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Strange Context

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Strange Context

After Ranger Camp, I had a few days before an engagement in Scotland, so Robin from Blackburn Design and I took a road trip, stopping in Bilbao for an evening and then in Southern France to visit our friend Greg. This afternoon, after catching up on emails, we took Greg’s e-fatbikes on a ride to the beach and up to this WWII bunker on the beach. I gotta admit, I never thought that sentence would come from my fingers on this website. Ha!

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Tramontana

What is “Tramontana?”

“…is a journey through human ancestral fears and primordial virtues of the fire, the natural element that, since the dawn of time, allowed it to defeat the dark, the cold, the isolation and the wild beasts. A tribute to the human wild side that gets lost in the origins of our story.”

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Break the Ice

After being in Death Valley yesterday, this makes me feel so cold but yes, it looks like a lot of fun.

2017 NAHBS: Moonmen 8 Lumens Tukt Fatty

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2017 NAHBS: Moonmen 8 Lumens Tukt Fatty

Oh, you think being tukt doesn’t matter? Maybe you’re just scared, fearful of a tight, short rear end on your bike. This Moonmen fatty is hella tukt. Using NASA technology, 8 Lumens figured out how to make the chainstay 16.75″ long, slamming that wheel as close to the bottom bracket shell as possible, making manuals and wheelies easy, completely smashing the fat “bikes are slow” stigma.

Other notes include that killer cockpit, with a BMX-inspired stem and bars and that insanely-rad chain tensioner machined into the chainstay.

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Hunting for Monsters

2013’s Hunting for Monsters is now online to watch for free. Previously it was only available as a rental from Vimeo. Enjoy the full-length above for free!

Ride to the Beach with Your Board and Brews on the Poler Surf Jammer

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Ride to the Beach with Your Board and Brews on the Poler Surf Jammer

While fatbikes might be at home in wintery environments and locales where it snows more than the sun shines each year, over time these strange bicycles began to migrate to sandy regions. From the Mojave to the Oregon coastal dunes, fatbikes have spent a fair amount of their short-lived existence on Earth shredding sand. With their high volume, low pressure tires, suddenly you can pedal for great distances through thick sand. Something not really possible on a bicycle prior. Visit any beach town, especially one with a high influx of tourists and you’ll find some janky fatbike sitting next to a beach cruiser and soft top surfboards in the rental fleet.

That’s not what’s going on here, I can assure you.

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FatBike Touring in Northern Alaska

The words “I’m cold” will not come out of my mouth again. The words “I’m cold” will not come out of my mouth again. The words “I’m cold” will not come out of my mouth again. The words “I’m cold” will not come out of my mouth again. The words “I’m cold” will not come out of my mouth again.

Four Seasons with the Salsa Blackborow – Jarrod Bunk

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Four Seasons with the Salsa Blackborow – Jarrod Bunk

Four Seasons with the Salsa Blackborow
Photos and words by Jarrod Bunk

It started over a 2 years ago, when I was riding my current fatbike – a Surly Moonlander – for much more than just winter riding. It was slowly becoming my everything bike, and eventually that Moonlander replaced my carbon Cannondale Scalpel. Looking back, that piqued my interest in a more aggressive geometry bike, that could handle some sort of suspension fork.

There were a handful of manufacturers with tapered head tubes to allow for a Rock Shox Bluto or other fork. Simply put my next bike had to have the ability to run suspension, fat 5” tires, and through axles. Of the handful of bikes out at the time this wasn’t possible. Along comes a Blackborow. It has checked all of my boxes, and even some that I didn’t know I needed checking. THAT FOREST SERVICE GREEN, I had to have it. Things fell into place and a few months after waiting my dinglespeed build showed up. I have a tendency to build my bikes custom, so I stripped the bike down and rebuilt it with some stuff that I prefer to use. Industry 9 Hubs, dropper post, RaceFace NEXT SL cranks and the cockpit from Chromag.

2016 NAHBS: Oddity Fatbike with Blue Paul Components

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2016 NAHBS: Oddity Fatbike with Blue Paul Components

I love the swooping, curvy lines found in Oddity Cycles‘ machines. Part of that is due to the truss fork, which offers a bit more compliance than the typical carbon fork or rigid steel fork. This fatbike in particular though has some great color coordination with matching Paul Components blue anodized cranks, chain guard, skewers and Klamper disc brakes. To put it even more over the top, it’s rolling on those made in the USA HED fatbike rims

Spencer and His Motobecane Fatbike on Strawberry Peak

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Spencer and His Motobecane Fatbike on Strawberry Peak

Spencer Harding is true rad atavist. He’s always touring on his tallbike, or packrafting the LA river, and finding unique or interesting people to photograph. For the past few weeks, he’s been in Los Angeles, working on photo projects and riding extensively. For whatever reason, he and I yet to connect. It seems that while our paths were concurrent, they weren’t yet converging. Until last week when a text message ended with finite plans to ride.

Initially, we were going to ride Sunset Ridge, a ripping descent but I wanted to ride something a bit harder and more cross-country. Ty had already annihilated Chilao the day before, so we chose Strawberry Peak and its exposed singletrack.

For whatever reason, I thought Spencer always had a Surly ICT. I’d seen his tires before with their plump 4″ width, but never actually realized it was a Motobecane. You know, the BikesDirect.com in house model that seems awfully similar to Surly, down to the dropouts. We were joking as I was shooting photos: “that’s the most stock, cheap bike to ever be featured on the Radavist!” My mind raced to think of another example, yet came back empty after running through the database. Yes, this is a damn stock bike, save for the bell and Brooks saddle, but as Spencer has proven time and time again, it’s not the bike that makes the ride. This one’s all about the abeausage…

Enjoy these photos of some of Los Angeles’ most beautiful trails and give Spencer a follow on Instagram!

Whisky Parts Co. Introduces the No.9 100w Carbon Fat Rim

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Whisky Parts Co. Introduces the No.9 100w Carbon Fat Rim

Having a set of lighter, stiffer fatbike wheels really does make a huge difference in not only overall build weight, but ride quality. Whiskey Parts Co. introduce their new No.9 100w carbon fatbike rim, weighing in at 735g a piece, these new rims utilize a hookless sidewall and a Whisky-designed TBLS bead profile. This results in a stronger sidewall with more impact resistance. Retail is $649 a rim and the No.9 100w is in stock now at QBP. See more information at Whisky and full specs below.

Santa Slays the Trans-Fat from Ibis

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Santa Slays the Trans-Fat from Ibis

Ibis took their all-rounder Trans frame and fattened it up, just in time for the holiday snow season. The Trans-Fat is a first from Ibis and from what I’m reading, it looks to be a contender in the ever-so-growing, almost engorged fatbike market. Available now in limited quantities, with more stock coming in February. Check out more details below and read up at Ibis!

Seven Introduces Treeline Plus MTB

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Seven Introduces Treeline Plus MTB

The Treeline isn’t exactly a fatbike. Sure it looks like one, but the truth is, it’s a fatbike and it’s an all-season MTB, capable of 26″ wheels and true fat tires or 27.5+ wheels. Ride it in the snow, or ride it on a bikepacking trip. You can run it with drops, or a flat bar, suspended or rigid. There are rackmounts and you can build it with thru-axles or QR skewers.

Seven has developed a veritable do-it-all, plus-sized MTB… Head over to Seven to see more on Treeline.

Surly: Introducing Wednesday – the Bike Not the Day

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Surly: Introducing Wednesday – the Bike Not the Day

Wednesday is Surly’s new Omniterra fatbike and although it shares a similar stance to its brother, the Pugsley there are a few key differences in both the geometry and technical detailing. For starters, it boasts a centered 177mm vs 135mm offset rear spacing, a 44mm head tube, shorter stays, a longer top tube and various other tidbits of interest.

Head over to Surly to read all about Wednesday – the bike, not the day.