The Radavist

While LOW Bicycles might be known best for their made in San Francisco track bikes, for the past year or so, they’ve begun to develop road and ‘cross frames. Debuted at NAHBS, the MKI road is Low’s first geared bike offering, selling in small production runs and starting as a collaboration with Cadence, a longtime supporter of the brand.

A lot has changed at LOW since my last visit. Andrew hired Michael full-time, who aids in everything from prep to production and finishing. This enables Andrew to focus on welding and keeping up with the ever-increasing demand for frames.

When I was at the shop, Michael was working on one of the LOW MKI ‘cross frames in their new color: safety orange. These frames are being raced by TCB Courier and should be available soon for purchase.

When visiting a longtime friend like Andrew, more time is spend chatting and catching up, but I did get a few photos of the shop, the new frames and his dog, Manny. Enjoy!

If you’d like to pick up a LOW, head to their web shop or email Andrew for availability of their new MKI road and MKI cross frames.

With all the Fat Chance love and rigid MTB shenanigans as of late, I thought it’d be a good time to share the current status of this bike, which has seen its share of changes since I acquired it in 2013.

Free Coffee at Heritage General Store
Words and photos by Kyle Kelley

Earlier this year when I was visiting Louisville for NAHBS I met Mike Salvatore, the owner of Heritage in Chicago. I had heard of his operation through the special edition collaborations he’s done with builders like Stinner and Humble, but honestly didn’t know much else about the business. Mike filled me in a little bit on his past, what he is working towards and invited me to stop by for a visit before my flight out of Chicago.

When NAHBS landed in Austin back in 2011, it opened the door for a lot of locals to the custom framebuilding world. Many of which had never heard of a majority of the builders, so it was easy to strip away all the hype or internet chatter and have them pick their favorites, based on construction, communication and overall aesthetics.

Joah went to NAHBS and meandered around the aisles looking for a builder who would make him a road bike to last a lifetime. After all was said and done, he felt the most connected to the Hampsten line, particularly the Gran Paradiso Minimus road frame. Made from Columbus Spirit tubing with an ENVE 1.0 fork, this is one lightweight frame. After some communication with Hampsten, his bike was on order.

Parts began to pile up and Joah reached out to Melbourne’s Mick Peel of Busyman Bicycles to make a matching saddle and bar wrap. At the time, this leatherwork was a deep, dark grey but after four years of constant riding – this is Joah’s only bike – the leather wore in nicely, offering a beautiful patina, which is the first thing that caught my eye.

Mick matched the orange Mango Chris King hubs with an inlay beneath the perforations and Justin at Luxe Wheelworks built up his wheels. Joah loves this bike and had nothing but positive things to say about working with Hampsten Cycles. Personally, I still can’t get over the bar tape’s unique texture and color.

In the world of beausage and bicycles, you’d be hard pressed to find a better catalyst than a street-racing track bike. Or even a bike messenger’s work horse. When you combine the two…

This Legor Cicli track bike was first featured here back in 2011 at NAHBS in Austin. Originally owned by John Taki and was just recently passed down to Chas, it’s seen its share of street wear and tear. Fit with Omnium cranks, a 44RN camo chainring and Essor wheels, it has the mean stance of a race machine, with a lot of that special pista patina we’ve all come to admire.

Chas was in London to do a panel with Oakley at their In Residence space, so in-between his busy schedule, I took this bike outside to document it. There’s something special about a track bike in a city like London… and I love it! Oh and that cup in the spokes? Chas didn’t want to litter when he finished his beer.

When Paul Component owner Paul Price started to “make it big” he told himself that he wanted to order a bike each year from a NorCal frame builder. Retrotec, Rock Lobster, Sycip, etc, etc. At the time there were a handful of builders and for a few years he kept to his yearly deposit.

Then he got busy, the framebuilding industry grew and technology changed. For a few years he focused on the company and put his frame builder promise on hold. He then came back around to his promise and at the Sacramento NAHBS, picked up this Black Cat monster cross from Todd. Soon it became his staple bike. Like many custom frames, Paul had an idea for this bike that surrounded a specific component or part.

Those Panaracer Fire Cross tires are awesome, but they won’t fit on most production bikes, or even most custom bikes. 45mm is a lot of rubber for a cyclocross bike, and Paul knew that so he asked Todd to build him a bike around those tires. The end result is really incredible.

The beausage on the cranks alone are worth a photo. Luckily, I shot the whole bike too…

As a first time attendee at Sea Otter Classic, I had no idea what to expect. Everyone I spoke to assured me that it would be hell on Earth, with wind, sun, locusts and boils (read: hangovers). Rather than some apocalyptic wasteland, I found it to be quite accessible, friendly and casual. Especially when compared to the chaos of Interbike, Eurobike and even NAHBS. All of which I rarely have time to talk to people while there…

No one enjoys trade shows. Not the people in the booths, not the people photographing the booths, yet most of the people I chatted with were surprisingly relaxed and dare I say, stoked to be there. Most of the major brands had already launched their big products and a lot of the smaller brands were more interested in building relationships with media outlets by sharing a beer or loaning sunblock, rather than getting some shitty booth photo taken.

Sea Otter landed itself right after Eroica and a little bikepacking trip I took with Blackburn, so maybe that’s why it was so relaxing for me. I had no obligations, aspirations, hopes or dreams and yet, I got to talk to people and shoot photos when I saw the opportunity arise. Obviously, a lot of those bikes will have their own galleries (many already have), so expect nothing but randomness in this photoset. Yeah, it’s a little skimpy, but I’d rather share these photos than delete them.

Next year, if I attend again, I will however bring a better hat, more sunblock and a damn MTB…

The Long Haul with Humble Frameworks
Words and Photos by Kyle Kelley

A lot of people asked me why I was flying into Chicago for NAHBS this year when the show was another 5 hours away in Louisville, KY. Well… the answer was easy for me. I wanted to get the party started up north and keep it going all the way down south. There were friends to see, hot dogs and pizza to eat, bike shops to visit and dogs to be walked (my dog lives in Chicago). And last but not least I wanted to spend time driving down Interstate-65 through my home state of Indiana with Michael Catano from Humble Frameworks.

For Boulder, Colorado’s Mosaic Cycles, the Rouge Roubaix Builder Challenge was the perfect epilogue for the 2015 North American Handmade Bicycle Show. Many of the bikes featured at NAHBS found their way to the RRBC and rightfully so. Why build something if it’s not meant to be ridden… Into. The. Ground.

The Mosaic line is divided into a number of specific uses. There’s a binomial nomenclature of sorts, or a key, to deciphering what bike is made for what and out of what material. Each member from Team Mosaic chose a bike that best fit their riding style. Be it steel or titanium, disc or rim brake, each of these bikes were built specifically to reflect their own preference.

As for the application process and the overall team, Aaron selected Boulder shredmeister Brandon Newcomer on an RS-1 (road steel), Velo Magazine correspondent Spencer Powlison on an RS-1 and finally, Derek Yarra, the RRBC winner on an RT-1d (road titanium disc), which matches Aaron’s own bike selection.

Derek and Aaron’s bikes will fit a fat, plump tire and because titanium is a naturally forgiving material, they offered a bit of compliance during the 100 mile race. If you’d like a further break down on each of these riders and their bikes, head to Mosaic to read up.

… there’s more coming soon on what else Mosaic brought with them: a wild card group of ladies…

As for Derek’s RT-1d, it’s built with Shimano Ultegra Di2, R685 hydraulic road disc brakes, Shimano Pro Vibe cockpit, and Shimano RX80 tubeless-ready wheels. My personal favorite detail: the Shimano mtb pedals!

Team Mosaic would like to thank Shimano, q36.5 Kits and Rothera Caps.