Lots of websites are speculating about the future or fate of Kona when its struggles were made very public after the company set up its Sea Otter Classic booth and then broke it down the evening before the show. This led to posts from media outlets, who made bold claims about the brand’s demise. Because we couldn’t contact anyone at the company, we thought we’d leave it be, knowing how the VC-backed cycling world works from personal experience, and then this morning, Kona posted on Instagram.
Randomness
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Radar
After Unthinkable Loss, Biking Helped Me Embrace Life Again
“My mom died following a grueling battle with multiple sclerosis when I was barely 18. For years afterward, I distracted myself with college-aged escapism: moving away, making new friends, sneaking into bars, taking road trips and ultimately earning a degree.”
Read this full article at the NY Times.
Radar
Know When to Fold ‘em: Why It’s So Hard for Multi-Tools To Stay Tight
If you use folding multi-tools, you’ve probably used one that’s gotten loose over time. Travis set out to find a permanent solution. He failed.
Radar
Tips for Bike Ride Safety in Rattlesnake Habitat: It’s Snakesgiving in the Desert
If you live in a rattlesnake habitat, you’ve probably noticed an uptick in the number of rattlesnakes present over the past few weeks. On a ride in Arizona yesterday, Josh and John had a close call with a Western rattlesnake, Crotalus oreganus. As a lifelong herp fanatic, John penned a few notes on how to stay snake-safe on bike rides in rattlesnake habitat…
Radar
Semi Rad is a Cruiser Bike Guy Now
Artist and commentator Semi-Rad is known for his humorous infographics and books. Last week he announced that after years of riding a gravel bike, he’s a die hard cruiser bike guy now. Roll on over to Semi-Rad to see why!
Radar
Website Update: We Now Have Our Entire Image Catalog Dating Back to 2008
John here with an exciting announcement!
The Radavist has great content dating all the way back to 2008 (there are even our 2006-2008 archives floating around on the ‘net still!), and now, our once-missing 2010-2015 image bucket has been uploaded again! Back in 2018, we lost it in a website server migration, and while doing some digging through our convoluted image bank, web lord Ian Register uncovered our lost image server!
All 150+ GB of images are back, including some of my personal favorites like a 2012 Fuji XPro-1 Review, Robin’s Dirt Drop Highball, Erik from Peacock Groove’s Evil Dead Tribute Bike, NYC Shop Visits, Austin, TX, shenanigans, a lot of Austin, TX shenanigans!, Blackburn Ranger rides, Ryan Wilson’s road bike rides, Bandit camping on Diablo, Peacock Nük, the original Oregon Outback Reportage, Aussie Bush Rides, and the Head Shots and Head Tubes NAHBS article!
I’ve been covering bike touring, framebuilders, and maker culture for 18 years now and in that time, each of these sub-genres has grown more and more. It’s nice having a deep catalog of this content on The Radavist!
Many thanks to Ian for kicking ass on our refresh, which includes a lot of backend maintenance.
One note: when you search through the archives, if the title image is still missing, don’t fret, the entire gallery is back up and running, we’re working on the title image break fix.
Radar
The Dust-Up: (Most) All Bicycles Are Handmade
In today’s Dust-Up opinion column, John brings up a controversial point about the disconnect between the “handmade” language surrounding bicycle framebuilder showcases and Asian-produced bicycle frames. Hold onto your butts for this one!
Radar
The Dust-Up: Old Man Yells at 27.2 Seatposts
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.
Radar
Los Angeles’ SWRVE To Close
We just got word that Los Angeles lifestyle and cycling apparel brand SWRVE is closing up after many years of making innovative and functional clothing. Read the full letter from the brand below…
Radar
VIDEO: Eco Hack! Saving the Mojave Desert Tortoise from Extinction
John and Cari have spent countless hours in the Mojave Desert and cataloged desert tortoises, Gopherus agassizii, on a few trips, for the Mojave National Preserve. These unique desert reptiles were officially listed as a threatened species in 1990. While the herpetological organizations studying them have made great progress in educating the public about their presence and role in the Mojave Desert, there is still a way to go.
What if, to protect one species, you had to slightly annoy another? Watch this exciting documentary project from The New Yorker.
*Editorial note: picking up a desert tortoise is highly illegal. In doing so, the animal will often release its urine and water stores and will often times die afterward due to dehydration. Many desert animals get their water from eating plants in the form of terrestrial cacti and flowers, which can take weeks to gather after leaving their winter burrows. If you encounter a desert tortoise crossing a road, be it a dirt road or highway, please give it space and allow it to make the journey by itself…
Radar
A Favor: Could you Please Subscribe to The Radavist on YouTube?
We’d like to interrupt this holiday here in the States with a simple request for the readership. Would you kindly take a few seconds to Subscribe to our YouTube channel? It is free and only takes a second. We had to rebuild our channel after The Radavist returned to being independent once again and it’s taking a while to build up our subscribers again.
You can do so by simply clicking the button below.
Why do we need this? Well, we have a few VERY LARGE projects coming out and the more subscribers we have ensures the more people will see these projects. We’ve invested multiple years and tens of thousands of dollars on these videos, so we’re hoping to get the most out of dropping them on our YouTube.
We also have a great deal of smaller YouTube videos dropping this year, so any and every sub helps!
It’s not easy being independent media but y’all are really the best audience we could ask for.
Thank you!
Check out some of our favorite videos below!
Reportage
Obscura: A Fuji GW690ii Camera Review
As much as The Radavist is about bikes, it is also intrinsically linked to cameras and film photography. There is even a whole category of strictly film galleries called Recent Roll that dates back to 2010! We take pride in our photography so it makes sense for us to feature some of our favorite cameras in a series we’re calling Obscura.
This is a reference to the first-ever photographic device, the camera obscura.
Kicking off this series is Kyle Klain, who has a review of his Fuji GW690ii. Fans of film photography will know of this quirky system, so read on to hear Kyle’s take on what makes the Fuji so unique and so maddening at the same time…
Radar
Alexandera Houchin Has Left Chumba Cycles
Our good friend Alexandera Houchin has parted ways with Austin, TX framebuilders Chumba Cycles after five years of being a sponsored athlete, as announced on the brand’s Instagram. We’re not at liberty to talk about her new sponsor quite yet but wanted to alert the readership and direct them to Chumba Cycles’ Instagram for a heartfelt photo collage and official statement.
You can also read Alexandera’s extended thoughts by subscribing to her Substack.
Check out John and Alexandera’s Chumba Beautiful Bicycles gallery in our archives:
Waaseyaa: It is Bright; Alexandera Houchin, Her Life, and Her Chumba Cycles Stella MTB
Radar
ANNOUNCEMENT: We’ve Refreshed The Radavist
We’ve been working on this refresh for over nine months with two talented designers, Seth and Julian, as well as an equally talented developer, Ian. Together, we’ve fixed many issues with the platform’s backend, updated it to a new infrastructure, and paved the way for multiple website improvements.
While this initial launch might not seem like a big change, allow me to walk you through it.
Photo: Kyle Klain
Our Radar column has shifted back to the left column. This is how the website was pre-2016 refresh. Now, we’ll be slow-dripping products and videos on the left throughout the day. Radar = news blips.
The middle column is our endemic content. This is content we produce ourselves. All Reportage galleries; Shop Visits, Beautiful Bicycles, Events, and Reviews will be in the middle column. The center feed will also contain Radar reviews or reviews that don’t include a gallery.
On the far right is our ad columns; these ads, along with your Group Ride subscription, merch sales, sponsored content (when noted), and affiliate links (we’re working on a page to explain how we use all of these – thanks for your patience!) keep this website and its staff funded. Thanks for your support!
As with every refresh, there will be formatting issues or bugs that pop up from time to time. We have a checklist that’s running but if you spot anything awry, please note it here in the comments!
Happy New Year!
Radar
Happy New Year from The Radavist
We wanted to take a moment to thank all of you for visiting this little corner of the internet and wish you all a Happy New Year. Our team has been working on a lot of projects for 2024 and we’re elated to share them all with you in the coming months. Thanks to everyone for supporting The Radavist as we returned to being an independent website and here’s to 2024!
Radar
Group Ride Members Get 40% Off Radavist Merch This Weekend
We’re not usually ones to do a sale or even a Black Friday sale, but this year, we wanted to thank everyone who signed up (and who will sign up this weekend) for our Group Ride subscription plan with a special 40% discount code for Radavist merch. This sale begins today and will end Monday at midnight MST.
If you signed up for our Group Ride, you should have received an email from our Newsletter account with the discount code attached. Check your spam folder! If you didn’t receive an email, drop a line at our Group Ride inbox with your subscription confirmation.
Thanks from everyone here at The Radavist!
Radar
Love Stories: An Ode to Audiobooks and Long Rides
On the heels of his Bike Hack about carrying a pair of prism reading glasses while bikepacking, Travis Engel now suggests bringing your books from the tent to the trail. His short treatise on the merits of audiobooks on all-day rides might inspire you to revisit a classic, or seek out the source material behind your favorite movie to find out if the book is actually any better.
Radar
The Ten Best Horror Films for Adventure Cyclists
Just like the rows of bagged candy at your grocery store, or the fountains of pumpkin spice latte at your coffee shop, you can’t escape Halloween once October hits. Not even here at The Radavist. Travis Engel has jumped on the spooky-season bandwagon with a list of scary movies (and one scary short film) that will strike a nerve for anyone who likes riding to the middle of nowhere…