The Radavist

This year’s Chris King Open House chose 18 builders from all over the world to display their new colors for 2020: Bourbon and Violet. Thanks to ENVE, Santa Cruz Reserve, SRAM, Brooks, and Spurcycle. these bikes were built out appropriately for such a showcase. Below is a gallery of half the bunch, in alphabetical order for your enjoyment, with each builder’s description of the bikes. Make sure you comment on your favorite because there is some gold in these galleries!

ENVE has been supporting frame builders, both in the US and internationally for years now and has developed a symbiotic relationship with these artisans, who choose to put their forks, bars, and wheels on customer’s build kit lists. With this catalog of talent at their fingertips, they decided to have an Open House to celebrate not only their factory and offices in Ogden, Utah but the frame builders who choose ENVE to build out their complete bikes.

Over the next two mornings, we’ll look at a list of 20 frame builders’ bikes, in galleries filled with so many Beautiful Bicycles it’ll leave your mouth watering. Up first is Prova, Holland, Alchemy, Salt Air, Mosaic, Pursuit, English, Speedvagen, Bingham, and Allied.

For 2017, Mosaic has launched a new paint program with multiple tiers of finish offerings. Customers can now choose between 30 colors and 6 layouts, making their bike unique. The paint is executed by the newly-acquired Spectrum, which Mosaic owner Aaron Barcheck purchased last year. While the Spectrum label is under Aaron’s control, it is still a separate entity from Mosaic.

This year at NAHBS, Aaron brought his fendered road bike with Dura Ace Di2. By utilizing ENVE’s GRD fork and fender attachment, this bike will be good on the Colorado roads throughout the spring.

Aaron Barcheck and his team at Mosaic never cease to amaze and impress at NAHBS. For them, they don’t need to go over the top on show bikes because their work is just that: over the top. It’s the “every bike is a show bike” mentality. This minty green RS-1 road bike, with painted to match Silca frame pump is for Velo Smith in Chicago.

Brooke is an experienced cyclist and when the time came to order a custom ‘cross bike for not only racing but everyday dirt riding in San Francisco, she contacted Aaron and his team at Mosaic Cycles to get her fit on a custom XT1 disc ‘cross.

You see, for someone with Brooke’s proportions, it’s hard to fit on a stock bike from many of the big-named companies, so a custom bike which would be tailored to her body seemed like an obvious choice. She didn’t just want to fit on a bike, she wanted the bike to fit her. The end result was a confidence inspiring feel without toe overlap and enough standover to make unexpected dismounts easy. Key build details are the SRAM Red 165mm cranks (since Force CX1 doesn’t come in that length, that new and fancy TRP thru-axle ‘cross fork and some great I9 to Pacenti wheels.

When Brooke and her friend Tessa were in Los Angeles for a wedding, I met up with them to go on a quick ride and couldn’t resist documenting this bike, but bringing my camera along for a little sunset ride…

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.

For Boulder, Colorado’s Mosaic Cycles, the Rouge Roubaix Builder Challenge was the perfect epilogue for the 2015 North American Handmade Bicycle Show. Many of the bikes featured at NAHBS found their way to the RRBC and rightfully so. Why build something if it’s not meant to be ridden… Into. The. Ground.

The Mosaic line is divided into a number of specific uses. There’s a binomial nomenclature of sorts, or a key, to deciphering what bike is made for what and out of what material. Each member from Team Mosaic chose a bike that best fit their riding style. Be it steel or titanium, disc or rim brake, each of these bikes were built specifically to reflect their own preference.

As for the application process and the overall team, Aaron selected Boulder shredmeister Brandon Newcomer on an RS-1 (road steel), Velo Magazine correspondent Spencer Powlison on an RS-1 and finally, Derek Yarra, the RRBC winner on an RT-1d (road titanium disc), which matches Aaron’s own bike selection.

Derek and Aaron’s bikes will fit a fat, plump tire and because titanium is a naturally forgiving material, they offered a bit of compliance during the 100 mile race. If you’d like a further break down on each of these riders and their bikes, head to Mosaic to read up.

… there’s more coming soon on what else Mosaic brought with them: a wild card group of ladies…

As for Derek’s RT-1d, it’s built with Shimano Ultegra Di2, R685 hydraulic road disc brakes, Shimano Pro Vibe cockpit, and Shimano RX80 tubeless-ready wheels. My personal favorite detail: the Shimano mtb pedals!

Team Mosaic would like to thank Shimano, q36.5 Kits and Rothera Caps.

With special emphasis on hard tail… This Mosaic MT1 is unique.

Kyle’s no stranger to xc racing. He’s competed in – and won – a number of state and regional championships and has been climbing the ranks of the local race series. The angles on this bike are very XC-race specific (72.5 STA 70.5 HTA) and the parts were specified for, you guess it, racing. Just look at that cassette. That’s how someone who usually races singlespeed in the geared category – and wins – specs a cassette.

Sure, the 3T bars are a bit narrow by today’s standards, but as a XC racer, Kyle knows exactly what he wants. Take for example, the detail that stands out the most, the integrated seat post, something you don’t often see in a MTB. In fact, Mosaic doesn’t traditionally make ISPs on their mountain frames and for good reason. If you hit a drop and land on the saddle awkwardly, you could kink or worse, break it.

Prior to building the bike, Aaron from Mosaic double checked that Kyle knew what he was doing. From there, the seat tube was reinforced and Kyle’s bike was ready to go. I love the curves and tubing diameter of titanium mountain bikes and this hard, hardtail has got to be one of the more unique custom frames I’ve shot this year.

In Austin, Mosaic Cycles can be ordered through Austin Bikes.