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The 2024 NACCC (North American Cycle Courier Championships) took place in sunny San Diego, CA just two weeks ago. Josh was in town to photograph the week-long event’s finale and, along with co-organizers David Pintado and Luis Aguilar detail what NACCC is and what made this year’s San Diego edition truly memorable. Read on below!
Travis specializes in all things high-tech, full-suspension, and main-stream. He’s been riding mountain bikes since 1994 and writing about them since 2005. He enjoys diving deep into a new product and breaking down what it actually means out in the real world. Travis’s “real world” is Los Angeles, where he spends much of his time helping maintain the rocky, exposed, and absolutely world-class trails throughout the San Gabriel Mountains. Though he dabbles in long-distance touring and short-distance dirt jumping, Travis is happiest when he’s got a mountain bike, a stack of podcasts, and several thousand vertical feet ahead of him.
The Tumbleweed Sunliner ($3775 complete) continues a long-held tradition of equipping a mountain bike with touring accoutrements. Since the mountain bike’s inception, people have been bolting racks and strapping bags to them, taking advantage of its beefy chassis and wide gearing to pedal deeper into rugged terrain than ever before. John has been riding the Sunliner all year in the Southern Rockies, both unloaded as a trail bike and loaded on camping trips. Read on for his thorough assessment of this timeless touring bike…
Santa Fe is where The Radavist calls home, so what better location to look at in our first Cycling Guide? Read on for a look at The City Different…
Los Angeles-based OMAC has a run of disruptive patterning jerseys made in house by Endo Customs. The patterning is inspired by some of the most iconic camo designs but with a modern spin, bringing in bright, vibrant and contrasting colors with traditional tones. They’ve got base layers, road jerseys, and casual riding/running jerseys, all made in Los Angeles.
Roll on over to OMAC to see more.
Spencer once got stranded on a ride with only a mildly bright rear light as his means to navigate in the dark. This experience sparked a curiosity that lay dormant until Tom of Outbound Lighting handed him some custom monochromatic bike lights he’d tinkered with. Read on as Spencer tests a few different colors of light and attempts to explain the complicated science of how our eyes react to various portions of the visible light spectrum.
Rodeo Adventure Labs was founded as an open-to-anyone team a decade ago by Stephen Fitzgerald and a group of friends in search of less rules and more fun on bikes. Since becoming a production bike company with an emphasis on versatility, customization, and—always—refined design, Rodeo has retained a culture of questioning the norm. Today, Hailey Moore shares a long-form profile of the high points and headwinds Rodeo has navigated over the past ten years, and exciting insights into how the company is thinking about its future. To accompany this Shop Visit, we’re also sharing people-and-bike portraits of the folks behind Rodeo Adventure Labs in a separate Radar.
Our 2024 MADE Bike Show coverage from Portland, Oregon, continues with Part 04. Click on through below for selects from Ahearne, Jeffrey Bock, Neuhaus, Rock Lobster, Scarab, Sim Works/Doppo, Souvenir, Squid, Tonic, and Zabrina.
Originally from Wilmington, North Carolina, and formally trained as an architect, John began documenting cycling culture for what would become this website in 2006 while residing in New York City. His lens focused on framebuilders, Beautiful Bicycles, rides, and events that made alt-cycling culture so vibrant.
Over the years, he spent short stints in Austin, Texas and Los Angeles before landing on the edge of the Colorado Plateau in Santa Fe, New Mexico. A lifelong fan of the desert and the reptiles that call them home, he and Cari spend their downtime touring through North America’s dry and arid places on foot, bicycle, and 4×4.
John still brakes for snakes and lizards, stopping to say hello on every ride. His love of animals and regional folk art has inspired the branding for The Radavist.
When he’s not riding, he’s day-dreaming of canyons.
Photographer Wende Cragg has been a pillar of the cycling community since she began documenting road, cyclocross, and the early days of mountain biking in Marin County, California, and throughout the United States over 50 years ago. We are delighted to launch the trailer for our first feature-length documentary film, Camera Corner: Wende Cragg Documents the Birth of Mountain Biking. It profiles Wende’s work and its lasting impact on the cycling industry.
We’re also unveiling a book and merch pre-order, as well as the beginning of a growing list of film screenings, which kicks off with the world premiere at the Marin Museum of Bicycling on August 16th & 17th and another at MADE’s movie night on August 23rd. There’s exclusive early viewing access, pre-orders for an epic photobook featuring Wende’s work, and an associated throwback merchandise run.
Continue reading below for all the details!
The all-new Ocean and San DeltaPeak UtiliTee ($99) is designed for long, hot days in the saddle for riders who like to feel a garment flapping in the cool breeze rather than a jersey…
Since posting our first look back in April, John’s been putting in miles on the Kona Ouroborus Supreme and finally wrapped his head around not only how to classify this bike but also what its best use case is. Is this the next stage in the evolution of gravel bikes?
Today, we present a recap of the 2024 LA Invitational put on by all the lovely folks over at The Cub House in Los Angeles, CA. In a slightly different format than our typical event Reportage, the team gathered stories from various participants, who recounted harrowing and ecstatic experiences while out riding the event routes. Then, they conclude with a gallery of drool-worthy two- and four-wheeled machines from the bike and car show portion. Let’s check it out below!
Summer means something different for mountain bikers in Los Angeles. Unless you’re in Malibu, it’s not a great time of year to ride. Travis is not in Malibu, but he’s got ten products that will make the season more palatable.
For lifers like us, it’s always kind of exciting when a celebrity is spotted riding a bike. And it’s an even more exciting when it’s a nice bike. Whose heart didn’t swell when they saw that photo of Conan O’Brien on his Serotta? Unfortunately, for every Conan O’Brien podcast with a Dutch frame builder, or David Byrne book about urban cycle touring, there are a dozen Simon Cowell injuries on overpowered e-bikes. Especially in the U.S., we all too rarely see the people who drive mainstream culture putting bikes in a positive light. That’s why Canyon’s partnership with LeBron James is such a big deal.
“Being different is beautiful.” – Uriel Torres
A film by Chad Unger, winner of the Rapha Film Fund, Unspoken Road is a portrait of Deaf and Queer brother and sister, Nora and Uriel Torres. The siblings, originally from Mexico, discuss how growing up in a small town in California they experienced discrimination and isolation, but as they came of age discovered the therapeutic and life-affirming value of cycling.
The Redlands Strada Rossa celebrated its tenth anniversary in the spring of 2024. While the ride has changed over the years, the spirit of the event has remained much the same. Below, Brandon Pfaff dives into the history of the ride, this year’s route, and what makes the Strada Rossa a distinctive cycling event.
In celebration of California Mountain Biking Month, Lowelifes Respectable Citizens’ Club is partnering with the California Mountain Biking Coalition to give away your choice of top-of-the-line Ibis mountain bike and raise funds for the organizations. One lucky donor will take home a brand new Ibis of their choice with the finest components from SRAM, Fox, Shimano, Maxxis, and more.
80% of funds raised will support Lowelifes’ trail stewardship work on the Angeles National Forest in Los Angeles County, and the remaining 20% will bolster CAMTB’s statewide advocacy and land manager engagement efforts.
Each $5 Donation = 1 Chance to Win
Roll on over to the Lowelifes to enter!
