The Radavist

Once again, the Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship is the beneficiary of Builders for Builders. Bicycle frame builders for bicycle trail builders. The formula is simple and effective! This year at the 2019 Lost and Found gravel race in Portola, California, the Builders for Builders raffle and fundraiser returned, bringing in the five builders offering up the winner of the raffle a decked-out, custom frame of their choice. You have from now until June 7th to donate $10. This donation enters you to win a custom bicycle from your pick of builder: Mosaic Cycles, Stinner Frameworks, Argonaut Cycles, Sklar Bikes, and McGovern Cycles.

This bike. This freaking bike. When I first built up my Sklar, it was built on the 700c wheel platform. At Lost & Found last year, I swapped out the i9 wheels for the new ENVE G27 650b gravel wheels and haven’t missed the 700c wheels one bit. From there, the bike slowly went under transformations but it wasn’t until I put the Crust Towel Rack Bars on it that I feel like this bike has finally come into its own.

Love Will Tear Us Apart is a reference most will get right off the bat. It is one of Mattia from Legor Cicli‘s and Franka from MAAD‘s favorite songs and one that they’ll sing to each other. Mattia has the habit of naming his bikes after songs, most of which are of the post-punk variety, full of emotion and vibrancy. This ideology spills over from the music onto and into Legor Cicli’s bikes.

Last week, we looked at the new Juliana Quincy, through the eyes and words of Amy Jurries and today, I’ll be taking you through the new Stigmata, as someone who rallied and loved the last model. How does it compare? Read on below.

The Santa Cruz Stigmata was truly one of the first disc all-road bikes that opened my eyes to not only what an off-road bike could be, but what it should be. I loved it so much that it influenced the geometry of my Firefly, yet that initial Stigmata review was over four years ago. A lot has changed in that time and the Stiggy was long overdue for an overhaul, mainly in one specific area, the tire clearance!

Christopher Russell’s Art Rambler is a Mobile Paint Studio
Photos by Krishna Muirhead and Words by Chris Russell

We were on a ride when I told Alex the idea.

Thinking about an art piece while pedaling was nothing new, many of my paintings can be linked back to a long ride or a short bike tour. Spending most of the day in the saddle gives me the opportunity to clear my head, observe the landscape, brainstorm, and talk with friends; it’s the perfect social activity for the semi-recluse artist. I can be silent for hours, and when there is something to say we talk.

“Alex, I want to make my bike into a mobile painting studio so I can bike out and paint the landscape. A custom rack that could turn into an easel would be awesome, and I’m hoping you can fabricate it.” This bike setup would eventually be the narrative foundation of my next art show.

We took a quick look at this bike once before – during our 2018 NAHBS coverage – but it’s back, with a vengeance! This Northern Frameworks hardtail belongs to Jarrod Bunk, one of the authors here at the Radavist. Who knows Jarrod? Show of hands. Ok yeah, he’s a popular fellow and he finally made it across the United States from Western Pennsylvania to as far west as you can go to California. He has been in town for the week to see Kyle and Liz get married and to get a taste of what it’s like to ride mountains here in SoCal.

Problem is, to enjoy it a little more, he had to switch the bike from singlespeed to geared.

First Impressions: Meet the New Quincy – Juliana’s Answer to the Popular Stigmata.
Words by Amy Jurries, riding photos by Ian Collins, and bike photos by John Watson

Quincy, California sits at the northern end of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. It’s in the heart of California’s Gold Country where in the mid-1800s, miners from all over the world came for their chance at striking it rich. It’s in part thanks to the Gold Rush that within spitting distance of town, you have access to hundreds of miles of mountainous dirt roads.

While the town itself is small, with not much more than a movie theater and a few places to shop, each year around September the population swells with the crazy two-wheeled set for Grinduro weekend. Juliana’s new drop bar bike, the Quincy, is 100-percent made to rule on this terrain. Before Sea Otter, I was invited down to hang out with the Juliana/Santa Cruz team and test out the Quincy. With a 40+ mile ride in the mountains around Big Basin Redwoods State Park, we rode hard on everything from tarmac connectors and loose chalky gravel to branches, mud, and gopher-hole-checkered grassy downhills.

Can’t Stop Won’t Stop with Winneteaux
Words and Photos by Spencer Harding

Years ago a housemate of mine came back from SXSW with a tale of this person who they met rolling around on a tall bike while playing the accordion.  He said, “I wish that kid from somewhere could be from LA.” Fast forward a year and Winn, the kid from somewhere, showed up on our doorstep. She had caught a ride back with some of my housemates on their way back from SXSW that year. So it had come true, the kid from somewhere had made it to LA.

For those of you who have been following along for a while, you may know that before all this bikepacking-cool-bike-stuff I used to build and ride freak bikes, in fact, up until recently a majority of my touring experience was done from the seat of a tall bike.  After college, I chance happened upon a warehouse full of freaks and bikes alike, it was the most beautiful place I had ever seen.  Winn had migrated to LA in search of the same place.

Save The Boundary Water With Northern CX Works
Photos and words by Jarrod Bunk

The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is America’s most visited wilderness area. It contains 1.1 million acres of pristine water and unspoiled woodlands. Along with the Superior National Forest, it contains 20 percent of all the fresh water in the entire National Forest System. Like much of our Nation’s pristine Wilderness, it is now being threatened.

It’s hard not to make that reference on a bike called the Chris Cross. Back when Fat Chance began, I doubt Chris Chance would have foreseen the future, or at least where and how people would be riding these bikes that are a mix of ‘cross and road bikes yet here we are. Brent bought a Chris Cross with the “Team Fade” finish and matching stem to be his all-rounder bike in SoCal and on a recent outing to Los Angeles, I was able to shoot this damn perfect bike.