The Radavist

Motivated by the renewed interest in American manufacturing following the COVID pandemic, Erik Mathy shares part one in a new series where he will document how American makers of fine bicycle parts make a single part from the very start to the finish. At each stage he will ask the person doing the work two questions and take two portraits: One of the part and one of the worker. In his own words, this is a project to “explore both the processes and the people who make some of the most interesting, purpose-driven and—in their own way beautiful—bicycle parts in the world.” Read on for his first installment with a visit to Paragon Machine Works and an in-depth look at how they are making their new SRAM Universal Derailleur Hangar dropout.

Nicholas Haig-Arack satisfied his mini velo curiosity with a test of the Kyoot Itty Bitty, a “futuristic bicycle moto-cross transportation vehicle”. Read on for a subjective review of the 20″-wheeled joy machine and to find out more about the sole offering from the Austin, Texas-based Kyoot Bikes.

With two members of our Radavist editorial team living in Arizona, it only made sense to head to Flagstaff for our second Cycling Guide. With its recent spike in new singletrack development, legendary dark skies, and accessible location as a hub for other Northern Arizona destinations, there’s a lot to talk about. Read on for a look at The City of Seven Wonders…

While John was hanging with Whit from Meriwether Cycles in the Nevada City area, he shot his Silk-Ti Flex Pivot bike. Whit calls this bike the Luddite. While we already featured this bike and the following write-up as a Readers’ Rides, John and his mindful eye have cataloged and fully documented it. Read on for the full story on the Luddite, along with some stellar photos of this titanium dream sled!

The field of all-road and gravel bikes may seem crowded, but Otso Cycles always seems to add something new to the conversation with their bikes. In this review, Hailey Moore writes about what sets the Otso Warakin Steel apart among its off-road peers.

Amid our ongoing coverage of the Bespoked Dresden framebuilder and maker showcase, today we are featuring a very special bicycle made by Berlin-based Fern Bicycles equipped with Allygn racks and custom bags from Gramm Tourpacking. With design language referencing a late-1980s Toyota Pickup and mountain bikes of the same vintage, the build features both old and new elements with components from a long list of artisan fabricators like Cyber Cycles, Garbaruk, Tune, Velocity, SON, Gevenalle, Btchn’, and many more. We think this bike might be peak Fern. Continue reading below for the complete breakdown of this special Fern Bicycles Chuck gravel touring bike.

If you’re at Bespoked this weekend, make sure to swing by the Fern booth to check this out!

This weekend, we’re in Dresden, Germany for the Bespoked artisan frame builder and maker showcase! Below, our 2024 Bespoked Dresden Part 01 reportage features some amazing bicycles and products from Atherton, Ballern, Black Sheep, Curve, Good Grief, Ingrid, Parsec Objects, Quokka, Rossman, and Sturdy. Scroll on down to take it all in!

Yesterday, Josh bumped into Konstantin Drust of Drust Cycles on his way to Dresden for this year’s Bespoked framebuilder and maker showcase. Konstantin was picking up the luggage for his show bike from Kristin Heil’s Gramm Tourpacking workshop in Berlin. Josh was so enamored with the bike that he couldn’t wait to see it again at the show, and he documented it on the spot. Continue reading below for a detailed look at the Drust Cycles collapsible touring bike…

Ian Graber-Stiehl explores the current state of cycling in Northwest Arkansas, where Bikepacking Roots is working with the growing destination city of Fayetteville to establish six adventure routes that provide 750 miles of trails and pathways in the Ozarks. Does Oz live up to the marketing hype? Read on…

The Coros Dura GPS unit grabbed headlines this summer with its claims of a 120-hour battery life. In theory, that could even be extended indefinitely thanks to the integrated solar panel. But Travis dove deep into the drop-down menus and found the stuff below those headlines to be just as interesting.

The Tumbleweed Sunliner ($3775 complete) continues a long-held tradition of equipping a mountain bike with touring accoutrements. Since the mountain bike’s inception, people have been bolting racks and strapping bags to them, taking advantage of its beefy chassis and wide gearing to pedal deeper into rugged terrain than ever before. John has been riding the Sunliner all year in the Southern Rockies, both unloaded as a trail bike and loaded on camping trips. Read on for his thorough assessment of this timeless touring bike…

Yesterday we looked Inside and Out of Meriwether Cycles via an in-depth Shop Visit. In that post, we offered a sneak peek at Whit’s production adventure gravel bike, the Ponderosa. John has been riding a prototype all year, providing Whit feedback for the final production model, which we’ll look at it in detail today. Read on for a full review of this tall and sturdy dream bike platform…

Whit Johnson’s handmade bike company, Meriwether Cycles, has been featured here at The Radavist periodically over the years. Recently, John spent a day at Whit’s small garage shop in the foothills of the Sierra Mountains of California and got out on a sunset pedal with him. Read on for a look inside and out of Meriwether Cycles, in addition to a preview of Whit’s new adventure gravel bike, the Ponderosa…