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Three weeks ago, John laid out a quick look at dirt drops on early mountain bikes by using his 1983 Steve Potts as a vehicle for the discussion and today we’re looking at our favorite modern drop-bar 29er mountain bikes. But first, we’ve got to define what a drop-bar 29er mountain bike is!
The Radavist thanks 1-Up USA for sponsoring our Sea Otter Classic 2024 coverage!
While on the road to Sea Otter, John swung through the Ritchey HQ in the South Bay and got to check out some new models that are coming out tomorrow. Check out a sneak peek of the all-new Montebello randonneuring bike, the redesigned Outback, and P29er, along with the Superlogic Butano Ridge integrated handlebars and some shop ephemera below!
This is why we love Readers’ Rides; because of submissions like this. Harrison took it over the edge and back with this Diamond Back Racing drop bar gravel bike with custom-made Y-Bike guitars… Let’s get to it!
We get a lot of MTB conversions sent to our Readers’ Rides inbox but very few hardtail to drop bar setups like John’s 2005 Cove Handjob. He’s done a wonderful job with this one so let’s get to it!
Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. Read on below for today’s findings…
Tumbleweed Bikes, the makers of the Prospector touring bike (read Ryan Wilson’s Review here) have been teasing a drop bar tourer for a while now and just announced the pre-order for the Stargazer, a steel bike with clearance for a 29×2.5″ or 27.5×3″ wheelset, a 69º head angle, upright riding position, bosses galore and more.
Check out all the specs below and check out the pre-order at Tumbleweed Bikes where the frameset is $1,350 and completes as shown run $3875.
This week’s Readers’ Rides comes from Katherine in Colorado with her do-it-all Orbea hardtail. Check out more details and the history of this unique submission below…
“Finally, a bicycle I can ride to the North Pole and back in a reasonable amount of time”
-Chet Bearclaw
Chet is onto something. Or on something rather! Whatever it is, it’s gotta be good though. The TŌWMAK has got to be the craziest looking bike of the year, yet I can assure you it’s not a photoshop composite. It’s a drop bar fat bike and an early production run of 20 are being made currently, so head to Bearclaw Bicycle Co to put a deposit down if you’re into this.
Specs:
-197x12mm thru-axle frame
-150x15mm Blitzen 468 Axle to Crown carbon or Ti fork (coming soon)
-Fits up to 27.5 x 4.5 or 26 x 5 tires
-3 triple boss mounts on the frame
-Rack Mounts
-Flat mount brake
-Ultradistance Gravel Friendly Geometry. (UGFG)
-100mm BSA Standard Bottom Bracket
-Internal cable routing
-3AL-2.5V double-butted titanium frame
-6AL-4V billet head tube, bb, dropouts, derailleur hanger, and chainstay plate
We have such amazing bikes this week here on the Radavist. The thing I’ve really enjoyed about this website over the years is running into unique humans with bikes that share the same character. Justin rolled this Kermode Cycles through the door at Golden Saddle Cyclery literally the same week that you, the readership, requested more bikes with beausage and fewer show bikes.
I really felt like as a community, we put out the energy and thoughtfulness into documenting more everyday bikes with character and it made me think about New Thought philosophy. In short, this line of thought falls in with the Law of Attraction, which is the belief that positive or negative thoughts bring positive or negative experiences into a person’s life. Well, you wanted well-used, patina machines and it’s like the cycleverse was listening because this bike has plenty of patina to go around!
What better way to spend the long weekend than reviewing bikes. Next week, we’ll be dropping a handful of drop-bar reviews, starting with the Speedvagen OG Disc. After that, the Salsa Warroad and Cannondale Topstone. Which of the latter two would you like to see first?
