“I just spent $1800 on Kool-Stop pads. Which is something I never thought I’d hear myself say” – Duncan Jones, Comor North Vancouver. 

Look, I’m not sh*tting on Kool-Stop brake pads. I’ve been running a pair of their sintered pads in the front of my Formula Cura 4 brakes for months and they’ve been great. I mean, they’re louder than the stock pads, in all situations, and they don’t quite measure up to the feel of the resin models. And, they don’t quite measure up to the stopping power of Formula’s own sintered compound. And, they don’t seem to last any longer. But, for the price of entry, they’re pretty damn good and if the alternative is no brake pads at all I’ll buy a couple pairs of back-ups thanks. 

And if it sounds like I’m preparing a spiel, I am. Grom-ing away on bikes, I’m going to be having this conversation a hundred times between now and when Shimano gets Canadian dealers inventoried with their universal 4-piston sintered brake pad, the D02S, sometime this summer. Oh, you’ll just pay double for the stupid finned version? No sorry, N04C is out of stock too. 

I have these Kool-Stop pads.

I’m not suggesting you need to purchase five years of bike parts – or a spare room full of toilet paper – but anyone I’m talking to about bikes this summer is predicting a similarly sparse year to last when it comes to satisfying demand for service & repair parts. 

Faced with lengthy downtime due to a shortage of mineral oil for brakes – yes smug DOT fluid brake user, you have won this round – some folks will jog to work instead of cycle commute, or go for a hike instead of riding, and they’ll be quite content. That’s not me, and it’s probably not you. 

Now you could always go back to tubes (*gasp*) if there’s a tubeless sealant shortage – 26″ & 27″ wheeled bike owners can always sleeve in a more easily acquired 29’er tube Eric Porter style – or patch your tire with Gorilla tape when you tear open a sidewall or runbike your 10K carbon Enduro bike because there’s no chain and cassette option available that’s compatible.

Or, you could start hoarding a season’s worth of spares right now. That’s not to say everything you need to last a season is available today-today, but better to start sourcing that DUB BB before your cranks are seized right?

 While scribbling down the must-haves – on an unrelated note, have you considered taking up single speeding yet? – do take a moment or two to consider how much extra wrenching on your own bike(s) you will likely be doing this year. There’s a shortage of mechanics all over BC, shops are going to be slammed with lengthy delays, and that brake bleed seems like a silly reason not to be riding when the process isn’t rocket-surgery and a bleed kit really isn’t a big investment. 

If you can find one.

And if you do manage to complete enough of a hoard to ride the summer through don’t forget to bury that treasure and tell no one what you’ve got squirreled away. Those swashbuckling mountain bike friends of yours are crafty moochers aware of your weakness for beer and begging.