The Radavist

When I lived in New York City, we rode our bikes to Philadelphia every year for the Philly Bike Expo. At the time, the event was hosted inside an old armory in the city, and featured a handful of framebuilders, makers, and companies with roots mostly in commuter cycling. Back then, the Philly Bike Expo felt like a family. I moved out of the Northeast shortly after and was really looking forward to reconnecting with old friends.

The last time I made it to an Expo was in 2012, and a lot has changed. While the same soul is still very much present, the venue, size, and impact of the Philly Bike Expo have grown. After a two-year pandemic hiatus and a relatively subdued 2021 year, it was back and bigger than ever for 2022. Cari and I flew to Philadelphia to get out of Santa Fe for a few days, soak in some big(ger) city food, and take in the Expo, so let’s get to it.

It wouldn’t be Philly Bike Expo coverage without a Bishop Bikes gallery and for 2021, photographer Jarrod Bunk selected this beautiful Columbus tubing track bike.

Where do I even begin here? At first, I thought Chris brought back the 2013 NAHBS track bike I photographed, and then I thought it was his personal blue track bike, stripped raw since it has the same Drillium Revival stem. Upon closer examination, this is true-to-form Chris Bishop doing his thing with the simplest form of bicycle. I just got off the phone with Chris Bishop where we spent a good forty-five minutes discussing this bike. There’s a lot going on with this “simple” machine so let’s get to it!

February 28 – March 8, 2021
February 27th 
Arrival in Yuma, Arizona

The Impossible Route team arrived about as prepared for it as a groom to a shotgun wedding. 

We planned on paper, but this was the Mojave Desert and Death Valley; and they would definitely hold some big surprises.  

Chris Bishop. Chrisssss Bishop. Seeing his creations year after year at the Philly Bike Expo brings all the warm feels. This year he brought an Item 4 Velo Classique road bike to display clean and elegant detailing Bishop Bikes is known for…

Long Valley, the Volcanic Tablelands, Lake Crowley, Mono Lake, and in general, the graben known as Owens Valley hold timeless stories beneath the silty soil, sage, and rabbitbrush. This area has long intrigued me, looking past its main attractions: Instagram-famous – or infamous – hot springs and world-class fly fishing. The landscape is rugged and steep, with unsuspecting silt traps enveloping your wheels up to the hubs as winds flex their prowess as shape-shifting forces spanning eons. Yet its magnetism, beauty, indigenous, and geologic history make it prime for bikepacking, touring, gravel riding, and road riding. It will take some planning, the right equipment, and some determination.

2018 Philly Bike Expo: Bishop Samson Lugged Road
Photos by Jarrod Bunk, words by John Watson

For Chris Bishop, his end products are often about the assemblage of pieces that are artistic elements on their own. Take for instance this classic, 32mm tire, OS road bike. He utilized a NOS Samson lug kit, complete with fastback seat stays, and an aero fork crown lug. Then, he pinged Mitch from MAP Cycles for his dropouts, which paired nicely with the lug set. All these pieces were assembled in a painstaking way to form this beautifully-lined road bike, designed to roll on 32mm tires with the direct mount EE Cycleworks brakes. The icing on the cake was Bryan Myers from Fresh Frame’s paint detailing over PPG Pearl white Prismatic.

The end result is unmistakenly Bishop, yet undeniably a combination of many talented artists’ handiwork.
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Follow Jarrod on Instagram, and Bishop Bikes on Instagram

Baltimore’s Chris Bishop of Bishop Bikes hasn’t been to NAHBS since 2013 and this year, he brought what he’s known for and then some. You can always count on Chris for the finest fillet and lug construction, but I was completely surprised to see him soft-launch a production line called Item 4, named after the substrate specification used in gravel roads in the North East. Item 4 is a collaboration with Vicious Cycles, who is tig-welding the front triangle of these frames, with Chris fillet brazing the rear and all the accoutrement needed for a rim brake or disc brake road bike. Chris really wants to expand the Bishop Bikes lineup, to get more people out on bikes that he’s designed and to be honest, I can’t wait to see more of these roll out of his Baltimore workshop…

2017 Philly Bike Expo: People’s Choice Winner – Bishop Bikes Disc Road
Photos by Jarrod Bunk, words by John Watson

The work of Chris Bishop continues to evolve and impress. For this year’s Philly Bike Expo, Chris brought something a bit different. Having teased this frame on his Instagram account prior, from the paint booth of Bryan Myers at Fresh Frame, we knew we were going to see something loud from the Baltimore-based builder. With a Stainless XCR Columbus rear triangle, Paragon Dropouts, a distinguishable Columbus Max fork and Vari-Wal tubing, this modern disc bikes carries many of the classic profile Bishop Bikes has been known for over the years, but the Fresh Frame paint not only coats this bike, it envelops it. The paint compliments the details, such as the stay integration with the Paragon dropouts and the intricate masking on the seat stays.

This has to be Chris’ magnum opus and the attendees of the Philly Bike Expo agree, voting it to a People’s Choice win.

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Follow Jarrod on Instagram, and Bishop Bikes on Instagram