Wow! What a weekend that was. The Mid South returned this year and so I found myself in Stillwater once again, hanging out at District Bicycles, shooting the event as well as a few bike portraits. Tomorrow, we’ll be posting our über gallery but today I wanted to showcase my buddy Jared and his new Crust Bikes Evasion Lite he built up at his shop in North Carolina, Back Alley Bikes, so read on below for more!
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Radar
Readers’ Rides: Carl’s 1997 GT Avalanche
For this morning’s Readers’ Rides, we’ve got Carl’s ’97 GT Avalanche, with its signature triple triangle, amidst some glowing gold aspen leaves. Read on below for more!
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We Knew the Work Had to Continue: The Soul of Dario Pegoretti is Here
Not Chaotic, But Like Jazz
“We are all building on what Dario left us.”
On August 23rd, 2018 Italian framebuilder, artist, music aficionado, cancer survivor, and living legend Dario Pegoretti unexpectedly passed away. At only 62 years old he had made an indelible mark on the cycling industry. After building uncredited high-end custom frames for names such as Induran, Cipollini and Pantani he started his own company, Pegoretti Cicli. Both a traditionalist and iconoclast Dario never wavered from his love of steel while also constantly playing with innovations in technique, frame design, and painting. In all of these, he was a renowned master.
Radar
Radar Roundup: If You Give a Girl a Bike, SAS M-1, Para-cyclist Josie Fouts, Easton Gravel/Adventure Handlebar, North London Dirt, and Two Years on a Bike
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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An Iconic All-Rounder: Stooping with the Singular Cycles Peregrine 650b Gravel Bike
One of the original “all-rounders”, the Singular Cycles Peregrine first took flight over a decade ago, in May 2007, as an homage to post-war French constructeurs with modern updates like bigger tire clearances, more robust steel tubing, and disc brakes. I’ve had this bike for longer than I’d like to admit but with supply chain issues, parts shortages, and trying to align a review with more stock incoming from Singular, I’m finally ready to share my thoughts on this versatile bike. And we’re giving this exact build away in the coming weeks, so read on below
Radar
Toby’s 1993 Specialized Rockhopper Expert: Readers’ Rides
The early 90s offered a plethora of bikes that would last for ages and Toby’s 1993 Specialized Rockhopper Expert is just another example of a bike that will probably last another 30 years. Let’s take a look in today’s edition of Readers’ Rides!
Radar
Radar Roundup: Jackets Ornot, Wizard Works Musettes, Win a Spoon Customs Cervélo, Cambium Tones, and Bearclaw Forks
Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. Read on below for today’s findings…
Radar
Radar Roundup: DIY Workshops, Bike Commuting, Roots, and the Pan Celtic Race
Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. Read on below for today’s findings…
Reportage
Catching up with Karl: Bikes for Buddies and his Rusty Trucker Mountain Cruiser
Back in 2020, Cjell Monē and I wrote about our friend Karl Artis‘ eclectic bike collection and his collaborative “Bikes for Buddies” fundraiser with Matt Whitman, which raised enough money to purchase fifty bikes for youngsters in need. Since then, Karl has added even more bikes to his personal cache, including an enviable custom mountain cruiser, and finally found a home for the youth bikes after months of pandemic-induced hiccups. I recently met up with Karl and a crew of other friends – who were fresh off a weekend of building and donating bikes – to check out Karl’s new cruiser and enjoy some metamorphic chunder on the trails of North Phoenix.
Reportage
2021 Philly Bike Expo: Rivendell’s Wolbis Slugstone
Leave it to Rivendell to create a new genre of bike design that harkens back to a simpler time in cycling history, while also employing modern production methods and componentry. The Susie W. Longbolts/ Wolbis Slugstone and it’s heavier-duty cousin, the Gus Boots Willsen, are what Rivendell refers to as “hillibikes.” Their design is modern, but their overall concept is influenced by early mountain bikes ridden on Mt Tamalpais, north of San Fransisco, in the ’80s. And, by the way, their names are all anagrams of each other. Rivendell had a decked-out Wolbis at this year’s Philly Bike Expo where Jarrod Bunk caught up with them to photograph the build and learn more about these hillbikes from Rivendell’s Will Keating.
Radar
Readers’ Rides: Chris’ Rodeo Labs Traildonkey
It’s Friday and that means it’s another Readers’ Rides feature. This time, we look at Chris’ Rodeo Labs Traildonkey, with a pretty wild parts spec. Chris supplied all the build details so let’s check it out below!
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A Few Unique Builds from the 2021 Sedona Mountain Bike Festival
Unlike the bike expos and builder showcases we are fortunate to document on this site, such as the recent Philly Bike Expo and Bespoked UK, the Sedona Mountain Bike Festival is not typically the event to attend if you’re interested in encountering custom frames or ogling otherwise unique bike builds on display. Instead, group rides, production bike demos, and other community-building shenanigans are the focus.
This year, however, there was much ogling to be done. Thomson featured two bikes from builders they often partner with – Oddity Cycles and MONē Bikes – in addition to a couple of their own Hooches available to demo; Why Cycles had a booth connected their sister brand, Revel Bikes, offering demos in addition to showcasing two head-turning builds; Celilo Cycles had a collection of their handmade wooden bikes on display; and Atherton Cycles sent a custom 3D printed enduro bike with a friend from the UK to show off at the event.
Continue reading below for an in-depth look at these marvelous machines and be sure to scroll all the way through to the last one — it’s a trip!
Radar
Readers’ Rides: Acit’s Stooge Scrambler from Singapore
This week’s Readers’ Rides comes all the way from Singapore. Acit’s Stooge Scrambler is super dreamy and he’s done a great job documenting it, so let’s just right in!
Radar
Readers’ Rides: Surly Midnight Special Review – Christopher’s Raw Custom All-Road Build
This week’s Readers’ Rides comes from Christopher in NYC and his Surly Midnight Special which he customized. It’s a real beaut, so let’s check it out in detail below!
Radar
RAR’s Fundraiser “Drink Plenty of Water” Headset Cap
The Radical Adventure Riders have new stem caps with “Drink Plenty of Water” etched on them. Choose between 10 cap colors. $15 or more of your purchase goes directly to Radical Adventure Rider’s programs and operations. This is a collaboration between Dispatch.bike and Corvid Cycles, who is also donating a complete bike to the SJ Brooks Scholarship. Check out all the details at RAR.
Radar
Readers’ Rides: Wayne’s Trek 6000 Colour Explosion!
You might want to put on some sunglasses to look at this week’s Readers’ Rides post from Wayne in Bristol. Read on below to find out what inspired this unique Trek 6000 build!
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The Stooge Scrambler Review: Evolution of the Modern Klunker
Rigid bikes. The roots of riding off-road, yet now the arena of weirdos, quacks, and masochists. Mountain biking started out long before telescoping forks and complex linkage designs, but the bikes of those early days are now a far cry from the activity most consider “mountain biking”.
Of course, those weirdos, quacks, and masochists still have a place in this world, and it turns out I’m one of them. It wasn’t always this way. I used to ride and write about my experience with suspension mountain bikes as a full time job. I could go on all day about spring curves and axle paths, dampers and volume spacers, sag and suspension setup.
But, in the past five or so years, my focus has shifted. I’d rather spend a weekend riding to small places and sleeping out under the stars than shuttling the local loamers and crushing parking lot beers. And in that time I’ve come to value a mountain bike that requires less maintenance.
Having ridden a lot of high end suspension bikes, I know what it takes to keep them running tip top – and I just don’t have the facilities to do that at home, nor the money to pay someone else to do it. A rigid bike makes sense for my sometimes bi-weekly, sometimes monthly mountain bike hobby.
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John’s Moots Womble 29er Loaded for the San Juan Hut Telluride to Moab Route
The word supple gets thrown around a lot, mostly related to randonneur, road, or gravel bikes with a bi-plane steel fork and typically, rim brakes, yet I’m convinced I’ve built the most supple, modern mountain bike, just in time for our San Juan Hut trip this week. Check it out in detail below…