We love a good basket bike over here at the Radavist and Galen‘s Ritchey Breakaway build really exemplifies that! Check out the full build details below, with words by Galen…
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Radar
Limited to 100 Units: Yeti Cycles Announces the ARC 35th Anniversary Edition 29er Hardtail
Brands like Yeti have a rich history to reference and what better time than their 35th anniversary to announce a limited-edition ARC hardtail. Looking back to 1991, the ARC was a collaboration with Yeti and Easton to produce a lightweight race frame. During that time, frames were steel and weighed up to 6lbs. This collaboration resulted in a 3.2lb frameset, making it a dominating factor in races of all classes.
35 years later, this stunning throwback is announced but in a more modern material. These beautiful 29ers are limited to 100 units, in sizes SM-XL, and come built with tons of limited edition turquoise components. Check out all the details below.
Reportage
Crust Bikes for Thereabouts: Limited Edition Bombora ‘Dark Canyon’ Frames
The story of this bike begins as most good stories do, with a group of kids, a backyard, and the bikes we got for X-mas. We would spend every afternoon after school modifying our bikes removing the brakes, and switching the wheels, twisting the forks, and reversing the handle bars all to suit our childish logic. Then we’d race them around the yard, until dark. To us, that was cycling. It wasn’t about going faster or longer, it was about making it our own.
That childish curiosity is how we’ve looked at the bike ever since. As a form of expression, discovery and freedom, it’s that idea that has taken us from the Frankenstein bikes in our backyard across the roads of the entire World. Our bikes are the tool that has allowed us to do what we love in the most beautiful places in the world with the most interesting people.
Reportage
Is it a Gravel Bike? Andy’s Drop Bar 8-Speed 1996 Ibis Mojo
“Gravel bikes are just XC bikes from the 1990s.” “What is this, a 90s XC bike?” “Everything old is new again!”
Read any “gravel” bike review here and you’ll see some version of one of these statements in the comments section. People love to say that modern gravel bikes are just mountain bikes from the 1990s. Well, I hate to break it to ya but they’re not. They might be the same in that a 1996 Lemond road bike is like a 2020 Specialized Roubaix. It has two wheels, a crank, bars, seatpost, and a saddle, plus a lot of other parts but let’s be honest, nuanced bike design is a lot of what we cover here at the Radavist.
This is a 1996 Ibis Mojo built up like a “gravel bike” and yeah, it might be similar in spirit but there’s a lot going on here. Let’s take a closer look…
Radar
SRAM’s Eagle Goes 52t
Just when you thought the Eagle gear range couldn’t get any better, SRAM just announced a wider Eagle range with a massive 52t cassette. The best part of this new Eagle is it goes all the way to GX! Now one of the best bang for your buck MTB drivetrains has the largest range at a whopping 520%… See more at SRAM and expect an Eagle GX review coming soon here on the Radavist.
Reportage
Rebounding with the 2020 Cannondale Topstone 650b and its All-Carbon Lefty Oliver Fork
Out of all the bikes I personally reviewed or even rode last year, the Cannondale Topstone carbon was not my favorite. Yet, I really loved the 2018 aluminum Topstone! Go figure. As I stated in the initial review, it felt too gimmicky for all the engineering that went into it. I felt like it was lacking something extra to truly make it stand out from Cannondale‘s history of making kooky, yet practical suspension bikes. A whole year has passed but my wish would finally come true. Was it worth the wait or the extra engineering? Read on below to find out.
Reportage
Tomii Cycles Showcase: Fat Canvas for SRAM
This year was to be the first year Nao Tomii of Tomii Cycles was going to attend NAHBS. For a small builder like Nao, spending the kind of money it takes to pull a seat up to the table of the USA’s largest hand made bicycle show takes a lot of financial planning, so when NAHBS was postponed this year, Tomii Cycles wouldn’t be able to attend. Most builders display customer’s bikes at NAHBS and asking his clients to wait four more months for their bikes, especially during a pandemic was out of the question. I reached out to Nao and asked if we could display his bikes here at the Radavist, so this week, we’re doing just that…
Radar
SRAM Force AXS eTap Goes Wider and New Integrated Dropper Levers in 1x Kits
This morning, to coincide with our Verdugo Mountains story, SRAM dropped their new wider Force AXS eTap kit and an announcement that has piqued our ears over here: Force, Rival, and Apex HRD dropper levers. Check out all the info below…
Reportage
Learning from Los Angeles: Into the Verdugo Mountains with SRAM
I was an architect in my previous life. Before I began documenting cycling culture. One of my favorite architectural theorists is a fella named Rem Koolhaas. In his book, Delirious New York, he claims that “A city is a plane of tarmac with some red hot spots of urban intensity”. While the book is an examination of New York City, many have applied this observation to the sprawling city of Los Angeles.
Radar
True Story: Ben Hildred
Ben Hildred has spent years in search of the eternal summer. A native of Lincoln, England, he milks the Northern Hemisphere’s warm months in places like Whistler, British Columbia, before absconding to Queenstown, New Zealand, to make the most of the Southern Hemisphere summer. Ben’s quest for the endless summer has allowed him to explore the world’s premier riding communities on his constant source of ground transportation—his mountain bike…
Continue reading this story about how ben climbed 55,000m in a month at SRAM!
Radar
Speedvagen’s 2020 Guidebook: Titanium Frames and Ichico Blossom Paint
Speedvagen is still full-speed ahead with its 2020 Guidebook, offering up a distraction from the current pandemic, with a selection of mouth-watering paint schemes and builds. The biggest news for 2020 is they have brought back the Ichico paint scheme and their titanium bikes are finally fully up to speed and leaving the shop on a regular basis.
Speedvagen are doing free upgrades to Horizon paint on the first 11 deposits on the public release and they’re offering a free Silca upgrade as well. That means you get a painted to match frame pump, 2 Silca Ti Bottle Cages, and a Silca Tourqe.
The Ichico paint scheme is -hands down- my favorite paint job Speedvagen has ever developed. Originally released as the 2015 Surprise Me scheme for one year only, Ichico was then put in the vault and now its back and available as an upgrade for all custom Speedvagens.
Check out the Guidebook at Speedvagen.
Radar
Deep Diving With Kiel and Co
What would it look like if Wes Anderson directed a commercial project for SRAM? I think I found out… Check out more from this story at SRAM.
Reportage
Dust in the Wind: Six Months of Bliss on the Bice Biycles Wandrian 29er Gravel Bike
Back in the summer of 2011, Dario took off on a solo tour, from his home town to Rome and back. This tour totaled over 2072.7km and changed the way he looked at the world. Tours and long rides on a bike are like that. Those long hours pedaling can really bring out the creative juices. The endorphins, the sights, sounds, smells, and the people you meet on the road broaden your perspective. You’ll often hear of these experiences as being life-altering and for good reason.
While in Rome, Dario met the team at Associazione Ex-Lavanderia, a bicycle frame building school and when he returned home, be began welding. Many hours were spent perfecting the art and over the past few years, Dario has had many teachers to aid his torch. Mattia (Legor), Dario Pegoretti, Gianni Gilardi and Preda, Stucchi and Perego have all passed down their knowledge to Dario.
When the time was ready, he launched Bice Bicycles where Dario builds road, all-road, gravel, touring, and mountain bikes. I was set up with a review of his most interesting offering, the Wandrian, through Biciclista, the US distributor for Bice Bicycles and Ingrid Components.
Radar
Save over $1,000 on a Complete Thesis OB1 or OB1 AXS
Like most companies, Thesis Bike invested heavily in preparing for the riding season not expecting a pandemic to take hold of the world. To generate the sales they need to keep their wheels spinnin’ the company has just announced these limited-time offers on their custom builds:
-The OB1 now starts at just $2,799, or $3998 with both wheel packages, when you bring a friend.
-The OB1 AXS now starts at just $3999 (normally $4999)
Those interested can simply drop us an email at support@thesis.bike with your and your friend’s email addresses to get started. And if you’d like to support us in other ways, you can do so by sharing these offers with your gravel-curious friends and communities, on social, and wherever else bicycles are discussed.
Radar
True Story: Joey Schusler
From World Cup downhill racing to frolicking in the Rockies with bikepacking bags, Joey Schusler is much more than a guy with a camera. Check out this video to peer into Joey’s mind and follow him on Instagram to have your mind blown!
Radar
State Bicycle Co’s Undefeated Road Bike
State Bicycle Co’s newest model is a road bike, unlike anything they’ve produced before. The aluminum Undefeated Road Bike comes as a frameset for $649, or with an Apex 1 build ($1,299), and even a Force eTap AXS build ($2,899).
It features a carbon fork and a prism-inspired paint job. Check out more at State Bicycle Co.
Radar
Path Less Pedaled Hacks a SRAM MTB and Road Derailleur for Eagle Range
Lots of people have expressed the views shown in this video by Path Less Pedaled and with good reason. Why should you have to buy an “AXS Mullet” configuration to gain Eagle gear range with your drop bar bike? Russ from PLP walks you through the process of how to mate an NX cage with a Rival rear derailleur… but how well does it work?
Radar
Path Less Pedaled Hacked a SRAM Road Derailleur for MTB Gearing
Everyone wants SRAM road derailleurs to run the range of the brand’s MTB gearing. We’ve seen a few hacks over the years but Path Less Pedaled has done something entirely different with the Garbaruk system! What do you think about this?