The Radavist

Last year’s Cannondale Topstone review generated quite the buzz over here, so when Cannondale sent me a Topstone Carbon to review, I was intrigued to see what changed between the lower pricepoint aluminum and this new, fancy carbon model. Turns out, a lot! The biggest being an all-new, BallisTec Carbon, Kingpin suspension system which locks the seat stays together with a thru-axle, allowing for dampening on rough terrain. Read on below for more!

Los Angeles’ Pure Cycles have announced their Adventure line of gravel bikes, including the Adventure model (sold out), the Adventure Pro ($899) and an Adventure Apex build ($1099). These entry-level gravel bikes feature 700c x 650b interchangeability, disc brakes, and a geometry tuned for all-road riding. See more at Pure Cycles.

Versatility and affordability can go hand in hand. With Mission Bicycle’s newest model, the Stinson, they addressed this concern, offering up a disc bike with a slacked out geometry for added comfort on long rides that has sliding dropouts allowing for numerous different drivetrain options – including belt drive – multiple boss locations for bottles and racks, and wheel size interchangeability with 700 x 42mm wheels or 27.5 x 50mm. All these boxes are rarely checked by the bigger brands, so smaller companies like Mission Bicycle are tackling them, via Kickstarter! Head on over to see more details.

With more and more of the bigger brands going to consumer-direct, other smaller brands are growing out of this new model, offering complete bikes with substantial build kits, in modern geometries, straight to the consumer’s door. Ocoee Bikes has adopted this business practice with three platforms currently; all-road with the Baseline, gravel with the Boundary, and MTB with the Seclud model. Each bike comes in a variety of build kit options, colors, and sizing, allowing the consumer to pick the bike that suits their needs best. Now, this business model does come with some downsides. One of which being by cutting out the middleman – aka the LBS – it will put more pressure on existing shops to adapt to the changing market, something that older shops will have a hard time adjusting to. Another issue is being able to ride one of these bikes before you buy one.

Yesterday we posted Colin Strickland’s winning Allied Able and today, we’re giving Amity Rockwell, the female winner of the DK200’s bike some love. For a complete story and parts breakdown, head over to the Allied Cycle Works blog!

There’s a new all-road in town, from our Canadian friends at Knolly. The Cache is a 700c or 650b titanium drop bar bike that can take on anything you’re willing to throw at it. Knolly wrote a great development story at their site, showcasing the Cache and its abilities, so head on over and check that out.

Are you a roadie looking to get dirtier on your rides? Or a mountain biker that loves your Pivot and would like to take on some challenging gravel rides? Or perhaps you are just tired of your clapped out all-road bike? Redshift and Pivot worked on a kick-ass giveaway where you can enter for a chance to win this $8k Redshift Sports edition Pivot Vault gravel bike. All you have to do is head over to Redshift to sign up! The giveaway sign up ends June 5th so get on it!

With bigger clearance for a 27.5 x 2.4″ tire, fender mounts, double dropped chainstays, an updated geometry, and more, the new OPEN WI.DE is the rowdiest bike in their lineup. Check out this video as Gerard Vroomen and Andy Kessler take on the ripping trails around Basel, Switzerland.

Morgan’s photos did Craig’s Allied Able build plenty of justice but let’s look at the bike through Allied’s own videography.

We looked at the bike and the new EA90 AX wheels in today’s Reportage, now let’s check out those wheels in motion!

When you ride offroad, be it gravel, wet roots, or race in mud, and carry loads, steel… stainless steel, is a great material for a frame that is the veritable Swiss Army Knife of bicycles. All road bikes can be used for so many activities and the 27.5 wheel platform offers a plush ride on 47mm tires, offering more traction and a more shreddy feel. Standert’s Erdgeschoss is the newest member to their stout catalog and is exactly that, an all road built around the 27.5 wheel platform. See more at Standert.

Remember last year’s Builders for Builders fundraiser that launched at Lost & Found? Well, it’s back! With more builders this time. Stinner Frameworks, Sklar Bikes, Mosaic Cycles, McGovern Cycles and Argonaut are all building Beautiful Bicycles to be raffled off to raise money for the Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship. Each of these bikes are stunning and are one of a kind, so head over to Sierra Trails to buy a raffle ticket and be on the lookout next week for photos of all the bikes to drop here on the Radavist.

Without sacrificing the feel of René Herse tires’ supple casing, the team has developed endurance casings for many of their offerings, including the popular Juniper Ridge model. This casing, along with the new Hurricane Ridge 700x42mm Endurance Plus tire – a tire used by Ted King during the Dirty Kanza, round out a very plump tire lineup for the brand, including 700C x 38 mm Steilacoom Endurance, 700C x 42 mm Hurricane Ridge Standard, 700C x 42 mm Hurricane Ridge Extralight, 700C x 42 mm Hurricane Ridge Endurance, 700C x 42 mm Hurricane Ridge Endurance Plus, 650B x 48 mm Juniper Ridge Endurance. See more at René Herse.