The Radavist

If you’ve been to the Crust Bikes website over the past few days, you probably noticed a message that reads:

“Thanks for the six years of support, it has been a ride. Closed until further notice.”

Now, this set the internet into a frenzy. How could the bike company that has been seemingly killing it for those past six years suddenly fold? Well, they didn’t fold. I was waiting on a returned text message from Matt all weekend before I posted anything and my suspicions turned out to be true.

This website helped launch Crust Bikes. I met Matt in Austin back in 2015 and shot his personal prototype 26+ Evasion. At that time, I was really blown away at how thoughtful everything about the OG Evasion was. I knew Matt was onto something. The brand launched right when the adventure/gravel/touring stuff took off. As expected, Crust Bikes did blow up! Everyone at Crust has been moving so fast that they haven’t had time to figure out what sustainable growth looked like.

Then Covid hit and international supply chains were halted. Fast forward to today, Crust’s stock of frames is low, and thus, Matt’s emails have gone through the roof. While they’re waiting on new frames to be delivered in 2021, Matt and Cheech, and the entire team are using this downtime to restructure their business, rebuild their website, and figure out how to grow and operate more sustainably.

It sucks to suddenly see their site with that message but please just know, they’re not going anywhere. They all just need some time off and some space. Please respect this moment in time and don’t reach out to them. Let them work and recover in peace. If you want to pour out some emotion in the comments here and just let them know how much Crust Bikes means to you, you’re totally free to do that, just don’t send Matt another email. ;-)

xo

I met Mitchell many years ago while riding opposite directions on the Tour Divide and since then we’ve kept in loose internet contact. Mitchell and Matt are launching a new shop in Knoxville with an amazing goal and I wanted to share it with everyone:

Howdy, we’re Mitchell and Matt, two regular people who ride bikes. We also happen to be starting a non-profit bike shop in the Historic Old City district of Knoxville, TN. We’re calling it Two Bikes and our mission is to give away a bicycle for every one we sell.

To make this happen we rely on donated bikes – and bike parts – which we refurbish and sell for reasonable prices. The shop will also serve as a hub for the fast-growing and diverse Knoxville cycling community by offering public repair stations, mechanics classes, a taproom showcasing local beer, a resource library and – when things return to normal – an event space.

We believe in the transformative power of bikes, not just as a means of exercise or a social object, but also as a tool for personal mobility, freedom and autonomy. From the latest carbon space bike to the modest be-fendered and basketed commuter, we hope you’ll agree that with each bicycle the world becomes a more wondrous and positive place. As such, Two Bikes is committed to lowering the barrier for entry to this brighter world by providing access to affordable bikes and to creating a more inclusive and egalitarian culture through honest, unintimidating service.

We’re documenting the process of starting the nonprofit online too. If you’d like to follow along, the best spot is probably Instagram.

I feel like we’ll take all the laughs we can get these days, so let’s have a collective chuckle at this ‘Tandem’ that’s in the Dunkin’ Donuts webshop for $500. I’m really curious to see what is going on with the rear wheel and drivetrain too!

We’re not gloating but we do want to make a post congratulating the democratic process. Good on ya, America! That said, we have a lot of work to do to re-unite this country.

We romanticize the outdoors here at the Radavist and this election, many of our favorite places in the Western United States are under the scalpel for oil and mineral extraction. That’s just the tip of the iceberg too. Civil rights, liberties, Covid-19, and the list goes on and on. A lot is on the table this election. Most importantly, the vessel for change lies within local elections too! Your local voting is just as essential as the presidential vote.

Please, VOTE! Head to Vote.org to find your local polling place. A lot is on the line and even if it doesn’t affect you directly, it does for many others.

Thank you.

This week is going to be a stressful one and rather than stew indoors, listening to the news, last night I hollered at Bailey to see if he wanted to commemorate International Singlespeed Day on our neighborhood trails…

Intro by California Travis:

Every Monday at 11 am, the entire PAUL Component shop staff has an “All-Hands” meeting to catch up on any changes or shop news or projects. For the last few months, this has been in the backyard with masks and everybody yelling across the yard to each other. It’s weird but no weirder than our usual shop vibes. Last Monday, Paul announced that November 2nd is International Singlespeed Day. We all looked at him like “Huh? Says who?” Then he said it was him and his friend Amanda’s birthday that day, and it was Amanda’s idea, and why the hell not?

Having never created an International Holiday before, I wasn’t quite sure what to do, so I got on the phone with a bunch of framebuilders and friends and said “Hey. It’s Paul’s birthday on November 2nd, and he wants everybody to ride singlespeeds. You down?” And of course, everybody said yes, I mean what the hell else are you going to do right now? So how do you join us? It’s pretty simple really, go for a ride on your singlespeed, wherever you live, post a photo on Instagram and hashtag it #InternationalSinglespeedDay, and wish Paul and Amanda a happy birthday if you want. Don’t have a singlespeed bike? Zip tie your shifters, or take the battery off your derailleur, maybe? Get creative, there are no rules!

Post your singlespeed bikes up in the comments too.

We asked Paul what the big deal is and this is what he wrote… Read on below!

Yep. You read that right! The team at Kona is looking to expand their brand ambassadors for 2021 and all ya gotta do is:

“To apply, please send an email to ambassadors@konaworld.com and answer the following questions:

Really, we’re looking for what makes YOU unique and what you’ve done to create a cool little niche in your biking world. So tell us anything you think we need to know about you and what makes you awesome.”

See more at Kona!

Our good friend Namz wrote a beautiful piece for Bedrock Sandals’ blog. Here’s an excerpt:

“Thunder Moon of July:
-I’m smiling a lot because my friend Sam is observing this one with me, all the way in another state. We both listen to N.K. Jemisin’s “The City We Became” to deepen our bond.
-Learn that the opposite of depression is not happiness but playfulness and remind myself to be a little more playful.
-Decided on wearing a linen cycling jumpsuit which allowed for airflow and a breeze all day (and I thought I looked really cute) but still wearing clipless cycling shoes and suffered pruned up, soggy feet at the end of the day.”

Head on over to Bedrock Sandals to read the whole piece!

Paul Component Engineering has a lifelong legacy of making parts you can rely on, for just about any bike. This legacy is only possible due to the fact that the team at Paul live, eat, dream, drink, sleep, and travel for all things bike! Part of their tradeshow and bike race fleet is this Sprinter van, which recently got a facelift thanks to Chris McNally. Let’s take a look at this van’s new vinyl wrap in detail below.

Filmed by Bike is pushing for a substantial BIPOC filmmaker grant to help Supporting Black, Indigenous and all People of Color tell their bicycle stories via video:

“We spend eight months of the year digging into the far-reaching corners of the internet in search of the world’s best bike movies. (Really, it’s not as scary of a place as you might think it is.) You know what we’ve learned over the years? The world is dreadfully devoid of films created by or about BIPOC.

That’s not to say the films aren’t out there, it’s just to say they are rare and precious gems – the quantity of which does not reflect the population of people who are passionate about riding bikes. We know there are many barriers to filmmaking, and funding is a huge barrier. So we decided to do our part to help bring more representation to the world of bike movies. We hope you’ll join us by applying for a grant, spreading the word about this program, and making a donation today.”

See more at Filmed by Bike and make a donation here if you have the means.

More than 3 million people in the US and Canada experience a traumatic brain injury (TBI) each year. Revel is partnering up with Love Your Brain to improve their lives…

Every $5 donation to this campaign gets you one chance to win this custom-painted Rascal, built with quite the kit.

More about Love Your Brain:

Love Your Brain is a nonprofit on a mission to improve the lives of people affected by traumatic brain injury. We’ve teamed up with Revel Bikes because we believe:

-Through awareness and mindfulness, people are best equipped to make brain-healthy decisions (like wearing helmets when riding bikes!)
-When a TBI does occur, people affected need a supportive and compassionate community
-The experience of TBI is complex, unique, and often misunderstood, and needs to be seen, recognized, and supported by all

Donate $5 to be entered to win this Ranger at Love Your Brain.

If you’re a BIPOC cyclist, who enjoys bikepacking, or perhaps you’d like to give it a try…

The BIPOC Bike Adventure Grant is Bikepacking Roots’ grant program created to help reduce the barriers to bike adventure for BIPOC individuals.  The BIPOC Bike Adventure Grant will support recipients by helping fund fun and empowering bike adventures.

Apply between now and November 8th. We anticipate requiring ~4-5 weeks to review and follow up with all applicants, meaning we plan on announcing the recipients and their planned adventures in mid-December.

Qualified applicants are those who
-have any level of experience riding a bicycle.
-would benefit from support in order to pursue a specific bike adventure.
-identify as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color).
-live in the United States.
-are any gender identity, age, class, body size, or ability.

Proposals can include requests of $500 to $3,000+ for the autumn 2020 grant cycle. The next grant cycle will open in late spring of 2021. Some equipment support will also be available as needed.

Apply now at Bikepacking Roots!

With the news today that Bike, Powder, Snowboarder, and Surfer Magazines have been shuttered by their owner, American Media, we can’t help but feel an immense loss in print magazines. This news was shocking, as Bike Mag’s content has always been sharp, including the last entry on their website, penned by Bikepacking Roots‘ Kurt Refsnider dubbed “Solutions for Smaller Bikepackers” which offers up a lot of pointers for cyclists who don’t ride a size large frame. Head on over to Bike Mag to read all about it.