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After reshaping the mountain bike world in their image, Mondraker has stepped into the gravel arena with its new Arid Carbon. Using their 16 years of experience in carbon manufacturing, Mondraker set out to make a bike that was equal parts fast and comfortable. Spencer was lucky enough to get two rides in at the Southern Arizona release event last month, check out his first ride review below…
Gideon Tsang has spent the better part of his life admiring and collecting bicycles designed by Grant Petersen. From early Bridgestones to current Rivendells, the bicycles designed around Grant’s ethos of moving mindfully and enjoying the ride have always resonated with Gideon. Enjoy this firsthand account about a bicycle collection that came and went, and the story behind Gideon’s dream bike: a rare 26″ Rivendell Atlantis 2.
The story starts in 2007 – a full decade since I had last touched my Bontrager Race Lite. My friend Lee handed me an old Bridgestone catalog.
The first page I turned to featured Pineapple Bob eating a banana, wearing a cycling cap, riding his Bridgestone RB-T with a musette over his shoulder. In the same catalog, I found Bob tucked into an aero position on an orange XO-1 with mustache bars. I was smitten at first sight.
Over the next few years, I amassed an impressive Bridgestone collection, starting with an XO-1, which led to an RB-1, an MB-Zip, and, the hardest to hunt down at the time, Bob’s RB-T. By 2010 I had a solid Bridgestone stable. It was time to take the pilgrimage to visit Bridgestone’s offspring, Rivendell Bicycle Works.
I flew from Austin to California and hopped on a train from San Francisco to Walnut Creek, where I took my MB-Zip off the bike hook. As I mounted my Zip, a beautiful blue bike with a front basket and a large saddlebag zoomed past me. It was the wizard himself, Grant Petersen.
I finally caught up with the wizard as he arrived at his warehouse. Grant was kind and generous with his time. They were building a darkroom in the back of the Rivendell warehouse and he showed me around. He recognized my name from Flickr and gave me my first in-person photography critique: “I can’t tell if you’re a really good photographer or a really bad one.” Fair enough – like anyone starting out, my photography ratio was more bad than good.
He set me up on a Bombadil with a map secured to the stem with a magnet and told me to come back before they closed.
A couple of hours later, I returned with a big smile on my face, told him I loved his work, and proudly relayed that I owned four Bridgestones. With a mischievous smirk, he said, “Why? One Rivendell is better than four Bridgestones.”
I hopped back on my MB-Zip and headed to the train station. Am I a bad photographer or a good one? Is one Rivendell better than four Bridgestones?
Later that year, I bought my first Rivendell frameset – a custom-painted Rambouillet with S & S couplers.
That Rambouillet is the only bike I regret letting go of. I’ve been trying to find those Spécialités TA Carmina Cranks for the last five years.
In 2014, my Sam Hillborne was born. That was my gateway to the fine pairing of the legendary Campy 10-speed Ergopower with 8-speed Shimano hack.
In 2016 I acquired a Hunqapillar. I had desired such a bike since I felt the magic of the Bombadil six years earlier. My Hunq became my go-to touring and bikepacking horse.
In 2022, I sold my entire stable (gasp!) to travel the world. Upon returning, it was a no-brainer that if I had just one bike, it would be an Atlantis. I prefer the shorter chainstays of the earlier models and, in particular, wanted the 26” Atlantis 2 with the larger clearance. After quite a bit of searching, I finally found one in New Haven, CT.
As much as I love the Atlantis, the greenish-blue color of the inside of a Russian submarine wasn’t part of my earth-toned palette preference. I got in touch with Rick Stefani, a painter and friend of Rivendell in San Francisco, and had it painted a dark metallic brown. Sorry, Grant!
I worked with David Ross of Meteor Bikes in Austin to craft a build around a 1X Shimano XTR 950 crankset, which required a custom chainring made in Poland by Garbaruk, along with a NOS XTR HP-M900 headset that David magically sourced.
Ladies and gentlemen, I may not know if I’m a good or bad photographer, but I do know this: one Rivendell beats four Bridgestones any day. This is my Atlantis, photographed by Alex Roszko.
Build Spec:
A lovely build for a lovely human. Learn more about Rivendell at their website, and be sure to read Grant’s Blahg.
With over 400 kilometers of trails within an hour’s ride of the city center, Oslo has established itself as an adventure destination. Conor Courtney spent a long weekend riding with Fara Cycling, a local bicycle brand uniquely aligned with Norwegian geography and adventure culture. Continue reading below for a look inside Fara Cycling and the stunning location they call home…
Contributor Nic Morales is back with a more in-depth look at State Bicycle Co.’s titanium offering. In this long-term review of the recently released Ti All-Road frame, he digs deep into the discourse around titanium as a real-world frame material, how it exists in the zeitgeist, and other philosophical pondering. Read on below for Nic’s Titanium All-Road long-term review!
In this Shop Visit, Petor Georgallou profiles London framebuilder Rob Quirk of Quirk Cycles and explores the realities of building contemporary custom bicycles in the UK. Join their discussion of 3D-printed parts, framebuilding as an art practice, life after the Bicycle Academy, and much, much more. Read on…
It’s been 10 years since Mason Cycles first caused a splash in the UK cycling market with the release of their original Definition and Resolution road bikes. They have since built a reputation for blending progressive riding technologies with classically beautiful aesthetics, now offering a full range of bikes designed for the whole spectrum of on- and off-road terrain. Joe Sasada sat down with founder and designer Dom Mason to discuss the journey so far, design philosophy, and what’s coming next for the brand. Read on for an extended interview and a photo gallery from Mason HQ.
Today, we present a recap of the 2024 LA Invitational put on by all the lovely folks over at The Cub House in Los Angeles, CA. In a slightly different format than our typical event Reportage, the team gathered stories from various participants, who recounted harrowing and ecstatic experiences while out riding the event routes. Then, they conclude with a gallery of drool-worthy two- and four-wheeled machines from the bike and car show portion. Let’s check it out below!
In our latest Race Metal video series, Miguel asked John what his favorite gravel route is in Santa Fe, prompting John to take Miguel along for an all-day epic. The ride starts in the Railyard District in Santa Fe and tops out at the radio towers on Tesuque Peak. Check out the video above and a short gallery below from the full Town to Towers Gravel Ride!
The Haro Buzzard is a carbon chassis gravel platform with builds starting at $2,999.99 and all the features found in much more expensive bikes. Let’s take a look.
In this Dust-Up, Travis claims 27.2 mm seatposts are symptoms of the gravel industry’s refusal to evolve. Turns out there’s more to it, but he’s still upset.
Finding affordable bikes that cost under and around $2000 can be challenging, so we compiled a list with a twist… We’re big fans of metal over here. Metal gravel bikes can be superior to their carbon cousins in many ways, especially if you’re planning on strapping bags to them and taking them out on longer rides, overnighters, and tours.
We get requests all day long for more affordable bikes, and following up with our 2024 Under and Around $2000 Hardtails article, we present our Metal Gravel Bikes Under and Around $2000 post, so let’s get to it!
Adam Sklar has been building custom bikes for close to a decade—and we’ve featured plenty of them on this site! But, in 2022 he decided to move production of a new model overseas to Taiwan. Dubbed the SuperSomething, this first production Sklar has road bike bones while still (subtly) paying homage to Adam’s mountain biking roots. Hailey Moore has been riding our signature Radavist edition SuperSomething all summer and, below, shares her review, along with insights into Adam’s design intent for this all-steel gravel bike.
You’ve got just two days left–Wednesday, August 16th is the last day–to sign up for this giveaway!
We’re excited to announce our latest complete bike giveaway! One lucky winner will receive a State Bicycle Co. 6061 All-Road bike with SRAM APEX XPLR AXS drivetrain.*
There’s only one thing you need to do for a chance to win: sign up for BOTH of our newsletters! After two weeks, we’ll select a random winner and State will ship out the bike.
