#gravel-bike

Radar

Stayer Cycles New Groadinger UG Gravel Bike

Made in their Leytonstone, East London workshop, in small batches, the new Groadinger UG frame from Stayer Cycles offers up a modern gravel geometry, frame details for ultra-versatile builds, and a beautiful finish, with a wishbone seat stay. Stayer offers these new frames in two build kits as well with the ultra-sporty HOPE superfast Grav Grav build (pictured above) or the Danglemug realness double camo build (pictured below) with an olive drab paint and a double crankset.

Pricing for a frameset with either a Ritchey or Whisky fork begins at £1,650.00, with a pre-order opened now. The next batch of UGs will be ready to paint the last week of August 2020. The Stayer pre-order will close on August 1st.

Head to Stayer Cycles to see more!

Radar

Factor’s LS Gravel Bike is a Race Machine

Designed for those super intense, high-speed gravel races, the Factor LS is their stiffest gravel bike yet, engineered for big rides and races, with 42mm of tire clearance, 1x and 2x electronic or mechanical drivetrains, hidden fender mounts, and a chainsuck protector. Stiff carbon bikes might not be for everyone but for those who love the feel, the LS is their newest ally. Head on over to Factor to see more.

Radar

Velo Orange: Pass Hunter Pre-Order

Velo Orange has put a ton of time in designing their Pass Hunter frame, which we’d call a sportif or endurance road bike but don’t let that limit its possibilities. You could ride a randonneuring event with it, take it on some light touring, or a club ride.

The Pass Hunter is a DIY project, offering up a utilitarian frameset with details galore.

They’re currently running a pre-order for these frames for only $695.00, with an arrival of November 2020, so head to Velo Orange to familiarize yourself with this versatile frameset.

Specs:
-Frameset material: 4130 double butted chromoly steel
-Fork: 1 1/8″ -> 1 1/2″ tapered threadless, 4130 double-butted chromoly steel
-Wheel Size: 650b or 700c
-Tire Clearance: 650Bx47mm or 700x32mm w/ fenders
-Rear Spacing: 12x142mm thru-axle
-Front Spacing: 12x100mm thru-axle
-BB: English threaded 68mm
-Brakes: Flat Mount disc, 140mm rotor compatible
-Seatpost size: 27.2mm, non-integrated seat collar (not included)
-Front Derailleur Size: 28.6mm
-Water bottle mounts: Double on top of downtube, under downtube, and on seattube
-Fender bosses: seat stay bridge, chainstay bridge, under fork crown
-Rear Dropouts: Vertical with aluminium alloy replaceable hanger
-Frame Eyelets: Single eyelets on rear dropouts for fenders, internal eyelets on seat stays
-Fork Eyelets: Double eyelets on fork dropouts for racks and fenders, triple thru-bosses on the blades for cargo cages, hourglass braze-on for Randonneur Rack
-Rear Brake Routing: Easy internal routing for rear brake cable housing/hydraulic tubing
-Paint: Cool Blue or Burgundy Red with metallic VeloORANGE logo

Radar

DIYDK: Colorado to Kansas with Alex Howes

“I’ve always looked out to the east, where the Earth’s curvature is pronounced, and wondered. Living at the base of the Rocky Mountains, in Boulder, Colorado, sometimes feels like being at the edge of a vast ocean. Well, at one point in geological history, it was, but now Eastern Colorado is a sea of grass. I wanted to see what was out there.

With little warning or time to prepare, I stumbled upon an opportunity to immerse myself in that unknown swath of plains. I had a chance to ride my bike to Kansas.

My friend Alex Howes posted something coy about the route on Instagram. “Plotting a long bomb,” he wrote in the caption. I texted to ask if he was really doing what I thought he was doing. He was. I asked what I meant to be a leading question: “You doing it alone?” His reply: “That’s the plan for now.” Then, “Want to come swap turns for 12hrs?”

I had about four days to get ready. I was in, 100%.”

Check out the full story at the Pro’s Closet!

Reportage By: John Watson

Is it a Gravel Bike? Andy’s Drop Bar 8-Speed 1996 Ibis Mojo

“Gravel bikes are just XC bikes from the 1990s.” “What is this, a 90s XC bike?” “Everything old is new again!”

Read any “gravel” bike review here and you’ll see some version of one of these statements in the comments section. People love to say that modern gravel bikes are just mountain bikes from the 1990s. Well, I hate to break it to ya but they’re not. They might be the same in that a 1996 Lemond road bike is like a 2020 Specialized Roubaix. It has two wheels, a crank, bars, seatpost, and a saddle, plus a lot of other parts but let’s be honest, nuanced bike design is a lot of what we cover here at the Radavist.

This is a 1996 Ibis Mojo built up like a “gravel bike” and yeah, it might be similar in spirit but there’s a lot going on here. Let’s take a closer look…

Reportage By: John Watson

1×13 Shifting with Rotor on the Merlin Bikes Sandstone Gravel Bike

Hydraulic shifting? 13 speeds? What in tarnation?

That’s what was going through my head when I first saw Rotor’s 13-speed drivetrain kit at Sea Otter last year. The 1×13 kit is a follow up to Rotor’s Uno 2x groupset from four years ago. Like the Uno, the 1×13 uses hydraulically-actuated shifting for a groundbreaking industry first. As you might imagine, this tech is pricey, and probably not for everyone, myself included, but over the past few months, I’ve enjoyed riding it on this beautiful titanium chassis by none other than Merlin Bikes. Check out a full review of Rotor’s 1×13 and the Merlin Sandstone Gravel bike below.

Radar

3T’s Exploro Race and Max Models

3T’s Exploro frame and its many build kit and frame iterations have been crowd favorites since it first dropped into the gravel scene a few years back. Their two newest builds offer a “Race” or a “Max” configuration with the “Race” being streamlined around 42mm tires and the “Max” offering a plump, 61mm tire options. See all the juicy details at 3T.

Reportage By: john watson

Rebounding with the 2020 Cannondale Topstone 650b and its All-Carbon Lefty Oliver Fork

Out of all the bikes I personally reviewed or even rode last year, the Cannondale Topstone carbon was not my favorite. Yet, I really loved the 2018 aluminum Topstone! Go figure. As I stated in the initial review, it felt too gimmicky for all the engineering that went into it. I felt like it was lacking something extra to truly make it stand out from Cannondale‘s history of making kooky, yet practical suspension bikes. A whole year has passed but my wish would finally come true. Was it worth the wait or the extra engineering? Read on below to find out.

Radar

Readers’ Rides: Marko’s Karussell Gravel Bike

This week’s Readers’ Rides features Marko‘s Karussell, a frame builder from Slovenia, gravel bike with photos by David Krevs from Karussell and words by Marko, himself. Enjoy!

So this is my only drop bar bike at the moment and I wanted it to be as versatile as possible so that I can use it for road rides, gravel grinding, bikepacking, and even an occasional cyclocross race. I have two sets of wheels for it – 650b with wider tires for bikepacking and harsh terrain, and 700c for everything else.

Reportage By: john watson & travis hallmark

Tomii Cycles Showcase: Kevin’s Gravel Packer

This year was to be the first year Nao Tomii of Tomii Cycles was going to attend NAHBS. For a small builder like Nao, spending the kind of money it takes to pull a seat up to the table of the USA’s largest hand made bicycle show takes a lot of financial planning, so when NAHBS was postponed this year, Tomii Cycles wouldn’t be able to attend. Most builders display customer’s bikes at NAHBS and asking his clients to wait four more months for their bikes, especially during a pandemic was out of the question. I reached out to Nao and asked if we could display his bikes here at the Radavist, so this week, we’re doing just that. Here’s Kevin’s Gravel Packer, complete with paint by Jordan Low and Andrew the Maker bags…

Reportage By: john watson & travis hallmark

Tomii Cycles Showcase: Fat Canvas for SRAM

This year was to be the first year Nao Tomii of Tomii Cycles was going to attend NAHBS. For a small builder like Nao, spending the kind of money it takes to pull a seat up to the table of the USA’s largest hand made bicycle show takes a lot of financial planning, so when NAHBS was postponed this year, Tomii Cycles wouldn’t be able to attend. Most builders display customer’s bikes at NAHBS and asking his clients to wait four more months for their bikes, especially during a pandemic was out of the question. I reached out to Nao and asked if we could display his bikes here at the Radavist, so this week, we’re doing just that…

Reportage By: John Watson

Tomii Cycles Showcase: Blake’s Gravel Hunter

This year was to be the first year Nao Tomii of Tomii Cycles was going to attend NAHBS. For a small builder like Nao, spending the kind of money it takes to pull a seat up to the table of the USA’s largest hand made bicycle show takes a lot of financial planning, so when NAHBS was postponed this year, Tomii Cycles wouldn’t be able to attend. Most builders display customer’s bikes at NAHBS and asking his clients to wait four more months for their bikes, especially during a pandemic was out of the question. I reached out to Nao and asked if we could display his bikes here at the Radavist, so this week, we’re doing just that, beginning with Blake’s Gravel Hunter, complete with custom Andrew the Maker bags and a stunning paint job by Jordan Low. Sit back and enjoy clicking through these beautiful photos of an equally as beautiful bicycle…

Reportage By: John Watson

Learning from Los Angeles: Into the Verdugo Mountains with SRAM

I was an architect in my previous life. Before I began documenting cycling culture. One of my favorite architectural theorists is a fella named Rem Koolhaas. In his book, Delirious New York, he claims that “A city is a plane of tarmac with some red hot spots of urban intensity”. While the book is an examination of New York City, many have applied this observation to the sprawling city of Los Angeles.

Radar

You Can Now Order the Black Cat Bicycles Hello Monsta! Gravel Bike

Black Cat Bicycles presents the 2020 edition of the Hello Monsta! The perfect gravel bike scaled up. Designed around 27.5 x 2.4” tires, but fully compatible with 700 x 40mm tires(!) without compromise to chainstay length, bb height, or steering trail dimensions. Let’s get real. Most of these features are ancillary to the fact that this bike just rips. The Hello Monsta! is great for exploring chunky backcountry, touring the world, or rallying your local favs. We shot this bike at NAHBS and it got a lot of attention. It’s finally available for ordering!

The frame and fork set will have the following features and specs:
-Custom sized frame and fork, tailored for you
-110 x 15 and 148 x 12 hub spacing-mtb boost
-1x or 2x drivetrain
-27.5 x 2.4” tires
-73mm British threaded bottom bracket shell
-1 1/8″ threadless unicrown fork for maximum ride quality
-front and rear flat caliper mounts for maximum versatility
-27.2 or 30.9 seatpost, internal dropper port if desired
-S bend seatstays
-Art School dropouts or Swinger single speed dropouts
-Custom blended rugged tubeset for aggressive riding
-Cable or electronic shifting
-Drop or flat handlebar
-Dear Landlord rack available, but not included
-Original paint always available and starts at $1000
-$4600 frame and fork. White Industries custom crankset and headset included.

Radar

The Knolly Cache Steel is In Stock

Remember Morgan’s review of the Titanium Knolly Cache? It dropped here on the Radavist just a few months after the Knolly Cache steel was announced. That was back in August of last year. Knolly finally announced they have stock of the Steel Cache, including two build kits and a frameset. You can buy the Steel Cache with a GRX 810 group for $3788, or a GRX 600 for $2899, and the frameset for $1250. Head on over to Knolly to see the component breakdown for each build kit and check out Morgan’s review of the Titanium Cache for a refresh on how capable this bike is.

Radar

Specialized Listened: the New Diverge Comes in a Flat Bar Expert E5 EVO Model

Remember Sarah’s SIQuoia flat bar? I like to think that builds like that prompted Specialized to experiment with their newly-launched Diverge line announced today. Nestled in the EVO line – the catalog reserved for experimentation – the new Diverge EVO joins the newest in Diverge tech with a flat bar package suitable for singletrack riding. This model retails for $2,600 and the EVO Comp model retails for $1,600. The only bummer is that these flat bar aluminum frame models lack the SWAT storage the carbon models use. Now the next question is, when will Specialized release an Aero-Bar build kit like Sarah’s?

Check out the full lineup at Specialized.

Specs:
-E5 Aluminum frame
-Future Shock 2.0 with an adjustable hydraulic damper offering 20mm of travel
-Shimano XT 1×12
-Magura MT4 brakes.
-X-Fusion Manic dropper
-Rhombus 42mm gravel tires
-DT Swiss G540 alloy wheels.

Radar

3T Gets Back to Work and Raffles Off a Harlequin Exploro Arlecchino

Italy is loosening up their restrictions and today is the first day 3T is returning to their production facilities in Bergamo, Italy. The entire team is donning PPE and getting back to making bikes and cranks. On the docket for today is to kick-start production of their popular Torno Cranks and to give away this special edition Harlequin Exploro Arlecchino!

A little backstory here. Bergamo, 3T’s hometown, is where the medieval Harlequin was born. 3T chose Harlequin’s outfit to dress their Exploro in this bright paint job. Now, it might be a little much for some of you, but who looks a gift horse in its mouth? Especially with a build kit like that!

This bike is built with a Sram Force/Eagle AXS 12-speed electronic group, 3T DiscusPlus i28 LTD carbon wheels, the latest 3T Aeroghiaia handlebar, and the VERY FIRST Torno crank that comes out of our re-started factory today. The total value is EUR/USD $8,500 and you can enter to win this bike for free. All you’ve got to do is sign up for 3T’s mailing list.

Reportage By: John Watson

Search and State, Mosaic, and Black Oak Velo GT-1 Bikes

With NAHBS being delayed for the foreseeable future, we’re getting a lot of showcase builds sent to us to share. For framebuilders, shops, and companies, a lot of energy goes into NAHBS bikes each year, so not being able to show them off can be a huge hit to their plans. Luckily, we support NAHBS, framebuilders, and small brands, so this is a perfect fit for us. This round, we’re looking at these collaboration bikes from Search and State, Mosaic, and Black Oak Velo.