The Radavist

Ryan is a full-time roaster at Four Barrel Coffee in San Francisco. He’s a cyclist who commutes into work every day, rain or shine. A few years back he contacted Joseph Ahearne to build him a commuter cargo bike that he’d use everyday hauling his essentials to and from his work. He had a few ideas about what he wanted, but let Joseph take creative lead on the project.

The result is one of the most impressive cargo bikes I’ve been able to document for the Radavist. The bright teal paint job is accentuated by the large tires, shiny (yet dented) fenders, burnt orange portage by Black Star Bags and countless swoops and bends of the rack tubing.

With a wide range in the drivetrain, Ryan could very well take it touring, but it’s been at home in the streets of San Francisco, dipping between cars and dodging pedestrians. This bike has been abused in a loving way, yet maintained mechanically and as a framebuilder, I’m sure Ahearne is stoked to see one of his creations being put to use.

Seriously, this bike blew me away!

You can never have too many tools for the same job. In Paul Price’s case, a cyclocross bike. Over the years he’s collected quite the stable, from various frame builders throughout California. We already looked at his Black Cat monster cross and now we get to check out some details of his Rock Lobster SSCX. As with the Black Cat, you can see just how sated this steed is based on the component and frame wear alone.

With technology changing, PAUL making disc brakes and everything going oversized or tapered, there’s something elegant about a rim brake ‘cross bike with a steel fork. Especially from a man like Paul Sadoff.

Shred on man, shred on…

When Paul Component owner Paul Price started to “make it big” he told himself that he wanted to order a bike each year from a NorCal frame builder. Retrotec, Rock Lobster, Sycip, etc, etc. At the time there were a handful of builders and for a few years he kept to his yearly deposit.

Then he got busy, the framebuilding industry grew and technology changed. For a few years he focused on the company and put his frame builder promise on hold. He then came back around to his promise and at the Sacramento NAHBS, picked up this Black Cat monster cross from Todd. Soon it became his staple bike. Like many custom frames, Paul had an idea for this bike that surrounded a specific component or part.

Those Panaracer Fire Cross tires are awesome, but they won’t fit on most production bikes, or even most custom bikes. 45mm is a lot of rubber for a cyclocross bike, and Paul knew that so he asked Todd to build him a bike around those tires. The end result is really incredible.

The beausage on the cranks alone are worth a photo. Luckily, I shot the whole bike too…

the 2015 Red Hook Crit Brooklyn
Photos and words by Chris Lee and Chris Dilts.

This past weekend, racers and spectators gathered for the eighth annual Red Hook Crit. Unlike previous years, this last Saturday provided far more sun and warmth, although racers had to fight against considerable gusts of wind all day.

2015 brought the most diverse field of racers in the history of the Red Hook Crit. With 29 countries represented, it was a melting pot of nationalities staging in the Cruise Terminal, where riders warmed up before the races. Additionally the number of competitors in the women’s field more than doubled from last year, boasting a healthy 79 racers registered.

Like last year, multiple qualifying heats during the day were used to advance and place racers in the two feature races later that night. The men’s field had a new addition of the “Last Chance” race. The “Last Chance” race was a 14 lap crit with the top 10 finishers were added to the feature race.

At the end of the night, Ivan Ravaioli and Ainara Arteaga took home the win, the medals, the custom RHC Cinelli track bike, and the glory.

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Follow Chris Lee on Instagram and Chris Dilts on Instagram.

Drew from Engin Cycles is a wizard of custom mountain bike framebuilding. Over the years, he has built some of the most dialed titanium bikes I’ve seen. It doesn’t matter if it’s a rowdy hardtail with 140mm of travel up front, or a snappy, steep XC race machine to tear the field apart, what Engin offers to their customers is custom, performance machinery.

So where does a 29+ rigid mountain frame come into play? It’s not exactly performance, but it does offer up a unique problem solving opportunity. One that Drew couldn’t pass up.

Tyler’s bike utilizes Paragon’s 29+ yoke to ensure chainring and tire clearances. The rigid steel fork is painted with cerakote, as are the frame accents and Tyler chose a mix of X9 cranks, XX1 rear mech and XTR brakes, with a Stan Hugo up front and a Blunt SS on the rear. The Groovy bars really just add the icing on the cake for me.

Fatter tires at a low pressure are perfect for Austin’s Greenbelt trails, which offer a rocky, rooty and sometimes slick environment. Tyler’s been vibing with this bike all spring and is sold!

See more for yourself in the Gallery.

Ritchey Master P-29er
Words and photos by Kyle Kelley

Have you ever seen a bike that makes you wanna say uhhhh! Uhhhh! Na na na na! Na na na na!!!

Well… that’s kind of what this Ritchey P-29er did for me. So I took a picture and put it up on Instagram to see if I could get a nice call and response going. Next thing I knew I had 1,000 people on Instagram screaming “uhhhh! Uhhhh! Na na na na!!!” so of course I decided it’d be best to take more photos of this amazing bike to share them here.

Graham, the colonel of this muthaf<3kin' tank is definitely pulling rank! XTR everything. He's even rocking XTR Safety Wire on those disk brakes. Thomson this and Thomson that, Ritchey where many lack. But the wheels, I'm in love with the wheels! White Industries hubs tied to the Blunt SS (full polish) and some 2.40 gumwall Ardents! I don't think anything could make this build any better. From the nips to the grips, it's dialed. The only thing Graham says he'll be changing down the road will be a wider Ritchey Classic Handlebar - this one was cut down to look and feel more classic. Time to get faded(Red,white, and blue foo), pass me the dojah and say uhhhh! Uhhhh! Na na na na! Na na na na!!! ____ Follow Kyle on Instagram

Cyclocross bikes may be designed to race for 45 minutes to an hour in various conditions, but their beauty lies in their versatility. I’ve put in a lot of time on my cross bike over the years, and only a fraction of those hours were spent racing. Instead, my bike’s been on road, trail, dirt, gravel and frontage road rides. With the right gear range, which is now as simple as a cassette or a chainring swap, a cyclocross bike could very well be the only drop bar bike you’ll need.

Companies like Niner are banking on that and while they offer a few ‘cross bikes, the RLT9 Steel is their flagship steel rig. Made from oversized Reynolds 853, with a pressfit 30 bottom bracket and a sweet carbon fork, the RLT9 Steel is being marketed to the “adventure” crowd.

What better way to test a bike’s capabilities than to pull one right from the box, strap three day’s worth of camping gear on it and chase 20 people around the mountains, roads and singletrack in central California?

That’s exactly where my relationship with the RLT9 Steel began… In the San Jose airport.

Literally seconds after walking into the 2015 Sea Otter Classic, I ran into Nick and Matt from SF. They had driven in that day and rode their lock-up MTB commuters down to the show. In SF, with bike theft at an all-time high, having a beater that is both cheap and functional is key.

Matt’s Trek 890 features porteur bars, a rear rack, a porteur rack and a Strawfoot bag for cargo. Meanwhile Nick’s Mongoose utilizes dirt drops and barcons. Both bikes have a fair amount of beausage and can both be maintained with a local bike shop’s parts bin.

Thanks to Matt and Nick for embracing my request for a wheelie photo!

As a first time attendee at Sea Otter Classic, I had no idea what to expect. Everyone I spoke to assured me that it would be hell on Earth, with wind, sun, locusts and boils (read: hangovers). Rather than some apocalyptic wasteland, I found it to be quite accessible, friendly and casual. Especially when compared to the chaos of Interbike, Eurobike and even NAHBS. All of which I rarely have time to talk to people while there…

No one enjoys trade shows. Not the people in the booths, not the people photographing the booths, yet most of the people I chatted with were surprisingly relaxed and dare I say, stoked to be there. Most of the major brands had already launched their big products and a lot of the smaller brands were more interested in building relationships with media outlets by sharing a beer or loaning sunblock, rather than getting some shitty booth photo taken.

Sea Otter landed itself right after Eroica and a little bikepacking trip I took with Blackburn, so maybe that’s why it was so relaxing for me. I had no obligations, aspirations, hopes or dreams and yet, I got to talk to people and shoot photos when I saw the opportunity arise. Obviously, a lot of those bikes will have their own galleries (many already have), so expect nothing but randomness in this photoset. Yeah, it’s a little skimpy, but I’d rather share these photos than delete them.

Next year, if I attend again, I will however bring a better hat, more sunblock and a damn MTB…

The cycling industry is a competitive place. With mountain bikers clamoring over Enduro, the road and dirt industry has its sights on gravel grinder races. As the name implies, the Grinduro is a mix of the two. A mix, but a whole lot more…

Giro’s Grinduro is an entire weekend event that unfolds in the town of Quincy, California. A place that can get quite warm in the summer, so luckily, the event takes place in October. Participants will be able to camp at the fabled Quincy Campground, be fed by Chris King’s Gourmet Century, enjoy beer from Sierra Nevada brewery and enjoy music from live bands.

The format of the race includes timed climb segments, timed descent segments and a ripping 12-mile long singletrack ender. The intent is to chat leisurely in between segments, get to know your fellow racers, enjoy delicious food along the way and then give your all during the timed sections. Once you’re done, finish up the night at the campsites with a massive shindig.

The following Gallery was taken on the Giro Grinduro course, a 65 mile long mixed terrain route with approximately 9,000′ of elevation. These roads are some of the most beautiful in the area and as you will see, will not disappoint… Will you Grinduro?

Registration is open now, so head to the Grinduro site for more information.

Like many people, we decided to make a weekend of the Eroica California. Rather than fly or drive in for the ride itself. The city of Paso Robles hosted the event this year and since it’s smack dab in wine country, there were numerous places to eat good food and plenty cheap wine to go around. Luckily, my friends at Giro had rented a house, so a few of us camped out in the yard, atop a bluff overlooking town, rather than have to spring on a hotel.

The time has come for Eroica California and at our rental house in Paso Robles, everyone’s bikes have been getting the final tune ups required for either the 60 mile party loop or the heroic 123 mile route. This one beauty in particular is Mark Riedy’s personal bike and it’s more modern than most of the rides you’ll be seeing in the next few days here on the site. Built with Campagnolo C-Record, this Rossin Ghibli is made from Columbus Gilco tubing with an outrageous paint job the Italian company is known for.

My personal favorite detail on the Ghibli models being the bottom bracket shell and from this bike specifically, the original Keith Haring-designed City Cycles NYC sticker from the 80’s…

The Long Haul with Humble Frameworks
Words and Photos by Kyle Kelley

A lot of people asked me why I was flying into Chicago for NAHBS this year when the show was another 5 hours away in Louisville, KY. Well… the answer was easy for me. I wanted to get the party started up north and keep it going all the way down south. There were friends to see, hot dogs and pizza to eat, bike shops to visit and dogs to be walked (my dog lives in Chicago). And last but not least I wanted to spend time driving down Interstate-65 through my home state of Indiana with Michael Catano from Humble Frameworks.