The Radavist

Fat bikes. They’re the cycling industry’s lost children. The forgotten ones. Remember when every brand under the sun had a fat bike in their catalog? Now there are only a few brands still putting in the PR&D required to make these bikes less cumbersome, less heavy, and more like a true-to-form mountain bike. One of those brands is Otso, whose Voytek is all the above and more. I’ve held onto this bike for probably longer than they anticipated, cycling through the winter months, into the spring, and well into the summer. I’ve ridden it in its thicc 26″+ form and now in its chonk 29+ form and have pulled together a comprehensive argument for why bikes like the Voytek hopefully stay around for a while…

Chumba Cycles has been supporting ultra-endurance and all-around badass athlete Alexandera Houchin for some time now, outfitting her with a variety of bikes for her endeavors. Yet with the announcement of Chumba’s in-house titanium manufacturing earlier this year, Mark and Vince, the owners of Chumba, wanted to get Alexandera on some new frames. You might recall our coverage of the Sendero Titanium from this year’s ENVE Builder Round Up. After the show, I reached out to Chumba to see if they’d share some photos of Alexandera’s new bikes, so let’s check them out below…

Concept: A mountain biker’s gravel bike.

With gravel biking being all the rage these days, most brands have a model or five in their portfolio and they’re widely popular because of their adventurous versatility. Of course, they come in many shapes, from retro single-speed steel works of art to full-on aero bikes. But with their drop bars, most modern gravel bikes in general clearly take on a road cyclist approach.

This weekend brings about Unbound Gravel, in Emporia, Kansas and I managed to catch up with a few friends who are taking on the 200-mile route… on a tandem. It’s not just any tandem though, so let’s check it out in detail below.

When I decided I wanted a custom bike there was only one person I really wanted to make it a reality. I’ve worked with Mike DeSalvo before, back when I was living in Portland, painting the first run of Speedvagen cyclocross bikes. I knew since this bike would be a once in a lifetime bike I wanted to go with titanium, and Mike is one of the best in the industry.

Everything Trevor does seems to be dripping in story and lore as he comes from the homeland of mountain biking, Marin. He is the kind of person you just find stumbling out of the woods, shoeless, with the biggest grin on his face.  In fact, recently he finally gained the attention of the owner of Black Mountain Cycles, after years of visiting the shop, because Ted King ran into Trevor out on the trails and regaled the shop owner about his encounter with the barefoot forest nymph.

Before we jump into the world of Retrotec Bikes and Curtis Inglis, let’s look at one of Curtis’ personal rigs; this 29+ rigid mountain bike, what I like to call the “Trail Cruiser.” Now, calling this a cruiser has nothing to do with the speed at which Curtis rides trails while on this rig and has everything to do with the history of Retrotec; a company that began modifying actual cruisers into off-road machines.

With all the Fat Chance love and rigid MTB shenanigans as of late, I thought it’d be a good time to share the current status of this bike, which has seen its share of changes since I acquired it in 2013.

For those who haven’t seen it before, the story is simple. Indy Fab wanted to build a modern Yo Eddy! with 29″ wheels, disc brakes and an original Chris Igleheart fork (who worked at Fat City Cycles back in the 80’s). The bike was part of a small run and named the Deluxe Redux. I picked mine up at NAHBS in a firesale and it’s one of those bikes that I’ll forget about for a bit, then start riding it and remember how much I love it.

This latest rendition came after I sent back the Black Cat Thunder Monkey, leaving me with an 1×11 XX1 group and its super wide gear range. Shortly afterwards I picked up a pair of the Industry Nine Velocity Blunt SS wheels and decided they’d be perfect for the Deluxe Redux. Then, I got the bright idea to put Blue Lug’s Nitto Bullmoose bars on it with a new Paul seatpost and a Brooks C15.

The thing about rigids, and hardtails in general is you want a nice, fat tire you can ride at lower pressures to ease some of the rough and rugged terrain you’ll find yourself hammering down. The Maxxis Ikon 2.35″ tires balloon out to a nice 2.5″ on the Blunt SS rims. Perfect for NorCal’s sandy singletrack. I have been very impressed with this tire choice. They’re great if you find yourself riding through a city en route to the trails…

For the past week, I’ve taken it camping and have been steadily shredding it in the Headlands, Sutro, Golden Gate Park and parts of Mt. Tam. With the rocky conditions of Austin, I always forget how much fun fast and flowy trails are. Granted, there are still a few moments where I feel like a 27.2 dropper post would come in handy, but I’m also comfortable dropping way behind the saddle to make room.

I’m not sure what it is about the bike, but since it weighs in at 23.5 lbs on the dot, I don’t have a problem keepin up with dudes on cyclocross bikes and with the bigger tires, I can blast the descents just fine. It’s snappy and with the saddle to bar drop, I don’t feel like I’m always riding upright like I do on my hardtail or full sus.

After last night’s talk with Chris Chance at Mission Workshop and hearing his comment about him being the grand dad of the segmented fork, I can really appreciate the ride quality this homage bike has delivered for the past few years. There are a few products on it that’ll get a review eventually, but if you have any questions, drop them in the comments.

The more I see the work of Cameron Falconer in person, the more I love his bicycles, especially his rigid 29’r model. Designed for everything from trail riding to multi-day bikepacking, these bikes have multiple layers of functional details. From the multiple water bottle braze-ons, to the segmented forks and custom racks, these bikes can be outrigged to take on anything you throw at them.

Gabe‘s bike in particular is a prime example. I first saw it in person when we went on our little camping trip Saturday night. The British Racing Green disappears in the low-laying shrubbery lining the hills outside of San Francisco, perfect for stealth camping and the no-hassle component build is easily serviceable from any number of spare parts bins you might find at shops while on the road during a trip.

While much of the drivetrain is no-nonsense, Gabe splurged a bit on the Thomson parts, the Jones H-bar, Paul thumbies and Spurcycle bell. Maxxis ardents provide ample puncture protection and trail bite while loaded and the Brooks saddle will continue to ripen with age. Yep. This is about as good as it gets in my opinion.

My favorite detail? The size small Revelate frame pack, cleverly hooked on the cable boss and bottle cage and the front derailleur mounting under the seat tube bottle cage…