The Radavist

The desert is a destination for many, who seek its healing potential and spiritual homeostasis. For us, we just wanted the red sands of Sedona, Arizona to cleanse us from Las Vegas and Interbike.

When I mentioned to Ty that Sean and I were driving back to Texas after the tradeshow, he was stoked for us. Then, when I said “yeah, I’m thinking we’ll head through Sedona for a quick ride”, he immediately wanted in.

That’s why I love Ty so much. Hell, that’s why I love my friends so much. They’re willing to go 7 hours out of their way to ride bikes for 3 hours. Ok, ride bikes for 2 hours and shoot photos, fuck off, play with snakes for an hour.

We rolled into town and couldn’t find an open camp site, so we set up at a hotel next to the Bike and Bean, a local MTB establishment at the trailhead. The guys were super friendly and then, out of the blue, a local named Duff asked us if he could join us. Uh, sure!

It turned out to be a short, but sweet trek through the desert and I’ll definitely be returning!

Pre-Season Preparation at Richard Sachs
Photos and words by Dan Chabanov

I pretty much wait all year to get this email. It’s short and simply reads;

“The bikes are ready. When can I expect you?”

This shop’s been on my radar since I first came to Kauai, four years ago and yet, this trip was the first one that brought me through its doors. Kauai Cycle is a small shop, located in what many consider to be an island paradise. For those visiting, but not wanting to schlep a bike on a plane, they do high end road and MTB rentals.

My favorite part about visiting shops like this are the little details, which you can check out in this short but sweet Gallery. Also, how good is that shirt?

Thanks to Jonny and Chris for taking me out on a MTB ride last Sunday. Mahalo!

The idea of “free” these days usually comes with a catch, yet when the Levi’s Commuter Workshops popped up in Brooklyn, LA and London, free really does mean free. A free desk to work at, free bike repair / wash areas, free coffee, free wifi and yes, free tailoring. So what’s the catch? No, really, there isn’t one.

Pace Sportswear has been around longer than any other cycling cap manufacturer in the United States. So long that even Italian brands like Campagnolo used them back in the early 80’s. The day I arrived in Los Angeles, Sean from Team Dream took me by Pace to see their operations.

I know cycling caps aren’t exactly saving the world, but when you think of domestic production, employee people and keeping an industry alive, it directly affects the US cycling industry.

If and when I ever do caps, Pace will be my choice.

Since 1866, Brooks England has been making bicycle saddles in the UK. While their original facilities were located in Birmingham, the current factory is nestled in the industrial town of Smethwick.

We’ve all probably owned a Brooks saddle at one point in our life and can attest to their longtime comfort and character that develops from heavy use. Before a saddle ever touches a seat post, they begin as just raw leather and steel. The process by which they make the transformation to a bicycle saddle is complex, yet streamlined in their bustling factory.

Dozens of employees make Brooks England tick and each has their special task. While they will transfer stations every few months, a unique marker on the saddles can tell you who was doing what, when. This catalog of information spans decades and is what makes Brooks so unique. If something goes wrong with a batch, Brooks can asses the situation and make their end product better.

For me, the most interesting part of the process was talking to the workers and watching them move through their tasks with efficiency… In an age when Great Britain has shipped much of its industry overseas, it’s great to see heritage and craftsmanship are still alive at Brooks.

See more in the Gallery, as I walk you through this process.

This morning, after no sleep and a long day of traveling, I landed at Heathrow with the sunrise. In fact, I’m pretty sure it was the sun, peeking through the neighbor’s window, hitting me in the face that kept me from getting an iota of sleep.

I hopped on the Express train and made my way to the hotel, before taking a stroll with the PEdAL ED team around the neighborhood.

Holding onto consciousness, in an almost sleepwalking state, we swung through a few shops, all of which I’d like to spend more time combing through the details and doing proper Shop Visits at, but in the interest of time, I’ll have to go with these random details.

Kinoko was amazing. One of the nicest shops I’ve been in and the Rapha Cycle Club was quite the experience… I’m here with Brooks England, for their Eroica event and our days are pretty packed, but I’ll do my best to document our journey.

I love seeing frame builders gain notoriety through supporting grassroots cycling teams. Not to say that Aaron Stinner wouldn’t be as popular today without building the Mudfoot racing cyclocross frames, but it certainly helped.

During my visit to Santa Barbara during the ATOC, Jeremy Dunn and I spent the afternoon with Aaron, riding bikes, photographing bikes and making a mess at his house.

Aaron is lucky enough to have a decent sized workspace set up in his garage and he’s even luckier to have a great ride just seconds from his front door. As his queue stacks up, Aaron continues to crank out road, cross and MTB frames for customers, who happen to be mostly from California. Many of which are looking to race on a steel frame, made in their home state, rather than buy overseas production.

Stinner Frameworks is still new in the grand scheme of things, but if Aaron continues at the current momentum, he could vary well be the next big thing…