The Radavist

The Radavist thanks 1-Up USA for sponsoring our Sea Otter Classic 2024 coverage!

Josh and John were at Sea Otter Classic this week, covering people, products, and bikes on display. We’ve pulled together a few über galleries for your enjoyment, and today, we’ve got a selection of bikes we found wandering the aisles of the 2024 event.

The Radavist thanks 1-Up USA for sponsoring our Sea Otter Classic 2024 coverage!

Josh and John were at Sea Otter Classic this week, covering people, products, and bikes on display. We’ve pulled together a few über galleries for your enjoyment, so let’s get into Part 02!

The Radavist thanks 1-Up USA for sponsoring our Sea Otter Classic 2024 coverage!

While on the road to Sea Otter, John swung through the Ritchey HQ in the South Bay and got to check out some new models that are coming out tomorrow. Check out a sneak peek of the all-new Montebello randonneuring bike, the redesigned Outback, and P29er, along with the Superlogic Butano Ridge integrated handlebars and some shop ephemera below!

We talk a lot about the early klunkers, from Breezers to Cunninghams and Ritcheys, but what about the very first MTBs in the US, the coaster cruisers, aka mountain cruisers? These esoteric singlespeeds rely on a coaster brake hub to control their speed and were adapted from old Schwinn newspaper bikes.

Read on as John reviews his coaster cruiser, a Monē Bikes Small Batch Straight Bar, aka the SB2. These bikes are the simplest mountain bike you can ride: No hand brakes. No gears. Big bars. Balloon tires. This is peak coaster cruiser!

After about a month of using the Tern Orox in a particularly snowy and cold spring in Santa Fe, John has penned a review of the e-cargo platform, which speaks to the bike’s versatility and aligns it firmly in the “car replacement” category. Let’s check it out!

Continuing our Obscura series, where editors and contributors from The Radavist review their favorite cameras, John discusses the one he’ll never let go: his Mamiya 7ii. Read on for a look into this well-loved and well-used camera!

Andy and Melodie from FYXO run a series of events in Melbourne, Australia, as a husband and wife team. Over the years, Melodie has had many bikes, but it wasn’t until she linked up with the team at Commuter Cycles that she had real input on a build. Read on for a brief history of Melodie’s bikes and a walkthrough of what the team is cooking up for her newest steed in part one of a two-part look

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.

Nick McIntyre takes us on a mosey through Ireland’s southernmost county on some choice cuts from the Golden Age of 26-inch MTBs. Sharing company with a small group of friends, Nick writes about rolling past stashed-off coves, winding back roads, and an unexpected day making petty bets at the Ballabuidhe Horse Fair after one of the wettest Irish summers on record. It was a given that there would be some downpours to deal with along the way, but these only made the odd break in the clouds all the sweeter. Read on for Nick’s retelling of bike touring in Cork and don’t miss his 35 mm gallery. 

During a month-long tour, Sònia Colomo and Eloi Miquel trace singletrack and rough roads en route to summiting the highest peaks in the Iberian Peninsula. Come along for the ride through the backcountry of Spain!

The Paramo Ultra from Colombian bicycle builders Scarab Cycles is arguably the brand’s most versatile offering. With clearance for thicc tires, sliding dropouts, and comfortable geometry, the Paramo Ultra is inspired by the unrelenting high-elevation Andean mountain terrain where Scarab is based to provide a capable ride experience in even the most demanding pursuits. And because every Scarab is built to order based on a rider’s size, discipline, and style, no two builds are ever the same.

Josh has ridden a Paramo Ultra for the past six months both in Colombia where it was made and on his local roads and trails around the Sonoran desert. Below, he shares his thoughts on the build as well on Scarab’s overall approach to fabricating custom bicycles in the mountains outside Medellín…