The Radavist

NAHBS is here and already on setup day, it’s evident what bike has dominated the show: the 27.5+ hardtail. While this bike isn’t currently built as one, it can be. Thanks to a new project… Sean from Soulcraft, Cameron from Falconer and a machine shop called E13 have developed a yoke that gives ample clearance for a 27.5+ tire, while still accommodating various crank setups. While you can run a frame such as this as a dedicated 27.5+ bike, Sean wanted people to be able to throw their 29r wheels on it as well.

This detail, along with a stealth dropper, curved seat tube, slack n low geometry provide more than enough opportunities for a highly shredable bike.

Oh and those White Industries cranks… More on those later!

Velocity Dually rims have been helping builders get a little plumper in the realm of rigid mountain bikes. One such builder is Curtis Inglis from Retrotec, who took advantage of the Dually platform with this rather gargantuan 29+ MTB.

Large frames tend to be on the gaudy side, but the Panaracer FatBNimble tires and seemingly-balanced proportions give this bike a rather pleasant stance. You almost don’t notice the gigantic head tube and massive standover.

Long travel, hardtail 27.5 hardtails are by no means new to the world of mountain biking, or NAHBS for that matter. With brands like Chromag, Engin and Breadwinner swearing by this platform, it’s easy to see how their popularity is increasing.

Matter Cycles is a Colorado builder who makes tig welded bikes to get rad on. Collin builds bikes using mostly True Temper tubing, with a few bits of Columbus in the mix. The SlayRide is a 140mm to 150mm travel 27.5 hardtail with internal routing for a dropper, thru-axles and can be built for custom-sizing. I love the yoke, personally.

Head over to Matter Cycles to see their other offerings, if this bike is too rowdy for your taste…

Moots have been making moves over the past year to redefine some of their lineup. Their Psychlo X got an overhaul and inspired the Routt, which then spawned the Routt 45 and while that might be exactly what you want, or need, they also offer custom designs.

This all-road is one of those custom designs and it features one hell of a build kit. That super tricked out ENVE GRD fork made its first appearance on this bike, as well as those new 12mm thru-axle King hubs (more to come on those). One other detail worth noting is the prototype ENVE seat post, with a double clamp mechanism – a vast improvement over the current design.

Overall, this was my favorite titanium bike at the show because it not only looks capable, it looks confident.

Shouts to Mike Cherney for making every. single. one. of those Moots head badges by hand!

You don’t often see track bikes like this at NAHBS. Fixed gears, sure. Street-track bikes, yeah, you bet. But a Czech national track star’s personal race machine? That’s a first for me. Repete Cycles brought this stealthy beast to NAHBS and it won me over.

AX Lightness bar, stem and post, along with Mavic Comete track wheels and an SRM system. This isn’t your typical track bike. Raced by Jan Kraus for Repete, the 21 year old Czech Team Representative has quite the number of accomplishments under his belt. Do they wear belts with skinsuits? See Jan’s track record at the Repete Cycles Facebook.

Now, I’ll admit that the Yo Eddy! 29’r had me pretty stoked but I was more drawn to the 27.5″ version. Not that the 29’r doesn’t look like a great bike, it was just missing something… Something signature and iconically Chris Chance.

Segmented forks made the older Yo Eddy! frames in my opinion and after seeing the rigid 27.5 version at NAHBS, I knew what was missing with the 29r. My rigid Indy Fab was modeled after the old Yo Eddy! frames and it’s long been my favorite MTB. It has an iconic look that feels very Somerville.

Personally, if I were to buy a new Yo Eddy! frame, I would spring for the rigid fork option. Just look at that damn bike! It’s a perfect balance of modern components with just the right amount of throwback style. The build kit rounds out functionality nicely with XTR, a dropper post, brand spankin’ new WTB carbon rims, White Industries hubs and those nice n plump WTB 2.25″ Trail Boss tires.

While the 29r could tackle my local trails with ease, this rigid would make things a lot more interesting. Then, when your wrists and back start hurting, throw a Rock Shox on it and jam on.

Like the big brother of this frame, this one’s a prototype. Custom drawn stays are on the way and the geometry might take a bit of tweaking. Hopefully, me and Mr Yo Eddy! can spend some quality trail time together soon. Keep up to date on all things at Fat Chance Bicycles.

For Mosaic Cycles, they don’t grind gravel, they just go on road rides. Roads that are mostly dirt, so when Aaron decided to make a bike for ‘all-road’ conditions, he didn’t have to change much, aside from tire clearances. He did however add a few braze-ons for versatility reasons. Fender and light rack mounts are the most obvious additions. This particular frameset includes the new Ethic Industries fork. The GS1 is offered both as a steel bike, built from True Temper S3 tubing, or a titanium frame, with a geometry slightly tweaked for off-road or all-road riding.

The GS1 is designed to ride better on those long days in the saddle on dirt. This is one bike that has intrigued me and I’ll be able to actually ride it in the near future as part of a long-term review. Stay tuned…

If you’re intrigued, holler at Mosaic, where they’ll be more than happy to answer your questions or build you a bike of your own.

Sean “Burnsey” Burns builds Oddity Cycles in Fort Collins, CO. He’s an architect, an artist and a furniture designer. His bikes, along with the likes of Black Sheep Bikes, stand out from a lot of traditional lines found in the MTB world. Coincidentally, Sean used a Black Sheep fork and bars on his personal 29+ rigid MTB. The word rigid here is italicized because it’s anything but that. Even with a high volume, low-pressure tire, you can still pick up on the bike flex from the lines and fork. It gives in just the right amount, in the right places.

A few wheelies, hops and manuals post-photo shoot had me digging what Sean has created here: a highly shredable piece of art. Please note that this is Sean’s personal bike, it has dings, dirt and yeah, crochet cozies in it with empty beer cans. I didn’t remove them intentionally. Bikes like this at NAHBS are highly successful tools in showcasing a brand’s intent and I respect that.

This bike is a wedding gift for a woman named Sarah from her husband Josh, who coincidentally bought a Shamrock cross a few years back. Sarah and Josh met at a cross race, and there were exactly 585 days from the time they met, until the day they got married.

Individually painted paper airplanes each represent a day and you guessed it, there are 585 of them on the bike. Sarah wanted a bike that was a race machine during the season and a commuter the rest of the year. Throw some race wheels, swap out a few parts and you’ve got a bike ready for mud.

Andrew Low has been building aluminum frames in San Francisco since 2010. While he’s best known for his track frames, in recent months, he’s branched out into cyclocross and now, road bikes. It’s been a long path for Andrew to get this point, but after many months of design, he felt ready to enter the road market.

This particular frame is a working prototype. The aluminum tube diameters, angles and measurements for production are still being worked out but you can expect a tapered fork and a GXP-style BB. This frame in particular is a 55cm.

SRAM Red 22 and ENVE’s made in the USA rims really vibe with the custom Cadence paint treatment, which was a collaboration between Dustin Klein of Cadence and Andrew himself. I have to say, while this bike wasn’t an official NAHBS bike (it was part of the Cadence clothing booth), it was one of my favorites at the show. Available this summer from LOW.

“The bike is just a vessel in a sea of play” is Machine Cycles’ mantra. Builder Kyle Ward is left-handed, an architect and an artist who happens to enjoy building bicycle frame. From the few moments we spent discussing design and custom bicycles, I could tell Kyle has that special spark that motivates people to do great things. Or at least really beautiful things…

This bike wowed me at first and continued to with each new detail that I discovered. That paint? Inspired by a pair of socks Kyle was wearing the day he painted the bike. The navy blue fork and saddle are beautiful touches and the turquoise notes accent the matte brown. For tubing, there’s a lot going on: True Temper OX Platinum with stainless stays and a custom titanium stem.

Days get long photographing bikes at NAHBS, but this one was a pleasure. That bike has a mean stance, yet a soft and playful demeanor. Machine Cycles has a really great website, so head on over and check it out.

Max Lundbeck brought a rather unique bike to NAHBS this year. A cross bike for himself, this vibrant rig represents his Swedish heritage. His family has a tradition, a heritage box, which represents each male in their family that has had a son. This box dates back to 1797 and its latest entry is Max’s own son.

These names are painted on the seat tube and the frame itself is adorned in the Swedish flag’s colors. For the build itself, Max wanted a cross bike that he could commute on. Hence the fender stand-offs, eating up some of that extra clearance.

Campagnolo Chorus with a Shimano top pull, Brooks Cambium saddle and bar wrap, along with Ruffy Tuffy tires mean this race-ready rig will be rolling smooth year round.

For it being LoveBaum Bicycles‘ first year at NAHBS, I’d say it was a successful one. Winning the “Rookie” award is quite the honor for the framebuilding pairing from Denver. While their curved seat tube track machine was very much about performance and style this bike is all about customization. Chad Lovings, the other half of LoveBaum, recently completed this build, an all-road bike that oozes that ever-present NAHBS panaché.

For starters, the client’s initials have been carved from the seat tube cluster lug. A bold, cursive KP with crisp lug lining is the highlight of the frame, while other details like the internal routing and custom stem are equally as pristine, yet flow so well, they disappear in the overall package.

Built from a True Temper S3 and Nova, Chad used Fillet Pro to create smooth transitions, tube to tube. Finally, a rust orange and forest green sparkle paint job makes this bike pop with gold lug lining and dropout cell fill. For the build kit, the client went with Ultegra Di2, ENVE, Challenge Almanzo tires and Chris King.

Does this bike deserve the “Rookie of the Year” award? Oh yeah…

Curtis Inglis’ company Retrotec is located in Napa Valley, California. Not exactly full fat territory, but as we all know, riding fatbikes can be fun in any terrain. For Curtis, building countless plump-tire bikes finally wore on him, resulting in not only the Best Mountain Bike award, but a new steed in his personal stable.

With a custom-painted Pass and Stow rack, PAUL Klampers, PAUL thru-axles and XTR, it has all the bling of a show bike and the stance of a trail beast. This is my personal favorite fatbike in the show…

I’m not even going to tell you what GRD stands for, because I’m sure you can guess. The newest prototype fork from ENVE is not what it appears to be. Cross fork? Nope. Road fork? Not really. The GRD is a new axle-to-crown dimension, offering a little more clearance than a road fork, yet not as much as a cross fork, at a rake more friendly for road bikes.

It’s that nuanced, middle ground that enough frame builders have requested from ENVE and after a good amount of internal discussion, they’ve finally responded to their demands. Thru-Axle compatible and an integrated, yet removable fender to keep your downtube, feet and legs clean while you’re tearing through muddy, wet roads.

This particular Moots has a few nifty prototype items on it, which I’ll be covering later next week. Detail oriented readers will spot that thru-axle, disc, Chris King hub though…