My soapbox has been dragged out so many times in the last month that I could make an argument for never putting it away. I’m still buying Canadian whiskey, peanut butter, and apples, and this week I even grabbed a big bag of carrots that were grown just up the road in Pemberton. And honestly, as a creature of habit, I probably will do so from now on going forward.
But, I also recognize that some of the wealthiest assholes in the world, who donated millions of dollars to buy access to the current US administration, have been completely impotent in combating the crush of tariffs gut-punching their businesses {though someday I’d assume we’ll find out a few of them are benefitting massively from insider trading}. These tariffs, even as they sit now, are just bludgeoning the so-called ‘middle class’ under a regressive import taxation scheme that everyone {?} seems to know is about funding a tax cut for the wealthiest takers as opposed to any claims of onshoring manufacturing jobs.
Anywho, as many a reader has pointed out to me, it’s hard to hold bicycle companies – red or blue state-based – responsible for the economic attack, ongoing, on Canada. So, while MEATengines will continue to focus on highlighting some rad Canadian bicycle stuff – the new Devinci Troy, HMPL & WZRD bags, Chromag seat collars, etc., etc., etc. – I’m am going to also carefully climb down from my high horse when it comes to other companies who I’ve had awesome experiences with in the past.
Claire’s Single-Speed Experience
It takes only ten whole minutes to swap Claire’s bike back and forth between one-speed and one-by-eleven and I’ve offered every night this week. But here we are, with the single-speed piece we’re co-writing delayed again by her 4th #1FG ride in seven days. I promise we’ll have it ready this weekend.
Single-speeding ruins everything on my bicycle {more on that on Monday} and Claire’s bike rolled in the door today with a creaking pedal, clicking bottom bracket, and two badly bent rotors. Okay, so that last one isn’t one-speeding’s fault.
Conditions on today’s climb were the hardest of the week with loose dry or wet and Claire didn’t make everything she made doing the same Seymour climbing route Monday and Wednesday but she also managed to log a few technical firsts uphill (single or multi-speed) driving that 27×2.6″ Schwalbe Rock Razor into the ground.
She’s stoked. I’m stoked. I really could just end this week’s SBTISAOAF here.
Some Kleversack Magic
We were properly wetted through on Monday. Our clothes were soaked and even my (admittedly old) weatherproof Acre/Mission pack had let some damp in. Claire decided she wanted some fresh gloves. She unclipped the fold-over top on her MEC Kleversack, opened the magnetic roll top, and was treated to a stuff sack full of dry options. Sweet.
I’ll write more about this in a future hit but 1) I hope MEC brings back the Kleversack as it is a uniquely awesome hip-pack piece. 2) For folks like me who just can’t make fanny packing work, I wish MEC did a mountain bike cut {low enough to avoid the back of my lid in steep terrain} 14L backpack version.
As Seen In Print
Cy is busy drawing awesome animals for NSMB as part of the ‘Raccoons Borrowed My Bike‘ series, plus other stuff to pay the bills, so there’s less About The Ride happening these days. That said, my piece from Issue 1 of the print ‘zine is now live on the site as a standalone. It’s been a while – it seems like forever – since my writing has appeared anywhere but MEATengines, so I’m stoked about that.
Here’s the link if you want to check out my submission, “You Saved My Life” as well as some lovely photos by from friends Meg & Steve.
{Above photo: Hardtail.Life}
Chromag Glove Sale
Claire, Nina, and I all have the same favourite lightweight mountain bike gloves, the Chromag Habit. True to {unisex} sizing, Claire wears an XS, Nina wears an S, and I probably should wear an L but prefer to stretch into an M over a couple of rides.
I bring it up because right now selected discount colours are on sale for CA$18 and they still have full sizing from XS to XXL available in most discounted colourways.
Really nice gloves, really nice people, and I think all the clearance options look sweet. Enjoy?!
Beady Little Beauty
It’s not that I haven’t been enjoying the Sea Otter coverage trickling out, or that I can’t nerd out over some Cascade High-Pivot Specialized Stumpy 15 conversion kit or LAL’s unique drivetrain that decouples shifting from chain retention. I love almost everything from the world of bicycle wizardry.
But this year, I’m feeling a little overwhelmed by all the extra complexity of everything. More batteries, more idlers, more bearings, more chain length, etc. And so all my daydreaming about the latest and greatest sag-wagons floats me over to Starling’s Beady Little Eye.
Oof, it would look so rad with my Manitou Magic Toothpick (or the newer 34mm-stanchioned R8) in the front. Painted pink. I’d run the dual 29″ as a mullet with a 27×3″ Ground Control rear tire {assuming it fits}.
The BLE is low-tech but not no-tech. I love the addition of an alloy shim in the steel seat tube, the new BB setup accepts Shimano cranks, and it can accept 142×12 or 148×12 hubs. Yes.
Yeah, so. I’ve seen the prototype inverted from CaneCreek {so much for my bet that they’re pursuing reverse arch single crowns}, and the gearboxes, and any number of new super-bike, and it all takes me back to building up Beady Little Eyes in my head.
Black’s Turbine Cranks
My 175mm Race Face Turbine cranks turn eight years old this Easter. It was 2017 when some carbon arms I was reviewing fully failed {crank arm debonded from the spindle} on my first day of riding in Cumberland. Riding weekend over? And then, the amazing Carter from Black’s Cycle made arrangements to open the shop on a day they were closed to sell me the cranks and chainring that I needed to keep rolling for the weekend.
I try to mention these cranks at least once a year. One to remind bike shops that some customers {like me} do remember when you go the extra mile. And also because they’ve been through more bottom bracket bearings and chain rings than I care to recall, over hundreds and hundreds of hours of mostly single-speeding and they still tighten up fresh-ish.
Thank you, Carter.
And that’s a wrap on SBTISAOAF for April 11th. I rode twice today, Fromme Friday, and a Seymour ride after school with The Clairebarian, so I’m ready for some full-on snoozing. My plan is to have the photos in and publish this beauty before Saturday hits.
Cheers,
Larry Talker Tunes for the Week
Terry Walker showed up at Fromme Friday today with a declaration that rules would be broken with today’s Talker-Tunes. It’s not that the Skydigger’s don’t still make new music {they released two EPs in 2023} it’s just that every time LT sat down to listen to them he ended up on their second album, Restless.
Anywho, after chastising him with the verbal cat-o-nine-tails, he promised to never, ever do it again until next Friday at the earliest, and here we go.
From Model-T:
After last week’s Tunes with PEI band The Burning Hell and their album Public Library, we’ll keep the Canadiana theme rolling along.
This week I found myself once again digging deep into the time machine pulling an album not heard for a long time and it saw a repeat plan through most of the week. Back to the roots, so to speak:
From the Skydiggers, 1992’s Restless
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