This year at Grinduro, eight frame builders presented bikes in partnership with Maxxis, Sram/Zipp, Columbus, and Hope Tech. The theme? What is your ideal Grinduro bike? In the first post, we’ll look at BTCHN Bikes’ gravel bike.
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Radar
Open Sourced: the Mystic Alluvium 27.5+/29er Hardtail MTB Geo
After sharing the Mystic Alluvium earlier this month, we’ve received a lot of emails requesting the geo sheet. While numbers and degrees aren’t exactly intellectual property, initially I felt a little weird posting them for the entire internet to see. Adam and I put a lot of time in designing the geometry for this bike and I didn’t want to just give away all that work. Later I realized it really doesn’t matter and we only dialed in the geo for the size large and size medium anyway.
I thought it would be fun to just open source the sheets for other people to hand them off to a builder of their choice. Even if no one follows through with that, it’s still a neat project to share. I’ve been riding this bike as a 29er with a 150mm fork over the past few weeks and it’s even better now!
See the full spread below.
Reportage
Erin’s Foldy McLobsty Rock Lobster
Yesterday, we looked at Erin’s Rock Lobster during her Old Growth Classic Reportage. Is it a road bike? Or a cross bike? Or a gravel bike. I don’t know but it has v-brakes, a 2x Ultegra drivetrain, and a dropper post in a field of ultralight, carbon, disc brake, chubby tire bikes like that Ibis Hakka MX I reviewed. Erin’s had this bike for a while and I felt like she did a great job explaining it in yesterday’s post, so read on for a refresh.
Radar
This “Fall Forest” themed Bastion Crossroad is Full of Details #AlwaysHandPaint
Our friends down in Fairfield, Australia at Bastion Cycles pulled together a real treat for us. This “Fall Forest” themed Crossroad frame has been hand-painted to resemble an autumn forest, filled with leaves, flashing colors across the carbon and titanium frame. Read on for all the details and photos below.
Reportage
Jeremiah’s Falconer Champion Tribute Bike
I went to grade school in Chico with Jeremiah and still have a very distinct memory of us running laps around the field at Citrus Elementary. He still has some cartoons I drew of a triangle guy riding a skateboard from back in those days. So it’s a real trip that after all these years, and what feel like many lifetimes to me, life has come full circle and I now find myself riding bikes and going to shows with him all the time in Chico. He almost always answers yes to the last minute “Swimming hole ride after work?” texts I send out, and as a long-time Chico rider, he knows all the cutty local trails.
Reportage
A Golden Speedvagen Disc OG Road with SRAM Force eTap AXS
Speedvagen’s Ready-Made OG series offers up the styling of a custom Speedvagen, at a much lower pricepoint. We looked at the OG road bike a few years back, including that beautiful lilac frame, and my OD OG-1. New to the OG lineup this season is the Disc OG, which has a few new details, other than the addition of disc brakes. So does this bike ride as good as it looks?
Reportage
What Almost Was: the Mystic Alluvium 27.5+ Hardtail MTB
Over the years, I’ve had the honor to throw my leg over many bikes, try them out, write a review, and then send them back. While the bikes return to their companies, the experience stays with me, and in the time I’ve been running this website, I’ve developed my own belief for what the perfect geometry for a hardtail mountain bike is. About a year ago, I began talking with Adam Sklar and Colin Frazer, who were about to launch a new production, US-made frame company called Mystic. We wanted to test the waters with a Radavist edition frame, dubbed the Alluvium. After chatting about numbers and branding, we felt like we were getting closer to releasing this frame. Then the reality of such an undertaking took hold and we killed the project.
Reportage
Mark from Prova Cycles’ Ripido Prototype MTB, aka the ParTi Hardtail
During the ENVE Open House framebuilder exhibit, one builder traveled further than the others: Mark from Prova Cycles in Melbourne, Australia. I’d never seen a Prova in person. Instead, I’ve had to check out his work via the lens of FYXO and the Prova Instagram. Mark learned at the Bicycle Academy in the UK and has been really putting in work on his brand. Let me tell you. It shows.
Reportage
The Beautiful Bicycles of the ENVE Open House Part 02: Sklar, Falconer, Sarto, Sage, Argonaut, Moots, Retrotec, Legor, Bastion
ENVE has been supporting frame builders, both in the US and internationally for years now and has developed a symbiotic relationship with these artisans, who choose to put their forks, bars, and wheels on customer’s build kit lists. With this catalog of talent at their fingertips, they decided to have an Open House to celebrate not only their factory and offices in Ogden, Utah but the frame builders who choose ENVE to build out their complete bikes.
Continuing yesterday’s coverage are Beautiful Bicycles from Sklar, Falconer, Sarto, Sage, Argonaut, Moots, Retrotec, Legor, Bastion.
Reportage
The Beautiful Bicycles of the ENVE Open House Part 01: Prova, Holland, Alchemy, Salt Air, Mosaic, Pursuit, English, Speedvagen, Bingham, Allied
ENVE has been supporting frame builders, both in the US and internationally for years now and has developed a symbiotic relationship with these artisans, who choose to put their forks, bars, and wheels on customer’s build kit lists. With this catalog of talent at their fingertips, they decided to have an Open House to celebrate not only their factory and offices in Ogden, Utah but the frame builders who choose ENVE to build out their complete bikes.
Over the next two mornings, we’ll look at a list of 20 frame builders’ bikes, in galleries filled with so many Beautiful Bicycles it’ll leave your mouth watering. Up first is Prova, Holland, Alchemy, Salt Air, Mosaic, Pursuit, English, Speedvagen, Bingham, and Allied.
Reportage
John’s Falconer Chubby Road
A few towns over from Downieville, California, where John works at Yuba Expeditions during the summer months, is Quincy, California where Cameron Falconer‘s workshop is. John and Cam knew each other back when they both lived in the Bay Area and since relocating to what is called the “Lost Sierra,” John really wanted a road bike that could handle the area’s veritable Sierra chunk.
Reportage
Curtis’ Gold Rush Retrotec Funduro 29er
Downieville is a sleepy little town in the Lost Sierra. It was first known as “the Forks” due to its geographical location at the confluence of the Yuba and Downie rivers. Like many towns in the area, Downieville was founded in 1849 during the Gold Rush. Later, it was named after the town’s founder, Major William Downie. As you might imagine, this place has a sordid history during the lawless heyday of gold mining, including being the location for the only hanging of a woman in California history. Josefa Segovia was a pregnant Californio resident of the town and was lynched by an angry mob, accusing her of killing a miner in July 1851.
Nearby, in the Sierra Buttes, the largest gold nugget in California history was found in 1869. It weighed a whopping 109.2 pounds. Gold has always been on the lips of those who flocked to Downieville. Still, to this day, don’t be surprised to see active mining claims and people panning for gold at the confluence of the Yuba and Downie rivers.
Since 1995, the Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship has thrown a special little event in this town. The Downieville Classic features an XC race on Saturday and a Downhill on Sunday. The terrain is rocky, steep, and silty, making for a tough day on the bike no matter what you’re riding. While they’re by no means rare, seeing people riding and racing hardtails always causes a stir. So this year, I set out to photograph some of these bikes, including Curtis Inglis from Retrotec‘s own Funduro, a shining, gold nugget of a bike.
Radar
Eddy Merckx Debuts the Corsa Steel Bikes
Designed, handmade, hand-painted, and built in Belgium. The new Corsa steel frames from Eddy Merckx embody the legacy that is the MX-L and Corsa models of the 1980’s and 1990’s. Teams like Motorola, Panasonic, and Kelme rode these frames to victory. Icons of the peloton. Steeds of Columbus steel with proprietary tubing and Eddy’s own private geometry. These bikes have a legacy and one that Eddy Merckx is looking to reinvigorate with their road disc, road rim, and all road models. All made from a unique Merckx blend of Columbus Spirit HSS tubing and Columbus Xcr tubing.
We saw a hint at something new from Merckx at this year’s Tour and now we get a deeper look. Unfortunately, the product photos on Merckx’s website don’t give us much detail, which is a shame because they look great and at 3,299 EUR for a frame, I doubt I’ll be seeing one in person any time soon…
Check out the Corsa line at Eddy Merckx.
Reportage
Shooting the Sklar Sweet Spot 29er Hardtail in the Mountains of Bozeman
Bozeman, Montana is a magical place to mountain bike in the summertime. Last year’s trip was epic, so this year we wanted to re-visit this quaint little mountain town. While we were there last month, I was able to shoot Adam Sklar’s latest project, the Sweet Spot 29er MTB. While Adam usually takes on custom bikes, the Sweet Spot will be the brand’s first production model. The Sweet Spot is made in Bozeman, Montana, just like all Sklar Bikes. The aim here is to lower wait times, while not sacrificing quality. It also enables Adam to sell a model that is in-line with his philosophy on mountain bikes.
Reportage
The Custom Bikes of Grinduro Scotland: Clandestine, Ted James, Spoon Customs, and The Bicycle Academy
Words by Jack Watney, photos by Adam Gasson
Grinduro Frame Builder Event Format
The Bicycle Academy (TBA) put the Grinduro Scotland frame builder competition format together 3 years ago as a way of creating a platform for frame builders to showcase what they do. It’s an opportunity for builders to work to a tight brief, but at the same time to be playful and creative with bike design. They get to make their own idea of a perfect bike, to keep for themselves, something that doesn’t happen as often as you might think.
Radar
SRAM Teams Up With Philly Bike Expo to Support Framebuilder Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiative
SRAM has backed the Philly Bike Expo’s Inclusivity Scholarship, which supports women, trans, and POC frame builders who have been underrepresented at bike shows and in the industry at large. The inaugural class consists of Moth Attack, Pedalino bikes, Schön Studio and Untitled Cycles. This is an exciting announcement and for the full press release, click on below.
Reportage
Grav. Grav. And Double Grav! the Bicycle Academy at Grinduro Scotland
Words by Jack Watney, photos by Adam Gasson
And now here they are! The most daredevil group of daffy frame builders to ever whirl their wheels in the WACKY RACES. Competing for the title of Grinduro’s wackiest frame builder. The bikes are approaching the starting line.
First, is the TBA GXC driven by Tom Sturdy. Next is paratrooper Will Barcode on the TBA Splat Grav. Flying through the air is the Rad Roamer piloted by Ted James. Maneuvering for position is Andy Carr on the Spoon Customs Fat Tracker and right on his tail is Pi Manson on his Caledonian Carrier.
Sneaking along last is the unmistakable Petor of Dear Susan Bicycles riding his award-winning ‘Mike Rotch’…
“Grav, Grav. And double Grav!”
Radar
Bicycle Quarterly Looks at the Calfee Bamboo NAHBS Bike in the Cascade Mountains
Ever wonder what a bamboo bike rides like? But perhaps you don’t want to actually ride a bamboo bike? Well, the Bicycle Quarterly team looks at the Calfee NAHBS bike in the Cascade Mountains. See more at Bicycle Quarterly.