Curtis Inglis’ Titanium Retrotec with ENVE Foundation AG25 Gravel Wheels

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Curtis Inglis’ Titanium Retrotec with ENVE Foundation AG25 Gravel Wheels

I don’t know about you all but personally, I miss seeing off-the-wall crazy custom bikes at the various tradeshows. With the pandemic canceling the 2020 and most likely 2021 dates for various open houses and NAHBS, I’ve just accepted the fact that those balleur bicycle gallery shoots will have to wait. That said, when projects like this fall into my lap, I’m more than excited to take some extra time documenting them.

ENVE launched their Foundation Gravel wheels last week and in a perfect world, a press-camp was supposed to happen in Arizona to test out those wheels. ENVE planned on pinging various builders to fabricate the chassis for their full gravel lineup. One of those builders was Retrotec and Curtis went overboard for the event, building a handful of titanium frames alongside Oscar Camarena of Simple Bike Company. When the press camp wasn’t happening, Curtis decided he’d send this bike out for me to document. He needed photos for his website and I won’t say no to content like this…

In the Shadow of the Fann Mountains

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In the Shadow of the Fann Mountains

(Note: This story took place before the pandemic)

Following our ride along the Tajik/Afghan border, Chrissa and I paused for a few days in Tajikistan’s capital city of Dushanbe to soak up the local culture and stock up at the grand bazaar. Even in the biggest city in the country, the outgoing personality of the Tajik people comes through. Where in a typical city of this size the locals would mostly keep to themselves, here it was very common for people to stop and chat with us on the street, asking what brought us to their country and giving us tips about places to visit in the city.

Snow and Sunsets in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains: Things to be Thankful For

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Snow and Sunsets in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains: Things to be Thankful For

What a year it’s been. To be honest, as the editor/owner/curator of this website, I was very nervous about how we would survive the pandemic and subsequent lockdown. So much of my work that goes into this site is about traveling to other communities, documenting shops, group rides, races, and yeah, people’s bikes. All that was put on hold and we had to resort to more bike galleries and reviews than I’m used to.

My passion comes from the aforementioned activities and while I love bikes, I love what they create and enable even more. All year, I’ve been personally battling a pendulum of moods but one thing that has been the great equalizer is a jaunt into our mountains, the Sangre de Cristo Range, the southernmost tip of the Rocky Mountains. Living on the last stop on the Colorado Plateau has its perks I suppose and a simple hour or two-long pedal in the foothills often gives me perspective that is much-needed in this year of uncertainty. It’s something I have to remind myself daily. Yesterday was a perfect example.

A Reason to Ride: A Big Ride for a Big Cause in the Santa Monica Mountains

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A Reason to Ride: A Big Ride for a Big Cause in the Santa Monica Mountains

Should we join the crazy Everest fad? Zwift for 48 hours straight? What if we ride the entire Santa Monica Mountain Range? The route had to be gnarly enough to catch people’s attention, and then we could steer the gaze to the reason for the ride. To raise funds and awareness for grassroots organizations that fight racial injustices as a part of the Big Rides for a Big Cause platform.

The Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship Announces Mountains to Meadows and Gravelation in Quincy!

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The Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship Announces Mountains to Meadows and Gravelation in Quincy!

The Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship knows how to throw races. There’s a reason we cover each and every one, year after year! The proof is in the puddin’. Every year, 1000+ racers show up for Lost & Found, even more for the Downieville Classic and with Grinduro leaving Quincy, the SBTS decided to up the ante and continue throwing a weekend event of racing and partying, dubbed Mountains to Meadows. The location is too good to not pick up where Grinduro left off. Mark your calendars for September 24-27, 2020 and read on below.

The Sierra Buttes Lost & Found 2019: Straight From the Mid-Pack

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The Sierra Buttes Lost & Found 2019: Straight From the Mid-Pack

Introduction: We pinged Erin Lamb to write about her experience at this year’s Lost & Found with John’s experience told through the gallery captions. We’re trying new models for event Reportage, so please let us know what you think in the comments! Enjoy!

I lost my wallet a couple of weeks ago, and I’m not searching to find Jesus. I’m pretty sure the wallet fell out of my purse in a parking lot when I pulled some shit out to throw into the back seat. And, the Jesus thing, just not interested. If you’re looking for a feel-good story about stumbling upon the light, then maybe this isn’t for you. This is more of a coming-of-age gravel riding tale dispatched straight from a middle of the pack 65-miler on the Sierra Buttes’ Lost & Found.

Into the Inyo Mountains: Disconnecting in Cerro Gordo

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Into the Inyo Mountains: Disconnecting in Cerro Gordo

Owens Valley, the Mojave, and Death Valley have been the backdrop for many stories here on the Radavist, but there is one region in particular that has interested me in regards to both the terrain and the history. The Inyo Mountains are ripe for adventure-seekers looking to get off the beaten path of Death Valley National Park or the Eastern Sierra. It can be a very isolating place: the roads are rough, rugged, with little to no cell reception or provisions. If you can, however, access this zone safely, you will be rewarded with unsurpassed views of the Eastern Sierra as the backdrop and colorful geological features abound.

I spend my free time exploring this region for routes that are suitable for travel by bicycle and to be honest, very few have proven to be fruitful in such endeavors. The area is plagued by roads so steep that even an equipped 4×4 can overheat, or miles upon miles of rock gardens, and sand traps. Not to mention the complete absence of water. To ride in this zone, you have to be prepared, both mentally and physically. It’s a region that challenged the native tribes as well as the prospectors who were driven by the desire to strike it rich. There’s a bigger tale here before we dive into our story, that needs to be told. One that hits close to home for us at the Radavist.

We Spent Black Friday in the Mountains of Los Angeles!

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We Spent Black Friday in the Mountains of Los Angeles!

While Black Friday follows a holiday meant to celebrate the togetherness of friends and family, we oftentimes get swept up in consumerism. Hey, it happens. Deals here, deals there. Lines, lines, lines! The whole ordeal can really taint an otherwise pleasant weekend. Don’t even get me started on Thanksgiving in itself. (You should read the history behind what this holiday was founded on, written by the Manataka American Indian Council.) Now, I’m not writing this piece to get into the complicated history of Indigenous Lands and religious zealots’ squandering of natural resources. I actually like what this time of year embodies but I approach the subject with great care. No matter how you look at it, we are all on Native Lands.

Riding Mountains on the New Santa Cruz Bicycles Bronson and 5010 in Los Angeles

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Riding Mountains on the New Santa Cruz Bicycles Bronson and 5010 in Los Angeles

Tyler wanted to get a limited slip differential installed in his Volvo 142. The problem is, Tyler lives in Santa Cruz where he works for Santa Cruz Bicycles in the design department, and the Volvo experts were down in Long Beach. No one wants to drive from Santa Cruz to Los Angeles on the weekend, and the shop was closed then anyway, so what’s a dude with a slick Volvo to do? The genius of this whole ordeal was that Tyler, and David – two design department dudes at Santa Cruz Bicycles – were able to convince their bosses to let them ride the newest bike models down in Los Angeles, allowing Tyler’s car to get worked on while we shredded some of the area’s best trails. I’m sure it didn’t hurt to have me offer to show them around, ride the new bikes and obviously tell a story about the whole shindig. Sure, this is about the bikes, as much as it is about showing Tyler and David Los Angeles’ best trails in a condensed, two-day experience.

Playing host in Los Angeles is as much fun as it is hard work. Hard in the sense that these are my local trails that I ride quite frequently, so seeing the “new” in the familiar can be photographically challenging. Add to that, technically I’m injured. I found out right before the guys rolled into town that my pinky was indeed broken from a collision with a Prius’ side view mirror one day while I was riding home. That incident happened almost a month prior. Bummer for me, my bike control, and the potential to have a full-on shred fest, but I was so excited to ride the new 5010, so I sucked it up, taped my finger, and clipped in…

Solo Swift Campout in the Tushar Mountains

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Solo Swift Campout in the Tushar Mountains

Solo Swift Campout in the Tushar Mountains
Photos and words by Spencer Harding

Ok, so to start, I missed the actual date of the Swift Campout by a day. I was finishing up work in St George, Utah and after a week of playing adult daycare as a tour guide I was exhausted. Sitting in a Starbucks in Cedar City, I spied a small glacial lake about an hour north in the Fishlake National Forest that promised some relief from the 110+ heat. I had every intention of actually riding out Saturday night, but then I got lazy and slept for 13 hours instead. So now its noon on Sunday, still time for redemption right?

Builders for Builders: a Lost & Found Custom Bike Raffle for the Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship

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Builders for Builders: a Lost & Found Custom Bike Raffle for the Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship

This year, I’ll be covering the Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship’s Triple Crown events: Lost & Found, Grinduro, and the Downieville Classic. My intent with this is to grow the Stweardship’s presence, help them raise money and spread the stoke for the Lost Sierra. Jumping on board with this project is just the icing on the dirt cake!

“Custom frame makers Sklar, Stinner, Mosaic, and McGovern have teamed up with world-class component makers ENVE, Chris King, SRAM and WTB to create four unique and beautiful custom bicycles that will be raffled after the gun goes off for the Lost and Found Gravel race. All proceeds will benefit the Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship.

Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship is a non-profit organization that builds and maintains multi-use trails in the Sierra Buttes, Tahoe, Plumas and Lassen national forests. Their mission is building sustainable recreation-based communities through stewardship, job creation and hosting world-class events. SBTS has donated an estimated 72,000 hours of volunteer labor, maintained over 800 miles of shared use trails and created nearly 80 miles of new trails since 2003.

The bikes will be exhibited at the Lost and Found gravel race and the raffle will be live, with $20 tickets, from June 2nd through June 15th, hosted by The Pro’s Closet. All donations and raffle ticket purchases are tax deductible.”

Check out more details on these bikes and how to buy a raffle ticket below!

In the Mountains of Los Angeles With Jeff Kendall-Weed on His Ibis Ripmo 29’r

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In the Mountains of Los Angeles With Jeff Kendall-Weed on His Ibis Ripmo 29’r

Los Angeles’ riding needs no introduction to the readers of this website. In fact, active readers and followers on our Instagram will recognize some of these spots. When people express an interest in coming to LA to escape the brütal winter months, I kindly oblige, especially when it’s people like Jeff Kendall-Weed. We’ve all seen him riding in videos, but I was curious to witness it in-person. His trip fell in-between a few other photoshoots, so it was going to be tricky, but I made sure to clear a few days of my schedule to take him out and show him some of my favorite trails in Los Angeles. Oh, and he was bringing down a brand new Ibis Cycles Ripmo, a long-travel 29’r, which was just icing on the shred cake!

Metro Bike Mountains of Madness – Carter Chappell

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Metro Bike Mountains of Madness – Carter Chappell

Metro Bike Mountains of Madness
Words by Carter Chappell

If you have been to LA recently maybe you have noticed the new Metro Bikes that launched last late year. They are essentially three-speed commuters by Trek that are built around a bombproof steel frame and held together by an army of tamper-proof bits. You cannot in any way take the tires off if you get a flat or do much outside of raising and lowering the seat to change the bikes fit in any way. It’s pretty much that last thing you would want to do any sort of long or hilly ride on.

The Mountains of Radness

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The Mountains of Radness

Last night, we escaped from the heat of Los Angeles, to ride mountain bikes and camp up in Chilao, our go-to refuge, spending time exploring the various granite boulders for lines, both new and old. Cache wins the biggest balls award, for a steep and sketchy chute Kyle found while pushwacking through manzanita. It’s always the same, however, because nothing ever looks as steep as it is! Check out a few more shots below.

We Found Our Hearts in Montana – Morgan Taylor

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We Found Our Hearts in Montana – Morgan Taylor

Words and photos by Morgan Taylor.

Montana, oh Montana. In Montana we battled the desire for stillness with the impetus to keep moving. We sat and watched animals, we spent time in new places that excited us very much, we batted away mosquitoes and fled from them. We pedaled day by day, sometimes through remote terrain, not seeing anyone else for hours or possibly days at a time. We found our way.