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Velo Orange’s “all-road” tourer, the Piolet is now in stock. Designed to fit a large tire, in various wheel size platforms*, the Piolet can shred one-track, two-track and no-track. An affordable option for those wanting to take on bikepacking or excursion style riding. My favorite detail is the non-sus corrected segmented fork with all the braze-ons and the wishbone stays.
But the very best detail? The price. $685 for the frameset… See more information at Velo Orange!
If you can’t tell, the “sickness” has spilled over into the weekend. I hope you’re all out riding and soaking in the summer sunshine. More on this bike next week!
During the ATOC, Tim Johnson and David from Cannondale took their Slate “all-road” bikes from the mountains to the fire roads before getting them dusty on some singletrack. While the Cannondale website still doesn’t list the Slate in their catalog, this is the first we’re seeing of the olive drab and chartreuse paint design. Lookin’ good fellas. Also, Ojai has some amazing trails!
I like the looks of this!
“Before the start no one had a clear idea of what would happen along those 110 km in the vineyards and hazelnut orchards of the Langhe territory. Many expectations and so many unknowns for the competitors, and everyone who was there.
The story telling of the first Superenduro B-Road was in the hands of the media crew, which moved fast on motorbike following the groups of competitors between asphalt and gravel sections, to document the race and spirit of this event.
Check the video report with the best shots from the race, good memories for someone and a little push for everybody else to don’t miss the second edition!”
What do you do when an accomplished athlete backs you on a gamble and encourages you to do something different. Something that might change the face of “all-road” cycling forever? Or at least for a little while anyway…
The story of the bike goes back to March in 2014, when Tim Johnson and his wife Lyne were riding in Louisville along the bourbon trail. David from Cannondale put one of these bikes under Tim and watched the atavism take over. Tim hit every curb cut in sight, skidded around corners and sprinted like he was riding his EVO… Tim’s a cross racer through and through, so dirt and speed are his top priorities. Oh and fun. Having fun too. Right Tim?
For 2015, Ritte Racing has reenvisioned their Snob road frame to fully adopt disc brakes with 30mm tire clearances in mind. The new OS 630 Stainless frame is custom hardened in-factory, laser mitered and tig welded to last a lifetime. Each Snob Disc comes with a 1-1/4″ Enve Disc Road fork and Chris King IS-8 headset. To provide an ample platform for butting those oversized tubes together, the Disc Snob uses a PF30 bottom bracket, which coincidentally delivers stiffness where riders like to feel it.
This particular bike was on display at Sea Otter and was built using the latest working prototype Paul Klamper disc brakes. All I can say is there’s a whole lotta bad-assery going on here. Good job, Ritte!
Expect the Disc Snobs to drop in June with an MSRP of $3,000.
The carbon disc “all road” market is already pretty full, yet Raleigh found a way to elbow their way through the crowd with the Roker. At the Sea Otter Classic, they unveiled this new machine. The Roker is basedd off the Tamland geometry, with a slightly longer wheelbase, lower bottom bracket and new features like a third bottle cage mount, thru-axles and internal routing.
To further increase versatility, it has hidden fender mounts on the inside of the stays and comes competitively priced with a Tiagra build kit coming in around $3,000 or Ultegra for around $4,000.
This is literally straight from the factory, so expect more details to follow. Check out more photos below!
Over the next few weeks, Speedvagen will be rolling out a few new bike models, the first of which being the Rugged Road. Like a cross bike, but with some geometry tweaks, the Rugged Road is closer to a road bike than a cross bike, as the name implies. It’s meant for gravel descents with rutted corners and long days in the saddle, rather than an hour of being raced in a cyclocross course.
This frame in particular utilizes the Speedvagen new HollaText scheme with a cream base color; a color we’re the brand will be working with for 2016. It’s built with Di2 and hydraulic discs with room for 40mm tires. As for the geometry tweaks, the most notable is the lower bottom bracket, making it super agile while cornering and keeping the rider’s center of gravity low, despite the larger tires.
To lighted the bike up a bit, customers can opt for a carbon seat tube, which sleeves into the bottom bracket and seat tube cluster. When painted, you can hardly tell, yet it shed substantial weight off the frame. The paint work on the DT Swiss hubs is an accent that Speedvagen has been doing since 2008.
There’s more information on the Rugged Road to come, so stay tuned at Speedvagen.
Kona’s newest campaign takes you along for a ride through the Four Corners on four different bikes. From north to south, east to west, on isolated roads through one of the most scenic areas in North America. Stay tuned for more, with the first video launch being the Rove AL (north) on April 7th.
Photographs by Peter Thomsen
John Caletti has a way with disc bikes. There’s something about the look of an OS titanium frame, painted to compliment Chris King bits. With “all-road” bikes being all the rage these days, George wanted something extra special, so he contacted Santa Cruz’s Caletti Cycles to build him a bike that he’d very well have for the rest of his life.
Personally, I love the grey and orange, but the inside of the fork blades and backside of the seat tube really do it for me. Oliver at Spectrum Powderworks really did a banging job on this one. Check out more of Peter Thomsen’s wonderful photos below.
Inspired by the Bel Airs of the 1950’s, this backroads Retrotec is remarkably as easy on the eyes as I’d imagine it’d be on washboarded gravel roads. With clearances for a 45mm tire, this build included hydro Di2, the new Whisky No.9 CX fork with fender mounts and one of those nifty Brooks Cambium saddles.
You’ll also spy 2 winchester shells in the bar ends, with special meaning to the owner, Matt, who works for QBP. Those shells shot his late gramps’ ashes into the woods. To further up the ante, the seat pack is one his wife’s gramps used in the Korean War to hold ammo. Matt uses these items to remind him how bad-ass his grandparents were… and it kinda puts the pain encountered while pedaling a bike into perspective.
Thanks to Marty Wood for the beautiful photos and the crew from Angry Catfish for help on the build.
We’ll be seeing this bike at NAHBS next month! Til then, check out more below!
Lifestyle photos by Chris Blott
Shand calls the Stoater a “cross bike for people who don’t race cross” and here in the States, bikes like this get labeled “gravel grinders” or “adventure bikes”. I like to think of them as all-road bikes.
The Stoater can be run as a singlespeed, geared or Rohloff. Shand achieves versatility through using a PF30bb, so it can accept a Beer Components EBB and the Paragon Polydrop dropouts with interchangeable inserts. This, along with modular cable routing, drivetrain swaps are easy. Built from Reynolds 853 with Deda and Columbus stays, the Stoater can take what you can throw at it.
See more of the Stoater at Shand Cycles.
