The Radavist

The Custom Bikes of Grinduro Scotland
Photos by Kyle Kelley, words compiled from each builder by Andrew Denham

Each year at Grinduro California, the event reaches out to a handful of builders to showcase their handy work. With this year’s first event in Scotland, Grinduro decided to do the same, pinging a handful of UK builders to design the ultimate Grinduro bike, display and race their creations. The project was supported by Columbus, Lauf, SRAM, Clement and Fabric. The featured bikes were the subject of a public vote to establish the ‘best in show’ with the winner getting an awesome prize of Flights and entry to Grinduro California! Adeline O’Moreau won the vote with her awesome ‘Good Vibes’ MTB which she rode to victory in the under 30’s women category, so we’ll begin with her creation first.

A Ponderosa Cyclery Eisentraut Road with Mavic Zap
Photos by Kyle Kelley, words by John Watson

If you think Shimano and SRAM were the first to the e-shifting market, you’re mistaken, my friend. Mavic blazed that trail over a decade before Shimano put its tires down on it. Back before they shifted focus to wheels and apparel, Mavic developed and manufactured component groups. Their “Starfish” cranks are as iconic as their unique headsets, but one group stood out from the rest of Mavic’s catalog. Zap was the name for Mavic’s electronic shifting system and while it was way before its time, it wasn’t underused, making several Tour appearances. Even Chris Boardman secured several victories in the Tour back in 1994 and 1997.

MinneCycle 2017: Cecil Behringer Matching Road and Track Bikes
Photos and words by Jarrod Bunk

Cecil Behringer started his love affair with bikes at age 17, racing around the track.  Soon after he had to leave bikes behind to join the war at the time. While in the Navy Cecil learned more and more about metals, so much so that some years later he created a lugged Ti frame using an oven (the first one in the world).

His work has a similar approach to Wyganowski, and that with good reason, he is the first in the lineage of builders that taught the like of Terry Osell and Tim Paterek, who then taught Paul Wyganowski.  This is apparent in the use of open tubesets, again to help with the breathing of the frame, and reduce interal corrosion and rust.

This matching set of bicycles was on loan from the Cycling Museum of Minnesota, with similar details spread between both bikes, like the stamped Behringer “top eyes”, Dura-Ace cranks, and Columbus tubesets.  Thank you to the Cycling Museum of Minnesota for bringing out these two beautiful bicycles.  For more information you can check out the Cycling Museum of Minnesota here.

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MinneCycle 2017: Wyganowski Frames Minnesota Made Mixtie
Photos and words by Jarrod Bunk

Paul Wyganowksi has a pretty unique build process, one that was passed down four generations of frame builders to him.  From the exterior of this commuter, it doesn’t seem that wild, until you look closer, the use of vents to open up the tubes and inhibit rust, the reverse “top eyes” used for the mid stays, the thinnest dropouts I’ve ever seen.

Finding all of the details on this bike was an enjoyable experience.  Extra attachment points, three sets of waterbottle bosses, fender and rack mounts, this mixtie can handle daily transit and then put on some gear for a weekend of touring.  The sedate lines and beautiful fillets, make for one special Mixtie that was built in Minnesota to last a lifetime.

Paul actually teaches a frame building class as well, continuing in the footsteps of the builders that passed the torch to him. For more information check out Wyganoksi Frames.

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When I first heard the news that Box Components had branched over from BMX racing products to mountain bike componentry, I was eager to get some hands-on experience with their shifter, derailleur, and big-range cassette. A few weeks later, the Box rep visited Golden Saddle Cyclery and I was able to see it. Albeit not on a bike, so when Stinner Frameworks offered to build a review bike for me, built with Box, for NAHBS, I was stoked. I love riding and reviewing hardtails and since Stinner is one of the local builders in the Los Angeles area, I like helping him out when I can, particularly when it comes to mountain bike design. Aaron Stinner had been working on their Tunnel hardtail design over the past year. Previous versions popped up here on the site and with some feedback, he had finally moved closer to nailing down the official Stinner Frameworks hardtail. The team had two bikes on display at NAHBS this year, Kyle’s Grateful Shred 27.5+ and this Fuck Yeah Desert Tan 27.5″. I was excited to try it out, but I was also looking forward to putting miles in on Box Component and Magura’s latest offerings.

Tom’s Super Shreddy Stinner One-Off 26+ Hardtail
Photos by Kyle Kelley, words by John Watson

Working at Stinner Frameworks for the past few months, and other builders over the past few years, Tom LaMarche has learned a lot about frame fabrication. Riding BMX and MTBs for a majority of his life taught him about frame design. Tom’s a ripper. An ex-Hollywood movie professional stuntman and overall ripper. When he picked up a job at Stinner, he really wanted to build a new MTB for himself to shred on trails, random jibs and also rip on at bike parks. Not being a fan of 27.5 or 29+ platforms, he decided on a 26+ frameset with slack angles and a lot of standover clearance.

This frame is a one-off, labeled a Stinner because it happened under Aaron’s roof, with Aaron’s tools, but this bike is Tom’s brainchild that he built on his own. Bikes like this look mean, like they have their own agenda and I can’t wait to see more of that…

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Paul Camp is a magical week where Paul Component Engineering invites journalists from all over the US to check out their day to day operations through a series of hands-on workshops. Each journalist is assigned a CNC machine, or workstation and is taught the skills needed to machine brakes, stems, and other components. From there, they camp out on the property, eat sandwhiches and run the machines 24 hours a day, in shifts. This gives the employees of Paul a chance to ride during the week. Everybody wins!

Just kidding. In reality, Paul gives the journalists a tour of the shop, where he walks them through the process of fabricating everything in the Paul Component Engineering catalog. From there, they are able to select a bike from one of eleven builders and go on a ride in the hills of Chico. Swimming usually ensues, along with a Sierra Nevada Brewery tour, some dinner and then everyone goes home. It’s a rad time, or at least I’ve heard it is, because each year, for one reason or another, I cannot attend this Bicycle Journalist Spring Break.

Feeling like I owe Mr. Paul something, not only because we’re friends, but because he had these eleven bikes just hanging out, waiting for a proper photoshoot, I planned on heading up to Chico once I got back from my European travels. Last week, I loaded up the truck and drove straight up California for 10 hours until I reached Chico, Paul and these bikes.

Jake Rusby is a framebuilding instructor at the Bicycle Academy and one that specializes in beautiful fillet brazed construction. In a way, through teaching students this artistry, he’s passing the torch of knowledge to the next generation of framebuilders and since the Bicycle Academy’s student reach is worldwide, his impact will only have positive results in the industry as a whole. This is Jake’s personal bike. It’s an all-day road frame, built with Dura Ace, with a more relaxed geometry when compared to a crit racing machine. Jake wanted a bike he could spend every waking moment on, soaking in the sun in the British countryside outside of Bristol, where he recently just relocated from in London.

What is most impressive about all of this is that Jake painted this bike himself. He wanted the contrast of a single color, with areas of intensity in the details. After masking off dozens of dots, he began the painting process, resulting in a halftone-inspired final product which achieves his intention quite well. Other details I found intriguing are the split seat stay bridge and head badge, both acting as a reflection of the other.

Bikes like this are all about the little details, adding to the overall composition. Hopefully, that’s a message conveyed to the students Jake teaches as well. See more of Jake’s work at the Rusby Cycles website.

First of all, if you haven’t watched the muddy, messy hell that is the Hack Bike Derby video, you should do that first. Ok? We all caught up? Now, there’s a bit of chaos involed in this event, but there are still rules.

Knowledge is best passed, like a torch, through experience. There are many institutions which educate hopeful framebuilders in the art of design, construction, and finishing of a bicycle frame. They each take their own approach to this process and many of our favorite builders have learned in this hands-on, classroom environment.

Nestled in an industrial building, within the town of Frome in Somerset, the Bicycle Academy threw their towel into the framebuilding education ring a few years back and in that time, have grown their curriculum into an impressive institution. All this could not have been possible if it were not for the successful crowdfunding operation and the 183 people who donated money and 23 individuals who donated their skills to jumpstart the Bicycle Academy.

It was with a heavy heart and lots of FOMO when I admitted to my friends at Giro that I wouldn’t be able to attend Grinduro Scotland. That’s when the gears began to really spin…

Let’s backtrack a bit. Grinduro debuted two years ago in Quincy, California as a new race format. Rather than racing a course in its entirety, there would be a handful of timed sections, of which, the leaders would be chosen before ultimately awarding winners in various categories. This allows for plenty of on-course downtime, which leads to camaraderie, substance consumption of various forms, jackassery, playful shit-talking and other social activities often absent from competitive cycling events. For two years, Grinduro California has proven to be a success, leading Giro’s UK partners to begin exploring options for an exotic Grinduro getaway.