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Full Spectrum Cycling
Weekly Dose of Fat – Show # 104 – Jeff Gilmore from Beaver Sports in Fairbanks and Handlebar Talk With Callers
Jun 10, 2016
Weekly Dose of Fat – Show # 104 – Jeff Gilmore from Beaver Sports in Fairbanks and Handlebar Talk With Callers
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Transcript
0:00
First of all, are you ready to enter Pretend Land? [laughs] I think so. Make ready, brother. It's a magical place with little frogs and little top hats on. Do I have to wear pants?
0:11
The occasional dose of fat, show number 104 for June 10th, 2016.
0:20
[upbeat music] And here it comes.
0:36
It's the beginning of the 104th show of the interwebs most exciting hour of fat bike content and prizes, the occasional dose of fat. Sven and Gomez, come on down. Thanks, Rod Lengthy. It's good to be here.
0:54
We interrupt this program with an announcement from the Bush family. This just in, got a machine head green thread. [laughs] That was Van Bush. Bush. Van of the Bush family. You mean the painters?
1:12
[laughs] Now known as Bush. [laughs] No, he has a machine head- Yeah... better than the rest. Got a machine head better than the rest. They were painters. That's what they did when they weren't rock stars. No, he was...
1:23
Yeah. Well. Oh. No, they, uh [laughs] What? We're gonna go to my conspiracy theory- [laughs] Blow to blow show... [laughs] conspiracy theorist rant here now.
1:35
And to my right is our color man who is under a left-eyed gypsy curse, JK Livid. Hello, everyone. [laughs] It sounded like JK Livid before. [laughs] Oh, yeah. [laughs] No shit.
1:50
Hey, the weekly dose- And another thing, [laughs] Kelly... the weekly dose of fat is brought to you by the Surly Pugsley. Yeah, that's right, boys and girls, I said it, Surly Pugsley. Learn more about bikes and freedom.
2:07
At surlybikes.com. Hey, how about that new gnome dance party groove from our music director, Mr. Chris Daisy of Zion Cyclery? Dude.
2:17
We'll put up a, an un-ducked version of that after the show so you can, uh, dance to the groove. Chick bow. Hey. What's on the show this week, JK? This week, JK? Why do we have to be the girls?
2:32
Why can't we get real girls? [laughs] I don't know, man. [laughs] Why can't we get a real girl? [laughs] I'm Ron Burgundy, me, right now. [laughs] We start off the show [laughs] with the event of the week.
2:45
We welcome Team Fatback's true secret weapon, ace mechanic Jeff Gilmore to the program this evening. Jeff. We check in with the Fatty Farm field report brought to you by Quiring Cycles.
2:58
The Quiring Triple B is the fattest ride on two wheels, featuring a new generation of 5.05-inch tires. Visit quiring.net to see the next level of bicycle exploration. Exploration.
3:14
We'll take calls from our listener. Third time he calls will receive a Surly Rally sport package, plus every caller gets a sample of Cabarrus butter.
3:27
We talk about handlebars and how to properly tune your bar for the ultimate shred ability, plus they make a great elk bugle. [bugle sounds] Specialized.
3:43
And in this evening's special segment, After Hours- [laughs]... we share some comedy direct from the open mic at the Cabarrus Lounge. Well, it's time for the, uh, freaking event of the week.
3:57
Hey, how about that 24 Hours of Kincaid presented by Speedway Cycles up there in Anchorage, Saturday, June 18th and 19th, part of the Arctic MTB series.
4:08
Can you imagine the splendor, the, the almost 24 hours of daylight, the, the walrus, the narwhal, the killer whale? The elk horn. [laughs] Right there in Kincaid Park.
4:23
A lot of people don't know, well, everyone in Anchorage knows, but all us, all us locals down here in America have no idea. Anchorage- The lower. We're in the lower. [laughs] I know. They call it America.
4:39
[laughs] That was me shrugging. It's like- That was my radio shrug noise. [laughs] The original America. 'Merica.
4:50
So yeah, we will have a link in there on the show notes, and that's our friends from Speedway Cycles, of course, the folks that bring you Fatback bicycles. Yeah, so, uh, cheers, boys. [bell rings] Let's top it up.
5:02
Cheers. Top of the hill. Uh, it's time. We got a pinner, a peeper, and a- Some blue water A blue water. [laughs] Some water that probably comes out of some polluted river. It's filtered. Cheers, boys. Cheers.
5:18
Yes, I hope it's not blue. Unless it tastes like Blue Moon. Mm-hmm. Or raspberry. Ah, it's quite wet. Like a- So- Like a melted blue raspberry... tomorrow, tomorrow night, Clutch concert.
5:31
Oh, yes, or for the who's at home, last night. Oh, yeah, right. [laughs] Oh, yeah, we're doing that, uh, time warp thing again. [laughs] Thursday, yeah, tomorrow, uh, was yesterday. We'll have the same thing.
5:45
We'll, we'll deja vu back to the time warp later in the show when we talk about, uh, the, uh... [laughs] [imitates buzzer] That's all, folks. The test- We'll hit warp...
5:59
the test pilot's talking about, oh, yeah, well, yesterday. Well, tomorrow we're going to have a story that is actually yesterday in the time warp It, yeah, it's too complex to talk about [laughs] No, it's just a-
6:13
We record-... jump to the left. Right. Move to the right. [laughs] And a pelvic thrust. Oh, that's- It really drives him insane. Yeah.
6:25
Hey, how about we, uh, we end this fabulous beverage sess- sess- sessional [laughs]... and, uh, take a break here, boys. Hey, when we come back we'll have our special guest, Mr. Jeff Gilmore. From the planet Love Tron.
6:42
Amigos, they'll be suscoras. Let me introduce you to the secret of los gachos de las pampas de Argentina, capebara buta. Rich with all naturally emollients harvested from the giant capebara grandes.
7:01
In just one week your gushes will chug muy bien. You can find capebara buta in bodegas or the quiz strips in your town or village. You are once again listening to Fat Bike Radio [echoes]. Hey, everybody. We're back.
7:19
We've invited Jeff Gilmore to join us as our special guest because, uh, Jeff is the real life bicycle mechanic that has witnessed Fat Bike's dynasty of Iditarod Trail invitational champion rides from the inside out.
7:33
Welcome to the show, jefe. [laughs] Thanks, fellas. That's awesome. Yeah. So, uh, so Jeff, maybe first tell our, our listener, uh, where you wrench and a bit about the shop you work at. Sure. Let's see.
7:48
I work at, uh, Beaver Sports here in Fairbanks, Alaska. I've been here for 18 years, which is a long time obviously, and we literally work on everything, which is, uh, kind of interesting in the summer.
8:02
So motorcycle wheels, people want us to build motorcycle wheels to, uh- [laughs]... uh, recumbents and Walmart bikes and, and then we get nice bikes in, too, which is actually a treat. Uh- Recumbent motorcycle?
8:14
You adjust it. [laughs] Yeah, right? No doubt. I'm like, "Whoa." Right? I think I got to, I got to reserve that domain name. It is a change. Recumbentmotorcycle.com. Oh. Yeah. [laughs] Beaver Sports.
8:25
They're probably out there. Yeah. Our, uh, our man Kevin, uh, Breidenbach used to work there, right? He did, yeah. I just seen him yesterday, actually. He was in the shop for a minute, too, so. Wow. Yep.
8:37
A Kevin sighting. Oh. So, uh, your- A Kevin sighting... your clientele are a who's who of fat bike royalty, Jeff Foley, John Lackey, Kevin Breidenbach, Heather Best. Uh, do you work on, uh,
8:52
on, uh, Tim's bike, Tim Berenson? No, I've never had to... I'd like to work on Tim's bike, but I haven't, no. But I've seen it [laughs]. Yeah. Did you ever work on Pete Passengier's bike back in the day? No, I never did.
9:06
I, I've met him a couple times, but I never got the chance to, to work on his bike. He and Jeff Foley were pretty good homies and they raced and trained together a lot, so. He's like the Batman- Nice guys...
9:17
of fat bike racing. A Batman. Yeah. He's, he's, he was a badass dude, yeah. Yeah? He's on- Foley said he was really good at being cold. Sorry.
9:26
He's really good at being cold and really good at walking [laughs] which back then, you know. [laughs] That's a big deal. Those, some of those guys would walk like 170 miles for, in like the ITI, which is just crazy.
9:38
Yeah. You know? Back, you know, back when we used to get a lot of snow, it was just unreal. Back in the good old days- Yeah... when you could walk the whole thing. Yeah, I know, right? Right on, man. Going for a walk.
9:49
So, you know, you've worked on- Yeah... you worked on all these guys' bikes. What, uh, what special preparations do you perform to make a, a bike, you know, race ready for the ITI? Uh, well, let's see.
10:01
I just go through everything, you know, like taking wheels apart, taking hubs apart, uh, re-winterizing stuff, cleaning stuff out really well,
10:10
and just checking on, you know, put a wrench to everything, check on everything. Winter- re-winterize the bottom bracket, the headset.
10:16
Anything that's got a bearing, I'll take apart and soak it and, uh, let it dry really well and, uh, then put it back together.
10:24
So that's kind of what I- What do you, what do you use for, uh, for the winterizing process when you put it back together? Is it the mer- Like, like what grease I use? Yeah.
10:31
What type of, what type of grease really works in the cold up there? Well, sure. It's a really, uh, thin cold weather grease. It's called Mag 1, and, uh, it's rated to like 60 below or 65 below, so it's, it's, uh,
10:45
it does the trick. It's really, really thin. You don't have to use a lot even if it, you know, it's cold. You don't need anything that's, uh, that sheds water, you know, like you do if it was the summertime. Right.
10:55
So, uh- So dry... it rolls really well in the cold. Yeah, and air dry. Yeah, exactly, so. You could have told us that- It took a long time to figure that out...
11:02
you could have told us that you use like muskox blubber or- Wait, I think I see a muskox. [laughs] [imitates motor] You need some more lube. There goes one. Oh, my. [laughs] That got awkward quick, but that's cool.
11:17
[laughs] Those, those things are, those things are super sexy, but, uh, that's just me. Yeah, dude, they smell amazing. You can smell them. Yeah. Oh, my God. I guess that's why they have that name. Yeah, they smell.
11:28
They got a little... Yeah. Musk. Yeah, I know. It's pretty, uh, it's pretty impressive. So I'm fond of bringing beer to my bike shop guy 'cause he's a boozer. Nice. And, uh- Yeah...
11:39
to show my appreciation when I bring stuff in there and he makes, he fixes my mistakes [laughs]. [laughs] So, uh, what's the- Right... what's the best tip that a customer has ever gotten you, rockstar bike mechanic?
11:54
Oh, I don't know. Well, I had somebody bring me a beer this morning. I worked on a [laughs] a really fun guy, uh, bike this morning, ex-Navy SEALs guy and brought in beer for us at like 10:00 AM.
12:05
I was like, "Wow, all right. That's cool." [laughs] But we've seen everything, you know, all kinds of treats and goodies, brownies and cookies and- Some people will throw a few bucks, you know, as a tip, which is cool.
12:17
Right on. So, uh, yeah. I, I w- when I read that question, I totally missed the point of it, 'cause I was thinking maybe a customer gave him a tip on how to work on a bike better or something, not [laughs] No, no, no.
12:28
That would be cool. Not give... Now I get it, though. Now it makes- I was hoping he was gonna say, like- It makes way more sense now... "Somebody brought me a live wolverine," or something.
12:35
[laughs] Exactly, and a big hammer. Exactly. [laughs] That's how you fix things. [laughs] Exactly. That's awesome. So what was the weirdest tip you ever got? Oh, gosh, I don't know.
12:49
I've never had anything, you know, weird, like uncomfortable. Nothing from, like, an adult store or something. [laughs] Yeah. Like, "Whoa, dude, do you really want me to use this?
13:00
That looks like that's gonna be painful." [laughs] No, I haven't gotten anything like that, so [laughs] but thanks. Well, there's al- Yeah... there's always a first time.
13:09
It would be really weird- You can always mail stuff... to, uh, like, give the shirt right off of your back, come in after a ride all sweaty- Oh, that'd be-... and then with just bibs on- Nice...
13:19
and then just hang around in the shop with just the bibs on. Just your bibs on and all your man stuff hanging out? That's fantastic. [laughs] Sure, I'll put your shirt on. That's cool.
13:30
Uh, it's a little weird and cold, but that's cool, yeah. [laughs] So, uh, will you, uh... What do you think about, uh, chairing the telethon for the, uh, Sutton Gomez to Fairbanks for the White Mountain...
13:43
Well, might, might- Mountain thing. White Mountains 100. That's, that's Maui Wowie talking there, folks. We could, we could, uh, we could auction off something. Uh. You, you just wanna go visit Fairbanks. Yeah.
13:57
That's the whole point of this point. You could come up in the spring. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, that would be killer. You, you would have a lot of fun. We've got really cool
14:05
trails like 20 seconds from the store that we could hop on and ride on, which is awesome. So we'll get you up here for the Whites. Plus, it's just cool being around all those badasses. It's just neat. Oh, yeah.
14:17
Yeah, The Whites Base, is that basically the last race, kind of, of the winter season? Yeah, I guess so. Yeah, it is. And so, uh, yeah. And March is el primo weather, right? Yeah, yeah.
14:31
Yeah, it's usually pretty nice, dude. The trails are just super set up, and they're usually fast, which is awesome. So you feel kind of like a rockstar rider. Yeah, it's just awesome.
14:40
Down, down here, March comes in like, like a lion and out like a lamb, but in Ala- Oh... Alaska, March is, comes in like a crustacean and leaves- Oh, good... like a crustacean. Yeah. No, it's beautiful.
14:57
The trails get really set up, 'cause it freeze, it freezes and thaws, you know, so it'll freeze at night and thaw during the day. And in the morning, the trails are just like a sidewalk.
15:06
It's like, "I should be riding this easy." [laughs] In the morning. Nice. [laughs] On the trail. Yeah, it's freaking cool. So do- It's cool 'cause we work for it all winter, too, though, you know, so. Oh, yeah.
15:19
We ride real slow in the trails till they get set up, and they get set up and get set up, and the next thing you know, you're kinda hauling ass. That's really cool.
15:26
Next thing you know, old Judd's a millionaire, is what I like to say. You never know. [laughs] Move to Beverly is what I heard.
15:33
[laughs] You know, uh, ear- earlier in the show, you said you'd been at, uh, Beaver Sports for 18 years. Are you a, are you a lifetime Alaska resident? Yeah.
15:41
Or did you migrate up there from, from the lower 48 or somewhere else? Uh, I moved up here when I was pretty little, so I've been up here, God, I don't even know, almost 40 years probably. So I'm more or less a [laughs]
15:55
lifetime resident, you know, so. Right on. Been here for a while. Yeah. And now your s- your son is actually wrenching with you, right? Yeah, my son. Taco, they call him. He works right next to me.
16:07
We've worked almost five years together, which is pretty cool. Oh. Is that, is that what he does to wheels, or what? How'd he get the name? I don't... Well, 'cause he likes tacos, so like- [laughs] Oh, it's just literal.
16:18
That's [laughs]... he's like, "Free tacos?" Literally, yeah. Right on. Dude, down here, if we called everybody that likes tacos Taco, like, it'd be like- Yeah... 75% tacos, 'cause we, we love tacos. Right.
16:30
Oh, we got such a good place right down the street from us here that is one of the best in the city. It's true. You can't get seal tacos or caribou tacos there, though. No. True. Tilapia tacos, though. No.
16:42
That's unfortunate. That's cool. Yep. I think tacos are good, too, but that's just my opinion. [laughs] Right on. So Jeff- Yeah, sorry.
16:50
If there's one bit of advice that you could pass along to someone looking to, uh, upgrade their current fatty, like, you know, uh, what do you think the best bang for the buck is on an upgrade?
17:00
Uh, well, save your money and get, buy something that's, you know, that's worth buying. A lot of people buy, you know, cheaper, cheaper, uh, fat bikes 'cause they're cheap, obviously.
17:11
But, you know, you can get a lot of bike now for about two grand, you know, I think. So I think- Two thou... the best bang for the buck on the market is a, well, the Fatback Rhino is what we carry. Yeah.
17:22
Uh, and I think that's just a really solid bike for the money. So you buy your Fatbike Rhino for $2,000, and you got money burning in your pocket. You wanna buy yourself something purty. What do you buy? I would...
17:35
Well, I'd probably... It, it comes suspension corrected, too, so you just put a Bluto on the front of it. Now you've got kind of a super kickass mountain bike, you know? Oh, crap. That's, that's what I'm... Bluto.
17:46
I'd, I'd never thought he'd go that direction. [laughs] I know. It's true. Jeff. You know? Would you- Do it. Everything I know... would you put, would you put anything plastic on your mountain bike, like, uh- Sure...
17:58
carbon, carbon handlebars, or carbon wheels, or carbon seat post, or- Oh... carbon spokes even, maybe? I don't know. Yeah, uh, carbon spokes on me.
18:07
But both of my, most of my bikes have carbon all that stuff that you just said, so. Yep. We just got a- That's what I like. Yeah... for a buddy, we just got an ENVE, uh, carbon handlebar. Boy, they're pretty sweet, man.
18:20
Mm-hmm. I gotta tell you They make nice stuff too, yeah... Oh, it's so nice They, they make nice seat posts too, yeah. They make really nice stuff I don't, I, I'm not sure if it sounds like this, [bike honks]
18:30
or if it sounds different. [laughs] But we should go get it and try it out. We should.
18:33
[laughs] That's a, that's a, that's a, that's a stock specialized, uh, bulged handlebar from, I think, a Fat Bi or something The custom bars and guards had a different sound to it. Oh, true that, yeah. Yeah.
18:43
That's awesome. We've, we're, we're having a big handlebar and grip discussion later, uh, focus group and, uh, I don't know Focus group... I don't know what we're gonna do. We're gonna talk and stuff about bikes. Nice.
18:58
So, uh, [clears throat] thanks for coming on the show and stuff. You, uh- Yeah, thanks for having me, fellas. [laughs] It's cool. You just wanna have a... Let, let me just ask one more question is, like- Do it...
19:10
who- [laughs]... out of the last, out of the last, well, let's just say out of the Fairbanks crew, so like you- Yeah... Oatley, Tupper, um- Mm-hmm...
19:24
any of the other fast cats up there, uh, who do you think is the best dancer? Oh, God, I don't know. I'd like to see Jeff Oatley dance, 'cause he's pretty fun. So I'd put my money on Oatley, but that's just me.
19:38
[laughs] Yeah, if you want somebody to dance for, like, 36 days straight [laughs] Oh, he could do that, dude. He'd just be sitting there eating and drinking and being, like, getting it through, I promise you. I know.
19:49
He's got that dialed. [laughs] That's awesome. [laughs] Well, all right. Sweet. Thanks for coming on the program, Jeff. Right on. You the man. Thanks, guys.
19:59
Thanks for hanging out through the technical difficulties earlier. Thanks. Yeah, Jeff and I are working on a- No, that was fun... on the unauthorized biography of, uh, of Greg Manus. It's act- not actually unauthorized.
20:10
Yeah. But, uh, we're- Pretty stoked about that too, though, man. That's, uh- Semi. [laughs] Semi- Semi, semi- semi-authorized? Semi-authorized. [laughs] Al- allegedly authorized. Exactly.
20:20
I can get you some explicit pictures if you want too, so. We're, that's why God, that's why- Just strictly keying. [laughs] That's why God invented Photoshop, my friend. And saunas. Yeah, and saunas.
20:32
[laughs] Those are fun too. That's a whole nother story. [laughs] That's awesome. All right, Jeff. Right on. Thanks for your time, fellas. I appreciate it. Oh, thanks for your time. We're just here being idiots. Yeah.
20:43
You're, you're, you're the star of the show. Yeah, you bet. So thank you for being on. You bet. Yeah, you're our special guest. Have fun, yeah. Yeah, thanks again, guys. Appreciate it. All right, we'll see you. Bye.
20:51
Okay, bye. Bye, Sigel. Hey, that, uh, that there was Mr. Jeff from up, uh, Fairbanks way, and wasn't he a heck of a guest? 'Cause, uh, he made us look good, like most of our guests do.
21:04
[laughs] Uh, why don't we take a break here and, uh, you know, come back later and talk some more about stuff.
21:13
[upbeat music] Chumba USA builds innovative, technically superior bicycles that are race ready, ride driven, and tested to withstand the harshest conditions and tackle the toughest and roughest terrain.
21:27
Learn more about Chumba's American-made Ursa Major at chumbausa.com. [upbeat music] You're tuned to Fat Bike Radio. Hey, welcome back, everybody.
21:45
It looks like it's time for the Fatty Farm Field Report. The Fatty Farm Field Report is brought to you by Quiring Cycles.
21:54
The Quiring Triple B is the fattest ride on two wheels, featuring the new generation of 5.05 inch tires. Visit quiringcycles.net to see the next level of bicycle exploration.
22:11
Right on, JK. Hey, guess what? The, the, the- Chicken butt. Yeah. [laughs] Mm-hmm. The, the switch- It was floating out there too long... the switchboard is lighting up, light, like, lighting up with people.
22:24
Welcome to the radio program. Who do we have on the line? This is Carlson out in Utah. How's it going? Oh, hey, man. Thanks for calling in. What's up? Yeah. I think y- How's it going?
22:38
[laughs] I think yesterday Dustin, [laughs] Dustin weighed in on our, uh, tire report. Really? Yeah. I did. Yeah. See how I went back in- I was down to-... forward and back in time?... a minute that I wasn't riding.
22:48
[laughs] Right on, man. So Dustin, how do you feel about- Well, I've got-... handlebars? Yeah, I've got knowledge on the, on the grips. Now, because of you guys- Yeah...
23:02
uh, I actually got to review the AME heated grips- Right... a month or two ago, and so I can speak to those. You know, and those, they're, they were a little expensive. That's w- what we found.
23:13
In fact, I probably wouldn't have, uh, you know, tried them without, you know, without the help of fatbike.com. Mm-hmm.
23:21
But, uh, after getting them sent out and trying them out, I mean, those things really turned out nice. Hmm. I mean, they worked about as good as could possibly expect, you know?
23:31
They were grips, and they heated up, and they stayed nice and warm, so they did exactly as they advertised. Right on. What, what kind of grips do you use normally?
23:42
Like, if you were gonna go spend your own money, what would you, what would you order? I got those, uh, Oury. I don't even know how to pronounce it, Oury, Oury grips. Uh- I always say Oury, but whatever Yeah, me too.
23:53
I, I'm not sure if it's right, but- I was a Oury grip user... I think I say Oury too. Yeah, I was a Oury grip user for years. Um, uh, c- they're, they're a little bit bigger. They've got a bigger diameter. Yeah.
24:03
Um, they've got that square pattern to them, which- Mm-hmm... I don't know, I kinda like it. I think it looks- Nice soft rubber... cool, you know, for lack of anything else, but, uh, I, I like the diameter bigger.
24:14
Um, so I got a little bit, maybe I've got bigger hands than some of other people or whatever, but, uh, it just feels more comfortable with the bigger, uh, diameter, I believe. Right on.
24:26
I, you know, I like there's some grips out there like, uh, some of the Ergon grips, which they make them in different sizes for different hand sizes. I think that's, that's- I-...
24:34
totally smart, 'cause my hands aren't that big and I do like a little bit tinier grip Yeah, Ergon, and I've been testing these SQlab Ergo grips. They come in three different sizes, and every...
24:46
And they happen to be, uh... I ran them on that Borealis Crestone that we let quite a few people try that bike out. Um, and everyone came back and said, "What grips are those?" So, and they, they really loved them.
25:00
Now they're on Hank, and I don't think they're ever leaving that bike. [laughs] You can't yank it from Hank. [laughs] So, uh, Dustin- Hank...
25:08
on, on your, on your, uh, on your ride, are you still using the stock handlebar or have you changed out the s- the stock handlebar?
25:15
Um, I've, I've got the stocker on there, but, um, I don't know if you guys saw the news that Renthal just went to 35-millimeter cockpits. Yeah, actually just saw that today. Uh, I believe I'm gonna upgrade.
25:28
For the stiffness, is that, you know, just the 35 is gonna give you a, a, a little more control? Or what do you think the actual benefit is gonna be of another freaking bike standard?
25:39
[laughs] Well, uh, you know, I've got 35s on my, my, uh, skinny tire bikes. Mm-hmm. Um, you know, 2.3s or whatever, but, uh, and, and I like it. You know, it, it does feel nice. Uh, you have a lot of control there.
25:52
It's a carbon bar. And then, like I said, I, I've always liked the Renthals. They just look cool, like, you know, for lack of anything else. And just recently went to that, so I thought, "What the hell? Try it out."
26:03
I'm, don't wanna run the stock forever, right? Geez. Right, it, it- You, you gotta, gotta have some, you gotta have some upgrade path on your ride.
26:10
You wanna know what your stock specialized handlebar sounds like as a, as a elgle- elk bugle? Tell me. [horn blaring] Yeah, that's pretty much [laughs] what they sound like. Okay.
26:24
Do you ever take your bars off and just play them like, like a saxophone? [sings] Saxophone. I will now. [laughs] I, I will now, definitely. All right, dude. Well, thanks for weighing in.
26:37
We got a couple other callers on the line. Uh, you wanna hang out? All right. You wanna hang out or you wanna, you wanna split? Uh, hang up on me, but I'll listen. How about that? All right.
26:47
I, I- Just put me on hold or whatever... I can do that somehow. Let's see. Let me push the right button here. Bye. Thanks for calling in. [laughs] See you, Dustin. Thanks, man.
26:55
Now I just have to push another button here. [laughs] At the sound of the bugle. It's Mr. Josh Speich on the radio program now. Josh Speich, I haven't talked to you in forever. Hey, guys. How's it going? Going good.
27:09
You know, it's, it's like the second Josh, uh, well, it's not a sighting, it's a listening, but when I was doing the, the tire story, I found one of, one of Josh's pictures from back in the day that we're gonna use in our tire story for yesterday.
27:20
Nice. [laughs] Which is actually tomorrow. Nice. [laughs] How's it going, man? Pretty good. I'm in Eugene, Oregon, and just trying to get out and explore the local awesome routes that are around here. Yeah, yeah.
27:34
I got my first tattoo in uh, uh, uh, Eugene. Is that a permanent move or just a visit? It's a permanent move for the time being, yeah. Right on. Yeah. I love Oregon. Yeah. Me too. Except for that, uh, Grants Pass area.
27:50
I don't know. I get kinda crazy over there. Really? [laughs] So Josh, you've called to, uh, to tell us what, uh, your thoughts are on handlebar and grips. Lay it on us. Yeah.
28:03
I'm a, I'm not a big technical rider, so mostly I'm looking at my bikes as some sort of tour bikes, so they gotta have some comfort. And years ago, I bought the Originate carbon space bar
28:20
from the local bike shop in Fairbanks, uh, Beaver Sports, when I, I don't know, maybe when I had my Pugsley. Mm-hmm. And- Yeah, we just talked to Jeff up there... yeah. Yeah, we were just talking to Jeff Gilmore.
28:32
Oh, nice. Awesome. Um, and those bars have gone on every single bike I've owned except my Fargo and now my Via. They've bounced around on a handful of bikes, and I absolutely love them.
28:50
Every time I move away from them and I go to maybe a drop bar bike with aluminum bars or a, or a flat bar that's aluminum or even a different carbon bar, I hop back on those space bars and it just feels so freaking comfortable, yet they're wide and it, it still has, like, a flat bar feel.
29:09
They're like a, I think they're 20 degrees sweep- Oh, okay... to them, but they're still wide. And the biggest thing that I notice is how much vibration dampening is in that carbon.
29:20
I don't know, the way that they're woven, um, just specifically, they're, they're so smooth. Yeah.
29:27
Are they- I know a part of it has to do with most of my bikes have had either fat or 29 plus when I've ridden it, but still, like, I, I definitely notice a difference in those bars.
29:37
Yeah, I just, uh, I, I've got the aluminum version of that, um, on, on a, on, not on a fat bike, but on another bike, and I agree with you. I like that s- that kinda, that back sweep for certain kinda stuff.
29:48
I'm just, uh, actually snooping over on [laughs] J&P's website to see if they still have the carbon version, and by cracking they- Uh, the only place that, the only place I've seen it is actually on Amazon.
30:00
It might be other places, but I know that, uh, you can still get it on Amazon. Yeah, it says- I think it's 130 bucks... I g- I got the, I got the privilege of- But it's, it's phenomenal...
30:08
[laughs] being able to look in their inventory and, uh, looks like they may still have a couple in stock. This is actually the distributor of the bar.
30:16
So, uh, I don't know if you- I shouldn't actually be saying this because I wanna buy a few more. [laughs] This is a- See if we can set you up, my man. Yeah. Right? And the, I mean, the aluminum ones- Yeah...
30:24
there's plenty of them, but it, the, the carbon one, I only see- Sure...
30:27
a couple left in stock up there at the old, uh- J&B Importers, they're the distributors, so your local bike shop can get that for you So is that, uh- Cool...
30:36
is that space bar, is that noticeably stiff or, like some carbon bars, is it a little flexy when you get up and honk on it? I- i- it's just got a tiny bit of flex to it, not, not a ton.
30:54
It seems like the weave of the carbon is more about taking up the, the smaller vibrations - Mm-hmm... kinda like a suspension system. Mm.
31:04
You could set it up to take a hard hit, or you could set it up to take, um, you know, all kinds of little vibrations, and it's gonna do better at one or the other.
31:12
It seems like these bars do best with taking up and smoothing out l- uh, like washboard and, like, like really fine, um, vibrations and stuff that you're gonna be riding over. Mm-hmm.
31:25
Which a lot of people feel like titanium is, is the wonder material for that. Yeah, that's not, I, I do have a- Yeah... I got a set of, uh, I think they're from Rotty, uh, uh, from, uh, Groovy Cycles. Oh, okay.
31:42
And, um, they're, the titanium does, it has a similar feel, uh, where it sucks up some of that little small vibrations- Mm... that might rattle your teeth a little bit. Hmm. And do you- Yeah...
31:55
with that 20, with that- And I, I tried the Answer 2020s, and they didn't, they were both not as comfortable as bars. Um, and they didn't seem nearly as vibration dampening.
32:06
They seemed more just like a, the feel of kind of like a stiff, flat carbon bar with not a whole lot of sweep, even though they had the same sweep.
32:15
They just, they just didn't have the same overall control, and it, it, the bend of the bars came out from
32:24
the, um, stem clamp area versus the space bars, the bend is about halfway in between the end of the bar and the center. Ah, okay. So it's right about in the middle.
32:35
And maybe that has something to do with the feel or the vibration dampening or whatever it may be, but I very much like the Originate carbon space bar- Mm, cool. And do-... way more than the Answer 2020...
32:44
do you use, do you use cloth tape then or some sort of padded tape, handlebar tape, as opposed to grips, or do you use grips? I, I use pretty much exclusively Ergon grips. Um,
32:58
I, every time I've run just standard, you know, cylindrical grips, I've had just too much pressure on the hands, like right, you know, obviously right where the, the cylindrical, you know, grip and the bar is.
33:15
And any time I've ridden the Ergons, it's been a very nice, kinda like just putting your hand down on the table and leaning forward type of feel. Yeah, I- And I've never had hand issues with that, and- [laughs]...
33:27
I know a lot of people say, like, "Well, drop bars for touring or for hand comfort," and any time I've run Ergons and these carbon space bars, I have never ever had a problem with hand comfort, and there's never been a need to move my hands off of the grips in any sort of way, shape, or form.
33:47
And I've, I have had problems on both, you know, like wood chippers and, um,
33:55
other drop bars and other flat bars and other grips and all that, but I've never had it with the Ergon and space bar, carbon space bar combo. Ah, cool. All right, man.
34:07
I love, I love the way Ergons make, uh, it, it really makes me feel at home on a bike when, when I can, uh, be comfortable in that. And s- you're right, with cylindrical grips, it seems like
34:20
you have hot spots in, in your hand area. Yeah, and- Yep... well, and, and when you just, like, ride a rig that you don't, you're like, "Oh, I'm just gonna ride this out," and it's like, "Oh, wait. No, I-" Right.
34:32
I get test bikes in- I, I don't have, I don't have this one teched up to niceness and- Yeah... like, no.
34:37
I get test bikes in, and I always ride them stock how they come, and generally, the second ride, they get the Ergons thrown on there. Yep. Yeah. I, yeah. And I think a lot of it all has to do with your intent, too.
34:48
Like, if you're mostly just going out on day rides, you're probably never gonna encounter a problem. Yeah.
34:54
And I'm not trying to tell anybody what to do or anything or, like, you know, something's right and something's wrong at all.
35:00
It's, I, I am just trying to set up my own bike such that if I want to or have to or have the ability to ride really far, no matter what, I'm gonna be comfortable. Yeah.
35:13
And I'm more of a tourer than a technical rider, so having a swept bar is fantastic. It still gives some control when it does get a little techy, not nearly as much as, like, a, a nice wide flat bar- Right. Yeah...
35:26
that's pretty straight. But, you know, I'm always comfortable, and that's, for me, that's really what matters 'cause that's what'll, will allow me to ride far or faster or whatever it may be.
35:38
Yeah, I th- I think you hit a nail on the head there with the intent thing because when I'm doing a beach ride or something that's longer and flatter and I'm gonna be on the bike longer, I love those, the sweepier bars like you're talking about and more of the, um, the, the Ergon.
35:53
I mean, Ergon makes a lot of grips now, so my trail bike has Ergons on, but they're, they're a little more like a round grip, but they still have, uh, an ergonomic shape to them. But I wouldn't be riding that- Yeah...
36:05
particular bike for, you know, four or more hours. I would be riding that for an hour and be done with it probably.
36:12
But, uh, yeah, I think, you know, definitely knowing the intent and, and tuning it for that type of riding is a great idea. Well, cool, man. Yeah, exactly.
36:21
I've got a, I've got a Time Muck Luck that I pretty much have as a tour bike, and then I've got the Carbon Beargrease that's got the Bluto on it, and I can swap fat wheels and 29+ wheels back and forth on both bikes.
36:35
And the Beargrease is totally more of a, you know, race or technical ride, and the Mukluk is obviously the, the dirt tourer. So I wouldn't necessarily put the
36:47
carbon swept bars on the Beargrease even though I have ridden it that way. Um, I, I've mostly ridden it in winter in Alaska that way. Mm-hmm. And that was really nice because,
36:59
especially in the cold, like, if we're gonna talk winter riding, when you take your hands from a flat bar position and you bring them back in just that, a little bit of a swept angle, you have a more natural angle of your hands, wrists, and forearms, so you have better blood flow to your hands, too, which is gonna keep them warmer.
37:18
Hmm. Interesting. That's from a guy that lived in Fairbanks, folks. There you go. [laughs] One of the coldest spots- [laughs]... uh, in the habited, in the, in the habited part of the earth- [laughs]...
37:29
where the peoples are. Yeah. Hey, thanks for calling in, man. We're gonna take a few more calls and, uh, keep rolling through the show. Yeah. Thanks, guys. Good to chat with you. Good to talk to you, Jess. All right.
37:42
Catch you later. Take care. Thanks, man. Dr. James Huber just walked into the operating theater. [laughs] Yeah, yeah. [laughs] So, uh, well- Hey, you had, you had some kind of limerick contest going on.
37:55
You wanna talk about that while, while Mr. Jim is- Well, I forgot to give away, I, I forgot to give away some stuff, so I came up with a limerick contest.
38:03
So, and we had, and several people, several people [laughs] sent this stuff in, and I, I already sent out a bunch of stuff, but then- [laughs]...
38:11
two more people came, and I only have one left, so we have to decide between these two limericks. And, uh, the first one is from Chris Morton from Colorado. And, uh- You want me to do that one, or you wanna- Yeah.
38:25
Oh, you go ahead. Go ahead. All right. I, I gotta get the meter right. [clears throat] Places. For, for the limerick. There was a dude riding his fat Reeb who had been drinking way too much mead.
38:39
He ran a roadblock, he hit a peacock. He said, "Next time, I'll just stick with the weed." [snaps fingers] Or what about, uh, what about Thomas Callahan from, also from Weederado? JK, you wanna give that one a go?
38:55
My OneUp holds onto the fat, nothing light about that. A couple short miles earn us big smiles. OneUp is where it's at. Oh, man.
39:07
That's- There's some serious- [laughs] There's some serious, like, product placement in that limerick. So, uh- I, I don't know... what, what do you think? I, I, I, I think just because I read it, I like the first one.
39:19
Oh, Dr. James Huber- So I read that and I like the second one. [laughs] Dr. James Huber says it's, it's number one. Number one. I think that might've been 'cause it was- No, he has to go potty. Number one.
39:32
[laughs] [laughs] Could have to do, have something to do with peacocks or weed. [laughs] Yeah, or something. [laughs] Or something.
39:42
Hey, you know, so we've been talking about handlebars, and I just gotta give a, a heads-up to David.
39:47
He was the guy that actually kind of wrote in a thing, 'cause we put at the bottom of the show notes, uh, "If you got an idea for a show, let us know what it is," and he said, "Why don't you guys talk about handlebars?"
39:56
So that's kinda what we've been doing.
39:58
And, um, you know, he notices stuff like, like Bruce likes to run with a, with a Jones Loop bar and, you know, there's just people run different bars on their fat bikes for different stuff.
40:08
And, uh, he said he uses the On-One Mary bars, which I know people like those bars a lot, and I think it's similar to that space bar that Josh was talking about. Mary.
40:18
[snaps fingers] I like a 9 or 10-degree sweep, and I like flat bars 'cause I like to run those little Ergons with the little, with the little bar ends on there.
40:28
And I don't, I don't wanna be suffer the ridicule of, of my friends if I w- do riser bars and bar ends.
40:35
[laughs] Well- So, so I'll put spacers [laughs] in there around a flat bar 'cause I like those little things, 'cause when you go, I mean, uh, yeah, uh, it, it helps you climb. I need all the help I can get.
40:49
[laughs] I want coaster, big ape hanger. Yeah. Yeah. Boy, ape hangers. Hanger's fun. Hey, uh, a, a few guys, uh, also called into our, um, m- you know, call-in listener line because they couldn't call in during the show,
41:07
and, uh, we've got, uh, I don't know, we got, like, three different people that called in. Scott Peterson called in, Ricky DeLaos called in, and Colin Ford called in. Fjord.
41:15
So let's, uh, let's, uh, throw those up on the show here, and we'll see what those guys had to say. It's also about handlebars, and, uh, when we come back, we'll do a little linkage. Hey, fellow fat bike fans.
41:29
I'm currently using, uh, Salsa Bend 3 bars on my Trek Farley 9.6.
41:37
Uh, I really like the, uh, 17-degree bend that's on there, and with the double bend in the bar, I was able to stick with the stock stem that came with the Farley.
41:51
I use the same Bend bars on my, uh, 29er as well, and also use, uh, Ergon grips for better comfort. Uh, my Farley's still rigid. I'm thinking about getting the Blue Toe one of these days.
42:10
Doesn't seem necessary for winter use, which is my primary need for the Blue Toe for the, uh, Farley. Um, I do think I have plenty of leverage at about 700 millimeters wide on the bar.
42:27
I don't really want a much wider bar than that. We have too many narrow trees, and, uh, when you get going fast, it limits some of your cornering options near the trees, too. So, uh, 690, 700 is plenty wide for me.
42:43
Okay, thanks. Uh, have a great day, you guys. Hey, Gary, it's Ricky D. from Maryland, and I'm just calling in to let you know about the handlebars and grips that I'm using on my Vertigo fat bike.
42:54
So for years before I got the Vertigo fat bike, I've been riding with the Jones H-bars or the loop bars, maybe since about 2006. Uh, I started off on the Karate Monkey with the Jones bars.
43:12
I later put a couple pairs on my, my Manchester Titanium single speed and pixie. Then in, uh, 2008, I went whole hog. I just went ahead and got a Jones space frame
43:26
replete with the Jones loop bar, and that was pretty cool because it had the, uh, the complete loop around the front. So you can put more gadgets and, um, even a little pack in the front,
43:42
which brings me to my Vertigo fat bike, which I got in 2012. And this time I wanted to try something different.
43:50
I wanted to try a bar that didn't have as much sweep on it, something with a little bit, but not quite as much as the Jones bars' 45 degrees.
43:59
I tried the Mary bars and other bars that didn't have as much sweep, like the Surly Torsion bar. Both of those were good, but they had a little bit more sweep than I wanted still, and they weren't wide enough.
44:14
So I figured I had to do something custom, and that brought me to Seven Cycles up in Massachusetts. I'm familiar with their work, really well-made stuff, and I had a bar from them 10 years prior
44:28
on my first Manchester Titanium 26-inch single speed. I sold it when I got into the swept bar scene, like the Jones and the Mary. So this new bar on the Vertigo is 700 millimeters wide
44:45
with 20-degree bend on both sides. The bar is one diameter throughout, and they use a shim that goes from, was it 22.2 to 31.8 on my Thompson stem. There are many reasons why I love this bar.
45:01
Well, first off, it's American-made. USA. And second off, it's titanium. So it's going to be tough, it's going to be light, and, um, with a little Scotch-Brite, it can always look new.
45:15
Another reason I like the bar is because it is titanium. It flexes a little bit more than some of the other materials out there, or at least the way that these things are built, um, with one diameter all the way through.
45:29
So, uh, it helps take up some of the jarring from hopping around, going through the rock gardens, and, uh, my hands don't get as beat up.
45:39
The grips I've been using for years and years and years and years and years and years since the mid-'90s have been the Ories. Uh, they are still one of the best ones out there, in my opinion.
45:50
But there is a new king now for grips for me, and that new king is the ESIs, the Silicon grips. For me, the ESIs are even softer without being too soft, um, but still absorbing some of the shock.
46:08
But one of the big important things that, uh, it gives me that the Ories didn't is that they don't slip. I have never gotten an ESI grip to slip. So besides the not slipping, uh,
46:24
there are a lot more options with the ESIs. You can get the, the skinny racer boy ones, the medium chunkies, and the, uh, extra chunkies. I started off with the extra chunkies.
46:36
I thought those were a little too thick, so then I went down to the regular chunkies. Those were too thin.
46:43
And then when the, uh, the fit version came out, which is like thicker on the outer edges and then thinner in the middles, those were perfect. My hands don't hurt anymore,
46:56
and I feel like the outer part doesn't slip as much as like when your hands get wet or your gloves get wet. On the Ories, uh, my hands slipped a little bit, but with the ESIs, that just doesn't happen.
47:10
There are a couple of minuses for the ESIs versus the Ories. One is that, um, [laughs] they're not offered in as many colors as the Ories. That could be important for some to match your bike perfectly.
47:24
Um, the other thing is that, uh, they're nowhere near as durable as the Ories. That soft silicone is definitely not a match for the rubber that's used in those Ories.
47:34
I have quite a bit of chunks missing from the ends of my ESI grips after hitting trees or putting it on the ground, purposely or not. So I think that's it.
47:47
Seven titanium custom-made, custom swept, uh, handlebars and ESI Fit XC grips. Day is good, brother. Thank you. Take it easy.
48:04
Hey, it's Colin from Denver. Uh, handlebars that I'm running right now, I'm running, um, some Answer Pro Taper, um, 785 millimeters wide handlebars. They are made of aluminum.
48:20
And the grips I'm running, I'm running some Ergon grips with the tiny little bar ends. They're my roommate's old grips. They're pretty good.
48:30
Only thing I noticed is that when going downhill for extended period of time, it helps to have the grips angled downward so as you're not pounding into your wrists for no reason. Um, yeah, hope y'all are good.
48:44
Uh, enjoy the show. Hey, thanks a lot, guys, for your thoughts. Glad you guys could call in.
48:50
You know, a reminder to all you other people, you can call in anytime, day or night, 818-918-2453, and leave us a message about fat bike stuff. It's not like, you know, we don't need the content.
49:01
You people are the- Fat bikes-... the stars of the show, so give us a call... gnomes or, you know, animal husbandry of, of any sort really. Adult things.
49:12
[laughs] The we- the occasional weekly, monthly dose of fat is a adult explicit rating, so- Yeah, all of ours are always explicit, whether they're explicit or not [laughs] I think I swore right away this time. Probably.
49:28
So we got a few links, obviously, uh, you know, why do we keep putting Bruce's stuff up there? 'Cause Bruce writes awesome shit. Oh, now we're explicit. But, uh, yeah, thanks- Bruce is the man... Bruce.
49:37
Now he's got- Oh, shit's on FX. Yeah, but... Okay. Well, no, they stay shit on AMC and FX, so yeah. All right. It, is it on NBC, ABC, or CBS? So yeah. [laughs] So we got some of the usual suspects in the fat bike links.
49:52
What about those plus bike links, Gomez? Peter Sagan is going to be on, uh, his nation's Olympic MTB. They have one position, and so, you know, Peter Sagan from- Slovakia...
50:08
from the Pro Peloton in road racing, who can, who, who can wheelie and manual. He can ride his road bike up on the cars. Oh, it's gonna be, it's gonna be BA, dude.
50:21
He's gonna- I think he's looking for some Zika virus action. [laughs] Well, maybe. Maybe that's, maybe- 'Cause somebody like Tyler Farrar- Every-...
50:29
or somebody, I don't know if it was him, it was some, uh, US cyclist said they're not going because of the potential for Zika virus. Yeah. Isn't this where, like, the Avengers initiative somewhere? I don't know. What?
50:44
We got a call though, so- All right... keep your thoughts to yourself. Well. [laughs] There's dead air for a second [laughs] Hey, that wa- [laughs] Good, good color commentary, man. Yeah, thanks, man. [laughs] Hey.
50:55
That left a- Hey. Hey, thank you, friend... that left a... [laughs] That left a Gypsy Curse is really fucking with your shit, dude. [laughs] Totally my chi up. [laughs] Hey, welcome to the radio program.
51:06
Who do we have on the line? Uh, this would be Dan Vold. Hi, Dan. Dan Vold. Hi, Dan. [laughs] So you caught us in a, the middle of some, uh, cacophony of chicanery. How you doing?
51:18
[laughs] I, I contacted every person that I knew that had, like, wild or cool or, in your case, the most awesome handlebars ever. So, uh, so yeah, welcome to the show. Welcome to handlebars.com or something.
51:37
Yeah. Luckily, I, uh, I, I had a moment to set my beer down and think about life and, uh, remember you asked for it. [laughs] Or a call in or something. So, I, I haven't seen these. What's unique about them?
51:48
What's the deal? What's, what's the plan? Well, I'm running a Black Sheep one piece, uh, bar stem combo that's somewhere in the range of 30-plus inch wide,
52:06
full pullback. Uh, yeah, I don't know. With, uh- Seems awesome... with, uh, super curvy- It, it- With, with almost... Don't they have, don't they have almost, like, a, a wing or a, or a hood ornament?
52:22
Kind of like, uh, they, they're the wildest bars I've ever- I need a picture. We need a picture of this in the show notes somehow. Yeah. Like- Somehow...
52:28
I- I have a picture of, of, of your, uh, Black Sheep with the bars that you run, and, uh- Show notes, baby... yeah. Well, that'll be in the show notes.
52:38
But do you notice that, uh, well, the whole, your whole trust fork and everything is tight, so is, are, do you have a lot of good vibration compliance with your hoopty bars? Oh, quite a bit. They, uh,
52:55
there's substantial give, movement with those over any of the carbon straight bars or aluminum or whatever you can get. So they're,
53:10
they're my definite choice of, uh, ways to go these days. Uh, not, not the, uh, the least expensive idea, but s- they sound fantastic. I'm telling you, you're gonna freak when you see these things. And, uh- Well-...
53:26
Dan- Dan's a new, Dan's a new papa. Right on. What's that? I, I said Dan, you're a new dad. It's almost Father's Day. I, I... Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, it is? Yeah. It's coming up here. June 19th, I think. Oh, sweet.
53:44
So, uh, yeah. Yeah, they, they're, they're actually so nice, I had to have, uh, I had to have them make me another set for a, uh, almost built road cross super adventure bike that's be- that's being-
54:02
Oh. So like a-... slowly assembled in my basement of horrors right now. Really? So like a, a monster cross? Like a 700C by 45C kind of, uh- Cow catcher on the front...
54:16
every, do everything, Salsa Fargo goes tight and curvy and moon lander-ish? Or, uh, moon, moon men-ish? Uh-huh. Or Black Sheep-ish? Yeah. It's, uh- [laughs] Cow catcher... it's, uh, sheep shagging at its best, I guess.
54:35
[laughs] Nice. The, that'd be, that... Oh, I can't wait to see that. Cool, man. Well, all right. Well, yeah. Dan's calling from Minneapolis. Yeah. We got another call too. He's, he's a GnomeQuest cousin.
54:48
We should talk to s- so- All right. Thanks, Dan Well, you guys have a good night. Hey, man. Thanks for calling in. Thanks for calling, Dan. Thank you. We'll see ya. Wow. Bye. Yep. Bye. Hey, welcome to Gnome Illustrated.
55:00
[laughs] Tell us how gnomes have impacted your fetish lifestyle. No, I'm just kidding. It's Fat Bike Radio. Don't go away. I scared him away. Hello, caller. [laughs] We broke the thing again.
55:14
[laughs] He's probably like, "Those guys-" Whoa. Hold on. There he is. He's like, "Those guys are yammering on so much, I think I'll put the phone down and go to the fridge and get a beer." I'm on the way to get a beer.
55:25
[laughs] Um- [laughs] Welcome. Who, who do we have? Who, who do we have talking? This is, uh, this is Todd Shank. Todd Shank. From Vancouver, Washington. Dude, how's it going? It's going great. It's going great.
55:42
Your, uh, little message this morning, uh, certainly, uh, was pretty timely about handlebars since I've... That was the talk of our little trip last week across Washington State was handlebars and, you know,
55:59
who likes what and certainly, uh, you know, what makes, uh, your fingers buzz and what doesn't make your fingers buzz was the, uh, highlight of the conversation. Very cool.
56:10
So what- So what did, what did you learn on this trip? [laughs] Yeah, yeah. Well, I learned that, uh, an aluminum fork with Jones bars doesn't make my hands happy at all.
56:27
Um, and, uh, you know, this is really the, the 15th iteration of the current fat bike that I'm riding, um, that I've been trying different things and different ways to set it up for riding. Mm-hmm. And, uh, well,
56:44
I think the Jones bars just aren't the bars for my ulnar nerve that, uh, you know, has my fingers buzzing pretty bad after, uh, you know, the trip that we just took. So, so what... How are you using them?
56:59
Are you doing a, a really long touring trip, or is it beach rides? Or, you know, what's, what conditions are you using them in, then?
57:07
Um, I'm using the Jones bars mainly for bike-packing trips to have the, uh, the extra capacity to attach more stuff to the bike- [laughs]... and, um, uh, have some options with, you know, better hand positions.
57:23
Um, and I just w- wasn't getting comfortable, um, with this last ride with them even though I've rode them on an ECR previously. Um, and it just, it just wasn't... It wasn't doing me very good, that's for sure.
57:40
So do you attribute that, then, to the fork, you think, since you've had good luck with the bars in the past, or- ECR steel fork Um, quite possibly. I, I, uh...
57:50
It's the first time that I've done the aluminum fork with the bars. Um, and, uh, you know, I thought it was possibly some positioning things, so I moved some cockpit
58:03
stem a little bit longer to, you know, not be on top of the bars. But personally, I think it's the aluminum fork that the vibration just, it was just driving my elbow and my hands crazy.
58:20
Um, you know, I had to kind of stop doing what I was doing and, uh, go a different direction, uh, three-fourths of the way through the ride.
58:28
I became the sag driver for the rest of the riders that were riding across Washington last week. Wow. [laughs] Well, that's too bad, but you learned something from that, so.
58:41
Well, I did, and, uh, you know, I don't think, uh, that fork's coming off the, the first chance that I get to, uh, put something else on that's got a little bit of, uh, dampening.
58:53
Um, and that would be in the ways of, uh, one of those Renthal's, uh, forks- Oh, cool... um, should do fine. Um, so that's the next thing on the, uh, the board for some testing.
59:07
Bluto's fine, but, um, the Bluto, um, just doesn't have the amount of, uh, great dampening, uh, that this Renthal, uh, fork has with the dual air. Cool. So it... Are you gonna be riding it more trail- [laughs]...
59:22
or is this more on, uh, uh, longer trips? More on trail. Okay. Um, you know, the only reason I put the aluminum fork back on was to have the additional carrying capacity, um, for the, uh, the trip.
59:37
We carried seven liters of water. Five to seven was the, uh, the minimum. Um, there wasn't very many refill stops for water on this trip. Gotcha. So I needed the extra capacity to move things around.
59:51
Um, and, uh, well, there you go. You can't really put, uh, anything cages on a suspender fork because you're gonna end up pulling the cable that's attached to the dynamo hub out every time- Oh... the fork comes back up.
1:00:08
Yeah. Dynamo hub. So, uh, we've been talking a little bit about forks in this handlebar discussion. I think next, next, next show we should, our question should be what freaking fork are you using? Yeah.
1:00:19
'Cause I'd like to hear what people are... There's, there's a couple out there that I haven't tried yet that I'd like to, to try. So, hey, next show, everybody- [clears throat] Everybody, we're gonna talk about forks.
1:00:29
Laces. What freaking fork to attach to your bike. Yeah. [laughs] Hey, Todd, thanks for calling in and giving us your opinion. Call in next week and we'll talk about forks, or next whenever we're on. I will. I don't know.
1:00:39
It's summer. I will. Yeah, we're on our summer schedule- Great... so, uh- Yeah, I think our-... when we say next week, we mean next time We mean, we mean, uh- Uh, the- Next time I text you... the last Wednesday of June.
1:00:51
June. Yeah, whatever that is. The- 29th. 29th. Sounds good. Hey, go math and calendar skills. Sounds good. Yeah. [laughs] Good color commentary, dude. Thanks, JK. [laughs] All right, Todd. Thanks for calling, man.
1:01:02
Best in the biz, man. Best in the biz. All right, thank you very much. Bye. I'm going to grab a beer. All right, man. Bye. See you, Todd. Oh, dear Lord, I've lost- Holy crikeys! [laughs] I've lost the, the script.
1:01:14
That just says our show this evening, you know, has been brought to you by the bikes, parts, and chaos of Surly Bikes. Learn more about everything at surlybikes.com.
1:01:24
You can call anytime 818-918-2453, anytime day or night, and leave us a message. Or yesterday. Or in the future.
1:01:35
Hey, we've, we've got, uh, live, uh, organic gnomes in our e-store that look a lot like red T-shirts now, but, you know, when you put them on, you'll know- Hey, they're hu-... it's a live gnome.
1:01:48
They're, they're US- I sell- They're USA-made gnomes, too. These aren't, these aren't no fern gnomes. Yeah, exactly, and that's, that's what makes them special. That's what's gonna...
1:01:58
And you know what, what these T-shirts are really just, why they're here, is for Father's Day. Your father- Our-... deserves a kick-ass T-shirt. That's true. You know?
1:02:10
The- these things don't come super quick, but, uh- Or if you're a father- Yeah, send your dad- You know?... a picture of it in, by email if it doesn't show up by Father's- Text, text your dad, dude.
1:02:17
[laughs] At least here's the intention of a gift. [laughs] Text your kid the link to the store and give me your credit card number. It'll work out. [laughs] And, uh- I think that-...
1:02:29
next thing you know, old Jed's a millionaire. Yeah, I think that's at, like, shop.fatbike.com. We got other stuff on there, too, and we'll be putting more things on there all the time.
1:02:39
Join us next time for more limericks and Vogue on poetry from the fuzzy underbelly of we, we, well, we like to refer to as- We like to refer. [elk calls] The weekly dose of elk calls. [snorts] Till then.
1:02:58
Brad, yo, bye. Damn it. [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.
1:03:17
[upbeat music]
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