The Radavist

Gunnar and its parent company Waterford don’t get a lot of attention in cycling media, unfortunately. In fact, I rarely see one here in California or if I do, it’s in passing and there’s no time to shoot photos of it. So when Pat rolled this beaut into Golden Saddle one afternoon, I wanted to do something special with it. I knew exactly what Pat was going for when I saw this bike. It has a body language, a certain air of confidence. It screams, “I can tackle Mt. Lowe on dirt and still be fun descending back down the smooth, paved curves of Highway 2.”

In Los Angeles, big tires and disc brakes can completely alter your everyday rides. We’ve got legit mountains here, breaking 10,000′ but between the ocean and these giants, there are tons of intermittent trails, some of which were cut by cyclists, or hikers, or hobos. These trails can offer more than enough entertainment right out of your front door if you can’t commit to a huge day in the mountains. That became the backdrop for where Pat and I would ride, shoot photos and eventually document this Waterford.

Initially, Pat didn’t want a Waterford. He wanted a Gunnar Grand Disc but after discussing all his add-ons and customization, they recommended he just get a Waterford. Their frames begin at $1,500 and go all the way up to however much accoutrement you’d like to add. Custom geo, check. Pump peg, check. 44mm head tube, check. Disc brakes, check. Custom paint, check. Clearance for a 40mm tire, check. When Pat gave them his list, the team at Waterford got to work and a few weeks later, the frame showed up, ready to rip Los Angeles and beyond.

The build kit is smart, without being flashy. An Ultegra long-cage wraps around the 32t cassette and White Industries VBC cranks make up the right amount of gear inches. King Hubs to HED Belgium + rims, fit with Teravail Cannonball tires keep the bike rolling and a Cambium atop an ENVE post offers some compliance on the saddle. A Thomson stem and 3T bars hold the Ultegra shifters. Yanco outfit this rig with some custom bags, including the DT stash pack and handlebar bag.

Now, Pat’s lived in LA his whole life, but only recently became interested in riding dirt. Perhaps you remember his bright LOW track bike? Yeah, he wanted something a little different than that for his new geared bike. As for his dirt riding, I think he’s got the hang of it.

Thanks for riding, shooting the shit and skidding around loose corners, Pat!

Nick’s Hub and Spoke Cycleworks Track
Photos by Kyle Kelley, words by John Watson

Just as news of the Southern California framebuilder and painter Brian Baylis’ passing made its way to Los Angeles, this bike rolled in through the doors of Golden Saddle Cyclery, immediately grabbing Kyle’s attention. Its owner, Nick Brock races for team Dos Llantas in the San Diego-area. When he wanted a custom frame to fit his obviously very tall stance, he contacted Hub and Spoke Cycleworks in National City who took the important measurements and got to work.

Once the frame was complete, it was painted by Brian Powell, an owner of Hub and Spoke who also paints at Joe Bell’s paint shop. From there, Nick built it up with a Chub hubset on H+Son rims, with a Sugino crankset, FSA cockpit, seatpost and a Fizik Antares saddle.

With NAHBS coming up this week, a bike like this truly embodies what small-time frame and paint shops embody: creativity and customization. You can have all the flash without burning all your cash. Even though we lost Brian Baylis, his legacy lives on with every new builder or painter that pops up in Southern California. If you ever get the chance to see a Baylis in person, take some extra time examining it and you’ll see what I mean.

If you live in the National City area, make sure you swing through Hub and Spoke Cycleworks to check out their shop!

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Follow Kyle on Instagram, Nick on Instagram and Hub and Spoke Cycle Works on Instagram.

When it comes to custom steel road bikes, It’s safe to say that Speedvagen produces some exceptional machines. Many of these bikes are “Holy Grails” for their owners, who treat these bikes with the utmost care, while riding them every chance they get. In Los Angeles, those rides can take you from Sea Level to 7,903′ at Dawson Saddle and back in one day. There are few places in the USA where you can do that… And you can finish the evening at a museum or sipping on a cocktail.

Jaybe‘s Speedvagen would inspire anyone to get out on the road and push it as hard and as far as they could. With Campagnolo Record 11-speed, Chris King and ENVE wheels, this machine has more than enough performance to take on any ride in LA…

This particular paint scheme was one of my favorites to come from the Vanilla Workshop last year. There’s just something about the Masashi Ichifuru, or “Ichigo”-designed typography, especially with that color palette.

It’s not every day that you see an Icarus in Los Angeles. Much less one that’s so minty fresh. As the sun poured into Golden Saddle Cyclery the other day, this beaut rolled through the doors, owner en tow, Chris King freehub buzzing along. Victor had contacted Ian at Icarus over two years ago to build him a ‘cross bike with cantis, a 1 1/8″ steerer and classic lines. Still, in a world of 44mm head tubes and disc brakes, this bike looks modern, yet still timeless.

The mint paint is offset by the bright red color hits provided by paint and Chris King. I’ll always feel a special connection to Icarus’ work and this bike makes it easy to see why…

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Visit Golden Saddle Cyclery in Silverlake, Los Angeles and follow them on Instagram.

Like the lost city of Atlantis, Rivendell’s arguably most famous model carries a bit of mystique. They’re beautiful to look at but a dream to ride. So dreamy that it’s hard to figure out what makes the Atlantis so special.

Is it the wheel or tire size? Wheelbase? The tubing? What about the 1″ steerer? With the word “trail” being thrown around a lot in frame design, I’m going to default on it being the magical component in this equation. Even in the five minutes it took me to pedal this bike around the corner to photograph it, all I could think about was how wonderful it’d be to ride one in my size.

Hugh’s got a really special bike here, with a lot of really wonderful details, mostly stemming from the stem. Shellac’d bars and grips, a super upright riding position, one worn in Brooks and even a few love marks in the beautiful olive paint all show use and age. Something Grant Petersen came to call beausage…

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!