The Radavist

Rodeo Labs Spork 2.0 Builder Series: Alchemy Custom All-Road
Photos by Me Fitzgerald words by Stephen Fitzgerald

When you work for a custom builder like Alchemy it must be quite a thing to stare at a blank sheet of paper and decide what sort of bike you want to create for yourself. I guess that’s why Drew went custom-custom with this bike. This Alchemy gravel bike most closely resembles the company’s ‘Chiron’ model, but there is nothing stock about it. Geometry, tubing, cable management, and even paint design were all worked over and personalized.

The Allied story is one that has been touched on briefly here on the Radavist. A brand that was formed through the foresight of one man; Tony Karklins and his ability to acquire a Canadian brand Guru’s assets at auction. This included the machinery, technology, everything; down to the paint booth. Upon winning the bid, Tony then moved this equipment to Arkansas, hired a few key players and began cranking on this new brand, dubbed Allied Cycle Works, which operates under the umbrella of HIA Velo. I could go more into this story, but people like Patrick at Red Kite Prayer have done an exceptional job covering the beginnings of Allied, so if the story of the brand is what you’re here for, head to RKP for an exceptional write up.

Now, when Patrick wrote his piece about Allied, they had but one model; the Alfa road bike. Later, the brand developed this beauty, the Alfa All-Road. While the Alfa road has all the lines and functionality of a proper carbon, rim brake road bike, the Alfa All-Road opens up the door a little wider to the sorts of rides we really enjoy over here at the Radavist; dirty and dusty fun!

I last saw this kick-ass woman at the first Grinduro. That’s over three years ago and in that time, she’s continued to crush races with what always seems to be such finesse. Hell, even at the start of this year’s Land Run 100, I hooped and hollered at her in the first few miles, to which she returned a smile and pedaled off into the dusty abyss.

Dani‘s endeavors in the cycling industry are proudly supported by Tenspeed Hero and Firefly. This year, she’s upping the ante by starting a team of all-female dirt road racers. These ladies are looking to travel to events like Land Run 100 and others, in search of competition and glory. The team is dubbed Bitch ‘n’ Grit, and is sponsored by BitchStix, a company that makes lip balms and sunblock, while donating all net proceeds to organizations that raise awareness for domestic abuse and sexual assault prevention programs.

This is the bike Dani will pedal as she joins her teammates in races. It’s Firefly number three for her, hence the SHRED SL3D and is the bike that’s dedicated to dirt road racing. I could go on for a bit longer about the bike, its integrated seat post, and her perspective, but I’d rather send you to her blog to read all about it.

Oh, and she got third place in the women’s category on this bike… Dani, we’ll see you again soon – sooner than three years! – and good luck this season!

____

Follow LandRun 100 on Instagram

We’ve seen a lot of design gimmicks to make rough roads more pleasant on ‘cross or all-road bikes, mostly in the form of suspension forks, yet I personally feel like there’s more that could be done in terms of frame design. While I’m not an engineer, I feel like achieving comfort on rough roads can mostly be done in the frame itself. That with larger volume, lower pressure tires, a carbon fiber bicycle can really show its true potential when the going gets tough.

Granted, there have actually been a good number of attempts at this over the years, but mostly from the bigger brands with extensive engineering teams, with access to custom layups and large production numbers, but it wasn’t until I saw the Calfee Manta RS at NAHBS this year, that I really thought frame design and compliance had been approached in a different, honest design language.

A Stelbel Nina All-Road Bike for South Africa
Photos by Tino Pohlmann, cover photo by Stan Engelbrecht and words by John Watson

After yesterday’s gallery, I received a number of emails requesting more photos of this bike!

Within yesterday’s epic gallery by Stan Engelbrecht, you might have spotted this blue beauty, albeit covered in a bit of dirt, dust, mud and Apidura bikepacking bags. This Stelbel Nina is something special. Made in Italy from one of the oldest tig welding builders in the world, the Nina is at home on the ‘cross course with 33mm tires as much as it is in the backcountry, rolling on 40mm rubber and unlike many of the frames on the market today, this one comes from a legacy.

Stelbel has arguably brought more to the tig-welding alignment table than anyone else. When Stelio Belletti first founded the company in 1973, there weren’t a lot of builders out there experimenting with tig welding and not just with bicycle frames. Belletti was responsible for improving the chassis for the Grand Prix monster machine, the Honda 500 GP as well as a fuselage for the P19 Scricciolo, a small plane and the vehicle of choice for the Aero Club d’Italia. This knowledge spilled over onto the Stelbel name and to this day, the workshop is creating impeccable examples of tig-welded steel. See more of this beaut in the gallery and for more information on the Nina, head to Stelbel!

____

Follow Tino on Instagram and follow Stelbel on Instagram!

Bikepacking isn’t limited to mountain bikes and this W.H. Bradford has some tricks up its sleeves… For starters, there’s a Thomson dropper trigger under the SRAM shifter, extra bottle bosses on the Ruckus Composites-altered Whiskey fork and plenty of triangle space for that splinter camo Porcelain Rocket bag. With clearance for Bruce Gordon’s Rock N Road tires, this bike can go just about anywhere and when it’s time to stealth camp, it’ll blend right into the woods. Just don’t let that Profile Racing freehub spin or you’ll blow your cover.

Since relocating to Los Angeles, a land with endless dirt in both the fireroad and track variety, my preferences have shifted a lot in terms of what I want a bike to take on. Capabilities are often grown in the industry piecemeal, then once and a while, a bike comes along that asks a question: what if?

The Cannondale Slate is a what if bike. What if 650b or 27.5″ wheels with a 42mm tire makes more sense for “all-road” riding? What if a damn Lefty shock with just the right amount of travel can instill confidence in new riders while offering an added fun bonus to experienced athletes?

Last February, I got to take a prototype Slate out for a spin and recently, Cannondale sent me a production Slate Force CX1 build to try out. I’ve been spending the past week or so thrashin’ and crashin’ this machine. While many exceptional bikes pass through this website, both for review and for personal acquisition, I will say this is the most fun I’ve had on a bike review.

Remember this one? From NAHBS? It was one of my favorites in the show. Everything about it just looked right. First impressions are everything you see and these days, with the whole bigger is better mentality about tire clearances, it was nice to see something embrace a modest tire so elegantly.

Mosaic‘s GS1 disc all-road bike is a custom steel or titanium frameset, offered by the Colorado-based frame builders.

Let me reiterate that: this is not a production model with stock sizing. It’s made with 100% custom geometry. A custom geometry ensures this bike will fit you like a tailored suit.

The GS1 is a road bike with disc brakes and room for around a 38mm tire. It has a road bottom-bracket drop (72.5mm) and a slightly slacker head tube than your average road frame (72.5º). Side note: I like how those two numbers match up so perfectly. The 420mm stays and 1033.5mm wheelbase can be best interpreted as smooth sailin’ down your favorite road, be it dirt or sealed.