The Radavist

Like a Phoenix, rising from the ashes of his old Niner ‘cross bike, Greg‘s new Dark Moon is a veritable do it all and do it all damn good bike. While he loved his RLT 9, there were a few things he didn’t like about it. Enough to have Greg ping Carlos at Dark Moon here in Los Angeles to make something extra special. He loves SSCX, both at the races and around town. He had his Niner set up as a SSCX and races it all season. He wanted the bike to have tight clearances, with tighter angles to offer a responsive and snappy feel.

Even though he wanted a new SSCX race bike, he made sure there were provisions and guides for a rear derailleur and 27.5 “road plus” wheels in case he ever wanted to take the bike on an ultralight tour or bikepacking trip.

Last Sunday brought about the LA Handmade Bike Show and in attendance was LA’s newest frame builder, Carlos from Dark Moon Fab. Along with a hardtail similar to Jimmy’s, and a few road bikes was this all-road featuring the Fox AX “all road” fork. The aluminum frame’s geometry is tuned to run the AX fork, which will offer more compliance when the going gets rough and eat up some of the stiffness aluminum tubesets provide. Stiffness that might be desirable on a road or track racing machine, but might beat you up a bit on rough and rugged roads.

The paint is in actuality cerakote, a ceramic coating that goes on much like paint, but offers a more durable finish than a matte, flat, or semi-gloss wetpaint. Carlos masked off a desert landscape as well as Dark Moon’s branding in the material, making for one slick bike.

Have you ridden the AX fork? What are your thoughts? Share them in the comments!

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Follow Dark Moon Fab on Instagram.

Jimmy. Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy. How do you have such sick bikes?!

Since he began working at Golden Saddle Cyclery, Jimmy has come up on some pretty sweet bikes, in a kinda serendipitous manner. Take his latest bike for example. Our buddy Carlos has been spending the past few months setting up his shop, since leaving the head fabrication position at Stinner Frameworks. Carlos wanted to make frames for his own brand and after some time, he was ready to get some out and under his friends. Jimmy smelled the opportunity and jumped on it, selling his hardtail to fund a deposit to Carlos.

The result is the first complete Dark Moon Fabrication 27.5+ hardtail. Carlos has made a few mountain bike frames, but mostly to test out details, not to ride. After working out the geometry with Jimmy, he got to work on a bike with a 65º head angle, 150mm fork, and a 75º seat tube angle. After I saw the geo and signed off on it, Carlos got to work. The frame utilizes a symmetrical yoke plate at the bottom bracket cluster, a wishbone seat stay, and clearance for a 3″ tire with a 34t ring. Jimmy’s bike is official and boy did he go with all the right components on this bike, all chosen to accentuate the sparkle paint job on the bike.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen Jimmy more stoked to ride a bike. In fact, he rode things he had previously deemed off-limits with such fervent energy and it shows in the riding photos. New bike day stoke is real!

If you’d like a Dark Moon Fab frameset, holler at Carlos on his Instagram. He builds road, track, all-road, touring, and mountain bike frames right here in Los Angeles. A bike like Jimmy’s sells for $1,650 for the frame and paint.

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If you want a custom build like this and live in Los Angeles, hit up Golden Saddle Cyclery.