The Radavist

PedalED’s apparel is some of the finest on the market, yet unlike a lot of brands, their quality isn’t greatly offset by their consumer price, especially for either being made in Italy or Japan! These new Ultralight baselayers are $89 and come in a variety of sizes. Bring on the summer months with hot rides and yeah, meshed baselayers. Ever try one? Don’t knock it til you do.

You don’t need SPD-compatible shoes to ride your bike. Especially on a tour. While at the Berliner Fahrradschau this weekend, I got to see the new PedalED Mido riding boots in person, complete with a full grain olive leather construction and a Vibram sole. These boots are water resistant, breathable and are made by hand in Italy. I’ve tried on a pair before and they were exceptional. If you’re interested, see more information at PedalED!

As a brand, Brooks has really grown from just making saddles by hand in England. While they continue their British handmade saddle heritage, they’ve also introduced a number of handy bags, for both on and off the bike use. Their latest additions being the Mott Weekender duffel and the Rivington Rucksack. As a part of Brooks’ new Metropolitan collection, these two bags are handmade in Italy and as expected, carry a stout pricetag. Stout, but well worth it in my opinon anyway. See more at Brooks England.

I’ve been a fan of the Cambium line from Brooks since its inception, yet was always hesitant to put one on my carbon Argonaut road bike. Why? I dunno, they never really matched the sleek and minimal aesthetic of my bike. Read that as: they never came in black! Now I don’t really care about weight. I’m not a gram counter, especially when it comes to saddles- even though the C13 weighs 259g – less than any of my other saddles. What I like in a ride is comfort without sacrificing aesthetic or most importantly, functionality. A lot of the über weight weenie saddles look scary or don’t fit my sit bones right. Or they’re just too damn stiff.

On the other side of the coin, Brooks saddles have always felt great. Luckily, the Cambium C13 continues this tradition just with an undated material palette. It’s so sleek that it looks great on a road bike (full driveside photo coming soon with another product review,) which I have to say has been feeling a bit neglected as of late. Yet over the past few weeks, since receiving the C13, I’ve been riding my road bike more and more, just to test the saddle’s durability and feel before I even began to think about writing this review. I was worried the C13 would lose the springiness of the other Cambium saddles when adopting the carbon weave, so I was pleasantly surprised to find it give just the right amount. The only bummer was having to track down oversize rail hardware for my ENVE seatpost.

After what I would consider a lot of road riding for this dirt-minded individual, I’m completely satisfied with the C13. It’s elegant enough for a carbon road bike, fits great, and is made in Italy. The C13 saddle is available for $220 at Brooks Dealers of Excellence worldwide or online at Brooks England.

Any questions? Leave them in the comments and check out more photos below.

When Rapha does something domestically-produced either in London, or Italy you know it’s going to be good. It’s like they save the best products to be made by the best hands. Cycling apparel has been made by the Italians since the dawn of the bicycle and so it should be no surprise that Rapha looked to Italy to manufacture their new Pro Team Shadow kit. It’s designed for racing in inclement weather with high-tech fabrics and a super sleek fit. Check out more information below and see the line at Rapha.

What an incredible race promo video! Wait for it… See more at the Crampi Race III’s Facebook page.

All hail Bongripper.

I like the looks of this!

“Before the start no one had a clear idea of what would happen along those 110 km in the vineyards and hazelnut orchards of the Langhe territory. Many expectations and so many unknowns for the competitors, and everyone who was there.

The story telling of the first Superenduro B-Road was in the hands of the media crew, which moved fast on motorbike following the groups of competitors between asphalt and gravel sections, to document the race and spirit of this event.

Check the video report with the best shots from the race, good memories for someone and a little push for everybody else to don’t miss the second edition!”

This weekend I’m in Italy, where I’ll be attending the Emilio De Marchi, a 90 kilometer, vintage bicycle ride put on by De Marchi apparel. I’ll be there for a few days, so if you’re in Italy and are interested in this ride, head over to the Emilio De Marchi website for more information.

Like racing brakeless track bikes down mountains? Live around Biella, Italy? Head to the Ragnarok race thrown by the TBTW crew. See more details at the TBTW Facebook.

Montanus takes us on a journey shared by two friends while bikepacking on fatbikes in Italy.

This video is about a man, his bike, a challenging climb and the struggle against an illness. A story about Andrea and the Passo Fittanze, during both the warm summer and the frigid winter.

For Legor Cicli, building bikes for his team, the Legor Cicli Squadra Corse to ride in the Transcontinental Race was as interesting as it was challenging. A massive undertaking like the Transcontinental requires a bike that’s nimble on its feet, yet is comfortable for the long days.

This is the Nuiorksiti model in the randonneuring version. The tubing is Columbus Life with a 1 1/4″ fork steerer, fillet-brazed to the fork legs and internal cable routing for the Supernova front hub. As part of an experiment, Legor coated part of the frame with copper, so it would oxidize over the 3000km trek. The frame bags were made by hand by Pinza’t and other support for his team was supplied by Satan’s Coffee Corner, Right Side Coffee, Pedaled, Enve, Brooks and Columbus.

Check out more photos below.

Here’s a video from Italy, featuring a singlespeed cross race put on by Cicli Pigozzi and Legor Cicli Squadra Corse.

Photo by Daniel Valsesia

A reader from Italy recently encountered what appears to be an Asp Viper on his local MTB trail system. Immediately, I recalled my run-in with the Texas Coral Snake from a few years back. Personally, venomous snakes don’t particularly frighten me, they hold a crucial role in the ecosystem, I just don’t think I would have gotten this close…

Check out some more photos at Daniel’s Flickr!