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Full Spectrum Cycling
Weekly Dose of Fat Radio – Show #72 – From Interbike in Las Vegas – Eric Sovern of Surly Bikes is our Special Guest
Sep 18, 2015
Weekly Dose of Fat Radio – Show #72 – From Interbike in Las Vegas – Eric Sovern of Surly Bikes is our Special Guest
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0:00
Weekly Dose of Fat, show number 72 for Friday, September 18th, 2015. Hey, it's Sven and Gomez, traveling up in Alaska, man. Just calling to say hello.
0:10
Was hoping to catch you guys in Vegas, have a kick-ass time at Interbike. Later, dudes. That's right, Travis, it's the Las Vegas edition with your traveling sideshow, Sven and Gomez.
0:21
I am Sven, and sitting with me in beautiful room 2335 at the Downtown Grand Hotel is mi amigo, Gomez. Hola, vatos. Vegas. Vegas.
0:36
Fat Bike Radio and the Weekly Dose of Fat is sponsored by Surly Bikes. Surly makes bikes that don't suck, like the new Wednesday we saw here in Vegas. Learn more about bucking the odds and bikes at surlybikes.com.
0:53
We've got a great show for you this week. Like Sven mentioned, it's the Vegas version. Vegas edition.
1:01
And, uh, what better guest to have on, uh, our TV episode of Vegas starring Eric Sovereign as firefighter Eric Sovereign. Yeah. I wish it was TV. We could see Sov live. [laughs] That'd be great.
1:19
You know Sov as Sov from Surly. Uh, we, uh, we revealed next week's big question. We will talk about some of the bikes we rode at the Outdoor Dirt Demo in the Fatty Farm Field Report, and as always,
1:35
we've got fat and plus-sized links for your consumption. Speaking of consumption- [laughs]... cheers. Cheers. My man. Thank you, Downtown Grand Hotel. Indeed. Water in the desert.
1:49
For the f- for the bottles of water that we're drinking. [laughs] They provide you with two complimentary bottles of water, because drinking out of the tap totally sucks.
1:59
[laughs] I don't know, maybe if you're from some other area of the country where you don't have good water, you might not notice it, or you might say that's good water, but it tastes like it's totally processed and icky.
2:10
Lots of stuff- Well, let's take a break and then head right into, uh, Eric's hotel room for an interview. You're tuned to Fat Bike Radio. Hey, so listen up. This is your brain.
2:27
La, la, la-la, la-la. Sing a happy song. La, la, la-la, la-la. Smurf the whole day long. And this is your brain on plusbikes.com.
2:39
[rock music] Any questions? Hey, we're here at Outdoor Demo Interbike 2015. We're actually in Eric Sover- Sovereign's [laughs] Eric Sovereign...
2:57
I can't even say it because it's just so aroused right now. [laughs] This is the Double Deuce here at the El Rancho. Yeah, the Double Deuce. Have you- Is, is there another? Have you had this room in the past?
3:10
Do you request it every year that you come here? I request a lot of things. None of them happen. Warm brandy at bedside.
3:18
I, uh, I request a, a rubdown with, uh, with various salts and, and, uh, alcohols and, and compounds and, uh, and again, none of it ever happens. So, ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce Eric Sovereign. Hi.
3:32
Uh- Welcome to the show, Eric. Thanks, thanks. It's great to be here. Uh- He's a firefighter for Surly Bikes. [laughs] I've, I've put out as many fires as I have started at Surly. So I've...
3:44
I think a, a zero sum game on that is, is probably a good way to go. How's your record in Decorah? Is that a little better than- Record in Decorah is better... started some, puts some out?
3:52
I, I, I am lucky to be a member of the Decorah, uh, Iowa Volunteer Fire Department. Uh, but that is, uh... We were talking about that earlier, which is why it brings up, why it comes up.
4:01
But here I am solely, uh, charged with, uh, with talking to the people about bikes, selling the bikes, and, uh, spreading the mayhem. Which you do a fine job. Well, somebody's got to.
4:15
Right at closing time [laughs] when we checked in, it was looking to be, uh, was, was ramping up to... It was a good crowd. Yeah.
4:23
You know, one of the great things about, uh, Dirt Demo, uh, first of all, we get to see a lot of the people that we see over the year. For those of... Those are the people that are not within the bike industry vibe.
4:36
You know, Interbike is obviously a trade show, and it's... And bike shops send people, and they sort of sit, look at the new stuff.
4:42
And Dirt Demo, two days of, of those bike shop people riding all the stuff, and media people, such as yourselves- Right... uh, riding things, uh, what's new, what's cool. Uh, and we do this in Boulder City, Nevada.
4:55
And, uh, at Surly, we bring a bunch of bikes, and people get to ride them, and it's great. It's kick-ass. We s- we s- it's hot, and it's miserable, and it's the desert.
5:05
And we, uh, here are all Midwesterners and not accustomed to this sort of lack of, of, uh, of moisture in our air. Uh, but- It was hot out there today...
5:14
it was, and it was hot, and it's hot, and it's windy, and it's weird. But the benefit is that we... I get to see a lot of cool people, bike shop people, uh, people that I've known for a long time.
5:24
And they come, and they get to ride our stuff and give us feedback. And, and so often that feedback is good, and it's fun, and they come back with big grins on their faces and no matter what they rode.
5:35
And it's, "Oh, man, that was fun," and there's people from other countries. Uh, it's... It couldn't be better. And then by the end of the day, as you were talking, as it, as it winds down, uh, it sort of, it sort of...
5:46
We become a, an oasis of the, of the rabble, uh, of the yahoos. And, uh, we have some canned beer from various American macro breweries- [laughs]... [laughs] and, uh, some Mexican.
5:58
And, uh, and, and people sit around, and it's a, it's a great, it's a great time when, when just those people get together and, and, uh, exchange ideas and/or-
6:09
You know, explode mayonnaise packets at each other [laughs] Depending on what happens. There's really a strange thing about that conversation pit. I think we should chart how many chairs are broken every year.
6:20
[laughs] Uh, and the thing that I remember about it is, like, really odd snack choices [laughs] You know, we, uh- At, at the Surly compound... we, we make an effort every year to stop...
6:33
There are two major grocery store, uh, chain locations here in Boulder City. The Vons, which has recently changed to some other name, uh, which we haven't been to this year, but there's also the Albertsons.
6:45
Oh, Albertsons. Uh- Good stuff at Albertsons...
6:47
the, and it's the maxi store, if you will, but, uh, we run in there in the morning since we're always late, uh, and we, we buy a bunch of beer, we buy a bunch of ice, we buy some water, 'cause [laughs] some people drink that.
7:00
[laughs] In the desert. But then, but then it becomes what will people wanna eat? Uh, and when you're in the desert, and it's hot, and you're riding bikes, and people come in, and they, they need a little moment.
7:12
So we'll get a, we'll get a prepared vegetable tray. Mm-hmm. We'll get, uh, today, uh, a first, a bag of- Yes... nine to 12 boiled eggs. Yeah, you tore open a plastic bag and offered me a gelatinous egg.
7:27
[laughs] You know- I just had flashbacks to the pickled eggs in a bar- [laughs]... and some childhood incident. Uh. It wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. It was actually a decent boiled egg, you know, cold.
7:39
Uh, I have not died. And from a chicken, not some sort of exotic- We, one could, one can assume. [laughs] One can assume. All right.
7:47
Uh, but, uh, they also, uh, they have big sandwiches, and I like eating the big sandwich. But it's, it's more important to just sort of be... We play the host. Um, one of my, one of my...
7:56
Again, the, the great thing is all these, all these cool people show up, um, ostensibly because they wanna see the bikes, but I think more because there are other people there, and there's chairs, and there's shade, and there's beer, which never hurts.
8:07
But, uh, I, I wanna be... Uh, one of the things I enjoy is, like, Surly gets to be sort of the, the catalyst for, you know, all these jackasses to get together.
8:18
And, uh, one of my favorite stories of Interbike ever is, God, it was, it might have been eight, 10 years ago. Mm-hmm.
8:24
And we had a much smaller, uh, footprint, if you will, uh, and there were fewer of us, and we had a, uh... This is the indoor, sor- part of the show.
8:32
And I looked over at one point, and, uh, you know, we maybe had eight bikes to show or something like that, and, uh, and a bar, and so people sat at the bar, and we would talk.
8:42
But I looked over and, and, and there was Sheldon Brown- Mm-hmm...
8:45
in, uh, in sadly one of the last few years of his life, but all, but still there and just, and being the Sheldon that he is, and, and a super interesting cat.
8:54
And, uh, and he was sitting there in a, he would had, like, one of those hover-around scooter things. Mm-hmm. That he, he had leg problems, and so he was getting around in one of those.
9:02
So he was s- [laughs] he was in that. Gary Fisher, who was, as always, nattily dressed and leaning, kneeling down and in a really intense conversation.
9:11
And the third member of that conversation was Gene Oberpriller- Oh, man. [laughs]... uh, from One On One Bikes in Minneapolis. And it was just one of those moments. I looked over, I was like, "Damn, get a shot of that."
9:21
Like, it just, you know, these sort of kings of the industry, if you will, or- Indeed... or, you know... And, and it happened at our booth because, you know, that's where those goofballs would end up.
9:31
And so it's, it's sort of still like that, and, and it's new goofballs every year, and some of the same goofballs, and, uh- The resurrection of goofballs- [laughs]... that have died before. It is. It is. We've, we...
9:42
There's a little voodoo that goes on. We do bring- [laughs] There's a lot of bones that are rattled and, uh, and some people are, some, some spirits are conjured. Uh.
9:49
Well, you've been coming to the Interbike a long time before the outdoor demo was even a thing, and we were talking today a little bit about, uh, how it's in Boulder City, which is, like, 30 miles or whatever from Las Vegas.
10:02
Mm-hmm. And it's, and you guys stay out here now, and it's kinda like you're, you know, it's like two separate shows almost. It really is.
10:10
I mean, this is, you know, this is the active, cool part, and there, there are a lot of, there are a lot of, I think, bike companies that have decided to do this and not have a presence at the indoor show.
10:19
And, and, uh, in fact, ours is, is significantly reduced this year on the indoor part, but this is the part, the part that's important to us, you know, getting people to ride.
10:27
Um, I think this is 13th, 14th year, uh, of me doing it, um, for Surly, with Surly, at Surly. Happy anniversary. Thanks. [laughs] Teenager, an awkward, awkward teenager. But, you know, I mean, it was...
10:42
It's, it's been great. Since the, the first year I was here was, yeah, I think we had, uh, one or two 10 by 10 pop-up tents and, you know, six bikes [laughs] and, and, uh, you know, "Hey, you wanna ride our stuff?"
10:54
You know, [laughs] but, but it's, so it's grown from there. I think we have 60 bikes this year, which is weird. Yeah, you have a significant presence. I, I don't know that anybody had more bikes than you. Oh, sure.
11:04
Come on. [laughs] Giant guys, those guys are crazy busy. Took a shot of all those Wednesdays lined up. [laughs] Somebody commented already, "I thought these weren't available until October." They're not.
11:15
[laughs] For the regular folks. I know, Josh. Like, it's the company demo fleet. It is. We, and honestly, those have, those were built six days ago. Yeah. Uh, you know, I mean, it's, they're, they're fresh.
11:27
They, we, we took them out of the truck yesterday and, and, and, uh, put them back together. And honestly, the first ride for any, uh, one of the sizes, I think we had eight or 10 of them, uh, was [laughs]
11:40
could you make... You know, we, you had to check every bolt before it goes out, but there was also the, there was also the, "If something, you know, is wrong with this, please let us know [laughs] because
11:48
we haven't ridden these." [laughs] Lord knows. [laughs] We've, we've had prototypes and things like that, but, you know, these, good luck. You know, you're, thanks for being the guinea pig.
11:57
[laughs] Well, that comment kinda shows, uh, like, how the internet, everybody expects everything to happen right away, and really what Interbike's all about is, is manufacturers and dealers getting together to come up with a plan to get these in front of actual consumers.
12:12
And fat bikes really kinda threw a wrench in that whole schedule of, "Well, I wanna ride it this winter." Yeah. You showed it, so it's a really tight window. It is. And, and, uh, and honestly, you know, sort of-
12:23
I know that, you know, as Surly, we have a bit of a reputation for showing something and maybe it doesn't show up [laughs] for a while. But, uh, but there are reasons for that. And we're...
12:33
And the reasons are, if we're not happy with something, we're not gonna, we're not gonna let it go. If, if there are changes that we think need to be made, we're not gonna put our... If... We really do
12:44
pride ourselves on putting our names on things that work and that are good. And, uh, you know, the Dirt Wizard 29er is the good example of, "Here it is," and then it wasn't for a long time.
12:52
But a tire well worth waiting for- I-... when it got here... I think so, and I think, uh, I, I think it, it was, but it's still...
13:00
It's, it's hard to, you know, field those phone calls of people that are like, "Hey, you promised it." And I... And we did, you know? So it's- Yeah.
13:06
But honestly, despite setbacks like that and, and, uh, we, we are much better at, I think, uh, at having the things, you know, showing things that we're, that we're gonna have and... You know, it's, it's an, it's a...
13:20
You know, not to make excuses, but it's a, it's a crazy process to come up with an idea, "This is the bike we wanna do. Um, what's the timetable for that?" It's m- it's long, it's...
13:30
There's a lot of stuff that goes on, and frankly, the Wednesday is one of the shorter ones that we've done. Uh, I can't say exactly how long it's been, but it's, uh, around a year, which is pretty amazing from-
13:42
Which is fast, yeah... idea to, to having them, and then they should really... The first batch should be available, should be, again, um- Port-... 1st of October, 2nd... port strikes and- Yeah... all that other- Yeah...
13:51
things that throw a wrench in the works notwithstanding. I, I never promise. [laughs] Yeah.
13:55
I've, I've said for a long time, like, you know, if I know that there are certain dates that we know, you know, that, that we're gonna get them, um, but I always say, "You know, there might be sea monsters.
14:05
There might be, you know... A Yellowstone is a great big caldera that someday will explode, and I, I think our rail tracks from Tacoma go near there." [laughs] I don't know. It's... [laughs] We get a little...
14:18
You didn't ask him if he's clairvoyant. [laughs] He didn't specify a date, though. Oh, okay. Well, it's probably a- I was out there-... pretty sure bet...
14:26
this, uh, this summer, and it didn't seem like it was gonna blow this year. Yeah. You never know. But you never know. You never know. You just never know. But, but it is something...
14:34
You know, I mean, we're, we're well aware of, of people wanting our stuff. We are lucky that people look at this and say, "That's something I wanna spend my hard-earned money on."
14:42
We are every day honored by that sort of vibe by people, and we want to... There's nothing [laughs] more than we want to get you the thing that you want. If, if it's from us, that's, that's great.
14:53
We wanna bust our asses to make sure it happens. But, uh, again, I said, if it, if it ain't ready, it ain't going out. Um, and so many things along the way can, can change that.
15:04
We can have a great design, it can be well executed by the people that, uh, that we have manufacture a lot of our stuff, and, and, and still there could... They, they...
15:14
It shows up and there's something about it that isn't... It's, these should've been wider. Uh-huh. They should've been, you know, whatever it is. Uh, it's, it's a...
15:23
And frankly, that side of the business, uh, is a great big mystery to me. [laughs] I'm on the other end. I'm on customer service and sales and all that, and, and so I, uh, I take the, you know...
15:35
People call me and, "I want it." And I say, "I wanna give it to you." And then I call somebody else and say, "Get it done." [laughs] This is all sounding really very too real. It's, uh, it, it all is.
15:48
Let's, uh, let's talk about maybe the wildest thing you've ever seen under the Surly big top there at Outdoor Dirt Demo. Uh- I always call it add the dirt in there. I don't know why. The Dirt Demo.
16:00
[laughs] Um, one of the, one of the things that I, that I despise is, uh, and, and it's, is people hiring, uh, the good-looking talent to show off their stuff. And, and you know, nobody...
16:16
It's not bad to look at somebody who's, who's not hard on the eyes, but I think it's really creepy to, you know, sort of have a, you know, pay for a spokesmodel to come and show your stuff, and we've always...
16:30
We've actually gotten emails [laughs] in the past, you know, "You go to, you go, you must go to Interbike. We'd like to... Here are the headshots of the ladies you can hire to show your stuff."
16:39
And it's creepy, and it's weird because, like, what? Somebody gonna come up to her and ask her- [laughs] How am I getting this business?... the difference between a, a 170 versus 190 millimeter rear end?
16:48
I mean, it's like- Oh, my God... uh, so, so we've, we have eschewed that. Mm-hmm. Um, but one year, uh, there was a certain brake company that, uh, that had hired a, a bikini-clad, very fine-looking woman.
17:04
Uh, I said bikini-clad, which is, like, the oldest thing I've ever said in my life. [laughs] Uh, and she was standing outside of their booth and, you know, sort of with the...
17:13
I can't get this on the radio, but having this, you know, the sort of Vanna White- Vanna White... the Vanna White, two hands out. Yeah. Sure. "Look at this. Like, this is great." And it was a sandstorm.
17:22
Like, it w- there was 45 mile an hour sideways winds with, with just grit everywhere, and she's out there smiling and doing her job and kicking ass- Oh, my gosh...
17:32
in this, uh, hideous, horrible vibe where, you know, people are running from tent to tent [laughs] to, like, just hide from this shit. [laughs] And here's this poor woman in a bikini, like, just getting sandblasted.
17:46
And- Exfoliated... exfoliated. I think it's called. I think she, she was probably extremely smooth after that. So when I say the craziest thing, that, that was horrific. That was... [laughs] We were like...
17:54
So we would, we would sit in our booth going, "Let her go home." [laughs] "Get, get, pay her and let her leave," you know? Like, it was, uh, it was bad news. But I, you know, it's... There, there are things that,
18:07
that occur occasionally. There was, there was one... Again, this is kind of an earlier thing, uh, too. This was the first year we had the Pugsley out there, so it would've been about 10 years ago.
18:17
Um, so it even relates to fat bikes. [laughs] Nice. Hey, bring- Dang... bring it around. Bring it around. Yeah. And, uh, and I was holding- One of the, you know, two Pugs at least we had Mm-hmm...
18:28
and a guy was gonna take it out and, and you know, it- back then it was like, "What does this thing do?
18:33
I," you know, and they come back with these giant grins, and it was hilarious and fun, and people were like, "This is something different." So I'm holding onto the bike,
18:41
and again, we have a tiny little booth and tiny little space, and this guy kind of, you know, looks at, looks at me and, and out of the corner of his mouth says, "I don't know about you guys.
18:51
Surly guys are kind of crazy." You know, and it was just a kind of moment of, "Hey, we're getting the bike for you. Everything's... " "Oh, you Surly guys are a little nuts."
18:58
And I, so I just, I pushed the bike out into the aisle just to ghost ride it, and it would fall down and go bang, bang, bang, and it would be funny. "Oh, yeah, Surly guys, they just let their stuff break."
19:08
And, uh, and instead of going out into the aisle, it went out and took a immediate 180-degree right-hand turn into the booth right next to us. [laughs] Uh-huh. And it was, at the time, Dirty Dog rotors.
19:21
Do you remember those? They, they- Sure, yeah, with the- With designs... with the lizard cutouts and shit. Yep... the lizard cutouts.
19:25
So it was, it was c- it was wooden Christmas trees of rotors, maybe four of them on a table, and they were set up ever so gently and just bam- Just like [laughs]... like the whole thing.
19:36
Everything just went everywhere, and I was like, "Oh my God, I'm so sorry." And I'm like, "Can I get you a beer? I'll help you pick them up. I'll," you know, everything.
19:42
And finally, I get back to the booth, and then I get the bike, and I'm like, "Oh, shit," you know? [laughs] Like, and it just, that was awful. And the guy looks at me and he goes, "That's better."
19:51
[laughs] Oh, that's good. It was like, well, you know, it's that sort of manufactured chicanery that- But you couldn't have planned it... I couldn't have planned it. Well, or did I? Or did you? But I don't know. They...
20:04
And other than that, it's, you know, you know, tents blowing away. Just singing hymns. [laughs] Yeah, we- [laughs]... we join hands every day in a circle, and we say, "Today, Surly employees, this is gonna be the day
20:18
that we make everyone's dreams come true," and we bow our heads, and somebody slips on the Motorhead. [laughs] Turns it on super goddamn loud, and that's it. That's how we start our day.
20:31
It's- And there is a party going on in that tent. [laughs] And you guys do sling those bikes and serve those snacks and pitch those beers, man. It is- It's just a... It's, it's amazing... and do it with a smile.
20:44
Yeah, well, uh, it, again, it's fun. Like, we're, we're putting bikes together for people that do this every day, you know? Mm-hmm.
20:50
It's, it's bike mechanics and people that own bike shops and salespeople at bike shops, and they work their butts off- Yeah...
20:56
you know, 364 days a year, and then they come, and it's, it's nice to be able to turn the tables and say, and give them some of that service that they, you know, help out their customers every day.
21:07
And so it's, it really is, like I said before, it's kind of an honor, and it's, and it's great. We do, we bust our asses. We change a lot of pedals. Like, uh, "What kind of pedals do you like? How do you like...
21:14
Where do you like your seat?" You know Change a lot of flats. Change a... Like, we do. We did have a number of flats today. We have occasionally somebody crashes.
21:21
Somebody crashed today and, and, uh, you know, we gotta kind of find out how he's doing. But, uh, it's, uh, it's, it's really cool. And you get to just...
21:30
So you're putting on whatever pedals that that person likes, uh, and, and then you, that's the moment you get to talk with them. "Where are you from? What, what shop? Oh, I know that shop. Oh, I've been there.
21:38
That's great." Yeah. "You guys are awesome, and thanks for buying this." And, and then they'll say, "Well, I, I really wanna see that Wednesday."
21:43
And then, you know, you just have that, that moment of, you know, it's, you know, it's ev- every person's dream who, who works for a place that sells things to somebody is there's somebody that's interested in it, asking you about it, and you get to, like, you know, I don't know, find out about them and what they want and, and then say, "No, we're not gonna make that."
22:01
[laughs] And, you know A lot of the- [laughs] No unicycles yet, huh? No, not again. [laughs] Again. [laughs] 'Cause we did that- Right... with Dave Gray. I was gonna say, Dave Gray. There's one in Dave Gray's office.
22:13
D- Dave Gray broke himself so bad on w- that unicycle at Dirt Demo one year. He was just riding along and, and put a, and put a gash up his shin that was nine inches long and just open and, uh...
22:25
Eh, just we could super glue that shut. He's got a horrible scar. It's awesome. Unicycling, kids, it's not for the, it's not for the squeamish. Or if you're circus folk, it's Derby at surlybikes.com.
22:39
[laughs] People still call and ask, "Do you guys still have that..." Unicycle was called The Conundrum, and it, we built it because Dave rides those things, and we had the tire.
22:49
That was, we had the Endomorph and we had the Large Marge, and it was that. It used that. And well, we had it. All you gotta do is build a fork around that stuff and, and, uh, and- A seat. [laughs] You don't.
23:00
You just have to make it the right size, and somebody else makes that stuff. All right. Uh, circus folk. And, and people still call and ask for that, and unfortunately, if you're listening, uh, we don't have any more.
23:09
[laughs] Not a, not a one. Dave has a couple, but that's it. Well, thanks for coming on our show. Oh, man. I think that we've pretty much, uh, lost all of our listeners. [laughs] Or all of our listener by now.
23:23
[laughs] It's... You know, if they could see the glory of the, of the, of the El Rancho- It's pretty sweet... I mean, we, there's a half a pizza over there.
23:32
I was just watching some TV while everybody went out for some food. And then there is a- One of, one of the all-time best movies. Oh. Tombstone. Tombstone. Yeah. Yeah. And then I wish I had a Tombstone.
23:41
One of the all-time worst pizzas. Tombstone. Tombstone. [laughs] Oh, I was thinking of another joke and I didn't have it. Something about me died. I don't know. [laughs] All right. Oh. And, uh- [laughs] Thanks, guys.
23:56
Thanks a lot for being on the show, man. I, uh... It's my pleasure. Well, there you have it, sage words from Sav.
24:04
Let's take a break, and when we come back, we will reveal next week's call-in question, check in with the Fatty Farm Field Report, and hip you to some links. Y'all come back now, ya. You're tuned to Fat Bike Radio.
24:22
And we are back. Gomez, what is next week's call-in question? Next week's call-in question is, what was your favorite product from our Interbike coverage? Could even be somebody else's Interbike coverage. Sure.
24:38
What was the best thing you saw? Fat bike, though, not- Fat bike, yeah. And I just- And, and, our fat bike lifestyle. Right. And it can't be the offensive socks that you saw on the internet. That would be bad.
24:50
That would be bad. Well, call in next week, Wednesday, from 8:00 to 9:00 PM Central Daylight Standard Time. We'll be back in the studio, and you can reach us at 818-918-2453. Let's talk Interbike next week- Yeah...
25:07
with our listeners. What was that band in Purple Rain that Prince was not in? What was the, like, rival band? With, like, the valet guy in it? Yeah, I like the valet guy. Morris Day and the motherfucking Time.
25:21
You know what time it is? [laughs] What time is it? It's time for The Fatty Farm Field Report. I'll bet you heard that. Bet you. This week's Fatty Farm Field Report is sponsored by Uncle Dick's Bead Slip.
25:37
Check Uncle Dick out at uncledicksbikeshop.com. Well, like we promised, and/or threatened, I think we were going to talk about the bikes that we rode at the outdoor demo here at Interbike. Yeah. That seems so long ago.
25:51
It does. That 100-degree heat made me hallucinate. Yeah, first day, 100 degrees. Had no idea what we were doing. I was like, "What's going on here?" So- Well, first of all, thanks to, uh, our man Chris. He talked to us.
26:06
He had come up with this great idea to put Sven and I on a Santana tandem and take a shot of us riding it, so we got to ride that. That was pretty cool. Yeah.
26:16
I had not been on the back of a tandem in years, and very rarely on the front, even. We dominated that thing, man. We dominated that tandem. I do remember saying, "How good are the brakes on this thing?"
26:27
[laughs] The rotors, the rotors looked like 205s or, it was huge. Bigger than that. Those things were humongous. They're huge. I would say they were, like, 600s. [laughs] It rolled real nice. Big five-inch tires. Yep.
26:39
Yeah, they've been working hard on it. I know they're going through some, uh, tuning iterations on it, but they're pretty much ready to start selling these things. Yeah, I would say so- And-... as Santana knows tandems.
26:49
Yeah, and they were kinda talking, you know, a well-equipped, not mental, you know, super high-end stuff, but could probably be had ready to ride for around five grand. Mm. You know, that's- Yeah...
26:59
for a handmade tandem, I'm telling you what, that sounds pretty fair to me. 'Merica. Made in America, too. Check out those guys at Santana. They, like, make good tandems. Yeah.
27:08
I like Santana, that whole- He's playing in town this week. [laughs] I know, Santana. [laughs] He's playing on his tandem. Well, I, uh, I rode the Borealis Crestone, and, uh- Carbon fiber Crestone... right- Yeah...
27:21
with the new carbon Reynolds wheel set, and man, I like that. That is right up my alley. Just a little more trail-tuned than the fat bike, but not quite as, um...
27:37
We- I guess we decided to call it moto, the short stem, wide bars, uh, slack head angle, coupled now with short chainstays. It's the Trail GO. Yeah. We'll s- just gonna call it fat moto.
27:51
So this is- I think this is between- This is like, like, the Yasso is really long- Yeah. Yeah... and stable and great for long distances on soft stuff, but this was... I didn't get to ride the Crestone. I rode the Flume.
28:01
Mm-hmm. We'll get to that in a minute, but, uh, uh- Yeah... so kind of in, in between. I'm hoping to get that bike- Even more... uh, in our test rotation for both dirt and snow evaluation.
28:13
I think that that is gonna be a rocking machine. Right on. Yeah, I, I rode the Flume from Borealis, and I f- I thought it felt pretty good.
28:21
It's not the same geometry quite as the Crestone, uh, as, as far as from what I understand talking to them. Right. Limited time on it. It is a little bit more of one of those middle ground bikes.
28:31
I think it's, it's, uh, you know, it can have five-inch tires on it, and it can, because of that, do pretty well in the flotation department just because of the size of the tires.
28:41
And then the geometry is tuned a little more towards having fun on the trails than a true, like, long-distance snow bike. Gotcha. Yeah. You got to ride the Skookum. Yeah. Not everybody got to ride it.
28:53
[laughs] I went to take- You, Pat Smage, who else? [laughs] Oh, yeah. [laughs] Right, that he, he followed my act. [laughs] Um, well, yeah, I took it to take pictures of it.
29:03
Just sort of said, "I'm taking this to take pictures," and they're like, "Oh, okay." Once I was kinda out there, I just like, "Oh, I'll just take a quick lap on it." [laughs] They led it out with pedals.
29:11
That was their big mistake. Yeah, that was their mistake. They shouldn't give me- "You took your bike with pedals. Well, I'm gonna ride it just a little."
29:17
Yeah, so I just went on the r- the short loop, but, uh, it was enough to tell me right away that it is definitely a mountain bike. Mm-hmm. It is not a...
29:27
I mean, it does have the big tires, and again, you'll get that flotation, but this is towards the more kind of aggressive riding end of the spectrum.
29:35
And, you know, Fuzzy John and, and, and a couple of the other guys up there are a little more into the, you know, trail riding, and, and Greg and some of the other more, you know, uh, senior fellows there are more into the long distance stuff.
29:47
So those guys get to collaborate a lot on what makes for a good, a good bike. They already have the, uh, the Corvus, which is that bit longer snow bike made to carry packs and gear.
30:01
So it m- only makes sense that their new bikes are- Fun. Yeah, more- [laughs] Not that that's not fun- More, and, and, and also I think that they're
30:11
looking for that four-season fat bike that, that seems to be now accepted, you know? Yep. People are riding these things year-round. You bet.
30:20
And I rode a Fatback Rhino, and I would have to say the same thing, that they said that the geometry was just slightly different between the two, but I think that that is a short stem, wide bar moto-...
30:33
trail bike, four season fat bike. Yep Certainly could be ridden on snow, but it is the new generation of fat bikes that are coming out in the last two seasons. Yeah.
30:44
I definitely think that people that are going to ride the long distance races and do exploration in the winter out of, um, you know, more prepared areas, not bad to have two fat bikes [laughs] in your quiver. Absolutely.
30:58
You know? Just go ahead and, uh... I already do. I use a Beach snow bike and I have a trail bike, 'cause they're two different things. Sure, sure, sure. Just rub that in. [laughs] Multiple fat bike owner.
31:10
I, I, I make it all work, man. I, I like my, my slacked out, more touring geometry, the old-school fat bike geometry on my fat back. Um- The f- you... The final one that you're gonna talk about is the Ritchie Commando.
31:28
Ritchie Commando, which I loved [laughs] that bike because it really reminded me of my Moonlander and a more traditional fat bike geometry.
31:42
I loved that bike, and I can't wait to get my hands on that and do some trail riding on it when, uh, when we get it to, to test. Be very good. It looks cool. I like the... It's just that classic Ritchie steel, too.
31:57
Mm-hmm.
31:57
But if you check out the video we'll either have had up or will have up shortly, Shawn from Ritchie talks something about the tubes and how much that's really Tom's forte, to make those tubes really sing on a steel bike, so- Yeah...
32:11
be cool to check that out. We'll have to see, uh, how it rides, so- We should get that pretty soon, actually. Yeah, absolutely. All right. Good stuff to ride there at the Outdoor Dirt Demo.
32:20
Let's take a, a look at this week's call-in question. What do you like in your flask on a cold winter ride? You know, I'm gonna answer hot tea. Constant Comments tea. Hot tea?
32:36
It would be more of a thermos, but I have an insulated water bottle that keeps things piping hot, and it's really nice. Doesn't that surprise you, sports fans? Surprises me. [laughs] I mean, I don't...
32:48
Yeah, 'cause I usually just carry water on rides when I'm out in the cold, but I do carry a flask once in a while. It usually has Bulleit Bourbon in it. Oh, good choice. Yep.
32:57
So we had some people call in while we were tromping around in Las Vegas and left us messages. First one up is, uh- Hey, Gomez. It's Evan. I forgot to call you guys yesterday.
33:10
I do apologize, but I did wanna answer the question of the week, and I have my flask with me, and inside of it currently... [dog barks] No, I do not have any.
33:26
Inside of it is Knob Creek Smoked Maple. It's delicious and it is fantastic in the winter months. Not so much in the summer, but more so in the winter. So that's my vote.
33:44
Let the people know. [dog barks] Damn it, dude. I'm on the phone. All righty. Talk to you soon. Over and out. Right on, Evan. Thanks for calling in.
34:02
We can always take those calls 24 hours a day at 818-918-2453 if you wanna leave Sven and Gomez a message. Next up, we had Old Bear give us a shout and let's hear what he had to say. Hi, Sven and Gomez.
34:16
I know you're out there in Nevada, out there in Lost Wages, but, uh, I wanna let you know this is Old Bear and r- I'm really enjoying your coverage of Interbike.
34:26
Now, if you want response to your question of the week, I'll give you a quick response. It's this: I don't own a flask right now, but if I did, I'd probably put...
34:39
If I was drinking again, I'd probably put Bushnell's Whiskey in it 'cause I like the taste of it. But as I said, I don't own a flask right now and, uh, I don't know if I really need one at this point, but [laughs]
34:55
it's a good thing. Keep on giving us good coverage from out there, guys. It's really neat. I like, I like that new, uh, Wednesday bike. It's kind of interesting. Okay, thanks.
35:08
Well, it's always great to hear from Old Bear. [laughs] Good to hear his voice. Next up, we have a message from our man Gunny Rose out in... Gunnyson. Gunnyson. Hello, Fat Bike guys.
35:25
Uh, Alan Rose here in Gunnison, Colorado. I just wanted to say hey, thanks for putting that, uh, photo I took of that red Buck Saw up at Hartman Rocks. Appreciate it.
35:36
And I was gonna answer your question, my favorite flask contents. One third Triple Orange, two thirds brandy. Good all winter long. And, uh, keep on going. Thank y'all. All right. Thanks a lot, Gunny. Call anytime.
35:55
Uh, yeah, we're lost. Um, give me a call back. That's okay, Dave. We'll tell you what's up. It's time for links. Fat Bike links. Fat Bike links. We're going to, uh, we're gonna put the links in there.
36:11
[laughs] Yeah, there'll be some links. We've, uh, we're getting to this thing a little earlier in the week. Uh, we do wanna remind people that, uh, the first printing deadline is coming up for the Yeti Von Evil T-shirts.
36:25
So go to the store, get on the list. You got till the 21st, whatever that is. Actually, you got till the 20th, Sunday.
36:34
We'll put the order in on Monday, they'll get printed up next week, and they'll go out the following Monday-ish But, uh, I've already contacted the people that ordered and said it's kind of a flexible timeframe. Cool.
36:47
People are cool with it. They know what's up. It's very clearly stated. Buy a shirt or something. Yeah. Buy yourself a stocking stuffer or a, a, I don't know, an autumnal equinox present for all you pagans out there.
37:03
[laughs] Pagan fat bikers. Hoot. I think there was a few of those here in Vegas. I know we'll have a, uh, couple of stories f- on the Plusbike side over there from Plusbike stuff at the Interbikes. Yeah. Chris from, uh,
37:17
Plusbikes has been plugging away there. Plugging away. You gotta check out the Plusbikes Instagram, 'cause Chris loves that Instagram. He likes making the Instagram pictures. He does.
37:30
Thanks again to Surly for sponsoring the radio portion of today's broadcast. Be sure to stop by the fatbike.com gift shop on our Face... Oh, that's your thing. [laughs] You were rocking right into it, though. Yeah.
37:43
So yeah, once again, our gift shop is open. Step on in. We have pins. We have, like, these cool little rock and roll pins that you could put on, uh, I don't know, on your book bag, your- Yeah, rock and roll.
37:56
What- Your cycling cap. It's, like, punk rock stuff. Punk rock. So, uh, like, everybody likes- Patches. We got patches still. Yeah.
38:04
And, uh, join us next week where the question of the week will be, what was your favorite thing from our coverage at Interbike last week? Call 818-918-2453.
38:17
You can call that number anytime, day or night, and leave us a message. Hope you're having a great week. Get out and ride your bike. Viva Las Vegas. Baby.
38:26
[upbeat 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.
38:42
[upbeat music]
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