The Radavist

Lucas’ Orange Camo Cannonball Stoemper SSCX
Photos by Kyle Kelley and words by John Watson

Lucas works the paint gun at Stoemper and if this bike looks familiar, it’s because the predecessor to this particular frame was featured here on the site two years ago. Back then, Lucas’ SSCX was zebra striped and it demanded visual dominance by the contrast of the patterning. This round, Lucas has a new SSCX bike. One with a thru-axle front, XT hydro disc brakes, wider bars and a bright, orange camo paint job.

A month ago, Lucas was in town to soak in some sun and shred the local trails with Kyle. They took off to the upper Chilao trail network where Lucas rode everything on this bike. Now, I should mention, Chilao isn’t a walk in the park and doing it on a flat bar SSCX is quite the accomplishment.

“Lucas is like a cannonball” Kyle exclaimed when I reviewed his photos and yes, it shows.

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Follow Kyle on Instagram, Lucas on Instagram and Stoemper on Instagram.

The dusty and dry trails and roads in SoCal can quickly age any bike. From surprise slide-outs to caked up dirt, pretty soon even the newest bike can look weathered and well, loved. Now I don’t know the story behind this Stoemper ‘cross bike, other than it was brought into Golden Saddle for some TLC, but it’s easy to see that even a bright red cherry bomb frame like this can get plenty of action ’round these parts.

My favorite detail: the mis-matched PAUL Cantis!

Keep rolling, you perdy thing.

Singlespeed ‘cross bikes on a course like Grinduro are no joke. For Lucas, the painter at Stoemper, the pain is part of the fun. The way he sees it, you’re grinning no matter what. Whether you’re spinning on the downhill or hiking up a steep kicker like China Grade, you might as well be enjoying the ride.

This SSCX was easily the wildest bike I saw the entire weekend. So. Much. Character. As I’m setting up the bike to photograph it, Lucas interrupted me, asking if he wanted me to remove the beer holster. “You’re riding it like that right?” “Yeah” “Then leave it!”

Races like Grinduro are best kept light and energetic in spirit. There’s no point in tearing yourself apart on a singlespeed, because you still have to make it to the finish!

I shot photos of this bike back at Crossvegas but first, Ryan wasn’t pumped on the build and I wasn’t that stoked on my photos. So last weekend at SoCalCross, I stole it yet again to shot more photos. This time around, I think we’re both stoked.

Paul Mini Motos, Thomson, Chris King and that bright orange-red frame make this Stoemper one of my favorite SSCX bikes I’ve shot this year! And Ryan is living the (team) dream. That is, until he fell and lost a bar plug during the race.

At any rate, see more of this beauty in the Gallery!

I fucking love Stoemper and it’s not just because of the Godzilla headbadge. Ok, maybe it has a little to do with my infatuation. Whatever the reason is, it’s easy to see why these bikes rule. Aluminum, tapered head tube, light, mean, race-ready machines. When Andre picked this one up for a steal here in Austin, I had to shoot photos of it.

Check out more in the Gallery!