It’s been a wild year around these parts. In addition to the organizational changes we experienced with this website, I feel fortunate to have met and collaborated with many amazing people in addition to traveling to some truly remarkable places. My list of favorite products ended up being rather eclectic, but I think it reflects the wide range of material we get to cover here. Of course, music was an integral backdrop to my work – on rides, traveling abroad, and with my family at home – so I have joined some of our other contributors in offering a selection of favorite tunes, alongside a handful of products, below.
“The Mid South”
Search Term – Change
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John’s Favorite Products of 2023 (… and Top 10 Albums!)
We’ve had a busy year over here at The Radavist. From the return to being 100% independent, launching our Group Ride subscription service, our Rad Bazaar marketplace, and adjusting to being a small business owner again, my free time has been limited. Yet, I can thank a few products for making my job and life easier this year, along with the albums that became the backdrop for my rides, so let’s check out my Favorite Products of 2023!
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Mental Detours Part One: Bike Touring the Italy Divide(ish)
Travel is routinely romanticized. And it is romantic—how could having the privilege of “checking out” of the daily drum of work, family, bills, etc., and the attendant stress in favor of experiencing a new place not be? The word vacation is, of course, derived from the verb “to vacate,” and while going on vacation is about the act of leaving, it’s also about finding. Finding new culture, new landscapes, new experiences, but maybe just as importantly it’s about finding new perspective on what it is you’ve placed on hold.
After two weeks spent bike touring in Italy in October, Hailey Moore reflects on what she found while away and the paradox of trying to experience more than the Trip Advisor-version of a place without missing the five-star sights. Read on for part one of her Italy Divide reflections while riding from Trento to Florence.
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The New Familiar: Riding Wisconsin’s Tour de Nicolet Bikepacking Route
Located in a commonly overlooked corner of the United States, there is a place with endless gravel roads and trails. A region with an incredibly vast network that can be linked through systems of singletrack and small towns. A land where flowing water and spring-fed lakes abound. With prime fall color promised, Josh Uhl makes a last-minute trip to the lesser-known ATB paradise that is Wisconsin to ride the 360-mile Tour de Nicolet and reconnect with the place he found bikes to begin with…
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Too Good for Its Own Good: A 2023 Rocky Mountain Element C70 Review
Is it possible for a bike to be too good for its own good? Where it’s so capable that it pulls you into terrain and features beyond the category its predecessors lived in? That’s the question Morgan Taylor poses in this review of the 2023 Rocky Mountain Element. Read on to see if swapping out parts ruins this bike’s character, or if it transcends categorization while Morgan rediscovers backyard singletrack…
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Kyrgyzstan Won: The (Uncompleted) Bishkek Spectacular
On their fourth trip to Kyrgyzstan, Belén Castello and Tristan Bogaard return for Tristan to ride the 2023 Silk Road Mountain Race. But with a few days on their hands before the start, they decide to blaze a new 250-mile route that circumnavigates the Ala-Too, from the capital of Bishkek. With hopeful hearts and full panniers, they start their ride by setting out over Kegeti Pass (12,401′). After surmounting the pass, tragedy strikes as Tristan falls ill. Things aren’t always sunsets and tailwinds on bike tours, so come take a journey through accepting defeat in the beautiful mountains and valleys of Kyrgyzstan.
Radar
Radar Roundup: Silver Stallion Fundraiser Devo, Amigo Frameworks 3Rensho Lug Track Bike, 3T Extrema Italia, POC Calyx, Bagman Universal Bar Rack, Nivex Derailleurs Are Here, and Change Your Bars, Change Your Life
Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. Read on below for today’s findings…
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A Man, a Tree, a Photo, a Citation from Federal Agents, and a Ritchey Annapurna
You’ll never know who you’ll meet while on the road, and sometimes, the characters floating around campsites within our National Forests are as colorful as the natural surroundings. While John and Cari were cashing in on some long overdue R&R last week in the mountains of New Mexico, they met a fella with a Ritchey Annapurna and quite the story to tell…
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Radar Roundup: Archibald Cycles AC1 Pre-Order, Outershell DHB Rando UL, Kittenpacking Shirts, Dynaplug Air Improvement, Velo Orange Removable Faceplate Quill Stem, PARAÍSO, and Peaks Bruno Peaks
Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. Read on below for today’s findings…
Radar
Radar Roundup: Horse Cycles All Road Adventure, CDC and Bernot Caps, Laurens ten Dam’s Diverge, Inside Line Equipment Blaze/Forest Bags, 210km Solo MTB, and The Ultra Divide
Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. Read on below for today’s findings…
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On Growing Up: Swift Industries Celebrates 15 Years of Making Bike Bags
Based in Seattle, Washington, Swift Industries is a bike bag company known for blending classic randonneuring aesthetics with modern functionality. Co-founded in 2008 by Martina Brimmer and Jason Goodman, the brand has grown from a basement DIY passion project to a mainstay in the bike luggage space. In celebration of their 15-year anniversary, Hailey Moore writes about Swift’s journey over the years from its founders’ punk roots, to landing shelf space in REI.
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Losing Our Heads at the Onguza Loskop Local Cycling Festival in Namibia
Held in Omaruru, Namibia this past July, the Onguza Loskop Local is a weekend festival with “great food, drinks & friends, with a wee bit of cycling thrown in for good measure.” After deciding the event looked really lekker Cape Town locals Stan Engelbrecht and Donnet Dumas made the trip out and each rode the event in divergent fashions—Donnet on a borrowed too-small Giant, and Stan on his ill-advised fixed-gear with skinny tires—and share a joint account of their adventure…
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Devil’s Cardigan: The 2023 Australian Gravel National Championships
Picture an island 42 degrees south of the equator deep in the middle of winter. Surrounded by great oceans, it is battered by cold rain, snow, and wind. The Roaring Forties haunt the island like the growls of a Devil. Born out of these challenging conditions, The Devils Cardigan seemed the only name fit to describe the Australian Gravel National Championships.
Read on for Scott Mattern’s recap of Tasmania’s annual off-road rite of passage and how he made it devilishly difficult by combing both the 50km and 100km distances…
Radar
Radar Roundup: Don’t Miss the Velo Cosmos Show, Caletti Photo Show, Fish Ski 6-Pack, High Above Dyneema Hip Pack, Bullitt and Cinelli, Fat Tire and Dangle Supply, Trackers!, Bike Story Night with Alexandra Houchin, PEdALED Jary Collection 23, and Rémy Métailler Rides Portal
Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. Read on below for today’s findings…
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Cycling the World With McKenzie Barney Part 1
For McKenzie Barney, cycling the world was never about chasing a record, or even adhering to all of the Guinness Book of Records parameters to qualify for an “official” time. But after an introduction to bike touring in Vietnam and learning about the 18,000-mile goal post for a “Cycle the World” completion, she was intrigued. For the next few years she planned, scrimped and saved between trips while pursuing her own Cycling the World project. Earlier this year, she completed the project after having ridden 18,000 miles, in 28 countries, and on five continents. Read on for Part 1 of her journey download, where she writes about moving from thru hiking to bike touring, gaining solo experience in Europe, and then putting it to the test on a ride from Cairo to Cape Town with her partner James. Plus, don’t miss the trailer to her upcoming self-documented, self-edited film!
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Updates From the CDT Part 3; Wyoming – The Easiest and Toughest of Miles
Now nearly two months and 2,000 miles into this journey, Kurt Refsnider shares more stories from his progress so far riding the entirety of the Continental Divide Trail.
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Titanium Touring Perfection: Singular Gryphon Drop Bar 29er MTB Review
Over the years, I’ve had the ability and privilege of throwing my leg over a number of fat tire, drop bar touring bikes. From the almighty Tumbleweed Stargazer to the readily available Kona Sutra ULTD, these robust bikes with an off-road and load-bearing geometry make for great interstitial, genre-bending machines for all sorts of riding.
Yet before brands like Salsa were even making high clearance, drop bar, 29er, disc brake, production touring bikes, a brand called Singular Cycles in the UK shifted the paradigm with its Swift in 2007 and, later in 2008, Gryphon models. These frames featured high stack numbers, fit big tires, and most importantly, had rack/fender/cargo bosses aplenty.
This year, Singular debuted its custom Gryphon Titanium, and once again, I’m questioning which bike to crown “best in class.” Check out my full-length review below…
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What’s Old is New Again: Crust X Ron’s Bikes Alumalith Rigid MTB Review
Unveiled at the 2022 Philly Bike Expo to much fanfare, the Alumalith is a realization of Ronnie Romance‘s dream to incorporate his favorite aspects of vintage mountain bikes into a deciededly modern offering. Featuring a non-suspension corrected Switchblade-style fork, rim brakes, sharp angulation, and 6061 aluminum fabricated by renowned craftsman Frank Wadelton–but with internal dropper routing, clearance for 27.5 x 2.6″ tires, and a contemporary approach to geometry–the Alumalith is nostalgic delight for riders of today. Josh picked up an Alumalith earlier this year and has spent months building it, riding, refining, and riding some more. Continue reading below for his review of this niche yet capable and fun machine…