Next up in our year-end recaps, Josh shares a list of his favorite products that span an eclectic range from cycling components and apparel to car camping creature comforts and even laundry detergent. He also reflects on a career-defining project, his approach to reigniting creative sparks in response to waning social media interest, and shares some pivotal music and books that inspired him along the way. Read on below for Josh’s favorites…
Wolf Tooth Components and Otso Cycles have been making innovative bicycles and parts for over a decade. Starting in 2013 with aftermarket chainrings and cogs for nascent 1x drivetrains, their offerings have grown considerably to include an expanded catalog of machined aluminum parts, complex tools, dropper posts, and a full-blown sibling bike brand, Otso Cycles. Josh spent a day at Wolf Tooth‘s Minneapolis HQ earlier this year and reports on what he learned about the brand’s history and where they’re headed…
Camera Corner is coming to Phoenix, AZ, on Thursday, November 21, at 7 PM, at the Studio at Wilson. Screenings in other cities have sold out, so get your tickets soon!
Our friends at State Bicycle Co. are giving away a State Klunker to one lucky-ticketed attendee, along with other prizes from us at The Radavist and Wilson Camera.
We’re screening a very limited run of I’d Rather be Klunking shirts with the unique event design shown above, which are also for sale on the ticketing page.
It’s a beautiful time of year to ride in Phoenix right now and the team at Rage Cycles are leading a group ride from the shop to the venue. The ride will leave at 5:45 pm sharp for the ~11-mile cruise downtown.
See you there!
Pre-Order the Camera Corner Book here!
Dresden, Germany-based Sour Bicycles is updating its two popular hardtails, the Pasta Party and Crumble, for 2025. Let’s take a look at the updates in detail.
Photographer Chris Longyne has created a photo magazine from this years week-long North American Cycle Courier Championships (NACCC) San Diego, which we reported on last month. An 8×10″ printed publication consisting of 62 pages/87 photographs made from 35 mm, 6×6 cm, 6×7 cm, and 6×9 cm negatives, from this year’s North American Cycle Courier Championships. It features works from races, events, after-parties, rides, and their surrounding areas in the city. Let’s check it out below!
Gideon Tsang has spent the better part of his life admiring and collecting bicycles designed by Grant Petersen. From early Bridgestones to current Rivendells, the bicycles designed around Grant’s ethos of moving mindfully and enjoying the ride have always resonated with Gideon. Enjoy this firsthand account about a bicycle collection that came and went, and the story behind Gideon’s dream bike: a rare 26″ Rivendell Atlantis 2.
The story starts in 2007 – a full decade since I had last touched my Bontrager Race Lite. My friend Lee handed me an old Bridgestone catalog.
The first page I turned to featured Pineapple Bob eating a banana, wearing a cycling cap, riding his Bridgestone RB-T with a musette over his shoulder. In the same catalog, I found Bob tucked into an aero position on an orange XO-1 with mustache bars. I was smitten at first sight.
Over the next few years, I amassed an impressive Bridgestone collection, starting with an XO-1, which led to an RB-1, an MB-Zip, and, the hardest to hunt down at the time, Bob’s RB-T. By 2010 I had a solid Bridgestone stable. It was time to take the pilgrimage to visit Bridgestone’s offspring, Rivendell Bicycle Works.
I flew from Austin to California and hopped on a train from San Francisco to Walnut Creek, where I took my MB-Zip off the bike hook. As I mounted my Zip, a beautiful blue bike with a front basket and a large saddlebag zoomed past me. It was the wizard himself, Grant Petersen.
I finally caught up with the wizard as he arrived at his warehouse. Grant was kind and generous with his time. They were building a darkroom in the back of the Rivendell warehouse and he showed me around. He recognized my name from Flickr and gave me my first in-person photography critique: “I can’t tell if you’re a really good photographer or a really bad one.” Fair enough – like anyone starting out, my photography ratio was more bad than good.
He set me up on a Bombadil with a map secured to the stem with a magnet and told me to come back before they closed.
A couple of hours later, I returned with a big smile on my face, told him I loved his work, and proudly relayed that I owned four Bridgestones. With a mischievous smirk, he said, “Why? One Rivendell is better than four Bridgestones.”
I hopped back on my MB-Zip and headed to the train station. Am I a bad photographer or a good one? Is one Rivendell better than four Bridgestones?
Later that year, I bought my first Rivendell frameset – a custom-painted Rambouillet with S & S couplers.
That Rambouillet is the only bike I regret letting go of. I’ve been trying to find those Spécialités TA Carmina Cranks for the last five years.
In 2014, my Sam Hillborne was born. That was my gateway to the fine pairing of the legendary Campy 10-speed Ergopower with 8-speed Shimano hack.
In 2016 I acquired a Hunqapillar. I had desired such a bike since I felt the magic of the Bombadil six years earlier. My Hunq became my go-to touring and bikepacking horse.
In 2022, I sold my entire stable (gasp!) to travel the world. Upon returning, it was a no-brainer that if I had just one bike, it would be an Atlantis. I prefer the shorter chainstays of the earlier models and, in particular, wanted the 26” Atlantis 2 with the larger clearance. After quite a bit of searching, I finally found one in New Haven, CT.
As much as I love the Atlantis, the greenish-blue color of the inside of a Russian submarine wasn’t part of my earth-toned palette preference. I got in touch with Rick Stefani, a painter and friend of Rivendell in San Francisco, and had it painted a dark metallic brown. Sorry, Grant!
I worked with David Ross of Meteor Bikes in Austin to craft a build around a 1X Shimano XTR 950 crankset, which required a custom chainring made in Poland by Garbaruk, along with a NOS XTR HP-M900 headset that David magically sourced.
Ladies and gentlemen, I may not know if I’m a good or bad photographer, but I do know this: one Rivendell beats four Bridgestones any day. This is my Atlantis, photographed by Alex Roszko.
Build Spec:
A lovely build for a lovely human. Learn more about Rivendell at their website, and be sure to read Grant’s Blahg.
European bike agency Twotone is hitting their 10 year milestone! We’ve known Jon since his early days at No Brakes in Atlanta way back in 2007!
He and the Twotone crew, plus broader Amsterdam scene and beyond, will be celebrating on Nov. 29th in Amsterdam with live music, tattoos & more. They’ve also released a cool Bad Brains PMA ethos-inspired merch drop also with an 80s Dutch PRO team PDM homage.
Check the gear here and use ‘Twotonemilestone’ to save 20% on the pre-order.
With two members of our Radavist editorial team living in Arizona, it only made sense to head to Flagstaff for our second Cycling Guide. With its recent spike in new singletrack development, legendary dark skies, and accessible location as a hub for other Northern Arizona destinations, there’s a lot to talk about. Read on for a look at The City of Seven Wonders…
As seen in our recent Bespoked event coverage, Dresden-based Actofive has made some exciting updates to the I-TRAIN trail/downcountry platform. Designed to be active, ultra-efficient, and super fun, the Actofive I-TRAIN MK2 is a CNC machined full-suspension frame with 120, 130, or 140 mm of rear wheel travel and up to 150 mm in the front. Let’s take a closer look below…
To help support our Bespoked Dresden coverage, Ergon bike components sponsored a special gallery with builds featuring their products, including some of our favorite saddles, grips, and bar tape. Below, our 2024 Bespoked Dresden Part 04, our final report from the show, features bicycles from Corrent Components, Kobel, Quokka, Rizzo, Scarab, Significant Other, and Sueess. Scroll on down to take it all in!
We still have loads more to share from an uber-busy weekend at the Bespoked artisan framebuilder and maker showcase in Dresden, Germany! Today, our 2024 Bespoked Dresden Part 03 reportage features some stunning bicycles and products from Abes, Actofive, Avalanche, Cicli Bonanno, Cyber Cycles, Garage 66, King Fabrications, Qvist, Raketa, Starfish, SON, and Tim Tas + Rek. Continue reading below for a look at more stunning craftwork…
We’re back from an uber busy weekend at the Bespoked artisan frame builder and maker showcase! Today, our 2024 Bespoked Dresden Part 02 reportage features some stunning bicycles and products from Alonukis, Don Sebastiano, Dyed in the Wool, Huhn, Meerglas, Memento, Milli, Monopole, Purple Dog, Stolen Garage, True Love, and Tune. Check out all of the amazing work below!
Amid our ongoing coverage of the Bespoked Dresden framebuilder and maker showcase, today we are featuring a very special bicycle made by Berlin-based Fern Bicycles equipped with Allygn racks and custom bags from Gramm Tourpacking. With design language referencing a late-1980s Toyota Pickup and mountain bikes of the same vintage, the build features both old and new elements with components from a long list of artisan fabricators like Cyber Cycles, Garbaruk, Tune, Velocity, SON, Gevenalle, Btchn’, and many more. We think this bike might be peak Fern. Continue reading below for the complete breakdown of this special Fern Bicycles Chuck gravel touring bike.
If you’re at Bespoked this weekend, make sure to swing by the Fern booth to check this out!
This weekend, we’re in Dresden, Germany for the Bespoked artisan frame builder and maker showcase! Below, our 2024 Bespoked Dresden Part 01 reportage features some amazing bicycles and products from Atherton, Ballern, Black Sheep, Curve, Good Grief, Ingrid, Parsec Objects, Quokka, Rossman, and Sturdy. Scroll on down to take it all in!
Yesterday, Josh bumped into Konstantin Drust of Drust Cycles on his way to Dresden for this year’s Bespoked framebuilder and maker showcase. Konstantin was picking up the luggage for his show bike from Kristin Heil’s Gramm Tourpacking workshop in Berlin. Josh was so enamored with the bike that he couldn’t wait to see it again at the show, and he documented it on the spot. Continue reading below for a detailed look at the Drust Cycles collapsible touring bike…
Our European correspondent Petor Georgallou recently visited four North American framebuilders who have been awarded SRAM’s Inclusivity Scholarship to attend Bespoked in Dresden, Germany, on October 18–20. In the third chapter of this series, Petor joins Christopher Schmidt of Colorado Springs, CO, who builds bikes under the name Good Grief Bicycles. What’s it like to be a Native American framebuilder in the USA? Join Petor and Chris for a thought-provoking conversation and take a look behind the bikes at Good Grief…
In the next installment of a four-part series, our European correspondent Petor Georgallou joins Significant Other Bikes of Denver, Colorado. Petor recently took a gonzo-style roadtrip through North America to visit four framebuilders who have been awarded SRAM’s Inclusivity Scholarship to attend Bespoked in Dresden, Germany, on October 18–20. Take a peek behind the bikes made by Ashley King at Significant Other…
Cyclists and first-time film filmmakers Grace Williams and Emily Segura Maze release the film “ZANA,” an ode to what it means to be a woman in sport. The film documents the history of the historic singlespeed bike race, the Little 500, as women went from racing on tricycles to bicycles. Williams, alumni of team Melanzana, found a story worth sharing within the camaraderie of her old team as they attempted a third win in a row – as a result, and with the support from State Bicycle Co., the film “ZANA” was born. Below, check out the “ZANA” film premiere, in addition to Grace’s behind-the-scenes account of the project with images from Sarah Qu!
The Little 500 is a historic, single-speed bike race in Bloomington, Indiana that takes place on a quarter mile cinder track. Teams of four riders compete one day in April for the famed Borg-Warner Trophy (a miniature replica of the Indianapolis 500 trophy) but the true purpose of the race is to raise money for Indiana University student scholarships. All riders are Indiana University undergraduates, but over 25,000 dedicated fans come from all over the world to watch.
For many, it is known as “the World’s Greatest College Weekend”. The women race 100 laps, and the men race 200. Tactics are up to each team, but the teams must each complete at least five exchanges between teammates during the entirety of the race for the women, and ten for the men.
The men’s race started in 1951, but the women’s race didn’t start until 1988. This gap in time? We found it far too interesting to brush past. This is where we come in. Meet your directors: Emily Segura Maze and Grace Williams. We met at a media internship in Flagstaff in 2022, where we spent the summer camping, photographing athletes, and learning how to be in the media industry with a crew of amazing mentors.
Fast-forward a few years, and we found ourselves navigating the freelance industry on opposite sides of the country. In October of 2023, I sent an email to State Bicycle Co, (SBC) pitching a film to them on the Women’s Little 500. I didn’t know how to articulate the specifics of the film, but I knew the feeling and emotions I wanted to create. Incredibly, SBC said yes. I didn’t even own a video camera, so I called Emily, the one person I knew who might be down to figure this out with me. She was in.
After some brainstorming, we decided that my old team, Melanzana (Zana for short), would be the team to film. I am an alumni of the 2022 winning team, and we wanted to take advantage of the authentic stories and friendships I still have with my old teammates. The storyline checked out, too – they were about to attempt their third win in a row, a would-be a historic feat. So, we figured out how to get trademark approval through Indiana University, and we emailed with IU board members. We bought insurance, rented cameras, and booked plane tickets.
We found ourselves filming in March for race day qualifications, and in April; the race. Imposter syndrome was rampant, and we felt as though we were just barely making it; that we had somehow fooled everyone into believing that we were filmmakers. In fact, we still barely knew what the storyline of the film would become; what was the message? Were we accurately portraying the feelings we wanted to portray? Despite being unsure of how the film would develop, we decided to start, trusting that the process would take us there. We followed the feelings, we followed our guts, and the story slowly began to appear.
ZANA initially takes the audience on a journey through the history of the Little 500. Although the men’s race started in 1951, the women were barred from the race and relegated to tricycles instead. They were used more as advertisements, trophies, and newspaper images than anything else.
In the article “The Mini 500: The Gendered History of a Forgotten Tradition”, the author writes, “By sewing uniforms, cheering on the men and decorating the pits, the Little 500 in the 1950s was another way for women to practice their domestic duties.” Yet, women still rallied to race on bikes. Starting in 1973, women’s bike teams began to come together and try to qualify for the men’s race after finally obtaining the right to even attempt qualifications in the first place.
Even so, no female teams were able to qualify. “The message is clear,” a sports columnist for the Indiana Daily Student wrote. “The big boys ride the bicycles in the Little 500. The little girls get to ride the tricycles in the Mini 500.”[11] He called for the “degrading, insulting and patronizing event” to be abolished. After years of pushing, the women were finally allowed to have their own race in 1988. The Mini 500 ended a few years later.
Since then, the women have continued to push the boundaries of sport and make history. Theta Cycling now has a historic total of 9 wins since 1988. Melanzana Cycling boldly attempted their third consecutive win in 2024. Not to mention so many other strong, incredible leaders, athletes, and women within Little 500. We wanted to document this power of community and support within the entirety of the women’s field.
As we interviewed and talked to Little 500 staff, as we surrounded ourselves with the words and experiences of the riders, we began to piece together the complexities that might intertwine to explain what we had felt and learned from being part of the Little 500 community. As we filmed, we learned. We learned how to ask better questions; we learned how to light a scene, we learned how to edit and produce, and review. We learned an immense amount during this past year, enough to proudly say: we’re filmmakers now.
This film is both a documentation of women in sport, of sisterhood and competition – as well as an exploration into the unknown as first-time filmmakers. We found that as we told the story of women pushing the boundaries in the historically male-dominated space of cycling, we mirrored their story as female filmmakers in the similarly intimidating and male-dominated space of media.
We set out to do something we weren’t sure we could do, just like Zana, and whether or not we achieve it isn’t quite the point. What is it really about? The camaraderie, the joy, the lessons, the shared experiences. Perhaps most importantly, it’s about attempting things you are passionate about, things that scare you, because you might be the reason someone else is inspired to do the same.
The Little 500 community is special. Yet, this film is not just about Zana. This is not just about bikes. It’s about everything we feel when we come together to create something, push towards something, and inspire something. It’s sisterhood, it’s fierce competition, and it’s everything in between.
Works Cited: Harriet April 21st. (2017, April 17). The mini 500: The gendered history of a forgotten tradition:
Part 1. Voices from the IU Bicentennial.
https://blogs.iu.edu/bicentennialblogs/2017/04/17/the-mini-500-the-gendered-history-of-a-forgotten-traditio
n-part-1/
ZANA is Presented by State Bicycle Co and directed by Emily Segura Maze and Grace Williams with Signature Squash Studios.
