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Yesterday, we shared a profile of Rob Roberson that traces his storied bicycle fabrication career from the 1970s to present day. Today, we’re taking a look at seven bikes Rob built during that impressive 50-year window, from early track bikes to road frames and his most recent personal all-road build. There’s a lot of intricate eye candy here, so let’s get to it!
Rob Roberson is an enigma in the handmade bicycle world. Some would consider him “the greatest known unknown bike fabricator” of the American frame building movement. His career, which spans nearly 50 years, puts him among a very small pedigree of builders that have both mass-production experience and have also built custom bikes under their own name without giving up the ghost. Yet, with such a significant trajectory, Rob has remained largely unknown. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be featuring bikes made by Rob and the stories about them. Today, however, Zach Small and Josh Weinberg are honored to introduce you to Rob Roberson.
Today, with the launch of the ARD44 wheelset, Chris King adds an all-road offering to their FusionFiber wheelset lineup that previously catered to gravel cyclists with the GRD23 and mountain bikers with the MTN30. Laced to King’s R45D hubs, at 25mm internal width and 44mm deep, ARD44 wheels are designed for riders of all roads – from tarmac to dirt tracks. Josh got his hands on a set of these new aero wheels just a few days ago and shares a first look below…
We get many submissions for our weekly Readers’ Rides feature. Some range from parts bin basket bikes to framebuilders’ own creations. This week’s feature comes from the latter. Will from Albatross Bikes sent in his personal RD-00 Builder’s Special, along with some process imagery and the bike’s geometry, so let’s get to it!
Cjell here with a quick report from the field on my latest prototype bike model, the Moné Hachita. I’m still dialing in the details but have released a few protos into the wild. The new/forthcoming frame featured here was just built up by my friend Bailey Newbrey. For those unfamiliar, Bailey is the owner/operator/janitor/DJ of Sincere Cycles in Santa Fe.
The new bike is one we’re working on over here at Monē. The current Monē line-up has a slack/playful hardtail with very big tire clearance, a drop bar with very big tire clearance, and a gravel bike with just big tire clearance. In many ways, these thru-axle, disc-braked bikes are superior to this new bike. In all ways, really, save one: ultimate retro compatibility.
While in Marin for a few photoshoots, John swung by to see Mike at Black Mountain Cycles in Point Reyes Station. It had been several years (maybe you recall his Shop Visit post) since he’d been in the area and was long overdue for some catching up.
Mike is an industry veteran, having raced bikes and worked for various brands over the years before launching his own in-house brand of bikes under the banner of Black Mountain Cycles. We’ve featured several Black Mountain builds over the years and are big fans of what Mike designs. Mike owns several unique vintage bikes that have helped inform his own designs, yet the crème de la crème is his personal Cunningham road.
We pinged Mike to write about this rare machine, showcasing its origins and unique details found only on a Cunningham, so read on for more!
Argonaut’s GR3 gravel bike combines the trademarked GravelFirst geometry with a custom rider-specific carbon layup to create what the Bend, Oregon-based frame and component builder claim to be a “rip-capable gravel bike unlike any other.” So, what does Petor Georgallou‘s time as a high schooler working at a video rental shop have to do with the Argonaut GR3? And, if he tells you he likes the bike, will you even believe him? Read on to find out…
When we lost our 2015 image bucket back in 2018, it was a huge bummer, but over the past few months, I’ve been digging out hard drives and re-editing some photos, in the hopes of filling in the bigger holes. With this real winter we’ve been having, I’ve had a bit more free time to take a deep dive into the archives, and today, I’m sharing one of my favorite Rivendell builds I shot while living in Austin: Gideon’s Rivendell Rambouillet Road Bike
Check it out in all its S&S coupled, lugged glory: Gideon’s Rivendell Rambouillet Road Bike
I should also note that my intent here is only to upload lost photos, keeping the text and formatting intact.
In this shop visit with Saffron Frameworks in London, UK, Sam Rice traces a line from Matthew Sowter’s previous life as a chef to his current trade as one of the most awarded frame builders in the world. Matthew’s skill in transforming basic ingredients into magnificent dishes transfers over into his ability to turn a box of tubes into a frame deserving of the word “perfection.” Materialism may be a concept of the past, but it is very much alive in Matthew Sowter’s craft.
When we lost our 2015 image bucket back in 2018, it was a huge bummer, but over the past few months, I’ve been digging out hard drives and re-editing some photos, in the hopes of filling in the bigger holes. With this real winter we’ve been having, I’ve had a bit more free time to take a deep dive into the archives, and today, I’m sharing an iconic bike from Icarus that shook the internet when I posted it: Chris’ Icarus Race Bike
Check it out in all its fluoro glory here: Chris’ Icarus Race Bike
I should also note that my intent here is only to upload lost photos, keeping the text and formatting intact.
1980s road bikes make for pretty alright gravel bikes, as evidenced by Tom’s Lotus Odyssey, the bike he shared with us for Readers’ Rides today! Let’s check out what Tom did to make this bike more capable below…
After spending years swapping the same worn-out parts between vintage steel frames, I was ready to build my ideal “road” bike in 2020. I wanted something that was comfortable, versatile, and beautiful, and after much deliberation, I settled on the Soma Grand Randonneur. Read on to learn why I chose the Grand Randonneur and my thoughts on the bike after two tours, a gravel race, and many long days on country roads.
In this episode of The Pro’s Closet’s Museum Unboxing Series, we unbox one of the rarest bikes in the world, a 1986 Cunningham Road Bike. TPC’s museum is host to the largest collection of historic bikes in the world. With over 200 bikes currently on display, there is still a backlog of bikes waiting to be unboxed and brought to light. Follow TPC’s Museum Unboxing series, as we partner with Ronnie Romance and MTB Historian, Tasshi Dennis, to unbox these important pieces of history and discuss what makes each bike significant to the sport of cycling.
Following up on their previous shop visit, Daniel and Karla take us back to Básica Studio in Mexico City. This time they delve deeper into a larger spectrum of Básica’s bikes, along with some updates on builder Eli Acosta.
Like most towns, ours is full of sprint segments.
They’re those little spots on the road that only a place’s cadre of cyclists know about, invisible to the untrained eye; from this driveway to that mailbox, this street sign to that intersection, this rise to that tar snake.
The best group ride leaders will try to organize her or his group before they reach those starting spots, asking anyone who’s not planning to sprint that day to give way in the paceline to those who are. They remind their riders to stay right of the yellow lines, that straying into the oncoming lane, even when there’s no traffic is not worth winning a sprint that is essentially meaningless.
When the summer months roll through Santa Fe, my drop bar bikes tend to get hung on the wall in favor of my flat bar mountain and touring bikes. The main reason is that our “gravel” in town is exposed, hot, and windy. Rather than battle the elements on gravel roads, we escape from town into tree cover and savor our luscious singletrack.
So when we released The Radavist edition Mosaic bikes, both in the GT-2X and GT-2 45 models, I had my friends at The Pro’s Closet hold onto a size 58cm GT-2 45 mechanical bike for me to ride this winter. In the interim, I did my best to “soften the ride” by incorporating Cane Creek‘s popular eeSilk components.
Well, I’ve spent some time riding the bike, both in Santa Fe and down in Southern Arizona, and am ready to spew my thoughts in a fully-detailed review, so let’s get to it!
J.P. Weigle is the gem of the Connecticut River Valley. From his small shop in Lyme, CT, he has built hundreds of beautiful randonneuring bicycles for Randonnée events worldwide and each year, he hosts the French Fender Day. Before Weigle was known for his rando bikes, he made a lot of experimental bikes. We’ve looked at his Ice Cycle in detail, a fat tire road bike, and today we present this pristine 1983 Time Trial Bike, with words by Noah Gellner and photos by the ever-talented Joey Schusler. Let’s get to it!
Originally built up for the ENVE Builder Round-Up this year, Curtis Inglis is selling this stunning example of a Retrotec disc road bike. Check out all the specs and pricing below!