Coinciding with this week’s Sea Otter Classic, 1UP USA just announced a completely redesigned Super Duty hitch-mount bike rack. With a new one-handed push-button system, adjustable tray spacing, 100 lb rating per tray, and more, there’s a lot to like about this rack. Josh, our resident rackaholic, has been testing the new SD and shares a review below…
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Reportage
Sea Otter Classic 2024: Neuhaus Metalworks – HBSL Titanium XC Race 29er Hardtail
The Radavist thanks 1-Up USA for sponsoring our Sea Otter Classic 2024 coverage!
Josh and John are out at Sea Otter this week, covering people, products, and bikes on display. We’re starting the show coverage off a little differently this year with a feature on Neuhaus Metalworks’ newest offering: the HBSL Titanium XC Race 29er. Read on for a look at this new titanium Superleggera chassis and a comparison to the steel Hummingbird hardtail 29er…
Radar
2024 RockShox Psylo Gold RC First-Ride Review
Sometimes, the bike industry throws cost-conscious consumers a bone, and the 2024 RockShox Psylo Gold RC is a meaty one. Travis has been chewing on it for a couple weeks now, and he’s got a review with almost no flesh-based metaphors.
Reportage
Framework Bicycles Review: Thoughts on Balance
Framework Bicycles turns blocks of aluminum and spools of carbon into one-off custom bikes where obsessive precision and iteration becomes rideable art. In this long-term, long form Framework Bicycles review, Morgan Taylor details the experience of designing and riding their custom road bike. Did they strike the perfect balance, or produce their own Homer car?
Radar
ENVE Fray Endurance/All-Road Bike First Look
Released today, the Fray is ENVE’s new all-road/endurance road bike. The Fray is positioned in ENVE’s lineup between the Melee and the MOG, with a geometry optimized for tire sizes between 700 x 31c and 700 x 35c, and clearance up to 40c.
Petor stumbled on one of the first production Fray bikes ahead of its release for a long weekend in Girona last October. Below, he shares a first look and some initial ride impressions…
Radar
BTCHN’ Bikes Paul Crank Adapter
The problem with the PAUL cranksets is the chainrings wear out and they’re not compatible with narrow-wide 1x setups, so you’ve gotta run a chain guide. They’re also not compatible with 10, 11, or 12-speed drivetrains. BTCHN’ bikes have been there… so they made this PAUL crankset adapter. This is 3D printed in aluminum and will bolt up to your Paul Crankset using their factory chainring bolts. It will adapt to any 104BCD chainring using standard 1x chainring bolts while maintaining the original chainline.
First debuted at the 2022 MADE Bike Show and pre-ordering now for $95.
See more at BTCHN Bikes.
Reportage
Monē Bikes SB2 Review: Cruisin’ for a Bruisin’
We talk a lot about the early klunkers, from Breezers to Cunninghams and Ritcheys, but what about the very first MTBs in the US, the coaster cruisers, aka mountain cruisers? These esoteric singlespeeds rely on a coaster brake hub to control their speed and were adapted from old Schwinn newspaper bikes.
Read on as John reviews his coaster cruiser, a Monē Bikes Small Batch Straight Bar, aka the SB2. These bikes are the simplest mountain bike you can ride: No hand brakes. No gears. Big bars. Balloon tires. This is peak coaster cruiser!
Reportage
Forever Bike: Josh’s Custom Oddity Singlespeed With Ignite Components
Nearly three years ago this week, Josh picked up a custom titanium singlespeed Oddity hardtail that was originally Burnsey‘s show bike for the 2021 Philly Bike Expo. It’s become his most-ridden bike and has been subject to plenty of component swaps over the years, yet it hasn’t been fully documented with a dedicated article here on this site. Josh recently outfitted the bike with Ignite Components and (finally) shares a review and breakdown of the build below, including an interview with Ian Colquhoun of Ignite…
Radar
Tips for Bike Ride Safety in Rattlesnake Habitat: It’s Snakesgiving in the Desert
If you live in a rattlesnake habitat, you’ve probably noticed an uptick in the number of rattlesnakes present over the past few weeks. On a ride in Arizona yesterday, Josh and John had a close call with a Western rattlesnake, Crotalus oreganus. As a lifelong herp fanatic, John penned a few notes on how to stay snake-safe on bike rides in rattlesnake habitat…
Reportage
Tern Orox All Terrain e-Cargo Bike Review: Packing Lots
After about a month of using the Tern Orox in a particularly snowy and cold spring in Santa Fe, John has penned a review of the e-cargo platform, which speaks to the bike’s versatility and aligns it firmly in the “car replacement” category. Let’s check it out!
Reportage
Obscura: Sell the Bike, Keep the Camera – A Mamiya 7ii Review
Continuing our Obscura series, where editors and contributors from The Radavist review their favorite cameras, John discusses the one he’ll never let go: his Mamiya 7ii. Read on for a look into this well-loved and well-used camera!
Radar
Grounded Nebraska’s The Mid South Non-Binary Race Coverage
The Mid South hired Grounded Nebraska to provide non-binary race coverage at this year’s gravel season opener in Stillwater. As an accompaniment to Jarrod’s reportage from last week and a followup to her article from 2023, Sally Turner of Grounded Nebraska penned this comprehensive non-binary category coverage from this year’s The Mid South. Check it out below!
Reportage
Sparking Community in Bend: Chariot Bike Shop Visit
It’s been a few years since we first covered Chariot Bike when it was a mobile-based shop!Katie Sox drops into the mobile-repair van turned full-service bike shop and café to chat with Chariot Bike‘s owner and founder, Julia Sparks, about what the shop has brewing for the future. There’s a good story behind the name and exciting news for the Sour Bicycles fans out there!
Reportage
Workpacking: When an e-Cargo Bike Becomes a Mobile Home
A longtime “velopreneur” who has worked across the cycling media industry, Gunnar Fehlau decided to take on a new experiential project in 2023: He loaded his household onto his e-cargo bike and has been living and working from the road for one year. This is his report from the first 333 days of life while workpacking.
Radar
Alexandera Houchin is Riding for Esker Cycles
Our buddy Alexandera Houchin is now riding for Esker Cycles. Read on for the full announcement and a quote from Alexandera!
Reportage
Variable Conditions: A Panorama Cycles Torngat Ti Fat Bike Review
This past winter, Hailey Moore got a primer in fat biking while test riding Panorama Cycles’s Torngat Ti. Her review assesses both the bike and the challenge of finding ideal fat biking conditions.
Reportage
2024 Philly Bike Expo: Fine Bikes, La Marche, and Royal H Cycles
Continuing our 2024 Philly Bike Expo coverage with more Reportage with words and photos by Brad Quartuccio, featuring Fine Bikes, Royal H Cycles, and La Marche Bike Co. Let’s get to it!
Reportage
The Search for the Perfect Noodle: An Elephant Bikes National Forest Explorer Review
For Morgan Taylor, there’s a magical nexus that happens when a bike has a certain amount of frame flex and low-trail randonneuring geometry. In this long-term review of Elephant Bikes National Forest Explorer, Morgan recounts how past bikes have contributed to this preferred combination and then offers an in-depth look at why the NFE might just be the perfect noodle.