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You don’t have to buy a frame to support framebuilders. Rick from Hunter Cycles does a great job at making products that fit his particular style, both on and off the bike. He knows a simple, made in the USA cap goes a long way and those Porcelain Rocket-made “Shred Packs” are great for short dirt rides. His latest batch of the Shred Packs come in an array of colors and camo patterns. Both the caps and the packs are in stock now at Hunter Cycles.
It’s not every day that you see a Geekhouse in Los Angeles. Especially one as unique as Abbas’ Mudville. You see, this bike started out as a cantilever cross bike and then he sent it back to Marty so disc brakes could be added, and got a new fork made. All in all, it took a little time, but now Abbas has a disc brake Mudville with a slick segmented crown fork and plenty of stopping power. He recently moved to LA from Texas where those brakes will come in handy on all the dirt frontage roads… If you see this bike rolling around town, be sure to say hello and Abbas, we’ll hit the dirt soon enough.
Photos by Keith Trotta
Nicole and her husband Scott own Veloville USA, a bike shop in Purcellville, VA. Chris Bishop has gone on many rides with them over the past few years and eventually became very good friends with them. Eventually, Nicole expressed an interest in having Chris make her a track bike to race at the local velodrome with.
Because it’s a Bishop track bike, expect some beautiful lugwork and a NOS Columbus Gilco tubeset with 3Rensho Modeulo lugs, MKS track ends and a stiff Columbus Max fork. When it was finished being built, Nicole asked Bryan Myers from Fresh Frame to paint it like a butterfly wing. I’d say he nailed it!
See more at the Bishop Bikes Flickr!
New for 2016, long-time supporter of US framebuilders, Velo Cult announced their new Custom Program. This initiative launched with two flagship models: a steel Mark Nobilette randonneur and a custom Mosaic frameset. One, inspired by vintage lines and the other a modern day precision machine, crafted from steel or titanium. You could say that there’s something for everyone in there…
See more at Velo Cult and check out some beautiful detail photos below!
2015 was an amazing year for the Radavist. Not only in terms of traffic, or stats, but in terms of content. We take pride in the site, the rides we record, products we feature and yes, the bicycles we document. This year was huge in terms of the places we traveled to and the people we met along the way. With people and places come Beautiful Bicycles and a lot of work!
Without rambling on too much, here’s a list of the Top 10 of 2015 ranked by traffic and social media chatter, from highest down…
I like frame builder videos like this, that depict the scene inside and out of the workshop. In this case, we take a look at Jam Handcrafted Bicycles.
This one’s killing me right now. I love bikes where no matter how much you look at them, something new appears in the finishing every time. Take for instance this Baum, painted by artist Zio Ziegler, recently built by Above Category and featured on their Twelve Days of Breathtaking Builds. There’s a more in-depth feature on the way, but they didn’t hold back with the teaser images on their blog. Head to Above Category to see more!
Colin, like many of us, uses his ‘cross bike for racing only a fraction of the total time he spends riding it. When he grew tired of riding and racing production bikes that never quite fit him or his preferred style of shredding, he decided to go custom and began looking into Stinner Frameworks.
Since moving to Montana from Austin, TX, he’s been spending a lot of time exploring the many mountain roads neighboring Bozeman. He wanted a ‘cross bike with a slightly altered geometry that would still be able to hold its own at races, yet be fun and zippy on fireroads or singletrack. While a standard ‘cross bike might fit the bill, Colin’s been riding for so long that he’d developed a few particularities. First, he wanted to race the bike as a singlespeed but didn’t want to go with a slider dropout. He also wanted thru-axles. The simple fix for this is an eccentric bottom bracket which would give him the right chain tension, easily. Then once the race season was over, he could put a 1x group on the bike and take off into the woods. He raced it for a season as a singlespeed and then upgraded to a new group.
The problem is, while switching a group over from an older bike, his rear brake line was too short and no one in town, nor the neighboring towns, nor the damn mail order companies had the damn part in stock. Keep in mind, this switch-out was happening the day before he was leaving Montana for a bikepacking trip down the Pacific Coast. Way to wait ’til the last minute dude! So now, he has a brake line that even as a photographer, was painful to photograph, much less ride behind or next to. I kept thinking the damn thing was going to rip off the caliper and spray me with hydro fluid, yet it’s still in place.
While it’s not an ideal photo, or an ideal brake line setup, the bike made it down the coast to Los Angeles just fine, where we’ve been riding local dirt. Yesterday, I shot some photos of it in the early morning light. Don’t worry, the part is en route to Colin shortly, after a lengthy delay from the Holidays…
Looking past the brake lining, we see Industry Nine hubs laced to an eBay Chinese carbon rim, with a Hope cassette expander, TRP’s thru-axle disc ‘cross fork, SRAM X9 derailleur, ENVE parts throughout, WTB Nano 40mm tires and that sweet, sweet Stinner steel. My favorite detail? The paint! I absolutely love what Stinner is doing in-house and it almost distracts even me from the brake line.
Almost…
Breadwinner delivers another elegant disc road with their Lolo Disc. This time rendered in silver surfer… See more at the Breadwinner Cycles Flickr!
Nao from Tomii Cycles has a knack for making ordinary objects extra-ordinary. Take these Velo Orange bells that he disassembles, then hand-hammers and creates a patina in the process. These retail for $30 from Tomii Cycles, or you can buy a VO Bell and do it yourself. Kudos to you, Nao!
Firefly’s anodizing game has reached new heights with their latest frame. There’s so much going on here upon close inspection. See for yourself at their Tumblr.
There are a lot of balleur bikes on this site, but Above Category takes it to another level. Right now, they have a series entitled “The Twelve Days of Breathtaking Builds” on their website and as you’d guess, there are tons of details to keep your interest piqued during this holiday season. Head on over and check out the first few bikes to be posted!
While I already wrote a lengthy review on the 44 Bikes Marauder hardtail, Kris over at 44 Bikes wrote his explanation for the bike. I always enjoy reading Kris’ thoughts on frame design and component selection. If you do as well, then head over to the 44 Bikes Blog for more.
If you’re interested in the problem solving that accompanies a custom bike like this 44 Bikes Huntsman Super Trail, then you’ve gotta head to the 44 Bikes blog for the backstory. It’s well worth it!
As a Radavist, I swear to shred and recently that word’s been used a lot in terms of bike reviews. Shredding doesn’t imply you’re the fastest, or the best at hucking, it’s subjective, dependent upon your skill level and the trails you ride. Here in Southern California, the landscape is arid, exposed, rocky, rutted and loose. Having a nice and nimble bicycle underneath you aids in that ever-elusive atavistic urge to play.
Hardtails are my favorite form of mountain bike. Sure, there’s a time and a place for a full sus, when the trails are steep and technical, just like there’s a time and a place for a rigid, when you want to hone in your skills like a sharpened battle axe. Having just gotten my Rosko 29r dialed into what I would consider perfection, I was a bit hesitant to take on anymore hardtail reviews.
Then Kris from 44 Bikes up in New Hampshire came knocking at my inbox with a proposal. He’d build me a Marauder 29r to demo, Fox, SRAM, Thomson, WTB, RaceFace, Industry Nine, ENVE would supply the goods and I’d get to try it out for an extended review. Nice! What’s the catch? Well, when you review a bike and you like it so much, you might just end up wanting to buy it. Dowhhh…
After seeing Nils’ cargo bike roll out with a camp grill at a recent LA River Camp Coffee, suddenly the idea of utilizing a bike like that for over-the-top forest picnics has piqued my interest. Here’s Sven Cycles‘ take on that platform. Tested thoroughly over the course of a few months, this bike was designed and built specifically for a local chef and as you can see, is really capable of hauling everything you need for an afternoon meal in the woods.
Projects like this, especially when they come from the shop of a framebuilder, really make me happy!
These frames. These freaking frames. Godzilla doesn’t have a chance against Moth Attack. With a little help from Black Magic Paint, Megan Dean’s new ‘cross team’s bikes are some of the most beautiful team bikes I’ve had the pleasure of documenting. We saw a frameset at the Portland Bike and Beer Festival, but this is the first complete I’ve seen in person and I’m glad it’s Erica Schwanke‘s! She’s a super rad woman and has been enjoying racing ‘cross in the Bay Area this season on this bike.
I caught up with Erica last week in Los Angeles, prior to the UCI race in Long Beach and stole her bike for a few minutes for photos. I love seeing people’s reactions to custom bikes like this! Enjoy…
Please join Mission Workshop, Andrew Low and Dustin Klein for an evening of bicycle talk!
Andrew started Low Bicycles, a small manufacturer of high quality, handmade aluminum racing frames, located in San Francisco, CA in 2010. Hear about his history, his take on aluminum, and questions from the crowd. Introduction by Dustin Klein, of Cadence Collection.
Nov. 20th
6pm Doors open
7pm Talk starts
Close when the beer’s gone
Broadcasted live on TheRadavist.com Starting at 7PM PST.
Hosted at Mission Workshop San Francisco
541 Valencia St. SF, CA
Hit up RSVP@missionworkshop.com for entry.
