The Radavist

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.

Alliance Titanium 29er

Erik from Alliance makes some damn fine bicycles, yet they have flown under the radar for me and I’m not sure why. Perhaps because I’m often overwhelmed at NAHBS and don’t spend enough time really vetting the display booth. Each year, when Erik has displayed, I’ve missed his booth. But what I will say is after shooting this bike and watching Erik shred it in Bozeman, those days are over. Alliance is perhaps one of the most underrated, or maybe “unknown” is the correct nomenclature, titanium frame builders in the US.

Look, this bike doesn’t use plus tires, or the latest fancy mountain bike group, or carbon wheels, and that’s why I like it so much, because all that flashy stuff isn’t there to distract from Erik’s impeccable craftsmanship. Also, how cool is that Fix It Stix holder?
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Follow Alliance on Instagram and follow along with the #BuildersCamp hashtag.

Jumping back a bit here, to this Steve Potts that was on display at the Chris King Swarm event in Bend…

Bikes like this stir the turd that is cycling purists’ perceptions about a lot of things. Take for instance, what the definition of “comfort” means, and truthfully, there is no finite, objective definition of the word “comfort.” Look at everyone from Grant Petersen to Coppi and you’ll see various approaches to cycling fit and enjoyment. Some road racers are more comfortable with enormous stems, slammed to the head tubes. Endurance bikepackers and record breakers often prefer the aero TT-style bar extensions for long hours on the bike. Meanwhile, even in mountain biking, bike fit and comfort varies from 110mm drop stems to 35mm ill lil shorty stems. What I’m trying to say is this is Steve Potts‘ personal titanium all-road bike and this is comfortable to him.

Now I have no idea how old Steve is, but he is one of the original 1970’s Repack renegades who is largely responsible for the sport known as “mountain biking.” He’s been building for over 35 years and to this day, develops some of the most intriguing designs I’ve seen to date. At first glance, this bike might look “weird” but when you lower your broad scope and refine your vision, you can see some truly unique and beautiful details here. Bear in mind, Steve’s fit is probably different than yours, and if you’re like me, I wonder what this bike would look like with a more race-fit geometry and sizing. Even the fork is a thing of mystery. Ask Steve about it next time you see him, he rambled off so many engineering numbers to me that I could barely wrap my head around his design process. In short, it flexes just enough to make even the most washboarded roads a little more comfortable… Hell, when I’m Steve’s age, I hope I’m still riding and I hope my bike looks like this!

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Follow Steve Potts Bicycles on Instagram.

The 2017 NAHBS coincided with the 25th anniversary of Sycip Designs. Jeremy knew he had to do something special for the showcase, so in the spirit of Sycip number one, which we saw in detail yesterday, he pinged his brother Jay Sycip, who works at Chris King, to come down to Santa Rosa and do something special…

I love seeing Moots‘ offerings at NAHBS. They’re typically very subdued, void of ostentation and fine-tuned for whatever form of riding. So when I see Moots do something experimental, I’m intrigued. This year, they brought a dirt drop “Soft Tail Prototype” to the show and it gained a lot of attention. My favorite moment was overhearing an older gentleman explaining to a younger child who John Tomac is. Sure, bikes like this live in that magical Tomac era, and many would argue they should stay there, but part of me – the fun part of my brain anyway – really wants to see how a machine like this handles. As for the details, Moots selected the Fox AX fork, a new soft tail design with 15mm of travel in the rear wishbone seat stay and a chunkier tire up front. All it needs is a dropper post, ATMO.

Are you interested in one? Well, this is a prototype, and Moots is still trying to figure out the final detailing. If you want to email Moots, you can do so at their website.

Whoaaaaaa there, pardna’, you’re rollin’ into 36’er territ’ry. This is NAHBS, the place for over-the-top, artisan, balleur bicycles and no one does it better than Black Sheep Bikes with their Colorado-made swoopy titanium frames. This year, the team brought one of the most extravagant builds I’ve ever seen from their shop, this giant 36’er all-rounder. Just about everything on this bike is handmade, down to the Leh Cycling leatherwork, titanium fenders, and titanium pannier baskets. No detail was spared when it came to the design, construction and the final build. I’m actually at a loss for words, so I’ll let the photos do the talkin’.

We’ve still got our year-in-review post coming up, but for now, let’s take a break and check out Matt’s Advocate Cycles Hayduke Titan 27.5+ hardtail.

Before we jump into this build let’s look at Advocate Cycles. As their name implies, “Advocate Cycles is a bike company that exists solely to create innovative bicycles and delivers 100% of profits from the company back to cycling advocacy efforts.” That means, as per the IRS’ laws, they’re allowed to donate 50% of their profits to non-profit organizations each year. They then take that remaining 50%, pay required taxes on that amount, and use the remaining money to run their own advocacy programs during the following calendar year. All-in-all, the result is a bike company that’s the main goal is to help organizations like People for Bikes.

Matt was looking for a new hardtail. One that would offer ample tire clearance, a snappy rear end, and a rowdy fork. On top of riding, Matt uses this bike for bikepacking as well. He’s a trail builder with the Mount Wilson Bicycling Association, so carrying a trailer was a must too. However, first and foremost, Matt wanted a bike that would eat up our chunky, rocky and sandy trails with no hesitation.For portage, he pinged Yanco Customs, our local bag maker to outfit his rig with Multicam and Cordura bags, designed to fit Matt’s specific needs. The resulting product is impressive and in the future, I’ll get some shots of it loaded down with camping supplies and toting the trail working tools used by MWBA.

If you’d like your own Advocate, head to their site and check out their frameset and complete bike offerings.

2017 Philly Bike Expo: Moots Mooto X RSL
Photos by Jarrod Bunk, words by John Watson

Moots is one of those brands that just oozes brand clout and rightfully so. Their titanium frames are built to the highest standards and are built to last a lifetime. The Mooto X RSL is designed with speed in mind. A true singletrack slayer, the Mooto X RSL has a modern race geometry, with the feel of titanium, designed to tackle any XC course.

At this year’s Philly Bike Expo, Moots brought their catalog build of the newest Mooto X RSL, laced with gold Tune components, matching logos and Shimano XTR Di2, this bike relies on its pedigree, in a sea of flashy show bikes.

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Follow Jarrod on Instagram, and Moots on Instagram

For those looking for a stock-sized, titanium, made in the USA frame, check out No 22’s latest offering: complete bikes in two weeks. Since 2014, No 22 have been building ti frames in their Johnstown, NY factory and now, you don’t have to wait months for one of these frames. No 22 is offering up frames where no detail has been spared, no corner has been cut, with the only difference being the 8-10 week waiting period has been shorted to two, and as a complete build.

These completes utilize a No. 22 full carbon fork and aluminum stem, both custom painted by Velocolour, No. 22 titanium seatpost, custom finished to match each frame, Complete Ultegra 8000 groupset with mechanical shifting, Reynolds carbon tubeless wheels and Schwalbe tubeless tires and a high five. I added in that last part. The models available are the Great Divide in raw finish for USD $5,999, Great Divide Disc in raw finish for USD $6,799, or the Drifter in raw finish for $6,799.

If you want your No 22 anodized, they do that in house. For paint, they go to Velocolour. Each of their bikes are available in a choice of raw or two different anodized finishes, with the fork, stem and their new titanium seatpost finished to match.

If you’ve got questions, send them to No 22 or drop them in the comments.

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Follow Jarrod on Instagram, and No 22 on Instagram

“One sees clearly only with the heart, anything essential is invisible to the eye.” This quote is from the novella the Little Prince and really resonated with Pat, the owner of this new Firefly disc road. What a fitting mantra for a bike that is designed to climb and descend mountain passes in Los Angeles by utilizing Shimano’s flat-mount disc brakes, White Industry 30mm spindle cranks, a beautiful segmented wishbone seatstay, a Parlee fork and supple Compass tires. Raw titanium bikes don’t usually do it for me, but this one sits like a dream.

Congrats to Pat and the team at Firefly for building up yet another Beautiful Bicycle for the mountains of Los Angeles!

As an integral part of Curve Cycling, Jesse Carlsson has taken on various endurance races on their titanium machines, including Trans America and the Australian self-supported Race to the Rock. The latter called for something a bit more rugged than his TransAm Curve Cycling Belgie setup. While climbing wasn’t much of an issue in Race to the Rock, deteriorated roads, potential flash rainstorms and endless miles of washboarded roads meant he needed a bit more rubber under his bike. Luckily, Curve had just the rig for this race… The GMX is a rigid 29’r with drop bars and a proprietary suspension-corrected fork. You can see how Jesse set his up for Race to the Rock at Curve’s blog.

In its current form, the bike has been stripped of the many accessories and components needed for a multi-day, self-supported endurance race. Jesse loaned it to our troupe for the week, where it landed under Scott, my riding mate here in Tassie. It suited our needs just fine, as equipped. Well, perhaps minus that massive front chainring. Scott found himself hurting on many of our climbs as they teetered past 18%!

Some of my favorite details on the GMX include the yoke and the seat tube cluster. Others interested might also be turned on by the pricing: $2,999 for a frame or $3,790 for the frame and Curve carbon fork, in various sizes. I’m not sure how the USD conversion alters the pricing, but it’s worth the query if you’re keen on this design. Personally, I can say that I’m intrigued!