The Radavist

During his sojourn to Northern California in April, John Watson wanted to document one framebuilder in particular whose work had caught his eye. John Fitzgerald has been building elegant custom steel bicycles under the name Fitz Cyclez for just under two decades, yet he tends to fly under the radar. He doesn’t attend the big bike shows, and he’s not really interested in marketing his brand. But as anyone who’s seen a Fitz in the wild can attest, his work speaks for itself – and his work is seen often throughout Sonoma County and the greater Bay Area, thanks to Fitz’s popularity within the randonneuring community.

To tell the tale of Fitz Cyclez from the eyes of a local, John Watson tapped Santa Rosa’s own Nicholas Haig-Arack to interview John Fitzgerald. Take a peek into the world of Fitz Cyclez.

 After an eleven-year hiatus, Ira Ryan is back building bicycles under his namesake moniker, Ira Ryan Cycles, in Portland, Oregon. While Josh was visiting the City of Roses earlier this year, he stopped by Ira’s to catch up and check out some new projects. Continue reading below to look inside Ira’s workshop and drool over some of his exquisite recently built bicycles.

With the re-release of their ‘Rando’ offering, Velo Orange takes a stab at the slim, albeit existing, market of all-road bikes while adding their own, classically inspired twist. Floridian Nic Morales looked at where this gold-flecked bike shines and what pavement-centric dreams a thin-tubed modern randonneur inspires.

Pivot Cycles’ Vault gravel bike has plenty of amazing tech securely (wink wink) stashed in the frame making for a comfortable and uncompromising riding experience. Spencer is ever chasing something other than geometry inflation to review and Pivot’s patented ISO FLEX technology caught his eye. Make sure you take a peek inside the Vault for all the hidden treasure below…

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?

Rounding out our 2024 2024 Philly Bike Expo coverage by Brad Quartuccio, we have four phenomenal bikes from the Diversity Scholarship winners, ARTEFACT, Básica Estudio, Shovel Research, and Significant Other, all of which brought very unique and awe-inspiring work. We’re elated to feature some high res images of these on the web! Let’s check them out.

Continuing our 2024 Philly Bike Expo coverage with more Reportage with words and photos by Brad Quartuccio, featuring Chapman Cycles, Chumba Cycles, and Doom Bars. Let’s get to it!

Within a relatively straightforward product lineup, Chris King Precision Components manufactures hubs, headsets, bottom brackets, and, perhaps most importantly, the bearings inside that make them spin. On a recent trip to Portland, Oregon, Josh spent some time at the Chris King HQ factory to learn more about the company’s origins and what makes it continue to stand out in a crowded space of bearing-centric bicycle components. Read on below for the full rundown of what goes on at CKPC’s giant vegetable oil-fueled machine shop!

Over the last couple of years, our European correspondent Petor Georgallou has gotten to know Sour Bicycles, a small East German bike company who are trailblazing in their mix of domestic framebuilding in Dresden and continued importation of Taiwan-made bikes. Read on to hear about the unique conditions that have made the former states of East Germany a hotbed of innovation and manufacturing in Europe, as well as how a mega fail by Petor leads to the second of many shop visits in Germany.