The Radavist

The 2024 NACCC (North American Cycle Courier Championships) took place in sunny San Diego, CA just two weeks ago. Josh was in town to photograph the week-long event’s finale and, along with co-organizers David Pintado and Luis Aguilar detail what NACCC is and what made this year’s San Diego edition truly memorable. Read on below!

The following is a story of friendship, art, and feelings. It’s the story of a custom Pedretti Pista Spritz with a special appearance from a legendary Brian Baylis-painted Holland Cycles track bike.

San Diego, California has a rich cycling history. The city and surrounding region have varied terrain and year-round temperate weather, inviting a range of cycling disciplines from track to mountain. While the 1970s and 80s were perhaps the city’s golden age for road and track racing, strong local contingencies keep the legacy alive.

Our friends Jon Pucci and Lorenzo Romagnoli are two such aficionados. Collectors, tinkerers, artists, and (some would say) style icons, the duo share an affinity for modern classics and often focus their passion on restoring neglected frames to their former glory. And sometimes, they take on new builds…

Rob Roberson has had a storied career as a bicycle builder for over fifty years and, until relatively recently, despite his incredible craftsmanship, he’s flown under the radar. A few weeks ago, Rob’s longtime friend and colleague, legendary painter Joe Bell, organized a party at his paint shop that was part Roberson retrospective (with nearly a quarter of Rob’s 100ish custom bikes on display) and part celebration of San Diego‘s cycling community.

Josh stopped by the festivities on his way home from Sea Otter to document this momentous event. Check out the full gallery from the party below, including detailed looks at several bikes on display.

Wrapping up our coverage (for now) that showcases the celebrated work and career of San Diego-based framebuilder Rob Roberson, today we take a look at one of Rob’s most recent builds – a custom gravel bike for his friend and co-worker Jon Pucci. Rob and Jon worked together for years in Joe Bell‘s storied paint shop and conspired together for a chunk of that time planning what would become Jon’s dream bike and one he could adorn with an equally fitting paint job. As with all of Rob’s builds (and Jon’s paint, too), there’s a lot to take in so let’s get to it!

Yesterday, we shared a profile of Rob Roberson that traces his storied bicycle fabrication career from the 1970s to present day. Today, we’re taking a look at seven bikes Rob built during that impressive 50-year window, from early track bikes to road frames and his most recent personal all-road build. There’s a lot of intricate eye candy here, so let’s get to it!

Rob Roberson is an enigma in the handmade bicycle world. Some would consider him “the greatest known unknown bike fabricator” of the American frame building movement. His career, which spans nearly 50 years, puts him among a very small pedigree of builders that have both mass-production experience and have also built custom bikes under their own name without giving up the ghost. Yet, with such a significant trajectory, Rob has remained largely unknown. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be featuring bikes made by Rob and the stories about them. Today, however, Zach Small and Josh Weinberg are honored to introduce you to Rob Roberson. 

Platano Cycle Works of San Diego, CA was a highly regarded custom bicycle company that, over the years, has been steeped in lore and virtually unknown to those outside of the city’s rich hand-built bicycle scene of the 1970s and early 80s. When Josh was in Nashville earlier this year picking up the Bug Out frame he purchased from Amigo Frameworks and visiting builder Zach Small’s shop space (more on that coming soon), he couldn’t resist documenting Zach’s original Platano. Zach, who hails from San Diego, has collected, bought, and sold many vintage bikes over the years, but he insists he will never let go of the Platano.

Grab a banana snack and continue reading for Zach’s history of Platano Cycle Works and what makes his bike so remarkable…