Some Bicycle Things I’m Stoked About On A Friday, March 6th, 2026.
I spent the week unintentionally philosophicycling through my favourite pedaling question, ‘Would you still be a cyclist if mountain bicycling didn’t exist?‘ I did a really decent amount of riding, but didn’t pull out a mountain bike once. And, I was surprisingly okay with it. My biggest day was yesterday; I put somewhere around 55km total on the Omnium {ATB-Long}. The Clairebarian and I pedaled to school, then I pedaled to work for my patented half-shift, then back to her school, and then home. I’ll be pleased to pedal a single speed in the woods this weekend. But je suis trop fatigue to really be hungry to ride.
I’m writing a little piece about bike commuting with your grom. Most specifically, how we’ve played with ride order, how we’re learning to be what I call ‘aggressively cautious’ {miming full commitment to other traffic while relying on a super-short stopping distance if needed}, and how it’s evolved from the cargo bike, to her pedaling, and from her pedaling to setting the pace. Choosing between quiet streets, disjointed ‘safe’ cycling infrastructure, back alleys, and gravel detours whenever they’re available. That’ll be up, soonish?
{Photo: MEATengines}
I was passed this week by all manner of eebs, and a few very fleet folks turning wheels au natural. I think my favourite was the fellow throttle-twaddling a hub-drive e-bike with no chain. Imagine the cassette and chain ring life on that beauty!
If I could share a photograph of a bike from one of the folks I saw it would be the ancient Trek 520 with a full front-and-rear-panniers-and-trunk-and-bar-bag randonneuring setup. I had places to be or I would have stopped and asked to take a photo. From a distance I immediately picked up the bar-con shifters and an aftermarket tall-neck quill stem and although I couldn’t tell at that distance I’d bet $20 it had a well-broken-in Brooks saddle*.
*{Some saddles you break in. Some saddles break you in. Some saddles there’s a symbiotic battering of both tarpaulin and taint.}
{Photo: MEATengines}
Yeah, so. The ‘bike season’ {it’s always bike season?!} is coming on full-blast and hockey season is almost over, so The Clairebarian and I have a bunch of riding plans both exciting and routine. We’re also going to be out digging, volunteering at the local race series, and doing some ride leading for our friends at Essential Cycles.
I’m back turning wrenches in a senior* grom {AKA grompa} / junior* tech role, but it’s still during the school day for the most part so I expect there will still be a fair bit of MEAT going live in audition to A.a.S.S., which now has it’s own tag. On that note, cheers for all the submissions. I think I’m only about a week behind in sending out thank you notes and we’re running about a month out publishing wise. I am going to start publishing an extra one a week just to keep up with the interest.
*{Senior as in age, not rank / junior as in rank, not age.}
{Photos: MEATengines}
“We’re Hiring!”
That’s me quoting every shop in town. If you’re an experienced bicycle mechanic looking for North Vancouver-adjacent work and have any questions feel free to hit me up. It’s a great time to be looking for work on the shop floor or on the tools, particularly for experienced folks with a great attitude but also stoked riders who are eager to learn. Heck, even grumpy old pseudo-Luddite vest-aficionados like myself can find a great gig.
Here I’m going to specifically shout-out one shop, that I’ve not actually been inside, on the other side of the ocean {Burrard Inlet}, in East Vancouver. Blake from Landyachtz powered passed me on Thursday, like I was standing still, on one of their Vancouver-made titanium wonder-rigs, and, just before he punched it into calf-powered hyperdrive, he let me know they’re looking for an excellent mechanic to assemble and maintain their deluxe creations.
One neat thing about this gig is it’s split between wrenching on bikes and assembling saddles for their bougie custom-fit heat-moulded saddle company, Reform Saddles. So, there’s always something to do and the wrenching this candidate would be doing is either on mint machines or, even if well used, the sort of stuff that’s nice to work on. Anywho, if you’re an experienced tech looking to make a move {locally, or, I mean, Vancouver is a beautiful place to live and ride} fire the good folks at ‘yachtz a message.
{Photo: Landyachtz}
Fabe Fabrications ISCG Single-Speed Tensioner
Look, there are plenty of little challenges around running a single-speed setup using an ISCG tensioner. The short version? If you have sliders, use ’em. These challenges are particularly palpable for the persnickety pedaler as there can be a fair amount of equivalent gear-ratio math, and experimentation to find a ring/cog combo that can be tensioned and matches what they’re looking to pedal.
Here’s a, currently one-off, let’s call it a prototype, from Australia’s Fabe Fabrications, a mountain bicycling component brand so fresh they don’t even know they exist yet. I love this stuff so much. I mean, I love it as much as massively-{warranty-NOT-approved}-over-forked-steel-super-stapler-single-speeds. There are days when the only reason I even open my e-mail is to see if anyone has sent me some one-speed science. Thanks, Ben!
{Photos: Bushtrucker-Ben}
Analog Cycles’ Peregrinations
“Hey, we’re here at Analog Cycles and we’re gonna talk today about…“
I’ve never interacted with Analog Cycles, never mind been in the space, or etc. But, from their website, it’s the sort of shop that folks keep telling me can’t survive, never mind thrive, in our modern times and I take ardor in their optimistic obstinance.
I love their About Us:
The best tools out there are beautiful, highly functional, durable and serviceable. Enlightened bikes are efficient, beautiful, comfortable and fun to work on. A bicycle brings you closer to experiences, they enrich a locality, they are spiritual partners on your journey through life. Analog Cycles builds enlightened bikes for life’s peregrinations.
A couple friends sent me links to Analog-James’ Instagram videos; one about Plus tires, a couple about tools. I prefer to read my bicycle happenings, but I’ll watch the odd video that folks send me. Typically that is, but I’ve been next level enjoying James’ perspicuous ponderings, and you might as well!
{Photo: Analog Cycles}
ATB-Long
Yes, I swear, a more in-depth Omnium MEATengines P³ write-up is coming but, having put a decent collection of kilometers on it this week, I have some thoughts. I’ve ridden a few cargo bikes, including the beautiful beast of a Cetma I used to pedal Claire around in, and I’ve ridden more than a few bikes with substantial front racks, like the WZRD YGWYGAYDGU rack on my Waltworks V1 ATB-conversion, and my Omnium Mini-Max isn’t like either of those things.
I’ve yet to properly experiment with how-heavy-is-too-heavy in terms of a load, but Sunday when I was timing some portions of my commute I pulled off my first both-wheels-off-the-ground moment jumping the one blue feature on a green section of trail and was amazed how natural it felt on my reversed-mega-mullet. High-posted I’ll note.
The bike is not lightweight by any stretch but it has proper pep when commanded forward, especially with my combination of a Schwalbe Billy Bonkers up front (tubeless w/ CushCore Commuter insert) and a Schwalbe Amazing Alvin in the back. Surprisingly, I haven’t had to use my (manual front 2x) bailout ring yet though I’m still playing around to find the optimum stem length and bar height for standing to climb.
{Photo: MEATengines}
Hoard Hard Me Hearties, The Sequel
It was February 2021 and I was telling anyone who would listen to stock up on consumables. The stuff that isn’t going to go to waste; that we’re going to use anyway. And, for what it’s worth, I’m doing exactly the same thing in 2026. I have a couple of spare tires {regular tires, in addition to my hoard of discontinued 29×3″ XR4 rubber}, pads for all our brakes, chains for all our bikes {it helps that all our bikes, single-speed and multi-speed run 11-speed chains}, sealant, etc. I’m pretty stoked on our current collection.
I honestly don’t know what we’ll see shortages in this summer, but I’m already, at the start of March, hearing rampant rumblings about forecasting fissures when it comes to service parts and consumables at all levels of manufacturing and distribution. Bikes are another thing altogether. The highest-end luxury items will air ship, but folks looking for a more basic or even mid-level performance rig are going to find that shipping container woes are real.
Silver linings? The used market should rebound, shops should be able to make a few dimes off of bikes they’ve already bought instead of clearing them out below invoice {never mind the costs of building, storing, and selling them and after sale support). Plus I’m looking forward to receiving a nice e-mail when your buddies are running backplates and you have some spare brake pads in your drawer.
{Photo: MEATengines}
Larry Talker Tunes: By Andrew
Technically, Terry Walker’s musical homework for the week comes from NJP, AKA Mom-io Andretti. I’ve been spinning last week’s submission, Atomic Rooster – Circle The Sun, a ton, and I really wanted to hit him back with something that has jam.
Anywho, Model-T, this one is all covers and was recorded for charity, raising some US$100,000 to fight voter suppression in the USA:
Death Cab for Cutie – The Georgia E.P.
The obvious top track is the beautiful cover of Waterfalls, but I love Flirted With You All My Life.
{Photo: Death Cab for Cutie}
Climbmax
That’s this week in SBTISAOAF. I have a bunch of little bicycle maintenance projects – mostly replacement bearing related – coming up in the next couple weeks so expect some spring-tuning, buy-the-bike-you-already-own, chatter. I’ve also been back-and-forth-and-forth-and-back between a 28t and 30t front ring on my #1FG ArctuHawk Voyager {22t cog} and it’s starting to become a bit silly. it’s two teeth. Still, if 29t {obviously non-narrow-wide} rings existed in a Shimano direct-mount pattern I’d consider buying one. Anywho, fair warning to expect some more Let Go My Ego type musings in the near future as well.
Have a great week/end,
Andrew
Blurb
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