The Radavist

Ryan Wilson kicks off a series we’re launching during the pandemic, a shout out to our favorite small businesses in the cycling industry. Here are some of Ryan’s personal favorite products!

Small businesses are the foundation of the outdoor industry and many have been seriously impacted by the pandemic over the last couple of months. While money is understandably tight for a significant portion of people, if you do have the means and are dreaming up your next bike trip or local ride, I wanted to offer up a few suggestions for gear that I believe is worthy of investing in from some of my favorite small businesses in the industry.

Tumbleweed’s Prospector touring bikes are built around the Rohloff hub platform. These do-it-all tourers are at home in the backcountry, on washboarded roads, or ripping and flowy singletrack. Their geometry is tuned to take on fully-loaded tours, while still being equally as fun un-loaded. Just announced today, the new Prospector frames are now available for presale. There are a limited number of frames available in each size and color and they are due to arrive February 2019.

Select Desert Sandglow or Midnight Blue colors, choose a fork option and whether to add a Rohloff module. The module includes the Rohloff SPEEDHUB, shifter, cables and a 180mm brake rotor (save $500 off retail). Head to Tumbleweed for more information!

After much online demand, Daniel from Tumbleweed has listed these beautiful, acid-free archival paper-printed desert prints on the Tumbleweed Online Store.

“Here is a limited edition 16”x24” high-quality print on archival paper with artwork by Bay Area artist Sean Hipkin. Prints will be shipped in a poster tube, and shipping cost is included in the price of the print”

Scoop one up at Tumbleweed.

The poster for the tour, designed by @horizonlines is available at the screenings

Tonight’s premiere of El Silencio: Cycling the Peruvian Andes at Golden Saddle was excellent. The visuals, story, and cast of characters are as memorable as the scenery. Seeing these vignettes in video is an exceptional experience, especially after seeing so much of Ryan Wilson’s photography work from the area over the years.

Do not miss this film as it tours the West Coast of the US. Future screenings are on the way, along with an eventual web-release.

Here’s the press-release from Tumbleweed Bikes:

“Cycling the Peruvian Andes, a Jay Ritchey Film. El Silencio brings the viewer along through the highs and lows of four cyclists as they traverse the mountainous Peru Divide bikepacking route, and was filmed entirely by bike. Joining the tour are: Jay Ritchey, filmmaker; Daniel Molloy, owner of Tumbleweed Bicycle Company, and Pepper Cook, adventure cyclist. A Q&A session will be held following the film for those interested in learning more about bicycle travel, bicycle design, and more. We hope you will join us!”

Tour dates and tickets listed below:
● May 5, Ventura, CA: Ventura Bike Hub
● May 8, Oakland, CA: Luckyduck Bicycle Cafe
● May 9, Fairfax, CA: Marin Museum of Bicycling
● May 11, Portland, OR: Velo Cult
● May 15, Seattle, WA: Swift Industries @ The Rhino Room

This video by Jay Bird Films and Tumbleweed Bikes is coming soon. If you’re in Los Angeles, you can see the feature-length at GSC. Check out the flyer below and read more about this video at Tumbleweed.

These Tumbleweed Bandanas look great and they look even better with a bit of color added in!

Photos by James Newman

Tumbleweed Bicycles saw the opportunity to design a rigid mountain bike, suited for bikepacking and optimized for a Rohloff hub back in 2014. For the past two years, they’ve been developing the Prospector, a multi-purpose bike, designed to fit either 26″ or 27.5+ wheels, with a suspension-corrected fork or a Rock Shox Bluto and while the Prospector can take a front and rear derailleur, it’s design centers around the Rohloff platform. What makes the Prospector stand out from other offerings is the special 73mm version of Phil Wood’s eccentric bottom bracket. This, along with a boosted rear and proprietary yoke allow for a creak-free drivetrain that’s optimized for wider spacing.

The Prospector is available in two colors and four sizes for $1,300. Pre-ordering the frame is now possible at Tumbleweed Bicycles.

There are so many options on the market now for dedicated bikepacking rigs, so I’m glad to see some still being made by smaller companies! Check out more at Tumbleweed Bicycle Co. Nice yoke, Anna!