Some Bicycle Things I’m Stoked About On A Friday, August 15th, 2025.
Alright, so this week’s intro is also the first item for SBTISAOAF, so I’m going to jump right in. No, wait, first I wanted to say to the folks who took the time to read the entire book of a first impressions piece about the Magura Gustav brakes I published yesterday: thank you, and sorry. Anywho, here we go.
“Keep The Weird Bikes Alive”
Paul Price, of Paul Components fame, had this post on the ‘gram a couple of days ago. Old news to most of you, then, I know of folks who don’t even have an Instagram account who know everything that Paul and, of course, Paul have posted*.
But yeah, I just saw it this {Friday} morning. The closest I’ve come to the FAT-front/regular-rear setup is my current rigid 29×3″/27×2.6″ mullet, and that’s probably weird enough for me. But I wanted to echo the joy from every time I see someone’s lovingly sorted, genuinely different take on bicycles. That’s true in photos, in the real world, and triply true on the trail, though it’s increasingly rare to see anything that isn’t a belly button bike in these parts.
*{They’re also up to date on everything Oddity Cycles.}
[Aside]
Re: Belly Button Bikes, I’m not being a GEShole here, I love that you love your carbon HP+I/Eccentric BB/8-Bar super bike. I just saw lots of them already today. Plus, evolution, my sole interest in battery-powered shifting these days is how many times your battery has died out on the trail. If you don’t have a great story about running out of juice or losing a battery in the middle of somewhere, meh.
{On the other hand. A dead battery story, well-crafted, will earn you gigantic guffaws and a hearty smile. Wow, have I heard some fantastically told tales of cable-free woe.}
Also, I thought seeing 8x carbon Specialized Stumpduros on the same group ride, a couple of years back, was insane. But, I saw 10x current carbon Santa Cruz Whocantelltheyalllookthesames riding together this summer, and not one of the Steve Pete look-a-likes laughed at my “Are you guys from the Syndicate?” joke.
[/Aside]
The Writer’s Apprentice
Okay, so, on brand, I feel like I need to say an Andrew-Major-ish thing here. Like, if NSMB.com outfitted four Santa Cruz Chameleon hardtail frames with Fox Performance suspension, Deore M5130 LinkGlide drivetrains & Deore stoppers, Reserve aluminum wheels on DT370 hubs, and some 86%-new Schwalbe tires discarded by folks racing to try semi-radial rubber, then they could have had FOUR Writer’s Apprentices instead of one for the same investment from sponsors.
And now, with that out of the way, this is a freakin’ cool opportunity for someone to salt & pepper their chops in the bicycle writing world. And I love that the team just straight up rips the band-aid off in the cold {so cold} open:
“There’s some bad news too. Let’s rip the band-aid off straight out of the gate. Aspiring to be a writer these days is a bit like aspiring to be a steam boiler repairman. Maybe at the fancy end it is up there with wanting to be a watchmaker, only you won’t have to wear one of those magnifying monocles. What we mean here is that writing is becoming an endangered art form, stalked through the tall grass of the cultural Savanna by blow dart wielding emoji with the unstoppable crushing machinery of ChatGPT clanking ominously closer behind. It’s a hard way to make a living.”
Anywho, I’m stoked to see this taking flight, and I’m excited to see what unique voice they add to the bikernet. If you, or someone you know, has different stories to tell, or has always wanted to see a different spin on gear reviews, or <insert a motivation here>, and have been on the fence about applying, then make the time!
The deadline for The Writer’s Apprentice is 11:59pm PST on Wednesday, Sept 3rd.
{Above photo: Deniz Merdano}
On the topic of writing, and reading, about mountain bicycles – gear & culture – I was recommending Gerard {currently wrenching at Cove Bikes} to a rider the other day for some specific service they needed, and, when I arrived home, I had to pull up his all-time favourite piece for a quick perusal.
Anywho, “…the legend of The Leveler must be told,” and if you hit that link and scroll to the bottom, I’ve preserved it there thanks to G-Rad and Mike Ferrentino. It’s a great story, well told.
Norco Revolver, 2026
Okay, so this is only super-weird because it’s going way off this week’s SBTISAOAF theme, but the new Revolver just went live, and I wanted to quickly *chapeau* to GNARco for this one.
I saw some renderings of this bike a few months ago. Purple. Two bottle cages on the down tube. Nice lines. 130/120mm fork/frame travel, but just begging for a wee bit of the over-forking Darco action. Maybe a 29×2.8/27x.28 Plus-mulleting? With a 110-to-120mm headtube*, it would be a fantastic place to park my 75mm rise Hunter Smooth Move handlebar. Oh, yeah. Permission To Weird, am I right?
No word of a lie, this is the first Norco since the similarly full-XT ’94 Rampage that I’ve truly wanted to try. The same goes for being in a rarified collection of fantastic-plastic rigs that really pull at my psyche: Transition Spur, V1 Druid, WeR1 Arrival A140.
I’m assuming there will be framesets available as well, but for those that have to have purple and are looking for a complete, one way to cut some hefty costs would be to swap the XT Di2 derailleur and shifter for their cable-actuated equivalent. The frame has full routing.
And yes, for the purpose of being stoked, I’m ignoring the weird – in a less fun way – Zipp wheel spec. I assume this is down to weight savings, but I’ll double up here on my belief that once a rider is looking past the bulk-buy savings of a well-appointed Deore-level bike, there is a strong value argument for building up a frame with the parts you actually want.
Anywho, the 2026 Norco Revolver.
*{I’m both a Size 3 and a Size 4 depending on stem length and application.}
*{Okay, not the hubs, but I love that too.}
F!L!T!’s New Commuter Rig
I helped F!RST L!GHT Thomas out a bit with some assembly on his freshly built commuter rig. Fingers crossed that it pedals as nicely on the road as it does in the stand, because it’s raining so hard outside, I was soaked taking three photos.
For the record, that’s not me being a wuss. It’s supposed to be raining even harder this afternoon when I pedal to work. I just didn’t have the heart to be the first one to ride F!L!T!’s fresh build in shitty Raincouver commuting conditions.
Anywho, I’m not going to rob someone of their new-bike-day photo reel, so for proper shots keep an eye on Thomas’ IG, but, despite being someone who doesn’t love chainstay bridges, I’m fascinated by this one, so here’s a teaser shot:
Alright, that’s a wrap on this week’s SBTISAOAF. My lights are charged, I dug out the hood for my weatherproof Showers Pass vest, and I’ve packed two full sets of clothing, so I’m probably ready to go wrench now. I’m riding the Waltworks V1, so keeping things weird with that 6-speed under-the-bar Paul Components Thumbie Action and my beauty 20° Soma Dream Lowdown bar.
Cheerios,
Larry Talker Tunes
I don’t have a full album for this week’s LTT because I’m on hour six of the same earworm playing over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over… in my head. Anyway, for your commiseration, I mean, consideration, here’s The Pretenders X Shirley Manson performing, yes, you guessed it, live a couple of years ago:
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