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The good ol’ Sea Otter Classic can be an overwhelming experience with its plethora of products and bikes. Here at The Radavist, we try to sift through the dirt to find the chunks of gold, which is what we did this year, profiling a selection of bikes from vintage, to new, including some randoms we found meandering the wind-blown aisles of this lovely event. Check out some beauts below!
In 2021, parts and bikes are hard to come by and that’s why fundraising and conservation projects like this are all the more relevant these days. A handful of bike companies, Cane Creek Cycling Components, Industry Nine, Thomson Bike Products, Continental Tires, fizik, and Crank Brothers, came together to put on a fundraiser for The Pisgah Conservancy. Read on below for how you can win the 2021 Pisgah Project Bike Raffle…
Thomson knows there are a lot of 27.2mm seatpost bikes out there that could benefit from an externally-routed dropper post. That’s why they developed their new Black Gravel Dropper with 125mm travel, 27.2 diameter, remote actuator, and cable kit included. These sleek and minimal droppers retail for $479.95 and are in stock now at Thomson.
Coming off their new MTB frame, the Hooch, Thomson just announced their new titanium gravel bike, the Piedmont. Like the Hooch, the Piedmont comes in a base model comes with Thomson Elite series stem, post, clamp alloy bar, and carbon fork…or enjoy a sweet discount on their premium components (Ti, Carbon, Masterpiece, Dropper) for the ultimate Thomson package deal.
Specs:
-3al 2.5v aircraft grade custom drawn Titanium frame set
-70º head tube angle
-44mm tire clearance
-tapered 1 1/8th to 1.5 internal headset
-internal routing
-142×12 through axle
-27.2 post
-brushed finish with Sandblasted logos and a custom headtube badge
See more at Thomson.
Thomson is launching a Titanium hardtail MTB called the Hooch in conjunction with their brand new website. The “Hooch” is the namesake of the Chattahoochee in north Georgia, home to some of the most epic trails in the country.
This limited Ti frame is equipped with a Thomson Dropper post (your choice of travel), then the customer selects from Thomson’s entire collection of Thomson components, starting at $3,295.00.
From their Elite or Masterpiece series, Ti or carbon fiber, the customer can pick and choose from all of Thomson’s parts, for the ultimate build kit. Then, to sweeten the deal, customers receive a generous discount on upgrade parts as a perk of buying the frameset.
The Hooch is a backwoods hardtail, built from 3al 2.5v aircraft grade Titanium, custom formed stays, Boost (148×12) through axle, internal routing with an extra line for your Thomson dropper, 150mm fork travel, 30.9 seat tube diameter, and clearance for 27.5 x 2.4 tires.
See the full specs at Thomson and poke around on their new website!
We may have a lot of coverage from the Western United States here at the Radavist, but North Carolina is my home state and I personally grew up mountain biking in the Pisgah. It was a lot different back then and all the improvements I’ve seen over the years keep pulling at my heartstrings to return and ride there, especially with projects like this!
Keep reading for information on the fourth consecutive year of the Pisgah Project raffle…
We’ve seen dozens, if not hundreds of adaptive reuse of Thomson’s bags. For those unfamiliar, Thomson ships their stems and seat posts in these durable bags, of which people have made them into various bicycle portage offerings over the years. Blue Lug Hatagaya just upped the ante with these bags, as a part of their celebratory Thomson Day.
The Blue Lug Blog has a bunch of fun photos showcasing their use. These bags will be on sale at the three Blue Lug stores on Saturday, October 10th and the online store will be stocked Monday night, October 13th if any are leftover.
Head to Blue Lug for more!
Meet the new Masterpiece C seatpost ($274.95), and carbon fiber Gravel Bar ($249.95). Both utilize a satin finish, Toray lay up, and Nano Epoxy Resin for high impact resistance. The Masterpiece C post uses Ti hardware and Thomson’s no hassle, trusty alloy clamp.
Thomson’s new Gravel bar features internal routing, 25º flare in both 44 and 46cm widths.
Perhaps you recall Thomson making bikes with Lynskey a few years back? Those US made frames were a unique move for the component manufacturer and even though they didn’t sell a ton of the collaboration bikes, it set a precedent for the brand, prompting this project. Yesterday, I met Mike from Thomson, who was in town en route to NAHBS in Sacramento. Mike was unpacking and building up this flashy titanium bike when I saw the Thomson logo on the downtube. While it looks like a polished, finished product, this frame is, in fact, a working prototype. Not the first Thomson bike, but one of the first bikes Thomson has developed to be made overseas in Taiwan.
Cerakote is a high quality, durable coating that can take a beating. It’s more resilient than powder, won’t chip like paint, and will endure constant use over the years. As part of a limited release, Thomson has just launched a Cerakote lineup including an Elite X2, X4, and seat post, in a subtle Olive Drab. Head to Thomson for ordering!
Carrying stuff on bikes can be complicated – especially when you’re a notorious over-packer who likes to have a DSLR on hand. The Wolverine is my first ground-up drop bar build in a while, and I wanted to ensure that both transporting and accessing my camera would be well thought out.
Since we got married last October, Stephanie and I have been putting the pieces together to take off on a multi-month trip beginning in July. Wanting to produce galleries and stories on the road means having a bike-camping friendly way to carry my camera gear. I decided on a Swift Ozette rando bag – and the Hinterland Collection made with X-Pac VX21 had classic rando utility with a technical, modern twist.
I got talking with Martina at Swift over email, and ended up heading down to Seattle to visit their studio and pick up my bag in person. While Martina does get out on a lot of adventures herself, she also loves to live vicariously through others. Finding out that Stephanie and I were headed in the direction of the Great Divide route and planning on sticking to dirt as much as possible, she recommended finding a robust decaleur solution for my Ozette.
Photos by Matthew Miller
As a small frame building operation, you often enlist the aid of your friends, in similar sized, adjacent creative companies. Whether it’s a web developer, or in this case, a photographer, knowing the right people can really help get your work out there.
Case in point is Matteo and Aaron Stinner‘s relationship. Matteo shoots all of Stinner’s bikes, with the most recent being his own road. Built with Chris King, SRAM Red and a Thomson cockpit, Aaron and Matteo took the time to concoct the best mixture for paint.
This grey color powder has pearl and flake built in, resulting in a powder that looks like wet paint Something that is not easily captured in photos… yet Matteo did.
See more below!
At this year’s NAHBS, I knew something. Deep down inside, amidst all the insane custom bicycles, I know that Cielo was onto something with their new Road Racer Di2. The custom market is amazing, don’t get me wrong, but the domestic production market is far too overlooked.
In the past few years, Brian Chapman has shifted interest in frame building. Initially, he was half of Circle A Cycles but recently, he began building under the moniker, Chapman Cycles.
The work Brian is producing at Chapman Cycles is exceptional. Not that his work at Circle A was lacking in any regard, but going out on his own allowed Brian to really pursue his vision of what cycling truly means to him.
When I look at David Wilcox’s road frame, I see Chapman Cycle’s future, even though this bike was built years before Brian began building for his new venture. Geometrically speaking, this is a road bike with a traditional geometry, but functionally, it’s much more.
Rack, fender mounts and clearances for up to a 33.3 slick, this bike is a “long ride” road. It was built for the Oregon Manifest, specifically for David Wilcox, or as he’s known in the Northeast, “the Wilcox“.
Much like Chapman Cycles, David has gone off on a journey of his own. He just happens to be towing the new and improved Rapha Mobile Cycle Club, Tillie along with him. On his new path, he’ll be meeting up with countless group rides where, more often than not, watts and carbon are the nomenclature, not steel and plump tires.
Eventually, someone notices the brazed Circle A Cycles on the downtube, the large tires and mid-reach calipers. Or maybe they notice the spokes that were brazed onto the chainstays for chain slap protection and around the internal routing exit-port for a little added “pop”.
At that moment, David becomes the “hero” of the ride and all other technology present becomes obsolete… Well, almost.
Last weekend, I planned a route, dissected from our Super Bro Weekend ride. Four of us showed up and after five miles, my knee decided it wasn’t ready for the big day, so I bailed, only to return later in the day to shoot David’s bike amidst the rolling hills of the Austin area.
Yep. Everyone thought this project was shelved, but it’s alive and ready to roll out in Summer of 2014. The Thomson Elite Dropper Post will ship with both a cable and switch mechanism or this handy, under rail switch. Run it on your hardtail, rigid, or even *shudder* your cross bike.
While I was in Minneapolis for Frostbike, we spent some time at Angry Catfish, one of my favorite bike shops in the US. As I’m walking around looking at all the winter apparel (we don’t get a lot of that stuff in Texas), I noticed this stunning A-train Cycles road bike on display. It turns out, Alex from A-train is a part time mechanic at the shop and built this beaut to display in the store (and to sell).
Dura Ace, Thomson, ENVE, DT Swiss… what else could you ask for? Complete as shown, the bike will cost you $9,500. Holler at Angry Catfish for ordering information.
Oh and see more of this stunning road machine below!
Yesterday Hubert D’Autremont rolled into town, after spending a month in Arizona. As he was unloading his road bike (more on that later), I looked in his truck and saw this singlespeed 27.5 hardtail. The first words out of my mouth were “oh shit! we’re gonna go shreddddddding tomorrow!”.
Shred is exactly what we did and post sess, I shot some photos of this incredibly simple, yet elegant bike.
Expect more soon!
Well, technically they’re Thomson-designed, Lynskey-manufactured frames but it’s still rad if you ask me! The Elite 275 (clever name) is the first to the spotlight, followed by the Elite 29, a singlespeed 29r that comes with a Rohloff Option and a Thomson singlespeed drivetrain. Eventually, there will be the Elite Gravel road bike, which is, as you might have guessed, for off-road action.
Other developments include the new Thomson Pave Post, for road, cross and other drop-bar bikes that get some time in the dirt.
You will even be able to visit their facilities in Macon, Georgia and give them a test ride.
Check out more information at Thomson.