Some Bicycle Things I’m Stoked About On A Friday, 25/07/2025
Welcome to SBTISAOAF, on an actual Friday, the last one for July, in fact. Wow, has summer ever been evaporating? Yesterday, Claire and I were talking about picking up some new skates, and everything else she’s outgrown before hockey season starts. Hockey season.
We’ve also been talking a bunch about single-speeding this week. It proved impossible for Claire to bite, dig, force, etc. a tire into the ground in the loose-over-hard summer mess; she’s just too light, but as soon as there’s dirt again, she’s keen to give it another go. We’re also taking her one-speed setup to Cumberlandworx, so if the dirt is actually dirt, we’ll have the option.
Simple, Cheap*, Easy, Good, Brake Bleeds
Okay, so there is a heck of a lot going on with Magura’s next-generation brakes, as flag-shipped by the Gustav system that I’m reviewing currently. Between line connections, primary-cylinder architecture, massive pads, the option of massive rotors or regular rotors, fluid volume, easy lever blade swaps, future options, and hinged clamps. To be honest, I’m still sorting out where to start. Expect a first look piece next week in between the Cumberlandworx content?!
But one thing that I’m ridiculously stoked about is the new super simple bleed setup. It’s cleaner, easier, and there are zero proprietary fittings or tools involved. You can buy a couple of syringes from Magura (one holey, one un-holey) or hit up your local medical supply place for a pair and poke or drill a breather hole into one of them.
*{The bleed tools are cheap. The Gustav Pro brakes are a premium-level product.}
Ha, I don’t know how this new setup made it past the sales team. Really, you don’t want to sell proprietary bleed kits? But I love it. Not just because it’s simple and cheap, but also because it’s easy to do, and both my bleeds went flawlessly.
And yeah, I’ve bled up a fair few Magura brakes in my life, but this new system, method, logic is next level. Here’s my process:
- Remove pads from the caliper and insert bleed blocks.
- Ensure that the primary-cylinder (lever) is the high point in the system.
- Remove bleed plug from caliper with 3mm hex; insert un-holey syringe with fluid.
- Remove bleed plug {it’s just a plug – be gentle out and in} from primary-cylinder with T-25; insert holey-syringe empty, with the plunger extended up past the hole.
- Open the caliper bleed port (8mm wrench) and push fluid through.
- Close the caliper bleed port. Remove the syringe. Insert plug. Clean with ISO.
- Cycle the primary-cylinder syringe {the holey one} to purge any air left in the system.
- Remove the primary-cylinder syringe. Gently thread in the bleed plug. Clean with ISO.
I’m going to leave the Gustav talk there for the moment. Oh, okay, I’ll also add that if you ever see a set on a bike anywhere, ask/beg/sneak/steal a squeeze. The action is light, like the MT lineup, yet somehow smoother and more positive at the same time. There’s more feedback in terms of modulating the brake, but it’s still relatively effortless to compress the lever. It’s so nice.
But that’s it! I’ll talk about friction and power, and architecture, and lever shape and path, and all that other stuff in my future write-up.
Yeah, one more thing. This seems like a good place to remind folks that if you’re struggling with a brake bleed question, or other MEATy mechanical concern, we have a great crew of knowledgeable folks over at the MEATengines Reddit page, or if you’d prefer to hit me directly {or just hate Reddit; I get it}, I always try to answer e-mails.
Your Single-Speed!
Whether it’s a chain guide conversion, magic-geared, “oh, I guess since I have sliders I should try this #1FG thing,” or whatever, I’ve received some nice correspondence this summer from folks trying out one-speeding for the first time. Whether it’s the right call or not, well, I’m sure they’ll know after a ride, or two, or six, or six years later. Anywho, it’s rad to see curious cyclists giving no-more-shifting a shot.
Aadi has tried a couple of different setups and is now rocking the clean-looking BB-mount BlackSpire Stinger I’ve shared below. That’s the stock roller on there for the time being, but it’s easy enough to install a jockey wheel for, arguably, a bit less drag but at the cost of a touch more noise.
I love this stuff, so if you’re experimenting with one-speeding your rig, please feel encouraged to fire me a photo and your thoughts.
CTK’s TransAM Trail Trickle-Up
Crash Test Kevin one-speeded the same Kona Honzo for about a decade. It was an older gen 68° {static} head tube angle (HTA) model with a 20mm over-forking and served his ride-from-home Tech-C needs well.
Last summer, for various motivations, he pulled the trigger on a fresh, chromed-out*, Transition TransAM with a mix of new and mostly his old parts. Rebuilt CaneCreek Helm, Boostinated decade-old Chris King hubs, beaten-to-sh*t first-gen Magura MT5 brakes, some min-maxed CUES U6000 cranks, and my well-used, offset 9point8 dropper post to push his seat back. It’s rad.
He also purchased a fresh 23t Endless Kick Ass Cog, and that has conspired with the 64° head tube angle (HTA) to suddenly have him curious about pushing the sort of terrain he’s willing to hardtail. This is where the story becomes a bit spicy.
*{I believe they call the colour ‘Blind Your Sibling Silver’, but I’ve also heard it referred to as ‘First Loser’.}
For his Tech-C, Shorecountry style riding, with a powerful set of Magura brakes, yes, CTK has been happy to toodle all the trails he was riding on his Honzo, on rotors the same size as the Clairebarian runs. But when taking the hardtails on hard trails, the learning curve was, pardon the pun, steep.
There were no hard bails, but that smoky smell of cooked rotors and pads was noxiously present along with a discoloured back disc and a notable feeling that the brakes stopped working for a while when things really warmed up.
I’m so stoked about this old-dog new-trick one-speed narrative, but we’re definitely going to have to get the TransAM’s braking upsized two steps if he’s going to be leaving his well-worn Guerrilla Gravity Smash at home on steeper, jankier trails.
1X Conversions
I love front derailleurs. Okay, not the newest Shimano side-swing ones, but from Acera to XTR, from Sora to Dura-Ace, I’m down with multiple decades of past double-and-triple shifting tech. And I’m still dreaming of a generation-two HammerSchmidt. That feeling of charging a climb and then single-clicking into the perfect lower gear rather than crunching through a whole stack of shifts? Beautiful.
Do I own a bike with a front derailleur? No. But to be fair, my four bikes currently combine for a grand total of four rings and nine cogs {and six of those cogs are on my commuter rig}. Is there a bike in my household with a front derailleur? Also, no. Will there ever be one again? Unlikely.
For most mountain bike applications, including the grind-up & jank-down that I love, the security, simplicity, and relative quiet of a 1x drivetrain overcomes the negatives of poor chain line in the lowest, highest torque gears. Even on a hardtail. Of course, sag-wagons have extra 1x benefits to performance that stem from designers only having to contend with a much smaller window of chain position relative to the main pivot.
For long-distance road and gravel riding, where tighter cassette ratios make for a much nicer experience, I’ll agree that the front derailleur will always reign supreme. In fact, I suspect that many folks running 1x on their current gravel rig will be running 2x on their next one. But no one in my extended family is currently all-in on that long-distance groadie cycling experience. For commuting year-round, all-weather, the single narrow-wide front ring is simply simpler to maintain.
The subject of today’s 1x conversion is my mom’s classic Dr Dew. This is from the heyday-Dew era of basic round-tubed aluminum frames, chromoly forks, and the best city-bike values in the business at all three price points – Dew, Dew Deluxe, and Dr Dew.
Anywho, the front derailleur gave up the ghost, and upon further inspection, it was very clear which was the Goldilocks ring for this rig’s use case. The Granny looks like Gramma has never touched it, and the big ring could be cleaned up and resold as nearly new, but that middle ring is decidedly more worn.
Anywho, my experience with these Garbaruk rings and their tall-tall-teeth {Gramma, what big teeth you have!} is that they’re perfect for 1X conversions, especially in cases with older no-clutch, lightly sprung rear derailleurs where your ‘customers’, say your wife or your mom, know where you sleep. No accidental derailments, thank you.
Retention, in my experience, is excellent even with wider-than-recommended chains like the 9-speed setup shown here.
For whatever reason, Kona chose to spec a 130BCD crankset on this Dew, but Garbaruk makes a variety of both 110BCD and 130BCD options, so I was covered with this 38t. The rings come in eight colours, but only black was available ASAP, and no bike mechanic {who wants fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies} keeps their mom waiting.
For the more patient Canucks, your local shop can special order any Garbaruk product, including their Clairebarian-approved single-speed cogs, through the Canadian distributor Orange Sport Supply.
Packing In Some Bonus Bike Stuff
Selling my rad Bakfiets-style cargo bike was the hardest parting I’ve ever had with a possession. We live walking distance to groceries, Claire was too big and also pedaling herself around, my family had simply outgrown most of our use case for owning and storing the bike, and it’s a lot of mass to move up and down the North Shore, just as a bike to ride.
Still, the only thing that made selling it okay was the folks who bought it. It was impossible not to be stoked about how excited Chris was to pedal his family around.
Anywho, this week Chris fired me a photo of their most recent update, which was dropping the frame off with Chris Dekerf for a full respray. Oof. If I weren’t pumped for Chris, I’d be jealous. Can’t wait to see a photo with the box on it as well.
I stopped in for coffee with my friend Essential-Jac today, and she has a couple of pieced-together 27″ wheeled Marin Rift Zones (one small, one medium) that caught my eye. Shimano XT brakes, SRAM shifting, Fox Performance Elite forks, Float X shocks, dropper posts. Full manufacturer’s warranties and rideable for less than 3K each, including tax.
Normally, I’m not posting deals-of-the-week or any of that crap. And, for my MEATengines PPP disclosure, Jac has been a pain in my ass, I mean, my friend, for years, and I occasionally work for her as a mountain bike guide.
My motivation for sharing here is that I loved my Rift Zone / Riftco and maybe I’m a bit out to lunch, but this is the best deal I’ve seen on a new short-to-mid travel sag-wagon, build & bike-wise, this season.
Anywho, I have it on good authority {I actually just made it up} that there’s an extra discount for MEATengines readers, so if you are keen, make sure to try that line out when you e-mail JacAttack.
Yeah, so. That’s SBTISAOAF for this week. Live on an actual Friday even!
I have a pedal first look/open-up/review piece coming on the 28th, so look for that. I also have a couple of Tunnel Talk pieces in the queue, the first hit on Magura’s Gustav brakes, and, of course, Cumberlandworx coming up, so no shortage of MEATengines between now and the end of summer.
Cheers,
Larry Talker Tunes
Bagpipes, catchy tunes, anti-fascist working-class politics, and there’s even a song featuring Billy Bragg. Released this summer. That’s 2025, Model-T! Check out ‘For The People‘ by The Dropkick Murphys.
I mean, the album grabs on and doesn’t let go {in a good way} but if you’re just going to hit a couple of songs I’d probably recommend Longshot (feat. The Scratch) and The Vultures Circle High (feat. Al Barr). But I could change my tune every five minutes if you’re asking me to just pick two.
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