Read on for The Radavist’s Top Ten Articles of 2025, ranked in ascending order and based on views. We’re more than just Beautiful Bicycles over here; year after year, the articles that our authors publish draw the biggest crowds. From our Dust-Up op-eds to the first look at brands’ future showcases, clever hacks, and reviews of cutting-edge tech brought in the page views.
As we look back across twelve months of content, ten articles in particular stand out.
10: Crank Length: Fad or Function?
Crank length: it’s a hotly debated subject these days. Are short cranks just another cycling fad? Should you hold out for another few years until long cranks are back in style? Don’t sell your cranks just yet – Alex Steadman thinks there’s a middle ground. Do you?
09: MicroShift Sword Black Review: Shifting Expectations
John rode the MicroShift Sword Black groupset for a few months on the Black Mountain Cycles Mod Zero and has penned a review that follows up on Travis Engel’s thoughts on the original Sword groupset he wrote in 2023. Sword Black is an even more affordable ($349 vs. $474) cable-actuated groupset, but in an era of everything going electronic, how does it stack up?
08: How NOT To Get Your Partner Into Mountain Biking
When John and Cari moved from Los Angeles to Santa Fe, New Mexico, in early 2020, right before a global pandemic set in, a world of endless mountain bike trails from beginner to expert was suddenly in their new backyard. This prompted John to buy Cari, at 43 years old, a Revel Ranger full-suspension mountain bike, which she’s been riding for the past five years. Read this one for lessons learned on what not to do to maintain a healthy relationship, on and off the bike!
07: Bike Hacks: Run Suspension Linkage Bearings in Your Bottom Bracket Cups
After noting a faster-than-normal wear-down period in his bottom bracket bearings, John, with the help of his local bike shop, Sincere Cycles, figured out a simple Bike Hack that has increased both bearing longevity and decreased maintenance in his rigid, hardtail, and full-suspension bikes. In our world, we call this a win-win.
06: Cargo Bike Elk Hunting: Conservation and Consciousness
Hunting with a cargo bike? We really posted this? Yep.
Since moving to New Mexico and becoming close friends with Kyle and Kim, both avid hunters, John has expressed an interest in deepening his understanding of conservation in New Mexico. On a recent hunt, he harvested a bull elk and used his Omnium Mini Max to haul it out of the backcountry. This was a very personal and deeply spiritual account of how he expanded his consciousness on conservation, as well as some loading tips for hauling on a hunt and clearly it resonated with our readers.
05: The Dust-Up: This Is Why Pivot Bikes Are So Expensive
Pivot Cycles has gained a reputation for making what the internet sometimes calls “dentist bikes.” And although each model in their lineup is priced comparably to its direct competitor, that lineup very rarely dips below $6,000. Travis shares his thoughts in this Dust-Up on why Pivot Cycles are expensive, using information gathered after he toured the Pivot Cycles headquarters last year for the Trailcat launch.
04: The Slower Divide: Accepting The Kind Of Cyclist You Are
In 2024, Alex Steadman bit off more than he could chew on a long (for him) bike tour. A week consisting of physical, emotional, and literal highs and lows led six riders from the top of Montana all the way to the bottom. And not especially fast. Alex’s reflections resonated with our readership as he laid it all out… on a dirt road for us to read.
03: Be More Bikes Raised Reversed Stem Review: Ahead Of Its Time
Our review of the Raised Reversed stem was not a normal review. Normal reviews rarely have to overcome such a mountain of very hasty (but very reasonable) skepticism around their products. And those products are rarely so intimately connected with their designer.
Travis brought some of that skepticism to this review, but he also spent a lot of time with that designer. And the experience fundamentally changed the way he thinks about bikes. Needless to say, that’s more than we can put into a review, even if it isn’t a normal one…
02: New Shimano XTR Review: The Empire Strikes Back
Shimano’s new XTR group is here. It’s wireless, it’s compatible with existing 12-speed Shimano cassettes, and the derailleur mounts to a normal hanger. There’s also a new compact drivetrain, plus new cranks, new wheels, and new brakes that solve an old problem. Travis rode the new XTR for four months, and he had a lot to talk about…
01: The Dust-Up: The Bike Industry Is Broken – It Needs More Density and Less Sprawl
As the bike industry deals with the post-pandemic trials and tribulations, John penned a Dust-Up in which he believes it is broken. In our top article of 2025, he begged the industry to learn from its mistakes as we enter a new era of tariffs and potential economic uncertainty. If you missed this the first time around, give it a read, for a reflective piece about the things he learned during his architecture education and how they apply to the current paradigm of extractive consumerism in the cycling industry.
Let us know what articles stood out to you the most in the comments, or perhaps what you’d like to see more of in 2025!