Search Term – Change
I must say that I’m damn proud to live in New Mexico and I had no idea that such an awesome network of makers are blossoming here. We’ve looked at Moné’s operations down in Silver City, Baphomet Bicycles, checked in with Farewell Bags, looked at the framebag offerings from Buckhorn Bags, and today we’re featuring two local companies, starting with Evergreen Stitchworks and O’Leary Built Bikes, so let’s get to it.
Continuing on with our 2021 ENVE Builder Round Up coverage – we posted the first Gallery on Friday – today we’re featuring the show-stopping work of Prova Cycles, Naked Bicycles, 44 Bikes, Spooky, Retrotec, and Argonaut Cycles. Each of these builders brought something special to the showcase and a few raised the bar considerably in various ways. There’s a lot to go over here so let’s get to it!
Continued from Monday’s Reportage is our second and final gallery from the 2021 Handmade Bicycle Show Australia, featuring a culled selection from the talented Andy White, who provided a great introduction to the show at Part 01 so be sure to check in on that one. Without further adieu, enjoy Part 02 in the gallery!
Was it only a month ago – seems like a lifetime as Melbourne endured its 4th COVID-related lockdown which slammed the doors on travel, trade, and events. As we slowly emerge from our domiciles, here’s a head check on the only custom bicycle show in the World this year – the Handmade Bicycle Show Australia, or as I often refer, the show of bikes I’d love to own, but currently can’t afford (them all).
The current state of the world supply chain is messy. The bicycle industry, as you may know, is really feeling it. In the past year, we have seen a tidal wave of people dusting off their old 90’s mountain bikes, or going to their local bike shop to snag that 2021 model, and heading out into the world to see what this two-wheeled miracle has to offer. While it is exciting to see the surge in support towards the bicycle world, the industry frankly wasn’t exactly equipped for the demand that has become the new norm for the time being. This has component lead times reading in years as opposed to their usual months, shipping costs rising to astronomical amounts, and brands (especially smaller ones) attempting to carefully navigate these obstacles and adapt.
With the scrambled supply chain, it was unexpected and exciting for us at Crust to have the opportunity to team up with ENVE to work on making something special. Having already been big fans of ENVE’s Adventure Fork for its versatility and aesthetic, the idea of offering a Crust frame paired up with it started getting tossed around. Inspired by Hailey Moore (@hailey.m.moore) and her Bombora that she put a paint-matched carbon fork on, it seemed the match was already made. A few changes were made to the existing Bombora to accommodate the Adventure fork and freshen the frame up a bit. Once the design changes were made, the plans were signed off, and a long wait ensued.
In New Mexico, there’s this iconic bumper sticker that says “my other car is in the arroyo” and for some reason, it’s all I could think about while shooting Adam Sklar’s latest build for himself. Maybe it’s the cerakote color he chose for it, which kind of looks like rusty, raw steel. Or it could be that it was so windy when I shot this bike, that I had to seek refuge in an arroyo because the bike wouldn’t stay put on my prop stick.
At any rate, this bike has so many great details, in a very subtle, sleeper package. It’s not every day you see a completely painted titanium bike with a steel fork! Check out more below…
In the Navajo Nation town of Kayenta, Arizona, Jon Yazzie runs a guide company called Dzil Ta’ah Adventures. Its intent is to educate visitors on the history of the areas surrounding Kayenta through guided bike trips. This particular route is one he’s been working on for a while which parallels the mighty Comb Ridge before climbing the Sandstone Backbone via an old Mormon dugway, overlooking Kane Valley where the US government drilled into the Earth, uncovering uranium for the Manhattan Project. The result would send waves of radiation through the community for decades to come…
Do you remember that feeling way back when you learned to ride a bike? I had just begun school when I got my first bike. Day in and day out I would sit on the seat and push myself along the roadside curb with my right foot. My strides became longer and longer until one day I put caution to the wind and took my first pedal strokes. That day, the bike became my freedom machine. The world suddenly grew bigger, right in front of my tiny handlebars. I never looked back.
At roughly the size of a 1000ML Nalgene bottle, with a fill-up time of fewer than 30 seconds, the MSR Guardian Purifier water filter might just be the best filter on the market for all bicycle-related outings, yet it will cost ya… Let’s take a look at this game-changing filter in detail below.
In March 2015 I departed from my hometown Hermosillo, in the northern state of Sonora, México, on my very first extended bike trip. After three years of slowly saving money and getting the necessary gear, I quit my English teaching job and told my family I was going to the city of Guadalajara, about 1500 km (937 miles) south, just to pretend I had a goal; the truth is I didn’t. I was going to take the highway South thinking I could either quit whenever I felt like it or ’till my funds ran out. Days before my departure, my friend Javo said he’d come along since he wanted to make sure I made it safely out of Sonora because two bikes are stronger than one on a highway without a shoulder…
Adaptability. Sometimes life provides us with circumstances that are not exactly beautiful. Somewhere among the ugly bits, though, these cracks emerge from the rubble of things seemingly falling apart. I think of that space the cracks create as portals to a different way. These chasms are opportunities if you will. And that’s just it – you must have will.
With the snow melting and the season ripe for desert ramblings, Kyle Klain took his 2016 NAHBS-built Sklar fat bike and converted it to 29+. After spending all winter with fat-bike 26+ tires, this Sklar has undergone quite the transformation. This weekend while celebrating my 40th birthday in southeastern Utah, I documented Kyle’s stunning build in the morning sun. Check it out in detail below…
The Speedvagen Readymade program returns for 2021 but due to the pandemic, it required some new requirements for this popular program. Right now, Speedvagen is taking deposits for the Drop Bar GTFO and the Disc-OG bikes. A deposit of $1,000 is required to get get the ball rolling and only 11 of each bike model are available. Check out all the information below and if you like what you see, place your deposit at Speedvagen.
Read part I here: Full Circle on the Grand Loop: Part I – Trail Visions Ahead of Their Time
With the ambitious origins of the Grand Loop being shared in Part I of this series, let us now dive into the impact the route had on the evolution of bikepacking, and more specifically, bikepacking races. After all, the Grand Loop Race (GLR) was arguably the first of the modern bikepacking events and is responsible for creation and evolution of some of the most popular and longest-running mountain bike ultras in the United States – the Colorado Trail Race and the Arizona Trail 300. The Grand Loop was also the first long and particularly difficult off-road route to become a notable draw for bikepackers.
With $12,000 e-MTBs on the market, we asked ourselves, “what is the minimum you need in a bike to have fun?”… This is a wild ride, presented by Cjell Moné’s writing and Josh Weinberg’s vision. Enjoy!
Swipe, BMX video, swipe, oh, nice curved top tube, super-sharp photo of a gorgeous frame sitting on OSB, @sklarbikes. Swipe, snowboard video, swipe, oh, (pulls phone away and back in toward the eye), brain knots and unknots, those seat stays are hard to comprehend @oddity_cycles.
Swipe, surf video, swipe…AD for an OG Klunker from State. Swipe, swipe, swipe, backswipe backswipe backswipe….$399?! Shut up. The lines on that thing aren’t half bad. Swipe, swipe… Backswipe backswipe… I can’t stop looking at this affordable klunker from State. It comes with Kenda chunky 27.5 x 2.2 tires, a 1 1/8 threadless fork, and pretty decent lines. Not a huge fan of the chrome riser bars, but hey those Vans grips…hmm hmmm. $399?!
‘Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of a bike ride’ is one of those famous quotes by John F. Kennedy, famous perhaps for the wisdom that it carries, more than for the person who said it.
All those who have recreationally ridden a bicycle should know that Kennedy was right. However, the ex-president didn’t realize (and possibly neither many of us) that something that may be compared to and even surpasses that addictive pleasure is to combine pleasures.
A bicycle is a freedom machine that allows us to carry out different activities while simultaneously enjoying the bike itself. It is up to each one of us to choose those activities that generate the greatest pleasure. For example, in my case, a good bike packing trip combined with a fly fishing session does it for me. What in this world could compare to this pleasure overdose? A new adventure was being cooked.
The pandemic has us in the throes of deep wanderlust. While travel has been momentarily halted, stories such as this get our minds whirling into a spiral of possibilities. Paulo LaBerge and Heather Plewes toured throughout Tanzania and Eastern Africa, penning a journal of sorts for Esker Cycles, filled with short stories. Today, we’re sharing those tales…
You ever cross someone’s path and roll away feeling like they changed something in you forever, simply by existing as they are? I am Katie Sox, a freelance visual media maker, a professional massage therapist, and proponent of platonic love. I ride bikes, see people beyond their costumes, own my awkwardness and giggle a whole bunch, too. I grew up racing BMX and doing ballet then got into mountain biking in my early 20’s. For me, the privilege to ride is of the utmost value.
