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Full Spectrum Cycling
Weekly Dose of Fat – 8-1-14 – with Greg Matyas – Show #15
Aug 1, 2014
Weekly Dose of Fat – 8-1-14 – with Greg Matyas – Show #15
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0:00
Weekly dose of fat for Friday, August 1st, 2014. Show number 15.
0:06
[upbeat rock music] Fatbike.com, the world's number one resource for information on fat bike products, event and race coverage, interviews, and living the fat bike lifestyle presents Fat Bike Radio with your hosts Sven and Gomez.
0:32
Aloha, earthlings. This is Uncle Gomez from the planet Gnometron. We're here in the studio with our co-hosts, Sven Hammer.
0:44
That's right, and with us for his powerful thorax and vast knowledge of beer is two-time River West 24 champion, Sir Colin Forbes.
0:53
And the fatbike.com orchestra, directed today by the posh and fabulous Chris Dicey. Hey, guys.
1:05
[lasers zapping] The sponsor of Fat Bike Radio's weekly dose of fat, it's Surly Bikes. This week's show is sponsored by Wednesday's older brother, Pugsley.
1:17
You can learn more about Pugsley, Mama, Uncle Fester, and Surly's entire line of smooth-riding steel bikes and kick-ass wool clothing at surlybikes.com.
1:32
Is it time for beer already after that wonderful intro? Did someone say beer? It's the beer. Right on. This week's beer is New Glarus Brewing's Two Women. [paper rustles] Colin can hip you all to what kind of beer it is.
1:48
It just has two women on the front, which made it immediately appealing to all of us. One, two, three, go. [bottles cap cracking] Ooh, the Michael is slow- Mike's slow... on the draw. That's all right.
1:57
[laughs] Uh, that's why I don't talk. [laughs] So this beer- Hey, Mike's in the studio too, folks. Or, or w- that's, that's why he didn't get introduced. [laughs] Yeah. Hey.
2:07
He's- We got JK Living in the studio, ladies and gentlemen. Cheers, JK. He's running just a little slow today. [bottles clink] He's still back at the intro. Yeah. [laughs] Um-
2:20
What do we got here, Colin, with, uh- This, uh, this beer is a German lager, uh, made with Weyermann malt.
2:27
On the label here, they're tot- they're toting the, uh, that this beer is a collaboration between two companies that are owned by women, one of them being Weyermann Malt, one of them being New Glarus Brewing Company.
2:37
Weyermann makes the best damn German malt there is. This is a traditional German lager.
2:44
It should taste like, you know, a better version, a more authentic craft version, if you will, of what you're kinda used to drinking. Like Becks? Well, more like, more like Hofbräu. Hofbräu. But- Oh, Hofbräu...
3:02
maybe Becks too. I mean, I haven't drank a Becks in fucking, maybe a year probably. [laughs] But Becks is a pilsner beer, right? [laughs] Uh, Becks, I don't even- There's no reason to drink Becks anymore. Pilsner.
3:11
Becks is a pilsner. They make so many good beers here. [laughs] It's one of the, you can, it's good beer in a can, and it's big cans. Yeah. So just- I mean, that Bitburger- Just like- I would, I-... Two Women...
3:20
I'd go for the Bitburger. I go for- Mm... um, some of the other German imports you can buy in cans. But I haven't, I haven't messed with Becks, man. Well, let's ma- let's- Becks makes a dark beer even.
3:31
[laughs] Let's mess with, mess with the dark side. Let's go ahead and mess with these Two Women and see what they taste like.
3:35
[laughs] I'd just, I'd just like to go on record and tell everyone out there in radio land that Uncle Gomez likes Two Women. [laughs] Yeah. This is, uh- Well, yeah. It's good Good stuff. It's, it's real, uh,
3:50
straightforward, man, like you said. It's pretty, pretty simple. Unlike women. [laughs] Let alone two. Let alone two of 'em. [laughs] Let alone two. Yeah. All right.
4:03
Next up on the Weekly Dose, we talk to Greg Mattes, who runs Fatback Bikes and who also, a lot of people don't know this, is King of the Wild Frontier. Yeah, he took over for Daniel Boone.
4:15
Daniel Boone's from dang old Kentucky. He's from Alaska. The Wild Frontier is moving. Yeah, it's going. [laughs] It's gone north, young man. It's a moving target.
4:24
[upbeat rock music] What do Heather Best, Kevin Breitenbach, and Jeff Wooley have in common?
4:30
Well, they're all world record holders and champions of the Iditarod Trail Invitational, and they all chose Becker Frame Bags and hydration packs for their championship run.
4:40
Becker Gear's custom designed and purpose-built to fit your bike. Fat, skinny, and everything in between, Becker Gear is the bag maker of champions. You're listening to Fat Bike Radio.
4:59
[laughs] We're the ladies behind Skirts and the Dirt, and we listen to Sven and Gomez on Fat Bike Radio. Please welcome to the show the man behind Fatback Bikes, Greg Mattes. Aloha, Greg. Welcome to the show. Aloha.
5:15
Yeah, how, how, good to have you here. Yeah, we've got, uh, JK Living lurking around somewhere in the back of the studio, uh, for a bit of added color. [laughs] There he is. All right, um- Excellent.
5:28
So, uh, Greg, Single Speed World's just ended. Have you, uh, have you gotten sober yet, or are you still hungover? What's the story there? It, it's over? [laughs] I, I'm still going.
5:42
[laughs] That's what Single Speed World's in Alaska every day. Yeah, I think I, I don't know what happened. [laughs] No, uh, it, uh, we had a, we had a great time up here.
5:53
Uh, you know, such a fun group of people, and it was just a, a real privilege to be able to show them what we have.
6:04
You know, we did-- took them down to Kenai Peninsula, did some rides down there, uh, showed them stuff on the hillside, uh, new trails out at Kincaid. Mm-hmm. It was just a fantastic time.
6:17
Yeah, I've read nothing but great things about Anchorage's off-road trails. Flowy, fun, good stuff.
6:28
So, uh, I saw your Van Halen Corvus was at the SingleSpeed World Championships rocking 29 plus wheels and the new Maxxis Chronicle tires. How do you, uh, how do you like those Chronicles? Uh, so far so good.
6:45
Um, you know, they, they hook up well, they corner well, they're, they're fast rolling. Um, I'd, I'd say my, my only observation, um,
6:56
negative is that they're a very square profile, so they have a bit of a self-steer of the fat tires at low pressures even when they're firm. But, you know, that- that's also very condition specific.
7:09
The, the harder the conditions, the more that shows up. Right on. But, um, I think they're promising. Yeah. Uh, uh, have you ridden them in the mud yet? No mud, just dirt. Yeah.
7:22
Me either, and that's, that's my only knock on the only tire that we can really compare them to, the Surly Gnarred, is that the Gnarred, when things get muddy or slippery, uh, coupled with that high bottom bracket and the whole tallness of that bike, makes for a pretty wild ride.
7:39
So I'm hoping that all those multi-directional knobs on the Chronicle kinda cure that a little bit. But I did also notice that the squarer profile is definitely apparent on that tire. Right on.
7:52
So we're under, uh- Yeah, but... I was just gonna say kinda we're learning about your new Corvus build with the tires. You got anything else up your sleeve for next season? Oh, we've got several projects in the works.
8:05
Um, you know, working on other frame sizes, um, our own brand of cockpit and seat posts.
8:15
Um, we are doing some very slight tweaks to our carbon rim to allow, uh, tire seating a little easier. It's fine when you're in the shop, um, it's a little difficult trail side, so we're modifying that slightly.
8:33
Uh, but they'll still be, um, tubeless just like we've been doing since 2009. Nice. Very good.
8:41
Yeah, and the, uh, the super secret triathlon recumbent trike fat bike, we probably shouldn't even have mentioned that, so let's just move [laughs]... We... Yeah, that, that one's, uh, we're keeping under wraps.
8:56
You know, everybody's doing gravel bikes now, and that, that is already tired, so we're gonna do a Chip Seal specific bike, and it's gonna be 650A. You know? So- 650B is already tired, so- Right, right.
9:09
And we need a new standard. We haven't had one for a few weeks. We've been doing all Chip Seal. [laughs] Excellent. Can't ride it on gravel, though. No, of course not. [laughs] Come on.
9:19
Well, uh, so I, I misrepresented that.
9:24
I thought your bike, when I first saw it, I immediately thought of Jeff Gilmore up there in Fairbanks, 'cause he has the Tubspecker bag that's in this, uh, Best of Both Worlds Van Halen album cover thing that your bike is, and it turned out to be your bike.
9:39
Yeah. Yeah, exactly. That's, uh, Eddie's guitar from back in the day. So is that the only- So I've been the... What's that? Is that the only rock and roll band that you get in Alaska?
9:50
The only two guys I know in Alaska, both are Van Halen fans. [laughs] Yeah. We keep it- Who's not a Van Halen fan? 1984 just came out there. Um- DLR, the best frontman of all time...
10:00
you know, I wanted, uh, just something flashy and, and unique. Um, uh, Jeff hooked me up with, uh, his buddy up there, and I could pull that off, uh, in short order. And he, he did a hell of a good job. Well, cool.
10:16
We talked to, uh, you know, like, big names in the industry about their personal bike. No one bigger than Greg. No one bigger than Greg.
10:24
Uh, mainly we, we know that you're gonna have-- we-- you have-- you start out with a Corvus frame and fork, and we got a little bit of, uh, your rock and roll love with the Van Halen paint job.
10:37
But I think what's really interesting to, to me, and maybe some of our viewers, is what you've chosen for the rest of your components.
10:45
You, uh, you go to all the big shows, you put out a bunch of bikes, and you ride bikes in the ultimate fat bike plart- playground, so I think it'd be-- is interesting and illuminating to learn what you've chosen.
11:00
For instance, what drivetrain you run. I- I'll typically run a, a 1X these days, though I set that particular bike up single speed obviously for the event, and when I mean 1X, uh, meaning one by 11 or even one by 10.
11:17
I've got a few different setups on bikes, but I actually prefer that for winter riding. Uh, over the summer I run a two by 10 in the summer. Mm-hmm. Uh, I like carbon bars.
11:28
Um, I, I like a, uh, a flexible carbon or Ti seat post. And then w- we're able to run a crankset with a narrower Q factor, um, than most.
11:43
So I'll typically set it up with a crank design for a 170 and, and be able to, uh, put the, the ring in the right spot. You know, short of that, I'm not, I'm not too picky.
11:57
We're, we're almost exclusively drift shift and, uh, mechanical disc brakes. We'll set up a, uh, a show bike with some flashy hydraulic brakes, but in- Uh, reality.
12:11
Like 99.9% of the bikes we do have mechanicals because they, they just work. Yeah, Fat Bike Radio is all about reality. Reality TV radio. Reality. This is like real people and stuff.
12:26
[laughs] So are you, uh, are you running different tires or you run your Sterling the majority of the time?
12:30
Yeah, I, I like to try out, uh, different products and right now I've got a set of the Maxxis on, and I haven't got to spend that much time on them, so- Yeah, we just got ours...
12:43
I'll be real interested to see how they do in snow. They look, uh, they look like they'll roll fast and corner fairly well.
12:50
Uh, another one that looks, uh, promising too is, um, this, uh, Jumbo Jim that Schwalbe is releasing. Oh, yeah. Yeah. So there'll be lots of great options this year for sure.
13:03
Yep, we're looking forward to more tire choices. Absolutely. The, uh- Yeah... the Maxxis Mammoths, the 26x4, that tire I think is gonna be successful.
13:14
We kinda have a little bit of- Yeah, that, that's what I've got on right now. Oh, okay. That's, that's, uh, kind of what I'm saying is attack of the tire clones.
13:24
Everybody's kind of flowing into that Dillinger V pattern that has almost a continuous knob around it, which makes it pretty low rolling resistance and seems to be good in the dirt anyway. Um- I'm a, I'm a lazy cyclist.
13:41
I like low rolling resistance. [laughs] Low rolling resistance. Greg, when you, uh, when you have your bike more for adventure racing, what do you use for, for bags?
13:51
How do you store gear and, uh, you know, that type of thing? Well, it, it kind of depends on what the trip involves. I, I of course have the frame bag and, um, we get bags from Revelate is what I've typically got on.
14:08
But, uh, Tough's doing the, the custom bag for the Corvair, so we'll be rocking that- Nice... on the BH bike. And I alternate between a rear rack and a seat bag, depending on what I'm carrying. Okay.
14:23
Um, you know, they, they both have their advantages. Uh, the, the rear rack is, is very practical just being able to strap stuff to it.
14:34
Um, I've even set up GoPro mounts on, um, uh, a telescoping leg from a tripod off of the rear rack to get the little, little bit different view.
14:46
So if I'm carrying a pack raft and a life vest and things like that, I'll just do a rear rack on because it's easy. You know, you can strap a 12 pack of beer to it. You can, you can do whatever you need. Sure.
14:57
So that's probably what I'll be running, um, here in three weeks. We are chartering out of Cordova out to Chitina Lodge.
15:06
We are going to be exploring the, uh, the Seal River up into Vitus Lake, which is, uh, at the foot of the Bering Glacier, the second largest glacier in North America. Sounds awesome.
15:20
Um, and then heading down to the Siu for some silver fishing. Awesome. So- Is that-... looking forward to that... is that the Lost Coast trip? Is that the- It, it is. Right on. Yeah.
15:34
Yeah, I'm, I'm gonna, uh, I'm gonna need you to call some plays and draw me some diagrams about how to carry a raft because I just, uh, my alpaca raft is, should be on its way to me right now. So I don't know. Gotcha.
15:49
I'm gonna be trying out some- Well, they're, they're pretty small. I, I would say that you can pack it up to be about the size of a, oh, you know, a three-man tent. Mm-hmm. Uh, if you get the carbon fiber paddle,
16:05
you, you can get that whole set up pretty small. So you can either go... It can hang off the bars or you can just strap it to your rear rack. Yeah. But- Yeah, the, the-... not, not bad at all.
16:15
So for, uh, using a seat bag versus it sounds like the rack is definitely versatile in a lot of situations. What would you use a seat bag for more than a rack?
16:26
Um, if I wasn't carrying the pack raft and I would, um, you know, you were stuffing lightly skins, say, you know, down coat, uh, food, things like that, the, the seat bag is nice. Sure, yeah.
16:41
Um, it's pretty easy to just release from the bike.
16:45
Uh, and in fact, he's got a, uh, Revelate's got a design that, uh, the dry bag unclips so you don't even have to take the, the mount off of the, um, the seat or the post and you can just carry it into, you know, where- wherever you're headed.
17:02
Right. Yeah, that modular system is nice. Nice and quick. But, uh, you know, a, the pack raft's not gonna fit in there. Sure. But, um, you know, lighter weight things. Um- Gotcha.
17:11
'Cause that was always my thought is where do I put my sleeping arrangements, which I usually put in my handlebar bag when I have that pack raft on board as well.
17:22
So, uh, it sounds like the rack is, is gonna be the solution for that, and I'll be able to carry everything. Yeah, it, it's, uh, you, you could go either way. I bet the weight is similar. Um, depending on, um,
17:35
you know, how soft the sand is that you're riding in. We're... If we time the tides right, we'll be able to ride on fairly firm ground for a while.
17:44
And then o- once we, uh, once we cross the Seal River, uh, the, the trip is long enough that you're going to get pinched off and have to ride in the soft stuff. In, in the past, you know, we've
17:57
climbed up the, uh, the bluff and, and gotten into the grass 'cause that's, uh, that's a little more firm. You know, if things are relatively firm, it doesn't matter how you distribute the weight.
18:09
So whatever's easiest to hook up for you. Cool. So this is your last chance to come clean about, uh, you know, your- Your recumbent triathlon, uh, fat bike [laughs] Yeah. All right, man. Yeah.
18:25
Um, well, it's gonna be, uh, a hub drive- [laughs]... uh, electric fixie. Um, and that definitely probably Oh... gonna get ridden. Had to have fixie. [laughs] You added in the electric. That's right. [laughs] Yeah.
18:40
Just get your skinny jeans out and, and be ready to go. Well, cool man. I, uh, the next time that we see you, we will, uh, drink a quality craft beer in the desert out there at Interbike. Yep, sounds good.
18:54
Oh, that's thirsty work out there, you know? Indeed. All right, Greg. And, and, uh, um, you know, another one that's on deck is my, uh, cyclocross fit bike. Man. Been wanting a cross fit all day over those years now.
19:10
The truth- Yeah, yeah. [laughs]... the truth serum is working on you now. [laughs] All right, man. Well, keep it real. Thanks for calling in. Really appreciate you taking the time to talk to us.
19:20
Yeah, it was good to talk to you, Greg. Yeah, it's good, good to be here. Cool. Thanks, guys. You're tuned to Fat Bike Radio.
19:31
You can either eat this pine cone, get slapped in the face with this dildo, or listen to this weekly dose of fat. The first story on our weekly dose this week is, uh, about my Christmas shopping list.
19:45
I know what I want Santa to bring me, because our amigos over there at BikeRumor [laughs] had a story about a Richie carbon Bull Moose handlebar stem combo. I know, Colin, you had strong feelings about this. Strong.
20:00
The stem's too long. [laughs] You were like, "That's the gayest thing I've ever seen."
20:04
[laughs] But there's a lot of sweep in it, though, so it's pulling you back to the center line and it- Well, and you can't adjust the, the turn on the bars, you know, to be however- Stick it in the oven. It'll bend.
20:15
[laughs] Don't try this at home, kids. [laughs] It looks pretty kick-ass. Buy one. Torch it. Do it. Gomez put a picture of it on our show notes so we can all see what it looks like. Ooh. It looks pretty cool.
20:28
Yeah, you'll be seeing that on Otis sometime later, 'cause I'm serious. [laughs] Buy that- When he's-... buy that for me for Christmas. Mom, come on...
20:37
when he's sitting on the dock of the bay, Otis'll be wearing- Bull Moose handlebar... a Bull Moose handlebar. [laughs] So, uh, we had a live report last week from Single Speed World Championships, and
20:48
the aftermath of the, uh, championships, uh, is all covered in Prince's song called Controversy.
20:57
I've, uh, I've read many a blog, and we've, we've actually, uh, put a, put a fairly positive one without much bitching and complaining in it- Bitching... uh, in the show notes there. But, uh- [laughs]...
21:09
I actually spoke to- Jesus. [laughs]... we, we had, we had good friends who attended, and, uh, Spinner was there when- Hi, Spinner...
21:17
the, uh, MTBR blogger, and somewhat, you know, he's put in a, in a place of he is their editorial, uh, point of the spear. The- So that means this... this is the angry single speeder that we speak of.
21:31
And Greg, you said you had, uh, read on the Bike magazine blog, right? That was one of the blogs, yeah. I think it was Bike that, uh, it might have made, been the same story, actually.
21:40
I gotta say, though, angry single speeder did truck it up there in a Yukon he bought for $500- Right on... the week before. [laughs] So I'm not trying to, I'm not trying to attack angry single speeder. Um, but- No...
21:51
what I, I, I guess I'm calling for, uh, peace and love- Peace and love...
21:54
or understanding, because what, uh, what Spinner related to me was is that they did make people wait until 3:00 in the morning at a dive bar to get this bead that allowed them to race the next day at Kincaid.
22:10
I think the people that are complaining, from what I've noticed, are people whose it was their first time, and, uh, and they haven't been to a Single Speed Worlds before, or maybe even a Single Speed USA, to know that these aren't traditional NORBA/USA Cycling races- Right...
22:24
quote, unquote. I mean- Because as we all know, racing sucks. [laughs] They're more of an event for getting together, comradery. You know what? Yeah, and I just won- You gotta go into it knowing that, I think...
22:34
a race that's the biggest community event in Milwaukee. Mm. Aren't you a two-time winner of the Riverwest Triathlon? Yeah, I won that race because it's all about bragging rights.
22:41
[laughs] It's all about just saying, "Oh, yeah, those, those guys over there, I beat them in the- [laughs]... Riverwest 24. I'm, I'm- You're-... I'm the best cyclist in the Midwest." You're such a racer.
22:52
[laughs] You're such a racer type. But, okay, Single Speed USA was my first, uh, Single Speed event.
22:58
It was awesome, but there was a table that you walked up to and got a number and got a fucking T-shirt and went on your merry way. And that's more traditional.
23:07
I'm sure these guys are just looking for that so they can rest up the next day or next night and crush it, you know? But party. Yeah. [laughs] What, what Spinner related to me- What party? [laughs]...
23:19
is that DJ want to go back to the old school way of the very first Single Speed World Championships in Minneapolis, Minnesota that- Minneapolis...
23:31
the, the, the reason I built my first sp- single speed was because I read those stories about the dumpster fire and about the derbying, and I was like, "Damn, I wanna be a part of that."
23:42
So I think that there's a lesson to be learned here for fat biking, and it's pretty much covered by a Mexican phrase.
23:49
I'm fond of the Mexican phrases, as you might know, and this Mexican phrase is no mames, which literally means don't suck. So let's, let's not suck. Let's just have fun. And if you go to an event that is one of these
24:04
social races, gotta have a laid back attitude, and you gotta roll- I think that's a great category to add to our calendar, is social race. Social race. Or pansy race, which would be the other kind of race.
24:15
[laughs] Perfect example of a social race is Gnomefest. No one goes to Gnomefest thinking- It's not even a race... that, there's two races, but-... whatever that are completely all about fun There's not races.
24:27
[laughs] There's the, there's the Dork Cycle Race. I almost won that one. Yeah. And there's the Dirt Cat, man. Yeah. And you gotta love name, anything named after the Kitty Cat. Kitty Cat.
24:36
So, uh- Well, well that's, uh- I think we've pretty-... Single Speed Worlds. Right. I think that's pretty much- That's pretty much-... Single Speed Worlds in a nutshell... the Kitty Cat.
24:42
[laughs] What do you, what do you got, uh- So next up I got, I got a- Party... Twin Six. Our amigo Jesse, uh, does testing for us, rocks the BKB, and races like, like, you know, like he's from the planet No Lights.
24:57
I think he won Single Speed USA- He's Single Speed USA winner... Championship. Right. Right. Uh, so Jesse, he has designed a freaking fat bike now, and Twin Six is gonna be a fat bike maker.
25:11
So we had, uh, we- That makes 51 fat bike builders now. 51, did you say? 51? [laughs] There's a lot of them. Yeah. Yeah, it is. I think more like 71. [laughs] Yeah, it could be 71. It's the year of the fat bike, folks.
25:22
So we're gonna have either Brandt or Jesse on next week's show to talk about the Standard Fat. I think they're gonna decide, they're gonna Indian leg wrestle, and my money is on...
25:32
I dunno, Brandt's awfully tall, but Jesse's the big badass. I dunno. What do you think, JK? Who's got it? Seven. [laughs] Good answer.
25:43
[laughs] We did a little checking around the internet web thing last week, uh, for some of, uh, our blogs that we like to follow, and I just wanted to put some links in the show notes for you all, and we'll just give a l- couple shout-outs to, uh, Coast Kid, a guy, Scottish guy.
26:00
Scotland. He's from Scotland. Scotland. If it's not Scottish, it's crap. Um- That's Bruce, Bruce Matheson. Bruce Matheson. Yeah.
26:06
That guy is the most prolific blogger as a single guy doing a blog, I think, of anything fat bike oriented, by a long ways. He'd had several posts last week. You can check those out.
26:16
It's both on a Pug or a- Moonlander... Moonlander or a 29 plus Krampus. He rides all these, as well as other bikes too, but check him out. Um- When's he gonna get a truck? What? Yeah, you know.
26:27
That, do they even- Well, and, and-... have trucks in, uh, England yet? Bruce, come on the show. I think they call them, they can't call them trucks, they call them lorries. Lorries. It's like the ice cream lorry.
26:35
[laughs] Stop. Our friends at Cycle Monkey, um, had an article on belt drive versus chain drive.
26:44
I know that some of you may have read some stuff about that before, but they do a really good job of breaking down the pros and cons of both, and even how to convert an existing bike into a belt drive if you're so inclined.
26:55
And Cycle Monkey has a new ad on the site about a, uh, sale on the new 170 Rohloffs. So if you're- Yep, good call... looking to build a Rohloff bike on using that 170- I think it-... now's the time...
27:09
saves a significant amount of money. Those things are- Click and save at- Click and save... fatbike.com You can follow Cycle Monkey on Instagram. You can follow us on Instagram too. [gasps] We're on Instagram now?
27:20
#fatbike.com with no punctuation. And it's D-O-T. With the, with the D-O-T. So it's F-A-T- D-O-T. [laughs] Fat dot? [laughs] Fatbike.com. Guys, I haven't eaten anything today. #fatbike.com, all spelled out with letters.
27:37
Stop. I'm gonna, I'm gonna have a sip of beer right now. It's so simple. Beer break. [laughs] Back to simpler times. Beer break. [laughs] Back to simpler times and simpler bikes. [laughs] Simpler rides.
27:50
Ah, JK's snorting again. [laughs] Easier to corrupt. Get ready, JK, your light's coming up, man. [laughs] You know, check in with our friend Joe Boo on his blog. There's another link in the show notes for that.
28:03
He's got his kids out there on fat bikes, and they're barely tall enough to ride 20-inchers, and they're on fat bikes. It's really cool. That's cool. And we should, uh, we've talked about this kids bike.
28:12
We actually have the kids bike. It's assembled. It's in the test kitchen. It's from Framed Bikes of Minneapolis, Minnesota. And this is, you know, they have they, their Minnesota 2.0 and 3.0 frames.
28:26
This is the Minnesota, and it's a 24-inch wheeled fat bike- [laughs]... that we'll be putting some kids on and get, let them get rad.
28:34
Already let some of the neighborhood kids ride it around, and Uncle Gomez [laughs] is king of the neighborhood. King of the neighborhood. For now.
28:43
Uh, finally, you can check in on Death Rider's blog for a report on the Duluth Fat Bike Tour that we mentioned a few shows back.
28:49
It sounds like there were some really tired but happy folks up there, and I gotta tell you, Duluth looks like a kickass place to ride a fat bike- Apparently... even in the summer.
28:58
Let's, let's take a field trip to Duluth this year. We could do our next show from, uh, Duluth. Well, speaking of that- Or-... Single Speed USA, we're gonna be doing a show maybe from there. Ooh, yeah.
29:07
And Gnomefest, we should do is, another show from Gnomefest. Oh. Hell yeah. Hell yeah. Can we do it in the middle of the night? Hell yeah. Oh.
29:14
That would sound like, that would sound like the part two of the Single Speed Worlds. [laughs] Yeah. [laughs] That never made the air, but it's- That is-... freaking hilarious. I can put it up there for you.
29:23
So speaking of, you know, like, big, important, cool stuff, we have a contest going, and, uh, it's called the Dog Days of Summer Fat Photo Video Lotto Contest. Uh, we have- That's a lot of O words...
29:36
three ways to win and three prize packages. First of all, you can send a fat photo
29:42
to, uh, show your dog and, uh, you enjoying the fat bike lifestyle, and you can do a video, which is probably even better, you know, 'cause then the dog actually moves, and you can make him talk and stuff.
29:56
Uh, and the other way is the next five shows, all of the August shows, the Dog Days of Summer, we'll be giving you a secret word. This week's secret word is yodel. Yodle-hee-hoo. And, uh- Yodle, yodle, yodle-hee-hoo...
30:12
all you have to do is at the end of, uh- Hey, Slim, Slim Whitman. What do you know? [laughs]... of the contest, once we get into September- Drink it... you put all of those into an email, send them to me.
30:24
All the details will be in a post about the contest, but- That's
[email protected]
[coughs] Sorry, I had to cough So if that was Gomez at FatBike.com as well [laughs]
30:35
Not, not, not your email Turning, turning my- Your email... turning my head and coughing. So all the details about the contest will be- Juggling your balls as well?... in the show notes and in a separate post.
30:46
And can be, if you, if you speak Snortalese- [laughs]... JK Living's got you covered. [laughs] There it is, right on cue. It was good.
30:57
[snorts] [laughs] So yeah, so all you have to do is get all five words, and then no doubt we'll pick one out of the winners. So three winners. It's gonna be awesome. So- Surly sponsors the show.
31:08
We got Surly rims, we got Surly rim strips, we got Surly patches, we got Surly, uh, underwear, and, you know, and then all sorts of stuff. Other things. All sorts of stuff.
31:17
So two of these actually require a little talent. One requires no talent except listening to the show, which I grant you takes some perseverance, but no talent at all. Exactly. It's- [laughs]...
31:27
it's our, it's our way of torturing you through the month of August. Yes. Torture. Up next on Fat Bike Radio, Gomez chats with two members of Bike Black Ribbon Society about Gnomefest 11.
31:42
Fat Bike Radio. Hey, I have the pleasure of introducing two of my favorite people in the world, Mr. Cale Wenther and Spinner Ryerson, and they're gonna fill us in on Gnomefest 11. Hey, guys. This is Spinner. Hey, guys.
31:56
How's it going, Gomez? How's it going, Spinner? So no, none of you guys wanna talk to the ladies? Just guys. Come on, man. Ladies and gentlemen- [laughs]... the Spinner Ryerson. So just a little background.
32:09
Cale is a Bike Black Ribbon test pilot, lives out in San Diego, but used to live in Wisconsin, and is a four-time mayor of, four-term mayor of Gnomefest.
32:20
Spinner's also Bike Black Ribbon test pilot and also coincidentally Single Speed USA champion, part-time Viking, and the mayor of this year's Gnomefest, which is Gnomefest 11.
32:33
So maybe the first thing we should do is tell our listen- listeners a bit about Gnomefest, and, uh, since Cale you're the four-time mayor, I'm going to, uh, shoot it to you. All right. Thanks, Gomez.
32:46
Um, so yeah, I, I'd say I, I kind of fell into Gnomefest a bit by accident. Um, came up on Gnomefest two, 'cause I believe the first Gnomefest, correct me if I'm wrong, only had, uh, 15, 20 people at it?
33:01
No, it actually had 60 people at it the first time. Oh, wow, okay. I was unaware.
33:07
Uh, yeah, I think it was about the same the first year that I came up, and, uh, loved it so much that, uh, you know, I had to, had to get involved and, uh, see what we could do to, to make it even better and bring a bit more, uh, [laughs]
33:23
party to the party, if you will. [laughs] Yeah, man, it was, when you got involved, you brought a whole new influx of
33:32
fixed gear riders into the mix with a bunch of mountain bikers, and, uh, the whole Minneapolis, uh, cycling community came out.
33:42
Uh, it was, it was big time, and has become bigger big time, and it's just such an awesome party. Um- Oh, absolutely.
33:50
I mean, you know, everything from the, from the Dwarf Cycle Figure Eight Death Race to the, uh, to the Dirt Cat, to the beer pool, I mean, we're, we've, every year we've tried to make it bigger and better. Yeah.
34:04
And it's just hard to explain. So what, what do you, what would you tell people, Spinner, about Gnomefest? Uh, well, the, the time that I've had, of course I've broken some bikes at Gnomefest.
34:14
I have, uh, won some cones at Gnomefest, and lost a lot of dignity at Gnomefest. [laughs] It's, it's been a, quite the ride, let me tell you that.
34:23
[laughs] Well, I can, I can just say, well, except for the breaking bike part, ditto. Oh, I, I, every, I did run over my bike with my car at Gnomefest once. I [laughs] I remember that quite well.
34:37
You saved my butt with a, with a set of wheels. I just get so excited.
34:41
The five minutes be- I'm driving there before Gnomefest, I'm probably legally insane about how excited [laughs] I am about getting there and getting knee-deep in the fun, so. Oh, ab- absolutely. Every year, same deal.
34:58
Spinner, what, uh, what do you, what do you have planned? What's gonna be different and new and maybe more of the same this year for Gnomefest?
35:06
Yeah, I would say I'm gonna point out that, um, this year's Gnomefest, for the first time, is coming to Platteville or Platteke, Wisconsin.
35:15
Um, it's gonna be at the Hirsch, which is a, uh, privately owned farm, so it's not something you can ride all the time. It's not something you just go and see these trails.
35:23
These trails are, um, owned by Mark Hirsch, and there's over 12 miles of trails that have, have a pretty long history, and actually, uh, kind of started in the 1990s.
35:34
And, um, if you're familiar with Cora and La Crosse and some of the things they did with those trails, it's in the same Mississippi River Valley, so the riding is great. Um, there's also a very large party prairie,
35:47
um, kind of like a blockhouse festival. If any of you, if you had any chance to attend the blockhouse roll, um, that's where, uh, it's held at the Hirsch farm in Platteville every year. Um, so registration is open.
36:00
Um, gnomefest11.bikeereg.com. Uh, you can search on Facebook for Gnomefest 11 or bikereg.com under Gnomefest 11, so I'm kinda stating that Gnomefest 11, uh, event.
36:14
Yeah, and, and we'll put those links in the show notes so people can check it out and click right through. So, uh- Perfect...
36:22
I know what, one of the things that people will be really interested in is that you're giving away a Surly ice cream truck, right? Yes. We are awarding a Surly ice cream truck.
36:32
Uh, depending on what Surly's, um, what have in stock, it might be there, it might not, so we might need a f- That'll be one of the big
36:43
Yeah, I mean, I know every single year without fail, almost everybody who wants something walks away with a prize. They... We never lack for swag at Gnomefest, that is for sure. That's for sure. Yep.
36:58
And, uh, also- We'll be swagging it up. [laughs] There'll also be a OneUp USA rack. Yes. That you'll be giving away. OneUp USA rack, yep. Uh, OneUp USA is, like, based out of Platteville. Right on. Yeah. So. Absolutely.
37:11
And what about, uh- An interesting fact that I learned today, actually, uh, one of the engineers, so, uh, UW-Platteville has an engineering school.
37:20
Uh, one of those engineers actually started the first bike shop in Platteville, uh, Jeff Palta, and then he went on to SRAM, and his latest project was the Brutal Fork. Wow. He worked on that for SRAM.
37:31
That's pretty cool. Yeah. So, uh, how about the burning bike? Is that gonna happen? Oh, yeah, it's gonna happen.
37:38
[laughs] There's been a lot of discussion about how we're actually gonna make it work, but yeah, we're building a giant bike, and, uh, we will burn it. Aw. [laughs] And it's gonna be awesome. [laughs] That's gonna kill.
37:49
That's pretty amazing. Love it. So it's Saturday night, big party, everybody brings a six or 12 pack of awesome beer. We put it in, in, uh, baby pools covered in ice. We drink all night. We're gonna burn a bike.
38:01
It's gonna be so badass. So, and Friday night- Absolutely... we usually have a keg- Absolutely... a keg party, and who, whose, uh, whose beer are we drinking on Friday night?
38:11
Um, there will absolutely be Lakefront Brewery. Kyle has confirmed that he's bringing that. Sweet. Um, also very close to Platteville is right between, um, New Glarus, so I don't know if anybody likes Spotted Cow.
38:24
Does anybody like Spotted Cow? I don't know. I like Spotted Cow. I like Spotted Cow. Um, and- Everybody from Illinois likes Spotted Cow...
38:30
I'm living proof of the fact that everybody likes Spotted Cow, especially people from Illinois. Yeah. [laughs] There you go. Yeah. And then on the other side of Platteville is Petoskey Brewery.
38:41
Uh, they have Big Hollow, Cave Ale- Oh, yeah... Indian, Indian Red, so they get some of that too. Cool. That's, that's pleasant surprise. Thanks for joining us, guys. Really appreciate it. I look forward to- Yeah...
38:53
Gnomefest every year. It's like a big family reunion. Yeah, absolutely. Well, thanks for having us on, Gomez. All right, man.
39:00
I would just maybe mention one more time that if you wanna bring spandex, it should be costume based, not racing based. [laughs] That's the only, kind of, extra requirement.
39:08
Your full Astana kit with the yellow jersey, nothing less. [laughs] Yeah. Skintuit. Get that out of the way. [laughs] Yeah, Skintuit, extra small. All right, dudes. Thanks for calling. We'll see you later.
39:23
Yeah, absolutely. Talk to you later, guys. Well, last up in the Weekly Dose here, we have kind of a sad thing. Uh, we just wanna say rest in peace to Tom Teasdale.
39:34
I know a lot of my good friends have bikes made by this man, and, uh, I've, uh, known about him. I never had the pleasure of meeting him. I know Greg as a good friend of his. So, uh, just rest in peace, Tom.
39:50
Yeah, it's really, it was a shocking thing. I was at, uh, uh, my trip west, and I got a call from his son, John. I was at the SaddleDrive show.
39:59
I was expecting just business calls 'cause that's typically what we would do. We'd talk about business on the phone, and it was, uh, it, it was news that Tom had passed away on RAGBRAI. He was doing what he loved to do.
40:09
He was riding on the big bike ride across Iowa and just laid down in a ditch and never got out of the ditch. But, uh...
40:17
And if you, if you are in the cycling industry at all, or even if you're a, a, a cyclist that's, uh, just on the, on the fringes, you probably have at least heard of Tom.
40:26
He- If you're an old school mountain biker, you've definitely heard of this dude.
40:29
Yeah, he's, he did a lot of stuff early on in his career helping guys like Gary Fisher do his first run of, uh, Philip Braves Mount Tams, and he helped Terry Precision get going.
40:39
He helped a lot of people in their early careers as manufacturers when production was still able to be done in the United States, at least up to a certain point, and then they'd get bigger, and they'd go overseas, and they'd get their, you know, their millions of dollars.
40:52
And Tom was never about the money. In fact, I think he was probably the worst businessman I know besides myself. [laughs] Um, but he was an awesome frame builder, and he always took time.
41:01
I'd stop by there regularly unannounced, and he'd just take time to sit and talk and, you know, go over ideas. And I'm really gonna miss him.
41:08
He was a one of a kind guy, and I think the cycling community lost a really great person when Tom passed away. So RIP Tom. I, uh, I got to go into that shop once with Sven on a trip down to Iowa when I was building my
41:25
fat bike- Mm-hmm... the first, the first time, you know. And, uh, that shop was... It looked like it had been occupied for the last 45 years. It was only 38, but yeah. [laughs] Yeah.
41:39
[laughs] It was, uh, you know, perfectly grimy.
41:44
Th- there was just part, like, parts of frames, and dropouts, and random projects that you've seen started but not finished everywhere, and, uh, it was, you know, a lots of, you know, dark grease and welding stuff, and...
41:59
It was a, it was a working man shop is what- It was... Yeah... it was. It was very, very, I don't know... Just to be able to see that, just once, and meet the man only once was enough for me. And, uh, yeah, I...
42:13
Seeing what everyone has to say about this dude really makes me realize what a frame building legend that guy is, was. So rest in peace, Tom. Rest in peace, Tom. Well, that just about does it, folks.
42:29
I guess you wasted another morning commute or wherever else you listened to our show this week. Before we sign off this week, let's take a moment to thank our sponsors, the one and only Bad to the Bone.
42:41
The funk soul brothers of Surly Bikes Shoot, man, I ride a Surly Necromancer from the gates of hell. Hot damn. Check out Surly Bikes at surlybikes.com.
42:57
Thanks to all of you for listening, and thanks to our special guests, Greg Mateus from Fat Bat Bikes, y los vatos de nombres, Cale y Spinner.
43:09
Tune in to next week's show when we'll have special guests Brandt and/or Jesse from Twin Six, along with all the hottest news and products from around the fat bike global takeover. [laughs] Say bye.
43:24
[laughs] Adios, amigos. Let's go ride. Wait, but first, let me take a selfie and put it onto f- Instagram. [laughs] #fatbike.com, all spelled out. No hyphens, no periods.
43:41
It's F-A-T-B-I-K-E dot C-O-M. And you can find The Weekly Dose, along with all other Fat Bike Radio programming, on iTunes, and look for us on Facebook, now Instagram, and Twitter. E-tweeter. E-tweeter.
43:57
[outro music] You've been listening to Fat Bike Radio's Weekly Dose of Fat. Find us on the web at fat-bike.com/radio. We'll see you next time.
44:17
[outro music]
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