This year at the 2026 Brother in the Wild, Vee and Harry from Wizard Works hosted a Best in Show bike awards. The attendees from the weekend submitted their bikes, and then everyone voted on their favorite builds. Then, Vee reached out to John to see if he’d be willing to pick his favorite for a Radavist award…
The Radavist thanks Schwalbe for supporting our 2026 Brother in the Wild content and independent Reportage!
A Radavist Award
What does a Radavist bike look like? Truth told, I was torn between three bikes. One was a vintage conversion, one was an adventure gravel bike, but the one I ended up picking was Stan’s 1934 Schwinn Excelsior klunker. Now, it might feel predictable that the American travels to the UK and picks out a pre-war klunker, but the story about how Stan landed this bike was what won me over.
Landing a 1934 Excelsior
Finding a klunker like the Excelsior isn’t as easy as you might think these days. Especially one that’s been converted from its coaster-brake, balloon-tire single-speed into what you see here in front of you. A lot goes into converting these cruisers – singlespeed, coaster brake bikes – into klunkers – bikes with gears and brakes.
This is a 1940 Schwinn La Salle from the History of Mountain Bike Evolution Showcase, but it gives you a good idea of what some of these pre-war cruisers looked like. Some had a drum brake up front. Most were coaster brake rear, with a big-ass chainring, fenders, and what-have-you. To convert it to gears, a derailleur hanger has to be added as well as cantilever studs, and sometimes, a fork crown brake was drilled.
Stan‘s bike looks like many that were converted in Marin County in the late 1970s. The parts alone indicate whoever built it, knew what they were doing: TA Cyclotouriste cranks, Comp V front mech, Suntour VX rear derailleur, and so on. These bikes were a critical step in what would become the California “mountain bike.” Many of the early mountain bikes mimicked bikes like the Excelsior in geometry, even.
A Late-Night eBay Score
Late one night, Stan was browsing eBay when he saw an Excelsior klunker conversion listing that was ending at 5 AM his time. The listing was in the UK, but the early-morning auction meant it’d be unlikely for the bike to fetch its full value. Stan shut his laptop and went to sleep, but couldn’t get over how awesome the bike was. So he woke back up and won the auction. He got a killer deal on it.
The next day, he drove to pick it up and was amazed at how many original parts were on the bike. Stan remarked, “I emailed a guy in Marin. Allen something. And he confirmed the bike was an original Marin conversion.” It turns out, Stan was talking to Alan Bonds, one of the original Repack crew. Alan confirmed the bike was legit. He knows his stuff. Phil Wood hubs, flat Campagnolo skewers, and Ukai rims. It was a time capsule. Stan began to source some period-correct parts and started to clean the bike up. It’d been sitting for a while and needed some love.
Halfway into the project, Tom from The Woods Cyclery asked Stan if he wanted to do the Rat Run, a 160-mile route that samples some of the best of the New Forest and Isle of Purbeck. Stan couldn’t resist!
Breaking a 1934 Excelsior
Stan put racks on the bike and took off with Tom, only to literally rip the head tube off it and crack the rear seatstays. Eeeeek! He was devastated but knew it was repairable, so he enlisted the careful hands of Stayer Cycles to repair the treasured klunker. Sam cut back the cracked down and top tubes and cleaned the head tube before re-mitering the down and top tubes. He then fillet-welded the connection, adding enough to strengthen the joints, making it a lifelong repair.
Sam then repaired the rear seat stays. Luckily, the original paint and finish were saved on the down, top, and third bar tubes. Stan used this opportunity to source a used Excelsior headbadge. I think this is why I was so drawn to the bike. It’d lived a fabled life in Marin, and at some point was shipped out to the UK, where it sat in a collector’s basement. Then, Stan took it out fully loaded on a pretty rough course, broke it, and had Sam at Stayer repair it. Fuckin’ a, mate.
Sure, some of the parts aren’t period correct, but they look the part, right? And Stan commented, “The front brake caliper is too flashy for me, I have to find a better one… Oh, and pardon the zip ties!” For me, seeing a bike like this being ridden and yet still cared for merited a spotlight. Stan’s an interesting fella, and I really enjoyed talking to him about art, photography, and bikes. And I couldn’t think of a better candidate for the Radavist award.
Many thanks to Vee and Harry from Wizard Works for including me in on the fun, to Will and James from Brother Cycles for the invite to the event, The Woods Cyclery for playing such lovely hosts, and Schwalbe UK for supporting our coverage!
Brother in the Wild is an extraordinary event, and if you ever get the opportunity to attend, don’t miss out!
The Radavist thanks Schwalbe for supporting our 2026 Brother in the Wild content and independent Reportage!