The Radavist

Stephanie and I have been eyeing up cargo bikes basically since we found out we were pregnant early last year. But would it be a good financial move to drop $5000+ on a new setup when we’re also running on one income? Knowing we’d likely be taking the winter off of family biking with Sophia on the younger side, we had lots of time to consider the options and make sure we had the money ready when the time came.

Last summer, we borrowed a friend’s Bullitt for a camping trip. Super rad. Denver loved riding up front. Yet we had our suspicions confirmed that a bike that weighs 60 pounds dry is a tough sell when you live in a hilly area like we do. Load that up with kids or dogs and the rest of the stuff you need every day, let alone on a camping trip, and you’ll quickly find yourself back in the car.

Happy Father’s Day!

On our road trip up to Bozeman for the Swift Campout, we mosied up through Abiquiu to visit some friends who own a nice little tract of land in the hills. At a favorite lunch stop of ours, we bumped into a father and son bikepacking duo from Arkansas. They are riding the Tour Divide from south to north, beginning in New Mexico. They were 14 days into their trip when we bumped into them. They looked cooked!

e-Bike hate is all the rage these days, yet pry open the myopic, short-sightedness of those scoffing at e-anything and look at Surly’s new Big Easy as a literal definition of what it is. In short, cargo made as easy as possible. Somewhere us Americans got it wrong, the bicycle that is. We look at them as instruments of pain, of punishment, of fitness, of sport. Oftentimes, the clamoring horde fails to look to the rest of the world’s reliance on two-wheel transport, over our enamorment with four-wheel. Our cars are easy. Bikes are meant to be painful and e-assist is cheating. You have to work for whatever it is you’re pedaling for. This is why I believe people hate e-bikes on their city streets.

Our friend Pepper Cook was recently interviewed by Surly!

Favorite bike-related memory.
I don’t have one specific bike memory, but I think my favourite thing on a bike ever is when you ride in Autumn and it’s flannel weather and the sun does that thing where it shines through the tree branches all dappled and you get to ride over a thick carpet of fallen leaves. You can hear the quiet crunching of the different coloured leaves and it’s cool enough outside where you don’t get sweaty. It feels like you’re riding in a time machine that got stuck on pause, or like you’re the last person on earth and you’ll never have to hurry anywhere ever again.

Pepper works with getting kids into bikepacking, has a warm and positive attitude and makes even the most miserable, or Type 02 fun trips look fun. Head on over to Surly to read more!

The Karate Monkey has seen many permutations over the years, with various wheelsizes and build kits, but the latest might be my favorite. The most obvious change is on the front. That squishy thing is a RockShox Sektor RL, 27.5+ 140mm travel. This iteration of the KM is also 27.5+, to offer some extra cushion for all the hardtail buckin’ you’ll do. Check out more info at Surly and see one in person at your local dealer.

… a 26+ city shredder. Check out the video above and more information at Surly!

We made the joke that the new bike from Surly, the Bridge Club was an homage to a card game. In fact, Surly’s newest bike is an homage to hanging out under the many bridges in Minneapolis. Those who work and design at Surly seek refuge under bridges, to wait out the elements and seek seclusion, so it’s fitting they’d name their newest tourer after this behavior.

Check out the Bridge Club in video!

No, this isn’t an April Fool’s joke. Surly’s newest touring bike is named after that card game your grandma plays, but don’t let the name fool ya, this is a touring bike meant to take on just about anything. See more at Surly.

Classics never go out of style, they just get a facelift from time to time. As is the case for Surly’s Pugsley, the veritable, do-it-all fatbike. The Pugsley 2.0 is filled with new features to make it an even more bicycle touring-capable bike. Be it sand or snow, or just really slow on roads, the Pugsley is designed to take you where you want to go. Even if it’s just the bar… See actual technical information at Surly’s blog and head to your local dealer to see it in person.

Surly calls the newest edition of the Krampus “Pickled Beet,” yet I find that nomenclature to be, I dunno, too organic for a bike with such evil in its DNA. So, either ride it to the farmer’s market or slay some singletrack with it, hell you can even do both on the same ride. The Krampus is back with a deeper, darker red, I’m dubbing Red Rum. Head to Surly’s Blog to see more.

What is the Surly Pack Rat? Well that’s a question a lot of people have been asking since a photo was leaked courtesy of Mr. Pubes a few weeks ago. Yes, it’s got rim brakes, and according to Surly, the geometry’s been optimized for riding with a front load and to reduce toe overlap.

That means it’ll ship with 650×42 tires on the larger sizes, and 26×1.5″ on the smaller sizes. With a 44mm fork offset it’s not a low trail bike, but it does have a relatively steep head angle compared to other bikes in those sizes – 74º on the 650b bikes and 72.5º on the 26″ bikes.

This whole conversation is a minefield, so… jump on in! Surly’s got a huge blog post up about it, so head on over there and dig in if you’re into it.

For those looking for a more economical porteur bag for their touring bike or commuter bike, Surly introduces the Petite Porteur House Bag. This bag is designed to strap down to any porteur rack, is lined with fluorescent, removable liner bags and is sized to fit an array of items, including but not limited to six-packs, inflatable pool floats and the entire Stanley Kubrick Criterion Collection on DVD. See more information at Surly and holler at your local shop for ordering!