Wowzers… Okay! Sean Talkington of Team Dream coming in a bit late on this one but hopefully it is worth the wait?! It’s been two months since the second installment of the Los Angeles Invitational, a two-day event hosted at The Cub House that included a day of riding on Saturday, then a Bicycle/Car Show and parts swap turned block party extravaganza on Sunday. This started off eight years ago as a half-baked and half-assed excuse to BBQ with friends and sell some old bike stuff. It has somehow grown into a pretty sensational (though maybe still a bit half-assed), fully-loaded weekend for thousands of people to enjoy. I can’t believe we pulled it off again AND managed to do it even bigger this year. Read on for a recap of the festivities, check out the video, and be sure to peruse the stacked gallery of cars and bikes from Traece Craig and Thibault Linossier.
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Rigid, Vintage, Ready: Lachlan Sillitoe’s Anonymous Beach Bruiser
You won’t find many fully rigid, bi-plane forked, singlespeed mtbs on the trails of Kamloops—or anywhere else for that matter. But Lachlan Sillitoe, an Aussie transplant in the Loops and owner of the Bicycle Cafe, breaks the mold of the typical British Columbia Interior ride, with style and flow to spare. After hanging on his wheel during a few rides earlier this year, Dylan Sherrard writes about his friend’s unconventional bike choices and eagerness to embrace the entire spectrum of the riding experience—comfort be damned. Read on for Lachy’s thoughts about why easier isn’t always better and for a closer look at his anonymous vintage rigid SS mtb “beach bruiser.”
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Do It For Dave: Dave Mercer Fundraiser Raffle
We recently received news that Dave Mercer of Mercer Bikes was diagnosed with cancer and to help him through this battle, the community has rallied to put together a fundraiser raffle. Check out the details of what and how you can win below!
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Timeless Bikes and Travails at Eroica South Africa 2023
As an ode to the artistry of vintage bikes and simple adventure, Eroica events present riders the opportunity to embrace personal challenge on world class routes. Nick McIntyre traveled to Cape Town to ride the Eroica South Africa on a Hansom Track frame where is 25c rubber and single speed setup certainly made for a memorable day…
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A 600-Mile First-Ride Review of Beast Components’ Carbon Hybrid Bar
Fresh off racing the North-South Colorado Bikepacking Race, where she finished 1st women’s and 7th overall, Hailey Moore is here to share her first-ride impressions of Germany-based Beast Components’ Carbon Hybrid Bar. The mtb-shift-and-lever compatible design allowed her to run her Bearclaw Ti Hardtail as a monster-tourer, drop bar 29er, but how did the modified design manifest in ride quality as she pedaled 600 miles down Colorado’s Front Range? Read on for her thoughts…
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Readers’ Rides: Hailey’s Bearclaw Ti Hardtail MTB
This week’s Readers’ Rides comes from within our editorial team. Hailey has been kickin’ ass over here at The Radavist for a while now and today, we’re featuring the bike she’ll be kickin’ ass on during the North South Colorado race this weekend, her Bearclaw Hardtail. Let’s check out her build, intent, and a full spec below!
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The Dust-Up: Will Unchained Bring About a Road Cycling Revival? Is That a Good Thing?
Like its predecessor, Drive to Survive, the new Netflix Unchained series seeks to humanize the World Tour’s automaton-seeming athletes that make up professional road cycling’s peloton. But as the exploding gravel scene in the U.S. faces “growing pains,” Nic Morales wonders if the effects of Unchained’s inevitable popularity will remain culturally abstract, or if they will serve to usher in an era of Road 2.0 on America’s gravel roads. Read on for Nic’s reaction to the series in this latest installment of The Dust-Up, our ongoing opinion column.
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Orucase B2 Bike Travel Case Review
To understand someone else’s perspective, the old adage says to “walk a mile in their shoes.” To understand the necessity of owning a bike travel case, I’d say “walk a mile with your bike in a cardboard box.” My apartment in Boulder, CO is only .7 miles from the downtown bus station—which offers a direct, inexpensive, one-hour ride to Denver International Airport—but my trek there feels like at least a mile when I’m hauling a bike along. I always tell myself I will “totally have time” to stop and get a coffee but, before I know it, I’m sweating bullets, a coffee sounds terrible, and I’ve got two minutes to run the final few blocks. After making the walk-run with a cardboard bike box in tow a few too many times, I was keen to find a better way. Enter the Orucase B2 Bike Travel Case.
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Adventure Cycling Association Announces Three New Routes Added to the US Bicycle Route System
Adventure Cycling Association is proud to announce major expansions to the United States Bicycle Route System, including three completely new routes and a connection from Alaska to the Lower 48.
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Sarah Sturm: The Traka
Traveling overseas to race 360 kilometers in the midst of the demanding schedule of the Lifetime Grand Prix might not sound like the best strategy from a strict performance standpoint. Sarah Sturm writes about what else fed her motivation to line up for Europe’s most popular gravel race and why toeing the line at The Traka in Girona was, actually, exactly what she needed. Read on for Sarah’s reflections, a film by Benjamin Kraushaar and Dylan Stucki, and photos by Alex Roszko from her very long day.
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Safa Brian Announces the “Tour to The Tour ”
Today, Brian ‘Safa’ Wagner, cyclist and filmmaker, announced in a video on his YouTube channel that he and two of his talented friends—Alex Colorito (videographer) and Taylor Dawson (cyclist)—are departing on Saturday (July 2, 2023) for a European bike adventure. Over ten days, the crew will enjoy a route that crosses the Pyrenees and includes a total distance of 1,000 kilometers and 22,000 meters of climbing. They will depart from San Sebastian, Spain—one day after the Tour de France Grand Départ—pedal over iconic cols and mountain passes in France, through Andorra, and then descend into Barcelona to complete their route.
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World Ride Guatemala’s Only All-Women’s Travesia and Why It’s So Important
For the first time since the pandemic and just the second time ever, World Ride and Old Town Outfitters collaborated to host Guatemala’s only All-Women’s Travesia. The event attracted women from all corners of the country and riders could choose from 25 or 40-kilometer mixed-surface routes that stitched together local villages before ending at ancient Mayan ruins. The goal: creating a safe space for women to try cycling. The result: an unstoppable community of women riders. Continue reading below for Hilary Lex’s moving story and photo gallery of this epic event, along with a beautiful film co-produced with Ashley Hayes!
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ISO Lifelong Wheelset: Three Seasons on NOBL’s TR37 Carbon Wheels
After almost a year jumping, riding, and—occasionally—bashing NOBL’s TR37 carbon mountain wheelset, Colt Fetters thinks he might just have found the one workhorse enduro wheel to rule them all. The TR37s tip in on the lighter side of the scales, and feature a 32-spoke construction and NOBL’s signature sinewave design. Read on for Colt’s full rundown on these wheels and thoughts on why carbon wheels should get more credit for their durability.
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100-Mile Love Song: The 2023 Lost & Found Gravel Festival
After an almost-decade long run, the Lost & Found Gravel Festival continues to provide adventurous-minded riders with dynamic and challenging terrain in northern California’s Lost Sierra Mountains. Registration for any of the event’s 100-mile, 60-mile and 35-mile courses goes directly to supporting the Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship‘s Lost Sierra Route, a route that seeks to connect 15 mountain communities and foster economic prosperity through recreation. Billy Sinkford joined in for the mixed terrain fun this year and shares moments from the race along with photos of the Builders’ Bazaar.
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The Bells of DOOM & Seth Wood’s Rodeo Labs Flaanimal Singlespeed
I knew nothing of the lore of gremlin bells when I signed on for Ozark Gravel DOOM, at the urging of a friend after a coveted spot opened in the sold-out 2023 event. The race had been on my radar for some time, though I was intimidated by its 390-mile, mostly dirt, route that starts and finishes at the iconic Oark General Store, in a small town by the same name, and traces the boundary of Arkansas’ Ozark St. Francis National Forest. Anything billed as a throwdown by one of the hardest riders around – route designer and event organizer, Andrew Onermaa – was sure to test my limits.
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2023 Swift Campout Registration and Bag Collection are Live!
We look forward to Swift Industries’ annual summer solstice Campout every year! In addition to a limited run bike bag collection, the Campout is an open invite to riders near and far to rally a group of pals, load up your bikes, and pedal out for a night of bike camping. Find more details about this year’s Swift Campout and get a first look at the 2023 Campout bag drop today…
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Connecting Mexico’s Highest Volcanoes: An Adventure in Bikepacking and Alpinism
Sònia Colomo and Eloi Miquel packed up their bikes and left Catalunya in January 2022. They arrived in Latin American with the plan to pursue some of the best multi-day mountain biking routes around. But, after completing the 2,800km Baja Divide, a friend told them needed to check out some of the highest volcanoes in the country. And that’s where the adventure started—they decided the only thing to do was change course and link a few 4,000m and 5,000m peaks by bicycle. They knew the logistics wouldn’t be easy, but the draw of the mountains was too great to ignore. Read on for Sònia’s recap of their human-powered bikepacking and alpinism efforts to link four volcanoes.
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Not a Race, More Than a Ride: The 2023 Rapha Yomp Rally
The inaugural Rapha Yomp Rally took place in early May and saw nearly 100 riders embark on a 390-mile mixed-surface route, from Santa Barbara to Santa Monica, through the remote Los Padres region. Hailey Moore rode the route and provides a from-the-saddle recap alongside photos from Rugile Kaladyte, Sean Greene, Anton Krupicka, and a few of her own. Read on for reflections on the Yomp and non-competitive bikepacking rallies.