The Radavist

In July 2020, a group of five friends had planned an epic tour of Europe, but plans changed. A new tour was cobbled together in a week, and the new destination was set: Scotland. The group would ride the famous North Coast 500, a legendary route along the rugged Scottish coastline, and then onto the Highlands. ‘NORTH COAST’ chronicles the reality of touring through harsh conditions, relentless weather and the challenges faced with a country fresh out of a pandemic lockdown…

Since launching in 2016, the Black Edition is a yearly stock created in-house at Brompton that offers new, bright colors (and jet black) normally not available in the standard stock line. These bright lacquered colors are made in small batches, so once they’re gone they’re gone. This year’s Black Edition includes a glossy black frame, Turkish Green, and Flame Lacquer (pictured). The build specs for these small-batch Bromptons include the “6 Gears” or “Dynamo” build kits. See more at Brompton.

Veering from the open road and into the city streets, Cannondale connects with Palace Skateboards to create the MAD BOY, pumping energy into Cannondale’s signature urban bike to celebrate its 50th anniversary. A complete alloy frame with Lefty fork brings a one-of-a-kind appearance into the city streets and marks the pinnacle of high-performance smiling.

Taking inspiration from racing heritage, zany rave-flyers, ‘00s motocross, classic video games, and skateboarding, the MAD BOY was made possible. Designed to excite, inspire and reimagine the world of cycling through a unique lens. Alongside Palace’s first-ever bike, there’s a range of clothing and accessories, featuring hoodies, t-shirts, caps and gore-tex technical jackets & trousers.

While the apparel stands on its own for this release, the bike itself is something to behold. Check out full photos of the Mad Boy below…

You might want to put on some sunglasses to look at this week’s Readers’ Rides post from Wayne in Bristol. Read on below to find out what inspired this unique Trek 6000 build!

British manufacturer Hope announced that it was throwing its helmet into the clipless pedal market with three new pedal models, ranging from the big platform gravity, GC, the trail pedal, TC, and race pedal, RC. All three pedal designs will come in six colors, feature titanium axles, offer a dual entry mechanism designed for easy pedal entry, secure cleat holding, and positive, consistent release. The Union Clip Pedals line run on three cartridge bearings and a maintenance-free IGUS bush for smooth long-term durability and the best part is, they’re full rebuildable.

These are coming down the line soon but you can check out all the details at Hope.

Shaving an impressive 1kg off the total build weight when compared to their traditional steel framesets, Brompton announced today the Superlight, a made from titanium. These frames feature a titanium fork, rear swingarm, while keeping the steel main frame for stability and frame stiffness. The Superlight come in three build kits, including a 2-speed build kit in their new “Cloud Blue” color and topped off with a Brooks saddle ($2,330). Other build kits come in with 6-speed drivetrains at $2,490. Check out all the details at Brompton.

Bespoked UK, the framebuilding showcase is returning for 2021 after a year hiatus due to Covid. Check out the full press-release below!

Packing 170mm of travel, 29″ wheels and the Effigear system, the Spur is the bike for big-terrain enduro racing, double-black bike park laps and hassle-free seasons in the mountains.

The Spur uses a high-pivot, gearbox design to offer an unprecedented ride on a steel chassis. During the design process, Starling worked closely with Effigear to build this steel frame around their 9-speed system, offering a 440% range, making any climb more efficient. Speaking of efficiency, the Effigear system uses a standard trigger shifter, not an annoying grip ship. Having the gearbox at the bottom bracket keeps the bike balanced, nimble, and provides a lower center of gravity. This translates to unprecedented traction, control, and an overall more balanced feel.

The Spur is available to order now from Starling Cycles and is built by hand in Bristol, UK using Reynolds 853 steel heat-treated tubing. There is a 16 week lead time on all orders and frames are available with or without shock and with a variety of components to help build your dream bike.

Specs:
Front triangle and swingarm hand-built in Bristol, UK, using Reynolds 853 heat-treated tubing
170mm travel
Effigear 9spd drivetrain with 440% range, including cranks, shifter and cogs
29″ wheels
2.6″ tyre clearance
Up to 200mm rotor
Designed for single speed 142x12mm rear hubs
Unique Starling dropouts system means rear wheel can be removed without adjusting tension
Seattube reinforcing strut on XL
Integrated seat-clamp
Stainless & numbered dropper port
Starling headtube gusset
Bottle mount in frame on medium & above

Available in Medium, Large, and X-Large. Pricing is £3330.00 for a frame. See more at Starling Cycles.

For city dwellers and short-on-space living situations alike, it doesn’t get better than a Brompton as an everyday commuter or city bike. The problem is, with prices up to $4,000 these folding bikes have always felt out of reach for many. Today Brompton introduced their most affordable folding bike yet, the B75, with a pricepoint build kit but the same frame construction you’ve come to love, at a pricepoint of $1,095.00.

Specs:
Edition: Brompton B75
Handlebar Type: Classic M type (1015mm)
Gears: 3-speed
Mudguards type: E type (no mudguards, no rack)
Frame Material: Steel
Main Frame Color: Water Blue
Extremities Color: Water Blue
Gear Ratio: -12% gearing as standard
Saddle: B75 saddle
Seatpost: Extended (inside leg up to 35 inches)
Lighting: Reflectors only
Tyres: Schwalbe Marathon Racer without reflective tape
Pedals: non-folding pedals
Folded dimensions: 645mm (H) x 585mm (W) x 270mm (D) (22.2” x 23” x 10.6”)
Weight (approx.): 25 lbs
Note: B75 is compatible with Mudguards, battery lights, folding pedal, front carrier block and a telescopic seatpost which can be purchased separately.

See more of these beautiful, efficient, and space-saving bikes at Brompton. By the way, we love this color so much…

To commemorate the approaching Tokyo Olympics, two British cycling companies have teamed up on a limited edition Team GB bike and matching saddle.

Since the 2012 Olympics in London, Brompton has been providing British athletes with their famous folding bikes for use around the various training centers and Olympic villages. Now these Team GB bikes and saddles are available to the public.

The Brompton bikes themselves feature a first-ever red-lacquer finish with white and blue detailing in line with the team’s classic colors. Crowned with comfort, Brooks has redesigned their C-17 saddle to proudly display the roaring lion logo of Team GB across its vulcanized rubber surface.

You can secure your own Team GB edition Brompton Bike and Brooks Saddle at the Brompton Junction shop in London or through the Brompton website, or you can pick them up online at Brompton.

This week’s Readers’ Rides comes from Chris in the UK and his Brother Cycles Kepler with a wild 90s-inspired paint scheme. Check out all the trimmings in detail below!

Bombtrack continues its House Blend video series with the Woods Cyclery in Lyndhurst. We love this series and can’t wait to see what’s next!

We recently featured Ratio’s 11-speed to 12-speed conversion kit on John’s Crust Dreamer using Apex shifters and an Eagle GX rear derailleur. But what if you have 10-speed shifters and you want to convert them to 12? Well, that’s where the new Ratio Upgrade kit comes into play! This upgrade kit allows you to pair 10 or 11 speed mechanical SRAM shifters and a 1x-specific Exact Actuation™ derailleur with a 12 speed eTap™ AXS™ cassette and chain. This delivers a greater gear range and closer gear ratios without the expense or weight of electronic shifting…

See more at Ratio and YES, these kits really do work great!

Starling Cycles, the maker of the steel Murmur 29er full suspension, just announced a limited edition Murmur with a stainless steel front triangle, made by Ora in Taiwan. Only available in size Large or XLarge, these limited edition frames can be bought as a frameset (£2330.00) or as a complete build through Starling direct. These bikes offer a completely different ride quality from their carbon fiber counterparts and remain to this day one of my personal favorites on the market. Check out my initial review of the Murmur and my personal Murmur build in the Related articles below…

Cotic, the makers of steel mountain frames, just announced their new Tonic, a titanium gravel bike, compatible with 650bx50 or 700cx44 wheels, built with multiple cable management options, and in a variety of build kits (GRX shown). With pricing starting at £3449 for SRAM Apex 1, the Tonic’s pricing is competitive with similarly-specced carbon frames. Each Tonic comes with a 5 year warranty for the original owner and if you don’t like it when you receive it, Cotic will take it back, no questions. See more at Cotic.

Ribble, the UK bicycle manufacturer, just announced their new gravel lineup which includes aluminum builds, carbon builds, and this titanium model. Each material comes in a few build tiers, ranging from GRX 400 to GRX 810 and Campagnolo Ekar on the higher end models.

The model shown here is the Titanium frame with GRX 600 and retails for $2,985.38. See the full gravel lineup at Ribble.

Freitag began making bags in 1993 from used truck tarpaulins, discarded bicycle inner tubes and car seat belts, resulting in beautiful, graphically unique backpacks. Brompton began building folding bike for urban transport and more in 1976. These two brands worked together recently on a backpack that attaches to the Brompton and we think it’s pretty dang slick. See the full drop and all the info at Brompton.

Weighing just 99 grams in size small, the newest piece of apparel in Albion’s kit is an ultralight, insulated jacket that combines warmth, breathability and packability. This new jacket uses Clo’s Eco Vivo recycled insulation and utilizes 100% recycled nylon ultralight ripstop face fabric with a C0 DWR coating to provide some shower resistance. Made in Italy.

Pricing: Jacket – £145, Bag – £35, Bundle – £170

See more at Albion.