The Radavist

Updated for 2024, our Santa Cruz Chameleon review was originally posted in 2022.

Back in 2018, I reviewed the Santa Cruz Chameleon in the 27.5+ platform with a tricked-out build spec thanks to Hope Tech. Much like its namesake, the Chameleon really stood out from the crowd of other production hardtails on the market, making it a proper icon in the world of hardtail mountain bikes. Fast forward three years and I’ve had the new and improved 2022 Chameleon model under my butt for a few weeks now, have taken it on similar terrain as I did in Los Angeles with its predecessor, and have a few thoughts about the two models. Which one is worth your money? Read on below to find out…

Over the years, having had the chance to ride a lot of different bikes, I’ve whittled my personal preferences down to a few assumptions about geometry and materials. Based on these preconceptions, I wasn’t sure I’d be into the Ritchey Outback.

Gravel bikes with carbon forks are pretty predictable in my experience: more capable and adaptable than the ‘cross bikes they evolved from, but too stiff to be enjoyable on rough terrain or long days in the saddle. Gravel bikes have also evolved to have longer rear ends than ‘cross bikes, and yet the Outback has the longest rear end of any performance-oriented drop-bar bike I’ve ridden.

I will also say that I’ve learned to keep an open mind about this stuff, and in the past couple of years I’m finding myself excited to ride bikes that don’t fit into neat and predictable categories. The chance to review oddball bikes helps me expand my experience and therefore become a better bike reviewer. I’m open to being surprised!

Well, there must be exceptions to rules and there must be challenges to preconceptions, and the Ritchey Outback fits into both of those categories for me.

John and Cari were in Melbourne for a few days following the 2024 MADE Australia showcase, which gave them some free time to visit a couple of shops, one of which was Prova Cycles.

Nestled inside this compact factory, siblings Mark and Kelly Hester build some of the most advanced bikes in the world. This two-person team has optimized production over the past four years, and it’s something to behold…

It’s been 10 years since Mason Cycles first caused a splash in the UK cycling market with the release of their original Definition and Resolution road bikes. They have since built a reputation for blending progressive riding technologies with classically beautiful aesthetics, now offering a full range of bikes designed for the whole spectrum of on- and off-road terrain. Joe Sasada sat down with founder and designer Dom Mason to discuss the journey so far, design philosophy, and what’s coming next for the brand. Read on for an extended interview and a photo gallery from Mason HQ. 

Josh, Cari, and John were in Fairfax for a few days during the Camera Corner premiere, and before the Saturday screening, John shot Wende Cragg’s 1978 Breezer Series I, also known as #6, fresh off its world tour…

Rodeo Adventure Labs was founded as an open-to-anyone team a decade ago by Stephen Fitzgerald and a group of friends in search of less rules and more fun on bikes. Since becoming a production bike company with an emphasis on versatility, customization, and—always—refined design, Rodeo has retained a culture of questioning the norm. Today, Hailey Moore shares a long-form profile of the high points and headwinds Rodeo has navigated over the past ten years, and exciting insights into how the company is thinking about its future. To accompany this Shop Visit, we’re also sharing people-and-bike portraits of the folks behind Rodeo Adventure Labs in a separate Radar.

Continuing his journey down the Andes from Colombia to Santiago de Chile, Ryan Wilson travels across the surreal landscape of the Salar de Uyuni and traverses a rarely visited part of the driest desert in the world, the Chilean Atacama.  Read on to follow his final days in Bolivia and his route through one of Chile’s most remote corners…

On his way to last month’s MADE bike show in Portland, OR, following a weekend in Fairfax, CA, for our premier of the Camera Corner documentary, Josh spent an afternoon with long-time friends of the site – artist Chris McNally and designer Jessica Chan of Tunitas Creative – and documented their collaboration on this month’s Group Ride giveaway item.

Below, get to know the San Francisco-based artist/designers and take a detailed look at making one-of-a-kind Day Totes up for grabs this month for Group Ride subscribers, as well as $150 gift cards from our friends at Ripton.

Carving mountain descents and sprinting up short rises, Morgan Taylor rekindled a love for zippy road bikes with the Chumba SOCO SL Ti All Road. In this long term review, Morgan reflects on what makes the SOCO a bike they’d like to keep just a little bit longer…

A few weeks back, during our State Bicycle Ti All-Road review, a conversation about titanium unfurled in the comments. The Radavist is uniquely positioned to have this discussion as we’ve amassed more Beautiful Bicycle galleries than anyone else on the web, and a large portion of these feature titanium frames. In the eighteen years of documenting cycling culture, we’ve also amassed a large contact list in the framebuilding world.

In an attempt to demystify the material, we reached out to No. 22 Bicycle Company for a bit of Ti Talk.