Back in March, as part of the Kolektif Bike Fair in Berlin, the team behind Rad Race put on the 9th annual Last Wo/Man Standing fixed gear race at the winding indoor Mobikart go-kart circuit track. Additionally, the bike fair featured a handful of stunning custom builds on display from an array of framebuilders including Drust, Omnium, Rossman, Morassi, Trout, ten:07, and Vetra. Petor Georgallou was there for it all and shares a full report and massive image gallery below.
Travis and Josh are back today with their third and final report from the 2023 Sea Otter Classic. Continue reading below for another installment of interesting bikes, products, and people from the show, in addition to a mega gallery of images from the three days of sun, fog, rides, and wild times at Laguna Seca Raceway. Did they save the best for last? Read on to find out!
We’re back with our second eclectic mix of findings from the 2023 Sea Otter Classic. Yesterday’s post just wasn’t enough to tell you about all the new bikes, old bikes, products, and people Josh and Travis encountered this year. In fact, we reckon even two posts won’t be enough. There’s a lot to cover, so settle in with your morning coffee and enjoy.
Sea Otter Classic is one of the largest annual cycling festivals in the world. Each April since 1991, cyclists of all persuasions have descended on Laguna Seca Raceway outside of Monterey, CA to cheer on professional and amateur racers, as well as check out the latest and greatest in cycling technology at the massive vendor expo.
And this year, that tech happened to be especially late and great, and there was more to talk about than usual. Maybe it’s because there were more exhibitors in attendance than normal. Maybe it’s the easing of strains on the supply chain. Whatever it was, Josh Weinberg and Travis Engel were on the ground all weekend and, over the next few days, will be sharing their findings and observations from the massive event. So, let’s get into it below!
This past week, in the lead-up to the annual Sea Otter Classic event in Monterey, CA, Chris King Components held their second Guest House event across Monterey Bay in Santa Cruz. The festive event showcased a variety of unique builds – all featuring Chris King components – many of which were the recently re-released vibrant 3D Violet color. Below, let’s take a look at this eclectic mix of bikes that spans categories across road, gravel, touring, and MTB!
Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. Read on below for today’s findings…
We’re big fans of basket bag biking ’round these parts and are stoked to see our friends at Wizard Works expand their size range of Alakazam Bags to fit perfectly in the Manivelle Basket from French framebuilders Cycles Manivelle. Josh has been pedaling around with the combo recently and, below, provides a breakdown of this magical rack and bag duo…
We’re interrupting our regularly scheduled broadcasting to bring you this story from the World Tour side of our sport, because it’s just too damn inspiring not to! Erik Mathy had the fortuitous opportunity to witness this year’s Paris-Roubaix Femmes race where dark horse and EF Education-Tibco-SVB Team rider, Alison Jackson, took the top step on the podium after a five-up sprint in the velodrome. Erik shares before and after portraits and interviews with Alison and her teammates about her momentous result!
Named for the Lalashan Mountain Range in Northern Taiwan, Quoc‘s new Spring footwear capsule builds on their classic Grand Tourer series while introducing two new additions to the product line. Josh Weinberg and Hailey Moore have already logged some miles in the new models and offer first ride reviews of the UK-based designer-adjacent brand’s new Gran Tourer XC, Escape Off-Road, and the Lala Slide.
Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. Read on below for today’s findings…
In his 1973 book Coast to Coast, Alfred Wainwright wrote, “there’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing”. Well, perhaps Alfred never experienced being blasted by sideways rain while desperately trying to gain traction on a rutted, sloppy trail! Let’s just face it, sometimes the weather can be crappy and when it is, a good jacket can be the difference between damp fun and fuckin’ drenched and dangerous.
In this review, we’re looking at the newly redesigned, Copilot Jacket from the good folks at 7Mesh. Based in Squamish, Canada, the 7Mesh crew definitely get bad weather. Afterall, Squamish regularly gets all four seasons in a day and has an average rainfall of over 220cm per year. That’s hella wet. Even by this Englishman’s standards.
Our friends at The Bikeraft Guide want to give you $2550 in Bikerafting Gear! Read on below for what’s included and how to enter!
The Outdoor Ambassador Collective (OAC) is dedicated to bringing outdoor creatives, brand ambassadors, and sponsored athletes together to foster a stronger, more connected community. The Collective believes that the collective power of all members in the field will contribute positively to the growth and development of their work and, ultimately, the outdoor industry. Continue reading for more info from OAC, how to follow along, and become involved…
Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. We don’t typically publish Radar Roundups on weekends, but we received a few special press releases late last week, so read on below for our findings…
The MCR Descender was a bicycle ahead of its time. It was the first suspended mountain bike and dreamed up by Brian Skinner whose contributions to mountain biking would go on to span the entire sport. On the technology side, Skinner started with the Descender but later led development on innovations such as index shifting, trigger shifters, SPDs, Onza porcupines and Answer taperlites. His first passion in the sport of mountain biking was as a race promoter though, and it was from that passion that the other half of this bike’s name MCR — Mountain Cross Racing —was born.
Just south of Asheville, NC, in the town of Fletcher, is the Cane Creek Cycling Components headquarters. Backed up to the Blue Ridge Mountains, it’s here that they assemble all of their suspension forks, shocks, and brakes by hand and continue to carry the torch of design innovation lit by their predecessor, Dia-Compe USA. Photographer Steve West is back from a factory tour and shares about the Cane Creek process below.
Avi Kwa Ame is the West’s newest National Monument and was just designated by President Biden. Situated in the pointy end of Nevada and south of Las Vegas, these lands are sacred to a dozen tribes along the lower Colorado River. The 700-square-mile designated Monument creates a much larger interconnected expanse of federally-managed lands with special protections (see the detailed map here). Advocacy for the Monument in recent years brought together a uniquely diverse coalition of tribes, communities, conservation organizations, outdoor groups, and even motorized recreationalists. A wintery three-day ride through the area in January opened my eyes to the beauty of this unfamiliar-to-me area, but basic aesthetics only scratch the surface when trying to unpack the meaning of this landscape.
The Mid South has offered a non-binary competitive category since their socially-distanced event in 2022. This year’s race saw a new course record, along with highlights in the Mid South double and singlespeed categories! Sally Turner, former journalist and current Event Manager for the Stillwater gravel season opener, shares a recap of how the day shook out for the non-binary field!
