The Radavist

Every once and a while, I make an investment. Well, not literally, it’s more of a long-term bicycle component commitment. When I was researching generator hubs, I was drawn to the low-cost of many models but after talking to enough people, they all pointed me in one direction: the products of the German company Schmidt SON. The name SON will send goosebumps up the arms of rando and touring freaks and with good reason. Shortly after NAHBS, Bens Cycle started to carry Schmidt SON products so I sold some spare parts and put a deposit down. I’ve been using the SON Schmidt Delux hub with the Edelux LED head lamp for a week now and I am blown away at its performance.

Check out more of my Initial Reaction to the Schmidt SON Delux Hub and Edelux LED lamp below.

It seemed like ages since I first visited Geekhouse’s shop in Allston. A lot has happened at Geekhouse in between November and April. They had a successful year at NAHBS and their in-house powder coating company, Sugarcoat has really taken off. While I was up in the Boston-area this week, I popped by to see what the guys at Geekhouse were working on.

Check out more below!

Last week I received my order from Paul Components in the mail. When I first saw the Tall and Handsome at NAHBS, I was in love. A whole lotta setback without going with a Taiwanese manufactured, single bolt post. While Paul’s componentry line is often thought of as finicky and temperamental, the Tall and Handsome was about as straight forward to install as it could be.

Check out more of my Initial Reaction to the Paul Components Tall and Handsome Seatpost below.

I get offers from companies to review products all the time and most of which have little or no application to my cycling habits. What I realized in the past few months is that rather than turn away products, I could help out both the companies and friends of mine by offering Guest Reviews. This not only opens the blog up to another voice, but doing so offers an outside perspective from a different consumer base.

Case in point: The Burro X Duval Destroyer Limited Edition Medium Messenger Bag.

Check out more below!

Well, this one got out a bit early. Marty sent his NAHBS Woodville over to the Levi’s crew for some camera time. The bike was used on a trainer to display the new line of Levi’s commuter jeans. More to come but in the meanwhile, check out more info at the Geekhouse Blog.

I wanna see Brad in a pair of commuter jorts. Just sayin’

After my NAHBS coverage of the Paul Components booth, they hit me up requesting to use my photos for their front page. Well, they did and it looks great! Last night, I checked in on Paul Components‘ site because they told me their new Tall and Handsome seatpost would be in stock at the end of March. I wanted to buy one for my Geekhouse and sure enough, there it was, in all of its 26mm setback glory. I immediately picked one up and cannot wait for it to arrive! That is one sexy beast!

Check out more at Paul Components.

Previously:
2011 NAHBS Recon: Paul Component Engineering

Yipsan Bicycles had some of my favorite bikes at the 2011 NAHBS. With the dust settled from the tradeshow, they’re back at it with this gorgeous singlespeed cross bike. Unfortunately, they only posted teaser photos on their Flickr. I guess we’ll have to wait for the drive-side!

As you saw in yesterday’s A Day in 10 Photos entry, I’ve been rocking the Mishka x Hold Fast straps. Rob sent me some before the NAHBS madness hit and they’re some of the freshest collaboration straps to date. They’ll be sold with the Mishka D.A.R.T. Bruisers (which I hear just landed at Milwaukee!) and also at the Mishka shops.

I’ve put some wear and tear on mine already but I’ve got photos of a fresh collaboration pack below!

When the first batch of discharge printed, Thomas Szypula-designed Black Metal Viking tees were gone in a weekend at NAHBS, I decided to print up more. While the guys at Industry Print Shop were working on the batch, I hung around and shot video. After shooting it and editing it in under an hour and a half, I’m pretty stoked on the outcome.

Pick one up here at the Prolly is Not Probably web shop and check out more photos below.

Liam’s Samurai Cycles track frame was at the 2011 NAHBS and somehow I missed it. How do you miss a copper-plated track frame at NAHBS? I have no idea but I did. Samurai is run by Koh Annouraa, a 17-year pro Keirin racer and he’s based in Houston Texas. Which is where Liam rode his track bike from to Austin for SxSW. The trip was about 182 miles and he did it in 19 hours, including a 3-hour power nap. Madness!

I met up with Liam and took some photos of his copper-plated Samurai Cycles track bike. Check out more photos below!

Maybe you remember me posting a photo of me riding this bike during my NAHBS coverage? It’s Josh’s Marino 700c fixed freestyle bike and it’s a beast! Josh lives in Texas now, after moving here from Milwaukee and this Marino is only scratching the surface of what he’s got in store in the next few months.

I met up with Josh during SxSW and shot some photos of his fixed 29’r. Check out more below.

Chris Bishop is back at it full swing after taking time off for a rather successful trip to NAHBS. With the Philly Bike Expo looming overhead, he’s cranking out the details. Take this hand-carved bottom bracket shell. Stunning! Maybe mine will have that detail.

;-)

Keep on top of Chris’ work at the Bishop Progress Blog and the Bishop Flickr.

The guys at Cinelli went from NAHBS right over to Taipei for the 2011 Cycle Show. They sponsored a peace ride and Flwrder was there to shoot video.

The name of the game is collabro. During the 2011 NAHBS, Kyle went around placing his sticker everywhere he saw a Viking. When I say everywhere, I mean everywhere. After posting this photo on Flickr, I was hoping Tracko would notice and post it but Victor at Archive Bags beat him to it.

I’ve been chatting with Tom at Donhou Bicycles over the past few months. Originally they were supposed to come to the NAHBS but visa problems got in the way. Well, the guys are still kicking and are ramping up for the Bespoked Bristol show. Tom shared with me their most recent work, Sparky’s road bike.

Check out more below.

While my intention here is in no way as ambitious as my 2011 NAHBS coverage, I will be updating the site with some random shots from this year’s SxSW. Most of it will include Locked Up posts and various other cycling-related posts as well as band coverage. Today I was out and about for a few hours and managed to catch some of the madness (and people riding in it). Oh and good news, Fast Folks appears to be ok. People were inspecting the building when I was there.

Check out a slideshow below.

Photo by Leo Furmansky

Zach over at Sink or Swim posted up a few of Leo’s photos from his trip to Austin. This roof drop is one of note and the rest aren’t too shabby either. Head on over and check them out, along with Zach’s write-up of NAHBS, Burro, Geekhouse and Fast Folks.

Photo by Rey Shaun Madolora

Rey shot this photo at the indoor bike parking for the 2011 NAHBS. It’s Alex’s HED3 on his Bianchi Super Pista. I was going onto the Fast Folks Facebook to see if Nat or Cassidy posted anything about the fire at the shop last night. It seems like everyone is ok but the entire space was filled with rich, black smoke. The firefighters cleared out the space and everyone was ok. Thank God.

I’ll let you guys know if there is anyway you can help out later today. In the meantime, I think we can all appreciate Alex’s brand dedication.