I’m behind on a couple of things I wanted to post and a couple of things that I wanted to do this week. I’ve been a bit under the weather but also a bit under the season, so after teching on Monday I took the rest of the week as unpaid time off with grand plans to accomplish much, and little to show for it.
Tunnel Talking for a moment, I’ve never been much for religion but I’ve often thought that every service shop needs some, more universal, version of the serenity prayer hung at eye level. You know, “<<Insert Your Name Here*>> grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”
*{It’s extra awesome if your name is Gord.}
On the subject of service, my building received excellent and beyond-timely service from Valley All-Door this week, so I wanted to give them a shout-out. All the old things in my life – my car, my apartment building, my body – have needed some extra attention in January and thus far, aside from whinging about bills, I have only good things to say.
“There’s always something to do.” – Jeff Carr
Gone but not forgotten, I’ve been hearing Rabbit’s voice in my head at work a lot lately. And I mean, I do a decent impression, so, at least to me, it really sounds like his voice. Jeff was one of the greatest characters I’ve met in my journey through the bike industry. I’ve long been sad that I didn’t recognize how much I learned from him until years after I worked for him.
{I actually did take him aside one time, years after we worked together, and tried and tell him about his impact but he just looked at me like I was having a stroke.}
I’ve only mentioned Rabbit once or twice on MEATengines in the past, particularly in a piece from March 2021 (The Near-Enough Future Of Bike Sales? 2009, Rabbit, The Faze One) predicting our current industry predicament {yay me}, but the reason that Jeff comes to mind so often is that I regularly use a whole quiver of quips I picked up from our time together.
None comes to mind more often than “There’s always something to do.” This was a multi-purpose phrase delivered as a closed-ended rebuttal to patrons remarking that the shop was slow in the off-months and as direction to staff standing around at any time of the year.
Pump tires, dust frames, rearrange inventory, face clothing, clean the glass, sweep, spot inventory counts, check clear out lists, etc. And repeat. There’s always something to do.
Bike Industry Rebound
Not to go all TT this week, but as with the post-noughties period, the bike industry rebound is on its way. Actual bike sales themselves likely won’t stabilize until next season, so new or used this year will remain strongly a buyer’s market. There are also reams of clothing for brands and shops to sell through yet. But, parts and accessories (P&A) bookings are climbing back up to pre-COVID levels and shops are already hiring {hunting} staff.
It’s only January, but I’m excited either way. After all, biking contributes to feeding my family, and as a primary parent, more demand for bike mechanics means more flexibility for Claire and me.
Word on the trail is we’re going to see a couple or few more iconic bicycle brands announce their crushing financial woes and parts distributors – essentially the primary lenders to many a bicycle business – are still circling more than a few bike shops but in general, I think there’s some relief in the air {and I’m stoked about that}.
Oh Helm Yes!
Is the Cane Creek Helm the ultimate grom fork for 26, 27, and 29″ wheels? Does it transcend applications? At 150mm travel does it warrant the extra 200 grams over a RockShox Pike? Does adjustable travel without having to buy other parts really matter? Should I buy a used one?
Claire noticed that her Helm is due for a lower service (at her air pressure it still feels buttery to me) and sure enough, she has {more than} the recommended hours on it. Lighter riders are absolutely going to experience – whether or not they actually notice – the effects of stiction sooner than heavier riders so if anything I should have treated the 50hr* service as a maximum not a minimum.
*{The used fork was fully serviced by SuspensionWerx, including a retune with lighter damper oil, before Claire rode it, and that’s where it will go for its routine 100hr service as well. I’ll do the lower service (no seals) myself, so there’s really no excuse here that I didn’t do it already.}
I’m working on a little piece on how we cheat the air system (over-inflate the negative air chamber) and otherwise get the most out of her Helm and it was supposed to go live this week. But I’m behind {the best-laid plans of mice and mechanics, again} so it’ll be live next week along with a theoretical discussion of whether it could be worthwhile to make the irreversible step of switching from the Helm air system to a Helm coil with the lightest spring (35lbs/in).
Chris GNARker
I met Chris many years ago at a trail day and have long looked up to him as a person whose trail-building and riding style aligns with the janky two-wheeled puzzles that I love. Understated and well out of the limelight but with a keen focus on sustainability and a clear mind on what he likes to ride.
By skill and spirit, he’s twice the rider I am {true of many of my riding friends} but still, we both enjoy the sort of North Shore trails that nearly no one rides despite their being fully sanctioned and clearly noted on maps for decades – Bookwus, Grannies, Crippler, Digger, etc.
I have a fair amount of experience maintaining trails, but it’s utilitarian at best, and many of my trail-building friends are artists. Chris and I made it into the forest this week for a short hike to look at some rock armouring projects and I’m really stoked he made the time.
Whatever it be, there is so much beyond bicycle knowledge in the mountain bike community. Don’t be afraid to ask your riding friends to enlighten you on the finer points of their other passions. Whether they’re riding adjacent {like trail building} or completely different {like playing the banjo}.
{Above photo by the talented Deniz Merdano. From my piece Scare Yourself on NSMB.com in 2019.}
Grom Bike Growth Plan (Cont.)
It was a stretch to put Claire’s 4’5″ frame onto an adult small 27″ wheeled bicycle but with, slight, frame modification and a 120mm OneUp V2 dropper post we made it happen. No regrets. The blue new-to-her Samurai was meant to be. Add a 24t NSBillet chainring and she has more than enough gearing options at either end of her 10-42t cassette.
This month we’ve instituted the first phase in adapting the bike to our ever-growing grom by installing a wider handlebar. Wider is jumping from a bar cut to 620mm to a bar cut to 680mm. The controls are moved inboard and I suspect we’ll get a couple or few years out of the 680mm before having a conversation about the next lengthening.
As she grows we’ll also be installing longer dropper posts and crank arms. And so it will go. This may be the largest size of bike Claire will ever ride – she doesn’t exactly come from tall people – but as tinkerers, I’m looking forward to future mullet projects, part changes, and whatnot.
My Favourite Bike Shop and Why
I am such a sucker for audience participation pieces and someday I’m going to hit on one that results in droves of correspondence {I know, be careful what I wish for…}.
Anywho, in the spirit of being stoked about Rabbit and rebounding bike shops, I’m taking submissions for your favourite bike shop and why. They don’t have to be Vancouver-adjacent. You can send a photo, or choose not to. One paragraph is great and two is good too. In fact, the only rule is you can’t work there*.
*{You know, or your spouse, crush, kid, or cat can’t work there, you can’t own the shop, etc. Come on, just be Smurfy about it.}
And yes, it could be a forever favourite or your favourite this week because they bailed you out of a jam. Just as long as you’d recommend it to other folks. And maybe not even that you’d recommend it to everyone – some shops are an acquired taste – but in that case maybe say more not less.
{Speaking of community participation, I am still accepting submissions for The Most Interesting Bottle In The World.}
Larry Talker Tunes for the Week
I played a lot of Ian Hunter this week. The new, the old, the even older. But mostly the Defiance Part 2: Fiction album that TW recommended. After many a listen, nah nah nah nah nah nah – People is still my favourite song.
Alas, it’s up to me to fire back this SBTISAOAF and Claire’s busy, and, well, I spent the week listening to Ian Hunter, so I asked Nina to step in. Terry, I’m positive you’re going to dig this!
The band {sorry, ‘musical collective’} is San Fermin and they’re led by Ellis Ludwig-Leone, a composer and songwriter who studied at Yale. Hit the Wikipedia page if you want a deeper dive. There’s even a Banff, Alberta connection.
Nina recommends the album Jackrabbit and three songs in particular:
*{The Woods is my favourite but be warned if you listen closely it’s dark and creepy.}
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