The Radavist

Looks like we figured out why the original post wasn’t displaying for you during our initial NAHBS coverage, so without further ado…

Let me give you a background real quick: Oh my oh my. I’ve never had the opportunity to photograph an English before, so when I saw this one sitting in the ENVE booth, I had to snatch it up while I could. Let me tell you, getting this bike to stay put while I was setting it up in my photo studio was nerve-wracking. This bike was so well balanced that I couldn’t get it to sit still.

Anyway, onto the bike. English‘s bikes are some of the most beautiful machines to grace the halls of NAHBS each year and this one is no exception. With a clean ombré paint job, flat mount disc rear end, ENVE wheels, SRAM RED eTap and an elegant internal routing port at the head tube, this bike turned heads and sparked conversations as I wheeled it back to my studio.

Bravo, English on making my absolute favorite road bike of the show so far!

The drive side photo, when composed correctly, can tell you a lot about a bike’s geometry. Head angle, wheelbase, chainstay length and other measurements or angles suddenly become apparent when observed at a flat, side profile. At a show like NAHBS, the various idiosyncrasies found in custom frame design can be overwhelming, especially as a photographer and a self-admitted bike geek. Each year, I like to look at the bikes documented in a Gallery… If you look closely, you’ll see some new models from No22 Bicycles that have yet to be posted.

To see all the entries, check out the 2016 NAHBS Category.

I’ve learned something over the years. Balance. Work hard, relax hard. Shoot photos of bikes, shoot photos of nature. Ride a lot, hike a lot. When your hobby, passion and love is also your job, establishing this balance is of the utmost importance. So when NAHBS rolls around each year, I try to have an exit strategy…

Bikepacking isn’t limited to mountain bikes and this W.H. Bradford has some tricks up its sleeves… For starters, there’s a Thomson dropper trigger under the SRAM shifter, extra bottle bosses on the Ruckus Composites-altered Whiskey fork and plenty of triangle space for that splinter camo Porcelain Rocket bag. With clearance for Bruce Gordon’s Rock N Road tires, this bike can go just about anywhere and when it’s time to stealth camp, it’ll blend right into the woods. Just don’t let that Profile Racing freehub spin or you’ll blow your cover.

You know, I’ve never been someone who freaks out over a bamboo bicycle and I’m sure some of you might feel the same. Yet when I look at this Boo Bicycles SL-F fatty with that crazy Carbonara front fork, made by Lauf Forks, I couldn’t help but nerd out over it. Let me emphasize that: nerding out.

It’s NAHBS and as we’ve seen, there’s a lot of over the top extravagance yet this Boo Bicycles plucked a heart string just right…

420-friendly themes in cycling were abundant in the early years of mountain biking, yet I don’t recall ever seeing a bike actually become a pipe. Mars Cycles went there for NAHBS this year, making the Trailside Companion a functioning smoking device, carb and all. Personally, I think this is a brilliant use of a show bike…

Also, that spraypaint job is insane!

The technology is there and a few builders are utilizing it for sure, but you don’t often see a 3D printed frame with elegance like Bastion Cycles‘ titanium and carbon road bike. This thing is a beauty and for me, was a pleasure to photograph. I love the contrast of materials, the 3d-printed NAHBS insignia on the driveside dropout and the mean fuckin’ stance of this road bike. See for yourself in the gallery!

I love the swooping, curvy lines found in Oddity Cycles‘ machines. Part of that is due to the truss fork, which offers a bit more compliance than the typical carbon fork or rigid steel fork. This fatbike in particular though has some great color coordination with matching Paul Components blue anodized cranks, chain guard, skewers and Klamper disc brakes. To put it even more over the top, it’s rolling on those made in the USA HED fatbike rims…

Moots makes lifelong bicycles for people wanting the most precise titanium machines. While many opt for the raw titanium look, or maybe the half-painted “bragger’s triangle” scheme, other clients go completely over the top, looking to a painter to make their bike magic. This Moots client went to Black Magic Paint with a specific theme all mapped out and Rudi being Rudi made it happen…

Part one of the Black Cat Holy Mountain referenced one of my all-time favorite bands, Sleep. Part two takes a brighter approach with a eye-bleeding, bright orange paint job, with some of Todd’s signature artwork on the downtube. These trippy designs may not reference a stoner doom band, but I can’t help but think there’s a correlation between them and the movie the stoner doom band was referencing… Oh and fuck yeah, another 27.5+ hardtail!

No matter what you spend your money on, be it a ‘cross bike, a mountain bike or a road bike, chances are you’ll put more miles on your touring bike but not on the open road. Most likely it’ll be running errands around town, or going to meet friends for coffee and yes, even a bar bike. My touring bike has seen more miles than all of my bikes combined, without a doubt, and so I really gravitate towards these utilitarian machines while at NAHBS. Now, whether or not I chose one to photograph, over say a MTB or a cross bike is totally up to fate but this Sycip tourer was just screaming for attention!

“You have to shoot the Hunter Cycles cargo bike with those sick Randi Jo Bags!” I heard it over and over again yesterday. Rick is a more than capable frame builder, machinist and designer. The man has impeccable taste and ever the overly-quirky projects have such character that he really has developed a style, all his own. Case in point is this cargo bike. It features the same chain-tensioner system as the Bushmaster dirt tourer we looked at last year, as well as some clever problem solving in terms of steering and load capacity but the crowning detail of this project are the Randi Jo bags, complete with that crazy rabbit design!

Bananas. They’re some of the healthiest fruits you can eat but their nutritional value goes up as they approach a nearly all brown skin. As a complex fruit, with an even more complex lifespan, Squid Bikes looked to their friend, the banana for an homage to paint their ‘cross bike with. On display at the Gevenalle booth, this bike laid upon a bed of bananas, waiting, just waiting to be photographed. I still can’t believe their bikes are all spray painted!

Can No22‘s bike offerings get any more dialed? The short answer is probably not, especially after their big unveil at NAHBS this year because right now, they’re touting perfection. No matter how practical their other bikes might be, with super sleek lines on their road, cross, gravel and mountain frames, the Silver Wing track machine is straight up other-worldly…

Calfee‘s bikes are truthfully, some of the hardest to photograph. It’s like my lights just liquify them and all I get are bright reflections, rendering these beautiful machines useless to post. This year, I tried something new however and the digital renderings of this Manta Pro road bike truly capture this bike’s beauty. Look, Calfee makes damn usable art and these bikes are the most unique creations at NAHBS. They appear to be some ancient beast, laying dormant in chrysalis…

Adam Sklar brought some heat with him from Montana. Having just turned 16, he’s the youngest builder at the show (just kidding, he’s 22) but that didn’t stop him from turning out some beautiful machines. As I sat in his booth looking at the mountain and fatbikes on display, I couldn’t help but pick out the curved, swoopy-tubed ‘cross or “all road” bike in the corner. Complete with Sycip-inspired quarter fork blade toppers and some slick Reynolds wheels, this puppy is ready to take on some Montana fire road action!