The Radavist

The newest bike of the week from Above Category has racing pedigree written all over it. Red and white will always look well balanced, especially with Campagnolo Record. See more of this Mosaic RS-1 at Above Category’s blog.

FBM has been working on their Raconteur city bikes for a while now. As a small, independently owned, domestic production bicycle company, it’s hard to front all the money up front for a full size run, so they’re taking pre-orders via a Kickstarter campaign. Pricing is more than fair, at $750 for a frame and completes ranging from $1700 to $2,360 so if you want to place an order, do so now!

Expected delivery is March 2015. These look great guys!

Photo by Kyle Kelley

They look great. Over at Trackosaurus Rex, Kyle’s got a few photos if you want to see more.

I love when Richard Sachs goes on a photo binge on his Flickr, because in every batch he uploads is a gem like this. Head over to the Richard Sachs Flickr and check out all-sizes for use on your desktop and laptop.

I love seeing projects like this form. Especially when it’s got Chris McNally involved. That man is so talented. Here’s the scoop from Vanilla:

“Born out of a friendship and shared love of impractical vehicles and the clean aesthetic of 60’s and 70’s road racing, this project represents the culmination of seeds planted a few years ago. When Sacha started in on a design for the new Vanilla kit, he was reminded of how garish modern team gear has become. Thinking about what the design could be, he wanted to evoke the beauty and simplicity of past designs, while keeping the forward-looking feel the Workshop believes in…”

Check out more below!

This build took a bit for me to warm up to it, but there’s something about it that would heat up even the coldest base miles. The bar tape, saddle, fork, headset and hubs are all a different tone of green and yet it works.

See more of this rad machine at the Firefly Flickr!

Last month, Mike Flanigan made the announcement that he’ll be closing the doors to ANT and accepting a welding position at Seven Cycles. Mike is very much tied to the Boston-area and frame building, originally working for Fat City Cycles and more recently, opening a small frame-building school of his own, all while making his “Alternative Needs Transportation” bikes.

The Northeast is the US’ backbone for framebuilding and it’s sad to see Mike close ANT, but I’m glad to see he’ll still be making frames.

If you’d like to help Mike out with his relocation costs, he’s selling commemorative shirts, hats, chainrings and head badges as a meager fundraiser. Head over to the ANTBikeMike blog for more details.

As a frame builder or a potential customer of one, finding a good, reliable painter is one of the most difficult components in the custom bike equation. Not only do they have to be talented, they’ve got to be creative and be able to execute designs in a timely manner. Some clients have no idea what they want, but can give a few graphic precedents to a builder or painter and say “run with it.”

It takes a talented painter to make that a reality. In some cases, all it takes is a photo of a sports car, or a graphic designer like Adria Klora to hand over style sheets, yet either route you, the customer, or your builder takes, it all comes down to the capabilities of the painter.

One such painter that I’ve been really admiring over the past year is Jordan Low. A full-time painter at Seven in Watertown, Massachusetts, Jordan spends his free time painting for various frame builders like Stinnner, Geekhouse, Avery County, and Tomii.

Follow Jordan’s work at the Jordan Low Custom Paint Flickr!

The team over at Geekhouse have been working hard on a new website and all that diligence has paid off. Head on over to check out more photos by Heather McGrath, as well as bikes Marty has built around the globe!

If there was an award each year for the best customized shop bikes, Blue Lug would win it. From Surly to Fairweather and now Rew10 Works, their shop bikes are so beautiful. Check out this blue Mondrian SSCX bike, complete with that disc front and canti rear setup… While we’re at it, check out these photos on the Blue Lug blog from what appears to be a Sim Works bike show / store opening of sorts.

If you’re in Santa Barbara this weekend, make sure you roll through the Stinner Frameworks grand opening party! See more details at Stinner Frameworks. I wish I could be there.

Firs off, have you seen the new Firefly Tumblr? All the photos are displayed at high resolution now, so when you see a shot like this, it’s like a TKO. Firefly, I’m seeing stars…

From those sick 29r frames, to dry bag backpacks, waxed hats, camping knives and even an ax with a sheath, the Horse Cycles collection is looking great. Congrats Thomas, you’ve got yourself quite the collection.

All of this is made in the Brooklyn, NY, USA.

Personally, I’ve never seen a framebuilder make a trailer for touring but I’m glad to have found this one made by Chapman Cycles on their Flickr. The details on this thing are great! See more at the Chapman Flickr. Oh and, this is Elton’s bike that he’ll be pulling it with.

Photos by Eric Baumann

With a bright paintjob by Jordan from JL Custom Paint, these Team Stampede cross bikes from Nao at Tomii Cycles are sure to turn heads at races and rides. At least until they’re covered in mud. See the full set at the Tomii Flickr.

This came out so nice! As I announced earlier, Above Category in Sausalito has picked up Argonaut Cycles, to give customers better access to the brand. The shop will assist in ordering one of these unique custom frames, by walking the consumer through the step by step process.

To celebrate this partnership, Argonaut and Above Category brought Brian Vernor out to make a short video showcasing the brands and their dedication to the custom market.

Learn more at Above Category and check out some photos below.