The Radavist

In the world of high-end, performance mountain bikes, Santa Cruz wears a crown. Maybe not as a ruler of all, but most certainly the world of the 29’r. When the Tallboy was first released, it was widely praised as the first 29’r that actually exceeded expectations.

I’m not a jealous person, but I must say, Lyle’s Tallboy LTC is one balleur bicycle. With a component list like Chris King, SRAM XX1, Rock Shox 150mm Pike and even that stubby Thomson MTB stem, this bike has seen it all. Well, as far as the Trans-Provence, Swiss Alps, Chamonix and riding in Åre, Sweden for the whole summer shooting the Acre line is concerned. The dude and this bike are living the dream.

After quite a few emails, requesting detail shots of this bike, I took a few minutes to shoot some photos prior to our ride in Glarus… Check out more in the Gallery!

If #NatureIsMetal, then Gibraltar is a barrage of blast beats. This iconic climb is located in Santa Barbara, California. Just the word, Gibraltar, carries a certain mystique. As a cyclist, there are a few climbs that carry connotations of pain. For me, I think of Diablo, Cloud Burst and Gibralter.

Depending on how you start, you can climb from sea level to 3,600′ in just 12 miles. The road itself, up to the summit is about 7 miles. What makes Gibralter so magnificent though is the weather. One minute, you’re riding in the scorching morning sun and the next, a weather system will move over the crest and down the roads, creating an eerie and really fuckin’ metal vignette.

A group of us during the ATOC got in a quick ride before rushing to the start at Santa Barbara’s stage. We climbed fast and because of the ominous fog, took the descent slowly. The whole time I was descending, I felt like I was entering some lost world… It was brutally epic! See for yourself in the Gallery!

Tools of the trade:
Yashica T4 / Pro 400H

If you enjoy riding up and down ranges in the ‘wood, or tearing down fire roads, then Santa Cruz is heaven. There’s even great road riding but this trip, we stuck to the trails. USCSC has a ton of trails on its campus, all of which cross, zig zag, ascend and descend around neighboring systems. When I initially headed down from SF with Brian Vernor, my cross bike was in the car, which would have been a fine vehicle for the day but I made a few phone calls and ended up demo’ing an Ibis Ripley instead. Let’s just say the day was probably a lot more enjoyable (hopefully I’ll be able to review that bike extensively in the future).

Garrett from Strawfoot, Vernor and I did a series of loops, ranging from relatively technical, loose and sandy descents to wide-open, no fucks given blast-fests down through Wilder. None of us had a Garmin on our bikes, so I have no idea how long we were out there, or how far we traveled, but my legs told me around 30 ish miles and in trails, that’s a long afternoon, especially when Santa Cruz was spiking into the 90’s and no, that’s not a reference to the vernacular style of the town.

Santa Cruz was heaven for those few hours and people often ask why I don’t shoot photos of the more technical, beautiful singletrack when I ride MTB. It’s because we’re going too fast and no one wants to stop! Except when someone wrecks…

In Kyle’s quest to ride American-made bicycles, he came across the late Santa Cruz Stigmata. The frame was very affordable, so he bought one and rode the shit out of it. A few months later, he ended up breaking it (went off a trail, nose-first), but was lucky enough to have Santa Cruz replace it with a new frame.

This bike is everything a race bike should be, it’s light, great components where they count and looks damn nice. His #Jahblessed Chris King headset and vintage Salsa Skewers are great accents and as always, he’s got a super rare Ramblin Roll carrying the essentials.

Since Kyle only races SSCX this became his travel bike. We both agree that a cross bike is the ideal bike to travel with, for various reasons and the Stigmata was a very affordable, made in the USA option. Unfortunately, these frames were eventually discontinued, as production moved entirely overseas.

On his last day here in Austin, I shot some photos of it at his favorite bar in town, the Yellow Jacket Social Club.

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…

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…

Whit Johnson’s handmade bike company, Meriwether Cycles, has been featured here at The Radavist periodically over the years. Recently, John spent a day at Whit’s small garage shop in the foothills of the Sierra Mountains of California and got out on a sunset pedal with him. Read on for a look inside and out of Meriwether Cycles, in addition to a preview of Whit’s new adventure gravel bike, the Ponderosa…

Our 2024 MADE Bike Show coverage from Portland, Oregon continues with Part 02. Click on through below for selects from Apogee, Amigo, Baum, Btchn’, Good Grief, Goodday + Curiosity, Ira Ryan, Lost Workshop, Mone, and Retrotec…