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With this year’s Chris King Open House coming right after the 2023 MADE Bike Show, the event decided to shift gears and focus on the Portland area’s outdoor brands. Chris King opened its doors to the public, unveiling the process that goes into machining bike parts in the USA, while inviting the broader outdoor industry to display their products. It was a full day of bikes and more! Check out our Reportage, sent in by Chris King and let us know your favorite bike in the comments!
Aside from pristine days of riding, the GiRodeo was also a semi-nomadic bike show. The Service Course has long-term collaborative relationships with a number of builders, working together to pair builders and customers appropriately. I say “semi-nomadic” because the majority of builders rode their bikes, but also because the bikes that were not being ridden magically popped up in restaurants and breweries or wherever else events were held as part of the show. This is a rundown of my favorite bikes, many of which were part of the GiRodeo, and others were part of The Service Course’s furniture.
Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. Read on below for today’s findings…
For as long as I can remember I have wanted to be an “Ultra”. Ultraromance and Ultratradition really have it all: the looks, the tan lines, the grey tires, the lycra, then the wool and the HAIR (don’t get me started on the hair!). Like most of you, I grew up watching these guys on TV and at the age of 15 I REALLY aspired to be the next Ultraromance when I grew up. I used to travel out to all their road races and got to see Ronnie COOL Romance win 8 road races in a single season wearing his stunning Team Wooly Mammoth colors. His category was called Cat 5, which he assured me was high up in the pecking order of athletic accomplishments.
The Norwegian city of Oslo recently played host to the Service Course Oslo‘s Bikes of Oslo Showcase, featuring a plethora of custom bikes during a weekend of riding and soaking in the summer sun. We’re honored to host the report here, at the Radavist, featuring the bicycle photography of Magnus Nordstrand and the riding/lifestyle shots from Herman Ottesen. Check out the bikes along with an interview with the Service Course’s Jonas Strømberg below…
OPEN’s latest bike isn’t an all-road or gravel bike with massive clearances. It’s an ultralight road bike with a few clever details. This bike has a lot going on but the most notable design features include a 25mm integrated seat mast, which offers more give and flex in what is normally one of the stiffest components in carbon bikes. This, combined with the ultra-thin stays give the MIN.D some flex where it counts.
Then there’s the MIN.D’s fork:
“The OPEN U-Turn was the first fork truly optimized for flatmount brakes by deleting the standard adaptor to switch between 140mm and 160mm disc rotors. The adaptor is a feature without a benefit at the expense of weight, stiffness and complexity.
The R-Turn uses the same Smartmount direct-mount design with thru-bolts without adaptors, just like the rear brake. Together with new shaping and a new layup optimized for road, the R-Turn is the lightest disc brake road fork available.”
The MIN.D fits a 32mm tire, comes in four sizes, and retails for $3,600 at Open.
Taiwanese bicycle bag company WOHO just launched its limited-edition bikepacking bag system, in collaboration with Basel’s OPEN CYCLE, using the WI.DE. model to reveal WOHO’s new CYBER-CAMO BLACK special edition.
In addition to this OPEN WI.DE collaboration, WOHO has upgraded its Xtouring Bikepacking Series. The bikepacking product line was redesigned with feedback from riders all over the world and includes refined details that enhance WOHO’s bags.
Only a limited number of the new Cyber Camo Xtouring bags will be bundled with this limited OPEN WI.DE collaboration frame. This project comes in at a retail of $4,186.90 USD for the frameset (XS-XL) and bags. Check out photos of this project below and head to WOHO to order. Yes, they ship to the USA and accept Paypal.
Ass Savers, makers of plastic mudguards, teamed up with OPEN cycle, GRAMM Tourpacking, and Podia apparel, worked on an Open Detour frame design, which is available to the public via Open-authorised retailers. Printed with a pointillism rendering of mountain layers, as experienced by Staffan Widell and designer Jesper Jonsson during last years Torino Nice Rally in the Italian-French alps and painted in desert tan, the frame is built with Shimano’s GRX group and outfitted with GRAMM’s custom marigold bags.
Head to Open’s blog to see more details.
Why not tackle a Swiss MTB race on a cross bike with 27.5 wheels and drops? Check out the full story behind this video at Open Cycle.
The do-it-all cross or all road bike has taken hold of the industry. Everyone wants a rig that is capable of racing ‘cross and maybe hitting a bit of 1-track or take a few bags for a sub 24 hour camping trip.
Open Cycle addresses a lot of those demands with their U.P. (unbeaten path) frameset. A ‘cross bike that can fit 700 x 42mm or 27.5 x 2.1″ wheel. If you play your cards right and select the appropriate tire sizes, you’ll experience the same geometry on the same frame, but the opportunities will widen along with your tires.
The U.P. features a top-tube bottle cage mount for a small bag, thru-axles, internal routing, road or mountain crank compatibility and some very elegant lines. You can see the geometry and read some FAQ’s at Open Cycle’s site. See some more photos, shot by Open Cycle’s photographer Marc Gasch below.
