July’s Group Ride Giveaway: Tony Concrete Drawings!

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July’s Group Ride Giveaway: Tony Concrete Drawings!

This is a reminder to sign up for our Group Ride by Wednesday night, the 31st of August, for your chance to win!

Your hard-earned money goes to supporting our independent Reportage. In doing so, you support this website’s staff and gain access to our industry-leading, private reselling platform, the Rad Bazaar!

Check this post out for all the information on how to join Group Ride for $6.66/month or $69.69/year.

SIGN UP HERE.

After Bespoked, Josh traveled to Paris to meet up with Tony Concrete, the author and artist behind The Witches Cycle manga zines. While at a cafe, Tony drew two illustrations we’ll be giving away to one lucky Group Ride supporter!

Sign up by July 31st to be entered to win!

Congrats to Evan for winning the Chris King Titanium NoThreadset!

La Chouette Bike Shop: Adding Color to the City of Lights

Reportage

La Chouette Bike Shop: Adding Color to the City of Lights

For nearly ten years, La Chouette Bike Shop has been serving Paris, France – and an ever-growing online customer base – with a finely curated selection of bikes, components, and products from some of our favorite brands. In a continuation of Reportage from his time visiting Paris earlier this month, Josh checks in with La Chouette owners Pierre, João, and Jacob, who are on a mission to add a bit of international color to the streets of their fine city…

Avalanche Cycles Shop Visit: Vive L’Innovation à Paris

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Avalanche Cycles Shop Visit: Vive L’Innovation à Paris

Earlier this month, Josh stopped over in Paris, France, following his time in the UK covering Bespoked Handmade Bike Show. During his visit to the City of Lights, he visited multiple bike shops and fabricators. First up in a series of reports from his time there, Josh checks in with Marie and Laurent of Avalanche Cycles, who take an innovative approach to building bicycles and components from steel, stainless, and titanium.

Learn more about this duo of French builders below!

Radar

Have Some Colour With Your Tailfin Bags

Tailfin Graphic Designer Claire Cartwright brought her creative flair to a brand-new custom pack designed especially for her. Originally a personal project, Claire’s unique designs were so eye-catching that the Tailfin team agreed they deserved to be showcased properly.

And who knows, maybe they’ll make it into production one day… Check out Tailfin’s Bristol office and discover how Claire’s vision came to life and why Tailfin couldn’t resist sharing them at the Bespoked Show in Manchester.

Singular Cycles Swift MK5 Review: 29+ Ain’t Dead

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Singular Cycles Swift MK5 Review: 29+ Ain’t Dead

Initially released in the mid-aughts, the Singular Cycles Swift was one of the first bikes to embrace 29-inch wheels, which, as we now know, became a highly popular size during the proceeding decades. Still, nearly twenty years later, the Swift endures. The frameset has undergone multiple updates over the years, with the most recent incarnation featuring elements true to its roots, like thin steel frame tubing, eccentric bottom bracket, thicc tire clearance, and reasonable pricing. Yet the MK5 version, launched in late 2023, finally gets internal dropper routing, tapered headtube, boost spacing, and thru axles. 

When Josh swung through Portland, Oregon, earlier this year, he picked up a Swift test frameset from US distributor Biciclista and outfitted it with choice parts from generous partners like Ingrid, Chris King, and Paul. A longtime fan of plus tire bikes, Josh reviews the Swift after a few months of riding on his home trails in southern Arizona. Is this 29+ suspension-corrected rigid bike still relevant in 2024? Read on to find out…

Sour Bicycles SRD Steel Full Suspension Review: A Rolling Prototype

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Sour Bicycles SRD Steel Full Suspension Review: A Rolling Prototype

Peter Georgallou might be the last person ’round these parts you’d expect to test an all-mountain/enduro full-suspension mountain bike like the steel single-pivot SRD prototype from Sour Bicycles but that’s what makes his review so interesting. Continue reading below as Petor dives head-first and in-depth into a new-to-him world of riding in addition to a preview of some exciting things to come from our friends at Sour…