The Radavist

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.

Last year at NAHBS, I documented a rigid mountain bike from the Russian framebuilder TORESVELO. This year, Anton from TORESVELO couldn’t make it to the show himself, due to visa issues, but his friends brought this rigid mountain bike for him. It was commissioned by someone who saw last year’s bike and wanted one just like it. I love little stories like that because ultimately, that’s what NAHBS is for – showcasing bikes for builders to grow their audience – and it’s why I love documenting NAHBS.

This frame has a beautiful olive drab finish with orange Hope parts, and a Bjorn, handmade in Russia carbon saddle. I’m really glad the Russian contingency showed up this year and brought such great bikes!

Fenders aren’t exactly my favorite bicycle accessory. Granted I live in Texas where it “never rains” or so it didn’t really until this year. We’ve had a very wet spring and summer, resulting in a lot of unexpected rain riding. So much so that I finally broke down and decided to ditch the big, plump tread of my Bruce Gordon Rock n Roads for some fenders and the biggest tire I could find that would fit…

I love how you can take a frame that’s very accessible and affordable, strip it, then paint or powdercoat it. From there, you can either rebuild the stock kit, or build it up with choice components. For Matt at Whisky Parts, he did the latter.

Matt put a Whisky fork, bars on the front, a Whisky seatpost, Chromag stem, saddle, Industry Nine wheels, Middleburn cranks, HOPE pedals, Hope brakes and a Chris King bottom bracket. The all black component list just makes that gold powdercoat pop! I think this bike was my favorite at Frostbike and I gotta tell ya, it makes me want to do something rad with my Pugs…

See more in the Gallery!