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Full Spectrum Cycling
Weekly Dose of Fat Radio – Show #63 – Gomez and JK Check in and Call-in Guests
Jul 17, 2015
Weekly Dose of Fat Radio – Show #63 – Gomez and JK Check in and Call-in Guests
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0:00
Weekly Dose of Fat, show number 63 for Friday, July 17th, 2015.
0:08
[upbeat music] Hello, everybody.
0:27
Welcome to the Weekly Dose of Fat. I'm Sven. Solo in the studio today while JK and, uh, Uncle Gomez are out there, uh, putting their feet into the fat bike fray, wherever they may be. Gomez out west, JK out east.
0:43
We're gonna hear from, uh, hopefully both of them later in the show and, uh, we, we have a call-in question so that if you wanna participate in the show,
0:56
our question this week is, is your fat bike your all-season friend or just a winter fling? Fat Bike Radio and the Weekly Dose of Fat is brought to you by Surly. Check out their bikes and such at surlybikes.com.
1:16
On the show this week, we will be taking calls to answer that fantastic question. Gomez sent in a couple of special reports from Colorado where he's visiting some of our favorite friends.
1:30
And we'll reveal next week's call-in question, plus we'll check in the Fatty Farm field report along with some links. All right, folks, looks like the switchboard is lighting up.
1:45
Let's go ahead and take a couple of calls. [beep] Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep. Who do we have on the, who do we have on the radio program right now?
1:57
It's JK living and I'm so relaxed and groovy right now. [laughs] I, I, I, I re- I [laughs] Wel- welcome to the show, JK.
2:06
Normally I'm, I'm spinning across the, uh, the, the aisle to you, but, uh, you're out, you're out in, uh- Yeah, exactly... you're out on the East Coast right now, aren't ya?
2:15
Yeah, down Virginia Beach, Virginia Beach area. And, uh, fireworks have just been, uh, popping for some reason. Oh, here we go again. Boom. There you go. Very nice. Um, [laughs] So, so what's- It's been, uh-...
2:32
what, what's happening out that way? Uh, not much. Just kicking up the feet and, uh, I put my reservation in for, uh, getting a, a Kona, Kona Wo, Wo. Wo. Um, that should be delivered
2:48
in two days, which is pretty awesome. Renting a bike and they're delivering it to the place I'm staying and then I'm picking it up early in the evening.
2:57
What, what are they- And- They're like the Uber of, of like bike rentals or what? Apparently.
3:02
Well, it, yeah, it's one of those ocean rental place things where, you know, the, they, they re- like rent out, you know, uh, cabana stuff and whatever, but they also rent bikes. Very nice.
3:15
So they're always delivering stuff. So they're gonna drop it off and get from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM, I'm gonna ride as much as I can. And you, you kinda have a little bit of a plan about where you can ride?
3:29
Yeah, well, it's, it's, it's pretty much just flat, flat ocean front. I'm gonna see how far north I can get. There's a naval base that I'm gonna see how far [laughs] I can get by.
3:43
[laughs] Be like, "Oh, uh, I-" Because I, well, I, here's the other part. I don't have to, uh, wash the, uh, saltwater off of this frame, um, that's left to the good graces of the rental company- Right on... apparently.
3:57
[laughs] So that's gonna work out nicely. And at 35 bucks for a day, sounds like a plan to me. Yeah, that's actually very reasonable- Yeah, it's, it's-... I think, uh, for renting a fat bike. Yeah. Yeah. Yes, yes.
4:13
It's, it's gonna be a good, it's gonna be a good jam, a very good jam. So- And I'm actually, right now I'm using a beach cruiser, a single speed coaster brake beach cruiser, but it is from Fat Cycles PH80- Right...
4:30
in California. Yep. Which I've never heard of before. [laughs] Uh, yeah, we've, we've talked to those guys at, uh, Interbike before. They're the Phat guys. Nice. The Phat guys? Yeah. Yeah, act- yeah, absolutely.
4:41
It was, yeah. So if you- It's a, it's a nice cruise ride. I like that. Yeah. If you, so if you had to answer the question, JK, uh, I know that you were a single speed guy for a long time, but
4:54
is your fat bike, has it become your everyday bike and, uh, uh, do you, do you ride that just seasonally or do you ride it year-round now? Uh, I am riding year-round right now.
5:08
Simply situationally it makes the most sense to me. Uh, there are, there are too many unexpected hazards, uh, on roads or anything that it just makes sense.
5:25
And you're not, you're not expending that much more energy. Right. And you get, you, I mean, you get used to what you're pulling and, you know, and it makes your calves look cool. [laughs] You know?
5:38
[laughs] Yeah, right on. "Oh, look at, oh, man, you look like you totally do that all the time." Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, I try to keep in shape as my belly is expanding, but [laughs] it's the displacement of,
5:57
you know, beer intake versus... God, man, they are just nailing some fireworks out in front of me right now.
6:05
[laughs]I went to one deck and there were people yel- yelping outside and, uh, I went to the front deck and there's fireworks flying around. It was a good time, man. Very cool, man. I could really get used to this zone.
6:19
All right. Well, we, we do have another caller. Let's, uh, we'll give him a shout and, you know, if y- if you feel like calling in next week, then that would be great.
6:29
Let us know how the rental goes and- Copy you, Andy... and this and that. Thank you. No stuff. All right, JK. Have a good one. Don't br- don't, don't burn the studio down. [laughs] It's concrete.
6:39
It's gonna be kinda hard. All right. All right, man. Right on, man. Bye. Later, skater. You're tuned to Fat Bike Radio. Welcome to the radio program, caller. Who do we have on the line? Zion Cyclery.
6:57
Hey, what's up, man? [laughs] How you doing? I'm doing all right. How are you doing? Doing all right, man. It's been a while. Yeah, it has. Busy, busy over here at Zion Cyclery, gotta, gotta tell you.
7:09
[laughs] Well, it's a good thing, and you guys have one of the few beaches people can actually ride lately down there, so that's a- Oh, did, uh-... special thing... take your bike down there?
7:19
Uh, we went up to Harrington Beach last week and it was awesome. We were in the water probably 40% of the time, but it was fantastic because, you know, it was hot. Nice. Well, that's cool. So what's happening down there?
7:35
What do you got on your mind? Oh, well, I was gonna answer t- uh, this week's Fat Bike question, I suppose. [laughs] Yeah. I- I got a text earlier, [laughs] so why not?
7:47
What d- what, what, what in the hell was the question this week anyway? Oh, yeah. [laughs] All right. Uh, uh, okay, wait, wait, wait. Hello? I got it. I got it. I got it. It's like- [laughs]...
7:56
is, is, is your fat bike l- like your all season buddy or just your winter fling? Oh, it's been my all season buddy, 'cause, um, I divorced my other bike, I suppose. What was, what was your previous favorite?
8:12
Um, well, you know, I had this epiphany a while back, uh, I was driving to work and, that, uh, I had a really nice, you know, full suspension mountain bike and I had an equally nice fat bike.
8:25
But, uh, I got to thinking if I sold them both, I could combine the two into just one awesome super fat bike. And, uh, that's kinda the road I'm taking currently. I like it. Uh, I... I- is it... I- it's, it's...
8:41
Is it the Borealis you're been riding for a while? Well, I've got the Borealis Echo now, and I love the thing. It's been awesome.
8:48
Um, in fact, I was riding for a good couple of months and, uh, we had one mild winter day, and I had my studded tires on and I'm like, "Uh, I don't really wanna ride bare streets in my studded tires, so I'll hop on my mountain bike and ride it home," and it just felt weird.
9:03
[laughs] I, it- [laughs] This is no slouch of a bike. I mean, this is a full suspension, nice 120 millimeter travel bike, and it just felt like a rickety hybrid or something, and it just really threw me off.
9:15
I got so used to that big stout Bluto and the lunch box of a bottom bracket that that Borealis has, and, uh, it just really threw me for a loop.
9:24
And, um, so it kinda confirmed my plan to go ahead and, and maybe think about building up something really ultra cool in the future.
9:33
So I got that money set aside that I sold, uh, that I used to, for my f- uh, mountain bike there, and, uh, kinda got my eyeball on a, uh, Bucksaw Carbon as a starting point. Wow.
9:47
I, I f- [laughs] I feel, I, I feel what you're saying with the bottom bracket. It's like I c- I get on, like, just a normal mountain bike now, and it's like, wow, my feet are kinda out here.
9:57
[laughs] What, what, what's with that? And then, you know, like, it, it... I, I've, I have every bike available to me, and they all do kinda feel rickety. It's just weird. But, uh, I can't really- Yeah...
10:10
almost ride anything but a fat bike anymore. It's, um, it's strange. It's getting to that point. Yeah, I feel you. I mean, it's, uh, I, I don't know. You, you know, you start to get...
10:19
At, at first that 100 millimeter bottom bracket thing felt a little odd, but honestly, it almost kinda feels like it's putting your feet more at a shoulder width stance.
10:27
And when you're coasting and, you know, kinda railing around on a mountain bike trail, it's, it's, it's not so bad. It kinda almost makes me feel a little more stable, I would say. Yeah. And, and a lot of people- Yeah...
10:38
uh, a lot of people put, like, a wider, um, axle in their pedal just to get... because their knees are hurting them, and it's like, well, you're already there with a fat bike. [laughs] You don't have to worry about it.
10:48
Yeah. [laughs] Yeah, for sure. So yeah, I don't know if, uh, how many parts I'm gonna have to Frankenstein from one bike to another yet or what the ultimate plan is.
10:58
Um, I was kinda hoping to see a Borealis full suspension come out, but I've kinda heard word that that might not be happening, so. Might or might not be happening. Yeah. So I don't know.
11:09
Uh, well, unless they surprise me with something, I'll keep an eye out. But, uh, we got a Bucksaw, a regular Bucksaw in the store, and it, it is quite an awesome bike.
11:17
Uh, so it wouldn't be a bad candidate for sure for my super bike idea. Yeah. So, uh, that, that's- Not to sound like an arrogant shop owner- [laughs]... like, "Check out my super bike."
11:27
But hey, man, I work, like, 60 hours a week. [laughs] I, I, yeah. And then some. [laughs] I, I deserve, I deserve something. So, uh- Yeah, there's gotta be some kinda perk. [laughs] Yeah.
11:38
We're, we're actually trying to figure out where we're gonna ride on Sunday.
11:41
We're either thinking of coming down by you or going up back to Harrington again, because Lake Michigan is so high, there is no, uh, plethora of places we can ride anymore. You know- Right...
11:53
it's like the, the water level's, like, three feet higher than it's been and just washes out every shoreline we can imagine, so. Oh, I tell you. Uh- Yeah. I was...
12:02
I mean, I had an idea a while back to kind of, uh, talk to Illinois Beach State Park about maybe doing some little sections of trail to get us around maybe some of the break points and try to make a much more continuous beach run all the way down from the north side to the south.
12:17
But, uh, then I got to riding some of it, and man, the water's right up to the, uh, [laughs] regular gravel trail [laughs] A- and, yeah... like, holy cow some places.
12:25
Can we, can we ride around in the nuclear power plant or what? [laughs] Pretty much. Yeah, but the south end still seems to be pretty good, and most of that's intact.
12:34
Um, still plenty of riding on there, so that's the good news. Right on, Chris. Well, we got a couple other callers. I see some, uh- Yeah... interesting area codes popping up on our, uh,
12:45
our, our call, uh, queue here, so, uh, good talking to you. Yeah, likewise. If we come down that way on Sunday, we'll be sure to give you a little bit of a heads up. Uh, I'm not sure- Appreciate that...
12:56
what's actually happening yet, but, uh, thanks for giving us a shout. Cool. All right, man. Have a good one. Sure. Hello. Hey, man. How's it going? Hey, Travis in Alaska again. How you guys doing?
13:10
[laughs] Right on, Travis. I'm like, "907. Is that, is that Travis up in there?" [laughs] Well, uh, yeah, I, I wanted to make sure at least somebody called.
13:21
I was like, last week I, I listened to the whole show on, uh, Friday when you posted it. I, I think Gomez was the only other call you guys got, so wanted to make sure to share my input.
13:32
Yeah, and I, I, appreciate your note on the fat b- the fat bike ambassador idea. And yeah, you're, like, totally the guy we need. We need somebody that's local, up where you are, and calling in regularly.
13:45
And, you know, it doesn't have to be every week, but, you know, once a month or whatever, just let us know what's going on. And, uh, uh, can you answer the question of the week? Is your- Absolutely...
13:57
is your, is your fat bike your, your everyday friend or just your, your winter fling? She is definitely my year-round companion, but I cheat like hell on her in the summertime. [laughs] I hear you, man.
14:15
So yeah, just like, just like Gomez was saying a couple shows ago, it's like, man, when them guys get...
14:20
Th- they get a little bit of warm weather up there, they get them full suspension bikes out, and they just can't help themselves.
14:26
[laughs] Yeah, yeah, I've, I found it, definitely there's trails that, uh, certain rides I do, I totally prefer the fat bike, particularly the rocky, rooty ones.
14:38
Um, it really handles the rough terrain a lot better than my full suspension bike, and I, I prefer it. Um, and I'm really interested in the, what's coming out in the B+ world. Yeah, us too.
14:50
I gotta tell you, we, we just, uh, we put together, uh, uh... W- we, we've been working on a great, uh, prototype for a fat bike with 26 by four tires, and we just slammed some,
15:05
you know, just B+ wheel and tire in there, and like, golly. The thing that makes the B+ platform, to me, even awes- more awesome than, than, like, for summer stuff, is the fork that Manitou came out with.
15:21
It's like, you know, the Bluebird's pretty good, but that new Manitou Magnum, boy, they've, they really figured out how to make it work with low, l- like, low tire pressure tires. It just, it's so sweet. Right. It, it...
15:36
because, you know, it, it's like butter. I- there's absolutely no stiction. It works just awesome.
15:43
And because the tire is, you know, low pressure, it sucks up some of that right away in the tire, and you want the fork to start moving right away, and it does. It's really good.
15:56
I just, I just wish it could fit a four-inch fat bike tire in there. [laughs] Right. So that's, the three inch is the max on that Manitou? Uh, we got the 3.25, uh, the Vee Tire, um, Trax Fatty. That's about it.
16:10
That's pretty darn big in there. Yeah, I think that would be...
16:14
and, uh, you know, I understand different bikes for different, uh, geographical areas, but, uh, you know, when you're up here, for, for us in Anchorage, you know, when you're riding the local trails in town, uh, yeah, your standard mountain bike's fantastic.
16:28
Um, and you know, they're smoother trails and not really rocky and ruddy, but when you head out into the backcountry, you kinda get whatever's thrown at you, and certainly some real rocky, rooty stuff.
16:40
And yeah, I've, um, did a couple of rides on my, my, uh, full suspension bike, and then, uh, decided this winter or a couple weeks ago to start taking the Fatty on some of those longer rides, and just like, yeah, this is, this is the way to go.
16:56
Awesome, man. Well, I appreciate you calling in, and we would really love to have you as our fat bike ambassador for your area. So let's just, uh, l- do a little email correspondence, figure out how that works.
17:09
But, uh, you're welcome to call in anytime, obviously, and just let us know what's going on up there because it's really...
17:16
You know, uh, people calling in, in is what we're looking for, and, and sharing what's happening in their area. I mean, Gomez and JK... By the way, both of those clowns are out of town right now.
17:27
JK went east and Gomez went west, and you j- you, you, [laughs] Oh, man, it's just y'all alone. [laughs] You, you, you just got lonely Sven in the studio today. He feels so lonely. Oh, man.
17:40
[laughs] Sending you a fat hug from Alaska, Sven. [laughs] All right, Travis. Thank you, man. Uh, we do have another caller. Sounds good.
17:46
I'm gonna give, I'm gonna give our next, uh, caller a, a, a go, but, uh, thanks again for calling in. And, and do, uh... Uh, we'll correspond by email, and, uh, you know,
17:56
we'll set it up so that you can, uh, do a regular, uh, thing from up your way. Sounds fantastic. I'd be honored to help out. All right, man. Talk to you soon. All right, take care. Uh, hello? Hello. Beep.
18:12
What, what, were you listening- Hi... were you listening to Travis and Chris? Yeah. Um, so I, I, I was listening to the radio show, and now I am the radio show? You are the radio show. It's, uh, it's Sven here. Hi.
18:23
Who, who do we have on the line? This is Katie from Connecticut. Hi, Katie. How are you doing? Pretty good. Did, did you get a text from Uncle Gomez saying you better call into the show today or something? [laughs] Yes.
18:36
I d- I got a reminder, and it helped. Yep. So how are you doing? Pretty good. Um, thought I'd give you a little background.
18:45
I was part of, uh, the Wisconsin contingent for a while, um, and from Wisconsin I moved to Connecticut, uh, a little over three years ago.
18:55
Uh, so used to be, I feel, a lot more involved in the fat bike community, but um, I still, uh, still ride a little bit out here. Awesome. Yeah, you, yeah, you were at, uh, you were with the Hays group for a while, right?
19:11
Yeah, I heard you guys talking about Manitou. I'm not real familiar with the, the fork you guys were talking about, but, um- Gosh, that thing is so beautiful [laughs]... yeah, yeah, it's, it's good product.
19:20
It doesn't get a whole lot of play, but uh, Manitou's good stuff. Well, you, you'll see on the plus bikes the, you know, 27.5x3 kind of bike platform. The baby fat? Yep. That is actually the...
19:34
They've got it dialed in, and I'm super proud of them because, you know, they're five miles from here. And it just- Uh-huh... it's great to see somebody that, that really understands what that platform needs, you know?
19:48
My personal fat bike has a 2001 Marzocchi Bomber on it, which was one of the, the best, uh, you know, small bump compliant forks in the world that the guys- Uh-huh...
20:00
up at, uh, Erickson made a new crown and a brace for so that it worked on a fat bike. But- Okay... you know, uh, I think the, I think they, that they really hit the nail on the head with the, the, the Manitou.
20:14
It's, it's beautiful. Nice. So what about you? Are... How's your fat bike love fest going? Well, um, I don't know that I've seen another fat bike in the area.
20:27
I think, um, you know, in the Midwest there was a totally legitimate, uh, trend or, or happening.
20:34
Um, and uh, out here, out east, um, you know, I thought it was a joke for a, for a long time, and now the bigger companies are, are continuing to, uh, pick it up I guess.
20:45
And uh, it's one of those things where once you ride it you kind of understand it, and uh, up until you do you might have some misunderstandings about it. But, uh, I think it'll catch on a little more. Um,
20:58
but yeah, not a whole lot of fat bikers out here. Uh, and I called in to, um, weigh in on the question. Go ahead. Um, do you ride your, your fat bike during summer? Um, I do, but it's still kind of a novelty bike for me.
21:12
I don't take it out on the trails too often, but I do love riding it, um, on beaches, you know, on the sand. Sure. Yeah, absolutely. So it's...
21:20
Yeah, so it's pretty much, you know, snow every once in a while, uh, in the winter, and then, uh, you know, in the summer, um, riding on the beach. So how f- how far are you from an actual like Atlantic East Coast beach?
21:35
Well, um, I'm kind of on the, would it be Long Island Sound?
21:41
Um, I'm, I'm near the coast on, uh, like in like southern Connecticut, but the problem is, uh, everything is so developed around here that it's almost impossible to find a good stretch of, uh, a good stretch of sand.
21:54
So uh, I don't do too much in the immediate area. But my family has, uh, an old cottage out on Cape Cod. Oh, yeah. And, uh, yeah. [laughs] So I left out there. Yeah.
22:07
That's about four hours away, but when I go out there I always take the fat bike and, um, ride on the beaches.
22:13
You know, there's the National Seashore there and, you know, never, never away from the, the, uh, waterline, you know? Never up in the dunes. Right. A- absolutely. But, um, yeah.
22:23
Yeah, and they got the, they got the birds- Yeah... and they got, uh, a lot of different things. And there was some jerk from, a rich jerk from Connecticut that ruined it for a while out there. Oh.
22:32
I'm not sure what they've actually done, but I was- Mm-hmm... I was out there last year and rode with a guy that, um, he lives right at the elbow of the Cape, so before you start heading- Uh-huh...
22:45
north, 'cause I, I normally stay in North Truro, way up towards the tip, and he, he's right at the- Actually, the cottage is in, uh, Wellfleet. Oh, there you go. So yeah. Oh, that's an awesome place. Further in Truro.
22:54
Yeah. Wow. Yeah. That's great. Um, so we were on the Atlantic side, and the town he lives in, those guys allow them to ride the beach and- Uh-huh...
23:06
it was super awesome because he and I did like, I don't know, 15 miles with nobody around. And the thing- Mm-hmm...
23:13
that got me about their weird like, "Oh, we don't want bikes on the beach" thing was there's like 4x4s and stuff that go on [laughs] the beach. Yeah. Yeah.
23:24
So what was- Yeah, especially up toward, uh, Provincetown too, the, um, you know, the cars on the beach. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Cool.
23:31
Well, I mean, you know, there's I don't know how many miles of beach there are on Cape Cod, but there's 100 miles plus. I mean, it's, it's huge. Yeah. And it's beautiful, and I love that place.
23:43
And unfortunately my buddy Chuck, who used to own the best 1970s hotel in- Ooh... North Truro sold it, and now there's like three $5 million houses on this place. It's like, it- Yeah... but it was totally the best deal.
24:01
It was like 70 bucks a night, two bedrooms- Uh-huh... just 1970s style, totally old school, and you're like, "Chuck, you're the man. Keep this going." [laughs] But, uh, yeah, it's good- Yeah, so- Yeah, so- Oh, go ahead.
24:17
Well, I'm just, I was just gonna say you're riding your fat bike on the beach, and, uh, what, so what are you doing with... What's your job now? You're, you were with Cannondale for a while, weren't you? I still am.
24:29
Oh, there you go Yeah, still lives in Connecticut. So are they, are they gonna come out with a, a plus bike, do you think? If I had to guess, I would say they probably are going to.
24:41
[laughs] We, we don't wanna hold you to anything. [laughs] That's, that's all I- We don't wanna embargoed information here-... that's all I can say...
24:47
on the radio show, but, uh, so okay, so here's the deal with plus bikes to me. When, when Gomez and I went out to Seattle this year, it's like they don't get fat bikes on the West Coast.
24:58
They hardly get 'em on the- Yeah... East Coast, but I think everybody gets a plus bike. They really understand what that's all about. Yeah.
25:06
I, maybe they, uh, they don't look as, they don't look like as much a novelty as, uh, the fat bikes do or something. Just getting used to the idea and I don't... It's one of those things where I don't know who the, uh,
25:20
who the plus bike, uh, consumer really is yet other than maybe what I know of, like the Surly Krampus sort of thing. Like, it's kind of been on, um, on the fringe of my radar, so. Sure.
25:32
Well, I know that, um- I don't know too much about the movement yet, but it, it is interesting to me. Yeah, and I just, I was reading Bicycle Retailer today and, and Felt is doing one.
25:40
Uh, and in, we know that, um, both Trek and Specialized are already doing them, so they kind of bunny hopped over the fat bike thing and really went- Uh-huh...
25:50
right into the plus bike thing, like kind of, kind of full bore. So- Hm... I think we're gonna see a lot of interesting things there. And I don't know if you know this, but we started this website called plusbikes.com.
26:02
I did not know that. Gomez and I are, are gonna be, you know, covering the plus bike thing too because we r- we really feel that it's, like, kind of the wave of the future and- Yeah...
26:14
probably somebody ought to be telling people about it.
26:17
Yeah, you know, I'm not sure if it's just, uh, you know, kind of myself and my group of friends, but we all started out racing it and, of course, now we're all just getting into riding for the fun of it or doing the longer races, that sort of thing.
26:30
And, uh, so at least for my, for my crew, uh, I can, I could see plus bikes being a big thing. Very good.
26:39
Well, that, that's good to hear because, uh, we're kind of putting a little bit of weight behind it and come Interbike time we're gonna really hit it hard because I, I, uh, I think that we're gonna see an explosion of plus bike introductions at Interbike this year.
26:56
Uh-huh. Yeah, you, you just might. [laughs] Coming from somebody on the inside. Mm. [laughs] All right, Katie. Well, thanks for calling in. It was awesome to hear from you. All right. Thanks for having me. Right on.
27:11
We'll talk to you soon. Hey, and by the way, you know, I, i- if, if you're into the fat bike thing even if it's only seasonal out there, we'd love to hear from you whenever you wanna call in. Will do. Right on.
27:22
All right, Katie, talk to you soon. All right, have a good one. You too. Bye. You're tuned to Fat Bike Radio. [upbeat rock music] Up in the Great White North, they make bikes for every trail and every season.
27:40
RSD guarantees you'll have a smoking good time carving lines with their fatty Mayor. Next season, the big guy gets new builds with an optional Bluto fork up front, one by 11 setups, and new colors too.
27:53
The most playful fatty on the market still clocks in under 30 pounds for less than two grand, or talk to your RSD bike dealer about any of the trick new options. And always keep the rubber side down. Hey, this is Gomez.
28:08
On my field trip out to Colorado, I am at the world headquarters of Boo Bicycles and here with me is the general manager of Boo Bicycles, me amigo, Adam Blake. How are you, bud? I'm doing very well. Glad to see you.
28:22
Hey, we're doing a... Oh, sorry, I stepped right on you there, didn't I? Ah! It's okay. I'm used to it. [laughs] So listen, we're here and everybody wants to know, well, not everybody, mostly me, I wanna know
28:36
what are the three most important things that consumers need to know about Boo fat bikes?
28:43
I think the first and foremost thing is, uh, that the bamboo is not a gimmick and that what you're buying is the ride quality of bamboo, which is, uh, different than any other material and has virtues unlike any other material.
28:59
All right, that's number one. Number two? I think the durability of the bamboo and the durability of e- of our frames.
29:05
In a world where frames are becoming more and more disposable, bamboo, uh, has some durable qualities to handle rocks, uh, barbed smacks, things like that. Awesome. And number three?
29:21
That every one of 'em's still a individual frame, hand-built. Uh, no frame is the same as the other. Each piece of bamboo is hand-selected, hand put into the frames, and signed off by our frame builder, James. Cool.
29:33
Well, thanks for, uh, coming on our show and being part of my field trip. I'm always happy to see you, buddy. [laughs] All right, that's it for this segment. Bye. Bye-bye. Mm, good evening, caller. How are you doing?
29:50
Hi, good evening. Uh, this is Evan, and I am trying to reach you guys. I keep driving through dead spots on your fine Wisconsin roads. [laughs] Yep. Thank, thank Governor Walker for our fancy roads out there.
30:07
Yeah, they're nice roads. They're better than the Illinois roads, but, uh, I don't seem to have the reception. What do you think? How are you? What, what, what's happening with you?
30:17
Uh, I just finished riding my Pugly out on Silver Lake. It is, uh, fantastic out there as far as single track conditions go.
30:26
So have, ha- so have you traded in your, uh, any other mountain bike for your fat bike year-round? Is it, like, your b- your best buddy year-round or what, you know?
30:36
Do you, do you still have a, a fling with other bikes now and again? Well, thanks to Ken and Andy, I, I now have the term zombie bike for my 29er, my full squish that's just hanging in my garage.
30:48
Uh, I have not ridden that yet this year. So yeah, I would, I would definitely have to go with, uh, even though I got this bike over the winter, this is definitely a, a four-season, four-season bike for me. Awesome.
31:03
I, I, I think a lot of people that get fat bikes, that's what they end up, that's what they end up finding out.
31:07
It's like, well, it isn't that much slower than the bike I normally ride, and I'm not racing a bunch of guys who are faster than me, and, uh, it just, it does so many things so well. It's a lot of fun.
31:20
It's just a lot of fun. I have a blast on it. True that. So yeah. A, a 29er full squish, you let me know. I'll sell it to you cheap.
31:29
[laughs] So, so you live down in Illinois, but you go up to, uh, Silver Lake to, um, ride the trails up there? Yeah, I live in, I live in Mundelein, Illinois, so it's a 45-minute jaunt.
31:44
Still the closest, closest single track for me. Yeah, no, that, it, I love that place in the winter. It's just like, it's open enough, it's not super technical, and it's just badass in the winter. Yeah.
31:57
Yeah, and a lot of the new stuff they got cut in is just really, really coming together, and it's a lot of fun. I mean, you're just ripping, ripping through there. And, uh, I'm definitely...
32:08
I've got some shoulders that show the trees are pretty close, so. [laughs] So is your- Yeah... is your Pugsley stock, or have you done any mods to it? I did put some gears on it.
32:19
I'm, I'm running a, a one by 10, and, uh, I do enjoy being able to spin out. Uh, but the single speeds and the simplicity of that, I miss it.
32:30
I, I, I n- I need to buy some tools so I can just kinda swap back and forth on a whim. You know, I only know a couple of guys who ride single speed fat bikes.
32:39
Both of them live in Decorah, Iowa, but they're also the fastest guys that I know, [laughs] and they just- Yeah. Yeah... uh, they're, m- you know, they have them geared right for what's out there and they shred.
32:54
Well, I, I did the gears for the, uh, the Silver Lake, the race, the snow bike enduro, and then, uh, I went up to Yeti Fest up at Lovies, and, uh, the gears were really nice to have up there. I, I won't lie.
33:08
Definitely once you get into the, uh, the softer conditions, even at, whether it's beach or snow, it's nice to have a few choices on gears. It is. It is. I won't lie.
33:19
I, I would lie if I, you know, I said I, you know, oh, only single speed, but the, I do miss the simplicity of it a- and the feeling of accomplishment when I get up at the top of that frigging hill. [laughs] Excellent.
33:35
Yeah. Yeah, no, I just wanted to give you guys a quick call. I gotta, I gotta make another call. I gotta order me some, some chicken wings to get it started. [laughs] Chicken wings. I need some chicken wings now.
33:45
[laughs] Yeah. [laughs] I, yeah, I need a chicken wing, a corn dog and a IBC root beer. Well, you, you earned it by riding some trails, so there you go. Yeah, exactly. Bam. All right, man. Just, uh, yeah, yeah.
33:57
Well, hey, call, call in any- Full, full, full season bike all the way... call in any time you want because we're always looking for people who are doing things out there in the real world.
34:06
You know, it's easy to sit in the studio and, uh, and, and throw stones at the wall or whatever, but, uh, we, we do love to hear from people who are actually riding their bikes in the real world, so. Oh, absolutely.
34:16
Call in whenever you want. There's a guy that probably, probably should have had his car finished today, but I'm like, "You know what? Fuck it, it's 5:00. I'm going to ride my bike." You know? It's a... Sorry.
34:27
Awesome, man. Well, enjoy the chicken wings. [laughs] Thanks. We'll, we'll talk to you again. Have a good night. All right, man, bye. Bye. Hey, welcome to the radio program. Who do we have on the line? Zach. Hey, Zach.
34:44
What's happening? Not much, man. How are you? I'm doing all right. Just, uh, being the lonely man in the studio today what with JK and Gomez all out on the road and whatnot. Yeah. So what's happening?
34:56
Out having adventures. [laughs] Yeah, they're o- they're, they're both having fun, and I'm, I'm sitting here talking to you. [laughs] Well, it's good anyway. No, I'm, I'm glad you called in, man. Well, uh. What's up?
35:10
Not much. Uh, just riding my fat bike year-round. I figured I would chime in with that. Um, just changing tires around, you know, to keep it going this summer, and it's, uh, awesome.
35:23
But, uh, yeah, it's nice up here in Alaska right now. So are y- wh- where are you in Alaska? Um, I'm up in the Anchorage area right now. Right on. Generally down in Homer, so. Okay.
35:36
So- So did you run into Gomez when he was out there? Yeah, I was the one that was kinda touring him around. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. He said he had a benefactor. [laughs] Yeah. [laughs] That was I. Yeah.
35:50
So, so, uh- Yeah, it was fun to hang out with... so your answer to the question do you, y- y- do you ride your fat bike year-round, or is it just kind of a winter fling is? Year-round. Right on.
36:02
So you were just, you were just- Year-round... mentioning that you were switching tires out. Is that something that you do for whatever the conditions are, or just got some new tires?
36:11
Uh, yeah, it seems like, I mean, I've, yeah, it seems like that. Like, trying to get the right, I don't know, stuff, you know?
36:17
Sometimes it's a, you know, long ride on asphalt and, you know, I don't need Mates or something like that, and, you know, I put Enduros on or something, you know, even old stuff that, you know, still works fine, but, you know, on asphalt it's all you need.
36:33
Right. Yeah. So. Yeah, I actually, you know, I, I have two fat bikes that I, I kind of go between because one is more suited for-...
36:42
soft conditions and one's more suited for like trails and just kinda bombing the city and this and that. So I don't have to- Yeah, exactly... actually change tires a lot. But what, what do you like for tires?
36:54
Uh, Nate's, uh, ［inaudible］ in the winter. Uh, the Panaracer Fappy Nimbles. Those are... They've been pretty good. Um, let's see. Knard is always good. But yeah,
37:11
they're kind of a, a bit of everything.
37:13
And it is, you know, like, you know, if you're on the beach you don't want something that's got tons of traction and, you know, it's like you're always kinda trying to find that right sorta mix. Yeah, absolutely. So.
37:24
I... You know, like on the beach it's like a Nate just has like so much surface area, kinda seems like- Yeah... they're a little slow and so. It's like Velcro. [laughs] Yeah, exactly.
37:34
That's a good, that's a good analogy, for sure. I, I, I definitely like, um- It's Velcro... I definitely like Larrys on the beach. That's my, that's my beach tire to go to. Yep, those do good. Our, uh, uh...
37:46
Our friends, uh, Kim and Bjorn, who are fat biking and pack rafting from Juneau to Homer, they have big fat Larrys on their bear grease bikes, I'm pretty sure. Right on.
37:56
And they're going all the way from Juneau, uh, via southeast Alaska all the way back to Homer. Wow. So, so how long a trip is that? Oh, I don't even know how long. I don't know. I don't know how long they have dedicated.
38:11
I'll send you a email or something or a link to his, uh, something. [laughs] His website or something. It's pretty interesting. Yeah, that sounds fantastic. I mean, yeah. They were... I mean, last, uh...
38:23
Two winters ago they went from Anchorage to Kotzebue, you know, which was doing the Iditarod Trail, 1,000 miles plus like 400. Wow. That's about it, so. That, that, that's a lo- Yeah.
38:34
Well, they got a lot of time on their hands. That sounds great. Yeah. I mean, they just, you know, live their life to the fullest and, you know, take advantages of, you know, things like that and it's awesome.
38:46
Um, hopefully you guys will... I'm sure you guys are coming up to that big, uh, you know, festival that's happening before the ITI, I imagine. We're planning on it.
38:55
You know, our plans kinda change from day to day but, uh, that's- Right... that's definitely on our radar, for sure. Yeah.
39:03
So I mean, yeah, I'm sure there'll be a lot of c- cool people to meet there and see, and hopefully it's a big event. Yeah.
39:10
But down here in the lower 48 we're, we're happy to ride fat bikes year-round, but that's really where kinda the nexus of fat biking happens is at the ITI, so. Yeah, for sure. I mean, here they're just...
39:23
I mean, you know, like, I mean, I was just in downtown Anchorage and, I mean, they're just... You know, there's the guy renting them and, I mean, people are, I mean, just...
39:31
I mean, it's just the bike that people use up here. I mean, there's... You know, a lot of people have two wheel sets or, you know, and, you know, other people just switch tires out, so. Right on.
39:42
But yeah, I mean, people use them all the time here, conditions for them. Yeah. Have, have you seen anybody doing any kinda like... Are they using 29+ or 27+ tires like in the summer?
39:54
There's none of the s- I haven't seen any 650B+ stuff or 27.5+, but yeah, lots of, uh, 29+ on the fat bikes. Um, you know, I've seen several Krampus' around. But yeah, I've had...
40:08
I've seen a lot of people, especially this summer now, switching out to 29+ on their bikes. So they're, they're putting them on their normal fat bike just with a different wheel set and, and different tires? Yeah. Yeah.
40:19
Exactly. Yeah. Exactly. Well, they're very... It's obviously- I mean, uh-... it's a super versatile platform, for sure. It is, absolutely. I mean, you can do, I mean, you can do anything with one of them.
40:29
I mean, you can get, uh... You know, State Bicycles makes a, a wheel set for [laughs] like 100 bucks, you know, for... And they're like road tires for a fat bike. Yeah, for sure. Yeah. So, I mean, they're- The, the...
40:40
Well, and we're just gonna see more, more stuff coming and, you know, the, the plus bike- Absolutely... market is blowing up too, so we're gonna see- Yeah... you know, a lot of choices.
40:49
But the nice thing about, you know, any fat bike obviously is that, you know, it's wide enough to accept a big tire like a five-inch tire, but that doesn't mean you can't put something a little narrower on if you need something for different conditions.
41:03
Absolutely. So yeah, awesome. Yep. Absolutely. I mean, that's what people are doing, so. I mean, that's what we're seeing up here. Very good, man. Yeah. Appreciate the call and, uh, you know, call in anytime- Yeah...
41:16
you wanna let us know what's going on. We're always looking for people from, you know, especially Alaska. We had Travis call in a little earlier today and, uh, you guys are doing, doing the deed up there, so awesome.
41:29
Yeah. Fun, man. Hope to see you up here sometime. Yeah, absolutely. Good to talk to you. All right. Talk to you later. Yeah. Later, Ben.
41:38
Hey, thanks everybody for calling in and, and, and answering this week's question and weighing in on your responses. Next week's question is, is,
41:47
do extreme adventures like attempts across Antarctica on a fat bike, do they inspire you or do they just make you go, "Eh?"
41:57
Give us a call next week Wednesday from 8:00 PM to 9:00 PM Central Standard Time at 818-918-2453 and let us know what you think. Is it,
42:10
is it just like whatever or does that really make you wanna get out on your fat bike? Welcome to this week's Fatty Farm Field Report.
42:20
You know, it's been kind of a quiet week but, uh, there was a, in- an interesting leak from the guys at Specialized. I think, uh, originally a German site kind of just...
42:32
I don't know if they leaked it or just kinda popped it up, but, uh, Specialized is going to be coming out with a women-specific fat bike called the Helga. I think that's gonna be
42:44
An awesome thing, you know, just bringing more people into the fray. And hopefully we'll get a chance to check it out here in about a month and a half over there at, uh, Interbike. You're tuned to Fat Bike Radio.
43:00
Hey, this is Gomez. I'm out on a field trip to Reeb Cycles, which is right next door to Os- Oscar Blues Brewing. I'm here with Chris, the guy that actually makes the bikes, chief fabricator. And I'm, uh...
43:16
Welcome, welcome to our little segment here, Chris. Thanks for having me. Hey, uh, all of our listeners wanna know the top three things they should know about Reeb Fat Bikes. Yeah.
43:28
First off, all our bikes are made right here in Longmont, Colorado by me and a couple other people. Um, you know, we use all American-made tubing, American-made small parts on the frame.
43:40
We do everything from cutting the frames, welding the frames, powder coating the frames, all in the same room.
43:47
And then we also have our own bike shop over in one of the Oscar Blues restaurants that does all the final assembly of the bikes.
43:53
So really, you can come over here, check out the whole process, and interact personally with the few people that are, are making your bike. That's pretty cool. Yeah. So that was thing number one. What's thing number two?
44:06
Uh, we use a proprietary tube set on our fat bikes, uh, made by True Temper Sports, uh, from Mississippi.
44:15
And, you know, there are a couple things that make it different from stuff that's, uh, other stuff that's out there. It's OX platinum steel, so real strong, pretty light stuff. Really, really high quality.
44:28
And, you know, you can fit a dropper seat post in the seat tube, which, uh, we think is pretty essential for, for good, fun winter fat bike riding, and certainly all fat bike riding.
44:39
Um- And Rocky Mountain riding, for sure, right? Yeah, absolutely. That, that stems from the kind of mountain biking we have around here.
44:45
Um, we also have a larger down tube that we use on the bikes, keep them nice and stiff.
44:51
Uh, you're able to use, you know, some of the more, more modern forks on the bikes and not have to worry about, uh, those transmitting forces that you don't want in the frame.
45:01
And then, uh, you know, we also have chainstays that were specially made for us that get you tire clearance for, you know, 4.8 tires and the widest fat stuff you can, you can fit. And- Yeah, that's... We saw that today.
45:16
Yeah. And like all our bikes, uh, they're belt drive compatible. So if you're wanting something that's super durable in, in the cold, you know, that's, that's always an option. And then that was number two. Yeah.
45:29
Number three. Lucky number three. [laughs] You know, we're so closely related to, to Oscar Blues Brewery that, you know, we send you a six-pack of beer when you buy a bike and- [laughs] Nice...
45:41
you know, put lots of love in there as well. And definitely recommend that you come out and check out the shop here, the bike shop over in Cyclops Bike Cantina, and the b- the whole Oscar Blues Brewery and Taproom.
45:55
It's, it's an awesome, big collaboration of people and very family, uh, very family feeling. It's, it's- Yeah. I feel like I've-... a great experience... I've landed in, in bike and beer paradise here.
46:08
[laughs] We got to meet Dale and, you know, just- Yeah... hang out and have a great lunch at the Cyclops and the bike shop.
46:16
It's, it's a place where if you're coming to Colorado and you're a fat biker, you should stop here. Hang out, buy some stuff, get some tacos. Yeah, come and- It's a good thing... come watch your bike get made.
46:28
You know- Yeah... it's, it's all part of it. It's not, you know, it's not some gimmick for us. This is how we live every day. Killer, man. Thanks for doing a little segment for us. Yeah. Appreciate it.
46:39
Thanks for having me. Sultry now. Got a few links this week over there at, uh, Fat Bike Links. You'll find them in the show notes.
46:48
One of the, one of the ones that I found kind of interesting was, uh, guys in Jackson Hole are really pushing the e-fat bike thing, and it's...
46:59
For certain people, this is, like, a fantastic thing, and it's interesting that it's happening in a place like Jackson Hole. So check out that one.
47:08
Uh, Joe Boo and the youth, they went to a race, but they didn't actually go... It's, it's, it was, uh, I think, uh, uh, World of Outlaws or one of the sprint car races.
47:21
And he knows a spot where he can watch it from on high, and they rode up there and, and they had a good time, so you can check that out.
47:28
And for plus bike links, we got a note from Paul that he has a new, uh, bike from Naked Bicycles that is awesome. It's a titanium 29er. Check out the link. And we know now that Felt is gonna enter the plus bike market.
47:46
Uh, Bicycle Retailer had a little bit of a, kind of a, I don't know, what do you call it? Just sort of a premonition, a preview that there is going to be plus bikes in Felt's future. So check that out.
48:01
Thanks everybody for your call-ins this week. Uh, next week's question, give us a shout, 818-918-2453.
48:09
Do extreme adventures like attempts across Antarctica on a fat bike, do they inspire you or do they make you just go, "Eh"? And thanks again to Surly for sponsoring the radio portion of today's broadcast.
48:24
Join us next week. We'll be waiting for you. [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.
48:42
We'll see you next time.
48:57
[outro music]
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