The Radavist

I should preface this post with saying it WAS loaded for fun last weekend before the MWBA Pancake Breakfast campout. Before Mike, the new mechanic at Golden Saddle, left for the outing, I snatched up his Velo Orange Piolet for a few photos. Now, I’ve been a fan of the Piolet since its inception but haven’t ever been able to see one in person. Mike’s made the right impression with not only his build specs, but allowing me to see and ride this bike fully loaded. While we all obsess over parts and their performance, I think the overall picture of a fully-loaded touring bike is more relevant. For instance, people critique the Paul Klampers for being “too heavy,” yet on a tourer, that’s kind of moot. Speaking of moot, Mike went with a Moots bar, post and stem. My favorite detail however is that shot of the Paul skewer and Klamper, side by side, like they were meant to be! That and the backpack in the Wald basket…

Hopefully bikes like this inspire you to take your bike, put on a Wald, a saddle pack, flat pedals and just go camping.

In Los Angeles, you can bite off more dirt than you can chew. Fortunately, if you like camping and getting dirty, most of the campgrounds here can be accessed via dirt tracks. Problem is, you need a bike that make it up those steep climbs and ideally has a generator lamp since a lot of your climbing might be done at night during the winter months.

A little while ago, a Soma Wolverine was featured here on the site, prompting another Golden Saddle Cyclery customer, Phil, to pull the trigger on his own, albeit with a few different build specs.

Phil wanted his to be rugged, specifying a no-nonsense groupset composed of SRAM X9, 11-speed bar-end shifters and a Force 22 crankset. For reliable, strong front lamp power, the Shutter Precision PV-8 Dynamo generator hub was chosen and the Luxus-U front lamp mounted to a Jandd rack. Panaracer T-Servs (even though they say for messenger use) are great all-rounder tires for dirt and sealed roads. Paired with 650b Blunt SS wheels, they’ll take a few hits while descending, even fully loaded and resist easy pinch flats. Phil’s trusty Brooks Cambium will provide ample comfort for those long hauls up into the mountains.

Bottom line: Golden Saddle Cyclery built up a rugged bicycle to Phil’s specifications, fit for any number of rides here in Los Angeles and I can’t wait to hear his stories!

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Visit Golden Saddle Cyclery in Silverlake, Los Angeles and follow them on Instagram.

All-City began as an urban cycling brand, with the Big Block being their flagship model. Over the years, the brand has expanded from track bikes to touring bikes, all with one thing in mind: speedy transport around and out of the city. In a lot of ways, All-City’s catalog grew with their customers. People that began with track bikes picked up road bikes and cross bikes eventually. A few years back, they celebrated their Big Block with a fifth anniversary model, painted in a pearlescent silver to white fade.

Kyle has been sitting on this frame for a while. He was finally prompted to build it up as a singlespeed for himself as well as a floor model for Golden Saddle Cyclery. This build in particular features an elegant Grand Bois fillet stem, those classy TRP Levers, Gran Cru brakes, a Campagnolo chainring with a White Industry freewheel and those new All-City Sheriff Star Hubs.

Because the geometry is true to form track, this bike zips around, regardless to how chill the build looks…

Golden Saddle Rides: A Carbon Fiber Calfee Tandem Project
Words by Thomas “Woody” Wood, photos by John Watson

An old friend and accomplice in many of past ventures into the cycling world approached me a couple of months ago about a rather “large” project he was embarking on. At the time he was getting ready for another crack at a national championship on the velodrome. His schedule had cleared up after a very successful run of coaching our women’s olympic track cycling team to two silver medals in London. With the mind a little more free to roam, and a very fast wife to be, he wanted to do a full custom Calfee tandem. Ben had already chosen Calfee for its reputation and known ability to deliver a quality product that would meet his race ready standards. The bike had to be versatile. He wanted it to be a time trial bike and a road race bike. With the intention of racing both at Masters “old man” National Championships next year.

We both started doing some research on parts for the bike. He wanted lightweight and strong. Holding to the old aphorism by Keith Bontrager “light. strong. cheap. Pick two”. We had our work cut out for us. First was the drivetrain. Gates Belt drive and Shimano Ultegra DI2 would be a solid performer. Since the bike is a standard threaded english BB with and eccentric in the captain’s chair. Finding a modern light carbon crankset was a bit of a chore. Luckily Calfee had a couple sets of FSA SLK-SL cranks left and we were set in that department.

A big bike like a tandem requires good brakes. We went with Shimano road hydraulic disk. Once I was able to source a rear 203 IS disk adapter we were good to go. Since they are running an Enve road disc fork in front most of the braking power will have to come from the rear. Hence the larger rear disc.

Next was the cockpit. They were looking for versatility with the bar setup. So they went with the 3T Zefiro LTD option, It has a removable aero extension for use both as a TT bar and a straight road bar. And since we were using DI2 you can just unplug the climbing shifter that will be glued to the extension (the photo shows zipties), making for a quick and easy change.

Seatposts are FSA K-Force Light with internal battery holders.

For wheels we wanted durable. We have had a lot of success with the H+SON Archetype rims laced to DT Swiss 240s. The bike is thru axle and 142mm in the rear. A simple way to stiffen up the bike just a little.

All said and done this tandem is one hell of a machine. I took a couple of laps around the block on it and I must say it was one snappy bike. Out of the saddle accelerations were controlled and rather fun!

Cheers to the fun projects!

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Follow Woody on Instagram and visit Golden Saddle Cyclery in Silverlake, Los Angeles.

GSC’s first Sunday Social Event: Saddle Workshop for Women
Words by Jen Abercrombie and photos by Crystal Haggard

I was having a cup of coffee with Kyle Kelley when he suggested I host a series of women’s events at Golden Saddle Cyclery. He wanted women to take over the shop for a night, no men allowed. I could do whatever I wanted, but it should be as much of a party as it was about products. With that in mind, I christened it “Sunday Social”, to be held on Sunday nights after the shop is closed. GSC is more than just my local bike shop. It feels like a clubhouse for me. Since it first opened I’ve spent a lot of hours there tipping back beers, talking bikes, and dishing dirt. I wanted other women to feel as welcome there as I did.