#monster-cross

Reportage By: John Watson

Fat Tires in a Skinny Frame: John’s 2012 Bruce Gordon Monster Cross

“It’s just a bike.” The late Bruce Gordon built bicycle frames to enhance his customers’ lives. Through all my interactions over the years, up until his passing in June of 2019, he would take praise for his work, but would always end the conversation with: “It’s just a bike.”

To talk about this bike in particular, you first have to know Bruce. Who he was, his ethos, the mythos, and what he brought to the “g” word: gravel. Bruce was making fat-tire road bikes for a long time. Long before many. He developed tires, toe clips, and helped foster an entire movement of makers in the Petaluma, California area and beyond.

But just like that, he was gone, and he left behind a legacy…

Radar

Whisky Parts Co. No.9 Monster Cross MCX Fork

Whisky’s latest fork is their No.9 MCX “monster cross” fork which brings extra-wide tires, 700c x 51 mm or 650b x 61 mm (that’s 2.4”), to your corresponding frame. So how is this different than a MTB fork? Well, the MCX has a 415 mm axle-to-crown, minimizing the geometry effects. It’s also got 51 mm of offset, improving toe clearance with large tires or fenders. The MCX is within the Whisky CX fork family, with a 12 mm thru axle, and flat-mount brakes. There are also three-Pack mounts, dynamo cable routing, and fender mounts (700c x 45 mm tire clearance with fender) which add versatility for bikepacking and gravel riders.

MSRP $520.00

Reportage By: John Watson

A Flat Bar Update to Kevin’s Ezra Caldwell Homage Horse Cycles All Road

Remember that Horse Cycles Shop Visit that Ian and Kevin from ENVE worked on for the Radavist last year? It featured Kevin’s Horse Cycles all-road that was an homage to the late Ezra Caldwell – may he ride in peace! Well, Kevin was just in Bozeman for the Swift Campout – which unfortunately got snowed out – so he made the best of the 7-hour drive up from Salt Lake City and spent the extended weekend riding MTB trails on his newly converted Horse Cycles.

Radar

Koga’s Beachracer Just Looks Like a Trail Ripper

A reader sent me this just now, scoffing at it and all I could think when I saw it was “holy shit, that looks fun!” Call it a monster cross, or a dirt drop 29’r, bikepacking rig, or whatever… yes, beach racer. This bike looks like a marketing hit gone awry, turned legit trail ripper. Also, I love the bars. All it needs are some 2.5″ gumwall Ardents.

Has anyone seen one in person? See more at Koga.

Thanks for sharing, Sam!

Radar

The World Needs a Soulcraft Dirtbomb

With all this talk about “adventure” bikes, or “gravel grinders”, all I want to do it move back to old school rigs. Away from talks of hydraulic discs or 1×10 drivetrains and onto cantis, with MTB drivetrains. While it’s easy to overlook brands like Soulcraft in the modern age, they have been killing it for over 10 years with bikes like the Dirtbomb.

Don’t think cantis are a feasible option? Ride more. Learn to control your bike. Focus less on the details of what the industry sells you and more on the experience. This bike will rip apart your trails and potentially win MTB races.

I’m not sure what spawned this post, because honestly, the Dirtbomb has been around for a while. Actually, that’s a lie, I do know what spawned this, but more on that later…