The Radavist

Texas isn’t the flat, dusty desert that many believe it is. Well, some areas are exactly that, but there’s massive diversity here. Deep in the Heart of Texas, sandwiched between the Spring Breaker beaches and the deserted desert montañas, sits the Texas Hill Country. Austin perches itself right at the verge of the boundary between the stinging hills to the west and rolling farmland to the east. You’re darn tootin’, it’s one helluva place to be a cyclist. This motley of landscapes calls for a capable bike – fast, light, sturdy, comfy, and most importantly, right at home on all terrains. Enter David Ross’ Gunnar Hyper-X…

We shoot a lot of bikes here on the Radavist. A lot. From my estimates, including tradeshows, and events like the Chris King Open House, or the Moots’ Employee Bikes, and even the Speedvagen Build Off, we shot 220 or so bikes in 2018. That’s a lot of bikes. A lot of details. A lot of component selection, build styles, and uses. From road, to mountain, and everything in between, noting the permutations that exist in this ever-so-special era in the cycling industry, I really feel like we’ve shown you just about everything you could see this year.

Out of those 220 bikes, I looked at the data in the form of traffic metrics, social chatter, and comments to pick the Top 10 Beautiful Bicycles of 2018. While many bikes had a lot of comments, some had higher traffic or social media shares. Compiling all the numbers, a very compelling list was formed. Not included in this lot are bike reviews, of which Morgan’s review of the Midnight Special and Kyle’s review of his Chubby Cosmic Stallion took the highest metrics from all others on this list. I guess they’re in a league of their own!

At any rate, check out the complete Top 10 Beautiful Bicycles of 2018, in no particular order, below!

Anna’s Gunnar Hyper X Covered in Paul Comp
Photos and words by Jarrod Bunk

I’ve seen a lot of bikes built around a theme, one where you wonder where the mind of the person wanders.  This bike is one of those.  Initially, an Ocean Air Cycles Stem Top sparked this build which then turned into one of the best uses for gold and blue ano on a bike.  The mash-up is so good, I had to double take.  Anna’s Gunnar is covered with matching Paul Component from top to bottom, but my favorite pieces are definitely the Klampers. From there its built with a wild set of Gevanalle shfiters, White Industries headset and a mix of SRAM components.

I visited town a little while ago, granted it’s still snowy in some parts of the world, but I’m sure this will be ripping the River Bottoms shortly, probably with some different rubber.  I love this bike!

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Crystal’s Gunnar Not-So-Roadie
Photos and words by Jarrod Bunk

I still remember seeing this frame when I was in District Bicycles this March at the Land Run. You remember that story, right? The muddy as all hell race where I couldn’t feel my hands or feet? Well, anyway, I was at District and I asked, when is that thing going to get built?  I was told it had been there a while, like three years a while.  

Crystal, Bobby’s wife and co-owner / operator of District made the jump to get this built just a few days before Saddle Drive this year, test ride around the block and boxed up for a trip from Oakland California, to Saddle Drive near Truckee.  The 300-ish mile trip took Crystal on some pretty beautiful roads on her way to NorCal over three days. 

During my visit to District Bicycles I felt like Crystal was the glue of the operation and it was great to see her break in this beautiful Gunnar on such an epic journey. Next year, the whole Radavist team needs to make an appearance at the Land Run… Til then, thanks to District for the constant stoke!

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Gunnar Cycles has had some pretty tricked-out bikes featured here on the Radavist over the years, but Jay’s bike holds a special place in my heart. First, you need an introduction to Jay. He’s worked at Topanga Creek Outpost for a few years now, and in his spare time spends hours upon hours exploring the neighboring State and National Parks as part of the Unpredict Your Wednesday outings. Jay is a lover of nature and the magic herb our Mother produces here in California. He’s a smiling soul with love and stoke always present.

Jay’s bike has that special something that stops people in their tracks and requires further visual inquiry. In a world of disc-brake dominated bikes, Jay’s is a Paul Cantilever-equipped machine, with clearance for a 40mm tire and a relaxed road geometry. If it had provisions for racks, it could even pass for a lightweight tourer. That hasn’t stopped him from strapping bikepacking bags on it in the past, however.

This bike looks like a carton of American Spirits, or an old hotel sign in the southwest. It oozes Americana without being overly ostentatious. Like Jay, this bike is best observed and engaged with when you’ve got the time. Jay is moving up to the Bay Area and we’re all gonna miss him down here in Sunny So-Cal. That means it’ll be time to fender up this bad boy, right, Jay?

Made in Waterford, Wisconsin at the Waterford factory, Gunnar has something for everyone in their catalog for sometimes half the price of other US-made frames. Their bikes range from off-road tourers, to all-road bikes to classic road bikes like their Roadie model. With clearance for a 28mm tire, stainless vertical dropouts and a geometry fit for either fast rides or even racing, the Roadie is a die-hard road frame. Some people might race on it, but a majority of customers will buy it as their go-to road cycling frameset.

Matt‘s Roadie is built rather uniquely. Sure the Ultegra group is pretty standard, but his Salsa Cowbell bars, Ruffy Tuffy tires and Carradice bag imply something more. That and that funky Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman in the Michael Keaton Batman movie bar tape just adds a bit of character. It’s hard to say where I’ll see Matt on this bike, but knowing him, it’ll probably be somewhere (high) in the mountains with some burritos stuffed into his saddle pack, waving a Mudfoot flag.