Cycling has a way of sneaking up on people. A lot of folks begin their love affair with bikes through commuting, which turns to road riding, gravel, and beyond. One such person is Kamil, from Finland, who found bikes through this utilitarian path but is now using his Pelago Stavanger as a veritable all-rounder…
“All-Road”
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A FoCo Collabo: Josh’s Bender 29+ Touring MTB with Oddity Squid Fork
Will Bender is a bicycle frame builder based in Fort Collins, CO. His custom frames run the gamut from all-road to gravel, touring, and modern hardtails. Last summer, Josh paid Will a visit to document his shop and learn about his background and approach to building bikes. While he was there, he enlisted Will to build the touring MTB of his dreams — a comfortable 29+ rig capable of carrying heavy loads and designed to harmonize with the Oddity Squid Fork made concurrently by another Fort Collins frame builder, Sean Burns. Continue reading below for the full rundown on this build…
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‘Cross Bikes Ain’t Dead, They’re Just Gravel Bikes Now: Emily’s 2015 V2 Squidcross
We were pedaling up a steep pitch on the dirt road where Emily Kachorek now resides in Patagonia, Arizona, when she leaned over and said “this is just my old ‘cross racing bike, not a gravel bike” and we chuckled together. Emily relocated to southern Arizona last year to reconnect with herself after leaving her career as a UCI professional cyclocross racer. As a co-founder of Squid Bikes, she’s raced this bike globally: China, Australia, and Japan. In its current build, this V2 Squidcross is very close to UCI-spec she raced between the ribbons and through the mud, sand, and off-camber chicanes, save for the tires.
During our time together in Patagonia, we had a lot of conversations about life, ‘cross, and this thing everyone calls “gravel.” Which prompted me to photograph her beloved steed and write about it here…
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Category Purgatory: Turning the YT Industries Szepter Into a Mountain Biker’s Gravel Bike
The Szepter is YT Industries‘ first foray into designing a gravel bike. But unlike other gravel frame designs that are subtly-tweaked road bikes, the Szepter shares more DNA with the German company’s line-up of trail bikes. After putting—and pushing—the Szepter through its paces on his local Los Angeles-area trails, below Travis Engel shares his review alongside some suggested adjustments to the stock build to get the most out of this gravity-focused gravel bike.
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Cape Town Steel Safari: A Shop Visit to Mercer Bikes
Growing up in a small South African town in the late 80s and early 90s meant David Mercer was largely shielded from the travesties of the apartheid era. But in 1994, in a coincidental coming-of-age historical convergence, the status quo was cracked open, not just for Mercer but for the whole country. The same year he turned 16, South Africa officially ended apartheid as the country held its first democratic elections. At this point, Mercer was well enmeshed in his love affair with bikes, having grown up a young BMX ripper but becoming fully infatuated with mountain biking as a teen. Many youthful afternoons spent pouring over bicycle magazines like MB UK and Mountain Bike Action led him to develop a fast fascination with steel-wielding magicians like Dave Yates and Chas Roberts and were responsible for his own framebuilding aspirations. However, the end of apartheid brought a wave of foreign frames as longtime sanctions were finally lifted. This swift influx quickly decimated the local steel bicycle manufacturing industry and a deflated Mercer went on to become a veterinarian. The dream of bikes was always there, simmering in the background, but it would be nearly a decade-and-a-half before he’d pick up a torch himself.
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Radar Roundup: MADE Handmade Bike Show, Wizard Works in the US, August Trees, Velo Orange Granola Moose, Goodday + Curiosity Spacer Cradle Rack, Brother Cycles Mr Wooden, Ortleib Repair Week, Santa Cruz Suspension, Charlie and Jacquie
Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. Read on below for today’s findings…
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Chris Corona’s MASH SF Rockbanger Hardtail MTB
Following the review of his MASH SF Steel All-Road from earlier this year, Chris Corona is back with yet another MASH bike review. This time, he’s built himself a steel “Rockbanger” 27.5 hardtail mountain bike and documents it in his stunning photographic style. Let’s check it out in detail below!
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2022 Philly Bike Expo: Acoustic, Blaze, Chapman, Engin, Jubilee, Liberation, No22, Rodeo Labs, Vicious
Picking up where yesterday’s post left off, we’ve got our second and final gallery from the Philly Bike Expo, featuring track bikes, gravel bikes, commuters, and a high-pivot full suspension. Read on for John’s closing thoughts on the offerings from this year’s Expo and a reflective outro on the future of custom bike showcases…
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Introducing the Argonaut Cycles GR3 Gravel Bike, Shop Visit, and Interview with Founder Ben Farver
Over the years, we’ve done a lot with Argonaut Cycles, from documenting its first shop location to photographing its race team at the Rouge Roubaix and shooting bikes at various showcases. The brand has come a long way in that time and today, after three years of design, testing, and research, they are releasing the GR3, a next-gen custom carbon gravel bike.
While in Bend, OR, recently, Josh caught up with the Argonaut Cycles team for a tour of their facilities and sat down for an interview with founder and designer Ben Farver. The conversation covers the brand’s fully custom in-house carbon frame and component production methods and more. Below, find Argonaut’s GR3 introduction, Josh’s interview with Ben, and an extensive photo gallery detailing the Argonaut fabrication process!
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2022 Bespoked Mega Gallery, Part 01: Sturdy Cycles, Quirk Cycles, Donhou Bicycles, Sideways, Lord Cycles, Stayer Cycles, Ted James Designs, and Auckland Cycle Works
Just over one week ago Josh was in London for the 2022 edition of Bespoked Handmade Bicycle Show. Under new ownership and management, the show moved from its former location in Bristol, England to the Lee Valley Velo Park in Stratford of East London. With three days of track racing, talks, food, hangs, coffee, enviable new products, and—of course—hundreds of eclectic and beautiful bicycles on display, the show was a major success for the new organizers, exhibitors, and attendees.
Let’s dive straight into Part One of our recap below with a look at bikes from a bevy of builders: Sturdy Cycles, Quirk Cycles, Donhou Bicycles, Sideways, Lord Cycles, Stayer Cycles, Ted James Designs, and Auckland Cycle Works…
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Bikes From The 2022 Chris King Open House
It’s that time of year again! The Chris King Open House returned to Portland this past weekend and, with it, a showcase of seventeen custom bikes. Let’s check them out in detail below!
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Inside the Adventure Dojo: A Visit to Curve Cycling in Melbourne Australia
In this shop visit, Sam swings by Curve Cycling’s Melbourne digs and chats with the team about the brand’s history, their team of riders, and, of course, their range of adventure-first titanium and steel freedom machines. Read on to get the full rundown.
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Radar Roundup: Dark Realm Returns, Nordest Kutxo, LOOK Flat Pedals, Why? Sale, MW Hauser, The Tour Divide Sofiane Sehili, and Lael’s Journey
Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. Read on below for today’s findings…
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Radar Roundup: Ritchey WCS GX Gravel Wheelset, Cybercycles Cranks, 13mm Voile Rack Straps, Tumbleweed Shirts, 4130 Olive Drab, Bicycle Nomad on VICE News, The Trails Before Us, Path Less Paved
Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. Read on below for today’s findings…
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Radar Roundup: American Classic MTB Tires, Alpacka Raft Sheri, Velo Orange Hot Bar, Maghalie Westfjords Way Challenge, Sewing Hope Together, New Topstone, and RONDO MYLC
Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. Read on below for today’s findings…
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Radar Roundup: Framebagracadabra XL, Roost Ti Bars, Monsoon Relief, Metal Trail Jerseys?, $500 off Why Cycles, Melburn Roobaix Video, and Tejas Gravel
Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. Read on below for today’s findings…
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Radar Roundup: Radrod For Sale, Teal ReMote, Pilot Bar Bag, and PAUL Fixed Disc WORD Hubs
Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. Read on below for today’s findings…
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Radar Roundup: Bridge Bike Works Launches, ROOBAIX Returns, Tern Short Haul, TALLAC CLIP, and Paul Talks Klampers
Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. Read on below for today’s findings…