The Radavist

The most straightforward definition of Obsidian comes from Wikipedia: “Obsidian is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed as an extrusive igneous rock. It is produced when felsic lava extruded from a volcano cools rapidly with minimal crystal growth.” In parts Owens Valley and Death Valley, Obsidian is just another ground substrate. As lava fields collide with alluvial fans, causing the land to spill out over and through roads, this mineral litters the landscape, capturing sunlight and distracting even the most focused eye.

During numerous points on our trip, Obsidian fields distracted us from our pains, our cold hands, and hungry stomachs. We scoured the grounds, finding unique pieces, to hold up to the light and gaze in awe, only to place them back where they had decided to fall in the first place. Dylan took this practice very seriously, and in return, often wandering out into the depths of a shrub field only to shout out “check this piece out!” I felt it the perfect mineral to represent his murdered out S-Works Fatboy.

So, what’s so special about this bike? Honestly, not much. It’s bone stock, features a manual-shifting “bail out” chainring and was the lightest “fully-loaded” bike on the trip. Dylan borrowed the bike from a friend, upon realizing that fatter was just simply better for the terrain. He packed it out with the essentials, along with a few choice creature comforts – like walkie-talkies – and the entire time, rode it like it had an e-battery…

Continuing our documentation of these high desert Pack Mules, is my 44 Bikes rigid mtb tourer, decked out in desert bikepacking mode, with a few key adjustments to its normal build we’ve seen before.

This bike proved itself on our 100 mile Prospector’s Tour of Death Valley but initially, I was worried. Worried for a few reasons, but mostly because of the tire size. While riding in the desert is not new to me, doing it fully loaded, for four days, in Death Valley is. Everything in my mind told me to track down a fat bike for the route. After driving it last month, I was aware of every change in ground substrate; the Eureka Valley presented sand and loose tuff. Steel Pass was gravely, with corners suddenly sinking into inches of loose rocks and the climbs out of Saline Valley are washboarded, rocky and can take a toll on your hands.

On this expedition, we – Erik, Dylan and myself – were prospectors… For over a hundred years, Death Valley has had its minerals extracted by machine and mule. Not just for gold and silver, either. Prospectors scoured the mountains for antimony, copper, lead, zinc, and tungsten, packing out their load by mule. We are modern day Prospectors, however, we are not seeking riches, yet experiences, of which will be beaten into our soul by miles of washboarded and rocky roads. Our mules are our bicycles and we’ll take only photos, leaving no trace, taking nothing from this land. It’s given enough over the decades and its scars are still visible on the surface.

Last Friday we embarked on a 100 mile journey through Death Valley National Park. The route was familiar to Erik, who attempted it years ago, but in reverse, with a band of other explorers, who fell victim to this great desert. Returning this round, Erik had a new found respect for this land, as well as much-needed reconnaissance by yours truly. My report: we should ride the biggest tires we have access to. This would soften the blow from the rugged roads and allow us to move with elegance through deep sand.

On top of that, literally, would be our provisions for four day’s worth of riding in the High Desert. This meant we’d need lots of water, lots of food, and warm apparel, on top of the standard backcountry emergency items. Packing all this in on a bike that’s destined to climb well over 10,000′ in its journey is no easy matter, yet the three of us took our own unique approach to outfitting our Pack Mules.

Jake’s Pacific Northwest Do-All Trek 970
Photos and words by Morgan Taylor

While we can easily find ourselves lost in things shiny and new, there’s no denying the allure of a carefully curated classic being put to good use. Jake’s Trek 970 is just one of those bikes, with a build that takes advantage of classic mountain bike practicality to create a versatile and stylish bike for days long and short.

Jake’s no stranger to well-thought-out steel bikes, already having a number of sweet builds in the quiver before his 970 came together. He leans toward time-tested components, durability over flashiness, and comfort over outright speed. The 970 is Jake’s Pacific Northwest do-all bike, with wide tires, loads of carrying capacity, and inspiration taken from its home in Seattle.

Sklar Doggy has made some damn beautiful bicycles over the few years he’s been building in Bozeman, Montana. Yet, in recent months, he’s been jonesin’ to work with a new material. Steel is indeed, real, but Adam really wanted to work with titanium. A lot of builders have been making this transition as of late. In short, it offers their clients with a superior frame material and perhaps another draw is more profit for the builders. Or at least that’s what people think is the motivation.

After talking and shredding with Adam in the Angeles National Forest, where he got #ANFAF, Adam wax poetic’d all afternoon about how difficult titanium is to work with, stating it took him almost four times as long per frame. Right now, he’s got two frames under his belt, one for himself, and one for Colin, which is replacing Colin’s steel hardtail – consequently, he’s selling that frameset now. I was surprised to hear titanium was that much more difficult to work with, because I always assumed that the draw of the material was profit margins. Turns out, the experience of working with the material takes time and yeah, time is money…

For Adam, once he made a frame, he needed parts. Unfortunately, that meant scavenging parts from his NAHBS bike this year. You might notice the tight squeeze on the fork – all he had was a 27.5+ fork, not a 29+ fork. Run what you brung, indeed! For what it’s worth, these frames are designed to run a 27.5+ tire, or a 29 x 2.6″ – so it’s not exactly a “+” 29er.

While he’s already taken a few more orders on titanium frames, Adam is eager to master this material, resulting in a faster process and ultimately, making the best frame he can. I can’t wait to see where this new material takes Sklar Bikes and hopefully, I’ll get to ride one at some point. Thanks for hangin’, Adam! If you’d like a ti Sklar, holler at Adam!

2017 Philly Bike Expo: Stanridge Speed
Photos by Jarrod Bunk, Intro by John Watson and Words by Adam from Stanridge Speed

When modern builders utilize NOS tubing from the late 80’s, the results are more often than not, mind-blowing. Take this Stanridge Speed road bike from this year’s Philly Bike Expo. As soon as I saw it, I knew Adam had selected Gilco tubing (or is it?), yet there’s much more to the story, of which I’ll let Adam do the talking.

Adam, can you tell me about the Philly Bike Expo road bike? I’m suspecting there’s more than meets the eye here…

“I built the bike in conjunction with 7th and Park in Brownsville. It’s part of a larger project consisting of six available tubesets we’re making into frames. Three track and Three road. All the sets are NOS from the tail end of the golden era of steel in 1986. Most of the tubes are date coded. Columbus etched the iconic Dove and born on dates in the tubes in an effort to reduce false advertising by unscrupulous builders during this era. The story goes, builders in the 1980’s masked the imprinted doves on the tubing only to reveal the mark after the painting process.

How does this tubeset feel? Do you think it ever had the slightest idea these components would be hung from its bones… Ha. Too much time alone at the workbench I guess.”

Now that’s a story!

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2017 Philly Bike Expo: Engin Cycles Ti Mountain Hardtail
Photos by Jarrod Bunk, words by John Watson

Drew from Engin is a framebuilding prodigy, a master of the chainstay yoke and arguably, the maker of the finest mountain bikes in the USA, perhaps the world. His advances in mountain bike design have spiked the well of the industry, pushing the envelope of geometry and detailing. All of this is ATMO, of course, but having been a longtime dan of Drew’s work, it’s amazing to see how flawlessly he’s adapted to the changing and sometimes harsh ecosystem of the cycling industry.

Drew designs, prototypes and machines his own yokes and dropouts from titanium. He then welds them together for a beautiful frame with a unique bottom bracket cluster that allows for the use of a standard q-factor crank. It’s easy to overlook these details, even on such a simple frame, yet as we’ve all heard before “God is in the details…”

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2017 Philly Bike Expo: Gallus Cycles Rando Bike
Words and photos by Jarrod Bunk

Jeremy from Gallus Cycles brought his personal randonneur bike painted in vintage Ford Playboy Pink, by Black Magic Paint.  It features some fresh details, including a front rack with detachable low riders and a quick release decaleur, all made by Jeremy. A SON connector-less dyanamo hub provides power to both front and rear lights via internal wire routing.

Built with a mix of NOS Suntour XC Sport Components, Paul Component Racer Brakes, and a René Herse cranks this S&S Coupled masterpiece can go anywhere and have fun while you’re there.  Jeremy built this bike up leading into Philly Bike Expo this year and was even able to get some quality time on it before the show.

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2017 Philly Bike Expo: Moots Mooto X RSL
Photos by Jarrod Bunk, words by John Watson

Moots is one of those brands that just oozes brand clout and rightfully so. Their titanium frames are built to the highest standards and are built to last a lifetime. The Mooto X RSL is designed with speed in mind. A true singletrack slayer, the Mooto X RSL has a modern race geometry, with the feel of titanium, designed to tackle any XC course.

At this year’s Philly Bike Expo, Moots brought their catalog build of the newest Mooto X RSL, laced with gold Tune components, matching logos and Shimano XTR Di2, this bike relies on its pedigree, in a sea of flashy show bikes.

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2017 Philly Bike Expo: Peacock Groove Track Bike
Words and photos by Jarrod Bunk

Going into Philly Bike Expo I was looking forward to seeing what Eric Noren of Peacock Groove brought, especially since he brought the peoples choice bike last year. This S&S Coupled track bike, was on display having just been ridden to a second place at Madison Nationals by Tiana Johnson, did not let me down!

This bike featured a HED Jet 9 wheelset, one of Noren’s own Peacock Groove headsets and some of the wildest splatter paint, all finished off with Peacock Groove’s signature dropouts. There’s one thing for sure, the Liberace of bike builders didn’t let me down this year.

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2017 Philly Bike Expo: Mars Cycles JRA Approved Track Bike
Words and photos by Jarrod Bunk

David from the Bay Area contacted Casey Sussman over at Mars Cycles (Featured here during NAHBS) for this rad track bike!  Built for everyday commuting, from Columbus Zona double OS tubing, and featuring a wrap-around seat stay cluster that morphs into the ISP with a Ritchey topper, this bike is far from ordinary.

The Deluxe 840mm Ti bar stem combo along with 45mm deep carbon Deluxe wheels should make for some fun rips through traffic on this JRA approved track bike. Other details include an ENVE fork and a Columbus tapered headtube with raw, un-filed fillet construction throughout.  I’m so stoked on the stance of this bike.

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Rambling with the 333fab Air Land Sea
Photos and words by Morgan Taylor

Look at the surface of the 333fab Air Land Sea, and you’ll see a drop bar bike that fits bigger tires than most, amazing custom paint and graphics, and components that reflect the very best of what’s available. But dig a bit deeper and you find something that can really only be found in a custom bike, something that innovates and pushes the boundaries, something that’s truly special. The Air Land Sea draws you in. It asks you to look, not to rush, but to consider what a bike might be if there really were no rules. And, you can have one.

2017 Philly Bike Expo: Bilenky Cycle Works Wild Cross Bike
Words and photos by Jarrod Bunk

Bilenky builds bikes in Philly from mild to wild in every style you could ever conceive, from steel road bikes to Ti Tandems.  This fillet brazed cross bike is one of the many they’ve made over the last 30 years and its seen some abuse this year while Taylor Kuyk-White has been racing for Bilenky Cycle Works/Philly Bike Expo, even stacking some UCI points behind the bars.

The handbuilt wheelset, a no-nonsense White Industries to Pacenti SL25 build, has been proven along with the SRAM Force 1x setup, with stopping power is performed by none other than the impeccable Paul Component Klampers.  I really dig all the colors, on this bike, from the paint to the anodized bits this bike pops, so be sure to check it out at the races. Bilenky say’s he loves to braze, and it shows, especially around the bottom bracket of this machine. Growing up in Pennsylvania I’ve been a fan of Bilenky’s work for some time, and hope to be able to visit the shop one day soon.

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2017 Philly Bike Expo: Weaver Cycle Works Jersey Devil Gravel Bike
Words and photos by Jarrod Bunk

Hailing from South of Jersey, Weaver Cycle Works, made their way out to PBE with this Jersey Devil themed bike.  The Jersey Devil is a mythical creature that can take down livestock, much in the way that this 47c equipped bike can tackle the varying terrain that it was designed around. The Jen Green head badge pulls the theme together along with the “13” which is for the cursed 13th Leed’s child (the Jersey Devil).

Built with a 1x drivetrain in mind this SRAM Force-equipped bike is propelled forward with a blend of White Industries R30 cranks, CLD hubs, and their new headset, and halted just as quickly by Paul Component Klampers.  This is Weaver’s personal bike, and I’ve been told he only rides steel forks, so even though it’s built with a 44mm headtube, there will not be carbon on it anytime soon for him.  Much like every Weaver this bike is 100% custom from the geo to the paint, if you’re into it, drop him a line and you to can rip a bike where the devil is in the details.

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2017 Philly Bike Expo: Skwisgaar The Waterford Track Bike
Words and photos by Jarrod Bunk

Some bikes bear their owners names, this is something a little bit different, what started in 2010 covered in a black glove of paint, has changed after it sat over the years lying dormant while it’s owner wasn’t able to ride it (due to contractual obligations) and emerged as something a bit more vibrant, Skwisgaar, born of speed and metal.  From the Fleur de Lis stainless lugs brazed by EJ Muller to the beautiful paint from Roger Krueger, both of Waterford Precision Cycles, this is anything but black now.

A mix of polished components including SRAM Omnium cranks, an All-City Pursuit Special chainring, and a Chris King headset tie the lugs together and are sure to provide years of service for this heirloom quality bicycle. Zipp wheels hand painted by Eric Baar of  Ground Up Speed Shop, give it, even more, flare.  There’s something fast looking about this bike just standing still, which was proven recently as it was raced to a Bronze at Madison Track Nationals in Colorado Springs,  under its pilot, Anna Schwinn.

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