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The last time I lived somewhere that got consistent snow was New York City in the early 2000s and that ain’t exactly the kind of snow you want to go playing around in on your bike. It should come as no surprise that moving to Santa Fe has taken some adjustment over the past year – pandemic aside – having four real seasons once again meant I had to evaluate my cold-weather gear and look into getting a fatbike under me for the proper powder days.
In 1996, Christian Bagg suffered a spinal cord injury and he thought he’d never ride again. For years, he worked on developing an adaptive mountain bike. On Dec 3rd 2020, Christian Bagg and his buddy Chris Brown head out on 2 Bowhead Reach Adaptive Mountain Bike to do a S240 trip, something never before possible for a rider with a spinal cord injury!
This is the first layout of the Radavist 2021 Calendar, entitled “Snow Way, Santa Fe” shot with a Sony A9ii and a Tamron 28-200mm f/2.8-5.6 di iii rxd lens in the Santa Fe National Forest, NM.
“Living in a mountain town means when the snow hits, the ski hill is packed but the trails will be wide open for fun…”
For a high-res JPG, suitable for print and desktop wallpaper*, right-click and save link as – The Radavist 2021 – January. Please, this photo is for personal use only!
(*set background to white and center for optimal coverage)
The mobile background this month is from a Chihuahuan Desert canyon road Click here to download January’s Mobile Wallpaper.
“Finally, a bicycle I can ride to the North Pole and back in a reasonable amount of time”
-Chet Bearclaw
Chet is onto something. Or on something rather! Whatever it is, it’s gotta be good though. The TŌWMAK has got to be the craziest looking bike of the year, yet I can assure you it’s not a photoshop composite. It’s a drop bar fat bike and an early production run of 20 are being made currently, so head to Bearclaw Bicycle Co to put a deposit down if you’re into this.
Specs:
-197x12mm thru-axle frame
-150x15mm Blitzen 468 Axle to Crown carbon or Ti fork (coming soon)
-Fits up to 27.5 x 4.5 or 26 x 5 tires
-3 triple boss mounts on the frame
-Rack Mounts
-Flat mount brake
-Ultradistance Gravel Friendly Geometry. (UGFG)
-100mm BSA Standard Bottom Bracket
-Internal cable routing
-3AL-2.5V double-butted titanium frame
-6AL-4V billet head tube, bb, dropouts, derailleur hanger, and chainstay plate
First released in 2016, the Voytek broke the fatbike mold with its narrow Q factor and unique ride quality. By pairing a narrow pedal stance with a progressive XC race geometry, the Voytek isn’t the slow and cumbersome fatbike you’re used to. Its capabilities don’t end with a narrower Q factor and XC race geometry. The wheelbase of the Voytek can be extended or shortened by up to 20mm, which also changes bottom bracket height by up to 4mm. In the forward position, you’ve got an aggressive, responsive Voytek for your next race. In the rear position, you’ve got that same intuitive handling but with added stability to make it easier to ride in deep snow or adverse terrain. In the middle, well, that’s the best of both worlds. All Otso bikes are equipped with the versatile Tuning Chip.
Is it a fatbike that can run multiple wheel platforms or a plus bike that can handle fat tires? That’s up for you to decide. For 2020, the Voytek received new colors, and build kit options, offering Shimano SLX to SRAM AXS.
Head to Otso for more!
In the summer of 2019, Bjørn Olson and Kim McNett completed a fat-bike and packraft route, entirely above the Arctic Circle of Alaska – Kotzebue to Point Hope. Enjoy the trailer for the upcoming film about this human-powered expedition.
Casey from Mars Cycles always brings bikes with personality. For the Philly Bike Expo this year, he brought this fatbike, with an all-over logo paint job, and one of those Iozzio stem cap one-hitters the brand is calling the ‘shotgun‘. I dunno about you but I love everything about this bike!
Why Cycles brand ambassador Ann Driggers lives quite the life. In fact, if you follow her on Instagram, you’ll see the proof is in the pudding! Good on Why for pulling together such a rad profile on Ann.
Is Otso’s Voytek a plus MTB that can handle a 4.6″ fat tire? Or is it a fatbike that can roll on 27.5+ or 29+ wheels? The q-factor on the Voytek leads me to believe it’s a MTB frame with ample clearance for a 4.6″ fat tire. With the narrowest q-factor out of any other “fatbike” on the market because of its PF107BB spec, paired with a RaceFace Cinch crank and RF149 spindle, bringing the width to 183mm, the Voytek is designed to handle like a modern mountain bike. That’s because, with its unique Tuning Chip™ dropout system and 177×12 rear hub spacing, you can convert it to a hardtail with a dropper easily or run it as a fat bike. The options are endless.
New for 2020, the Voytek comes in a variety of color options and you can build one up at Otso to fit your fancy. Head on over to Otso to see more specs.
After much speculation, Salsa has announced their complete fat bike lineup for 2020, redefining their three flagship models and fine-tuning their performances. With the Beargrease you can expect a race-ready geometry, a Mukluk is for winter exploration, and the Blackborow is a long-range tourer. Head on over to Salsa for the minutiae and your local dealer to see these paint jobs in person.
Cane Creek Cycling Components and LaMere Cycles just announced the pre-order for their eeWings Titanium cranks optimized for modern fat bike hub and bottom bracket standards. The fatbike crank kit will come with a longer bottom bracket spindle to allow for optimal frame clearance and q-factor.
LaMere Cycles will be selling the eeWings fat bike cranks as an option on their complete bike models or aftermarket consumer-direct at a retail of $1049. Those interested in pre-ordering can do so now at Lamere Cycles with expected delivery in November. Check out more specifications below.
The latest video from Bjørn Olson is not to be missed!
“Alaska’s Seward Peninsula lies just below the Arctic Circle. The protuberant peninsula is the millennia old home to the Inupiat Eskimo, situated in the northwest of Alaska – a land that stirs the adventurer’s spirit and kindles the insatiable. Visions of paleo-Arctic ancestors, sweeping tundra, rugged mountains, winding rivers, compacted beaches, intact ecosystems, and a land before contemporary time excite the Iglaak – the traveler, stranger, and visitor.
This three-minute film is a snapshot of a fat-bike and packraft tour through the Imuruk Basin, the villages of Mary’s Igloo, Brevig Mission, Teller, and Nome.”
Perhaps you remember this story from Salsa? I do! It all began with an inscription: “LIVE TO RIDE. RIDE TO DIE. MOUNTAIN BIKES FROM HELL!” Head to Salsa to immerse in this three-part photo epic.
Remember that sick Black Sheep we shared last week? Well, the owner of that bike, Sam, has been tinkering in his garage and building some really unique bikes. Granted, he calls them “hunks of steel” and “kinda weird” but as a cycling photographer I couldn’t pass up shooting his 135mm spaced Rohloff fatbike.
After a devastating breakup, Rafael finds solitude and restoration on the open road, pedaling his way to emotional health from Mexico City to northern Colorado. With just $500 to his name, he spearheads a revolution to help the underprivileged members of his new neighborhood the best way he knows how: repairing their bicycles.
Over the years, we’ve featured many of Benedict‘s bikes here on the site. They’re always a lil bit of weird with a dash of kooky but the result of a lot of ‘pondering over a wooden pipe’ functional. For the latest build, which we dubbed the Warthog Wash Wiper, all the above applies.
In short, this bike is a desert bulldozer, yet not one you’d find Hayduke underneath with a 3′ wrench and a cheater bar. This is a bicycle, not a machine for destruction. The Warthog Wash Wiper, aka WWW, is an all-rounder dirt tourer, and it comes alive when the sand gets deep, where normal bikes become less than ideal trekking poles.
Touring in Greenland on a fatbike gets you out off the beaten path and into wilderness.
The shredding doesn’t stop at Highland Mountainbike Park in the winter, it just gets more epic.