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It’s been a few years since we first covered Chariot Bike when it was a mobile-based shop!Katie Sox drops into the mobile-repair van turned full-service bike shop and café to chat with Chariot Bike‘s owner and founder, Julia Sparks, about what the shop has brewing for the future. There’s a good story behind the name and exciting news for the Sour Bicycles fans out there!
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!
Over the last couple of years, our European correspondent Petor Georgallou has gotten to know Sour Bicycles, a small East German bike company who are trailblazing in their mix of domestic framebuilding in Dresden and continued importation of Taiwan-made bikes. Read on to hear about the unique conditions that have made the former states of East Germany a hotbed of innovation and manufacturing in Europe, as well as how a mega fail by Petor leads to the second of many shop visits in Germany.
Sometimes our weekly Readers’ Rides posts are repurposed, vintage MTBs turned into commuters and other times, framebuilders showcase their latest personal bikes. Today we have Jan from True Love Cycles in Warsaw showcasing his “Roadkill” All-Road bike, which also happens to be for sale… This one’s a stunner so let’s get to it!
Longtime contributor, product tester, and Bespoked co-owner Petor Georgallou shares his list of Favourite Products of 2023. With an eye for aesthetics, function, and alternative uses, Petor’s top picks run the gamut of what you might expect to find on this site, from boutique bikes to a lowly notebook. Read on to learn how he hacked a Wizard Works bag, made use of a “smiling butt kit,” a look at a couple products he’ll be reviewing next year, and two playlists he recently assembled for Bespoked…
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.
Petor is the director of Bespoked, and this year, he moved the showcase from the UK to Dresden, Germany. Through regular visits to Germany, meeting builders and small independent manufacturers, he was extremely fortunate to meet some incredible people who gave me a glimpse into the bicycle manufacturing community.
Inevitably, the name Diamant would crop up over and over, in the way that Raleigh would in the UK or Schwinn in the states. There were crumbs pointing to the former GDR everywhere, and in trying to learn a bit more about the cultural landscape of framebuilding in the former GDR all roads eventually led back to Diamant…
Germany is an epicenter of cycling innovation and production. Home to a lengthy list of big brands including Canyon, Diamant, Focus, Bosch, and so many more, the central European nation is also inhabited by an ever-growing community of smaller bicycle and gear fabricators, builders, and makers.
While we saw many examples of cycling-related German craftsmanship on display in our Bespoked coverage last month, those examples just scratched the surface. On his way to Dresden for the show, Josh stopped over in Berlin and spent his brief amount of free time learning about the city’s special place within the larger German—and global—cycling industry context.
Read on below for a primer on Fern Fahrraeder/Allygn, Gramm Tourpacking, Drust/Akinn Cycles, Velociao Paint, and Velo Saloon!
I have a bit of a bag problem. I really like sling bags and use them all the time. They are lightweight and unobtrusive; perfect for carrying compact items and extra clothing. In recent years, cycling and adjacent bag makers have put their own spins on the classic sling “musette” bag design to enhance functionality with stabilizing straps, extra pockets, and more. Since they are usually relatively affordable I’ll pick them up when I’m traveling as functional souvenirs.
While not in any way a comprehensive list (that would be difficult as there are LOTS of options out there), this roundup features bags I’ve acquired in person from Albion Cycling, Outer Shell, Swift Industries/Camp and Go Slow, Tangente Atelier, Team Dream, and Tunitas Creative.
Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. Read on below for today’s findings…
Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. Read on below for today’s findings…
We’re here in Portland, covering the 2023 MADE Bike Show, looking for bikes that we thought you, the readers of The Radavist would appreciate. Josh and John have been scouring the halls of the show for bikes to document, and we’ve got Part 02 of our coverage for you to enjoy…
Thanks to 1-Up USA for sponsoring our continued 2023 MADE Bike Show coverage!
Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. Read on below for today’s findings…
Today, we continue Petor Georgallou‘s coverage of Eurobike 2023. In his second installment from this year’s convention, Petor looks at an ensemble of beautiful bikes, in addition to what Eurobike considers the future of mobility. While shocked at first, the more Petor peeled back the layers of what was on display, the more interested he became…
Eurobike is a massive convention that takes place annually in Frankfurt, Germany, and is described as “the central platform for the bike and future mobility world.” Petor Georgallou was on the ground at this year’s event and, below, uncovers the latest and greatest from the longest-travel downhill bikes to the smallest-wheeled folding bikes. But, first, he had to get in…
The first weekend of June saw another lap around the sun for the Handmade Bicycle Show Australia and while there was no blowing out of the candles, the show turned five this year. This edition was once again hosted in the incredible Seaworks building in Williamstown. Overlooking the city skyline, Melbourne looks close enough that you could touch it. Massive shipping vessels bring goods into the port, making a spectacular backdrop for a celebration of the craft and culture of the Handmade Bicycle. Andy White of FYXO share a gallery of beautiful bicycles and backstory about the builders at this beloved event.
Founded in 2016, Albion Cycling has dramatically expanded its apparel offerings in the past decade. And while the product line has grown, the UK-based company has stayed true to its fast-paced iterative roots and is now working closely with the technical fabric company, Pertex, in designing remarkably lightweight and packable products, for on and off the bike. Petor Georgallou pays a visit to Albion’s design HQ for a closer look…
Although I’ve struggled with a lifelong tendency to overcommit, I’m not a total megalomaniac. A few months ahead of this year’s Bespoked, I asked Josh to make the trip over from Arizona to London to cover the event while I (along with my business partner, another Josh, and an amazing team of volunteers) administered it. Running the show was already a massive feat, and I’d have done a disservice to both the show and the builders by trying to document it at the same time. Josh flew over and covered a huge number of bikes and builders with the diligence and dedication that they deserve (for a refresher, you can view those pieces here and here). It was cool to finally meet the guy on the other side of the emails, as we’d been working together for the better part of a year. During the show we were both focused on very separate tasks, but we made some time for a little road trip to visit the factory where Brooks England manufactures leather saddles, which is just outside of Birmingham in the little industrial town of Smethwick.
