AVT Bike Blog

So, a few months back you may have read about us embarking on a retro rebuild project on a vintage 90's GIOS. It was all inspired by the limited edition release of the Astral Radiant rims in polished silver which reminded us so much of some classic Campy Shamals that we just had to find a suitable canvas to build a bike around them!

This was the starting point as far as inspiration for the bike build:

Remember our aim for this build was not a full 100% retro build, we were going for the retro look as close as possible but with some modern touches like 2 x 11 drivetrain, quality bearings from Chris King and a wider modern rim.

So how did we approach the rest of the build?

The wheels were the starting point for this so lets deal with those first; Astral Radiant 20/24 rims on Chris King Silver R45 hubs, these were handbuilt by our in-house wheelbuild team and finished off with some tan-wall Vittoria Corsa G+ 25c tires.

Next up we added a Chris King GripNut 1" headset in Silver, the perfect combination of old school standards with modern day bearings that will last a lifetime.

For the rest of the build we spec'd the brand new Campagnolo Potenza groupset which is available in a polished silver finish. This is a really great way to be able to build up a retro looking build with all the benefits of a modern groupset such as 2 x 11 compact gearing, dual pivot brakes and more. My only draw back when it comes to the Potenza polished groupset is on the rear derailleur which I think they could have done a better job of replacing the black plastic parts with silver ones.

For the finishing touches we went 100% retro for the cockpit, sourcing a vintage 3T titanium 1" quil stem, and NOS (new old stock) 3T bars with a classic bend. Seatpost is a used titanium one we had gathering dust, not sure on the brand but it fits and looks great on this build. For the saddle we went new with a white Fabric Scoop Ti, and white Fizik bar tape; again both modern options that totally fit our retro look. The build was finished off with stainless-steel King Cage bottle cages and Phil Wood skewers.

The finished article. Sit back and enjoy the rest of the photoset of the finished build, we hope you like the result as much as we do! 

Interested in buying this bike? Or looking for help with your own retrorebuild.. give us a shout!

Full Specification:

Part	Brand
Frame & Fork	GIOS Compact Pro (used)
Wheels	Astral Radiant Polished rims on Chris King silver R45 hubs
Tires	Vittoria Corsa G+ Tire - 700 x 25, Clincher, Folding, Black/Tan, 320tpi
Skewers	Phil Wood
Headset	Chris King Gripnut
BB	Campagnolo Record Ultra-Torque Bottom Bracket Cups, Italian
Crank	Campagnolo Potenza Crank, 175mm, 50/34, Silver
Bar	3T handlebar Ergo Power Due 43cm TDF Bend (NOS)
Stem	3T Titanium stem Pro 1 Inch Quill 130mm Length 3T Vintage 73° (used)
Seatpost	Titanium (used - brand unknown)
Shifters	Campagnolo Potenza
Brakes	Campagnolo Potenza
Rear Mech	Campagnolo Potenza
Front Mech	Campagnolo Potenza (braze on)
Cages	King Cage Stainless Steel
Saddle	Fabric Scoop Ti
Chain	KMC X11-93
Cassette	Campagnolo Chorus Cassette - 11 Speed, 11-27t, Silver

Last Saturday, while across the world in France, riders were punishing themselves in the Paris-Roubaix Sportive or maybe Phillipe Gilbert was hopefully practicing his victory face in the mirror, a couple of us from AVT were exploring the dirt roads of Shasta County on yet another ride in the Honey Badger Series, the local dirt ride series that kicks off the riding season for many riders in Southern Oregon and Northern California.

The series has been going on for many years, and last year was taken over officially by the Siskiyou Saddle Tramps, where you can check out some of the favorite routes if you’re so-inclined. It’s Southern Oregon’s version of the fun unsupported, just-show-up-and-ride adventure ride where some riders go out to hammer and work on their race form and others just go out to see the scenery, and where whatever the goal, it’s okay because as long as you’ve got the route, you can go at your own pace.

One of the really nice things about this series is that they naturally become more challenging as the year goes on. This is due to the snow that blankets the mountains all around us for much of the winter and on into the spring, and forces our rides down into the valleys. Valley riding tends to be on the flat side, and that’s just fine for spring legs that are only dreaming of being able to tackle the climbs of summer and fall.  Leading up to last Saturday’s ride, this year’s Honey Badgers have stuck mostly to the floor of the Shasta Valley, which is a bit like a treasure chest full of beautiful gravel and dirt roads that are low enough that they open up pretty early each spring. As the snow begins to retreat though, we can venture higher, and that’s what we did on this last one, which definitely had us feeling the elevation afterward!

If you’re ever in the area, be sure to check out the Siskiyou Saddle Tramps website, Facebook, or Instagram to see about upcoming rides.

Photos by: Brendon Potts.

There are lots of things to like about White Industries line of cranksets: they're made in the US; available in various lengths, colors, and bottom bracket standards; and maybe best of all, they give you amazing flexibility when it comes to chainring types and sizes!

Whether you want a square taper crankset (with models for singlespeed MTB, or road) because it allows you to adjust the bottom bracket width and chainline to your hearts content, and use an incredibly-durable, low-maintenance bottom bracket like one of Phil Wood's square taper models, or you want a quality, Made in USA, 30mm spindle crankset that gives you the color options to match your headset, bottom bracket, or hubset, there is a White Industries crankset that will fit the bill.

If you want to run a 2x system, White Industries' Variable Bolt Circle (VBC) system is hugely flexible in its chainring options, with big rings from 52 down to 38 tooth, and small rings from 38 down to 24 tooth.  And if 1x is more your style, White Industries' TSR chainrings use a narrow-wide tooth profile to keep the chain in place and running quietly.

Whichever type of chainring you start with, you can always swap it out because they're all attached with an easy-to-use lockring.

 

Some might not know that Chris King offers two options for threaded headsets: the 2Nut and the GripNut.

 

We'll give you a quick run-down of what the differences are, and why you might want one over the other.  

 
The Chris King 2Nut is basically Chris King's high-precision take on the classic threaded headset.  The bearing cap is threaded, and then there's a lock nut on top of that.  The headset allows you to leave your steerer long by using spacers, a cable hanger, or just about anything else you can find to attach to a spacer (like a bell, for instance), and mechanically, it works exactly the way just about every other standard threaded headset does.  If you have a threaded steerer that extends at least 5 full threads above the top of the adjusting (lower) cup, you can use the 2Nut, and depending on how much more than 5 full threads your steerer has, you can fill the space above the adjusting cup with spacers to take up the extra room underneath the lock nut. 

If you have very little steerer tube extending above the upper bearing cup, or if you want to cut your steerer tube as short as possible for the lowest stack height, the GripNut is the best option because it uses a special expanding collet to clamp the steerer tube, which requires fewer threads. 

So while it looks a lot like the 2Nut, it is functionally very different.  The design is also more secure and resistant to going out of adjustment over time than a standard threaded headset design.  The main downside of this design is that you have to cut your steerer tube to the correct length (between 11 and 14mm above the top of the bearing cup, not the adjuster cap).  This obviously limits your ability to add anything like a cable hanger down the road, but on many bikes–especially classic racing bikes–this just isn't an issue, and keeping the headset's stack height low is a bigger priority.

Both headsets are available in 1", 1 1/8", and 1 1/4" sizes for straight steerer tubes, so you really can get whichever style works best for your bike and your intended use.  If you've got any questions about these, or anything else we sell, don't hesitate to get in touch.  We have experience with these on our bikes, and are always happy to help you decide which type will work best for you!

With all of the bottom bracket standards these days, it can be hard to figure out what will work with your bike and crankset, and once you do figure it out, you don't always have a lot of options.  This is where White Industries comes in: with their BSA and T47 bottom brackets, there are options for 24mm (Shimano Hollowtech 2), 28.99mm (Sram DUB), and 30mm spindles, so if you have one of these two common threaded standards, you'll have no trouble getting a quality bottom bracket to fit whatever cranks you have.  On top of that, all of White Industries' BSA bottom brackets are available in their full range of colors! 

All White Industries bottom brackets us replaceable Enduro sealed cartridge bearings, complete with an extra seal on the outside (in these photos, that's the orange or blue part, depending on the bearing).  This seal is easy to remove, clean, and lubricate, which means that keeping your bearings in great shape is a cinch.  On top of that, all of the bottom brackets use precisely-sized bearings that match the diameter of the spindle for which they're designed.  Many other manufacturers tend to use bearings that have a plastic inner sleeve where they contact the spindle, and while that seems to work fine, we like the solidity of a metal-on-metal contact that these have.

If you have any questions about compatibility with your frame or crankset, feel free to get in touch! 

If you're a regular reader of our blog or follow us on social media you'll know that we're big fans of steel frames here at AVT. So you can imagine that when Chris King ceased production of their house-brand Cielo frames back in 2017 we were naturally disappointed. Since then we've been looking hard for a comparable replacement, something that matches the exceptionally high standards of engineering, product design combined with custom geometry to create a truly world-class frame.

We think we've found the answer to that in Italy, with STELBEL frames and I'm pleased we're now able to offer them on AVT.bike as the perfect canvas for the high end parts we know and love from Chris King and others. A worthy successor to Cielo, I'm sure you'll agree!

Who are STELBEL?

Certainly not as well known as many Italian builders, STELBEL fly under the radar, and not just for their understated paint designs. I first came across them during a discussion with a colleague a few years back about whether TIG welding high end steel frames was something that was first done in the USA. Turns out it wasn't... that honor goes to Stelio Beletti in Italy back in 1973 (which he went on to patent in 1975). Back then this was cutting edge stuff! Remember pretty much everything was lugged or filet brazed at that time, both heavier forms of construction, and limiting in terms of tubing profiles and frame design.

1977 Stelbel Integrale. 

So why STELBEL?

With so many high end steel frames to choose from today, both off the peg and custom why choose STELBEL? Given the competition in the steel frame category I guess it comes down to details that really make a frame stand out in a crowded market. For me there are a few things that jump right out with STELBEL:

- Frame Design Details. I think it was the dropouts that first caught my eye a few years ago and they still look sharper than anything out there today. Classic Italian design & engineering that creates something so visually compelling and functional at the same time, combined with the chunky chainstays they contribute to a stiffer frame ensuring all the power goes to the rear wheel. This thinking carries over into all the other frame components such as Headtube and BB Shell which are both engraved with the STELBEL logo.

- A full range combining specific models with custom geometry. Yes custom geometry is great, but there are also some benefits to a frame designer spending the time to create a range of bikes for specific purposes. It means as a customer we're not starting 100% from scratch each time and we can pick the frame best suited to the type of riding we're going to do. This means that certain elements of the frame design like tubing selection, frame components such as the type of BB shell and fork have all been carefully designed for the intended usage. 

Having this, combined with custom geometry gives a perfect combination of made to measure plus a frame that's designed by an engineer who's carefully considered the intended use and has gone through many prototypes to refine the frame design. Within each model design there are still plenty of options to customize the frame for whichever electronic shifting system you use, plus options like extra bottle cages, fender mounts and more.

- Just enough customization but not too much.... In the same vein as the frame design, STELBEL's approach to paint is a combination of leaning on their in house design expertise combined with a high level of customer customization. What this means is that the paint design schema (ie the patterns, logos, panels etc) is fixed for each model, but then the actual choice of the color used is totally open to whatever the customer wishes. 

Given the current trend towards rattle-can finishes (personally I'm not a fan, they look great from a far, but up close terrible) I'd rather let a professional designer handle the paint design in a way that really showcases the amazing craftsmanship that goes into producing the frame. Paint color can also be carried over to matching bars, stem and seatpost to complete the matchy, matchy look we strive so hard to help you achieve here with components from Chris King, White Industries, Phil Wood and more.

Right now we have our first frame on order, a staff build perfectly suited to the Pacific North West comprising an Antenore Disc stainless steel frame with matching fenders, practical in winter, fast in summer. Stay tuned as we take you through the build and design process and give us a shout if you have any questions on ordering a STELBEL for yourself.

As anyone who has been to a show like the North American Handmade Bicycle Show knows, the number and variety of bikes is a bit overwhelming.  From traditional to outlandish, there is a huge range of bikes to see, and that means sensory overload at the very least.

We like bikes that have (according to us at least) a tasteful use of color through paint and parts, and that look like they'd be fun to ride.  At this show we also found ourselves drawn most to the road bikes that were on display. Even having narrowed the choices down that much, there were still a lot of them to choose from, and that makes the process of determining which ones will show up here that much more challenging!

Here are a few more bikes that stood out to us:

Simple Bike Co Titanium All Road

This is one of a few Simple Bike Co bikes on display at NAHBS, and they were all very cool.  Oscar from Simple has been building for many other US-made brands over the years, and many of us aren’t familiar with the frames he builds under his own brand, but we should be!

The matte paint on this bike gives it a really clean look, and we love the way the Chris King matte slate InSet and R45D Centerlock hubs pick up the titanium color and contrast with the yellow.  

Black Cat All-Weather All-Road

This Black Cat is one of those bikes that if you weren't looking closely, would let you walk right by it; but if you happened to actually give it a second glance, you'd be pulled in by its details.  The paint, which had a beautiful semi-gloss finish, was an intricate pattern of blue on blue, and that theme was echoed in the blue Chris King R45D hubs, tapered NoThreadSet, and fenders that were painted to match the frame, fork, and stem.  Overall it was a surprisingly subtle bike considering how much it had going on, and we really liked it.

Mosaic RT-1

With so many beautiful bikes to choose from at the their booth, it’s hard not to feature a couple of bikes from Mosaic in our coverage of NAHBS.  If you've ever visited Mosaic's website, you'll find that they have an extremely thorough range of paint options, and the bikes they brought to NAHBS really showed-off what they're capable of when it comes to paint.  Of course once you get close to the bikes, it’s clear that there’s a lot more going on than flashy paint, but that paint sure is effective at drawing you in!  The Chris King InSet is one of the few parts that isn't custom painted given that the everything from the Silca pump to the hubs on the Enve wheels get the custom treatment on this shimmering blue beauty.

Caletti Jeremiah Kille Titanium Adventure Road

This Caletti was eye catching to say the very least. With paint by Jeremiah Kille, and a booth designed around the bike,  it really stood out.  It’s also a perfect example of an instance where having hubs, headset, and other parts that don’t match. Generally it just makes sense that you would try to color-match these parts, but with paint like this, the shiny black Chris King InSet works perfectly with the matte turquoise R45D Centerlock hubs and ThreadFit 30 bottom bracket.

My buddy Nick put it best when he said that one of the great things about going to the North American Handbuilt Bicycle Show is that it gives us the chance to just talk about bikes.  Events like it remind us that we’re not alone in our fascination with, and passion for these things—just look at all the work that the builders have put into the ones they've got on display!

A special event like that warrants a special introduction, and what better intro than a ride to the event?  I had seen Nick and another friend when they arrived in Sacramento after a similar ride the last time the event was held there, back in 2016, and had promised myself that I wouldn’t miss it were I given the opportunity to do the ride next time.

That’s where I stood when I got the word that he was putting together a ride to this year’s edition of NAHBS. It would leave from Santa Rosa, and ride the 110-or-so miles to Sacramento, where the event was held.  Getting to the start would be a trick, but I knew that missing it wasn't an option.

Where the first iteration had followed pavement all the way, this time Nick wanted to stay off the paved roads as much as possible because of how narrow and full of cars they were on that previous ride. The options for any kind of roads between Santa Rosa and Sacramento are pretty limited as you get closer to the Central Valley though, so it wasn’t simply a matter of choosing a different route and being done with it.  In the end, the route was a bit of an open question of whether we'd be able to make it, and that meant that it had all the makings of a great adventure.

Our little group consisted of  Shige and Rie from Sim Works; Nick, the master of ceremonies, Adam Sklar, builder of swoopy bicycles, Derek from Siskiyou Saddletramps, and our friend Eli.  We even got the royal treatment in the form of some old friends who rolled out on the first leg with us!  

That ride ended up being a perfect example of bikepacking at its best (and most multi-surface), taking us up out of the Santa Rosa and Sonoma Valleys over a lung and leg-buster of a climb, before heading down a brake-burning descent into St. Helena in the Napa Valley, at the beating heart of the California Wine Country.  We had been told that we had to stop at the Clif Family Tasting Room, which is set-up to be very welcoming to cyclists and happens to have fantastic coffee.  Once outside though, we were pulled across the parking lot by the smell of tasty tacos, at the Azteca Market, so it was with full bellies that we set off from St. Helena, and headed up to the secluded town of Angwin for the last resupply of day one.  After a stop at the market for dinner and breakfast, we managed to squeeze in a bit of singletrack—complete with creek-crossings, slippery, rutted descents, and a touch of bushwacking—before emerging at last in Pope Valley to bathe in the golden light of a California spring evening on our way to camp on the shores of Lake Berryessa.

The morning of the second day found us anxiously awaiting the sun as it rose behind the mountains that we would soon climb. While the day before had been warm, it hadn’t been hot, and the night got cold—much colder than the summer sleeping bags that many of us had so hopefully packed were prepared to handle.

Soon we were back on the road though, and for the next many hours we pushed our bikes across washed-out creek crossings, struggled to maintain traction on steep-cattle-trampled climbs, and squinted at our maps to make sure we were actually where we wanted to be (or at least still headed in the right direction). We rode through an epic stretch of scorched earth and charred manzanita bush stumps before being rewarded with a 360 degree view that really let us stretch-out our eyes.

After taking in the panorama for a bit, we pushed on down the hill into the valley, only stopping to form small bucket-brigades to pass bikes over cow-field gates that happened to cross our path. The descent was, as they say, ripping; but was over before we knew it, and we found ourselves surrounded by peach orchards, then walnuts, oranges, and kale.

We refueled at the first convenience store we found, and headed off across the flat expanse of valley toward Sacramento, which was already showing the tops of its tall downtown buildings in the distance.

20-or-so miles of narrow farm roads full of afternoon traffic gave way to wide clean shoulders and miles of slow-to-stopped traffic on Interstate 5 when we had to bypass a large flooded area, and then it was back to narrow roads and no shoulder as our mellow paceline rolled along the Sacramento river toward downtown. We finally pulled up to the state capital as dark was really settling in, and after a quick stop at Sacramento Convention Center, where the show was taking place, we all dispersed in search of our respective showers and dinners.

Riding to the show was a great experience, and though I might be wary of doing the exact same route again, given some of the challenging spots we encountered, getting to show up at the bike show on a bike felt awesome, and I'd highly recommend it.  If you get the opportunity to ride to next year’s show in Houston, go for it!

Photos by Brendon Potts

This year's edition of the North American Handmade Bicycle Show just finished up this last weekend in Sacramento, California, and we were there to see what we could see.  It's really impressive to see the workmanship on many of the frames on display, but of course, it's usually the paint that catches the eye first.  Paint jobs this year were, as usual, amazing, over-the-top, tastefully understated, garish, and just about everything in between.  The bike that won best finish didn't even have paint on it, but more on that later....

Whether or not you're looking for your next bike, we find the ways builders combine parts and paint to be really inspiring, and hope you do too.  If you see color combos or parts that you don't know where to get on these bikes, and you'd like to get the same setup on your bike, we're happy to help you get exactly the look you want, so feel free to get in touch. 

For the moment, enjoy the bikes....

Mosaic GT-1

The bikes at the Mosaic booth were all stunners, but this one had a special combination of a subdued green-green fade paint job combined with Chris King's Matte Mango R45D Centerlock hubs, Threadfit bottom bracket, and Inset headset (with matching spacers) that gave just the right amount of 'pop'. 

Very nice indeed.

Dekerf Ti Mountain Bike

Chris Dekerf has been building frames in B.C. for over 30 years, and in that time he's also brought paint in-house, which makes his paint that much more impressive.  This Gulf Racing-themed bike was thorough to say the least.  He repainted everything–right down to the adjusters and air cap on the fork and the Enve stem.  Talking with Chris, it becomes clear how much he cares about each aspect of building the bike, and this is a perfect example of that.  The iconic paint is accented perfectly by the black White Industries headset, and CLD+ hubs.

Hunter All Road

Rick Hunter's bikes have a beautiful simplicity to them.  Even when they seem to have fun and odd details, he somehow makes a bike that looks unassuming and just very much about being a great and beautiful bicycle.  This road bike is a perfect example of that with its simple lines, single-color paint, and black White Industries R30 cranks, bottom bracket, headset, CLD hubs, and Paul Klamper brakes and Boxcar stem.  Even with the latest electronic drivetrain the bike wouldn't look out of place anywhere. 

Well done!

Sycip Designs Breakaway 

Jeremy Sycip has a varied repertoire—from cargo bikes to lightweight road and mountain bikes—but we really like the look of this all-weather fat-tire road bike with Ritchey Breakaway couplers.  With a wide-range double drivetrain, and just enough red accents from its shift housing and Chris King headset and spacers, R45D Centerlock hubs, Threadfit bottom bracket, and even the Silca pump, we think it's got a great balance of utility and bling.

We hope you enjoy these, but stay tuned for more, and if you have any questions about the parts and how to get look and parts you want for your bike, just get in touch.

All photos: Brendon Potts

Here at AVT, we're big fans of White Industries.  Not only do they make really high-quality and beautiful products, but they're constantly working to keep up with standards, and are doing so in ways that don't render their older designs obsolete.  This has led to their hubs being up-gradable to keep pace with current freehub standards, among other things.  

Today White Industries made a big announcement: a new gravel and lightweight mountain bike rim called the G25A. 

Like the rest of their parts, this rim is made in their facility in Petaluma, CA, and that just makes its specs all the more impressive:

• 25mm internal / 29mm external width with a 20mm depth
• Tubeless compatible with a hookless bead
• Welded joint with full post-weld heat-treatment to restore the metal's full strength
• Matte black anodized finish
• Asymmetric rim profile for more even spoke tension
• 24, 28, 32, and 36 hole drilling available
• Disc only
• Recommended tire widths of 40-54mm
• Available in 700c and 650B sizes

Where to start with these? 

How about a welded seam, for one?  This is an area that is uncommon among US-Made rims, and while you can find arguments in favor of pinned seams as well, there are good ones to be made for a welded one–especially if the rim gets post-weld heat-treatment–so this strikes us as a big deal.  Welded rims tend to be straighter at the seam, lighter, and have slightly easier tubeless setup, so we're happy to see White Industries taking this approach with their rim.

Another feature that we really appreciate in these disc-specific rims is their asymmetric drilling.  Asymmetric, or off-center spoke hole drilling helps even-out spoke tension both on the front wheel's disc-side and the rear wheel's drive-side, resulting in a stronger wheelset.

The width is also great for gravel and all-road bikes, and the wide range of available spoke counts will help more riders get the right wheelbuilds for their riding, so you can bet we'll be keeping a close eye on the development of this rim.

Current ETA is August, so stay tuned for updates here, and follow and like our Instagram and Facebook feeds, because we'll let you know the moment we can get these for you!