The Radavist

When the team at Budnitz Bicycles emailed me, asking if I wanted to try out one of their single speed, belt-drive bikes, I respectfully declined, prompting them to offer up their titanium bars and seatpost instead. I’ll be honest, I was pretty amped on how my Icarus looked with those Ritchey drops and there was absolutely nothing wrong with my Thomson post but I decided to give them a try anyway. It’s been a few weeks of riding them, so what’s my consensus?

Honestly, the feel of the bars is distinguishable from an aluminum bar’s stiffness but it’s not blatantly obvious. It takes a few rides to feel it. What makes these most appealing is the shape, perfect for a bike like this: not too racy but not upright like many cruiser or porteur bars. The finish is nice and the bend is elegant. I never was a fan of straight, flat bars. As for the post? I can’t really feel any difference. The clamp is a bit cumbersome but once you set it up, makes a lot of sense. And I really like the simplicity of the design.

Overall, a $170 Ti bar and $150 seat post is out of most of our price ranges but when compared to high-end carbon bars and posts, it’s not that bad, especially if you prefer the feel over carbon. Or in my case, the low-lustre finish. The Budnitz Bicycles Ti Bars and Seatpost definitely changed the look and feel of my Icarus. Only time will tell for how long. Check out some photos in the Gallery.

The 2012 Philly Bike Expo is approaching fast and one of my favorite bikes from last year’s show wasn’t on the floor in a booth, it was outside being ridden by Alan of Cycling WMD. This Hail Satan Porteur rack caused quite the stir and it wasn’t just its fluoro pink powder. Check out the HED 3 disk conversion! Alan’s always got something sneaky up his sleeve. Hopefully I’ll see him in Philly! Check out more of this Photoset Re-Up in the Gallery.

As I was backing up my photos from Interbike, I realized I never posted these. It’s a few photos I shot of Jason Clary’s new LOW track bike. He’s had the frame for a while but it’s good to see it built up. I’ve always liked the crazy custom paint and finishing schemes Andrew comes up with and this bike is no different.

Today I swung through to see Ian at Icarus about a few things. One of which was to photograph a new frame that just returned from Fresh Frame, his painter. This frame in particular is headed over to Germany tomorrow and it’s stunning. The client wanted a blue and white track frame, inspired by Jeremy’s Classic Track. The subtle pearl coat’s blue reflection really pops in the sunlight and I can’t wait to see how this beauty builds up. Until Ian and I can figure out a way to display these frames, I just asked to hold it in front of his new shop. It’s gonna be a busy winter for Icarus.

One of my favorite booths at Interbike this year was Dario Pegoretti‘s. Every time I walked past it, people were swarming to see the hand made steel masterpieces from Italy, rendering it almost impossible to get a clear photo of any of the frames. Since he had the only booth with hand-made track bikes in it, I had to get up close and personal with them.

While describing what makes Pegoretti Cicli’s work different from American builders, I overheard the rep say something to the effect of this: “Dario is from a long line of Italian frame builders. People who found a way to mix production with perfection. None of these American builders are capable of producing the quality and quantity as Dario…”

Arrogant? Sure. But hey, they’re Italian and with these bikes, it’s hard to argue otherwise.

Click on the above photo to launch the gallery, or here to open in a new tab.