The Radavist

I’ve known Dan for many years and before he was a road or cross racer, he was a bike messenger and a photography student. This “shoot as you go” mentality has done him well and with a recent purchase, he’s been keeping his blog up to date with candid photography like this. You should really follow him on Tumblr and make sure you Ask him all the tough questions like “how can I win the Red Hook Crit next year?”.

There are some great details on Taylor’s own Sizemore Cross. Those XTR brakes being just the beginning. Check out the war paint on the brake bridge and the even more dialed hand-lettering on the downtube. See the whole photoset from the SSCX Run here.

As previously-stated, everyone’s ready to get their ‘cross on this season. It’s pretty common for me to receive a large number of cross bikes in lieu of track bikes come this time of the year but what’s uncommon is a gem like this. Hollis lives in Barcelona and races for IF’s Grassroots team. Here’s his laced out IF Ti Planet Cross.

Check out more below!

Road season isn’t even over yet and already people are juiced about cross season. Adding to the squeeze is the new Ritte Racing 2013 Crossberg. I can’t even begin to compete with their copy, so I’ll leave the linguistics to them: “Stiffer, smoother, svelter and more aggressive than last year’s edition…”

See more at Ritte Racing.

As a small business owner, it’s not easy to get out and ride every day. Victor owns and operates Archive Bags and as a gift to himself this year, he ordered a Raphael Cycles cross bike, strictly for off-road action in GGP. A couple weeks back, he spent the afternoon with Six, who posted up a bunch of photos on his Flickr. Checkem out! That’s a great looking bike Victor.

Coming up with creative paint schemes in the internet age is not easy, so when I see something like this pop up on Flickr, I take note, especially when it’s from Stanridge Speed. Adam’s newest frame out of the paint booth is a CX Race Rig, complete with a very simple, yet flashy wet coat. Check out more of this beauty at the Stanridge Flickr.

And the award for the best race poster goes to…

Trimble Racing is proud to announce the Hatcher Pass Road Race to be held on August 4th, 2012. This unsanctioned 70 mile dirt road race will be contested through the beautiful wilderness of Alaska. The race will begin at the Trimble family cabin near the Independence Mine in the Talkeetna Mountains. After a neutral descent the race will start with a grueling two mile dirt climb up and over the famous Hatcher Pass. At the top of the pass riders will cross from the Palmer side to the Willow side plummeting down the Willow Fishhook Road, a long and technical gravel descent with endless switchback corners. After the nearly thirty mile descent the road levels for a few recovery miles. A checkpoint at the intersection of the Parks Highway marks the halfway point where the riders will turn around and start the long journey back to the Trimble cabin.

Photos by Brenton Salo

I’m not sure if this particular Tonic is classified as their Magnum CX but if any of their bikes deserve to be called magnum, it’s this beast. Oversise HT, dampened wishbone stay and disks? This is a gravel-grinding, cowbell chiming good time just waiting to happen. See more details of this gorgeous example of American steel at Brenton Salo’s Flickr.

Man, I am so into this build it’s making me salivate. The paint, the tires, the bar wrap, everything scream success. Jesse’s a rad dude. One of the leaves on the tree of great cyclists in LA and this Hufnagel cross isn’t going on a wall like some piece of art, it’s hitting the frontage and fire roads of Los Angeles county. There are so many details on this bike but I don’t want to steal the thunder from Jesse’s Flickr. Head over and check them out for yourself.

For 2013, Cinelli has many new offerings but the one release I’m most impressed with is the collaboration with Mash on a new SSCX frameset. I know a lot of work went into this bike, so expect these frames to be a great option for race season next year. Or just some off-road fun.

Here’s to honest utilitarianism. These bikes are leaving to get out there tomorrow. More to come…

Fuck the rules. The only rule that matters is having fun with your friends. Sometimes you can even sacrifice safety for fun. We did a ride today up Mt. Wilson that was one of the best rides I’ve done in recent months (I say that a lot in Cali). Jeff, Ty, Kyle, Ed, Ralphy and I woke up early and trudged it out to the mountains. Along the way, we joked, stopped for photos, and rubbed Poodle Bush all over ourselves. But most importantly, we had fun.

Ty took this shot of Kyle, getting his crossie freestyle on and I don’t even need to post any other photos from Instagram. This one seals the ride.

It was 62 miles, 6,000′ and we killed two pizzas after. Good times dudes!

Very loud.

I recently built up a set of 24 / 28 Profile Elite Road hubs and could not believe how loud they are. In fact, they sound more like a BMX hub than a road hub. 6 pawls dig into 68 steps on the ratchet ring, making them the bane of your riding buddies’ existence.

Made in the USA, from hell hornets apparently…

See more information here at Profile.

Mash just upped a bunch of RAD and FREE wallpapers over at their site. Head over to download some. Crossie freestyle is coming up in 2012!