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When downcountry isn’t enough, and all-mountain is too much, there’s probably no safer bet than a 140 mm bike like the new 2024 Canyon Spectral. But that’s the problem. These are not precision instruments, nor are they unstoppable eaters of worlds. To stand out, a 140 bike has to either cast a very wide net or have some very clever tricks up its sleeve. After a couple months with the new Spectral, Travis discovered it does a little of both.
Nick’s titanium Sycip hardtail has been on our list to document for some time. On his April road trip to Sea Otter, John crashed in the driveway at his buddy Nick‘s house while he visited shops and builders in the area. After a particularly epic afternoon of riding in Annadel State Park, he grabbed Nick’s beautiful Sycip for some photos. This bike isn’t your ordinary Sycip and Nick ain’t your ordinary guy. Let’s see why below…
Pivot Cycles’ Vault gravel bike has plenty of amazing tech securely (wink wink) stashed in the frame making for a comfortable and uncompromising riding experience. Spencer is ever chasing something other than geometry inflation to review and Pivot’s patented ISO FLEX technology caught his eye. Make sure you take a peek inside the Vault for all the hidden treasure below…
The Radavist thanks 1-Up USA for sponsoring our Sea Otter Classic 2024 coverage!
Josh and John were at Sea Otter Classic this week, covering people, products, and bikes on display. We’ve pulled together a few über galleries for your enjoyment, and today, we’ve got a selection of bikes we found wandering the aisles of the 2024 event.
Coming off our Dust-Up article on (Most) All Bikes are Handmade is a deeper dive… It is easy to take for granted how products from around the globe end up in our hands. When it comes to bicycles, many of us have no idea how they are made. Our Instagram feeds are filled with romanticized images of artisans building intricate frames one at a time, but what about the production bicycles that the vast majority ride? Much less information is available, leaving our imaginations to conjure up images of robotic welders and dirty, fast-paced production. This often leads to uninformed debates on where, who, and how products are made.
The authors of this article offer a unique perspective on bicycle manufacturing. Daniel Yang, a talented engineer working with Neuhaus Metalworks and his own brand ARTEFACT, is changing how artisan framebuilders build bikes through 3D printing and 3D modeling innovations. Adam Sklar has over a decade of experience building high-end custom bikes by hand. He recently brought his production to Taiwan, working together with factories to produce his signature designs. The factories and people you see in this article produce Sklar Bikes, which is why we were given the opportunity to share this experience with you all.
Panorama Cycles just announced the Boreal, the brand’s all-terrain touring bike…
Tannus Fusion is the world’s first modular tubeless tire insert system. Made of two interlocking components, the system allows riders to select the exact amount of desired tire protection. Each portion of the Fusion insert can also be used individually, for applications ranging from road to trail riding. Spencer recently got his hands on a set of the new Fusion inserts, which are launching today, and set them up on a couple of his bikes. Read on for his review…
Just when you think handlebars can’t get any weirder, Redshift Sports drops the Top Shelf. But after riding them for a week, Travis found they actually felt pretty normal. Whether that’s a good thing is up to you.
Apologies for the delay in delivering this week’s Readers’ Rides, but as you can see, it’s a special one. Tandems are often called “relationship accelerators,” particularly when it comes to tandem mountain bikes! Laura and Tree had Curtis from Retrotec Cycles build them something special… so let’s get to it.
Not too many people have ridden the Colorado Trail on a fat bike. But Jason Winkler has. Hailey Moore shares a Q&A with the maker behind Spruce Cycles and his race-spec 2016 Salsa Beargrease.
John here with an exciting announcement!
The Radavist has great content dating all the way back to 2008 (there are even our 2006-2008 archives floating around on the ‘net still!), and now, our once-missing 2010-2015 image bucket has been uploaded again! Back in 2018, we lost it in a website server migration, and while doing some digging through our convoluted image bank, web lord Ian Register uncovered our lost image server!
All 150+ GB of images are back, including some of my personal favorites like a 2012 Fuji XPro-1 Review, Robin’s Dirt Drop Highball, Erik from Peacock Groove’s Evil Dead Tribute Bike, NYC Shop Visits, Austin, TX, shenanigans, a lot of Austin, TX shenanigans!, Blackburn Ranger rides, Ryan Wilson’s road bike rides, Bandit camping on Diablo, Peacock Nük, the original Oregon Outback Reportage, Aussie Bush Rides, and the Head Shots and Head Tubes NAHBS article!
I’ve been covering bike touring, framebuilders, and maker culture for 18 years now and in that time, each of these sub-genres has grown more and more. It’s nice having a deep catalog of this content on The Radavist!
Many thanks to Ian for kicking ass on our refresh, which includes a lot of backend maintenance.
One note: when you search through the archives, if the title image is still missing, don’t fret, the entire gallery is back up and running, we’re working on the title image break fix.
TPU inner tubes are light, compact, and expensive. So, Travis compared knock-off, RideNow, to OG, Tubolito. It didn’t go well, but why does he still carry one?
In today’s Dust-Up opinion column, John brings up a controversial point about the disconnect between the “handmade” language surrounding bicycle framebuilder showcases and Asian-produced bicycle frames. Hold onto your butts for this one!
We must say that one bike model pops up more than any other: the Specialized RockHopper. These readily available bikes are frequently customized, and Chris from Minneapolis shared a great one with us this week! Let’s check it out.
The Swoop is Starling Cycles‘ versatile single-pivot steel full-suspension bike designed for 27.5 wheels. With its adjustable shock mounts, the Swoop can be set in “Trail” mode with 130 mm of rear travel or “Enduro” with 160 mm. Partners Alex and Nikki each have Swoops in respective enduro and trail modes that they’ve been riding for some time now. Below, they share a review of both iterations of this adaptable built-in-UK platform from one of our favorite bike makers…
With its claims of 21% more vertical compliance, a 15-25% stronger profile, pinch-flat eliminating design and an innovative threaded rim and valve stem, the Roval Traverse SLII has a lot to offer. Not to mention, there’s a lifetime warranty. Let’s dive into all of those claims and details today with Spencer’s Roval Traverse SLII wheelset review…
We recently highlighted the return of the Marin Four Corners 1 model, and today the brand released the more premium version, the Four Corners 2. This version features the same updated geo but with a few more modern amenities including: upgraded thru-axles, hydraulic brakes, and a 1x drivetrain while only clocking in at $1999 for a complete bike. Below, Spencer Harding offers a first look at Marin Four Corners 2…
If we won the lottery, there would be signs! A customer commissioned Firefly to make a coupled titanium mini bike to fit inside a Rimowa case for easy travel with a bike. This sort of bike is peak custom, so we had to get a closer look…
