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It’s spooky season, and while humans can’t return from the dead, bicycles can! Especially steel bikes. Longtime readers of The Radavist might recall John’s Geekhouse Woodville touring bike from 2013. Its history is sordid and includes theft, a recovery, some damage, and a brief hiatus. Well, thanks to a group of friends, John got it back, and the redux might be better than the original. Read on for the resurrection of this beloved and more beautiful than ever bicycle!
Microshift has just announced their updated Trail Trigger shifter ($29.99) and 11-46t MTB cassette ($39.99), bringing even more affordability and versatility to their 9-speed shifting range. You’re reading those prices right! Head to Microshift to read more about their new Advent additions.
The clean lines of a modern touring bike are hard to resist and for this week’s Readers’ Rides, we look at Jouko‘s Brick Lane Bikes Hitchhiker build. These frames are capable beauties, with a solid Columbus Cromor tubeset spec. Check out more details of this classy and timeless build below.
18 lbs? 17 lbs? 16 lbs? What is weight anyway? Weight doesn’t matter but it doesn’t hurt either. Especially when your golden locks and bronze tan lines float effortlessly across white gravel roads, coating the roadside flora in a light layer of sedimentary seasoning. Dust, baby. It’s good for you. Yes, Ronnie Romance knows how to build a bike from a fine assortment of vintage components, exotic, supple rubber, and a bit of suntan oil. Case in point, his Crust Bikes Lightning Bolt is lighter than a soft whisper.
We reviewed the Box Components MTB drivetrain a while back on the Desert Tan Stinner Tunnel Hardtail. It was a breath of fresh air, seeing a BMX company jump into the MTB componentry business. Well, Box has been busy since 2017 when we first reviewed their products. Just announced for 2020 is the new Prime 9 groupsets, offering a 11-50t gear range (X-Wide) in three price tiers with a 9 speed shifting mech. At the top of the line is Box One (in orange) Prime 9, the lightest of the offerings, made from carbon and with an MSRP of $627. Box Two (in red) Prime 9 is aluminum and costs a mere $270. From there, Box Three (in blue) Prime 9 is only $195. All three include a rear derailleur, cassette, shifter, and chain. The cassettes utilize the Shimano 9, 10, 11 freehub, so you don’t have to chase down a specialty driver.
This is huge news, for those looking to build up an affordable bikepacking, touring, townie, or MTB. Box’s shifting mechanism takes a little bit to get used to, but works. In our review period, I grew accustomed to it quickly, and at that price point, it’s worth it.
Box is currently accepting pre-orders now, with a December 2019 delivery, so head over to Box Components get on board.
