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Dulce Ortiz and Wladimir Labraña are the couple behind Atom Cycles, the handmade bicycle building project in Ojo de Agua in the State of México, just outside of México City. What started as a love story between a Mexican woman and a Chilean man isn’t mine to tell, but it resulted in the fusion of the expertise of a graphic designer and a metal construction technician to bring to life fillet brazed bicycle frames, racks, and an expanding range of bicycle accessories.
For our final feature from the 2021 Philly Bike Expo, we’re taking a look at this beautiful Town & Country all-road from LaMarche Bike Co. Tom LaMarche (yes, that Tom LaMarche) has been on and around bikes for a good chunk of his life. In addition to being a sponsored fixed-gear freestyle rider and professional stuntman, Tom recently added framebuilder to his resume. He’s currently offering two framesets – one is a rowdy-looking 27.5″ hardtail and the other is the uber-capable Town & Country. Continue reading below for details on the Town & Country Tom had exquisitely built up for the Expo, as documented by Jarrod Bunk‘s luxe photoset.
Not many fatbikes hold the title of the “first to cross Iceland” but thanks to Burkard and co, Fezzari Bicycles’ newest model, the Kings Peak will proudly wear that crown. The Kings Peak is a full carbon chassis fatbike, with cargo bosses a go-go, a refined geo for off-road touring, and best of all, the complete builds start at $2499. See more at Fezzari.
Leave it to Rivendell to create a new genre of bike design that harkens back to a simpler time in cycling history, while also employing modern production methods and componentry. The Susie W. Longbolts/ Wolbis Slugstone and it’s heavier-duty cousin, the Gus Boots Willsen, are what Rivendell refers to as “hillibikes.” Their design is modern, but their overall concept is influenced by early mountain bikes ridden on Mt Tamalpais, north of San Fransisco, in the ’80s. And, by the way, their names are all anagrams of each other. Rivendell had a decked-out Wolbis at this year’s Philly Bike Expo where Jarrod Bunk caught up with them to photograph the build and learn more about these hillbikes from Rivendell’s Will Keating.
Is it a gravel bike? A drop bar 29er? Or something else entirely? When it comes to the nomenclature surrounding these modern touring bikes, I often scratch my head, pondering an answer to this question. My usual inclination is to envelop these bikes under the umbrella of “adventure bikes” but then this bike landed in my lap. The Otso Cycles Fenrir is aligned with bikes like the Kona Sutra ULTD and the Moots Baxter but Otso did something different – i.e. better – than its competitors. The Fenrir took it up a notch and has utilized boost spacing wheels, which in my mind, put this in the drop bar 29er category.
I’ve had the Fenrir for a while now, have taken it on an overnighter, and have ridden some of my favorite mixed terrain routes here in Santa Fe with it. On washboarded sandy roads to singletrack, doubletrack, and gravel, the Fenrir is a hell of a bike and one that I really resonated with, so let’s check it out in detail below…
We’ve all been tinkering while staying at home during the pandemic. Marco chose the All-City Gorilla Monsoon as the chassis for his newest build project and over the past 18 months, he’s been perfecting the build. Let’s see it in detail below…
Issue 6 of Adom Sale’s Calling In Sick Magazine looks like a great one! If you’re into extreme alternative cycling, head on over to their their website to pick up a copy!
Zach Small’s Amigo Frameworks in Nashville, TN recently announced a preorder for the new uber-adaptable Bug Out gravel bike. Featuring the ability to run one speed or twelve, flat bars or drops, adjustable headtube angle, modifiable wheelbase, and room for up to 700 x 50c tires, the Bug Out is designed to handle pretty much anything thrown at it. Zach had one built-up and on display at this year’s Philly Bike Expo where we were able to take an up-close and detailed look.
Perhaps you’ve seen this bike from 2013? Well, it’s got an interesting story…
“Back in 2013 I was invited to show a bicycle at the Portland Art Museum. I was told there would be a collection of around 40 historic bicycles on display, and there would be space in the foyer for myself and other local builders to show off some of our work. At around this time, hand made bicycles were at the peak of their popularity, and I thought, Wow, this is likely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I mean, how many people get to make something with their own hands and display it in a major museum?”
… and it’s for sale! Ahearne Cycles is asking $24,998 $19,950 for this beauty. If that’s a bit rich for you (it most likely is!) then check out this Page St. Tourer for $3850 and Classic Randonneur for sale ($6950) too!
Did you catch the Homer pre-sale at Rivendell yesterday? No? Don’t know who Rivendell is? C’mon! Check out this fun video sent to us from Eric Marth.
I love my Pelago Rasket on my Crust Bikes Dreamer but one of the things I’m not stoked about it is the limited bag offerings. After reaching out to a variety of bag makers, requesting a “custom” bag for my Rasket, the team at Wizard Works threw its wizard cap into the arena and offered to help me out. Well, after a few months, my Pelagazam bag designed specifically to the dimensions of the Raskett, showed up and I shot some initial photos of this nifty bag this morning, so let’s check it out in detail below!
Arya and Ronnie, the two cuties that are at the front of our bike bag sponsor Ron’s Bikes, invited my partner Karla and me to come over to their event, the Nutmeg Nor’Easter. Described as “the non-competitive alt cycling world championship” and running its fifth edition, this would be the first Nor’Easter after a time where reunions were discouraged, but the organizers still took care of delivering an event 100% outdoors and only for vaccinated people, although no vaccination cards were verified. Because you see, this is the type of gathering where you are trusted to care for yourself and those around you, but in a non-coercive way. For Karla and me this would be our first time not only in Connecticut, but also east of the Rocky Mountains; the first impressions, provided by our Uber trip from the airport at 1 am, made us think we were in a good scenario for which stories, and local tales revealed we weren’t wrong.
Bombtrack has an extensive catalog of dropbar and flat bar bikes ranging from classic touring bikes (pictured, the Arise Tour), gravel, road, hardtails, and rigid MTB tourers. As always, the brand is spot-on with its specs and colors, so if you’re wanting to check out some great bikes this morning, roll on over to Bombtrack to see the full 2022 catalog.
One of the things that caught my eye at this weekend’s NM Bikepacking Summit was Mike, the owner of Broken Spoke in Santa Fe’s custom-built O’Leary rack for his Karate Monkey. Mike really wanted a better way of carrying his essentials, rather than a bikepacking saddle pack. His goal for the rack was to have it be multi-purpose, both designed to carry traditional panniers or as a framework to strap Nalgene bottles to, while allowing for a bedroll or tent to be strapped to the rack’s platform. Depending on how you’re traveling, this opens up the use of a dropper post as well.
Mike went to O’Leary, a custom builder here in Santa Fe, to hash out the design and he whipped it up in a matter of hours. Minimal racks like this offer a simple solution to a very common problem and I thought the readership would be intrigued by this. Check out a few more photos below!
This week’s Readers’ Rides comes all the way from Singapore. Acit’s Stooge Scrambler is super dreamy and he’s done a great job documenting it, so let’s just right in!
Velo Orange’s Crazy Bars have a cult following ranging from commuters to tourers and everything in between. These bars give you the benefit of a riser bar’s riding position with the option for a more aero hand placement. Sure, they look… uhh… crazy but that’s their name, right? For this round, VO widened the bar to 780mm and the sweep has been reduced to a more comfortable 35º. The horns also got massaged by shortening them to 110mm for an overall better riding experience. See more details and on-the-bike photos at Velo Orange.
If you’re looking for a dynamo light-powered commuter or light tourer, then check out the new Standert Bürgermeister*In. Standert really did everything they could to make this bike as versatile as possible. The frame can be built up as 1x, 2x, hub geared, singlespeed, or a Gates Belt Drive. It’ll clear 700x45c and 650x47c tires. The limited-edition (pictured here) features a painted to match one-piece bar/stem. If you’re not feeling this aqua color, there’s also a white and eggplant livery available. Check out all the details at Standert.
If you’re looking for a non-custom and more affordable version of John’s Sklar that we posted today, then check out the newly-released Kona Unit and Unit X. For 2022, these popular models return with the Unit ($1,399) offered as a singlespeed and the Unit X ($1,599) comes with Deore 12-speed. You can even buy a frameset for $699. See all the details at Kona and throw your leg over one at your local dealer.
