The Radavist

Cell Bikes is an Australian company who offer up a rather affordable complete cross bike and they made a video showcasing a race from their last season… all I can think is damn, I wish our courses had a pump track in them!

It takes a bit of convincing for most people, but after you go with a fatter tire on your cross bike, you rarely will want to go back. Since riding the Nano for around 6 months, I’ve fallen in love with the extra cushion provided by a 40c tire and while I love the Nano, I really wanted to give the Surly Knard 41c a go. If, for any other reason than the allure of a smidge in additional width.

Trails, sure! But racing? For some reason, people are apprehensive about racing a 40+c tire – USAC allows it, so why not? My guess is, that age old myth that a “bigger tire is slower”… Oh but the contrary, with the right PSI, you’ll have the upper hand on just about any course.

I spent the weekend racing on my new Knards and have some thoughts below…

This video is from opening weekend here in Texas, at the Six-Shooter. In years past, it’s been a lot of fun. This year, I was out of town at a wedding, so I missed out. There’s lots of mayhem at the barriers in this one. Not to mention Tristan’s barrier beef as the last clip…

… has something for everyone. Track bikes, singlespeed, commuter, cross, road. You name it. Check out more at Issuu and at Bombtrack.

Here you go, the second installment of this year’s SVENNESS series from CX Hairs. Just in time to get you stoked on the weekend’s races!

You know what? I think Drew at Engin’s work is some of the finest in the world and when it comes to mountain frames, his titanium trail rockets are the things dreams are made of, so why wouldn’t he be able to make a sick cross bike, or all-road rig? Look at the body language and stance on that thing!

These bikes look the part and although I’ve never ridden one, I bet they rip just fine.

Check out more at Engin.

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.

A reader sent me this just now, scoffing at it and all I could think when I saw it was “holy shit, that looks fun!” Call it a monster cross, or a dirt drop 29’r, bikepacking rig, or whatever… yes, beach racer. This bike looks like a marketing hit gone awry, turned legit trail ripper. Also, I love the bars. All it needs are some 2.5″ gumwall Ardents.

Has anyone seen one in person? See more at Koga.

Thanks for sharing, Sam!

Even though the Radavist is based in Austin, Texas, I’ve put in more than enough time riding in inclement weather in NYC. I wish, back then, that I had footwear like the 45NRTH offerings. Check out this video for some insight into their lineup.

Gaulzetti is a name that doesn’t pop up all that much here on the Radavist, but when it does, it’ll be burnt into the back of your mind for at least a month and that has nothing to do with the paint found on this disc cross. Holy. Hole. Shot.

See more at Gaulzetti.

Photo by Jim Hicks

I think it’s safe to say, everyone who races cross wants to be able to do this. It shaves seconds off any gap the racer in front of you might have and puts more time between you and the racers behind.

Bunnyhopping barriers isn’t easy by any means, especially when they’re set at USAC’s max height of 40cm and on an uphill, but at yesterday’s race, I put all my skills learned from riding trails on my cross bike, MTB shredding and yes, the old days of FGFS to the test and hopped them every lap of the 50 minute B race. Here’s another angle.

Now that I’ve got my rhythm, I’m feeling even more confident and can’t wait to apply this useful skill to future races…

Bokanev and friends made a short video inspired by fall and fog in the Seattle area…

If you’re in the UK, you should really check out this deal. Kinoko is having a frame blowout sale and one of them is a steal. For £925.0 you can get a Cross Classic frame. That’s frame, fork and matching King headset. The only catch is, it’s a 54cm. Head to Kinoko for more information.