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John first met Onur through the Land Cruiser world. He’s a legend in that community. Then, scary life stuff happened, and suddenly, Onur realized his lifestyle needed to change. He had a heart attack and had to get into shape… fast! His life depended on it. Read on for a heartfelt story about how Onur reconnected with the bicycle, thanks to his supportive friends, and how he’s addicted to his trusty single-speed mountain bike!
Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. Read on below for today’s findings…
Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. Read on below for today’s findings…
Sea Otter Classic is one of the largest annual cycling festivals in the world. Each April since 1991, cyclists of all persuasions have descended on Laguna Seca Raceway outside of Monterey, CA to cheer on professional and amateur racers, as well as check out the latest and greatest in cycling technology at the massive vendor expo.
And this year, that tech happened to be especially late and great, and there was more to talk about than usual. Maybe it’s because there were more exhibitors in attendance than normal. Maybe it’s the easing of strains on the supply chain. Whatever it was, Josh Weinberg and Travis Engel were on the ground all weekend and, over the next few days, will be sharing their findings and observations from the massive event. So, let’s get into it below!
Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. Read on below for today’s findings…
Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. Read on below for today’s findings…
Today we’ve got a special bit of Reportage from the crew at Squid Bikes showcasing their new handmade in Taiwan steel gravel model, the Gravtron. Read on below for a look at the owners’, Chris and Emily, personal Gravtron builds as well as a friend Nick’s bike loaded down for a trip from Reno to Sacramento with a trip report by Emily. Check it out below!
Remember the Squid Bikes SO-EZ tracklocross frame our friend Cache painted in Los Angeles for a raffle to help raise money for the LA Regional Foodbank?
He painted. He drew. Then he painted again. The end result is this one-of-a-kind SO-EZ tracklocross frameset painted by LA artist @cachicken at @itsnotabikeshop.
But what to do with it? Socially minded, intimately connected to the streets of LA through his craft, Cache suggested we find a way to use this frame to raise money for the local LA food bank where he volunteers.
So here’s how to win this frame:
-Donate what you can to the LA Food Bank ($25 = 100 meals, so even $5 helps)
-DM Squid Bikes on Instagram a screenshot of your receipt.
-We understand that times are tight, if you aren’t able to donate, please just DM us a selfie of your smiling face.
On May 1 we’ll collect all the screenshots/selfies and someone* will have a beautiful new one-of-a-kind Cache painted SO-EZ!
*frameset size 54 (it will look great hanging on a wall if it’s not your size) one entry per person, shipping within the lower 48 States – see Squid for details.
Fans of Squid Bikes‘ Sammi Runnels will rejoice at the latest GCN video showcasing her professional ‘cross bike. This is one of the most unique bikes in the pro circuit, since it’s US-made and features a Spray.bike paint job. Like what you see? Follow Sammi on Instagram!
While our Shop Visit to Squid Bikes was very thorough, it’s hard to beat video walkthroughs, and sofa talks, especially when Travis and Paul from Paul Component Engineering have the camera!
Spray.Bike is the one-shot spraypaint perfect for painting a bicycle frame. It’s grown in popularity over the years and now, they’ve expanded their color and finish options to include a Frame Builder’s Metal Plating line. Included in the lineup is gold, copper, silver and bronze. These 400ml spray bottles make painting a bike frame easy and are in stock now at Spray.Bike.
NAHBS this year has a lot more vendors this year than years prior – or at least it feels that way – making it a bit easier to see all the builders and what they brought to Sacramento, showcasing their talents. There are a lot of familiar faces in the crowds, yet what these talented frame builders brought with them are anything but.
Squid World Tour: China V2.0, Way Outside of Beijing
Photos by Angel Perez and words by Emily Kachorek
We kicked off the cyclocross portion of Squid World Tour early again this year in August. After a successful weekend of UCI racing Down Under in Melbourne’s winter cyclocross conditions, we made our way up (way up) to Beijing, China for the 6th Edition of the always hot and muggy Qiansen Trophy Cup. In the past the majority of the races have been held in the outer rings of the capital city. This edition, however, the events would be held at all new venues outside (way outside) Beijing. The Squad was excited for all new courses, new roads, and a whole new Chinese adventure.
If you are looking to build a singlespeed ‘cross race bike, or a singlespeed mountain bike, and anything in between, you can run your favorite 30mm spindle cranks with the BEER Components Oner, as long as your frame has a PF30 shell. Recently, I swapped out the older 24mm Sugino cranks and Problem Solvers bottom bracket for the BEER Oner and White Industries cranks on my Urban Racer.
Each year at NAHBS, a selection of builders at the show lament on how we should actually ride bikes together more, not just talk about them once a year at the show. I get it. Sitting in a convention center, under that horrible lighting, discussing how a bike rides is worlds apart from actually riding out on the trails. This year, Adam Sklar took the initiative to plan a weekend and then some of fun times in Bozeman and sent out an open invite to numerous builders. His idea was to expose people to the culture here, the town’s local builders, eats, drinks, and shops, in an event playfully dubbed the “Builder’s Camp.” Squid, Breadwinner, Retrotec, Falconer, Horse, Alliance, and Strong, along with a few other locals, all prepared for 5 days of non-stop riding and relaxing in this beautiful mountain town.
Squid Bikes: Fuck Off Johnny Single Speed Mountain Bike
Squid owners Chris Yoshio Namba and Emily Elaine Kachorek brought their newest frame platform, the Fuck Off Johnny. These hardtail mountain bikes were serendipitously named by Paul Price, owner of Paul Components when he expressed “So what’s going on with your new bike? The Screw Off Susie? Or the Fuck Off Johnny?” to which Squid replied, “you mean the Shred to Eds?” So when the time came to name their new mountain bike, they knew what to call it.
These hardtails fit a 3.0″ 27.5″ tire or a 2.2″ 29″ tire, are designed for a 120mm travel fork, use stealth dropper routing, and come in at a pricepoint of $1,400 for the frame. From there, buyers can pick up some cans of Spray.Bike and go to town, designing their own custom paint jobs. For Chris and Em, they take their painting jobs to heart, designing elaborate schemes in vibrant colors.
Chris used random scrawl from his travels to cover his frame, wheels, and bars in a green color scheme, while Em focused more on pastels. Each bike has loads of character and it was damn impressive watching them crush these steep mountain rides on single speeds.
The Fuck off Johnny frameset – including a RockShox Pike – will be in stock early August. You can make a deposit and see more details at Squid.
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Follow Squid Bikes on Instagram and follow along with the #BuildersCamp hashtag.
NAHBS isn’t always about $3,000 paint jobs, expensive carbon components, and electronic shifting. For Squid Bikes, their paint jobs cost more in time than they do in materials and the sky’s the limit for their designs. This year at NAHBS, the bike that jumped out at me was this tracklocross fixed gear built with Paul Components and White Industries, using their ‘cross bike frameset. There’s even a nifty little stash container built-in to the handlebar end to keep things even sketchier… but still safe. This bike beckons for some #RubberSideUp action.
Squid Bikes: Taking Over the World One Rattlecan at a Time!
Photos and words by Kyle Kelley
Ever since meeting Emily at numerous bike races all over California, and following along with Squid Bikes on Instagram, I must say I’ve become somewhat of a super fan of the brand. First, they’re making bikes in the US, and of course, everyone knows that’s my jam and it’s been my jam since I started jamming! Second, they’re awesome! Third, they have given the world the ability and the confidence to turn any bicycle into a blank canvas! If you aren’t already a super fan too then hopefully these photos and words will change your mind, because these two are going to be bigger than the Beatles!
