It ain’t news that older 26″ MTBs make for great commuters and Matt is the latest to submit a tasty conversion to our Readers’ Rides email. Let’s check out his USA-made Nishiki Backroads commuter conversion below!
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Readers’ Rides: Joel’s Bridgestone MB-3 All-Rounder
The MB line from Bridgestone produced some of the most timeless bikes, still in use today. Whether as a basket bike or a drop bar tourer, such as Joel’s. Let’s look at how Joel built this beautiful classic up below!
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Vintage Bikes Are Compounded Stories: John’s 1980 No Serial Ritchey
Every bike has a story, but some intrinsically harbor more nuanced lore. As you might have noticed, over the past few years, I’ve acquired a few Ritchey frames from the 1980s. We’ve previously covered my Everest and the story of Tom’s early Bullmoose designs; I also have a 1985 Annapurna, and this no serial number 1980 Ritchey, which might be the best build yet.
This era of mountain bike design and development is my favorite. In the late 70s, guys like Joe Breeze built beautiful bikes inspired by balloon cruisers and klunkers. Tom Ritchey, inspired by the frenetic energy of the mountain bike genesis, began making fat tire frames in the late 70s. From 1980 through 1981, several bikes left Tom’s shop, including the fabled ‘chicken coop’ bikes, and a few were built void of any serial number.
This bike is the latter, and boy, does it have a story…
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Readers’ Rides: Lewis’ Diamondback Sorrento Klunker
These days, we’re getting so many re-purposed 80s and 90s rigid 26″ MTBs, built up in the spirit of klunkers, complete with moto bars and all! We’re all stoked to highlight such cool builds for our Readers’ Rides, so let’s check out Lewis from New Zealand’s Diamondback Sorrento below…
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John’s 1983 Ritchey Everest MTB: A Happenstance Acquisition
What’s this? Another grey, size 23″ Ritchey? Well… yes!
Over the past year, I’ve revisited my love of handmade, vintage bikes and have honed in with particular interest on the work of Tom Ritchey, a builder at the fore of early mountain bike design. My goal in this case study of sorts is to provide a few examples of the major shifts in Ritchey’s production, primarily through the 1980s, with a single specimen representing these stages. My catalog of Ritchey frames includes a recently acquired anonymous 1980 model devoid of serial number, a 1985 Annapurna (arguably the finest bike model Tom ever brazed), and a 1982 Tam that is now being replaced by this 1983 Everest.
Earlier this year, we looked at my 1982 Tamalpais, built to catalog spec and in pristine condition. Yet one thing never really sat well with me about the build: the Bullmoose bars. You see, these early Ritcheys had a very unique Bullmoose that was more complex than the quill stem Bullmoose bars found in the late 1980s.
It’s a long story but one I’ll unravel here…
Radar
Restoring a Classic MTB Part 01: John’s 1991 Team Yo Eddy!
Vintage bikes have always had a home on The Radavist. From shooting Sky’s wonderful collection from Velo Cult, to showcasing stunners in Los Angeles, and basket bike/resto mod conversions in Austin, there’s something about these 26″ wheeled, friction shifting, hand-made beauts that have always caught my eye. Over the past year, there’s been an uptick in the number of vintage bikes we’ve showcased, in part because joining with The Pro’s Closet gave us access to TPC’s Museum bikes, a veritable treasure trove of exciting and influential builds to unpack. Each bike is an earmark in cycling history, each with its unique story to tell. Additionally, I have had the time and resources to work on such restoration projects for the first time in years.
This year, we’ve featured my 1982 Ritchey Tam and my 1984 Mountain Goat, representing what I love about the early 1980s mountain bike design. With flat top tubes, big tire clearance, friction shifting, and geometries still relevant today, the 1980s bikes were more geared toward exploration than the racing geometries the NORBA era brought about. I couldn’t buy one of these classics when I first started riding in the 90s (my first bike was a rigid Gary Fisher Tassajara), but I could always count of Mountain Bike Action and my local bike shop to keep the eye candy in steady supply. Since then, one elusive bike model has remained the apple of my eye: an early 90s Yo Eddy! When Mike Wilk wrote about TPC’s Grello Yo!, it made me nostalgic tailspin.
I casually reached out to Martin at Second Spin Cycles, who had just bought a big Fat Chance collection from out West. I asked if he had a Yo Eddy that would fit me and, as luck would have it, he did. But it needed some work…
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Vintage Bicycles: Tinker’s Jaw-Dropping 1993 Klein Adroit EX
Two Kleins in one week? What are the odds? Today, we’ve got a killer Vintage Bicycles feature, penned by Mike Wilk and photographed by John Watson, showcasing Tinker Juarez’s 1993 “Team Storm” painted Adroit EX. If you were a grom or an adult back then, you’ll recognize this bike. Without further adieu, let’s get to it!
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Alex and His 1987 Bridgestone MB-1 Basket Bike
While we’re huge fans of restored, period-correct, catalog spec vintage mountain bikes over here at The Radavist, there’s something special about basket bikes made from 1980s and 1990s mountain bikes. Hell, it’s not that long ago that we saw Bailey send it on his Rocky Mountain or any of the countless basket bikes we’ve featured over the past fifteen years we’ve been publishing. I’ll always drool over a minty Potts, or my build projects like my Ritchey Tam or Mountain Goat, but there’s something immortal, heroic, and even godlike when it comes to a shreddy basket bike built upon a classic chassis. These bikes continuously live on…
When Alex came to town with his Bridgestone MB-1, we went on a ride here in town, and then, the following day, I photographed his bike. Let’s check it out in detail below!
Radar
Readers’ Rides: Kees’ 2008 Mountain Goat Whiskeytown Racer
Mountain Goat was one of the original MTB brands based out of Chico, California. A few weeks ago we looked at John’s 1984 Whiskeytown Racer, which prompted Kees to send in his 2008 Mountain Goat WTR, built by Jeremy Sycip for Mountain Goat. Let’s check it out below!
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John’s 1984 Mountain Goat Whiskeytown Racer: A Fillet Brazed Beauty with Lots of Patina
Last year, while building up a Ritchey frame, I reached out to Martin at Second Spin Cycles, asking if he had any early Ritchey-brazed bullmoose bars. He responded “no,” prompting me to ask if he had any large bikes he was looking to sell. He responded with “actually… yes.”
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Vintage Bicycles: A Scrapyard Find 1983 Series III Breezer Mountain Bike
Part of the fun in restoring vintage bikes is the process and sometimes that process feels more like a puzzle than a transaction. From finding the correct components, to frame finish repair, and even saving a frame from a metal scrap yard! The Pro’s Closet‘s founder, Nick Martin, shares with us the wild story about how he came to own a truly rare frame, a Breezer Series III, by rescuing it from a scrapyard in Canada! Read on below for this wild tale!
Radar
Radar Roundup: Shafer AL, Sim Works Refresh, Tange 26″ Forks, Lolo Pricing, RLT 9 RDO, OD/Coyote Cams, 2022 HuRaCaN 300, Rwanda Tour, and Part of Me
Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. Read on below for today’s findings…
Radar
Readers’ Rides: Carl’s 1997 GT Avalanche
For this morning’s Readers’ Rides, we’ve got Carl’s ’97 GT Avalanche, with its signature triple triangle, amidst some glowing gold aspen leaves. Read on below for more!
Radar
René Herse Got a Big Shipment of Tires In
If you’re one of the people patiently waiting for a model René Herse tires to land in stock, today is your lucky day. This morning the Seattle-based tire manufacturer just received a shipment of their most popular rubber including the 650B x 55 Umtanum Ridge, 700C x 35 Bon Jon Pass, the 26″ x 2.3″ Rat Trap Pass, and more. Head on over to René Herse to see the full stock availability.
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Derek’s Early 90s Diamondback Apex
You know, sometimes a great bike is just a bike, and that’s enough. It could be your favorite bike of all the bikes you own or have owned. It could also just be the only bike you own. Either way, if you love it, then that’s enough for it to be good or even great. Derek loves this bike. For him, it’s a great bike, great enough to bring back from the dead and give it another life.
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More Than Just a Fat Bike: John Reviews the Otso Voytek
Fat bikes. They’re the cycling industry’s lost children. The forgotten ones. Remember when every brand under the sun had a fat bike in their catalog? Now there are only a few brands still putting in the PR&D required to make these bikes less cumbersome, less heavy, and more like a true-to-form mountain bike. One of those brands is Otso, whose Voytek is all of the above and more. I’ve held onto this bike for probably longer than they anticipated, cycling through the winter months, into the spring, and well into the summer. I’ve ridden it in its thicc 26″+ setup and now in its chonk 29+ form and have pulled together a comprehensive argument for why I hope that bikes like the Voytek will stay around for a while…
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Ronnie Romance’s Specialized DURALCAN S Works Stumpjumper M2: Cry of the Duralcan
I grew up working at a Specialized shop, and learned how to mountain bike by watching Ned Overend’s Performance Mountain Biking technique VHS. While I always appreciated the refreshing ideas of small makers, I thought it advantageous for larger brands to be able to invest more in their materials and construction. This was a time when top-end bikes were made of metal, and made domestically.
Metal Matrix (M2) composite is a prime example of this. The big S sourced a 6061 alloy infused with an aluminum oxide ceramic particulate by Alcan. Say that again, backwards now. Alcan called it Duralcan, and I am proud to display their logo on my top tube—that cool typeface!
Radar
Ultradynamico Mars 26 x 2.2″ Tires Have Landed
Available in red (26″ pictured) or grey (27.5″), the newest tire from Ultradynamico is ATB-inspired. Convert your 90s MTB into a modern, supple, planing machine.
Specs:
-Race compound for superior grip in all conditions.
-Luxurious high TPI mystery casing sourced from a Moroccan street bazaar which may vary in hue
-Tread rubber extended down sidewall for added protection without sacrificing the premium ride quality of our most flexible casing
-Continuous ramped center delta for a fast roll when propelled, and confident braking traction when modulated
-Side knobs won’t let you down, or let you fall down in loose, dry corners
-Wide knob spacing sheds mud and makes artistic patterns in the space dust
-Did you know the triangle is the strongest shape in this dimension?
-27.5 pairs as a front with our ROSé or CAVA 650b in the rear for a fast and fun slackened ATB rat-rover
-Tubeless compatible for a rover mimicking psi of 20-30psi
-Tires packaged and sold individually.
-Each set of commemorative 26″ MARS tires comes with a 13″ x 19″ poster from painter Bryan Buswell. Posters ship separately in a proper tube and will arrive a few days after your rubber.
-27.5″ x 2.2?? available in GREY compound only and 26″ x 2.2?? available in RED compound only.
-605g and 600g
In stock and shipping now from Ultradynamico.