The Radavist

I’ve got a few friends here in Austin with impeccable taste in bikes. Chris is one of them. His Eddy Merckx Pista and matching Eddy Merckx road have been featured here before and today I’ve got a gorgeous Joe Bell-restored blue Nagasawa. When Chris got the frame, it had surface rust and the paint was all chipped up. He’d always wanted a Joe Bell-painted bike, so he contact Joe and set up a restoration. When Joe finished his work, Chris built it up and the end result is stunning. The blue just popped in the late afternoon sun and the freshly-paved asphalt alleyway was the perfect backdrop. This bike is a beauty. See for yourself below.

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Sometimes, you just need to go off and take those roads you ride past everyday, or jump over the fence that says “No Trespassing”. These shots were all compiled during a few days I spent out wandering the hills and forests on my road bike.

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Kenny always has the nicest work bikes. His Raleigh, Guerciotti and now this Cannondale track bike have been featured on the site but this one takes the cake. Chris Lee bought this frame a few months back and realized it was too big for him, seeing an opportunity, Kenny snatched it up. Since the original fork was nowhere to be found, he picked up a similar track fork and threw a Cetma on it. Now the fork and the rack have a nice patina to them and Kenny is already riding it into the ground. As evidence by the bird shit all over it, he’s more into the ride, than keeping a museum-quality icon of the 90’s track racing scene.

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I think every cyclist goes through ups and downs when it comes to what they want in a bike. When I began talking to Ian at Icarus last year about my ViKING track bike, I wanted something more relaxed to ride on. We kept the geometry of the frame true track and went with a fork with a little more rake than normal, to make the ride more road-like. That way, I could just drop a 32mm track fork on the bike and have that “aggressive” ride associated with a track bike.

Well, after having the urge to ride a fast, nimble track bike on the streets, I contacted Ian about making a 32mm rake fork. Initially, we couldn’t find a Columbus MAX fork crown in 1 1/8″ so we went with a unicrown. At NAHBS, Chris Bishop told me he had a stainless 1 1/8″ MAX fork crown, so I bought it from him and sent the materials to Ian at his newly-located facilities in Ashville, NC.

A few weeks later and this baby arrived. I held off on painting it for now because I can’t afford to drop the cash at the moment and I want to work out the paint scheme. But with the Chris King polished stainless headset, I plan on polishing the crown to really set the bike off. Because Ian knew I’d be riding it raw, he torched it a bit, giving it a hippie tie-dye finish and then coated it with furniture polish to keep it from rusting.

The feather on the blade lets you know this bike means business. Beware of impostors, there is only one feather to rule them all.

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When I got my last Recent Roll back from this show, I could have sworn that I shot more. Alas, I found some scraps in another roll, filled with all the expected goodness.

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Grade school. It’s a place where you go for life’s lessons. No matter how strong of a rider you think you are, a few hours in grade school each day will whip your ass in shape. Granted we don’t have mountains here, but we’ve got good climbing and this Recent Roll is dedicated to the people who have put in work the past few weeks on the hills. It’s from a few different films, hence the change in grain and color.

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In some communities, a barn raising brings neighbors together and on the east side of Austin, it’s a mini ramp. Mike’s been going on and on about how he wants to build a mini in his backyard. Last week, he finally started it. Now, $600 into it and the mini is almost ridable. After my road ride yesterday, I went over to help him and Luke out. So far, so good!

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Vans has historically been tied to BMX and skateboarding, so it only makes sense that they would support one of the biggest companies in the industy. There’s no comp when it comes to Empire BMX. This is Texas after all. To commemorate general badassery, the guys designed the Empire BMX Ruark shoes to smoke bowls, dirt, street and parks alike.

Featuring a canvas upper, Vans BLC cupsole, Vanslite midsole for fewer bruised heels, the WaffleGrip outsole,  and a vegan-friendly construction, the Ruarks are a large improvement from the standard, off-the-shelf Vans. I went up to see these in person yesterday and photographed them at the newly constructed Empire BMX bowl.

Pick these up at Empire BMX for $59.95

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