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I’m not sure what the story is behind these two frames are, but I hope there’s a gold one on the way, to complete the primary colors. Or it could be a his and her combination, but whatever it is, they look stunning. Check out more at the Firefly Tumblr.
2017 Philly Bike Expo: Winter Bicycles All Weather Commuter
Words and photos by Jarrod Bunk
Eric Estlund, master metal manipulator of Winter Bicycles makes beautiful frames, racks and stems by hand, one-at-a-time in his central Pennsylvania headquarters. Designed around his concept that you should be able to ride all year long, in all weather this commuter bike was built with a matching set of Winter-built-racks front and rear, fillet-brazed stem and a color matched Ruth Works Ultralight Porteur bag.
With durability in mind for daily commuting, Eric built a White Industries/SON wheelset and mounted some fenders. The frame was built with direct mount Paul Racer brakes in mind and finished with some beautiful top eyes, all filed by hand, coming into the Philly Bike Expo. I think this bike is a great example of an everyday workhorse of a bicycle that is both utilitarian and elegant at the same time.
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Follow Jarrod on Instagram, and Winter Bicycles on Instagram
Named after a West Texas ghost town, the Terlingua, gets its namesake for the ability to traverse multiple road surface in this rugged part of the American West. Home of the Chihuahuan Desert Dirt Fest, the team at Chumba have fallen in love with riding there and wanted to design a bike that would be capable enough to handle the terrain, without compromising ride quality, or functionality. The Terlingua is a road bike, with large clearances, fit for dirt road riding, bikepacking and even ‘cross races. These frames are made outside of Austin, Texas and have all the boxes checked in terms of adaptability, they’ll fit a 700x50mm or 27.5″ equivalent, come in a variety of colors and pricing begins at $1450 for a frame. Check out all the details below and see more photos at Chumba!
2017 Philly Bike Expo: Weaver Cycle Works Jersey Devil Gravel Bike
Words and photos by Jarrod Bunk
Hailing from South of Jersey, Weaver Cycle Works, made their way out to PBE with this Jersey Devil themed bike. The Jersey Devil is a mythical creature that can take down livestock, much in the way that this 47c equipped bike can tackle the varying terrain that it was designed around. The Jen Green head badge pulls the theme together along with the “13” which is for the cursed 13th Leed’s child (the Jersey Devil).
Built with a 1x drivetrain in mind this SRAM Force-equipped bike is propelled forward with a blend of White Industries R30 cranks, CLD hubs, and their new headset, and halted just as quickly by Paul Component Klampers. This is Weaver’s personal bike, and I’ve been told he only rides steel forks, so even though it’s built with a 44mm headtube, there will not be carbon on it anytime soon for him. Much like every Weaver this bike is 100% custom from the geo to the paint, if you’re into it, drop him a line and you to can rip a bike where the devil is in the details.
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Follow Jarrod on Instagram, and Weaver Cycle Works on Instagram
Details matter. Especially on a bicycle. From the cable stops to even the seat binder bolt. If anyone knows about this, it’s Richard Sachs:
“The RS Seat Lug Bolt and Nut are precision machined from aerospace grade stainless steel solid bar stock. The pitch diameter of the bolt was held to a super precise tolerance prior to cold forming on dedicated thread rolling equipment. Rolled threads result in a part that is 30% stronger and has a superior surface finish. The care put into this one component demonstrates that whether you are making parts for airplanes, or for bicycles, the details matter.”
Swoop this setup at Richard Sachs or for more on the project from Horst Engineering, the Connecticut firm that made these, read this page.
2017 Philly Bike Expo: Walk the Floor and Meet the Builders
Photos by Brad Quartuccio, words by John Watson
Over the years, the Philly Bike Expo has grown to become the Northeast’s premiere bicycle gathering, bringing together frame builders and independent companies alike. This pairing makes for a weekend that not only draws in foot traffic from the streets of Philadelphia but cycling enthusiasts from all over the United States. Most importantly, the Philly Bike Expo is put on by the great Bilenky family, whose main motivation is to unite the scene in a fun, energetic environment and it shows.
Photographer Brad Quartuccio was hired this year to document the show, the bikes and the builders who make this event truly unique. Brad was kind enough to share this wonderful bounty of images, which I’m very excited to share here on the Radavist. After seeing these portraits on his Instagram, I hoped to be able to display them in high-res.
It’s been a while since I’ve attended the show, which falls during a particularly busy time of year for me but after seeing both Jarrod and Brad’s photos, makes me want to book my flight well in advance.
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Follow Brad on Instagram, and the Philly Bike Expo on Instagram
For those looking for a stock-sized, titanium, made in the USA frame, check out No 22’s latest offering: complete bikes in two weeks. Since 2014, No 22 have been building ti frames in their Johnstown, NY factory and now, you don’t have to wait months for one of these frames. No 22 is offering up frames where no detail has been spared, no corner has been cut, with the only difference being the 8-10 week waiting period has been shorted to two, and as a complete build.
These completes utilize a No. 22 full carbon fork and aluminum stem, both custom painted by Velocolour, No. 22 titanium seatpost, custom finished to match each frame, Complete Ultegra 8000 groupset with mechanical shifting, Reynolds carbon tubeless wheels and Schwalbe tubeless tires and a high five. I added in that last part. The models available are the Great Divide in raw finish for USD $5,999, Great Divide Disc in raw finish for USD $6,799, or the Drifter in raw finish for $6,799.
If you want your No 22 anodized, they do that in house. For paint, they go to Velocolour. Each of their bikes are available in a choice of raw or two different anodized finishes, with the fork, stem and their new titanium seatpost finished to match.
If you’ve got questions, send them to No 22 or drop them in the comments.
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Photos by Jarrod Bunk
135mm, 142mm, boost and now “super” boost. What gives with all these rear hub standards? I just wanna shreddd! Well, Kris from 44 Bikes knows a thing or two about shredding and frame design, so he tackled explaining superboost in his latest blog post:
“Earlier in the year, I put together a post just after completing the next iteration of the Marauder in a titanium prototype. You can read that post here. What is special about this bike is I used the pre-existing 157mm TA standard paired with an 83mm shell width. This is technically an existing DH standard which Pivot tweaked by adjusting the flange spacing of the non-drive side to move it outboard a bit more to stiffen up the rear wheel build and subsequently re-marketing it as “Superboost”. Which I think took some by surprise as a “new” standard. It’s quite the contrary. And when paired with that 83mm shell width (another existing standard) you get perfect chain line and a critical area of the bicycle is literally opened up to so many opportunities as tires gain more volume and width. ”
Keep reading at 44 Bikes!
Want to win a FREE NAHBS bike built by Mike Desalvo? Check out this contest’s information and rules below!
“At the close of the NAHBS show last year I was talking with an industry friend and the question is always “will you be going to the show next year?” My thought was that I would go if I could take just one bike. The 2018 NAHBS is a distance from me and shipping a lot of bikes and show stuff is hard and expensive for a one-man operation. After the conversation I liked the idea of just taking one bike but then the question was, “what will I take?” This is how this how the dream bike contest came to be.”
2017 Philly Bike Expo: 44 Bikes Titanium Marauder SSMTB
Photos by Jarrod Bunk, words by John Watson
We saw earlier this week the announcement of 44 Bikes offering titanium as a new frame material for their catalog. This extends to their Marauder hardtail mountain bike frames. The Marauder can come in various configurations, including superboosted, plus, slack and rowdy builds such as this. To up the ante even more, Kris from 44 Bikes added some anodized bits from Wolf Tooth Components give the build some pop. Titanium is a great material for a mountain bike frame and this bike is sure to make its new owner very happy.
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2017 Philly Bike Expo: People’s Choice Winner – Bishop Bikes Disc Road
Photos by Jarrod Bunk, words by John Watson
The work of Chris Bishop continues to evolve and impress. For this year’s Philly Bike Expo, Chris brought something a bit different. Having teased this frame on his Instagram account prior, from the paint booth of Bryan Myers at Fresh Frame, we knew we were going to see something loud from the Baltimore-based builder. With a Stainless XCR Columbus rear triangle, Paragon Dropouts, a distinguishable Columbus Max fork and Vari-Wal tubing, this modern disc bikes carries many of the classic profile Bishop Bikes has been known for over the years, but the Fresh Frame paint not only coats this bike, it envelops it. The paint compliments the details, such as the stay integration with the Paragon dropouts and the intricate masking on the seat stays.
This has to be Chris’ magnum opus and the attendees of the Philly Bike Expo agree, voting it to a People’s Choice win.
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If you had the opportunity to have Dario Pegoretti paint one of your bikes, would you? When Jaybe originally contacted David Kirk about making him a classic road bike, he inquired about just that. At the time, Dario wasn’t interested. Perhaps he was too busy or just didn’t want to. For whatever reason, it didn’t happen, so Jaybe got his bike painted and began riding it every day. We even documented it here on the site. Months later, Dario finally expressed an interest in painting the frame, leaving Jaybe in a bind. Should he send it to him? Or just keep it as-is? I mean, it’d be a tough call for sure, especially with the uncertainty of how Dario would paint the bike. What if Jaybe didn’t like the final product? After much back and forth, Jaybe sent the frame to Pegoretti and a few weeks later, it arrived at his door. The crazy thing is, while Dario had the frame, Jaybe didn’t hear a peep from him.
It was a complete surprise and one that was well worth it, in my opinion…
44 Bikes doesn’t have a traditional “road” frame in their catalog. Instead, the Huntsman is their drop bar offering. A disc bike, designed for your specific riding style, the Huntsman comes in various custom configurations, including a new material: titanium. 44 Bikes just built up this beautiful Ti Huntsman for the Philly Bike Expo. Check out more photos below and if you’re interested in one, holler at 44 Bikes.
If you have a classic steel bike with a 1″ steerer, then you know how hard it is to run a modern 31.8 bar on it. Caletti Cycles looks to remedy that, with their VTM Quill Stem. Available in 90mm-120mm lengths and in stock now at Caletti.
Lady Crushers On Crustaceans: Amanda’s Team Rock Lobster CX
Words by Amanda Schaper, bicycle photos by Kyle Kelley, other photos noted.
“Alright ladies, this is the highest percentage turnout for women at a cyclocross race that we’ve ever seen! You represent 23% of the racers out here, and next year we’re shooting for 50%. Enjoy your race, watch out for the sketchy descent, and sorry about all the bumps. First wave starts in 10…”
Drop bars make any mountain bike hot. Now whether it’s a heat that you feel in your heart or in your stomach depends on your point of view. For Mike at Golden Saddle Cyclery, he wanted to do something new to his rigid Moots Mooto X RSL after growing tired of it with flat bars, so he converted it to a dirt drop MTB. By using a Wolf Tooth Tanpan, Mike was able to run Shimano road shifters with the MTB derailleur and cassette. That nifty piece of tech, gives you Di2 road / mountain compatibility with standard, cable-actuated shifting.
Mike’s been riding it to work at GSC, where he’s a mechanic, via the various dirt trails and roads in LA. When you think about it, a bike like this makes a lot of sense when you can ride dirt from your front door, that may not merit suspension but would benefit from a chunkier tire. Personally, I think bikes like this look damn good and are damn fun to ride.
Adam is the best and his bikes are even better. Check out this video, showcasing his shop in Bozeman, Montana.
With three paint options, including Ghost Matte Army, Ghost Vanilla Blue or this Team paint design, the newest offering to Speedvagen’s Ready Made program is the Team Issue Cyclocross.
You have two build kits to chose from, the CX-R with Force hydro and CX-X with a Shimano mix. Both are fully built, ready to race and starting at $5995. Head to the Vanilla Workshop for more information.
