The Radavist

Hey, #CrossIsHere. Each year, Cross Vegas represents the kick-off for cyclocross racing in the States. Everyone’s stoked, racing new bikes, on freshly trained legs and ready to stare down those beer hand ups (or get beer thrown in their faces). This year, I did things a little differently, focusing more on the singlespeed race and rider / bike portraits. I’ve got more coming from the other races, but for now, enjoy!

Check out more in the Gallery!

People look great on pink bikes. They’re not as ostentatious as red bikes and evoke a certain “fun” energy, especially when they’re pedaled by Ty from Golden Saddle Cyclery. Riding with that dude is always rad and it doesn’t hurt when you get to check out this steed from all angles (including launching into the air).

The Seven Mudhoney is a no-nonsense cross machine. Built from Seven’s Origin™ butted steel, it’s light, responsive and best of all, can be thrashed with ease. Just add some bike control…

Check out more photos in the Gallery!

This is the second pristine Fat Chance to roll through the doors of Golden Saddle Cyclery over the past few months. There’s a local collector who keeps coming upon these gems and builds them up with either NOS components or damn near close. The most recent acquisition is this Team Fat Chance, built with XTR, Kooka, Onza, Machine Tech, Chris King, Syncros and a set of NOS Onza Racing Porcs tires… yeah.

At this point, no one wants to ready any more copy, so check out more photos in the Gallery!

I can’t come to LA and not hang out with Christian, the Golden Saddle Cyclery shop hand. He’s one of the best. After his last frame didn’t work out, he commissioned a builder to fabricate a bike that was closer to what he wanted. In short: a custom FGFS rig. He doesn’t have a name for the frame, so I dubbed it the Toe Breaker. Check out a few photos in the Gallery!

While a track bike with drops and a negative stem look great in photos, the reality is, at a certain point in one’s life, you just wanna cruise. If anyone knows about cruising, it’s Rivendell Cycles and that’s where Jesse picked up these Nitto Bosco Bullmoose bars for his Kinfolk track bike. Personally, I love it. I’m sure it’ll rub the purists the wrong way but they’re not the ones riding in style like this!

In the world of high-end, performance mountain bikes, Santa Cruz wears a crown. Maybe not as a ruler of all, but most certainly the world of the 29’r. When the Tallboy was first released, it was widely praised as the first 29’r that actually exceeded expectations.

I’m not a jealous person, but I must say, Lyle’s Tallboy LTC is one balleur bicycle. With a component list like Chris King, SRAM XX1, Rock Shox 150mm Pike and even that stubby Thomson MTB stem, this bike has seen it all. Well, as far as the Trans-Provence, Swiss Alps, Chamonix and riding in Åre, Sweden for the whole summer shooting the Acre line is concerned. The dude and this bike are living the dream.

After quite a few emails, requesting detail shots of this bike, I took a few minutes to shoot some photos prior to our ride in Glarus… Check out more in the Gallery!

The Fulton Brewery Racing Team is a Minneapolis-based cross team that All-City sponsors and this year, Jeff decided to do something extra special for them. He took a batch of Nature Boy Zonas (before they all sold out) and painted them in the Fulton Brewery livery. That means they fly under the green, black and white colors (and get discounted beer). Win / win.

Then, Jeff did something very un-Jeff. He put a carbon fork on a bike that wasn’t engineered for one. Oh noes! Joking aside, Jeff and I always get into this debate. Personally, I think it looks rad! The Whisky Parts No7 forks are something to desire, especially when painted to match the rest of the bike.

I love what All-City is doing with the Fulton Brewery Racing Team and it makes me want to drink a Lonely Blonde right now. Check out more photos in the Gallery, including a shot of the new All-City Crossing Guard and rings.

For the past seven years, Scott and Dickon from Santa Cruz have spent their post-Eurobike recovery in the hills and mountains of the Black Forest, just outside of Freiburg, Germany. Coincidentally, when Lyle from Mission Workshop and myself had a few extra days laying around before our Alps tour began, they invited us to join them.

That meant traveling from Glarus to Freiburg, before heading back to Zurich on Wednesday. That meant a lot of driving but surely it would be worth it. All the details and accommodations were made. Scott and Dickon knew were to stay, where to eat and were mostly familiar with the trails… What other reasons did we need? Back to Germany we go!

Yesterday morning, we engorged ourselves with one of the best hotel breakfasts I’ve had before beginning our journey. I suited up in the new Acre gear, tuned my bike and hopped off through town before we all found ourselves in a tower of switchbacks up and out of the valley.

The Black Forest is a sacred place, filled with lore and mythology. While we saw no Slender Man, or nymphs, I could feel the presence of something the whole day and it wasn’t the eggs from breakfast… Nature still owns the forest. The trees hummed and resonated with the wind. If you break yourself off here, there’s no telling what would happen to you once the sun settled in for the evening.

After a mild case of “lostness” and bordering on bonking, the whim to “take the other trail” turned our planned 3-hour jaunt into an 8-hour expedition through the absolutely stunning trail system. Some were extremely technical and steep, while others were fast and smooth. Then we hit the backside of Kandel with its fast, steep and rocky descents. We all wished we had pads…

We got a taste of everything and for me, the technical, rocky terrain was just a teaser for what awaits in the Alps. The total for the day was about 35 miles and 4,900′ and today, my legs are thanking me.

Check out some narrated photos in the Gallery!

It’s been a long two years for Ben from Argonaut Cycles but if he’s learned anything along the way it’s this: hard work and dedication pay off. In a lot of ways, the Argonaut Cycles road bike embodies the height of carbon fiber manufacturing. While this bike in particular might look like others that have been on the site, countless, minute changes have gone into making it unique. The design process and the final product are always improving.

Manufacturing in the USA allows Ben to tweak the layup process and continuously offer his clients the best carbon fiber road frame. Ben’s a good friend and personally, I’m very partial to Argonaut, so I took this bike out of the Eurobike tradeshow to photograph it. See more in the Gallery!

Look, Eurobike is hella Euro and fluoro. I’m not interested in Cube’s offerings, or other large batch bike. I want to see how the smaller shops and distributors are tackling one of the most elusive offerings: the production steel road bike.

Crema Cycles seems to have their solution going in the right direction. Take this Columbus and True Temper mixed road frame. My size, Campagnolo 11, ENVE and Chris King throughout.

This bike is straight forward, lightweight and elegant without being ostentatious. So is there a down side? Not really. Other than I’d like to see one or two nice details to separate this frame from the rest out there but that’s always the challenge.

The Crema bikes look very simple. Something you’d not only travel with, but not cringe about locking up, depending on the build kit (those wheels!). That’s something I can appreciate. Check out more of this very nice bicycle in the Gallery!

Guten tag! I have found the internet…

It’s Eurobike and I have no idea what to do here. Well, that’s not true, I have a few clever posts up my sleeve. After 12 hours of madness, I’ve made my way through most of the show, ran into some people, saw some cool shit, exhausted my shutter finger and the first flask filling #FFF. I managed to get some great shots, including the new White Industries anodized hubs, the return of turquoise Chris King, some rad Tune products, a sexy LOOK, Bear Grease, #Partybrand, body-painting, AWOL, beer, beer and beer.

While I’m working on more content, how about some randomness from the first day? I thought so…

Everything thing you’ve heard of Eurobike is true, including the horribly-spotty wifi. But don’t worry, I’m spending all my time shooting photos and catching up with friends, including Erik from Sweden. He and his wife, Sofia stayed with me two years ago in Austin and since then, he’s toured extensively throughout the USA, relocated to Zurich and is a lead designer at Specialized, where he spearheaded the AWOL project.

The AWOL is a light, sleek and very Euro-styled touring bike. While Erik’s main rig is on display at the Specialized booth, he stripped down one of the first prototypes and brought it along with him to ride around. After a few beers, we went out back and shot some photos of the bike. I’ve gotta admit, it’s one of my favorite touring rigs!

Check out more in the Gallery!

To visit Gene and the crew at One on One is to visit a mountain bike museum of sorts. Gene used to race for Bridgestone back in the 80’s. His many bikes line the walls and ceilings of this mecca for dirt heads in the midwest and beyond. But One on One is much more than a MTB specific shop, it’s a cultural hub in Minneapolis, an icon of urban cycling and for many, a local bike shop. Add in a coffee shop and cycling memorabilia to the mix and you’re bound to spend some time walking up and down the space over and over again.

I spent a lot of time at One on One talking to Gene and Cars are Coffins-founder Hurl. Those two guys are some of the most sincere pedal-philes I’ve met. If you live in Minneapolis and haven’t been by, you should! If you’re nice, maybe Gene will let you into the basement. Don’t worry, it’s not that creepy…

While I was there, I shot a few photos in the shop, check them out in the Gallery!