Our European correspondent Petor Georgallou recently visited four North American framebuilders who have been awarded SRAM’s Inclusivity Scholarship to attend Bespoked in Dresden, Germany, on October 18–20. In the first installment of this series, Petor joins Memento Cycles of Montreal, Québec. Take a look behind the collective at Memento Cycles…
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Radar
Red Bull Rampage 2024: The Women Have (Finally) Arrived
Today we’re detouring into the gravity space in the lead-up to the 2024 Red Bull Rampage, the first edition of the event that will feature a women’s category. Hailey Moore shares a brief history of high-profile freeride mountain bike event and how a few of the women involved are thinking about this long-awaited milestone.
Reportage
Tumbleweed Sunliner Review: A Timeless Mountain Touring Bike
The Tumbleweed Sunliner ($3775 complete) continues a long-held tradition of equipping a mountain bike with touring accoutrements. Since the mountain bike’s inception, people have been bolting racks and strapping bags to them, taking advantage of its beefy chassis and wide gearing to pedal deeper into rugged terrain than ever before. John has been riding the Sunliner all year in the Southern Rockies, both unloaded as a trail bike and loaded on camping trips. Read on for his thorough assessment of this timeless touring bike…
Radar
Reader’s Ride: Ali’s Panorama Taiga EXP and Poem
This week’s reader’s ride comes from Ali Becker as she rides across the Great Northern Bike Route. She talks about her journey from overstuffing panniers to her current svelt bikepacking setup and entertains us with a poem about packing her rig up…
Reportage
Aspen Ridge Bikepacking: No Sleep ‘Til Salida
How far would you travel for a bikepacking trip with new friends? Framebuilder and bladesmith Thomas Callahan of Horse Cycles drove from New York to Colorado for a summertime multi-day ride with Krysten Kohn and Sean Greene. Join Thomas on an unforgettable trip to Aspen Ridge…
Radar
Oregon Territory Outfitters Offers Shuttles and Logistics for The Oregon Timber Trail
There’s something rumbling on the forested flanks of Mt Hood in the beautiful state of Oregon. It’s a new beginning for Oregonian Cedar Coast Kyes as he recently started an Outfitter/Guide/Shuttle service based out of ZigZag. The newly formed Oregon Territory Outfitters is located a stone’s throw from the ZigZag Ranger Station on the Western slope of Mt Hood…
Reportage
Meriwether Cycles Ponderosa Adventure Gravel Bike Review
Yesterday we looked Inside and Out of Meriwether Cycles via an in-depth Shop Visit. In that post, we offered a sneak peek at Whit’s production adventure gravel bike, the Ponderosa. John has been riding a prototype all year, providing Whit feedback for the final production model, which we’ll look at it in detail today. Read on for a full review of this tall and sturdy dream bike platform…
Reportage
Readers’ Rides: Jason Reviews His UNpaved Vertigo Steel Full Suspension
We’ve got a wonderful Readers’ Rides today, that doubles as a review, sent in from our buddy Jason Fitzgibbon, who submitted his UNpaved Cycles Vertigo single pivot steel full suspension. Read on as he supplies a beautifully documented review of this bike…
Reportage
Rodeo Adventure Labs Shop Visit: Ride. Explore. Create. Better.
Rodeo Adventure Labs was founded as an open-to-anyone team a decade ago by Stephen Fitzgerald and a group of friends in search of less rules and more fun on bikes. Since becoming a production bike company with an emphasis on versatility, customization, and—always—refined design, Rodeo has retained a culture of questioning the norm. Today, Hailey Moore shares a long-form profile of the high points and headwinds Rodeo has navigated over the past ten years, and exciting insights into how the company is thinking about its future. To accompany this Shop Visit, we’re also sharing people-and-bike portraits of the folks behind Rodeo Adventure Labs in a separate Radar.
Radar
The People and Bikes Behind Rodeo Adventure Labs
To compliment Hailey Moore’s Shop Visit with Rodeo Adventure Labs, we’re sharing the people—and bikes!—behind the Denver-based company. Rodeo is known for going all-out on custom builds and paint schemes for its customers, but the staff bikes pictured here might be some of the most expressive we’ve seen from the brand yet.
Reportage
From Beretta to Bicycles: Tom Ritchey on Investment Casting and 1990 Eisentraut Mountain Bike
We’re in a seemingly new era of bicycle framebuilding with the proliferation of 3D-printed components. While this movement might feel “unprecedented,” a similar thing happened with framebuilders in the mid-1980s and into the 1990s with technology borrowed from the Beretta gun manufacturer in Italy.
In what has to be one of our most intriguing Vintage Bicycles articles to date, John hops on a phone call with Tom Ritchey to discuss a rare 1990 Eisentraut mountain bike that Tom had recently acquired and the technology that made it possible.
Reportage
Far from Alone: Meaghan Hackinen’s Invisible Support Network Behind her Solo Tour Divide Finish
This June, Meaghan Hackinen set out to compete in the Tour Divide. While no stranger to big rides or bikepacking races, this would be Meaghan’s longest off-pavement adventure yet. After a neck-and-neck race with Ana Jager, Meaghan reached Antelope Wells in a time of 15 days and 23 hours, winning the 2024 women’s division (7th overall) and setting the fastest women’s time for a grand depart.
In this reflective essay, Meaghan weaves together snapshots from her experience while exploring the invaluable but less visible support network that helped her achieve this Tour Divide win.
Supporting photographs from Seth DuBois, Alexandera Houchin, and Megan Dunn
Radar
First Impressions: Forge+Bond Prototype Fusion Fiber Handlebar
We’ve ridden a handful of Fusion Fiber wheels, and we always wonder when this unique approach to carbon fiber might make the leap to other components. Well, we can keep on wondering, but the prototype handlebar that Forge+Bond sent to Travis last month has us thinking about the future.
Reportage
A Fistful of Bolivianos: Crossing the Andean Altiplano
As Ryan Wilson continues his bike tour south from Colombia to Chile, he crosses a remote stretch of Bolivia’s infamous altiplano. Follow along as Ryan takes on this harsh yet beautiful environment through volcanic landscapes and otherworldly salt flats.
Reportage
Continental Divide Trail Q&A Part 2: Eating My Way to Mexico
Following up on his gear-centric Q&A, this article explores everything food-related from Kurt Refsnider’s 3-month adventure last summer riding the length of the Continental Divide Trail (the bike-legal sections, that is). That trip was documented here on The Radavist in a series of articles – if you want to read more about the adventure, you can find those here.
Radar
SRAM RED XPLR AXS Review: 13-Speed, Lightweight, Durable, and Fast
Announced today, SRAM’s RED XPLR AXS groupset combines elements of its UDH-compatible mountain bike components with its high-end road group for an all-new gravel-specific product lineup. SRAM designed it to be light, fast, and durable for the needs of today’s gravel racers and riders wanting the highest performing upper echelon groupset.
To discover how RED XPLR AXS stacks up and who it’s best suited for, check out Josh’s review below.
Radar
Thick MTB Grip Review Roundup
This is a good time for thick grips. There are more options than ever for anyone seeking a little extra surface area. Travis is a bit of an expert on the subject, and never travels without a set of grips 33 mm or larger in case he needs to borrow a bike. So, he’s gathered a baker’s dozen and gave them a squeeze.
Radar
Marin Expands Alcatraz Collection Now With Two Builds – Suspension & Rigid
Marin Mountain Bikes Inc has expanded the Alcatraz line of dirt jump mountain bikes. A modern mainstay of the Marin lineup, the model family grows from a single model and frameset to two different builds and an Alcatraz 2 frame kit.