In episode 06, Hailey catches up with Stephen Fitzgerald on all the recent haps at Rodeo Labs, including some exciting news about their made-in-Denver hardtail aluminum mountain bike!

Stephen Fitzgerald started Rodeo Adventure Labs as a team, rather than a company interested in commerce, in Denver in 2014. And while Rodeo still has an impressively dedicated community around the world, today it most definitely operates as a bike company first. With just two models officially in their fleet—though as Stephen and Hailey discussed, that is in the process of changing—Rodeo has built its name on creating versatile, durable, and performance-leaning bikes in the form of their carbon race-ready Trail Donkey, and the Flaanimal, a bikepacking and adventure-forward frame available in titanium or steel.

Rodeo recently released the long-awaited update to the Flaanimal steel with the Flaanimal 6.0, and compared to its predecessor, the 6.0 Flaanimal is even more optimized for bikepacking and ultradistance adventures. Many of the geo numbers have been nudged enough such that, as Rodeo puts it, Flaanimal 6 is a completely new animal: with a higher stack, slacker headtube, steeper seattube, and clearance for 700 x 2.4”, Flaanimal 6 has indeed shed much of its former road DNA.

In addition to touching on the new Flaanimal, in this episode Stephen gives an update on the state of Rodeo, his recent trip to Iceland to race the Rift, and the latest steed that will soon join the Rodeo stable.

Show Links:

Rodeo Adventure Labs Shop Visit

!!! Radavist x OrNot Feldspar Mission Shorts !!! — SOLD OUT (sorry!)

Rivendell OM-1 Reverse Action Derailleur Review

For a Change: Outdoor Gear Repair Has Become a Well Oiled Green Machine

Manitou Mattoc Pro Review

What Losing Bears Ears and Grand Staircase Means for Recreation

In episode 05 of the podcast, Hailey chats with longtime contributor, weird bike aficionado, and photographer Spencer Harding. Tune in for a fun one about Spencer’s long relationship with bike touring, a sneak peek at some of the Dust-Ups that he is stewing on, and some unhinged stories!

Over the next few months, we’ll be mixing in more interviews with other regular contributors to The Radavist as a way for you all to get to know our writers outside of their articles and reviews. So to get things started we hope you enjoy this conversation with Spencer Harding.

Be sure to check out a few of our favorites from Spencer's archive of articles and trip reports:

2026 Sleepless Jeepless Bike Safari: 24 Hours of BINGO!

To Everyone Who Hoped It Might Be True: A Deep Dive Into Spencer Harding's Film Archives

DFL the Divide: A Group Tour in Celebration of Adventure Cycling's 40th

DFL the (Baja) Divide

Suspending Everything Except Your Disbelief: Specialized Diverge STR Review

Surly Moonlander Review: The Perfect Bike for a Bucket List Trip

Down on Muddy Creek, She Sends Me

Daniel Yang will be the first to admit that steel is not the best material for making bikes. But as a bike designer and engineer at Neuhaus Metalworks and the founder of his own steel framebuilding label, Artefact, he’s devoted most of his professional life to working with the material.

In this episode, Daniel and Hailey talk about the liberties and limitations of steel as a framebuilding medium, the creative opportunities of 3D printing, why Neuhaus decided to move its production to Taiwan and the challenges of scaling independent framebuilding in the US. Plus, be sure to stay tuned until the very end, where Daniel gives a teaser about an alternative wheel size that he and Nick at Neuhaus are really excited about, though it’s probably not the one you think. 

Follow Daniel on YouTube here.

Watch: Daniel Yang's Coverage of the 2026 Sea Otter Classic

Read: 藝術 (Art), 手工藝 (Craftsmanship), 製造 (Manufacture): Taichung Taiwan is a Bicycling Manufacturing Mecca

Read: I Visited Every Boutique Steel Factory at Tapei Cycle Show

Wende Cragg played an indelible role in the formation of the sport we now call mountain biking, but as a photographer, her presence in the sport's archives has been less visible. Over the past few years, The Radavist has collaborated with Wende on multiple storytelling projects, most notably on a film that features archival footage and a book released last year dedicated to showcasing Wende's vast catalog of film photos documenting early klunkers and off-road adventures in Marin County.

In episode 03 of The Radavist Podcast, Hailey had a chance to chat with Wende about her rocky start riding klunker bikes, the crew of Marin riders testing the limits of proto-mountain bikes (i.e., old newsboys), the Repack racing days, and how Wende and the Marin contingency found their counterparts all the way out in Crested Butte, Colorado.

Buy: Camera Corner Book

Watch: Camera Corner Documentary

Read: "I Learned to Fly...On a Mountain Bike"

Read: "Wende Cragg's 1978 Breezer Series I: Like Riding Jewelry"

Read: "Rolling Back the Years: The 2023 Annual Pearl Pass Tour"

Is riding bikes inherently political? Matt Mason thinks so. And even though he never intended to become an activist, through his creation of the 250-mile Monumental Loop around Las Cruces, New Mexico, Matt has used cycling as a tool for public lands advocacy for the past decade. Listen to Hailey's conversation with Matt to learn more about the fortuitous federal land designation that led to the Monumental Loop's existence, and how the Loop has become a case study for the positive impact of cycling infrastructure.

Read The Dust-Up: Bikes Are Political - https://theradavist.com/bikes-are-political

When John Watson started his blog in 2006 that would eventually become The Radavist, it was a personal site that he used to document and share photos from New York City's urban cycling scene. Over the last 20 years, that side project has grown in ways he could have never imagined—The Radavist is now an independent cycling media website with a heavy focus on covering the alternative side of the sport and serves as the full-time occupation for John and his wife (and Radavist co-owner) Cari. In episode one, Hailey talks with John about he took The Radavist from personal blog to full-time brand, and how he almost lost the company along the way.