THE STEEL BIKE THAT REDEFINED HOW I RIDE

OVER THE PAST few years, I've grown increasingly disenchanted with the chase of new bikes. I've been riding predominantly carbon mountain bikes for a decade, but they have started to feel a bit replaceable. I suppose that's the nature of plastic bikes: They're engineering marvels for a few years until the lighter, stiffer version drops. I found myself wanting something with a little more staying power.

- by Trevor Raab photograph by Trevor Raab

I was also hungry for a new, longer-travel mountain bike, and after a few seasons of riding some steel cyclocross and road bikes, I began to consider the benefits of that material across other, more demanding disciplines, like enduro and bike park riding. Steel offers a ride quality that's a bit smoother than some of the stiffer modern bikes; the material allows the bike to flex in a way that can lead to a very stable, confident feeling across rough terrain. So I started researching steel enduro bikes.

There were the obvious choices, like Starling or Reeb brands, that offered perfectly good options, but as much as I love just riding bikes, I also enjoy finding something more off the beaten path. That's how I stumbled upon Rå Bikes. On paper, the brand's custom build checked most of my boxes, like T-Type components compatibility, around 165 mm of travel, and mixed or 29-inch wheel options. As a bonus, it fit the parts I had on hand and had some good looks. So I called the U.K.-based builder Ralph Richardson and we chatted about his process. Ralph has been dialing in his craft since he was a teenager, when he built himself a 29er DH bike to race the 2013 UCI World Cup Fort William. It was clear from the jump that he was incredibly invested in creating the best possible mountain bike and believed in steel for more than just the fashion of it. We talked about his plans to add more adaptability to the next round of bikes. I got in his queue.