The Radavist

In a lot of ways, my first Geekhouse Woodville touring bike served as a catalyst for me taking cycling more seriously. It was my first custom bike and provided me with ample motivation to just get out there and ride. The first major tour being Portland to SF and from there, I took it on numerous other trips here in Austin. When it was stolen last year, I began planning out a replacement with Geekhouse. There were some things I wanted to change, but mostly I just missed having a touring bike to ride around on.

As it sat en queue, I couldn’t decide on how I wanted it to function. Initially, I wanted a dirt-drop 29’r pack-bike tourer for riding the MTB trails here in town, but then my Independent Fabrication took over that role, so I revisited what I loved the most about my first touring bike. The riding position is what I would consider traditional but having acquired the Bruce Gordon Rock n Road tires, I wanted to make sure it would roll at least a 50c. I also opted for external cable routing and passed on the S&S couplers.

I’ve had great luck with the SRAM XO rear derailleur and its 11-36 range matched with a compact crank. This time I went with White Industries VBC system and a Force front derailleur, converted to a top-pull. With a 50 outer ring and 32, inner, I’ll have a wider range than I would with a triple. Chris King classic hub on the rear and a SON hub with matching Edelux lamp on the front for light.

Paul components throughout: Tall and Handsome post, Touring Cantis. Other components include a Thomson seat post collar, Brooks Swift saddle, Salsa Cowbell 2 with SRAM barcons, TRP levers and MKS Lambda pedals. With all the Made in the USA bling, I got Marty and Brad at Geekhouse to fabricate a one-off custom stem as well as front and rear racks. The beauty of the front racks lie in their low-rider detachable hangers on the front…

I always load front and low on trips. The bike rides a lot better since the handling isn’t compromised as it would with a rear load and these low-riders are low. My large panniers sit about 6″ off the ground, which is perfect on a 43c tire. On top of just looking amazing, these racks weighed a lot less than the Tubus system I had been using previously. The fork is another highlight: internal cable routing for the Edelux lamp and the segmented shoulders have rack attachments.

Even with all those details and that component list, a build can still go south with a bad powder job. Brad really knocked this one out of the park. Olive Drab green with a matte clear adds to the utilitarian / military aesthetic I wanted. I’ve been scooting around town a lot on this beaut and took it on a few trail rides last week and am in love. Even the ride out to shoot these photos was super dreamy…

I still need to dial it in though. The derailleur cables are now routed under the tape, mostly to make it easier to mount a Swift Industries Ozette randonneur bag. I’ll also need to splice some more chain so I can use the 50t with more of the cassette but for now, it’s riding really well.

That said, it’s not a touring bike until you’ve at least camped on it and summertime in Texas will provide ample opportunities. Right now, I’m just pumped that it came together so well. Many thanks to PAUL, Bens Cycle, Chris at Mellow Johnny’s and the Geekhouse crew for making yet another dream come true.

… also, buy renter’s insurance! Most plans will cover your bikes when they’re stolen!

Andrew Low has been working on a prototype track frame unlike any of his other bikes. These frames are simply put: team-edition racing machines. Some details are consistant with his other bikes, while others are not. Marc’s LOW is one of four in existence, being raced by Team Chica Sexy in SF. The geometry is true track, with steep angles, a short wheelbase and an aggressive saddle to bar drop. You can barely see the compact geometry in these photos but the top tube does indeed slope back.

Marc brought this bike out one of the last days I was in SF so I could shoot photos of it and from what I can tell over on the LOW Instagram, these are getting closer to production…

Tools of the trade:
Mamiya 7ii / 80mm
Kodak Portra 400

My Icarus Viking MAX track bike was incapacitated for a few months while the fork sat en queue at Fresh Frame. After a lot of surface rust started to form around the shorelines, I felt it best to just get it painted, if anything, for the longevity of the bike. Since this bike has one of the uber-rare Chris King stainless steel headsets, I got Bryan Myers from Fresh Frame to polish the stainless crown to match and he even added a little bit of wood inlay in the lug window. I have to admit, I wasn’t completely stoked on the wood inlay but It’s growing on me.

This bike has proven to be one of my favorites in the stable and why wouldn’t it be? It’s a classic track bike with some very unique detailing…

This bike was a huge hit when I first posted it back in January. Kevin took his new Cinelli Mash track bike to West Coast Hydrographix for a appliqué of Real Tree camo. I got to see this bike in person yesterday and had to shoot some photos of it. Check out more detail photos in the gallery!

Ok, brace yourselves here. This bike is absolutely stunning. It’s no secret that Jordan Hufnagel made some Beautiful Bicycles in his days as a frame builder and I feel like in the last few months of his torch time, the bikes he built were so full of class and character. Ty’s cross, his own porteur and Jesse’s “Fire Road Racer”.

When you are from LA, you’re very familiar with the various fire roads and singletrack off-shoots. After spending time on his road bike, carefully descending down these rutted and rocky descents, Jesse decided it was time for a more fitting vehicle… See more in Gallery!

Talk to anyone on the US Olympic track team and they’ll tell you that Woody’s one solid wrench. Not only that, but he holds down the repairs at Golden Saddle Cyclery and coaches in his part time. Bottom line, Woody’s one solid fella who knows his way around the velodrome.

After recovering from a MTB wreck, where he broke his femur and clavicle, Jeff from All-City set him up with an Thunderdome track frame to aid in his physical therapy. With a machine like this, no one would need any more encouragement to hit the boards. This was one of the first track bikes I’ve shot where the tires weren’t allowed to touch the ground, save for the photos…

This has got to be one of my favorite cross bikes I’ve photographed since Ty’s Hufnagel. Raffy’s tale is a unique one, just like his Stinner. He works at Euro Asia and is arguably responsible for gumwall tires being distributed in the continental United States. While the specifics of that are still a but fuzzy, this bike is anything but. Clean, sharp lines mixed in with great paint and a pretty rad build list. See for yourself in the Gallery.