The Radavist

Devin is the machinist at Stinner Frameworks and like many of us, grew up worshipping the heros of skateboaring, the culture and inevitably, the iconography surrounding the sport. One of which being Mark Rogowski and his famous “Gator” pattern. While things inevitably went south for Rogowski, his graphics, particularly a spiraling razzle pattern lived on, inspiring graphic artists for years to come. James, the paint designer at Stinner, used the pattern on the inside of the fork blades and under the fat, oversized Columbus downtube. Then, a subtle ombre blue to green fade was clear coated with a sparkle pearl, resulting in one mean looking street machine.

As cyclists, very few of us make a living riding bikes. In fact, I’d say probably 3% of the readers of this site fall within that category. This is all merely speculation of course, but I will say with great certainty that almost all of you have a job of some sort that you spend time performing. Sure, we all find time to squeeze in bike rides when we can, but unfortunately we spend a great deal of our lives working.

So when you have the opportunity to mix business and pleasure, you probably take it. That’s where Brian Dunsmoor of Culver City’s Hatchet Hall comes into the story. Brian is the head chef of the ‘Hall and a dedicated cyclist. He’s been training for the past few months for a benefit ride called Chefs Cycle, a P2P fundraiser working to raise awareness and funds for No Kid Hungry. Brian, along with other chefs are riding from Carmel to Santa Barbara in an attempt to help put a stop to child hunger.

Massan’s Low – a San Francisco Giant!
Photos and words by Kyle Kelley

Massan has been around since the beginning of all this track bike shit. His fluid riding, effortlessly controlled hill bombs and huge Sugino Zen chainrings made his name a staple on bike forums and in bike shops long ago and his timeless style have earned him a lasting place in the bike industry as a whole. Unlike many of the early track bike videos, which are easily dated by old fixie tricks or bunny hops, Massan’s videos are only dated by the bike he is on. From the era of his blacked out Bianchi Pista Concept (remember the HUF bike?) to his time with Leader, his videos have always highlighted his effortless style and amazing bike control.

To say that Massan just rides is an understatement though. He never looks like he’s smashing, but he is. He never looks like he’s flying, but trust me, he is. Like many of the skateboarding greats, people have said Massan is boring to watch because he makes this shit look too damn easy. There’s never been a hill he wouldn’t drop or a gap he wouldn’t shoot. Massan’s calm/cool demeanor translates well to the bike, making him one of the most graceful cyclists on a track bike.

Years ago I was visiting San Francisco and made plans to hangout with Massan. Usually we spend our time talking about cassette tapes, hip-hop and b&w photography, but on that day I needed to swing by Andrew Low’s place to say hi and asked Massan if he wanted to come along. Andrew makes exactly the kind of bicycles that Massan likes to ride – oversized aluminum tubes, aggressive geometry and fast as hell! And it doesn’t hurt that they’re made in the city that he came from. The rest, as they say, is history. Andrew and Massan have been working together since that day and this bike is their latest collaboration.

Massan’s new Low is the SS Crit, the first production track bike designed specifically for the track bike criteriums happening these days. The first thing that comes to mind when I see this bike is the San Francisco Giants! I’m not sure if that was Massan’s intention, but what better way to show San Francisco pride than to paint your bike Giant’s orange. This build has Massan written all over it with the massive Sugino Zen chainring, Thomson post and stem, Vittoria rubber, Phil Woods and of course some HED Belgium Blacks!

Massan..I salute you!

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Follow Kyle on Instagram and Massan on Instagram.

Working at a shop like Bicycles of Ojai can lend itself certain opportunities. With its walls covered in vintage components, frames and memorabilia, you can spend hours digging through this veritable treasure chest, assembling one unique build. Now, imagine working at that shop, constantly bombarded with literal bicycle porn and I’m not even going to talk about the basement!

Tyler used to work at Bicycles of Ojai. In his time there, he was always on the hunt for something that would fit him. He’s a tall lad, of about 7’8″ and he rides a tall bike, making it hard to score vintage frames usually, especially in the middle of nowhere like Ojai. Yet, the owner of the shop has long ties to Southern California racing and amidst all the crashed 62cm frames, laid this beauty, rumored to be a custom Paramount for a local track and crit racer.

Now, this “Paramount” has been drilled for both brakes and has had what appears to be a derailleur hanger cut off on the track end, at least proving that yes, maybe this bike was indeed raced in local road crits. Who knows? Who cares? It’s a mystery machine and it’s Tyler’s get around town bike when he’s in Los Angeles.

A porteur rack, Specialized Globe cruiser bars and a handful of vintage Italian components make this bike not only one of the more interesting shoots, but classy enough to sway anyone who’d scoff at the rack and bars. I mean Ofmega pista headset and a 135mm 3TTT stem? Why not!

Follow Tyler on Instagram @GothBrooks and check out his sick Etsy store.

Compared to the early 2000’s, the NJS track frame market has had its bottom fall out. Now you can pick up a like new frame for a couple hundred bucks, versus a couple grand and there’s plenty to choose from, in various sizes. Hype has died out on these frames, which is perfect for guys like Josh who still love to ride a fixed gear on the street for a living. He works for Chicken Hawk Courier and makes various deliveries around town here in Los Angeles on this Watanabe frame. Aside from the fluoro paint, I was immediately drawn to the build: all black Nitto, Dura Ace hubs, Sugino Zen, ATAC pedals and a Spurcycle bell to top it off.

Say what you will about fixed gears and track bikes on the street but you’ll be hard pressed to find beausage like this elsewhere. Much less shorelines like that on the lugwork. Dang!

Landsharks appear to be quite common in Southern California, especially in the San Diego area where David picked up not one, but two of these beautiful steel frames. The first being his own Track Shark and the second, a Road Shark for his brother. After scooping up the frame for a mind-melting deal, he built it with the spare parts he had from previous track builds, including some black Campagnolo Shamal wheels. In its current rendition, David’s got a platform pedal and foot strap so he can comfortably ride the bike in whatever sneakers he pleases. Fret not, pista purists, he also has a set of Campagnolo Pista pedals to completely dial it in… Personally, I think it’s awesome to see this bike being ridden still, with tons of potential for inner and outer city rides.

Also, that paint! Slawta never disappoints!