The Radavist

When it comes to ultralight bikepacking and cyclo-touring, redundancies in gear don’t cut it. Hydrolight’s new 2L reservoir is now available. It’s a clever solution for those looking for a substantial way to illuminate their campsite, without having to carry the extra weight of a lantern. Their innovative design allows you to plug in your favorite headlamp into their bladder to create campsite illumination, all for $35. Not bad if you ask me. Check out their video above, see more information at Hydrolight, and let us know what you think…

Handup Gloves just announced their Spring 2020 lineup filled with fun designs on their signature gloves, socks, and jerseys. Looking to the loud and vibrant colors of the 1980’s and beyond. Head on over to Handup Gloves check out their offerings.

Rapha’s Pro Team road shoes have long epitomized functionality and style in the lightweight road shoe category. Their newest edition features a fabric, Powerweave, designed by weaving technologists Avery Dennison for a modern look with a high-tech feel.

Bontrager announced a major change to its warranty program for carbon wheels recently, upgrading the program to include a lifetime warranty against defect while keeping the Carbon Care Wheel Loyalty Program, which offers free replacement or repair of any Bontrager carbon wheels that sustain damage from riding within the first two years of ownership. This program applies to the original owner only.

This new lifetime warranty covers all Bontrager carbon wheels for road and mountain bikes and comes at no additional cost to the purchaser. It includes all Bontrager carbon wheels purchased aftermarket as well as those that come stock on Trek bikes.

Today Boyd Cycling announced the latest wheel to enter their alloy gravel wheelset division, the CCC. These wheels are lightweight and durable, complementing Boyd’s current carbon Pinnacle 700c and Jocassee 650b offering. Best of all, they come in at a $700 price point.

The CCC got its name from the Civilian Conservation Corps, a voluntary public unemployment program designed to provide jobs during the Great Depression. Still to this day “Old CCC” roads can be found deep in the wood. CCC wheels feature:

-6069 series alloy rim weighs in at 415 grams in a 700c size and 395 grams in the 650b.
-Built with Boyd’s own Quest Disc Brake hubs
-Complete wheelset 1515 grams for 700c set and 1475 grams for the 650b.
-Spoke options 24f/28r and 28f/32r
-Built with Pillar Wing 20 spokes and external brass nipples.
-Hubs:Shimano Hyperglide, Sram XDR, and Shimano Microspline drivers and feature tool-free swapping of axle end caps and drivers.

In an effort to get more riders to try out Trust’s innovative linkage-design suspension forks, the brand has announced a trade-in program, with lots of incentives to get new riders on this intriguing fork. All you have to do is buy either one of the Trust Performance suspension forks, either online or at a retailer and then fill out the RMA. Trust is giving customers $500 for a boost telescopic fork in working, rideable condition or $250 for any telescopic fork in any condition. Got an old fork kicking around? Tired of air and coil-sprung designs? Well, now’s your chance… Head to Trust for more information!

If you live in the UK and have been hankering for some local bikepacking and gravel coverage, then check out Unpaved, the new podcast from Katherine Moore! Unpaved Podcast investigates the the bikepacking and gravel scene with stories of riders, route designers, and their local trails, while exploring the reasons why and how the off-road movement is booming. Read the full press-release below!

Starting at $2,649 for the SX Eagle, or $3,199 for the SLX (pictured), the Rustler’s all-mountain capabilities are now available in a more affordable aluminum frameset. The 6066-T6 aluminum frame features 425 mm chainstays and 27.5” wheel size, with 130 mm of rear suspension travel, with a 150 mm fork, and a nicely-equipped component specification. Now, all three full suspension models from Salsa come with an aluminum frame option, making it a little easier to get your mitts on one. Head on over to Salsa to see the full spec rundown.

To make way for our new spring apparel, we’re holding a sale on all shirts, socks, and jerseys. Use the code “SpringCleaning” at checkout for 30% off your apparel order at the Radavist Web Shop! Thanks as always for your support!

PAUL and his team of merry machinists made yet another super-limited batch of Boxcar Stems – 5 of each size – as an homage to Eddie Van Halen’s iconic home-painted “79′ Bumblebee” guitar as it appeared on the back cover of Van Halen II and throughout their 1979 Tour.

It’s a little known fact that Eddie himself brought the original guitar to Dimebag Darrell’s funeral in 2004 where it was placed in his coffin and buried with him. Much like the guitar, each one of these stems is totally unique, artistically splattered in black and gold anodizing by Scooter himself. Somebody get me a doctor!

The Big Block is a tried and true offering from All-City. These street fixed gear bikes have a set of bottle bosses, increased tire clearance and drilled for brakes. The 4130 frame is tough and survives years of heavy use by bike messengers worldwide. For 2020, the Big Block got a wild paintjob, while the frame details and build kit stays the same.

Features:
612 Select chromoly steel with double-butted main triangle, tapered stays and brazed-on seat collar
4130 Chromoly double butted fork with lugged crown and tapered blades
Velodrome legal track geometry
All-City Signature investment-cast stainless steel Hennepin Bridge track dropouts with built-in chain tensioner
E.D. coated for durability and rust prevention
Tire clearance: 700c x 32mm; 28mm with fenders

Big Block (Midnight/Frost/Violet) Complete: $999 MSRP
Frameset: $550 MSRP

Taking inspiration from Nukeproof’s Scout hardtail model, today the brand announced their Cub Scout range, with bikes designed for all-ages with three wheel sizes. Read on for the details below!

Fat grips aren’t for everyone and we all know that grip preferences are like saddles in that they vary widely between riders. While super thick grips don’t benefit everyone, a growing number of people actually benefit from the larger diameter, softer durometer grips being offered by many brands. These grips spread the load on your hands to reduce pressure spots, which is a huge concern to cyclists who have experienced finger numbness due to too much pressure on the ulnar nerve.

Wolf Tooth’s newest grips, the 11.5mm thick Mega Fat Paw and the Mega Fat Paw Cam grips look to offer their fattest diameter year. On top of the other issues they can alleviate, the fat diameter also provides excellent vibration damping. For even more tunable comfort the Fat Paw Cam grips can be rotated to fit your preferred grip patterning. All this with a 40mm diameter.

Head to Wolf Tooth Components to read more.

Double-sided pedals usually don’t do it for me. While I appreciate the concept, most offer a sub-par riding experience. The clipless mechanism is usually too loose with no ability to tighten up and the platforms are typically small, offering little to no grip. Granted it only takes a few bad experiences to taint your opinion of double-sided pedals but something about LOOK’s Geo Trekking pedals piqued my interest. LOOK’s pedals are great. I’ve been enjoying riding on them since switching from Time ATACs to SPD pedals. Although these pedals intrigued me, it didn’t take long to see their faults and gimmicks.

“When I cross the line, people seem stunned”.

“The sun is beating down from a relentlessly blue sky on an 80-degree late-May afternoon in Emporia, Kansas. Alexandera Houchin is joking with her friends and supporters at the starting line of the Dirty Kanza XL, despite the fact that she’s just ridden her bike a few hundred miles through rain and mud from Iowa, napping under a highway overpass to get here on time. The laughter masks her misgivings about this race. It’s not because the DKXL is a notoriously difficult 542km ride through the steep and sharp Flint Hills of Kansas. It’s the race’s name, “Dirty Kanza,” that gets her. Kanza is a nickname for the Kaw Nation, the “People of the South Wind,” who lived in this region long before white settlers arrived. To preface that with “Dirty” shows a disconnect of the history of place that is ironic to Houchin, whose mother is Ojibwe.”

Check out more at Bicycling Magazine!

Apidura, makers of dang tough bikepacking bags have evolved their  Backcountry Saddle Pack to be compatible with dropper posts. This is thanks to a nylon sleeve that glides up and down the dropper stanchion while securing the pack to the saddle rails. This pack has reinforcement in the form of a skid plate in case it hits the tire at some point, a loop for a light on the back, reinforced stitching, and weighs a mere 265g with a retail price of $156. See more at Apidura.

Fans of crimson red, Bordeaux, and other deep reds will rejoice at the new color availability from Outer Shell bags, makers of some of our favorite on-the-bike portage systems. Browse the entire catalog online and if you have any questions about these bags, be sure to ask them in the comments, seeing as we have extensive experience with them.