The Radavist

PAUL and his team of merry machinists made yet another super-limited batch of Boxcar Stems – 5 of each size – as an homage to Eddie Van Halen’s iconic home-painted “79′ Bumblebee” guitar as it appeared on the back cover of Van Halen II and throughout their 1979 Tour.

It’s a little known fact that Eddie himself brought the original guitar to Dimebag Darrell’s funeral in 2004 where it was placed in his coffin and buried with him. Much like the guitar, each one of these stems is totally unique, artistically splattered in black and gold anodizing by Scooter himself. Somebody get me a doctor!

Fat grips aren’t for everyone and we all know that grip preferences are like saddles in that they vary widely between riders. While super thick grips don’t benefit everyone, a growing number of people actually benefit from the larger diameter, softer durometer grips being offered by many brands. These grips spread the load on your hands to reduce pressure spots, which is a huge concern to cyclists who have experienced finger numbness due to too much pressure on the ulnar nerve.

Wolf Tooth’s newest grips, the 11.5mm thick Mega Fat Paw and the Mega Fat Paw Cam grips look to offer their fattest diameter year. On top of the other issues they can alleviate, the fat diameter also provides excellent vibration damping. For even more tunable comfort the Fat Paw Cam grips can be rotated to fit your preferred grip patterning. All this with a 40mm diameter.

Head to Wolf Tooth Components to read more.

Fans of crimson red, Bordeaux, and other deep reds will rejoice at the new color availability from Outer Shell bags, makers of some of our favorite on-the-bike portage systems. Browse the entire catalog online and if you have any questions about these bags, be sure to ask them in the comments, seeing as we have extensive experience with them.

Cleaning that mucky road grime from your drivetrain, or a muddy ‘cross chain, and even a dusted, sandpaper-like gravel bike derailleur can be a pain. This new product from Robert Axle Project makes that job even easier. The Drive Thru is a dummy hub that replaces your rear wheel to allow uninhibited access to the drivetrain and rear triangle for easy cleaning.

Chris McGovern first came up with the idea for the Drive Thru years ago, developed during his time professionally wrenching on UCI athletes’ bikes. The genius behind this product is that it retains the ability to shift, making cleaning inside your rear triangle, or degreasing your derailleur pulleys especially convenient.

The knurled axle stud head makes installation and removal easy, even with wet or greasy hands. The pulley wheel is captured by an o-ring on the axle, but can be easily removed to fit flat in a toolbox.

-Available in 3 thread pitches to fit almost any bike.
-Machined to the most precise standards in the industry.
-No tools required, simple one-hand installation.
-Weight: 62 grams.
-MSRP: $35

MTB wheels, especially the ones with aluminum rims, are easily the most abused product in my bike closet. They’re also the hardest to review, honestly. Reviewing wheels accurately and in a comprehensive way can be as elusive as a fast friend’s wheel in the woods. When Industry Nine gave me a set of their Backcountry 360 wheels, featuring their new Hydra hubs last year, I was amazed at not only the build quality of the wheels but the vast improvement of their newly-engineered Hydra hubs. Read on below.

Cycling is all about millimeters. A few too little and things rub, a few too many and things rub. Modern mountain bikes play this game all year long and as shocks improve and frames get shreddier, space is on the rapid decline for things like water bottles. Wolf Tooth’s new B-Rad Shift moves your bottle cage outboard by 9mm and 10º to clear most resi shocks, keeping you hydrated without having to wear a pack on your ride. See more at Wolf Tooth.

We’re inspired by what we see on our rides in Southern California and the Southwest in general! One of the joys of riding in the summer is catching glimpses of a local species of horned lizard, the Blainville’s Horned Lizard – Phrynosoma blainvillii. They’ll be laying all over the trails around 3,000′ in elevation all summer long soaking up the sun’s rays. These little critters inspired our new pins, a long sleeve tee, and bottles. Then for good measure, we re-stocked our Radavist Jackal long sleeve t-shirts. Both shirts are printed with eco-friendly discharge ink this time. After a wash or two, you won’t even feel anything on the printed logos, resulting in the softest feeling shirt you’ll own.

All four of these are in stock now at our webshop:
–Jackal Long Sleeve T-Shirt Classic Script with Discharge Print
–Horned Lizard Long Sleeve T-Shirt Classic Script with Discharge Print
–Horned Lizard Radavist Pin
–Horned Lizard Shred Lightly Bottles

After Shimano licensed Chris King the design for Micro Spline earlier this year, the brand has ramped up production for these new drivers, with pre-orders beginning on January 15th for release on January 31st.

The King Micro Spline driveshell uses a new bearing and axle design making them their lightest ever ISO hubs. Micro Spline conversion kits will fit all ISO B Boost and ISO DH Superboost rear hubs. Available with either made-in-house stainless steel or ceramic bearings.

CONFIGURATIONS:
ISO B
148x12mm
24h, 28h, 32h
Stainless Steel or Ceramic bearings

ISO DH Superboost
157x12mm
28h, 32h
Stainless Steel or Ceramic bearings

Conversion Kits
Stainless Steel or Ceramic Bearings
148x12mm or 157x12mm

What a world we’re living in. Just the other day I was talking to a friend about riding in Jorts during the Texas summers and he said the only bad thing is the swamp ass… I wonder if he’s seen these Ripton & Co. “Action Jorts?”

These specialty athletic denim jorts are made in Los Angeles and designed to be extremely flexible, breathable, and durable. They retail for $89 and are in stock now for men and women!

Iozzio Cycles, the brand that made their launch with those skewer lights, just launched a new accessory, for the 420-minded cyclists out there. The Shotgun is a dugout one-hitter, which allows owners in states were marijuana is legal to stash their flower in a compartment and a ceramic pipe in an adjacent compartment. When you want to take a break, simply smash the pipe into the flower and light up.  These only come anodized in green but should fit all modern CX, road, and MTB forks with 1-1/8 steerer tubes, cost $89 and are in stock now at Iozzio.

For those looking for some fresh threads from Team Dream this winter, wait no longer for their entire holiday drop is live on their webshop now, featuring jerseys, vests, base layers, tees, hats, caps, and more. Head on over to Team Dream to check it all out!

I know this is a cycling site but over the years, we’ve covered so many events where car camping is a theme and have spent many a weekend in the wilds of the Southwest with MTBs in tow. I get a lot of questions about our setup, so I’m tackling a big part of it with this article. If you don’t like cars and think they have no place on a cycling website, no worries, you don’t have to read this…

For the past few years – since moving to California – I’ve traded the jet-set life for road trips. I used to fly two or three times a month out of Austin, Texas, all over the world. These days, I like to make longer, meandering road trips out of assignments, or events and spend the summer months almost exclusively living out of our truck, sleeping in the Go Fast Camper Roof Top Tent.

Not wanting to limit our traveling experience, we’ve tried a number of sleeping arrangements in the Cruiser, but the Go Fast Camper has really been the best overall. These rooftop tents are the best on the market and while it comes at a hefty pricetag, I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Read on below for our in-depth look at these unique campers.

It’s the week of hip pack drops! Outer Shell just announced their new Hip Slinger hip packs, with a unique roll-top and hook design, as well as two zippered outer pockets, adjustable waist strap and a plethora of colors. These are made in the Bay Area and are in stock now for $90 at Outer Shell!

For Ornot’s latest drop, they teamed up with SF’s premier bag manufacturer, Mission Workshop to c0-brand their Axis hip packs in Ornot signature colors. These bags are made using a rugged, weatherproof 500d Nylon exterior and nylon coated interior floating liner, designed to protect gear from morning showers to afternoon thunderstorms.

Hip packs are perfect for gravel rides or races and all-day MTB outings to keep your bike light and snappy, free of jingle-jangle. The Axis features include an internal zippered compartment, a key clip, and a rear mini U-lock holder. It also utilizes an ultra-thin laser cut waist belt that ensures the pack is hardly felt while on the move.

Head to Ornot to see more!

The Rigd Ultraswing, a spare tire carrier, and bicycle rack swingout system, just got a little more versatile as a car camping accessory with a camp table mount. Now when you finish a ride and return to camp, cooking on a camp stove just became easier. With drop gate real estate a top priority, the Rigd Ultraswing camp table gets the stove off of your drop gate, freeing it up for food prep and snacking.

Rigd offers a Front Runner table (pictured) or a Rago Fab table, offering up two solid options for your next MTB trip or gravel race weekend. Head on over to Rigd to see more.

For those waiting on its release, Chris King has stocked the first run of its small batch bourbon components. This includes hubs, headsets, and bottom brackets. All in stock now and ready to ship. Head to Chris King now for ordering!