The Radavist

Barcelona, at least as far as I’m concerned, is Los Angeles’ European sister city. Not so much in terms of its urbanism, or gracious public plazas, or the seemingly lack of vehicular congestion, but in terms of the riding. Mediterranean climates make for photogenic trails and even in the winter months, this city is a joy to ride in. When we arrived in Barcelona, I had no idea what to expect. Mattia from Legor Cicli and Ken from ENVE told us (meaning myself and photographer Jeff Curtis, who came along to document the trip for ENVE) we’d be riding dirt roads and trails all within the city limits.

More and more people are tuning into the advantages of a road bike with bigger clearances. With brands like ENVE, designing forks like the GRD, specifically after frame builders requested it over and over again, it’s now easier than ever to tailor a custom bicycle to your own style of dirt riding.

Over the past few days, I’ve been riding in Barcelona with Mattia of Legor Cicli. He’s been thrashing this Porreca All Road model with ease as he shows us around his city. It’s a looker for sure but it’s got details to match its aesthetics. After all, looks ain’t everything.

For starters, Mattia designed a custom Columbus tubeset for this bike and utilized those stylish Syntace dropouts to run his SRAM Red Hydro setup. This bike also features a t47bb (which I failed to get a good photo of!) by White Industries and that new n nifty GRD fork by ENVE. The production frames will fit a 43mm tire, offering plenty of cushioning for rough roads and trails.

I’ve had a lot of fun riding with this bike and a lotta fun photographing it! Thanks for being a great host, Mattia!

Bikepacking isn’t limited to mountain bikes and this W.H. Bradford has some tricks up its sleeves… For starters, there’s a Thomson dropper trigger under the SRAM shifter, extra bottle bosses on the Ruckus Composites-altered Whiskey fork and plenty of triangle space for that splinter camo Porcelain Rocket bag. With clearance for Bruce Gordon’s Rock N Road tires, this bike can go just about anywhere and when it’s time to stealth camp, it’ll blend right into the woods. Just don’t let that Profile Racing freehub spin or you’ll blow your cover.

420-friendly themes in cycling were abundant in the early years of mountain biking, yet I don’t recall ever seeing a bike actually become a pipe. Mars Cycles went there for NAHBS this year, making the Trailside Companion a functioning smoking device, carb and all. Personally, I think this is a brilliant use of a show bike…

Also, that spraypaint job is insane!

Adam Sklar brought some heat with him from Montana. Having just turned 16, he’s the youngest builder at the show (just kidding, he’s 22) but that didn’t stop him from turning out some beautiful machines. As I sat in his booth looking at the mountain and fatbikes on display, I couldn’t help but pick out the curved, swoopy-tubed ‘cross or “all road” bike in the corner. Complete with Sycip-inspired quarter fork blade toppers and some slick Reynolds wheels, this puppy is ready to take on some Montana fire road action!

When Ritchey comes to NAHBS, they bring Tom Ritchey-built bikes, including this Swiss Cross. This one’s painted by Rick at D&D Cycles, just like the classic Commandos were and was born in California, inside Tom’s shop. I’d say that’s a pretty fitting bike for NAHBS!

The dusty and dry trails and roads in SoCal can quickly age any bike. From surprise slide-outs to caked up dirt, pretty soon even the newest bike can look weathered and well, loved. Now I don’t know the story behind this Stoemper ‘cross bike, other than it was brought into Golden Saddle for some TLC, but it’s easy to see that even a bright red cherry bomb frame like this can get plenty of action ’round these parts.

My favorite detail: the mis-matched PAUL Cantis!

Keep rolling, you perdy thing.

Cyclofunk Single Speed Rock Lobster Cyclocross
Photos by Kyle Kelley, words by John Watson

Single speeds are by far the most elegant ‘cross bikes in my opinion and this Cyclofunk rig has tons of character built in.

Jake’s got style for days when it comes to his Rock Lobster SSCX bike. For starters, orange is the fastest color, especially when it matches the Giants’ livery. Then, the Campy Record and Chorus SS drivetrain and brake levers adds a bit of Italian componentry flair where it’s noticeable and finally, the PAUL “party” mullet brake combination of a Touring Canti with a MiniMoto provide ample stoppage. Black and orange make for great bike colors and I can’t keep my eyes off this one. The black Rock Lobster head tube logo is a perfect touch!

____

Follow Kyle on Instagram and Jake on Instagram.

It’s not every day that you see an Icarus in Los Angeles. Much less one that’s so minty fresh. As the sun poured into Golden Saddle Cyclery the other day, this beaut rolled through the doors, owner en tow, Chris King freehub buzzing along. Victor had contacted Ian at Icarus over two years ago to build him a ‘cross bike with cantis, a 1 1/8″ steerer and classic lines. Still, in a world of 44mm head tubes and disc brakes, this bike looks modern, yet still timeless.

The mint paint is offset by the bright red color hits provided by paint and Chris King. I’ll always feel a special connection to Icarus’ work and this bike makes it easy to see why…

____

Visit Golden Saddle Cyclery in Silverlake, Los Angeles and follow them on Instagram.

Matt from SWRVE got himself an early Christmas present this year. His custom Kish titanium ‘cross bike is everything he needs to take on the roads and tracks in the Los Angeles area. Titanium bikes make for great off-road vehicles. The material itself “eats up” a lot of the rough ride and it’ll be more dent-resistant from any wrecks that might happen. With a nice clean coat of blue paint on the frame, as well as the stem and seatpost, you almost get distracted from noting the Campagnolo Centaur gruppo, or the big fat tires this pup is rolling on.

After acquiring all the parts for the frame, Matt took this bike to Golden Saddle Cyclery for a pro build. I love clean, simple bikes like this and I can’t wait to see it dusty and dirty. Enjoy this beaut, Matt!