The Radavist

This is a great video profile on a frame builder many of us have never even heard of. Myself included…

“Lino Messori said of himself “I am nobody, but I did a bit of everything”.
Born in 1926, in Modena, Italy, Lino quickly became a local fixture both for his incomparable skills and his personality.

A master frame builder who also followed a myriad of different passions, spanning from singing with opera legend Luciano Pavarotti to never losing a single boxing match.
Lino Messori made 150 bespoke bikes over the span of his career, many of which were very special for the time and still today.”

Yikes! I didn’t expect to see this beauty when I was catching up on my Flickr browsing. Thomas at Horse Cycles just completed a run of production 29’r hardtails, complete with custom paint, done in house, right down to detailing the Rock Shox fork and ENVE stem. What do I think? Dirty thoughts… like a white horse fell into the mud dirty.

The price? $999 for a frame only, with a 3-4 week lead time. See more at Horse Cycles!

I don’t know why I didn’t hear about this sooner, but the 2014 Texas Custom Bicycle Show is this Saturday evening. I’d go, but I have a wedding! So if you’re looking for something to do this Saturday, head on over.

See more information at the Texas Custom Bicycle Show Facebook.

You know what? I think Drew at Engin’s work is some of the finest in the world and when it comes to mountain frames, his titanium trail rockets are the things dreams are made of, so why wouldn’t he be able to make a sick cross bike, or all-road rig? Look at the body language and stance on that thing!

These bikes look the part and although I’ve never ridden one, I bet they rip just fine.

Check out more at Engin.

Lifestyle photos by Chris Blott

Shand calls the Stoater a “cross bike for people who don’t race cross” and here in the States, bikes like this get labeled “gravel grinders” or “adventure bikes”. I like to think of them as all-road bikes.

The Stoater can be run as a singlespeed, geared or Rohloff. Shand achieves versatility through using a PF30bb, so it can accept a Beer Components EBB and the Paragon Polydrop dropouts with interchangeable inserts. This, along with modular cable routing, drivetrain swaps are easy. Built from Reynolds 853 with Deda and Columbus stays, the Stoater can take what you can throw at it.

See more of the Stoater at Shand Cycles.

Since moving all of their production from Oregon to Austin, Chumba‘s been cranking out their mountain bike frames in house. Today after a quick trail ride with Vince from Chumba, he took me out to their facilities so I could see their office and fabrication shop.

All I have to say is I’m stoked to see this going down in Austin, just 30 minutes from my home.

More to come!

Yesterday, we took a look inside the workspace of Brian from Chapman Cycles and today, I see this gorgeous fendered commuter up on the Chapman Flickr. There are so many beautiful details on this frame, that you’ll have to go see them for yourself.

Brian Chapman really does build some exquisite frames. Check out this short video profile from his work space at Chapman Cycles. Looking great, Brian.

Gaulzetti is a name that doesn’t pop up all that much here on the Radavist, but when it does, it’ll be burnt into the back of your mind for at least a month and that has nothing to do with the paint found on this disc cross. Holy. Hole. Shot.

See more at Gaulzetti.

This machine was a piece of cake for Santa Barbara’s Aaron Stinner. Or rather, the customer was a piece of cake. As a returning client, he knew exactly what he wanted. Something simple, clean and efficient. The only stipulation was it had to have Dura Ace on it and a set of Luxe Wheelworks.

Aaron contacted Justin and they both got to pick out the wheels, leaving the rest of the frame for Aaron to design. The customer even let him pick the color scheme and and all the components.

It just happened to be Stinner’s 100th bike as well and the last bike to be built in his garage. Not a bad way to bid adieu to his hold shop, huh? See more below!

Japan’s Sim Works makes some of the raddest components out there and boy, do they know how to pick a great framebuilder to work with! Rick Hunter has been conspiring with the Japanese company and there are some really dialed products coming in the near future. For now, we have to make due with these great photos of Rick and his Wood Rat 27.5 hardtail.

Check out more at the Sim Works Flickr!

Oh man. Those Baum Extensas are so nice. Especially kitted out in XX1 and RockShox. See more of this Assos blue 27.5 shred sled at the Baum Flickr.

If you’re in the UK, you should really check out this deal. Kinoko is having a frame blowout sale and one of them is a steal. For £925.0 you can get a Cross Classic frame. That’s frame, fork and matching King headset. The only catch is, it’s a 54cm. Head to Kinoko for more information.

When some design companies sell cycling products, they just slap a label on some Taiwanese blanks, but House Industries isn’t just anyone. They’ve done an amazing job, sourcing products that were made domestically. From PAUL, to Brooks, Tanner Goods, King Cage and even Waterford-constructed framesets, the House Industries Velo Collection is filled with products that will last a lifetime.

… and as I just found, it’s hard to not add a lot of it to your check out basket!

See more at House Industries and again, smashing job guys!

Photo by Eric Baumann

A porteur bike is a great companion for city riding. Loaded or unloaded, it’s nestled in a sweet spot of trail and will quickly become your favorite all-arounder. I’m sure that’s what Ruth will find out soon enough with her new Royal H Cycles! See more at the Royal H Flickr.