Beautiful Bicycles

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Bikes and More from the Chris King Open House 2023

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Bikes and More from the Chris King Open House 2023

With this year’s Chris King Open House coming right after the 2023 MADE Bike Show, the event decided to shift gears and focus on the Portland area’s outdoor brands. Chris King opened its doors to the public, unveiling the process that goes into machining bike parts in the USA, while inviting the broader outdoor industry to display their products. It was a full day of bikes and more! Check out our Reportage, sent in by Chris King and let us know your favorite bike in the comments!

Custom Klunker Challenge: The Leafcycles Trail Digger

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Custom Klunker Challenge: The Leafcycles Trail Digger

As a trail worker, cyclist, and product developer at Schwalbe tires, Michael Rudolph knows better than most that heavy, and often sharp and pointy, tools don’t make for the most convenient bike cargo. And, coaster brake klunkers don’t often make the most capable cargo bikes. But, with the announcement of Leafcycles Custom Klunker Challenge, Michael was on a mission to reconcile these incompatibilities. Read on for the backstory and build process for his winning custom klunker submission: the Leafcycles Trail Digger.

2023 Bespoked Handmade Bicycle Show Part 3: Avalanche, Ballern, Black Sheep, CMG, Fern, Huhn, Rheintritt, Rossman, Repete, and Timba

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2023 Bespoked Handmade Bicycle Show Part 3: Avalanche, Ballern, Black Sheep, CMG, Fern, Huhn, Rheintritt, Rossman, Repete, and Timba

The 2023 Bespoked Handmade Bicycle Show just wrapped after three action-packed days of talks, parties, and drooling over the heaps of amazing craftsmanship on display. Josh was on the ground at the Dresden, Germany airport where this year’s event took place, and, below, shares his final gallery of bikes and a couple of interesting components. Let’s get right into it!

2023 Bespoked Handmade Bicycle Show Part 2: Auguste, Actofive, Bididu, Manivelle, Quirk, Star Fish, Tim Tas+Rek, True Love, Posedla, Gramm, and Allygn

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2023 Bespoked Handmade Bicycle Show Part 2: Auguste, Actofive, Bididu, Manivelle, Quirk, Star Fish, Tim Tas+Rek, True Love, Posedla, Gramm, and Allygn

The 2023 Bespoked Handmade Bicycle Show just wrapped after three action-packed days of talks, parties, and drooling over heaps of amazing craftsmanship on display. Josh was on the ground at the Dresden, Germany airport where this year’s event took place, and, below, shares his second gallery of bikes and a couple of interesting components. Let’s get right into it!

2023 Bespoked Handmade Bicycle Show Part 1: Atelier Pariah, Boucif Custom Bikes, Cicli Bonanno, Dlouhy, Drust, Meerglas, Sour, Ingrid Shifters, and Cyber Cycles Forks

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2023 Bespoked Handmade Bicycle Show Part 1: Atelier Pariah, Boucif Custom Bikes, Cicli Bonanno, Dlouhy, Drust, Meerglas, Sour, Ingrid Shifters, and Cyber Cycles Forks

The 2023 Bespoked Handmade Bicycle Show just wrapped after three action-packed days of talks, parties, and drooling over heaps of amazing craftsmanship on display. Josh was on the ground at the Dresden, Germany airport where this year’s event took place, and, below, shares his first gallery of bikes and a couple of very interesting components that will be launching soon. Let’s get right into it!

Bespoked 2023 Prologue: A Tour-Ready Titanium Randonneur from Wheeldan

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Bespoked 2023 Prologue: A Tour-Ready Titanium Randonneur from Wheeldan

I’m in Germany for the 2023 Bespoked Handmade Bicycle Show, which is taking place this weekend, October 13-15 in Dresden. Prior to traveling to Dresden, I was in Berlin with Flo and Tine of Fern/Allygn Bicycles and Gramm Tourpacking where we had an action-packed day visiting various makers around their workshop in the east side of the city. One of our visits was to meet Dan Pleikies of Wheeldan Custom Bicycles. Dan isn’t able to make it to Bespoked, BUT I was able to pull aside a client’s stunning randonneur bike he had on hand to document. Let’s check it out below!

Fat Tires in a Skinny Frame: John’s 2012 Bruce Gordon Monster Cross

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Fat Tires in a Skinny Frame: John’s 2012 Bruce Gordon Monster Cross

“It’s just a bike.” The late Bruce Gordon built bicycle frames to enhance his customers’ lives. Through all my interactions over the years, up until his passing in June of 2019, he would take praise for his work, but would always end the conversation with: “It’s just a bike.”

To talk about this bike in particular, you first have to know Bruce. Who he was, his ethos, the mythos, and what he brought to the “g” word: gravel. Bruce was making fat-tire road bikes for a long time. Long before many. He developed tires, toe clips, and helped foster an entire movement of makers in the Petaluma, California area and beyond.

But just like that, he was gone, and he left behind a legacy…

The Tale of the Humongous Rock Lobster

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The Tale of the Humongous Rock Lobster

This is the story of a perpetually unfinished project, but also of a really cool bike that’s taken me a lot of great places – and how it came to me is its own unlikely story. The fact that a custom Rock Lobster built for someone else has been the best fitting bike I’ve ever owned is pure coincidence, particularly as I would learn that it didn’t quite fit the original owner as they had hoped. Settle in for the Tale of the Humongous Rock Lobster.

Titanium Touring Perfection: Singular Gryphon Drop Bar 29er MTB Review

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Titanium Touring Perfection: Singular Gryphon Drop Bar 29er MTB Review

Over the years, I’ve had the ability and privilege of throwing my leg over a number of fat tire, drop bar touring bikes. From the almighty Tumbleweed Stargazer to the readily available Kona Sutra ULTD, these robust bikes with an off-road and load-bearing geometry make for great interstitial, genre-bending machines for all sorts of riding.

Yet before brands like Salsa were even making high clearance, drop bar, 29er, disc brake, production touring bikes, a brand called Singular Cycles in the UK shifted the paradigm with its Swift in 2007 and, later in 2008, Gryphon models. These frames featured high stack numbers, fit big tires, and most importantly, had rack/fender/cargo bosses aplenty.

This year, Singular debuted its custom Gryphon Titanium, and once again, I’m questioning which bike to crown “best in class.” Check out my full-length review below…

What’s Old is New Again: Crust X Ron’s Bikes Alumalith Rigid MTB Review

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What’s Old is New Again: Crust X Ron’s Bikes Alumalith Rigid MTB Review

Unveiled at the 2022 Philly Bike Expo to much fanfare, the Alumalith is a realization of Ronnie Romance‘s dream to incorporate his favorite aspects of vintage mountain bikes into a deciededly modern offering. Featuring a non-suspension corrected Switchblade-style fork, rim brakes, sharp angulation, and 6061 aluminum fabricated by renowned craftsman Frank Wadelton–but with internal dropper routing, clearance for 27.5 x 2.6″ tires, and a contemporary approach to geometry–the Alumalith is nostalgic delight for riders of today. Josh picked up an Alumalith earlier this year and has spent months building it, riding, refining, and riding some more. Continue reading below for his review of this niche yet capable and fun machine…

A Familiar Feeling: A Review of the Sklar Bikes SuperSomething

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A Familiar Feeling: A Review of the Sklar Bikes SuperSomething

Adam Sklar has been building custom bikes for close to a decade—and we’ve featured plenty of them on this site! But, in 2022 he decided to move production of a new model overseas to Taiwan. Dubbed the SuperSomething, this first production Sklar has road bike bones while still (subtly) paying homage to Adam’s mountain biking roots. Hailey Moore has been riding our signature Radavist edition SuperSomething all summer and, below, shares her review, along with insights into Adam’s design intent for this all-steel gravel bike.

The Radavist Not So Serious but Kind of Serious 2023 MADE Bike Show Awards

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The Radavist Not So Serious but Kind of Serious 2023 MADE Bike Show Awards

Best. Best. Best. All the subjectivity, all the time. The era of the NAHBS awards is long gone. No more medals given out to the same four people, year after year. Instead, we’re looking at the most subjective, most obscure, and most ridiculous to dish out a playful, in jest best list from our 2023 MADE Bike Show coverage. Read on below for the best road, best gravel, best mountain, and more…

Returning to Cuenca Los Ojos: Sarah Swallow’s Otso Voytek and Ruta del Jefe Updates

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Returning to Cuenca Los Ojos: Sarah Swallow’s Otso Voytek and Ruta del Jefe Updates

Ruta del Jefe has officially announced the dates and the new venue – March 21-24, 2024 in Cuenca Los Ojos, Mexico –  for the next edition of this adventure, education, community, and advocacy event. Cuenca Los Ojos is a protected natural area in the Sky Islands of the Mexican state of Sonora, southeast of Agua Prieta/Douglas, Arizona. Daniel Zaid and Karla Robles recently linked up with, organizer Sarah Swallow and, below, document her new new Otso Voytek, which she has been using for scouting the 2024 Ruta Del Jefe route. Additionally, Daniel and Karla share an update on the work Cuenca Los Ojos has been doing to provide the best platform for Ruta del Jefe in advance of the event’s first season south of the border…

2023 MADE Bike Show Coverage: Part 7 – Ahearne, Blaze, Jeffrey Bock, MADE Moots, Montenegro Manufacturing, Pine, Simple, and Singular

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2023 MADE Bike Show Coverage: Part 7 – Ahearne, Blaze, Jeffrey Bock, MADE Moots, Montenegro Manufacturing, Pine, Simple, and Singular

Well, the time has come. This is our seventh and final 2023 MADE Bike Show gallery. We busted our tails to bring you the best coverage from the show. Josh and John scoured the halls of the show for bikes to document, and this last gallery is full of stunning bikes. Check out our selects below!

Thanks to 1-Up USA for sponsoring our continued 2023 MADE Bike Show coverage!

2023 MADE Bike Showdown: ALUMIWARS – Beach Club Al Dente Gravel Bike Vs. Ron’s Bikes AluMAX Grav Grav Bike

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2023 MADE Bike Showdown: ALUMIWARS – Beach Club Al Dente Gravel Bike Vs. Ron’s Bikes AluMAX Grav Grav Bike

We interrupt our ongoing MADE coverage with an important announcement!

When carbon bicycle frames were first introduced, the evil carbon fiber bike industry did all it could to bad-mouth aluminum bikes. It took decades, but we’re seeing an abrupt re-emergence of aluminum frames, particularly from smaller cottage industry brands like Beach Club and Ron’s Bikes.

Growing up in the 1990s, it was common for publications like Mountain Bike Action to do “shootouts” between two aluminum bikes. So, we at The Radavist thought it’d be fun to pit two of our favorite companies against each other in a democratic voting process. Check out our ALUMIWARS Shootout Special featuring sneak peeks at the forthcoming Beach Club Al Dente aluminum gravel bike and the Ron’s Bikes AluMAX grav grav daddy bike…

2023 MADE Bike Show Coverage Part 6: Digit, Framework, Monē, Moots, Page Street, PAUL, Scarab, Scharen, Sycip, and Watts

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2023 MADE Bike Show Coverage Part 6: Digit, Framework, Monē, Moots, Page Street, PAUL, Scarab, Scharen, Sycip, and Watts

We’re here in Portland, covering the 2023 MADE Bike Show, looking for bikes that we thought you, the readers of The Radavist would appreciate. Josh and John have been scouring the halls of the show for bikes to document, and we’ve got Part 6 of our coverage for you to enjoy…

Thanks to 1-Up USA for sponsoring our continued 2023 MADE Bike Show coverage!

2023 MADE Bike Show Coverage: Part 05 – Amigo, Black Magic, Chumba, Coconino, English, Horse, Liberation Fab, Manzanita, Sklar, and Tomii

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2023 MADE Bike Show Coverage: Part 05 – Amigo, Black Magic, Chumba, Coconino, English, Horse, Liberation Fab, Manzanita, Sklar, and Tomii

We’re here in Portland, covering the 2023 MADE Bike Show, looking for bikes that we thought you, the readers of The Radavist would appreciate. Josh and John have been scouring the halls of the show for bikes to document, and we’ve got Part 05 of our coverage for you to enjoy…

Thanks to 1-Up USA for sponsoring our continued 2023 MADE Bike Show coverage!