The Radavist

We’d like to think we’re pretty alright at photographing bikes over here at The Radavist. The steeds we choose to document reflect our audience’s preferences and capture distinct trends in bicycle design. Yet, each year as we reflect on all the builds that have rolled through this cyber showroom, we’re always surprised to see what the Top Ten list reveals. This year, we’ve got a good mix of bikes, outfitted with flat and droopy bars, running rubber across the size spectrum, and made of steel, aluminum and yes, even carbon. Let’s get to it!

We’re back today with Josh’s second installment of coverage from the Bespoked Handmade Bicycle Show! Let’s jump right in below with more recapping and a gallery of beautiful builds from Prova Cycles, Clandestine, Black Sheep Bikes, Etoile Cycles, Dawley Bikes, Avalanche Cycles, Coal Bikes with Black Cat Custom Paint, Fahrradbau Stolz, and Sour Bicycles…

I hope your winter break was refreshing and that you got some miles in over the Holidaze. We’re back in 2022 with the first of our 2021 year-end recaps, beginning with everyone’s favorite: the Top 10 Beautiful Bicycles of 2021. Like years prior, I compiled this list by traffic, comments, and social media/backlink chatter, also omitting bikes from Open House/Expo style showcases. There are some real gems in here, so let’s get to it!

In some form of intergalactic serendipity, this review coincides with the 2021 International Singlespeed Day, so hopefully, this article inspires you to dust off the ol’ Cruiser or SSMTB and get out for a sunset shred with your friends.

I’ve had the Sour Bicycles Pasta Party for longer than I’d like to admit for a review period but with supply chain shortages, I decided to scrap my original plans for the build as a geared hardtail and assembled it with various spare parts and some new fancy BERD wheels which ended up resulting in one very unique rigid singlespeed 29er.

The Pasta Party is a strange bird with a few clever details and a few quirks, so read on below for my review of this unique chassis offering from the German brand Sour Bicycles…

Here in the Quaker City of Philadelphia, we’re blessed with a number of reliable shops in just about every corner of town. Shops for very serious racers, shops for mountain bikers, shops just for anyone in the neighborhood in need of help getting around on two wheels. We’ve got ‘em all and plenty of ‘em. Keystone is one of Philly’s newest shops catering to all kinds of bikes with an emphasis on everything rando, touring, and bikepacking.

Each year I like to look at our content in its entirety and reflect back on bikes that took you, the readers of this website, by storm. Back in the mid to late 2000’s it was all fixed gears, then came the gravel bikes, the tourers, the MTBs, and the kooky, eccentric builds you’ve come to enjoy checking out in full-res detail. We’ve got some incredibly talented individuals contributing to this site and their hard work is something I cannot express my gratitude for enough. Going back through the 2020 content here at the Radavist, I am amazed at what we were able to accomplish all things considered.

For this year’s Top Beautiful Bicycles of 2020, we have compiled a great list of ten bikes, ranging from rim brakes to fixed gears, basket bikes, and more. This list is based on web traffic, commentary, and social media chatter, and each of these builds really brought something unique to our content. We omitted bike reviews here but included production bikes. Oh and I hope you like baskets!

Let’s jump right in!

Wow! What a year it’s been. In the past twelve months, we’ve shot roughly 300 bikes. From gravel races, to NAHBS, the Philly Bike Expo and our normal travels, we really captured some unique builds and we’ve got a good handle on the bikes the readers of the Radavist enjoy checking out based on some key metrics.

Every year we try to do our best to sort through twelve months of archives to narrow down to this list. The first filter is the comment count, which we start at 50 comments. Then comes page views, with the minimum number being 20,000 views. Finally, we look at the social media chatter; including Instagram comments and how many times was the post shared across various platforms.

What we end up with is a list that is filled with a plethora of interesting, versatile, and quirky bikes. The only editorial decision I myself made was to omit reviews of stock bikes. So no Santa Cruz Stigmata or Cannondale Topstone this round!

Check out the full Top Ten Beautiful Bicycles of 2019 below, in no particular order…

When I found out Eric Estlund from Winter Cycles wasn’t going to be at NAHBS, I was pretty bummed out. His frames are always so good and he always has a track bike on display. Aaron and I wanted to get one of our limited edition Aamerican chainrings (maybe we should sell those?) on a track bike for the show but with Winter not being there, what would we do?

Fret not. It’s the internet. I can make up my own rules. Presenting a damn hot “Not at 2014 NAHBS” bike… Here’s a background on the project:

“This is the Winter Bicycles “OverKill”, a new iteration in the “Speed Metal” track bike series. Designed as a true blue track sprint frame. Built with a blend of fillet brazed and signature bilam construction from a blend of shaped True Temper, Columbus and Deda tubing. The long point Winter track stem holds customized bars with integrated grip over a Cane Creek headset. Custom Winter sprint wheels driven by a Campagnolo Pista crank and limited edition AARN/ PinP chain ring. This bike was powder coated by Custom Powderworks in Springfield, OR.”

All photos by Anthony Bareno of Velo Cult. See more in the Gallery!

Ever since last year’s NAHBS, I’ve been watching Eric at Winter‘s brand grow. I’m not exagerrating when I say that his bi-lam head tubes were some of my favorite details at this year’s show. His Jack Taylor-inspired, Keith Anderson-painted and box-lined touring frame was completely stunning. Other bikes in his booth included a simple, yet elegant road frame, a charcoal and mint track machine with a seat tube cleave and a killer commuter, ready for night rides through the Portland streets. All of which you can see in the below Gallery.

Gallery

In early October, a ragtag group of singlespeeding cyclocross racers from around the world descended on Madison, Wisconsin for the Singlespeed Cyclocross World Championships (better known as 2024 SSCX Worlds). Photojournalist Erik Mathy returned to his hometown to document an event that was filled with fall colors, incredible bike infrastructure, and Wisconsin-style cycling shenanigans.

To help support our Bespoked Dresden coverage, Ergon bike components sponsored a special gallery with builds featuring their products, including some of our favorite saddles, grips, and bar tape. Below, our 2024 Bespoked Dresden Part 04, our final report from the show,  features bicycles from Corrent Components, Kobel, Quokka, Rizzo, Scarab, Significant Other, and Sueess.  Scroll on down to take it all in!

Today, we’re peeling back the curtain on one of the cycling industry’s most experienced, globally recognized, and revered manufacturers of superlative bicycle components that continue to define and stand the test of time. Join the SimWorks crew for a trip inside Nitto for thoughtful insights into their commitment to traditional craft and manufacturing processes, their uniquely Japanese philosophy on quality and dedication to process, and how their past continues to direct their future.