville Classic

A Weekend and Then Some at the 2017 Downieville Classic

Like a Fine Wine: Wende Cragg’s Custom 1983 Breezer Series III

Reportage

Like a Fine Wine: Wende Cragg’s Custom 1983 Breezer Series III

Wende Cragg’s contributions to cycling and her documentation of the sport over the years are unquantifiable. And here at The Radavist, we’ve been fortunate to have her sharing snapshots of that history, from her moving piece about the origins of mountain biking, to her return to Crested Butte last year for the Pearl Pass Tour after a forty-two-year hiatus.

Wende is back today to share another special story we think you’ll thoroughly enjoy. This time, Wende pens an ode to her custom 1983 Breezer Series III built for her after multiple ill-fitting predecessors (including one of the ten original Breezer Series I). To top it off, she enlisted Joe Breeze to share a few insights about her one-of-a-kind bike and the general evolution of early Breezers. Let’s get right to it below!

Radar

VIDEO: Vermont Sugar Trails

Orbea takes us on a look at the spectacular Vermont fall riding. With vibrant changing colors of the leaves and sweet smells that fill your lungs as you ride, the trail system encompassing this sugar wonderland provides a place for harmony and community. The careful maintenance of the land by both the sugar makers and the Vermont Mountain Bike Association ensures this will be a sustainable ecosystem to continue to enjoy for generations to come…

Design Slow, Sell Whenever: The Stridsland Beachcomber Origin Story

Reportage

Design Slow, Sell Whenever: The Stridsland Beachcomber Origin Story

Come along as we take a leisurely dive into the origin story of the 26+ Stridsland Beachcomber frame. Matias Stridsland has built a following around reviving old 26″ bikes and not taking things too seriously, but now he’s here to present his own 90s-inspired 26″ MTB.

Matias is self-admittedly addicted to the details and his chronicling of the process behind the Beachcomber gives real insight into the dedication that goes into these short-run projects. As he writes, this exact bike didn’t exist before and now it does—we think that’s pretty rad and if you’re interested in owning one, read to the bottom for pre-order details!

Radar

VIDEO: Deity’s Sanctuary – Featuring Emma Olofsson

This video project by Deity with Emma Olofsson is a testament to the grit, artistry, skill, creativity, and passion these riders and creatives put into everything they make. In an uncertain time in the bike industry, Deity looked to the future and is eager for a revolution. A revolution where the riders, photographers, filmers, brands, and media take the power back, making for a sanctuary for these creators…

Radar

VIDEO: Oddity Cycles Pinky 29er Snow Day | Beautiful Builds

Burnsey at Oddity Cycles has built some stunning mountain bikes over the years, so when John took note of an Oddity hardtail frame for sale on our Rad Bazaar community marketplace, he had to buy it. It’s big. It’s pink!

Expect a deeper review and full gallery to come once the trails dry out, but for now, enjoy some snow slippin’ and slidin’ riding in the Sangre de Cristo mountains of Santa Fe!

Video: Kyle Klain
Music: Arbor “Return to Forest”

Speed Metal: A REEB Steezl Review

Reportage

Speed Metal: A REEB Steezl Review

There was a very broad range of very specific questions rattling around in Travis Engel’s head as he waited for the REEB Steezl to arrive. A lot more questions than normal. Usually, all he has to do for a bike review is keep riding it until he can put all its variables into context. The REEB Steezl, on the other hand, was top-to-bottom known-unknowns. It’s a U.S.-made steel full-suspension mountain bike, compatible with multiple shocks, multiple chainstay lengths, and made of multiple frame materials. Things got interesting. Hold my REEB.

Interval Straining: What Actually Happens if You Don’t Regularly Service Your Bicycle Suspension?

Radar

Interval Straining: What Actually Happens if You Don’t Regularly Service Your Bicycle Suspension?

If you own a car, you change your oil. And not just because it’s part of adulting. Even if you know nothing about engines, you probably know what can happen if you push it too far. Debris will eventually build up, viscosity will eventually break down, and the more miles your car travels in that condition, the fewer miles it will last. But if you own bicycle suspension, the specific reasons for performing regular service may not be quite so clear.

Travis Engel knows a lot more about shocks and forks than he does about rods and pistons, but he doesn’t know exactly what happens when he blows past the manufacturer-recommended 50- and 200-hour service intervals. And like many riders, he pretty much always blows past them. So, he did some research and is here to tell us what we are (and aren’t) risking when we ignore the proverbial sticker in the upper left corner of our suspension’s proverbial windshield.

The Radavist’s Top Ten Readers’ Rides of 2023

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The Radavist’s Top Ten Readers’ Rides of 2023

Our favorite posts each week come from you, the readers of this website! Back in 2011 we launched our Readers’ Rides feature and every year, we like to look back at twelve months of submissions and see what resonated with people the most. Well, this year we saw a huge uptick in vintage restomods being submitted and it says something that the number one entry on this list was just posted a few weeks ago! Let’s get to it…

Kona Offers Buy One Get One On Process Bikes

Radar

Kona Offers Buy One Get One On Process Bikes

This is normally something we’d include in our Radar Roundup but it’s too good of a deal to wait until tomorrow. Kona is currently offering an N+1 sale. Buy any Process bike and get one free. This is a wild deal and indicative of what the cycling industry is dealing with right now but there’s no reason you shouldn’t be taking advantage of these offerings. Especially from a brand like Kona.

Roll on over to Kona to take advantage of these wild times.

Gotta F’ It Up… Just a Tiny Bit: Monumental Loop Matt’s Monē Bikes Rigid Singlespeed 29er

Reportage

Gotta F’ It Up… Just a Tiny Bit: Monumental Loop Matt’s Monē Bikes Rigid Singlespeed 29er

Wabi-sabi is an ancient and deeply-held Japanese philosophy that sees the beauty in imperfection, appreciates simplicity, and accepts that change is inevitable. This concept, if applicable to any bicycle, feels most appropriate for a custom, handmade, rigid singlespeed 29er mountain bike. Especially a Monē Bikes. That’s not a dig at all on Cjell’s abilities as a framebuilder but as he spelled it out in a text to Matt Mason, this bike’s owner and the co-founder of the Monumental Loop, “Gotta fuck it up… just a tiny bit.”

Episode IV: A New Hope Tech 4 V4 Hydraulic Disc Brake Review

Radar

Episode IV: A New Hope Tech 4 V4 Hydraulic Disc Brake Review

Earlier this year, UK-based Hope Technology released an updated version of their popular four-piston hydraulic brakes, the Tech 4 V4. The 2023 version is equipped with the same robust CNC-machined aluminum, easy adjustability, and stopping precision that contributed to the success of previous models. But where the Tech 4 V4 seeks to improve on the Tech 3 V4 generation is in its all-new lever design and revised caliper that promises increased power and improved ergonomics.

While it’s no secret we’re big fans of mechanical brakes here at The Radavist, we can also appreciate the confidence-inspiring feel of a solid four-piston hydraulic brake, particularly on full-suspension bikes. Josh Weinberg had years of experience using the preceding Tech 3 V4 on his 150 mm travel Oddity hardtail so, naturally, he wanted to see how the updated version performed over a long-term testing period aboard his Starling Murmur.

Continue reading for his breakdown of Hope’s latest flagship brakes…