The Radavist

Pedaling 1,400 miles from the highlands of Arizona to the plains of Kansas for a gravel race might not seem like the ideal lead-up to a long event, but ultra-endurance bikepacker and regular Radavist contributor Kurt Refsnider was convinced that taking the long way to Unbound was a journey worth pursuing. Join Kurt and Kait Boyle on an off-road ride to the world’s premier gravel event in Emporia.

After seven years, Ryan Wilson returns to the Peruvian Cordillera Blanca to re-ride some of the roads that inspired him to take up bike touring in the first place and explore some new roads around the tourist hub of Huaraz.  Come along for a ride in one of the most spectacular regions of the world.

Last summer, a group of friends experienced a broad sampling of some of Southern Oregon Coast’s natural wonders and recreational outlets; in hopes of spreading the word to enthusiasts (from near and far) who are on the hunt for that next off-the-beaten-path destination.

Coastal Southern Oregon is quickly becoming a popular destination, with ample access to the outdoors, engaging community experience, and ever-expanding singletrack, like the Whiskey Run Trail Network. Continue reading below for an overview from Steven Smith, accompanied by Chris Hornbecker‘s excellent photography, of what this region offers…

Part shape-shifter, part time capsule, Hailey‘s Crust Bikes Bombora has taken many forms. It’s the bike that she got when she first started really getting into bikes, and bike touring, and since then it’s the one she’s altered the most, always finding a way to keep it relevant as her preferences and bike collection evolve. In this somewhat unconventional review, she veers into the sentimental as she highlights some of the setups her Bombora has seen over the past five years.

Mel Webb is an ultra-distance bikepack racer and host of Detours: An Ultra Cycling and Adventure Podcast. She’s lined up at the start of events like the Silk Road Mountain Race, the Hellenic Mountain Race and the Alberta Rockies 700.

In just over a week she’ll be racing the 2024 Atlas Mountain Race and will be putting her body and setup through their paces in one of the world’s toughest, and most beautiful, ultra-endurance events.

Standing at 5’2, she’s no stranger to the game of tetris that is packing a small bike. Come along as Mel takes us through the evolution of her ultra race kit with photos from Morgan Taylor.

During an overnighter with the crew at Oregon Trail Bikes in Pocatello, Idaho, Daniel Zaid and Karla Robles cross paths with Ben of Rad Works. Ben got started making hand-sewn goods for climbing, but has since expanded his lineup to include a smattering of bike bags. During their time in Idaho, Karla even had Ben sew a custom full-frame bag for her Esker Hayduke—read on for more info on Pocatello’s resident bag-maker and for a closer look at his handiwork! 

If our Top Ten Beautiful Bicycles list serves as an indicator of your interests, our Top Ten Review Bikes speak to the readership’s curiosities and potential next bike buys. This year’s Top Ten Review Bikes ran the gamut from carbon gravel bikes with proprietary passive suspension to actual full suspension bikes and everything in between.

Let’s check out what review bikes pushed the needle for you this year!

We’ve got over 17 years of Beautiful Bicycles in our archives and each year we like to look back at the previous twelve months of coverage and decipher what you, the audience, liked the most. To do this, we look at the page views for each and every Beautiful Bicycles gallery. Then we look at comments and internet chatter. Once we cull all this data, we’re left with a solid list of bikes. We love compiling this data as it helps us determine what bikes you like to see the most and thus, informs what bikes we document in the future.

Without further ado, let’s get to it!

While our favorite stories are always ride and event coverage, people love flocking to The Radavist for our opinion on products. We view ourselves as the bike industry’s press corps, offering nuanced takes on hot items each year, while pushing back ever so slightly on the long arm of the industry’s marketing. This year, we cracked a lot of hard nuts but walked away with some compelling products—some of which deserve extra recognition—all while deciphering the world of bikes we know and love, and penning opinion pieces that garnered lots of eyes throughout the past twelve months.

Let’s check out The Radavist Product Awards and our Top 10 Articles of 2023 below!