The Radavist

Through the Valley and Over the Pass
Photos and words by Ryan Wilson

On many occasions over the last couple of years I’ve gazed at the old, abandoned road that zig zags its way beyond 11k ft, above an already stout paved climb outside of Bishop, CA. Thousands of feet up these rugged slopes is a gateway to the John Muir Wilderness. I’ve made quick forays a little ways up it in the past (on bikes ill equipped for the condition of this particular road), but I knew that doing this thing right would require a bit of time and planning.

With events like Eroica and the reason why I’m currently in Italy, the Emilio De Marchi ride gaining popularity, more and more vintage road bikes are making their way out of garages and storage sheds all over the world, onto the road again.

Italy has no shortage of vintage road bikes. With so many framebuilders in the areas surrounding Conegliano where De Marchi has been based for around 70 years, it’s not hard to track down a frame or a complete for a couple hundred euro. One such builders is Bottecchia, a name most of you will recognize. Coincidentally, Emilio De Marchi was the team manager for Bottecchia some years ago, so the brands have a joined heritage.

Onto this bike, which at first glance is a real looker, even with the small idiosyncratic build mishaps. Sure, the bar tape is frayed, it’s missing a few bolts and the tires are mis-matched, but as-is, it’s a more than suitable steed for a 100 kilometer ride. My favorite details are the way the head tube cluster lugwork merges effortlessly into the headset, the head tube badge and that ostentatious red and white paint.

Bikes like this, as-is need only a few hours of maintenance to make them road-worthy and in Italy, they’re a dime a dozen. Something us Americans can appreciate or lust after… More on De Marchi’s heritage and the Emilio De Marchi ride coming soon. For now, just check out this piece of Italian pedigree.

The allure of the eBay score is strong, especially after so many Landsharks have been recently featured here on the site. Such temptation was too great for Andre. After looking on eBay for a few months, he finally scored this Road Shark with Shimano 600 for $400. It came as shown, minus some dry-rotted tires and no saddle, which were easily replaced. It’s in ok overall condition, just don’t look too closely at the bar tape!

The future of this bike is uncertain. There’s been talk of long-reach calipers, 650b conversion with porteur bars, or a modern 10-speed group, and my vote goes to keeping it as-is, just overhaul the damn thing a bit. For now, Slawta’s crazy personal touches shine regardless as to how much patina is present. My favorite detail is the chomping shark mouth on the internal cable routing exit…

Paul Sadoff has been getting a lot of love here on the Radavist as of late and surprisingly, a lot of the recent the bikes featured have been steel. These days, I feel like Paul is doing more aluminum frames, so when I catch sight of a steel road bike like Mat‘s 2010 Rock Lobster with Dura Ace and Chris King, in a bright blue I have to shoot photos of it.

Mat went with the pewter head badge upgrade, orange nipples, orange Salsa skewers and used his trusted Concor saddle for the finishing touches on what otherwise is a relatively straight forward build.

Steel road bikes will always have a place in this world and bikes like this are perfect examples of aesthetic balance and function.