The Radavist

We’ve got a special Readers’ Rides today. It’s Chris King’s personal Cinelli Supercorsa. Chris has owned this since the mid-70s and rode it for 20 years straight, including a bike tour from Seattle to Santa Barbara. It features an early Chris King headset using salvaged grade 9 modified bearings and yeah, it’s got some beausage! Let’s check it out with words and photos by Jacob Olsen from Chris King below…

John spent last weekend in Santa Cruz catching up with friends, riding some tacky dirt and checking out the History of Mountain Bike Evolution Show at Santa Cruz Bicycles, put on by Doug Hatfield, Velo Cosmos with Team Old Soil. The show spanned the evolution of the mountain bike from the 1940s through the Syndicate Racing Team’s World Cup DH machines.

Below, John hones in on the evolution of cruiser bikes to klunkers and the genesis of the Marin County “Mountain Bike” and shares a jam-packed gallery of bikes and hangs…

Yes, Travis calls the $3,300 YT Jeffsy Core 2 “budget.” Maybe because it’s so good at so many things that the net bang/buck ratio is off the charts.

Within a relatively straightforward product lineup, Chris King Precision Components manufactures hubs, headsets, bottom brackets, and, perhaps most importantly, the bearings inside that make them spin. On a recent trip to Portland, Oregon, Josh spent some time at the Chris King HQ factory to learn more about the company’s origins and what makes it continue to stand out in a crowded space of bearing-centric bicycle components. Read on below for the full rundown of what goes on at CKPC’s giant vegetable oil-fueled machine shop!

Last fall Cristina Maristany joined 70 other riders from all over the world in the Sonoran Desert for the Komoot Women’s Arizona Rally designed and hosted by Lael Wilcox and Rue Kaladyte. Over eight days, the self-supported group camped under the stars and overcame the challenge of traveling through remote zones with limited food and water. The total route was over 400 miles (650km) and 25,000ft (7,600m) of elevation through breathtaking Southern Arizona landscapes.

Below, Cristina recaps this spectacular ride with her own wonderful photos, in addition to a gallery from event photographer Ashley Gruber, and a video she produced about the rally….

Wende Cragg’s contributions to cycling and her documentation of the sport over the years are unquantifiable. And here at The Radavist, we’ve been fortunate to have her sharing snapshots of that history, from her moving piece about the origins of mountain biking, to her return to Crested Butte last year for the Pearl Pass Tour after a forty-two-year hiatus.

Wende is back today to share another special story we think you’ll thoroughly enjoy. This time, Wende pens an ode to her custom 1983 Breezer Series III built for her after multiple ill-fitting predecessors (including one of the ten original Breezer Series I). To top it off, she enlisted Joe Breeze to share a few insights about her one-of-a-kind bike and the general evolution of early Breezers. Let’s get right to it below!

While we give a lot of coverage to big, burly dropbar touring bikes, there’s something freeing about riding a lightweight and zippy gravel bike at a faster pace. Mason Cycles’ Bokeh 3 offered up this exact riding experience for John as he fled the frigid lands of Northern New Mexico in winter for a romp in the grasslands of Patagonia, Arizona. Let’s check it out…

Our friends from Sim Works USA are in Tuscon this weekend with Jenna and the Transit Cycles team. Josh and Spencer were there yesterday and documented the shop and some of the fun in the gallery below.

Sim Works will be at Transit again Sunday from 11-4, so if you’re in the area be sure to stop by and say hello!

There was a very broad range of very specific questions rattling around in Travis Engel’s head as he waited for the REEB Steezl to arrive. A lot more questions than normal. Usually, all he has to do for a bike review is keep riding it until he can put all its variables into context. The REEB Steezl, on the other hand, was top-to-bottom known-unknowns. It’s a U.S.-made steel full-suspension mountain bike, compatible with multiple shocks, multiple chainstay lengths, and made of multiple frame materials. Things got interesting. Hold my REEB.

When Ryan Wilson made his first trip to Colombia in 2022, there was one region of the country that was high on his list to ride, but after getting distracted by the abundant opportunities for exploration, he somehow found his visa days dwindling. Naturally, when he was able to return for a lengthier trip the following year, heading to Boyacá—birthplace of Colombian road cycling legends like Nairo Quintana—was a top priority…

If our Top Ten Beautiful Bicycles list serves as an indicator of your interests, our Top Ten Review Bikes speak to the readership’s curiosities and potential next bike buys. This year’s Top Ten Review Bikes ran the gamut from carbon gravel bikes with proprietary passive suspension to actual full suspension bikes and everything in between.

Let’s check out what review bikes pushed the needle for you this year!