The Radavist

A lot of people are offering up deals on their bikes and with their announcement of moving production back to the UK on their front triangles, Starling has a lot riding on this first season of sales. To spice up their already solid deals, they’re offering something special.

Frames are now £1,327.50, that’s 10% off and they’re offering a free custom paint upgrade, worth £120.

TO ORDER: A 25% non-refundable deposit is required to reserve your frame. Once frames are ready to ship, the remaining payment will be requested. Use the code starling2020, at checkout. This will reduce your basket total by 75%, allowing you to pay a 25% deposit.

They will then invoice you for the remaining 75% once frames are ready to ship.

See more information at Starling Cycles and check out John’s review of the Murmur Factory from 2019 and his own bike review to get a sense of what these bikes truly are.

Starling Cycles has been busy ramping up for the 2020 production year. When John bought his Murmur, there were two options: made in the UK front triangle or the made in Taiwan complete bike, aka the Factory Murmur. Joe from Starling decided to switch back to a made in UK front triangle for 2020, for various reasons which he outlines in this video. As always, Starling Cycles ships to the USA. Just don’t use the USPS. ;-)

Fustle Bikes is a new brand out of the UK, bringing MTB design and pedigree to the world of gravel bikes. Their flagship model, the Causeway, features a modern fit, with a 69º head angle, a 73º seat angle, 430mm stays, and a longer reach. The Causeway is designed to be ridden with a shorter stem, much like a modern mountain frame and comes in three sizes, S/M, M/L, L/XL with a fourth, XS/S coming in September 2020.

Features:
–  6061 Aluminium frame, (tested to ISO 4210 MTB Certification)
–  Full UD Carbon Fork and Steerer
–  12x142mm and 12x100mm axle spacing
–  Dropped Top Tube for dropper-post compatibility
–  Internal Cable routing and dropper post routing
–  31.6mm Seat post diameter
–  Tyre clearance for 700x50mm (650x 2.1”)
– Red, Green, or Blue frameset color options
– Frameset £849.99, build kit similar to as shown £1999.99 with plenty of upgrades from Shimano, Pro, Hunt, ENVE, DT Swiss.

Check out more information at Fustle Bikes and see more photos below!

For almost two years, Restrap has been developing their new Adventure Race Range with their sponsored athletes. This lineup consists of one “on-body”, a musette, and four “on-the-bike” products including the Race Top Tube, Race Frame Bag, Race Saddle Bag, and Race Aero Bar Bag.

These bags were built with the highest quality, lightweight materials, from CNC/laser cutting techniques, and the entire lineup weighs less than 1kg in total. See the full lineup at Restrap.

Features:
-X21 waterproof materials
-210 denier nylon
-Hypalon
-YKK zips
-Reflective detailing

With the growth of disc brakes in the road and gravel market, center-lock rotors have become a standard. So much so that Hope recently launched their own Road CL rotors. Hope took their stylish and strong disc design, complete with floating technology and combined them onto a splined spider.

160mm – RRP £65.00 // €80.00 // $82.50(ex tax)

Key Features
-Round edge braking surface
-The rotor is machined with a radius on the inner and outer edge
-2 piece floating design
-Available in 6 standard colors

It’s been almost a year since NAHBS. I was pretty nervous about going to America, but just before I left I heard that the Dynaplug people; who I’d developed a vague online relationship with, were here in London so we met up for fish and chips. Long story short, they were awesome, we really hit it off, and they totally put my mind at ease about my trip. We made plans to meet again in Chico while I was there, but my whirlwind schedule around NAHBS and subsequent road trip with the legendary Anna Schwinn (which was probably one of the best things I’ve ever done in my life) didn’t allow time-wise.

If you live in the UK and have been hankering for some local bikepacking and gravel coverage, then check out Unpaved, the new podcast from Katherine Moore! Unpaved Podcast investigates the the bikepacking and gravel scene with stories of riders, route designers, and their local trails, while exploring the reasons why and how the off-road movement is booming. Read the full press-release below!

At this point, if you’re a MTB company, you need to have a gravel bike in your lineup. While the UK brand Ragley might be known for their Blue Pig 27.5 hardtail and other MTBs, their Trig is a gravel bike that checks a lot of boxes, including a stout carbon fork with cargo cage bosses, fender mounts, and clearance for a 27.5″ x 2.1″ tire.

-5 Year Warranty and lifetime crash replacement
-4130 Chro-mo steel frame & Carbon fork
-ISO 4210 Certified
-Head Angle: 70˚Static
-Effective Seat Angle: 74˚
-Chain stay length: 425mm
-Seat post: 27.2mm
-Front Axle: Ragley 12mm x 100mm Thru-Axle
-Rear Axle: Ragley 12mm x 142mm Thru-Axle
-BB Shell: 68mm BSA
-Headset: ZS44/28.6 | ZS44/40
-Wheel Size: 700c
-Max Tyre Size: 700x40c/27.5×2.1”
-BB Drop: -66mm
-Size Options: S – 19”, M – 20”, L – 21.5”, XL – 23”
-Rack & Fender mounts

Check out more at Ragley!

On the 6th of July 2019, 84 riders arrived at the Scottish city of Inverness to take on the Pan Celtic Race is the longest ultra-endurance race in the British Isles.

We feature a lot of balleur builds here on the Radavist and to be honest, I’m often very conflicted about that! Cycling is about seeing new places, meeting people that can change your life, and getting hooked on endorphins, not $8,000 gravel bikes. Yet, I just tell myself that we try to mix it up as much as possible and it’s great to give framebuilders a showcase so that their work gets out there on the internet for public consumption. Plus, a lot of people use those builds to inspire their own bikes. Then something like the Hope HB.T comes out and suddenly I don’t feel so bad about posting $5,000 road bikes! Check out those prices! Now… who’s gonna put risers and toe clips on it?

Frames
Standard Frameset (Frame, seatpost, Fork, Stem) | £15,550 + VAT
Pursuit Frameset (Frame, Seatpost, Fork, Integrated Stem and Handlebar) | £17,100 + VAT
Upright (Omnium) Frameset (Frame, Seatpost, Fork, Integrated Stem and Handlebar) | £18,200 + VAT
Sprint Frameset (Frame, Seatpost, Fork, Integrated Stem and Handlebar) | £19,600 + VAT

Wheels
Disc Rear                    £2,450 + VAT
Disc Front                    £2,100 + VAT
Trispoke                      £2,250 + VAT

Remember that sick stem caddy bag Wizard Works made for Morgan and Stephanie? Well, the UK-based bag magicians have been very busy designing a new Wald basket bag called the Alakazam with some very unique details. Check out all the info below.

Joe from Starling, the maker of that steel full suspension bike I loved so much, just got interviewed by Global Mountain Bike Network. They ask a simple question: is boutique best?

When it comes to the Olympics, you can expect to see the highest of tech, especially with track bike design. Hope Technology and Lotus Engineering have done just that! Read all about it at Hope’s blog.

Brother Cycles is giving away a Big Bro frameset (size Medium) custom painted by Cole Coatings Workshop – a London-based custom paint specialist. This ‘Big Bruv’ livery features orange and green paint with an elaborate leaf pattern marching across the front of the frame. All you’ve gotta do is sign up for Brother Cycles’ email list by 11:59PM on November 15th.

For the Hell of It takes on the Second City Divide, a 600km between Glasgow and Manchester.

Temple Cycles in the UK sponsored a young rider named Jack who wanted to ride self-supported 6000km through Africa. This is his story.

Cotic’s BFe is their veritable do-it-all hardtail trail shredder. The BFe can be built with a 120-160mm fork, 26″x3″ or 27.5″ x 2.6″ tires, with completes starting at £1799 or £549 with 148mm Syntace X-12 thru-axle, Seat QR, chainstay protector, and all your hose clips and parts. The BFe is the UK brand’s answer for a versatile hardtail. See more at Cotic.