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For some people, commuting by bicycle to work each day is the only time they’re assured time on the bike, so making those rides as enjoyable as possible is an added bonus. When it comes to Firefly, I can’t think of a better ride experience, so starting your day on something like this must be an extra special treat. Check out more at the Firefly Tumblr.
Kyle’s 650b Cosmic Stallion Road with Campagnolo Chorus 11
Photos by John Watson and words by Kyle Kelley
Editor’s intro. I love Kyle’s All-City Cosmic Stallion. For me, the interchangeability of these bikes from 700c to 650b open up a door for riders to experience the plush cush of a 47mm tubeless road tire on a readily-available, production frame. It’s my belief that these 650b / 27.5″ wheeled bikes will alter the “road” industry to a place that proves you don’t need 23mm tires and 110 PSI to enjoy “all the roads.”
A while back I found myself riding my road bike less and less and my cyclocross bike more and more. I just wanted to get further and further from the hustle and bustle of the big city and closer to the epicenter of the San Gabriel Mountains, but I also understood that I would always have at least 15 miles on pavement before reaching the service roads and single track found in the Angeles Forest. No matter how much riding I was doing in the mountains, I was guaranteed 30 miles on the actual road, and no matter how much dirt the middle of the ride promised, road geometry made the most sense for these longer rides.
Raise your hand if you have ridden an actual cyclocross bike over 100 miles in one sitting. It is not fun and I’m not talking about type 2 fun. A road bike just works better for on and off-road riding. Hence the gravel craze.
For me, it’s just a road bike, and that’s why it has road pedals. It’s ridden on roads, paved and dusty. It’s a road bike, and for me, no road bike should be built with anything but Campagnolo. Now, thanks to Paul Component Engineering and their Klampagnolo brakes, with a Campy-specific pull and Chorus‘ new, 32-tooth cassette, why would you use anything but Campy?
I know this build isn’t for everyone, but I guarantee it’s for way more of you disbelievers than you think. The bike rolls fast on the 47c slicks, doesn’t weigh much because of the carbon bits, and will go just about anywhere! Can’t argue with that, right? Well…of course, you can, and that’s OK because that’s your right to have an opinion. I’m just saying, someday give it a try and then let’s talk.
Fat bottomed bikes you make the ripping world go round!
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Follow Kyle on Instagram and follow Golden Saddle Cyclery on Instagram.
Photo by Andy White
If you have an appetite for absurdly aesthetic cycling apparatus, do not miss this black and gold Speedvagen road, documented by FYXO.
Jim C, one of the founders of Orange 20 and later, Cranky’s in Santa Barbara, held a swap meet sale at Golden Saddle Cyclery today, before moving out east. Jim brought along with him a unique Land Shark Time Shark frame. This frame was allegedly raced by Amanda Henry in the 1986 UCI track worlds in the Flying 250mm. While I can’t find any information on the bike, or Amanda Henry’s career online, Jim’s memory of this frame’s history will have to do.
The asymmetric seat stays were a common detail on these Time Sharks, as were custom stems, wild paint jobs, and beautifully-curved forks. A few more details of note include the Magic Motorcycle cranks, which were later purchased by Cannondale to become part of their Coda line. Check out that outboard bottom bracket! The home-made disc wheels are made from common plastic, mostly used in model airplane fuselage construction.
All in all, these “funny bike” designs are always a pleasure to document and admire. Jim passed this bike down to the team at the Cub House, so if you’re ever in their neighborhood, make sure you check it out. See more photos below.
Chameleons don’t actually change color to “blend” into their surroundings. Contrarily, their colors are used to mark territory, attract mates and display moods, often resulting in these unique lizards “standing out” more than blending in. The Santa Cruz Bicycles Chameleon adheres to this logic, standing out from many of the other production hardtails on the market but before we get ahead of ourselves here, and lizard anecdotes aside, when I first saw the newly-designed Chameleon last year it checked a lot of boxes and left me with a few questions.
Sure, Santa Cruz is saying the chameleon is a master of adaptation, which metaphorically makes a lot of sense. This bike can really do a lot, but isn’t that the nature of hardtails in general? For me, my thoughts on the Chameleon stem from its legacy, its updated design and most importantly, to a lot of people, the cost.
Sawyer’s Dirt Drop Miyata Sportrunner
Photos and words by Morgan Taylor
Bicycles need not be complicated. They need not be expensive. Yet it sure is nice when they have character. Sawyer’s Miyata is a simple reminder that a Craigslist find and a few easy mods can revive the joy of having a rad bike on a shoestring.
With over 40 years of framebuilding experience under his belt, Ben Serotta couldn’t keep away from the industry after Serotta closed its doors, a few years back. Just this week, Ben launched Serotta Design Studio with two flagship bikes, the Duetti – a disc all-road bike, and the aModoMio – a classic, do-it-all road bike with clearances for 28mm tires. There’s so much more to the story of Serotta Design Studio, so head over to their site to discover more.
Jones Bikes recently took everything that’s fun about their Spaceframe and added their LWB, or long wheelbase, geometry to it, resulting in a more “all-mountain” stance and handling. If you’ve never ridden a Jones before, there’s nothing like it and this new LWB looks to be the yin to the shorter wheelbase yang. Check out more details – and there are plenty! – at the Jones Blog!
These days, it’s almost impossible to keep up with the worldwide framebuilding community’s recent works, but sometimes a bike build comes across my radar and I have to promptly share it. The newest from Saffron Frameworks is Danny’s road bike. It was built from a mix of Columbus Spirit, HSS, and Life tubing, with a Futura fork that allows for a 28mm tire clearance.
While the bike’s stance is on-par with the excellence that comes from Saffron, the paint design is something else. It’s inspired by Bridget Riley, the foremost exponents of optical art and was perfectly executed by Cole Coating. See more at the Saffron Frameworks Twiter.
Putting together a parts bin bike doesn’t usually include an NJS frame. When his roommate parted out a complete NJS Samson track bike, Lucas acquired the frameset for $50. Aside from a few small dents in the top tube, the frame was in great condition, so he assembled it with all of his spare parts. Since then, it’s been his go-to around town and lock-up-bike. I couldn’t help myself when he rolled up to Golden Saddle Cyclery on it yesterday, just hours before hopping on a plane back to Portland…
We’ve still got our year-in-review post coming up, but for now, let’s take a break and check out Matt’s Advocate Cycles Hayduke Titan 27.5+ hardtail.
Before we jump into this build let’s look at Advocate Cycles. As their name implies, “Advocate Cycles is a bike company that exists solely to create innovative bicycles and delivers 100% of profits from the company back to cycling advocacy efforts.” That means, as per the IRS’ laws, they’re allowed to donate 50% of their profits to non-profit organizations each year. They then take that remaining 50%, pay required taxes on that amount, and use the remaining money to run their own advocacy programs during the following calendar year. All-in-all, the result is a bike company that’s the main goal is to help organizations like People for Bikes.
Matt was looking for a new hardtail. One that would offer ample tire clearance, a snappy rear end, and a rowdy fork. On top of riding, Matt uses this bike for bikepacking as well. He’s a trail builder with the Mount Wilson Bicycling Association, so carrying a trailer was a must too. However, first and foremost, Matt wanted a bike that would eat up our chunky, rocky and sandy trails with no hesitation.For portage, he pinged Yanco Customs, our local bag maker to outfit his rig with Multicam and Cordura bags, designed to fit Matt’s specific needs. The resulting product is impressive and in the future, I’ll get some shots of it loaded down with camping supplies and toting the trail working tools used by MWBA.
If you’d like your own Advocate, head to their site and check out their frameset and complete bike offerings.
The Standard Rando is a great option for those looking for an all-weather commuter, or a bike to take on this year’s brevet calendar and at under $2,000 for a complete, it throws its cap in the ring as one of the more financially viable options out there. New for 2018 is this ultra high vis color, sure to keep you safe while you pedal from dawn til dusk.
See more at Twin Six!
For many, a New Year means time for reflection, and time for prospectives. For cyclists, this often includes planning out a build for a planned ride or perhaps updating your favorite bike with new gear. Perhaps that’s the motivation for many of you to visit this site. For us at the Radavist, we look at all the data from the past year’s content and begin to understand more what you, the readers, love to see here on the site.
Every bicycle on this list should come as no surprise. It was one of the most difficult selections in the history of this site, as almost all of these Beautiful Bicycles delivered similar metrics. We pulled these from the archives based on traffic, social media chatter and commentary. They’re displayed in no particular order. Omitted are bicycle reviews and completely bone stock production models – like the Jim Merz Sequoia and All-City Cosmic Stallion.
Thrown in, making it a baker’s dozen, is our top 2017 NAHBS pick as well. Without further adieu, here’ the Lucky 13 Beautiful Bicycles of 2017!
Our thoughts go out to everyone in California who have lost their homes, their businesses and their local trails to these ravenous fires. The boys down in Goleta, a small town outside of Santa Barbara, at Stinner Frameworks were lucky. Real lucky. I don’t think anyone needs to remind them of that. With the Thomas fire reigning in heat, as California’s second largest fire on record, the shop at Stinner was busy preparing their own fire. This Romero frameset was hand-delivered to the Cub House last Friday so that Eric would be able to spend his Holiday break riding the mountains of Los Angeles.
As part of Stinner’s “The Collection,” this magenta and cyan coat was done in-house at Stinner, at no additional charge. These “stock” paint options usually offer a bright, colorful option, paired with a more subdued variant. This year’s other option is a matte desert tan and grey paint job, similar to the livery on the Stinner Hardtail I reviewed earlier this year.
Eric’s choice in build kit on this stock-sizing Romero features a Deda F-64 DB fork, which offered me something different to document, in what is usually a sea of ENVE forks. He also chose a KMC chain to match the paint, along with a combination of silver and gunmetal components like Onyx Hubs and a Chris King Headset, with a Paul stem. My favorite, perhaps unintended matching bit is the SRAM Force protective film on the rear derailleur. I couldn’t bring myself to pulling that off, though.
People often refer to steel road bikes as “lifetime” bicycles. A few years back, Reilly was looking for just that, a lifetime road bike. He scoured the internet, looking at all the offerings before settling on Portland’s Breadwinner Cycles and their Lolo road bike. These frames are made in-house, at Breadwinner in Portland and can be configured with various options directly from their website. Reilly’s build is beautiful, without being flashy, relying on Shimano Ultegra’s longevity to keep the wheels and gears turning.
Little details really make the build, like his Yanco handlebar bag, Manual for Speed bar tape and Vittoria Corsa tires on Pacenti rims. Bikes like this are just so right…
It was inevitable. Some might even call it destiny. All-City Cycles needs no introduction here on this website, and neither does the benefit of riding a steel hardtail mountain bike in an era of plastic full squish bikes. In fact, I’d argue that All-City’s latest offering, the Electric Queen, will not only please the readers of this site but could be the bike they’ve been looking for. Well, warriors, your search for a shreddable steel hardtail ends here.
As it happens during the holidays, you sometimes end up playing tour guide to family members. My parents came to Los Angeles this weekend, with one thing on their mind: a road trip to the Sequoia National Forest. Turns out, Nat Geo has a special running on this magical place and my parents caught the bug. The only problem is, lodging since neither of my parents liked the idea of camping in the wilds of the Sequoia backcountry. After some phone calls, I found one place to be open: the Durrwood Creekside Lodge.
While there, we got to do a lot of chatting with Eddie and Dave, the two caretakers of the lodge. Once Dave found out I’m into bikes, he had to show his two choppers he made in the lodge’s old blacksmith shop – which coincidentally is a recognized landmark. This whole experience caught me off-guard since I had barely had my coffee yet, but my mind was blown by Dave’s thought process and end-product.
I love seeing projects like this, and yes, I took it for a spin!
How a “maker” builds their personal bike says a lot about how their mind works. For Kyle from Outer Shell, a bag manufacturer in the San Francisco Bay Area, that means go with time-proven staples and splurge on the important places. Kyle’s Mikkelsen is unique, to say the least, but every moment, every bolt, every component has been thought out, down to the cantilever arm, machined to hold his Sinewave Beacon light and Hite Rite dropper.