The Radavist

Yeah, you read that right. Schnozola. Two Jewish guys get together to build frames and they use the slang word for a giant nose as their moniker. Brilliant huh? I thought so.

Paul Sadoff from Rock Lobster and Bruce Gordon from Bruce Gordon was a Dude to Me Interbike 2015 pins got together and started making tig-welded frames. There’s not a lot to be known about this brand other than they chose OX Platinum and Columbus Spirit for the tubeset, SRAM Rival 1, Paragon tidbits, the ENVE GRD fork, a Hebrew inspired typeface and yes, one giant Schnoz for the head tube logo…

I gotta say, out of all the expo bikes at Grinduro, Todd from Black Cat‘s creation is most up my alley. Black bikes look mean, but then you add in a custom-machined lower headset cup, a beautiful stem, custom in-house gold paint details, those ENVE M‘s with RockNRoad tires and SRAM’s 10-42 rear cluster, resulting in one very dialed machine.

There’s nothing else to say, other than enjoy!

I also wanted to thank Todd from Black Cat for organizing the builder’s expo at Grinduro!

The Soulcraft Dirtbomb is an incredibly versatile bike and a worthy tool to tackle an event like Grinduro. It’ll eat up dirt roads, singletrack and pavement alike but most importantly, it’s strong enough to withstand the after party. Which at events like last weekend, tend to go on ’til dawn.

Sean from Soulcraft knows a thing or two about handmade bikes. He learned the trade from legends like Bruce Gordon and Salsa Cycles, so it’s fitting to see his framesets carrying on many of these ideologies, just in an updated, modern form.

This bike in particular clears the Bruce Gordon RockNRoad tires, features PAUL Klampers, Chris King and WTB wheels and SRAM’s CX1 group, with a 10-42 cluster.

Like I said, it’ll take on anything you throw at it and still party ’til dawn.

I’m here in Portland, Oregon attending the Bike and Beer festival at HopWorks Urban Brewery. While I’ll be documenting many of the frames, I’ll also be capturing the general vibes. For now, let’s just check out some bikes!

Chris King’s in-house brand Cielo has done its best to stay inline with the current state of cycling. They offer both rim brake and disc in their road or cross frames, Di2 integration, lightweight tubing and clearance for bigger tires.

With more and more people looking to pack a fatter tire into their road bikes, their newest offering picks up the torch and does just that. This new all-road bike uses 12mm thru-axles, the ENVE GRD fork, disc R45 hubs, a Solid Bikes tapered head tube and clearances for a 38mm tire.

Tires aren’t the only necessary clearance concerns for an “all-road” bike however. This size XL Cielo has improved standover to ensure an easy dismount if the road gets too steep… Stay tuned for more at Cielo.

In recent years, bikes of all kinds have been segregated into smaller and smaller categories, marketed to more and more specific uses. Meanwhile, riders are looking for a performance machine that allows them to enjoy a wide range of riding. Splitting the difference between categories can make for a confusing experience while looking for a bike. The Brodie Wolff is one such bike, with DNA from a variety of places. I’ve spent the past few months ripping the Wolff on roads, trails, and everywhere in between.

“Il Faut Toujours Souffrir.”

That’s what’s painted on the top tube of Barry’s Stinner disc all-road frame. Roughly translating to “we must always suffer,” this saying acts as not only a motivation for Barry on rides, but as a reminder as to what cycling means to him in relation to life. Nothing good comes easy.

Barry‘s an illustrator, a typographer, a graphic designer and in Los Angeles, that means freelance. It takes a certain soul to be a freelancer in LA. You’ve got to hustle, be on your game at all times and yes, sometimes suffer the ups and downs of the creative economy. That means some weeks, months, years, you’re on your game and others you’re not. It all takes sacrifice.

Mark’s Black Cat Gatto Disc All-Road
Photos by Derek Yarra, words by John Watson

Grinduro, the timed segment gravel race in the Sierra Nevada mountains approaches (10.10.2015) and for people like Mark Riedy, it’s the perfect opportunity to get a California builder to construct a dream bike for the event. An race like Grinduro will bring about polarizing opinions regarding what the ideal equipment might be. Some would say a hardtail or a rigid mountain bike, since the descents are technical and the last 12 miles of the course is singletrack.

Others would say a disc “all-road” or ‘cross bike because of the timed road segments and the 20-mile climb. Mark Riedy, Giro’s longtime PR guy, is clearly in the drop bar camp, so he looked to Santa Cruz’s Black Cat Bicycles to build him a bike.

Now, for those of you who know Mark, you can attest to his love of the Gios Torino road frames. They’re classics and Mark is always on the lookout for one in his size. Perhaps this was his motivation when contacting frame painter Keith Anderson, or perhaps he just wanted to have the word “Gato” on his head tube.

I reached out to Mark and asked him what he was trying to accomplish on Grinduro weekend. To which he replied, “I’m riding Grindruo just for fun and to be able to get in a weekend of camping with my family, so it doesn’t matter to me if I win or finish last, but I do want to have the most fun.”

SRAM 1x, Zipp and yes, white bar tape with a white saddle topped off this very modern bike inspired by an iconic classic. A guy who spends most days riding the dry, gravel fire roads of Marin County, Riedy wanted a bike that handled exactly like a performance road bike, but featured clearance for up to 38c tires and disc brakes. For most rides, Riedy runs Continental 28C Gatorskin Hardshell rubber, but for Grinduro he’ll definitely go with something bigger, like a Conti CycloXKing.

See you at Grinduro, Mark! I’ll be on my rigid…

Grinduro still has spots available, so head over to check it out.

Thanks to Above Category‘s Derek Yarra for the photos!

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Follow Derek on Instagram.

What do you do when an accomplished athlete backs you on a gamble and encourages you to do something different. Something that might change the face of “all-road” cycling forever? Or at least for a little while anyway…

The story of the bike goes back to March in 2014, when Tim Johnson and his wife Lyne were riding in Louisville along the bourbon trail. David from Cannondale put one of these bikes under Tim and watched the atavism take over. Tim hit every curb cut in sight, skidded around corners and sprinted like he was riding his EVO… Tim’s a cross racer through and through, so dirt and speed are his top priorities. Oh and fun. Having fun too. Right Tim?

For 2015, Ritte Racing has reenvisioned their Snob road frame to fully adopt disc brakes with 30mm tire clearances in mind. The new OS 630 Stainless frame is custom hardened in-factory, laser mitered and tig welded to last a lifetime. Each Snob Disc comes with a 1-1/4″ Enve Disc Road fork and Chris King IS-8 headset. To provide an ample platform for butting those oversized tubes together, the Disc Snob uses a PF30 bottom bracket, which coincidentally delivers stiffness where riders like to feel it.

This particular bike was on display at Sea Otter and was built using the latest working prototype Paul Klamper disc brakes. All I can say is there’s a whole lotta bad-assery going on here. Good job, Ritte!

Expect the Disc Snobs to drop in June with an MSRP of $3,000.

Over the next few weeks, Speedvagen will be rolling out a few new bike models, the first of which being the Rugged Road. Like a cross bike, but with some geometry tweaks, the Rugged Road is closer to a road bike than a cross bike, as the name implies. It’s meant for gravel descents with rutted corners and ​long days in the saddle, rather than an hour of being raced in a cyclocross course.

This frame in particular utilizes the Speedvagen new HollaText scheme with a cream base color; a color we’re the brand will be working with for 2016​. It’s built with Di2 and hydraulic discs with room for 40mm tires. As for the geometry tweaks, the most notable is the lower bottom bracket, making it super agile while cornering and keeping the rider’s center of gravity low, despite the larger tires.

To lighted the bike up a bit, customers can opt for a carbon seat tube, which sleeves into the bottom bracket and seat tube cluster. When painted, you can hardly tell, yet it shed substantial weight off the frame. The paint work on the DT Swiss hubs is an accent that Speedvagen has been doing since 2008.

There’s more information on the Rugged Road to come, so stay tuned at Speedvagen.