For Those About To Ride, We Salute You.
Not much mountain bicycling going on this week chez MEAT. Nothing like past years {knock on wood}, but we had some smoke blow through, and even aside from raspy rides, it’s been the dog days of summer, better suited to swimming than suffering on two wheels. I did ride my Omnium a bunch and also managed to put in a couple solid sprints on the SRT {Steve’s Ruined Talbot}, which is the strangest two-bike juxtaposition. All grams considered, the Omnium moves along pretty quick but there’s no point trying to force it; it’s a CushCored cargo bike with a kickstand and it likes to cruise. On the other hand, the SRT ridicules its rider for much less than maximum effort all the time.
Yep, everything is behind again this week. Sorry. I owe a couple of folks About a Single Speed replies, and I’ll hit you back this weekend. My Project 321 G3 teardown slipped into ‘slight delay’ mode as well and will go live this weekend or, at the latest, Monday. I also have to push in my ArctuHawk Voyager’s new big-boy headset cup over the coming few days and I’ll throw together a few thoughts on that.
Finally, by way of an opening at least, thank you to the folks that sent along their feedback on the State of MEAT. Yes it’s an unmarketed, unmarketable, bicycle journaling side project sustained by donations, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t want it to be good, or, I mean, for its existence to at least serve some purpose.
*{Cover photo by Marc Pfister.}
{Photo by HMPL.}
Grinding Grandpa
One of this week’s meat-powered pedaling highlights was spending half a click or so ‘stuck’ behind the cyclist I’ve affectionately named ‘Grinding Grandpa’. I say this without an ounce of facetiousness and I’m certain if I’d called out he would have moved over to let me pass but I was enjoying our moment.
To set the scene, GG was rocking the freshest pair of Canadian-made, classic red, Serratus panniers that I’ve seen since MEC closed their local manufacturing facility over two decades ago. Firmly planted in the center of a protected bike lane that most folks treat as doublewide {lots of room to pass} he was cranking. And, a bit cranky. But, to be fair to GG, the broped dude that he yelled at was going the wrong direction and no one wants to see a head-on collision between an ornery {I’m guessing} octogenarian and a few hundred pounds of pedal-assisted man & machine. That said, GG vs. RoboFop would be an interesting name for a musical act.
Grinding Grandpa receives some stokage because when I rolled up on him we were in between a few different somewheres, so he was clearly on a mission. Doing all of said velocipedic relocation under his own steam, at this own pace, with a pile of gear ratios to thrive, or at least survive, the endless hills of North Vancouver. I’m not being down on anyone’s electric-motor-assisted two-wheeled car replacement plan, But it’s always nice to see a reminder that for a lot of folks the humble bicycle is the simplest and best car alternative.
{Photo by Andrew.}
Marc’s 64 BCD Cog Carriers
Four-bolt and five-bolt, there are a lot of grannie-gear BCD {bolt circle diameter} standards, but nothing is more common than 4-bolt 64 and, as it turns out, it’s the size that ‘Meatwagon’ Marc* used to make his single-speed-tastic cog carriers that convert any {64 BCD} granny ring into a cog.
I’ve seen versions of this idea before. Both similarly clean HG-spiders and full-ghetto-fab rings bolted to cogs. Pinion actually makes a really sweet version, the P8200, but it’s a 104/4-bolt so the smallest readily available ring that would fit is a 30t. Maybe for a single-speed fat bike?
Anywho, there are some genuinely good options for big-big cogs these days, my go-to example is Garbaruk’s 26/28/30t narrow-wide varietals, but when it comes to grabbing a good quality steel option, suddenly bolting a 22-28t granny ring into position has some serious appeal. As with Wolf Tooth’s CAMO spider system, the aluminum carrier, 4x chainring bolts, and steel granny probably weigh less, and cost less, than making a wide-body steel ring in that size.
*{For interested folks, there’s more cog-carrier talk on MEATreddit.}
{Photo by Marc Pfister.}
D514
Devolution 514 AKA Jean-Daniel Lafleur operates my current-favourite rabbit hole on the internet. I don’t want to admit to how many of his Instagram videos I’ve watched, or how many times I’ve watched some of them. Repairs, mods, upcycling, “Will it klunk?!” Adding bottle mounts, rebrazing down tubes, filling dents, patching over holes, adding sliders, disc-brake conversions, all good things that go with JDL’s motto: “Fine Unfuckery Since 2014”.
If you’re feeling tight on time with lots of things to do, well, welcome to the club, but if you really need to focus on checking off some of that to-do list, well, welcome to the club, but if you’re just at that point where you need to reset your brain and watching some videos is going to be part of that process, definitely check out D514. Just be well aware that if you’re anything like me there have been times where pulling myself out of Lafleur-limbo has seemed impossible. Watch the pretty flame, Mandrew. See all the colours.
{Above photos by Jean-Daniel Lafleur.}
Outlier Metronome
It’s essentially a smaller Pendulum pedal from the nice folks at Outlier. Word on the trail is that some folks with larger kickers than mine are preferring the new Metronome {98mm L x 115mm W} over the Pendulum {120mm L x 115mm W}. So, rather than thinking about it solely as a one-sided drop-body platform option for those with smaller human-hooves, it’s probably fair to say they’re another option for most anyone. They’re still dropped below the pedal axle and one-sided, just with a more standard body size.That said, while the Metronome could be for anyone, they don’t come with a minimum shoe size recommendation like the Pendulum, are recommended for any rider with a shoe under EU42.
For riders in my size range and larger {EU43+}, the Metronome should feel more like a standard pedal underfoot, which could be better depending on perspective. My favourite feature of the Pendulum and Void pedals is that I no longer have hot spots in my feet on long descents, and without trying the Metronome it’s hard to be certain if that would be the case to the same extent.
I’m still asked fairly frequently about the Pendulum pedals and I’m certainly not claiming they’re for everyone. Around here there’s more maintenance to keep them self-righting, and as with longer wheelbases and lower bottom brackets, they trade stability for agility {requiring more body English} and that’s not what everyone is going to be seeking in every situations. Still, stoked to see Outlier still evolving their unique product, and I will be stoked to see what other sorts of non-pedal componentry that I’m certain they’ll dream up at some point.
{Photos by Andrew.}
Climbmax
Woah, already halfway through August and so many plans unrealized. Don’t tell my family but I’m ready to be back to our regular routine. I’m hoping for a beautiful September, and then a dank, damp, fall riding mountain bicycles on greasy trails in the clouds. Night riding! Afterschool rides! Oh, my!
{Photo by Andrew.}
Larry Talker Tunes: By Andrew
This week’s addition to the LTT is The Pretty Reckless, the full-on female-fronted rock band that’s been opening for AC/DC on their recent tours. Yes, yes, lead singer and song-writer Taylor Momsen was a successful child actor, but don’t let that information lead you to any assumptions, the band kicks.
Their latest album, Dear God, came out in June. I’d highly recommend rolling from track one, but folks who want to sample a few tracks rather than bite into the whole disc could start with: Love Me, For I Am Death, and Dear God (And all the neighbors whisper, “Isn’t it a shame? That little girl we knew has surely gone insane”).
{Photo by The Pretty Reckless.}
Welcome to MEATengines, I hope you enjoyed this piece. If you did, please consider supporting with a Coffee. Any questions, concerns, or comments; feel encouraged to drop my dad an e-mail, or join some of the tens of readers in building our little community at r/MEATengines.