The Radavist

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.

These ultralight (3g for the pair) Tomii Cycles Magic Beans are a cable hanger pair for the minimalist’s cantilever brakes. Made in the USA and designed by Nao from Tomii and Aaron of 44RN, the Magic Beans are in stock now at Tomii Cycles.

For Acre’s newest apparel launch they took a simple five panel cap and made it from ripstop fabric, in the USA, with custom Acre embroidery and in three colors to fit any wardrobe: olive drab, black or navy. $40 and in stock now at Acre.

Industry Nine has been on a roll with their MTB wheels this year, saving what is the best for last in terms of their winter-riding, fat-biking consumer base. Their new Big Rig 845 wheels have landed, with axle type and spacing options galore, color combinations wild enough to make your eyes bleed and the same, Made in the USA quality you’ve come to expect from the brand. The Big Rig 845 wheels have a retail of $1275.00 with plenty of add-ons available. See more at Industry Nine.

San Francisco-based ORNOT just launched their extensive cold weather gear. It’s all made in the USA and designed with vibrant, bright fabrics the brand is known for. Thermal bibs, long sleeve jerseys, jackets and other products for men and women are stocked and ready for ordering. Head over to ORNOT for more information.

Shared trails mean shared responsibilities and as cyclists, we always have to work hard to gain respect from hikers and horseback riders. One of the ways we can do that is to use an awareness bell. Unlike a traditional handlebar bell, awareness bells ring constantly, always alerting trail users of our presence. My issue with them has always been the inability to lock them out, which means they’re always ringing.

These CBW Designs awareness bells utilize a patent-pending design that locks the clapper out against the lip of the bell. It’s on a spring, so attaching and detaching is easy. While you’re climbing, simply pull the clapper down and attach it on the two notches, then when you start to descend, pull it down and let it ring.

Guess what? These things are LOUD and they take a bit to get used to, but I’ve already had countless trail users compliment the sound, saying they heard me far enough away that they could yield or step aside and allow me to pass without being scared.

Trail users should all consider an awareness bell. It’s not enough to yell around blind turns or to ring a traditional handlebar bell on trails with a lot of traffic. As always, say hello, smile, wave and pass with plenty of room. Don’t be a dick.

Why not freshen up your chamois this winter with two fresh scents from Ass Savers. Made by Buckler, these new rose and banana-scented creams are created by using natural ingredients to help prevent chaffing and keeping your undercarriage happy.

In stock now at Ass Savers!

Founded in 1998, ReLoad Bags has an interesting story, told here by Roland Burns. As one of the first bag companies I remember seeing making custom messenger bags on the east coast, I love seeing them still doing what they love as a brand.

Silca, Taylor Phinney and the Pro’s Closet are raising money for the Davis Phinney foundation by auctioning off this custom, hand-painted SuperPista floor pump. Taylor himself did the artwork while at the UCI Worlds in Richmond this year. The auction is already up there, but with all proceeds going to the Davis Phinney Foundation and this being a one-of-one, I bet the price gets even higher.

Check out more at the eBay auction!

I also wanted to say how stoked I am this project came together.

Without a doubt, Team Dream is killing it with these fade and stripe designs. The color combinations are amazing! Available now as individual pairs, or as a full pack at Team Dream and if you like fleeces, shirts or caps, there’s more of that, too.

I’m always stoked to see more domestically-produced bike frames popping up, especially in aluminum. VYNL Bikes are a relatively new company out of San Jose, California offering road “racing” frames for $1900 with a standard powdercoat and a wait time of a week, or you can go custom colors and tack on a few more weeks. While there’s no information where exactly they’re made or who is making them, with the number of sub-contracting frame building companies around, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s frame building pedigree producing them. Expect the same large-diameter tubing you’ve come to love from US-made aluminum frames. If you’d like to see them in person, head over to Sugar Cycles in Missouri City, Texas or Red Lantern Cycles in Menlo Park, California.

Check out more at VYNL Bikes.

Swift Industries continues to pursue their love of experiencing the outdoors by bicycle with the Hinterland Collection, a collection of in-house made bicycle portage. The centerpiece of the line is the Hinterland Ozette Rando Bag which experienced a big upgrade through utilizing XPac™ textiles in the classic French box-bag design. This material upgrade makes the Ozette Hinterland edition the lightest on the market. Also new to Swift is the Hinterland Jr. Ranger Panniers and a range of shirts and camping accessories.

See the full line below and at Swift Industries.

From the makers of my personal favorite cycling bell comes the Key Clip. An elegant, simple, made in the USA key chain that doubles as a bottle opener. Or the other way around… Check out more at Spurcycle!

Croakies. Often associated with frat boys, boat shoes and Sperry Top-Sider shoes, have a functionality for cycling as well. For road, touring, cross or whatever, if you use polarized lenses, sometimes looking at your phone or rangefinder camera can be problematic. Or if you want to take them off while climbing but don’t wanna tuck them away just yet. Drop them down around your neck and lettem hang…

Made in the USA by Croakies, in two designs (the Jackal by Land and the Radavist by Kyler Martz), both for $28 shipped worldwide. Yes, you get two pairs per order.

Sorry sold out!

Perhaps some of your questions will be answered in this video…

Do we really need another bottom bracket standard? Maybe. It depends on what your experience has been with pressfit 30. Personally, my Argonaut has been fairly maintenance free but any steel frame I’ve ridden with one has been a hassle. Noisy, creaky and kind of a pain to maintain.

Ben from Argonaut Cycles and I had a conversation a year ago about how much BB86 and PF30 makes sense in terms of frame design and performance, yet as the crux for a bike’s drivetrain, it’s riddled with failure. In short: a larger bb cluster allows you to shape a bike’s tubes and not have to worry about the cluster where they all intersect. That’s why it’s kinda hard to use a threaded, English BB in a frame with OS diameters.

Enter the T47 BB standard. It uses a standard PF30 shell, that’s just threaded with 47x1mm pitch to take these new nifty Chris King BBs – either 30mm or 24mm axle compatible. You thread them in like an English BB and walk away. The frame builder can work with OS tubing diameters and achieve the same “stiffness” without dealing with the hassle of a PF30/BB30 bearing.

I’ll step aside with the tech jargon and leave Argonaut Cycles and Chris King to explain the rest below.

Fall is here in California (it happened overnight apparently) and I’ve found myself in Sonoma County with Argonaut Cycles alongside Chris King Precision Components. There’s something new coming along and I’ll just leave that pretty big, glaring clue for you all until the official launch tomorrow morning.

I gotta say, the road riding here is incredible. I’ll share more with you tomorrow!