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Full Spectrum Cycling
Weekly Dose of Fat – Show #107 – Bill Fleming Iditarod 1000 Racer and Owner of the Trek Store in Anchorage
Aug 26, 2016
Weekly Dose of Fat – Show #107 – Bill Fleming Iditarod 1000 Racer and Owner of the Trek Store in Anchorage
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Transcript
0:00
Hey, it's the Occasional Dose of Fat Show Number 107 for Friday, August 26th, 2016.
0:08
[upbeat music] And here they are, both of them, in the grandeur that you've missed for so long.
0:30
It's Sven and Gomez. We actually had people calling in and begging us to do another show, which I don't know if they know what they're getting into, but, uh- I-... welcome, everyone, to- I still-...
0:42
another farcical episode of the Occasional Dose of Fat. I'm highly skeptical of the people's mental health that request this show. Yeah. But, hey, my name is Gomez, and over there is, uh, JK Livin.
1:00
And over there- [laughs]... in the super land is Crazy Chris Daisy. What's up? Hey, guys. [siren blaring] Hey, the Weekly Dose of Fat is brought to you by the Surly Karate Monkey.
1:15
Even though it's not a fat bike, it's a ninja bike, 'cause ninjas ride steel bikes. Learn more about bikes and ninjas, huh, at surlybikes.com. Have you ever seen an aluminum katana? Carbon fiber? Suicide Squad katana?
1:31
So, you know, Surly Monkey is now a 27.5+ bike. Surly Monkey. Surly, uh- Monkey... Karate Monkey. Fat Monkey.
1:44
[upbeat music] Who's got the fat news abused with the blues with the shiny new shoes? Huh? Damn right. They say it's fatter than a fat mother- Shut your mouth. Shut your mouth. Just talking about fat.
2:00
And [laughs] what, what is on the show this week, JK? We start off the show with the event of the week. No, we don't. [laughs] We're gonna start off the show- No, we don't... we're gonna mix it up.
2:12
We start off the show and welcome- We mix it up this week... a special guest, Bill Fleming f- from the Trek Store in Anchorage, to the program this evening. [sighs] The live studio audience. Live studio audience.
2:24
This went crazy. We check in with the Fanny Farm Field Report brought to you by Richie Logic, we take a call from our listener, and in this evening's special segment, we feature a man with two 7/8 of a fat bikes, Mr.
2:39
Sven Hammar. Sven Hammar, ladies and gentlemen. Hey, guess who we al- guess who we already have on the line? It's, uh, probably Bill Fleming. Mr. Bill Fleming from up there in Anchorage. Uh, welcome to the show, Bill.
2:54
You're a, you're a world traveler and Iditarod 1000 veteran. That's awesome. Yeah, you've- [laughs]... you, you forgot about the groovy dancing part. Well, thank- Yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah, Bill.
3:04
Well, thanks, guys, for, uh, for having me on the show. You know, always, uh, always entertaining, to say the least. Yeah, for sure. Do we have our Fatback, uh, translator, our fat ambassador to, uh, Alaska, Mr.
3:20
Travis, on the line? Maybe. [laughs] Uh, Travis? Good evening, gentlemen. Can you, can you tra- can you translate Alaskanese for us so we can talk to Bill? Absolutely. Just want- I am at your ready.
3:33
So what- Uh, b- but, but- So, Travis, I should speak to you first and you translate? [laughs] Yeah, that sounds great, Bill. [laughs] Hey, hey, be- Be sweet...
3:43
before we start talking to all these fancy Alaskan people, we gotta, we gotta give a props up to Oscar Blues 'cause [can opening] Show 107, we still have beer left. [laughs] That's a, that's a
3:55
seven, uh- I got the, I got the-... seven show glacial, uh, Bill. I got the pinner again. Thank you. Same here. Yep. [laughs] So drink them if you got them there, boys. Yeah, drink them if you got them, eh?
4:07
So Bill is the rascal that, uh, introduced me to ultra-light carbon fat bikes when I visited and he hosted me up there in Anchorage.
4:16
Do you still own that carbon whiteout with all those dope envy carbon bling-tastic mcthingers on there, Bill? [laughs] Well, you know, uh, no, I do not. You know, I'm not, uh, I'm not involved in 907 i- anymore.
4:32
I love that bike. That was a great bike, but, um, it has, uh, moved on in the world, so, uh, no, I, I do not have that bike anymore.
4:40
Did you take it to the farm where, where all the puppies get dropped off [laughs] in Sheboygan? [laughs] It's a- Have you been down to Sheboygan?... freaking ride, freaking ride free?
4:50
Mm, yeah, it's, uh, something like that, yeah. A, uh, yeah. So, so totally- [laughs]... totally off topic here because I was just thinking about Sheboygan, 'cause, uh, JK mentioned it- [laughs]...
5:00
which is, by the way, the surfing mecca of the Midwest is Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Is there a surfing mecca up there in Alaska?
5:08
As, as a matter of fact, there is, Yakutat, uh, down in, uh, down in, in the, the eastern part of Alaska, the southeastern part. Apparently, and I don't know how to surf because
5:20
I grew up in Alaska, I barely know how to swim, but, but Yakutat is, is like the surf central. You should look it up. I, I mean, I'm not joking. It's like a real surf spot. Right on. Apparently.
5:30
Well, who would, who would've thought surfing in the Midwest? That's just crazy, but, uh, yeah, at least you guys are on an ocean up there. Yeah, um- Yeah, no, I guess there's supposed to be a good break there.
5:39
People, people travel to Alaska specifically to surf- I'm gonna-... that break. I'm gonna- Yeah... do like a surf punk cover band- [laughs]... and hang out there. Oh, that's, uh, more, uh- Yak- Yeah, right on. Yeah.
5:53
So, you know, w- we don't really wanna talk about your old bike so much, but we do wanna talk to you about your ITI 1000 that you did on the Trek Farley. 10.8. Uh, Travis was- Oh, yeah...
6:03
he was, you know, Travis was curious about how that 27.5 by four wheel performed-... what, in comparison with standard fat bike wheels that you may have ridden before? Uh, yeah, that's a great question.
6:13
And so I didn't actually ride to Nome on the 27, uh, and a half-inch wheels. [laughs] Nice. Well then, there you go. Take that.
6:21
Because I, I mean, well, b- I'm, I'm, I'm, uh, super excited for that wheel size, but the thing is, you know, I didn't really know what kind of conditions I was gonna run into, and so I felt like I needed to,
6:35
I needed to roll with some studded tires- Uh-huh... or, or half studded tires. Mm-hmm. And, um, and of course they didn't, you know, Trek didn't introduce a 27 and a half inch studded tire last year.
6:47
And so that kinda, that kinda left, um, th- that kinda decided it for me. So I ended up going with the 100 millimeter HED, HED rims and, uh, some, some half studded Dillinger 5s instead. All right. Um, [clears throat]
7:04
but we did have tho- those bikes in our demo fleet and I did get a chance to ride, uh, ride them around a little bit with the, the, the Farley 9.6s- Mm-hmm... with the 27 and a half inch wheels.
7:15
And, you know, it, it's hard to tell. I didn't get a lot of, I didn't get a lot of time on those wheels, and we didn't get a whole bunch of snow up here, uh, in Anchorage last year, so it's kinda, kinda hard to tell.
7:25
They, y- you know, it, it's real subjective. They seem real fast. Uh, but I've got a new bike coming this year because, you know, it's necessary and, uh, and so- [laughs] And plus one necessary, plus one. Plus one.
7:40
It, it, it, it helps ease the pain of running a bike shop. That's right. [laughs] It's like, it's like, it's like an aspirin re- regimen, a new bike every year. Yeah, pretty much. Yeah. It's like a... Yeah.
7:53
[laughs] And, uh, so but the, the new ones will have the 27 and a half inch, uh, carb- the HED, HED carbon rims on there, so I'm excited to try those. Oh. Try those out. Yeah.
8:04
So you, you mentioned that you used the Dillinger with the, uh, you know, 'cause that's actually a tire you can stud that's got the pockets in it and, you know, uh, have you tried the, like, the grip stud version where you just take any old tire and s- screw in the stud?
8:20
Well, you know, the, the grip studs, that takes some work to put those things in there, and there's always the damage that you're gonna...
8:25
You know, there's always the, the, the danger you're gonna, you know, destroy the carcass of the tire and, and, uh, so I, I, I didn't wanna go that way. It's like a, a moose carcass lying on the side of the road.
8:35
[laughs] A loose... A moose car- [laughs] yeah. I like the word carcass. Yeah. Yeah.
8:38
You know, those things are, those things are, um, you know, they, there's a, there's a place for them, but, uh, eh, yeah, I didn't wanna screw around with them.
8:45
So I, I just wanted to go with, like, a, you know, a legit studded tire. Right on. Yes. But, uh, you know, I was kind of, I was kind of careful about how I set the, set the, the tires up. But I think that that...
8:57
Actually, though, I think that that was the perfect wheel combination for, for that event, you know? 'Cause you, you do, you run into just about anything. You're on sea ice, you're on powder snow.
9:09
You're, y- you're just pretty much- Moose carcasses... hitting everything, and that was... Yeah. [laughs] And, uh, 100 millimeter rims with, uh, the five-inch- Oh, yeah... half studded Dillingers.
9:18
That, that was a really good combination. I ride that very wheel- I, I, I enjoyed that a lot... and, and that very tire on, uh, on my fat bike, and I love it. Are those, uh, are those, uh, what do you call it?
9:27
Uh, Nome- Yeah... Nome-prove, Nome Proven? What's the, uh- Uh, they should be. Nome Proven. Yeah. But they haven't- No- Nome Proven-... Nome Proven... Nome Proven rims.
9:35
Yeah, they haven't been, they haven't made the list yet. [laughs] So, uh, Gomez, I, I never... I know this is kind of turning the interview around, but, uh- All right...
9:44
the, the whole Nome thing, I, I, I, you know, 'cause I figured you would jump on the Nome thing, but- [laughs] My- I'm doing a donut right here. [laughs] We're turning this thing around on Gomez. All right.
9:54
[laughs] Do you want, do you want the real story or do you want, uh, do you want the, the, the funny story? The funny story is that I was raised by ditch trolls in Gary, Indiana. We didn't even have a bridge.
10:07
Gary, Indiana. Gary, Indiana. [laughs] Gary, Indiana. Angry, bitter ditch trolls. And, uh, you know, the gnomes were my only friend growing up. And, uh, so, you know, I've always had a fascination with gnomes.
10:23
Uh, then there's the fact that back in the day, we used to light a, ride a lot of single speed, so you know, the one ring thing. Mm-hmm. Uh, gnomes hate derailleurs. Oh, always.
10:34
[laughs] And they, they tend to, like, put sticks in derailleurs and break them. Uh- Hey, Dave got a big ass stick in his from one gnome one day out on the Towser Trail. Yeah, it's- Guaranteed. See, there you go. Sure.
10:46
And that's how that happens. So gnomes. And that's how... Okay. There it is. So if you, if you see on my... Here's, here's a little clue, though.
10:53
When you see me just post gnomes, gnomes to me, like when I, when I put that, I, I might give you two on my Facebook, that just means prayers. So it's code. Did you wonder why we weren't hearing from Travis? No.
11:06
That's 'cause he hung up on us. Travis. [laughs] I didn't hang up. [laughs] I got another one. [laughs] Oh, so- It's not my fault... yeah. I di- I didn't push the button. I just- So let me turn the tables on you, Mr.
11:20
Fleming. So you are, are, uh, you know, you've ridden high-end carbon bikes. The new- Yep... Farley carbon, you had, you were riding a 9.6 or a 9.8, versus the Whiteout.
11:39
Which is the better bike? Uh, yeah, that's a, that's a good question, you know, 'cause, um, actually I built a, I built a frame set up, so I didn't really have a, a 9.8 or a 9.6. Mm-hmm.
11:51
It was just kind of a custom build, uh, that I kind of made just for that, for that ride. And, you know- Right on... um, it's a little different. You know, the 907 I think is a...
12:04
You know, it, it, it's, it's a really comfortable ride. It's a really, it's kind of a Cadillac ride. It's got the long chain stays on there. It's pretty stable.
12:12
I think it works really well for- Um, y- y- you know, kind of river cruising. But, but, uh, you know, I don't, I don't spend a ton of time in those kind of conditions.
12:22
You know, most of my riding is around here, uh, on the local trails. And, and so what I did was I kind of short- you know, on the, on the Farley, you can kind of, kind of shorten up those chainstays. Right.
12:33
And, uh, so I, I like the geometry for those short, you know, little, little tight single track trails that we have around here. But the 907 is a, is a great bike for riding in the backcountry, I think. Um,
12:45
and the one, the one thing I, I, I did like about the Farley is the, the big front triangle, you know? 'Cause you're, you're carrying just tons of crap. And, uh, and so I was able to get a pretty big...
12:56
I had a guy sew up a, a custom frame bag for that- Mm-hmm... for that frame. Um, and, and it was nice. I could get a lot of stuff in there.
13:05
And, uh, with the 907 it's a little bit tighter 'cause the top tube drops down a little bit. Right. But, you know, I mean, it's kind of like Lamborghini, Ferrari. I mean, uh- It's true...
13:17
they're, they're both, they're both great bikes, you know? It's, it's, it's really, you know, I'm spoiled to be able to, to ride that kind of stuff, really, honestly. Right.
13:23
So, so you actually advocate having more than one fat bike, right? [laughs] Oh, absolutely. I mean, exactly. You know? Uh, that's the true solution there. Yeah. There you go. Yeah.
13:33
That's, uh, you, I mean, you're asking the wrong guy. I mean, you know that's what I'm gonna say, so. [laughs] So did you, uh, get a chance to ride that Farley EX at Trek World World World- World World...
13:44
which is only, like, 10 miles- [laughs]... from, from where I live? Right. Well, I did.
13:49
You know, it was, uh, it was kind of a hot day, and it's kind of weird because, you know, you're, you're, you're rolling around on, uh, on these single track trails. It, it's a fun bike, you know? It's a fun...
13:59
It, it feels like a monster truck. You know, the thing... And, uh, you know, I'm not much of a climber to begin with, but that thing, it, it, it's, it feels like, kind of like a pig going uphill.
14:09
But man, rolling through flats and, and, uh, and coming downhill, it's a, it's a lot of fun. It, it feels like you're, you're kind of steering a monster truck around, you know?
14:20
Uh, I, I think they did a great job on the geometry of it. I think it's about as nimble as, as you could probably make a bike like that. But, um, it's, it's such a great bike.
14:27
Well, that's, that's what you get when you come late to the party. You can kind of use everybody else's knowledge. No. [laughs] [laughs] That's, that's, that's, that's Sven, Tre- Trek secret police. That wasn't Gomez.
14:38
[laughs] I, I, I live, like, I, I live artillery distance from the- [laughs]... from the Trek Death Star, so.
14:45
[laughs] Hey, Arman- Arm- Armano, the, their Tupper Becker of Tupper and Tupper of Fairbanks, Alaska rides one. He says it's dank. Yeah, yeah. It's a, it's a bi- it's a big bike, you know?
14:58
I mean, uh- I have no idea what that means... uh. [laughs] Yeah. I guess, [laughs] I guess, uh, you know, it's, uh, it's, it's really like the monster truck of fat bikes, you know?
15:10
I mean, it, it just, it, it feels like you're driving a truck around, it pretty much. Nice. Yeah. So Travis, can you, can you do a Alaskan translation of dank?
15:23
Well, there's many variations of dank in the Alaskan language, Gomez. [laughs] Thanks for the, uh- But, uh, from my brief, from my brief encounters that I've had on the radio with Tupper- Yeah...
15:36
uh, I'm going to say dank will translate to, uh, lower 48 speak, kickass. All right. I'd say that's the closest word. All right. Uh, we like that stuff. Right arm. All right.
15:49
Well, you know, Bill, it seems like we have so much more we could cover with you [laughs] that was intelligible. Did we, did we cover anything? I don't know that we did. Maybe we should, uh, maybe we should ask Mr.
16:02
Dave Lunz if he has any questions for, uh, for Bill Fleming up there- Yeah... in, in Anchorage. All right. Well- Hey, Dave. [laughs] Did m- Dave, did- Hello. Hello. [laughs] Hey.
16:13
Do you have a question for our special guest, Mr. Bill Fleming? Um, no. [laughs] Hey, here's a, here's a bi- [laughs] Hi, Bill... here's a bit of radio gold right here. Dave, Dave Lunz?
16:26
That's a, that's- [laughs] That's-... that's a freaking one-ounce nugget- There's no way-... of radio gold. [laughs] Dave Lunz from- Ah. [laughs]... davelunz.com. [laughs] Bill, uh, bygones.
16:38
Our, our most sincere apologies for having... [laughs] Just kidding. [laughs] All right, Bill. Okay, Dave. Tell us, tell us what's on your mind. Hello? Hello.
16:50
[laughs] We'll see, we'll you, we'll see you at Interbike, Bill, uh, 'cause we're going with Dave, apparently. See ya, Bill. Bye. What? Is this, uh- All right, Bill... just Dave Lunz? [laughs] I think I know Dave.
17:04
Or not. I'll see you guys later. [laughs] We all do. Everybody. [laughs] Well, that was, uh, eh, thanks, thanks guys.
17:19
[horn blaring] It's the wild moose call of Alaska. DaveLunz.com. [laughs] Hello? So... [laughs] Is this thing on? Hello, is this thing...
17:35
[laughs] What's going on? We just thought we'd go for a bike ride and we thought we'd give you a call to see what's up. Where, where are you at? Minooka? No, we're going to the rocks. Oh, right on.
17:46
I just put truck, bike together. We gotta go test it real quick. I know you're headed up to- It'll be too tight... Capahaba, Capahaba over Labor Day weekend. Yeah, why not?
17:56
Capahaba, a little side stop at Marquette first. Uh, I already planned to see your, uh, Sven. Gomez, you should come too. I'm previously engaged. [laughs] Do, do you have Chad with- Oh, really?
18:11
Do you have Chad with you tonight? We do. Little man love up in there? Oh, yeah... beer laps with Boner Beer laps with Boner. [laughs] Isn't that the same weekend as Gnomefest? [laughs] It doesn't get much better.
18:29
They're all at the same rig as Frostbike. [laughs] Uh, but yeah, speaking of which, uh, I was trying to get Chewy up there and he said he had a dog-sit. I don't know what's up with that.
18:39
But, I mean, is that a reason for s- you know, skipping a ride up in Copper Harbor? Copper Harbor. Copper Harbor. [laughs] You can't bring your dogs up there?
18:48
They don't like them in Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, Milwaukee, whatever that place is? They like dogs up there. Um, yeah, that's what I said. Bring him with. I'm dog-sitting this weekend. Yeah.
19:02
[laughs] I'm cleaning up- You're what, Gnomefest? I- I'm cleaning up after a dog this whole week. [laughs] Been cleaning the shop. A lot of dog hair in there. Really? What's that? Oh, yeah, dog hair. Cool.
19:16
Dog star dog hair. So Dave, how, how wide do you like your, uh, your, your handlebars? About a beuter, a beuter and a half? What do you think? Um, I don't know, a beuter and a half.
19:30
[laughs] I just put some stock bars on and I didn't even measure or cut them down, so I don't even know what the hell I'm riding. We'll find out tonight. You like those, those flat bars? You like the low risers?
19:39
You like the high risers? You like the enduro? You like the cruisers? You like the, you like the s- back sweep? You like the- [laughs] The church burners? [laughs] Ape hangers? The-
19:54
Um, I'm riding a one inch- Love handles... uh, I'm r- I'm riding a one-inch rise carbon handlebar from Thompson USA. [burps] Oh. Oh. Well. I mean- Thompson- Mr. Snooty Snooty Von Snootenstein... really? Name dropper.
20:10
That's right. I ordered a kit though. Is that 'cause, uh, you couldn't- Sure... you couldn't get the hookup here at our local, uh, uh, bike purveyor over there at, uh, Hayes? Oh, yeah. You coulda had- I don't know.
20:24
I- [laughs] I, I wasn't foot-fitted. How do you spell that? [laughs] [laughs] I, I, I figured s- I figured since I'm ordering all this Thompson goodness, I might as well just go with their Seven handlebar too, you know?
20:39
Yeah. That's a beautiful piece of equipment. Yeah. That was, that was a good call. Yeah, you know- Yeah. I, I, I mean, it all came- You're like, uh, the, you're the Gentleman's Quarterly of bike components there...
20:50
quarterly. You know what I think we ought to do, just because it's that time? You think we should- Take a-... take a break?... freaking break. Go back in time and- N- go-... take calls from-... back in time...
21:01
from the Gnomefest people that are all lighting up the switchboard like Christmas on Sunday morning? We're gonna- Praise the- We're, we're just gonna take a break. I don't know about all that other stuff.
21:14
[laughs] Praise the baby Jesus. Okay. We're, we're on the grill, so we can't join in a beer quite yet 'cause, you know, we gotta drive home. All right, Dave and Chad, thanks for calling in. All right.
21:23
Uh, we'll be right back and we'll talk more to- Or not!... to some Alaskan people up there. Thanks for ruining our show, Dave. And then- Or maybe Jesus rides. Yeah. And then- No, wait, it came pre-ruined.
21:34
[laughs] I'm sorry. What did you say? [laughs] I'm sorry. I can't hear you anymore. Is that the same weekend as Frostbike? All right. Hey, hey, we'll be back in just a second. Yeah. Oh. You're tuned to Fat Bike Radio.
21:51
[upbeat music] So I heard you need a fat bike. Come to Zion Cyclery in Zion, Illinois. We have all brands: Trek, Borealis, Salsa, Felt, Surly, and more. Yo, we have all the cold weather gears by 45NRTH and Bunchfigure.
22:09
Keep those fingers and toes nice and toasty. We fix bikes also. So you have any problem, brakes, gears, suspension, we have the best mechanics in town. So yeah, visit us at zioncyclery.com.
22:29
Hey, welcome back to the show. Boy, that was quick, huh? Quick as- So, uh, so-... this break needed... we still got Travis up there? Or who do we have? Who's- Yeah. It's happening. There he is. There's that guy.
22:43
You know what we should do before we talk more is, uh, probably talk about the event of the week real quick. Event of the week. Which oddly enough is... Gnomefest.
22:55
So, uh, do we have anybody on the line to talk about Gnomefest? Just Travis. Oh. [laughs] Travis hasn't been to Gnomefest. Well, we have- This is- Wait, w- but we have you.
23:05
You've been to every Gnomefest that's ever been. And I cannot- So if nobody can talk about Gnomefest except for you, we've got the most knowledgeable Gnomefestian. Well,
23:15
I can neither confirm or deny the rumors of drunkenness, depravity, nakedness, snake charming,
23:29
Gnomefesting, bonfiring, beer drinking. Is there any snog- Et cetera. Does any snogging happen up there? [laughs] Oh, things have happened at Gnomefest- That only-... that I try to forget...
23:44
whatever happens at Gnomefest stays at Gnomefest. At least, yeah. Including the snogging portion. [laughs] So when- Gnomefest actually- When, when is, when is Gnomefest anyway?
23:57
It's, uh, September 24th through the 26th, and- Oh, that's after Interbike. Yeah. Oh. It's the weekend after Interbike. Oh, yeah. It's at Levis, right? Glad Levis. And, uh, it's a fundraiser to help,
24:08
you know, the, the chalet burnt down, and they had insurance, so they're gonna rebuild the chalet, but we want more stuff. Like- We want showers and maybe- Like a sign that says, "Gnomes are welcome."
24:20
[laughs] A six-foot talking gnome that talks you through the, through the- Hey, kids. Welcome to Love is Troll. [laughs] I'm Mr. DNA. Yeah. [laughs] And that thing's in the shower with you? Is that what you're saying?
24:35
[laughs] Maybe. [laughs] Talking showers would be kinda cool. Talking shower gnomes. These are kinda crazy. Put a video phone in there and- Make sure you wash your undercarriage.
24:46
[laughs] I washed my undercarriage just this morning. Ah. That was mighty fine. So don't- What, what's the difference between washing and playing with your undercarriage? I don't know.
24:55
[laughs] When it, when- Sque- they'll squeeze the, uh- When is it-... Gold Bond as you walk over... when is it, [laughs] when is a wash a stroke? I don't know which one of these.
25:05
[laughs] Is it like golf, where the person [laughs] with the fewest strokes wins? [laughs] I win every time. [laughs] God, this is a filthy show. Dovetailed there.
25:21
[laughs] And thank God we didn't go with my idea of having kids on this week.
25:25
[laughs] Well, I, you know, we, we do have some, we have some, some youngins out there on, on fat bikes, including, uh, Tupper's son, and we got, uh, Joe Boo's got a couple of kids on 'em.
25:36
My own daughter's been riding since she was 12, and I thought, "Maybe we should have mine," and then, uh, then Uncle Gomez reminded me that this is an adult show apparently.
25:46
[laughs] It's kind of a mixed message to have kids on the show and then [laughs] have it be, you know, what it is. Well, just put earplugs in there, you young folk. Don't have...
25:57
You don't have to talk like your Uncle Gomez. No, it's like- Pennywise in It. [laughs] Well, he's, he managed to raise a couple of sons somehow. They didn't turn out like complete idiots. I don't know, you know?
26:11
My youngest son is studying chimpanzees. [laughs] [laughs] So there you go. But that's a good thing. In, in actually Africa, where chimpanzees are prevalent. Pretty huge. Just actually met Jane Goodall, so.
26:26
She's still alive? Yeah. Wow. Yeah. Well, I guess that's chimpanzee love for you right there. Right? That's, that's like meeting Ted Nugent or something. [laughs] What? Uh- I thought you was a myth.
26:40
[laughs] Oh, lordy. So you know what we might have actually, uh, sashayed right into the Fatty Farm Field Report. How do you feel about that? How does that make you feel? It makes me feel like we, we probably oughta
26:58
talk about the Richey deal. Oh, this is a big deal. Yeah, it's a big deal. Since they're kind of, uh, semi-sponsoring the Fat The Farm Fail Report.
27:11
They have a special offer to our readers and listeners on their Commando frame and fork. That's a fat bike, ladies and gentlemen. Not, it's not just running around naked in the woods. [laughs] It's a fat bike. Mm-hmm.
27:24
For this price, $375. 375 for a steel Richey with, with Tom Richey's custom tubing. Yeah, Richey Logic Tubing. Are you freaking kidding me? I know. It's a, it's-
27:38
I- I'm gonna kick myself, 'cause I'm not gonna buy one of these. I'm gonna kick myself 'cause I don't have $375 burning a hole in my pocket, but I, I might just have to sell my daughter for that.
27:47
I'm telling you, it's a righteous deal. This is one of... This is, this is a, a kind of... I'm a 170 guy. I don't know if, if people are like, "Uh, we can't buy a 170 anymore. You need the widest thing out there." Yeah.
28:01
But this is a, a bike that would be awesome for anybody that is doing more trail riding than soft condition riding. That's a awesome bike. You had one for how long? We had that test bike
28:16
for quite some time, eight months or so. [laughs] You don't have it anymore? No, it's, it's, it's been sent back. But you know what they need to do? For that 375 price, go to richey.com and- Right.
28:30
We'll have a link in the show notes along with a banner ad for this special deal. It's just for our, uh, listeners and readers and people that you tell about this deal.
28:41
Um, you use, uh, Julio, the discount code Julio at checkout and you can get this- Julio. The, uh, the sale price is 499, but the super, like, fatbike.com, uh, discount code make, you get it for 375. Julio.
28:57
It's a headset too, 'cause it has that special headset. Wow. Julio. I'm gonna, I'm gonna go rob a gas station just so I can buy one, 'cause who doesn't need another fat bike?
29:07
Fatbike.com does not condone illegal activities to gain money. [laughs] Yeah. Void deal. They do. Void- What, they don't? Wait. Void where prohibited- Wait, they don't?... by law. They do not? They do not.
29:20
Did you just say they do not condone? They do not condone. Okay. Robbery is bad. So we kinda talked to Dave a little bit about handlebar width. Yeah. You know, we had a question from one of our reader.
29:31
He asked if it was okay- Does he get a plug? Does the guy that came up with this fantastic- Well, I don't know if we wanna-... bit for us? I don't know if we wanna put people's names out there.
29:39
What if his mom's listening and says- Oh... "You jackass, what are you listening to those guys for?" It was Racer X. Yeah. Like, like Speed Racer's brother. His name is Jared von Speedenstein and, um, but he just- Aha...
29:49
he just wanted to know if it was okay to trim wider bars down, 'cause, you know, he got a Trek fat bike and he's like, "Man, them things are wide." So I thought, "Well, I know it's okay to trim them down."
30:00
Usually even most bars these days, including, uh, do those have the schnickels on them where you can- Nein. No. What does that sound like, that bar? [horn blaring] There you go.
30:13
Now, if we trim that bar down, is it gonna change the note? Yes. We should probably change that. Re. Most bars, anyway. Most bars have graduate, graduated little dots on there.
30:22
Yeah, most bars have little schn- little schnickleblossoms on them. Our bar- So-... has the skyline of Maui on it Yeah. I was just wondering, you know- It's special...
30:32
what, what, what you guys like for, uh, for width, uh, JK? What are you, what... Are you a wide guy? Yeah. Uh- And you don't like trimming 'cause of the mustache, 'cause, you know? Exactly. Got the, you know...
30:43
Look at the face. Look at the face. I don't trim things down. [laughs] How do you explain the chin then? [laughs] It's overgrowing. Me name is, me name is Lemmy. Lemmy. [laughs] Um, I still trim a little bit.
30:57
I, I like to keep the, uh, you know, I like to keep it around 720. Yeah, 720. I'm not a 780 guy yet. I'm a 745. Travis? Uh, I haven't trimmed any bars since like, you know, early '90s, so [laughs]
31:14
I go from 780. 780. 780. Oh, he's as long as they get. No, there, there's 840 bars out there now. Those things are just mental wide. Wow, 840. That's really wide.
31:26
But there are some places and trails by us that I have to slow way the hell down- Yeah [laughs]... with my 740s to get my bars through. Yeah, you have to kinda, you have to kinda schnickety-schnick through there. Right.
31:36
Do a little, do a little wiggle, otherwise...
31:38
I ended up in the Menomonee River one time when I first went to 720s by hooking a tree just by like a half an inch, but it was enough to put my front wheel 90 degrees and launch me over the bars into said river, which was kickass as hell.
31:54
Dank. I went splash. [laughs] Kickass. Yeah. So, uh, do you have any tips for our, uh, listeners about how to trim their bars?
32:07
I know one thing that we used to do, which is use a tubing cutter, li- a lot like copper tubing- Sure... in the plumbing biz, which is a no-no these days. You could...
32:16
Yep, you could use, uh, uh, Park Tools makes a, something that you use for cutting, um, a lot of stuff, head tubes, seat posts, whatever, that just gives you a guide. Mm-hmm.
32:27
And then, you know, if you're doing carbon, you want a real high, uh, tooth count on your hacksaw blade- 32 tooth bridge... like 32 or higher, or a higher count.
32:37
And then you had a good one, which is wrap it with, um- Masking tape... masking tape just to keep it- Over the cut area... from fraying. Do not inhale that carbon dust. It will not get you high. I, yeah, no it won't.
32:50
[laughs] 'Cause I tried, and I tried. Yeah, carbon is not a good thing to get- [coughs] Oh, man... get, get in your res- respiratory system. Oh, yeah. I got all of that one, all that carbon fiber up in my lungs.
33:04
And then, you know, aluminum, same idea basically. You could use a, a little bit more aggressive blade, but basically, you know, clamp her down and- I like a fresh blade... cut that shit off of there.
33:13
I like to put a fresh blade in, make a clean cut. Mm-hmm. Just like, uh- Clamp that bitch down to the, to the, to the work- workbench with some clamps. That's where the Park thing- And go to town...
33:28
that's where the Park thing comes in nice, 'cause it clamps into a vice, the tool itself, and then it's got a nice- No, I don't have a vice, and I think that that's what I need...
33:34
it's got a nice plastic little thing and it holds it very nicely, and then you can just be like wiki, wiki, wiki. I've been buying new stuff for the shop. I'm just going nuts. I have a new liquor cabinet that locks.
33:47
That's not a good thing, 'cause you can't get into it then. Oh, you gotta have the key.
33:52
And, you know, maybe we should sp- sell sponsorships, 'cause there's gonna be a shit ton of pictures taken in the new shop of shit that we're working on.
34:01
Of booze and booze-a-haul and- Buy yourself a couple of cubic square inches on my liquor cabinet.
34:10
Remember that guy, he was selling like, whatever they were, eight pixel square ads on one webpage way back in the old days, and he, he sold a, he sold a lot of money's worth. Big Johnny?
34:23
Your liquor cabinet's a prime candidate. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. 1-800-GOMEZ'S LIQUOR CABINET. So I know Travis sent us a link about, uh, that new bike company. Yeah, Otso.
34:41
Them guys, Tim Krueger and, and friends. There was a l- there was a big controversy in the comments about what would the real Finnish word for bear was. It's like, all right, reading comprehension, guys.
34:52
It said mythology bear. And, you know- Mythological bear? That's it. That's what I'm trying to says. But anyway, but I think they had cleared that up a- among themselves. They agreed to disagree all, about everything.
35:07
Well, there's not that many names for things fat bike anymore that people haven't already thought of. I thought it looked like a Danish bear king, their logo. Oh, very regal, very nice. And these are the Wolf Tooth guys.
35:20
Yeah, the Wolf Tooth guys. Who have, they've, they've been doing some pretty interesting stuff. They got a new, uh,
35:26
spider system and chain ring system that gives you a, tons of combinations with very little SKUs if you're a bike shop owner. This is a new bicycle company that has won the amazing industry award, the Gnomie,
35:42
Best New Accessory of 2016. Those geniuses, along with Tim Krueger, the man with his hands in everything. He does seem to have a lot going on. I'm wondering which ones of these are gonna stick.
35:55
Former product manager for the condiment company up there in Minneapolis, those salsa folks. Salsa. Is that a, is that a candy? Now what, he, he has Red Bear. He helped, he's a consultant on this Otso.
36:08
He has Terrace Tire Company. He has the Red Bear, the- Are you supposed to say anything about that tire company yet? Yeah. Oh, okay. Yeah. Ken Blakey-Schell is gonna be testing those tires.
36:22
Hey, speaking of tires- Speaking of Ken Blakey-Schell... how about that? Hey, well, how about that? Well, they're doing a fat camp next week. Uh, dank. [laughs] Sorry. I'm overusing that Yeah You know what I'm saying?
36:35
Yeah, yeah. Yeah, you aren't. Yeah, I'm not. [laughs] So yeah, we're gonna also have some Vee tires coming in for testing. Did you see that big slick daddy? See that 4.5 by 26 slick, like slick. Let me say it again.
36:49
This actually sounds, this sounds like a good idea. Oh, my, uh, my 24 bike is in the other, in the other room but, uh, you know, I always liked the black Floyd slick on that bike. Now I got a bigger tire.
37:03
I got a big- There I go... slick daddy. So whatever happened to that green e-bike? 'Cause you know what else is coming in? Specialized e-bike. Whoop, whoop. Okay, here's something that I don't know- [laughs]...
37:15
a lot of people outside the, the- Fat boy? Yeah. No- No... it's, it's got a, it's got a different name, like a Votech or something. No, wait. That's, that's the, that's the Polish bear. Okay. Do you get- Octopus.
37:26
Okay, uh, the, everybody in this room except for Travis, which who isn't in this room- Travis?... is kind of in the Milwaukee area. We had this guy back in the day called Crazy TV Lenny.
37:36
[laughs] And he gave away bikes with TVs. His, they were friends, which actually led to the founding of the Pacific- Oh, wow... Pacific Bicycle Company. Yeah. It's like the biggest bike manufacturer in the United States.
37:48
Guess what crazy Len Matoli, TV Lenny is doing now? Uh, selling what? Selling e-bikes. Exactly. He sold 2,000 freaking e-bikes in Madison. Huh. 2,000 e-bikes. Get a bike, get a bike, get a bike, get a bike. Yeah.
38:01
I remember that. But now, uh, yeah, exactly. [laughs] And they were, you know, they were not horrible bikes. And, uh- So this is, uh, this is the specialized Levo Comp Fat. He doesn't sell those.
38:13
Where- He says- American of Madison. That's- Yeah. It's, they still have an American TV- Madison Assassin? Lenny? I think- Crazy Lenny? Cra- Crazy Lenny. American, American of Madison.
38:21
But just that he's gotta be the biggest- I think so... he's gotta be the biggest- Biggest... e-bike retailer in the country by far. 2,000 bikes, that's a lot of e-bikes. Our readers hate e-bikes.
38:29
Well, they can go fuck themselves. Oh. [laughs] Girls, girls, girls. [laughs] Uh, we have complete role reversal here. [laughs] Wait, what? Wait, I'm usually the go fuck themselves guy. [laughs] I'm freaked out. Are you?
38:47
I guess I need another beer. I have to mellow out a little bit. [laughs] Maybe we should smoke something. Sven's on a roll. I'm gonna go get the humidor. You guys talk amongst yourselves.
39:00
[laughs] Sven's going for the humidor. So, uh, what are we gonna talk about now, JK? I went on a Goonies ride. Oh, yeah? Fifth annual. It was pretty interesting. It was fun. It was a good time.
39:18
I didn't get almost arrested this year. [laughs] I got pulled over by a local- That's interesting... lo- local, local, local law enforcement that- Really? Well, it was just- You're like, "Don't shoot. Don't shoot."
39:33
It was one of those things. He just saw too many people having a good time and somebody was gonna get pulled over and yelled at, and I, the music stopped and I didn't have a chair. [laughs] It was like, okay, da, da, da.
39:47
But that was last year. It was a great, it was a good time. You go to see the, uh, grave site of, uh- Travis, uh- John Matuszak... we have a, we have a glass fish, just so you know. Guy who played Sloth. Oh, please. Oh.
39:57
Oh, oh, yeah. He's right, just south of Milwaukee. I did not know that. Okay. Yeah. Where is that? So it's a good pilgrimage. You do a Baby Ruth toast at the grave site in the middle of the night.
40:06
Coming up here I just saw Steel or Real- Steel is Real- Yeah... is coming up, too, so. Yep. That's, uh- I'll probably say I'm going to that and then never show up for that, either.
40:15
That's my- It's kind of- That's my birthday weekend. Oh, well then for sure I won't show up. It's sort of your, your modus operandi. [laughs] Nein. Nein. I'll show, I'll show up for that. Nein. Nein. Not. Yeah.
40:29
My, uh, my birthday has the, uh, built-in- Wait. Was ist das here? Nein, nein. Oh. Nein. Nein. Nein. Nein. Nein, nein. Oh, oh, oh. [laughs] I get it.
40:43
So I know one of those people that has been just begging us for a show is indeed Travis. Really? Travis, you've been calling? 'Cause Sven keeps on saying, "Oh, yeah, hundreds of people have called to ask for a show."
40:57
Yes. Yes. Can't handle the facts, you know? It's- Have we, have we, have we- Been trying... extinguished your fire for [laughs] Fat Bike Radio? [laughs] Incredible- Yes, you extinguished the fire...
41:11
unprofessional broadcast. Show number 107 will go down in history as podcast crap. I just, I gotta say, again, thank you for the h- the hint to use that Bordo box for, um, a humidor. It was a very good idea. Yeah, yeah.
41:27
It's a really nice box. Yeah, it is. It's only containing the finest of things. That's what she said. It does contain some, well- [laughs]
41:35
We're, we're sampling said things at this point, these Cuban whatever they are things. Ah. So Trav, did you know that our show this evening has been brought to you by the bikes, parts, and chaos- And [coughs]
41:52
of Surly Bikes. Of Surly Bikes. You know that you could learn more about the truth- I was not aware. You can learn more about the truth- Yes... and all their stuff at surlybikes.com.
42:04
Also call 828-918-2453 anytime day or night. Leave a message about the Fat Bike Buble. I was just- Bubble? I was just reading that, uh, somebody said the Fat Bike bubble has burst.
42:18
I think that was, uh- My, my, my, my burst... that was John from Surly who said that. [laughs] Really? Yeah. The Fat Bike bubble has burst. What does that mean?
42:28
I guess we should all just get on our fat bikes and ride now. Get on your fat bikes and ride This fish just keeps giving. Oh, it's getting very warm too. Yes. It's a warm fish, by the way.
42:40
[laughs] It's a good fish- So, uh-... good, warm fish... we have, uh, we have stuff in our store that's like T-shirts and stuff. Whatever you do, do not buy that stuff. Yeah. [laughs] I'm gonna- Inverse psychology.
42:52
Ba-dum-bum... I'm gonna go ahead and say our stuff is good. So don't buy it- Yeah... whatever you do. Right. We don't want you to wear it. We double dog dare you to buy one of those hats and wear it and stuff.
43:05
T-shirts have been going pretty well. Hats, not yet. Yeah. But it's summer. All right. So we'll see how that goes in the winter. You know, join us next time on the occasional Joseph, Joseph, Joseph, Jo- Joseph... Jo-
43:19
Vengas... when we discuss the correct way to pronounce [laughs] Bill Guice. And fresh from the Gnome test kitchens, we talk about bubbles. Bubbles. Bubbles. Where are you, bubbles?
43:36
We're gonna close the show with a tune called Red Coyote, or was it Bad Moon Boots or something? Yeah, I don't know. Was the band Red Coyote, or is the- No, the band is, uh- Oh... Rad Valleys. It's, uh, Aaron Billmeyer.
43:50
[laughs] Rad- Shitty ass Moon Boots. That's what I call- I'll tell you what, it's, it's kind of, it's got some sludge metal beginning- Yeah... and some kickass ending. It's a good song.
43:57
Aaron's a brand manager for Surly, so sit back and fasten your seat belts. And you can check him out at Triple Rock Social Club in Minneapolis this Sunday. Rock out. Rock out. We'll have a link in the show notes.
44:11
You can click on that Bad Oscar and listen to these Bad Oscars. Does that mean we're done already? Till then. That it? [laughs] Why, you got, you got something else, Travis? [laughs] I've waited this long for that? Yeah.
44:29
[laughs] No, nothing else, you know, other than I guess parting verse B, you know?
44:34
I think Gomez would, uh, he'd look very stoic standing in the White Mountains, drinking a Midnight Sun Panty Peeler next to a fatback Skookum. Skookum.
44:47
Hey, we're gonna do an Interbike preview show before Interbike this year. Uh, I don't know, probably the 16th or something maybe.
44:55
So if you wanna figure out what you need us to look at at Interbike, let us know 'cause we're going there. We're not going there for long, though. We're in, we're out. We're, we're, eh.
45:08
Anyway, see you guys all next time. Till then. Again. Bye, Travis. Later.
45:23
[rock music] I'm gone eight months.
47:32
Three years and days. Still wide awake in sunny haze. Been clean for months now. There's no work, no pay.
47:47
Squeeze by on the outside watching the sparks in the safe. No movement on the radar. There's no collective escape.
48:00
Can't afford the diesel so I watch hands melt in the waste. They promised a payout. Too many, too late. They don't know what it means to sit gray up town.
48:17
[rock music][rock music] Must be the order we crave and
49:08
the mind will hate. And we know the system's leaving us all in chains. Must be the air in the soil we breathe.
49:23
And we know there's someone else coming along to save us now. They stand to trade and finally lead to no one while we're back to the grave.
49:41
And I tell them I'm dying while I'm scratching my veins. Standing on your forty-one feet while we're back to the grave. Still ahead of the mountain, we're all working today.
50:00
We've got a new plan to come back from the death of the grave. Just leave the water running, only one can be me.
50:12
Black cloud, where we gonna be till time comes clean.
50:20
[rock music] Let darkness in.
50:50
[rock music] Look out.
51:15
[rock music] These
51:26
animals back to the grave. [rock music] The whole time
51:42
we hit escape. [rock music] No souls to turn away. [rock music] No pulse to pull me down this way.
52:00
Must be the order we crave and the mind will hate. And we know the system's leaving us all in chains. Must be the air in
52:17
the soil we breathe. And we know there's someone else coming along to save us now.
52:30
[rock music] Wait for your time. [rock music] Pain
52:45
hurts you never as wine. [rock music] Make runs your life. [rock music] Suffer and you'll hurt till you die.
53:01
Must be the order we crave and the mind will hate. And we know there's only got left to lose.
53:14
[rock music] It's our day. Don't let your struggle mean nothing.
53:36
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.
53:50
[rock music]
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