Back in November, Dirty Sundays hosted the first Velo Cosmos event at the Holbrooke Hotel in Grass Valley, CA. We are honored to host an event recap, written by Whit at Meriwether Cycles and documented professionally by Reel 23 Films and Jean Paul Rose. Let’s check it out below!
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Reportage
Mental Detours Part One: Bike Touring the Italy Divide(ish)
Travel is routinely romanticized. And it is romantic—how could having the privilege of “checking out” of the daily drum of work, family, bills, etc., and the attendant stress in favor of experiencing a new place not be? The word vacation is, of course, derived from the verb “to vacate,” and while going on vacation is about the act of leaving, it’s also about finding. Finding new culture, new landscapes, new experiences, but maybe just as importantly it’s about finding new perspective on what it is you’ve placed on hold.
After two weeks spent bike touring in Italy in October, Hailey Moore reflects on what she found while away and the paradox of trying to experience more than the Trip Advisor-version of a place without missing the five-star sights. Read on for part one of her Italy Divide reflections while riding from Trento to Florence.
Reportage
Who’s Got Next? A Framebuilding Summit at Caletti Cycles
Last week, John Caletti of Caletti Cycles hosted five up-and-coming bicycle framebuilders at his shop in Santa Cruz, California. An event that had been on John’s to-do list for the past few years, his first Framebuilding Summit was intended to be an educational meeting of the minds–a time dedicated to sharing knowledge with a group of young bike builders.
Radar
Radar Roundup: Ron’s CT Tool Wallet, State Death Metal, MADE 2024 Registration is Open, Timeless Trails, One Year Alaska to Mexico, and Badlands 2023
Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. Read on below for today’s findings…
Radar
I Am Not SPOX: A Spinergy MXX 30 Wheel Review
After the bike industry woke up from its fever dream of futuristic mag wheels, Spinergy held on for one more go with their fiber-spoked SPOX lineup. Unfortunately, those first-generation SPOX would join the rest of those early carbon wheels to be remembered as educational, innovative, but ultimately failed experiments. But a lot has changed since then. Fiber technology has made huge leaps, and it’s now possible to weave a spoke that is stronger and lighter than steel. Berd spokes have been twisting our expectations for the past year, but Travis Engel was more curious about what Spinergy has learned in the past decades. Their MXX 30 mountain bike wheels, laced with their unique PBO spokes, make some bold claims. Travis spent a couple months on them to see if they delivered.
Reportage
You Can’t Buy Money With Happiness: 2023 Single Speed Cyclocross World Championships
As an anchor for the NorCal cyclocross scene, the Rock Lobster team and their eclectic band of racers, builders, horn players, writers, photographers, and dreamers are here to take you on a journey into the heart of Single Speed Cyclocross World Championships 2023. From riding the tiger to fording the pool of plunder, this story captures cyclocross glory and heartbreak at its finest. From the desk of the award winning SSCXWCTV investigative news team, please enjoy “You Can’t Buy Money With Happiness,” a mixed-media Reportage with weekend narration from Matt Miller, along with photos and video from Josh Becker and Mike Thomas.
Radar
A Multi-Bike Review of the Tumbleweed Big Dipper Drop Bars
Wide bars are becoming more and more prolific in the drop-bar MTB, touring bike, and even gravel bike subgenres. A craze that began with the Crust and Ron’s Bikes Towel Rack bars has now become widespread in the industry, with multiple brands putting their spin on an ultra-wide offering. Among these is Tumbleweed, who have worked to design a model suited for the Stargazer touring bike (one of my favorites in that subcategory of drop-bar bikes). Fittingly dubbed the Big Dipper Bars ($115), I’ve been stealthily test-riding them on two recent review bikes. I have some thoughts on the Big Dippers and the appropriate application for wide drop handlebars in general. Let’s check it out below!
Radar
The Dust-Up: We Need A Better Way to Measure MTB Seat-Tube Angle
Today’s edition of The Dust-Up is a nerdy little tour through the world of effective seat-tube angles. Travis Engel thinks that the way we measure them is a little … obtuse. That number on your bike’s geometry chart may not mean what you think it means. He informs his opinions by talking to some mountain bike brands who are taking a fresh look at this deceptively complex dimension.
Reportage
Bikes and More from the Chris King Open House 2023
With this year’s Chris King Open House coming right after the 2023 MADE Bike Show, the event decided to shift gears and focus on the Portland area’s outdoor brands. Chris King opened its doors to the public, unveiling the process that goes into machining bike parts in the USA, while inviting the broader outdoor industry to display their products. It was a full day of bikes and more! Check out our Reportage, sent in by Chris King and let us know your favorite bike in the comments!
Radar
Radar Roundup: Stinner Carrizo All-Road Bike, Lost and Found Registration is Open, Industry Nine Bronze, Sim Works Homage Green Pack, OMBRAZ Frost, Le Coursier, and Pedaling Across Wisconsin
Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. Read on below for today’s findings…
Radar
Radar Roundup: Don’t Miss the Velo Cosmos Show, Caletti Photo Show, Fish Ski 6-Pack, High Above Dyneema Hip Pack, Bullitt and Cinelli, Fat Tire and Dangle Supply, Trackers!, Bike Story Night with Alexandra Houchin, PEdALED Jary Collection 23, and Rémy Métailler Rides Portal
Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. Read on below for today’s findings…
Radar
Pump It Down: Why Every Rider Can Benefit From Volume Spacers, and How to Use Them
Before you even hit the parking lot to test ride a suspension bike, most shops will walk you through a careful sag and damping adjustment. But few of them will tell you that there is a whole other dimension of control inside your fork or shock’s air spring. By inserting or removing volume spacers, you can make your suspension more or less resistant to bottom-out. In turn, that may allow you to run more or less preload. This deceptively simple adjustment has gotten a reputation for being only for racers, or nerds, or nerdy racers. But Travis Engel believes everyone can benefit from volume tuning. So, he has this quick explainer on what it can do for you, and how you can try it for yourself.
Reportage
Flexing Muscles, Not Stays: A Pivot Mach 4 SL Review
In the world of cross-country bikes, there’s a trend of pivots disappearing. Not the brand “Pivot,” but the actual pivots. Specialized heaved the Horst Link, Trek axed its ABP, and Santa Cruz vetoed the VPP. The idea is, at around 100-millimeters or so of travel, weight savings and stiffness take precedence over kinematics. But Pivot (the brand) stuck to their guns for the recently revamped Mach 4 SL cross-country bike. They tweaked their DW Link and refined their carbon layup, claiming better ride quality and a half-pound lighter frame. They sent their flagship build to Ryan LaBar in northern Michigan, and it seems he’s putting this bike on a pedestal, without even needing to put it on a podium.
Radar
Radar Roundup: Surly Cross-Check is Dead, Black Mountain Monster Cross is Alive, Zipp HITOP Wheels, Pembree’s Extended Lineup, Descending Poster, Purisma Last Saturday, and My First Solo Overnighter
Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. Read on below for today’s findings…
Reportage
The Tale of the Humongous Rock Lobster
This is the story of a perpetually unfinished project, but also of a really cool bike that’s taken me a lot of great places – and how it came to me is its own unlikely story. The fact that a custom Rock Lobster built for someone else has been the best fitting bike I’ve ever owned is pure coincidence, particularly as I would learn that it didn’t quite fit the original owner as they had hoped. Settle in for the Tale of the Humongous Rock Lobster.
Reportage
What’s Old is New Again: Crust X Ron’s Bikes Alumalith Rigid MTB Review
Unveiled at the 2022 Philly Bike Expo to much fanfare, the Alumalith is a realization of Ronnie Romance‘s dream to incorporate his favorite aspects of vintage mountain bikes into a deciededly modern offering. Featuring a non-suspension corrected Switchblade-style fork, rim brakes, sharp angulation, and 6061 aluminum fabricated by renowned craftsman Frank Wadelton–but with internal dropper routing, clearance for 27.5 x 2.6″ tires, and a contemporary approach to geometry–the Alumalith is nostalgic delight for riders of today. Josh picked up an Alumalith earlier this year and has spent months building it, riding, refining, and riding some more. Continue reading below for his review of this niche yet capable and fun machine…
Radar
The Search For ATB at The 2023 MADE Bike Show Video Recap
While our documentation of bikes, products, and people of MADE has wrapped for this year, we have special video recap from our friends at Mythical State Of. We set Daniel and Kyle loose in the show halls in a continuation of the perpetual Search for ATB… Check it out below!
Reportage
2023 MADE Bike Show Coverage: Part 04 – Acoustic, Buendia, Breadwinner, DeSalvo, Ira Ryan, Moth Attack, Rodriguez, Schön, Speedvagen, and Stinner
We’re here in Portland, covering the 2023 MADE Bike Show, looking for bikes that we thought you, the readers of The Radavist would appreciate. Josh and John have been scouring the halls of the show for bikes to document, and we’ve got Part 04 of our coverage for you to enjoy…
Thanks to 1-Up USA for sponsoring our continued 2023 MADE Bike Show coverage!
