The Radavist

It’s hard to deny the impact that the original Ritchey Swiss Cross had on American cyclocross. Any cycling history buff will note Thomas Frischknecht’s many victories in the early 90’s while riding the original, so it had to be a perfect choice for Ritchey to re-introduce the mighty red machine for 2012. Having only seen the bike at Interbike, I was stoked to hear Chris’ choice in picking one up when he wrecked his previous cross bike. Built with mostly matching Ritchey components, this build turned out perfect. Last Sunday, after a Walnut Creek singletrack session, I got some photos of this race-ready machine.

Some of my favorite details are the integrated head tube and that wicked cable routing at the seat tube cluster. Check out more in the Gallery.

So now that we’ve seen what Ruckus’ shop looks like, how about a look at one of the frames that Shawn from Ruckus has built.  This is his own single speed cross bike, laced with a rather healthy component group, a sick paint job and some of those Ruckus vibes. I love the tag line on the downtube, the painted ENVE components and the cross bash guard. You don’t see a whole lotta flat bar monster cross bikes but when you do, they’re drool-worthy.

I can’t think of a better way to spend my last day in Portland than to watch and photograph Cross Crusade. There aren’t many times that I get to venture into a muddy cross course and everything I’ve heard of Portland cyclocross is indeed true. It was a muddy, fast time with a great turn out. See more in the gallery.

In the spirit of Veteran’s Day, I thought I’d share with you one of my favorite bikes from yesterday’s Cross Crusade here in Portland. Tom is a close friend of the Vanilla / Speedvagen family. He puts on the Kiddie Kross races at the ‘Crusade series and races in the singlespeed category on his lovely 2008 Speedvagen Cross Machine.

Opting for the more eccentric “Surprise Me” paint job, his metal steed is covered in a red, white and blue livery, all brought together by a line of stars. It’s really something else! See for yourself in the Gallery.

Seth Rosko is much more than a frame builder to me. He’s a good friend and someone that I just enjoy being around. Seeing him build bikes is just an added bonus. Everyone claims to be a New Yorker, but Seth is one of those guys who was around when it all began. A huge advocate in the local skate scene and ex-Brooklyn Machine Works builder, he’s seen the cycling scene in NYC change over the years.

For the past few months, he’s been pushing grassroots racing in NYC. Building road and cross racing frames for fledgling teams and local racers. Most notably, the King Kog cross bikes, a bike for Matthew of Cicli Devotion and a few other road bikes for some local female racers.

During my short stay in NYC, I swung by Rosko Cycles to see how Seth makes use of his small, cramped work space in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Today, before the sun is up, a small group of friends and I are going to embark on a 600k brevet-style ride out of Pittsburgh, over the Appalachian mountains and into DC. Loosely termed a “brovet”, this ride is part of a project that’s come to be called Go Yonder. I can’t say anything more than that but we’ll be posting photos on Instagram ( @JohnProlly @moi_is_moi @tytanium @no_ralphy @quesofrito @coelmaness @yonderjournal ) of all the randomness we encounter for the next 36 hours.

The Mudville will be my work horse and since we have no idea what to expect on the road, it’s set up with a SON hub, an Edelux lamp (mounted to a Cronometro Nob, via a R&M mount) and a Viscacha saddle bag by Revelate Designs. We’re all hobo-camping, probably only clocking in 2 hours of sleep, so I’ve got a bag liner, a tarp and a merino hoodie. Fingers crossed, loose legs and Scrapple!

See you on the other side of the mountains and check out more photos below.

#GoYonder

Bryan from Bicycle Revolutions in Philly has some of the most unique builds I’ve ever seen. The man is not afraid of a little color, to say the least. This limited edition All City Nature Boy Zona prototype with custom paint just kills it, so I had to give it some lens love. Check out more colorific photos below.

If my Geekhouse Team Mudville was a little too subdued for your taste, maybe Brad’s team bike is more up your alley. Brad’s bike was the only one in the Geekhouse Philly Bike Expo stable but the bright purple powder attracted crowds all weekend.

This purple race machine has yet to see the mud but if you follow Geekhouse on Instagram (@GeekhouseBikes), you’ll see it covered next weekend. Til then, check out more photos below.

This Rock Lobster was one of my favorite bikes at Interbike this year. As it sat, all alone in the Easton booth, I only hoped that its owner would be putting in miles on it. So you can imagine my surprise when I came across it shortly after arriving at our Ranch last week for the Giro New Road shoot. Owned by Katie, an employee at Giro, this aluminum Rock Lobster has a prototype Easton cross fork, Easton wheels and Easton post, stem. It’s freakingly-light and drop dead gorgeous. See more below.

Let me just preface this post by saying I wish I could show you more photos from the Giro New Road photo shoot. Even getting clearance for posting up these took a little bit of eye-batting and begging. But man, am I ever glad I got to share them.

Day 03 began as Ty, Jordan and I took off for the hills adjacent to our ranch. Super steep gravel climbs and windy singletrack was no challenge for Ty and Jordan as the sunlight broke through the trees. They just flowed through the rocky gravel as videographers and photographers tried to capture the essence of New Road. Later on, the afternoon was spent out on HWY 1 at the mouth of the Navarro River. Climbing up and down the hills, before grabbing lunch, and finally dinner.

Some of the photos shown here give you an idea of what Giro is going for in the New Road. But keep in mind, the details that make this line different from any other will be under wraps for now. Till then, enjoy these photos and don’t miss Ty’s crossie wall ride sequence!

We started our day at a reasonable hour and after breakfast, the team got an intro to Giro‘s new cycling apparel line, the New Road. I can’t say a whole lot about it but what I will say is this is far from “commuter wear” and a completely different approach to your typical road wear.  The most appealing aspect of the line is that it’s all made in the USA.

Our day began leaving the ranch where we’re staying, down a gravel road and out, along the 128 to the 1. At mile 45, we stopped for lunch and to my surprise, had only climbed around 1,000’. Then, jokingly Mark said “oh, there’s a climb”, a Cat 2 trek awaited us off the 1 and it hurt but the 1,000′ descent in 3 miles was exhilarating. At mile 70, we tacked in around 5,000′. Once back at the ranch, we soaked in the waining sunlight, drank some beer and sat in the hot tub, ready to tackle another day on the bike…

Expect a little more riding photos tomorrow, as well as some more teaser shots of the New Road line.