#disc-brakes

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Just When Disc Brakes Were Beginning to Look Clean

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Just When Disc Brakes Were Beginning to Look Clean

I get it. I understand the necessity to keep the peloton safe from those dangerous, butcher shop-grade, flying death discs in the event of a Nascar pileup on a descent but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. Late last week, Germany parts manufacturer and all around Black Forest component wizards, Tune, unveiled what I will say is the sleekest, most design savvy protective cover for disc brakes yet. Still, though, the fact that the UCI is fighting this issue so hard is mind-blowing. What about chainrings? Or barbed wire fencing lining race courses? Or stupid wheels exploding? Or press motos? If the world is afraid that disc brakes are going to end a race by fatality, perhaps there’s more to this debate. Anyway, I saw Tune’s attempt at solving this problem and felt it needed a share. Carry on with your morning…

One on One with the Mosaic GS1 Disc All-Road

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One on One with the Mosaic GS1 Disc All-Road

Remember this one? From NAHBS? It was one of my favorites in the show. Everything about it just looked right. First impressions are everything you see and these days, with the whole bigger is better mentality about tire clearances, it was nice to see something embrace a modest tire so elegantly.

Mosaic‘s GS1 disc all-road bike is a custom steel or titanium frameset, offered by the Colorado-based frame builders.

Let me reiterate that: this is not a production model with stock sizing. It’s made with 100% custom geometry. A custom geometry ensures this bike will fit you like a tailored suit.

The GS1 is a road bike with disc brakes and room for around a 38mm tire. It has a road bottom-bracket drop (72.5mm) and a slightly slacker head tube than your average road frame (72.5º). Side note: I like how those two numbers match up so perfectly. The 420mm stays and 1033.5mm wheelbase can be best interpreted as smooth sailin’ down your favorite road, be it dirt or sealed.

Sparkle Blue Collar Bicycles Disc All Road

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Sparkle Blue Collar Bicycles Disc All Road

Blue Collar Bicycles‘ Robert Ives knows a thing or two about metal. Both the tig-welded and guitar-wielded variety. For Grinduro, Giro’s Eric Richter commissioned both Robert and Paul Price of Paul Component Engineering to assemble a sparkle blue disc all road.

This bike stole the attention span of Grinduro Expo attendees with its intense finish and array of orange anodized Paul components, topped off with SRAM’s 1x technology… All hail the trail Eric and Robert. All hail. Take that puppy to dirt church already!

My Rusty n Dusty Rat Rod Titanium Firefly Disc All Road

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My Rusty n Dusty Rat Rod Titanium Firefly Disc All Road

Cycling is an experience that should continue to mature overtime. I’m weary of people who stand firm in their ideologies, rest on laurels and refuse to embrace the “new,” especially when it comes to riding bikes. Look, it’s not that hard to have fun. Opinions can change with experience, its normal. Embrace it.

For the past two years, I’ve been planning both financially and functionally for this bike. Something I’d encourage everyone to do with a custom machine. Don’t just jump in head first without doing research and saving your money. The last thing you want to do is to take a financial hit once the final invoice comes in.

You see, I knew I wanted a Firefly. I kind of felt like that brand and my own brand have grown together over the years. When Jamie, Tyler and Kevin started the company, it had a breath of energy, creativity and their final products all expressed experimentation. Those guys can make anyone a dream bike but deciding what kind of bike is a challenge. Part of my apprehension was not only where I felt like cycling’s technology was heading, but where my own riding would be taking me over the next few years.

Black n Gold Black Cat Disc All Road

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Black n Gold Black Cat Disc All Road

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!

Soulcraft Dirtbomb Disc

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Soulcraft Dirtbomb Disc

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.

The 2015 Bike and Beer Festival: Cielo Disc All Road

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The 2015 Bike and Beer Festival: Cielo Disc All Road

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.

Mark’s Black Cat Gatto Nero Grinduro Disc All-Road – Derek Yarra

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Mark’s Black Cat Gatto Nero Grinduro Disc All-Road – Derek Yarra

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!

____

Follow Derek on Instagram.

Versatility and Niner’s RLT 9 Steel Disc Cross Bike with Ultegra Hydro

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Versatility and Niner’s RLT 9 Steel Disc Cross Bike with Ultegra Hydro

Cross is coming, cross is coming! But then cross is over, just as quickly as it came and you’re left with a bicycle that is only alive for about an hour on a closed course, right? I’d sure as hell hope not. Strap some bags on it, take it on singletrack, shred it on gravel. Cyclocross bikes are incredibly versatile and with so many options out there these days, it’s hard to sift through them all.

That’s where brand recognition helps. For those of you who have ridden Niner’s bikes, you know they’re thoughtful, ripping machines and when they announced the RLT 9 Steel earlier this year everyone’s interest was piqued including mine. Let’s face it, there aren’t a lot of high-grade steel ‘cross frames out there. There are a lot of “custom butted” or “special recipe” tubesets, which have a place for sure but there’s something recognizable about the words “Reynolds 853.”

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PAUL Component Engineering Talks Klamper Disc Brakes

Here is the man who designed and fabricated the Klamper disc brake calipers. Paul Price has been making rad shit in Chico California since 1989. He’s seen trends come and go, yet when a piece of technology makes a leap industry-wide, he knows when it’s time to design a product to keep on top of the demand. Discs are here to stay and now, there’s a USA-made option. Good on ya, Paul. I can’t wait to give a set a run!

Paul Component Engineering Klampers Have Landed!

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Paul Component Engineering Klampers Have Landed!

I remember a comment here on the Radavist. It went something like “If GOD wanted disc brakes on drop bar bicycles, then PAUL would make them…”

Well, the Klampers are here and they’re ready for public consumption. In short pull (for SRAM, Shimano, etc road levers) or long pull (for top pull brake levers), in black or silver. I don’t even know why I’m typing anything because they’re probably already gone! Made in the USA in Chico, California and tested by the guy whose name is on each caliper.

PAUL PAUL PAUL PAUL PAUL

Get Sick New Bike Day

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Get Sick New Bike Day

If you can’t tell, the “sickness” has spilled over into the weekend. I hope you’re all out riding and soaking in the summer sunshine. More on this bike next week!

Foundry Cycles Introduce Camrock and Valmont ‘Cross Bikes

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Foundry Cycles Introduce Camrock and Valmont ‘Cross Bikes

Foundry Cycles‘ cyclocross lineup has expanded to offer two refined iterations of their popular Harrow model. These two bikes, the Valmont and Camrock, along with their Overland titanium bike complete Foundry’s catalog for 2016.

Each of these frames share PF30 bbs, disc brakes, internal routing, but the Valmont features DT Swiss thru-axles with a Whiskey Parts Co. No9 fork and the Camrock utilizes QR with the Whiskey Parts Co. No7 fork. Both frames look exceptionally detailed and come in a variety of build kit pricepoints.

The Valmont will be offered as a frameset with an MSRP of $1,895 or as a complete with two different SRAM builds—Force 1 HRD for $3,895 or Rival 1 HRD hydraulic for $3,395. The Camrock will be available as a frameset or as a SRAM Rival 22 build for $1,795 and $2,795 respectively.

The Valmont and the Camrock are scheduled to begin shipping to dealers on August 1.

See more photos below.

Speedvagen Surprise Me Rugged Road with Campagnolo EPS 11

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Speedvagen Surprise Me Rugged Road with Campagnolo EPS 11

For one of this year’s new paint designs, Sacha White of Vanilla / Speedvagen worked with Japanese customer and brand buddy, Masashi Ichifuru, or Ichico as he’s called by friends. Ichigo initially helped Sacha design their Speedvagen National Kit for Japan.

When asked to describe the end result, Sacha White relayed the following:
“What he designed was quintessentially Japanese insofar as it had aspects that were refined and represented high craft, but it also had all of this killer, super cute Japanese pop culture vibe.”

The resulting kit that Ichico designed was a pattern of text alternating between Katakana and English, spelling out Speedvagen in the two alphabets. Mix in Speedvagen’s signature colors and it was so good it had to make its way on a bike frame, resulting in a visual representation of where Speedvagen is right now.

This Surprise Me paint scheme will make an appearance during this year’s CX season and it won’t be alone. Speedvagen will be releasing the desesign in new colors, that will be accompanied by some very special, traditional Japanese goods.

On to the build itself, we’re looking at a Rugged Road model, which is essentially a road bike with larger clearances and disc brakes. This particular bike was built using ENVE, Chris King bits and Campagnolo EPS 11 speed. Some notes of interest are the battery charging port at the bottom bracket cluster, the newly-designed Speedvagen disc dropout and that elegant seatpost topper.

On a personal note, this was one of my all-time favorite bikes from Vanilla…

Caletti Giro Grinduro Edition Titanium Cyclocross Bike

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Caletti Giro Grinduro Edition Titanium Cyclocross Bike

October will be here before you know it and with it, comes Grinduro, a different kind of bike race. After my pre-ride photoshoot, one thing became evident: the best rig for this race is a cross bike. Don’t even try to ride a road bike, because you’ll be walking and if you ride a MTB, you might clock in a better time on the descents, but there’s a 25 mile climb.

When Giro announced the Grinduro, Santa Cruz framebuilder John Caletti of Caletti Cycles began working on a cyclocross bike for the event. With bent seat stays, clearances for a 40mm tire, disc brakes and no-rattle housing, this bike is the ideal weapon for a day filled with Sierra Nevada gravel and crag.

My favorite detail on this frame in particular however is the Geoff McFetridge artwork. The evil mountain awaits and Grinduro is coming… Best get your rig ready.

Ritchey’s New Breakaway Tourer

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Ritchey’s New Breakaway Tourer

I can’t think of a better bike to utilize Ritchey‘s Breakaway system than a touring bike. Especially one that can run either 700c x 40mm or 27.5 x 2.1″ wheels. These new Breakaway tourers feature an integrated head tube and will be available in the fall. The pricepoint is to be determined, but expect them to be around the same as the standard Breakaway.