The Radavist

This one’s a strange bird for sure. 1994 brought about a sea change in the mountain bike industry. The world was abuzz with full suspension bikes and suddenly manufacturers like Fat City Cycles found their hands forced to embrace this new technology. It was this year that Fat Chance joined forces with Serotta in New York. This manufacturing move allowed bikes like the Shock-A-Billy to be born, as well as increased production in the standard lineup including: a Ti Fat, Buck Shaver, Yo Eddy, Wicked Lite and the brand’s road bike, the Slim Chance. These frames featured quad butting, an aluminum AMP rear swingarm providing 2.75″ of travel and an optional Rock Shox Mag 21 fork.

How bikes like this survive for over 20 years and remain mostly intact continues to baffle me. Especially with builds like this: Ringle skewers, WTB VelociRaptor tires, White Industry hubs, Moto Ace Salsa stem, Syncros post and a working Shimano XTR group.

Fat City Cycles suffered a fatal blow in 2000, only to return in 2014 with a new plan… They’re back and you can own a modern Fat City.

As for vintage Fat City, if you really wanna go down the Fat City rabbit hole, read up at Mombat!

These frames. These freaking frames. Godzilla doesn’t have a chance against Moth Attack. With a little help from Black Magic Paint, Megan Dean’s new ‘cross team’s bikes are some of the most beautiful team bikes I’ve had the pleasure of documenting. We saw a frameset at the Portland Bike and Beer Festival, but this is the first complete I’ve seen in person and I’m glad it’s Erica Schwanke‘s! She’s a super rad woman and has been enjoying racing ‘cross in the Bay Area this season on this bike.

I caught up with Erica last week in Los Angeles, prior to the UCI race in Long Beach and stole her bike for a few minutes for photos. I love seeing people’s reactions to custom bikes like this! Enjoy…

The 2015 Single Speed Cyclocross World Championships in Victoria
Words by Dylan VanWeelden, photos by Dylan VanWeelden and Ryan Richardson

The Single Speed Cyclocross World Championships (SSCXWC) was created in the vision of a giant cultural rubber band snapping in the face of the serious UCI cross racing scene. Trainers, embrocation and skinsuits are nowhere to be found at SSCXWC. The barrier height rule was tossed to the birds and replaced with barriers hosting flames intended to burn your shins. For those that have witnessed the spectacle you know of the past Tequilla Shortcuts, Foam Pit, Thunderdome, Junk Yard Jumps and endless Feats of Strength.

The ninth edition of the dumbest race known to Neanderthals just came down on the polite town of Victoria, BC. Racers follow no rules and live on their own regard, dressed to the nines and leaving sobriety at the door. The only rule is each winner must get a tattoo adorning the SSCXWC theme. This year Mical Dyck and Adam Craig took home the honors with world champion tattoos and golden speedos.

The Portland Collective brought in a dowry of joints as a sacrificial lamb to the riders in hopes to bring it back to PDX for the ten year anniversary. At the finish line racers were rewarded with doobies and the crowd burst into a cloud of smoke. Apparently everyone got so stoned they forgot what was going on and Portland won the bid. Lesson learned is bribes always work.

We sent our partners in crime out to try and stay sober enough to document the debauchery. Here’s a collection of images from eyes of Dylan VanWeelden and Ryan Richardson. Follow more shenanigans on Instagram @dylanvanweelden and @singletrack_media_works.

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Golden Saddle Rides: A Carbon Fiber Calfee Tandem Project
Words by Thomas “Woody” Wood, photos by John Watson

An old friend and accomplice in many of past ventures into the cycling world approached me a couple of months ago about a rather “large” project he was embarking on. At the time he was getting ready for another crack at a national championship on the velodrome. His schedule had cleared up after a very successful run of coaching our women’s olympic track cycling team to two silver medals in London. With the mind a little more free to roam, and a very fast wife to be, he wanted to do a full custom Calfee tandem. Ben had already chosen Calfee for its reputation and known ability to deliver a quality product that would meet his race ready standards. The bike had to be versatile. He wanted it to be a time trial bike and a road race bike. With the intention of racing both at Masters “old man” National Championships next year.

We both started doing some research on parts for the bike. He wanted lightweight and strong. Holding to the old aphorism by Keith Bontrager “light. strong. cheap. Pick two”. We had our work cut out for us. First was the drivetrain. Gates Belt drive and Shimano Ultegra DI2 would be a solid performer. Since the bike is a standard threaded english BB with and eccentric in the captain’s chair. Finding a modern light carbon crankset was a bit of a chore. Luckily Calfee had a couple sets of FSA SLK-SL cranks left and we were set in that department.

A big bike like a tandem requires good brakes. We went with Shimano road hydraulic disk. Once I was able to source a rear 203 IS disk adapter we were good to go. Since they are running an Enve road disc fork in front most of the braking power will have to come from the rear. Hence the larger rear disc.

Next was the cockpit. They were looking for versatility with the bar setup. So they went with the 3T Zefiro LTD option, It has a removable aero extension for use both as a TT bar and a straight road bar. And since we were using DI2 you can just unplug the climbing shifter that will be glued to the extension (the photo shows zipties), making for a quick and easy change.

Seatposts are FSA K-Force Light with internal battery holders.

For wheels we wanted durable. We have had a lot of success with the H+SON Archetype rims laced to DT Swiss 240s. The bike is thru axle and 142mm in the rear. A simple way to stiffen up the bike just a little.

All said and done this tandem is one hell of a machine. I took a couple of laps around the block on it and I must say it was one snappy bike. Out of the saddle accelerations were controlled and rather fun!

Cheers to the fun projects!

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Follow Woody on Instagram and visit Golden Saddle Cyclery in Silverlake, Los Angeles.

First Time’s a Charm at the Steamboat Ralleye
Photos by Ian Hylands and Kyle Kelley words by Kyle Kelley

A few months ago James Scriven from Niner Bikes reached out and asked me to go on a bike ride with him. I agreed as soon as he asked and only afterwards began to understand what I had signed up for. As the details trickled in I found out that I wouldn’t be riding my own bike, but instead would be on a Special Edition Niner RLT. The bike would be auctioned off after the ride to benefit the International Mountain Bike Association. I wouldn’t even be using my own gear. The bike would be equipped with Blackburn bags, Big Agnes was providing the camping gear and Kitsbow even made a special pair of custom jean shorts for me to wear. Side note: my signature model can be expected to appear sometime in the year 2020.

The Travelin’ Man’s Firefly!
Photos and words by Kyle Kelley

Yo! What time the plane leaving?

I met Nick at LA River Camp Coffee a few months back. He was traveling through California on a true cyclist’s holiday, riding anything and everything that the state had to offer. While in LA Nick was staying at another cyclist’s Airbnb, which is how he heard about River Camp Coffee. I have never used Airbnb personally, but if I do, this sounds like the way to go. Nick had access to a local’s endless knowledge of events, rides and the best local bike shop to have a beer! Long story short, Nick knows what he’s doing when it comes to travel and I don’t just mean in the way of booking accommodations. He applied his knowledge to building his ultimate travel bike, too.

Nick’s base was a stainless steel Firefly road bike with S&S Couplers. He chose stainless steel because of the coating that naturally forms when the chromium in the steel mingles with the oxygen in the atmosphere. The passive film protects the stainless from rust and corrosion without the necessity for paint. A smart choice in my book because traveling with a painted bike almost always ends poorly. Nick also chose to use as many Ti and alloy parts as possible because of their ability to take a beating and hide scratches from afar. Even though this bike was purpose built, in no way did Nick skimp on any of the components. From the cult classic Campy gruppo to the skewers used with the White Industries wheelset, this bike is dialed.

Any travel bike is going to get beaten up, but Nick has planned ahead and I imagine his bike will look almost exactly same when we meet again. I’m just hoping it’s not in Los Angeles. I’d prefer for it to be at Shifter Bikes, where this bike was built, while I’m on my own holiday staying at a cyclist’s Airbnb in Melbourne!

I’m leeaaavvvvinnn’!

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Follow Kyle on Instagram.

Brooke is an experienced cyclist and when the time came to order a custom ‘cross bike for not only racing but everyday dirt riding in San Francisco, she contacted Aaron and his team at Mosaic Cycles to get her fit on a custom XT1 disc ‘cross.

You see, for someone with Brooke’s proportions, it’s hard to fit on a stock bike from many of the big-named companies, so a custom bike which would be tailored to her body seemed like an obvious choice. She didn’t just want to fit on a bike, she wanted the bike to fit her. The end result was a confidence inspiring feel without toe overlap and enough standover to make unexpected dismounts easy. Key build details are the SRAM Red 165mm cranks (since Force CX1 doesn’t come in that length, that new and fancy TRP thru-axle ‘cross fork and some great I9 to Pacenti wheels.

When Brooke and her friend Tessa were in Los Angeles for a wedding, I met up with them to go on a quick ride and couldn’t resist documenting this bike, but bringing my camera along for a little sunset ride…

Look. I’m not a super über tech geek. I don’t really care about stiffness or compliance in terms of data or coefficients but I do like riding bikes and developing stories about them, in terms of my personal experiences. When Argonaut and Chris King asked if I wanted to come along for a very informal launch of a new bottom bracket standard, I had a few questions:
-Do we need another BB standard?
-Where is this launch?
-Will there be booze?

Two out of the three answers met my standards, so I agreed.

Born to Run: Whitney and Her 20/20 Cycle’s Kalakala
Words and photos by Kyle Kelley

She sweats it out on the back roads of an American Dream, riding through the mountains on a life saving machine. Sprung from the city on a one way line, polished wheels moving her forward most of the time. Whitney let us in, we wanna be your friend. We’ll ride till we drop, and we’ll never look back again.

The above words are from a song Bruce Springsteen never wrote, but I’m almost positive he would if he ever met Whitney Ford-Terry. She is a woman so enthralled with hitting the road that I wasn’t sure she knew any other way of life until I read her profile on Adventure Cycling. A life revolving around art galleries, alternative education, artistic research, working at non-profits, and most importantly getting lost in the woods on her bicycle. Whitney is equally comfortable working in museums like the MoMa or shooting the shit and drinking the boys under the table at whatever local bike shop she happens upon in her travels.

I became acquainted with Whitney when she reached out to me to discuss routes for a tour she was planning. She needed to get from Los Angeles to Joshua Tree for an artist residency and wanted to make the journey fun. We bounced ideas off one another for awhile and the route Whitney ultimately mapped out was hard enough to make most people call her crazy and shake their heads in disbelief. She decided to go straight up the San Gabriel Mountains, along the ridge and then over Mt Baldy to the high desert. With her route settled Whitney shipped her bike to Golden Saddle Cyclery to be built up.

Whitney’s 20/20 Cycle Kalakala is purpose built and can be configured to handle just about any bicycle tour you could imagine. Complete with DFL Stitchworks bags. This bike has never had a place to call home, Whitney has been riding it around the world for the last couple years and with that in mind I had no question about its ability to make it over the mountains I call home and to the Southern California High Desert that I love. Since photographing this bike it’s changed only ever so slightly with the addition of one more National Park badge to the fender, Joshua Tree.

Next time we wanna go with you, Whitney we were born to run!

P.S. If you happen to meet Whitney someday, ask her what hobo tattoos and Bruce Springsteen mean to her.

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Follow Kyle on Instagram and Whitney on Instagram.

Black and orange. Candy. Costumes. Excessive partying. Pick two. We opted for the first and the last in the list as a hasty jaunt into the Angeles National Forest became our most enticing opportunity on Halloween. Ty and myself would ride mountain bikes the following morning (today), Liz and Kyle were going trail running since Kyle’s hand is still messed up from the tandemonium crash on Lukens. Others were planning on joining, but succumbed to the body numb of alcohol and parties.

“If Ferrari made an off-road vehicle, that’s what it’d be like to ride the Santa Cruz Stigmata.”

That’s been the simile I’ve used countless times when describing how this bike rides. In fact, I still can’t think of a better way of describing the Stigmata’s handling and capabilities.

Seven months is a long time for a review and honestly, I wanted to get this up before ‘cross season began but with very little expectations to race this season, I quickly realized that I had been using the Stigmata in every other way than it’s market intention. That’s the beauty of ‘cross bikes though, right?

Let’s step back a bit and look at what this bicycle is.

Being able to get in a good ride before the workday begins is one of the many perks of living in a city that’s embraced by mountains. Simply look at a map and seek out squiggly lines. Pack up your bike, add snacks, water, a jacket and head out just before sunrise. These days, the day’s light is fleeting, so the earlier the better.

Last Friday a few of us wanted to ride Mt. Lukens, a 5,000ish foot tall dirt road climb. While it’s not as big as Disappointment or Wilson, its adjacency to the beginning of the Angeles National Forest along the 2 makes it for a perfect out and back ride.

What’s this? Rim brakes? Yep. Steve Rex‘s submission to the Grinduro expo was the only bike that used traditional rim brakes and you know what? I like that. A lot. Especially when it comes to the stopping power of PAUL Minimotos. Steve chose White Industries T11 hubs to Pacenti rims, SRAM CX1 and even had some slick pinstriping added to the otherwise sleek and minimal frameset.

Void of ostentation, classic, timeless and ready to rip. Rex surely is king here…