The Radavist

My friends at Chumba Cycles have had a truly inspirational story since re-launching the brand in early 2014. While the name Chumba Cycles has been around for some time in the mountain bike world, this is an entirely different company when compared to the brand that launched in California during the early ’90s. Without going into the details too much, Vince and Mark purchased the brand a few years back and began making their tig-welded steel bikes in-house in Austin, TX. Around that same time, they moved shops, and on a recent trip to the Lonestar State, I swung through to check out their new digs and see some of the bikes they were building up for customers.

We got the keys to The Cub House 2.0 in June of 2017. We’d been at our original little shop in South Pasadena for a couple of years and I was extremely nervous about the move to much more “upscale” San Marino, even though it was only a few short blocks away. San Marino definitely has a reputation for being rigid, so The Cub House stands out here. Like REALLY stands out. Have you seen our spot? There aren’t too many multicolor service station turned Bike & Plant Stores in our area.

The way I ride road bikes has evolved with the way the bikes are being built. As I have moved away from pack racing over the past 10 years, I have desired more variety in my daily rides. Most of my rides involve sections of steep LA county fire roads or linking hilly neighborhood climbs together by zigging and zagging through hidden dirt paths.

Photos by John Watson, words by Sean Talkington of Team Dream Team

Almost exactly a year ago, I flew out to Connecticut to take a tour of Cannondale’s headquarters, grab quick lunch with Lebron James, and discuss the possibility of doing a collaborative bike for Team Dream. To say I’m a cycling fanboy is a massive understatement. This is the kind of idea I have pined over for years.

As a big rider, I commend when a big bike can look so balanced. Perhaps that’s what drew me to this De Salvo All-Road the guys at GSC recently built up for a customer. It just looks so balanced. Part of my attraction to this machine is also due to Mike DeSalvo being such a stand-up guy and capable frame builder, but it’s not every day that you see a big bike like this have such a pleasant stance.

The formula is simple, the components to the equation began with a custom titanium frame. Custom in its fit, not necessarily its use. Mike DeSalvo builds lots of disc road bikes for his clients and while the others might not have a pump peg or a third bottle cage on the downtube, they’re two easy details Mike can add to his beautifully-fabricated titanium frames.

For a build kit, the client chose SRAM Red eTap, Boyd Wheels, Fizik, White Industries, and a Parlee Fork. Staple brands void of ostentatious flashiness. Why distract from such pristine titanium construction? Mike DeSalvo’s work is impeccable and this build came out so clean that I’m stoked to be able to share it here. Check out more at DeSalvo Cycles.

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If you want a custom build like this and live in Los Angeles, hit up Golden Saddle Cyclery.

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!

The HIA Velo Co-Founder’s Personal Founder Road
Photos by Bryan Clifton, words by John Watson

Doug Zell is best known for his success with the coffee brand Intelligentsia Coffee, but as a lifelong cyclist, Doug has recently invested in a company that has made recent headlines with their new, US-made, production, carbon road bikes. HIA Velo was co-founded by Tony Karklins and Doug Zell. The two wanted to bring full-on production of carbon fiber back to the US, resulting in a $3,000 USD frameset, painted in-house with a variety of color choices. These bikes use the highest quality materials and are manufactured by using the same technology as you’d find in the pro peloton bikes. All from their facilities in Arkansas.

Photographer Bryan Clifton met up with Doug Zell on a recent trip to HIA Velo and shot his Lucky Charm Founder road bikes. It’s built with SRAM eTap with Carbon Quarq Power ReadyCranks, Ksyrium Pro Carbon SL C wheels, EE Cycleworks brakes, Cane Creek Forty headset, and Fizik parts. These bikes have all the flash, without the excessive branding. In my personal opinion, there’s no need for heavily-branded bikes let the frameset and its detailing do the talking…

Follow HIA Velo‘s story at their website and stay tuned to the Radavist for future projects involving the brand.

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Follow HIA Velo on Instagram.

The Vanilla Workshop has multiple tiers in terms of frameset design and production. At the highest tier is a Vanilla. These are 100% custom, lugged beauties made entirely by Sacha White. Their wait list is so long, it’s not even worth mentioning. Then on the more readily-available tier is a Speedvagen frameset. These used to be only available as a 100% custom geometry with multiple options from paint, ranging from a simple, single color with detail hits to complex, “Surprise Me” paint jobs that are so wild, they’ve inspired how other builders tackle paint design.

Now, Speedvagen has a third option in its pricing catalog: the OG1 road frameset. These are stock frames, already painted and in stock now, ready to ship to you in days or weeks, not months. The OG1 also carries a pricetag that won’t make you choke on your morning breakfast, when it comes to a made in the USA frame anyway.

The OG1 is still made 100% by hand in the Vanilla Workshop and it’s painted in house with a custom Speedvagen design, usually two per year with the first year’s designs being limited to a matte lavender or a burly-looking matte olive drab! It’s obvious which color you’re seeing here.

These frames are a deal, but there’s a catch…

Nick’s Hub and Spoke Cycleworks Track
Photos by Kyle Kelley, words by John Watson

Just as news of the Southern California framebuilder and painter Brian Baylis’ passing made its way to Los Angeles, this bike rolled in through the doors of Golden Saddle Cyclery, immediately grabbing Kyle’s attention. Its owner, Nick Brock races for team Dos Llantas in the San Diego-area. When he wanted a custom frame to fit his obviously very tall stance, he contacted Hub and Spoke Cycleworks in National City who took the important measurements and got to work.

Once the frame was complete, it was painted by Brian Powell, an owner of Hub and Spoke who also paints at Joe Bell’s paint shop. From there, Nick built it up with a Chub hubset on H+Son rims, with a Sugino crankset, FSA cockpit, seatpost and a Fizik Antares saddle.

With NAHBS coming up this week, a bike like this truly embodies what small-time frame and paint shops embody: creativity and customization. You can have all the flash without burning all your cash. Even though we lost Brian Baylis, his legacy lives on with every new builder or painter that pops up in Southern California. If you ever get the chance to see a Baylis in person, take some extra time examining it and you’ll see what I mean.

If you live in the National City area, make sure you swing through Hub and Spoke Cycleworks to check out their shop!

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Follow Kyle on Instagram, Nick on Instagram and Hub and Spoke Cycle Works on Instagram.