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Full Spectrum Cycling
Weekly Dose of Fat Show #99 – Talking Plus Bikes With Chris From Marin and the Alaska Takeover!
Mar 25, 2016
Weekly Dose of Fat Show #99 – Talking Plus Bikes With Chris From Marin and the Alaska Takeover!
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0:00
Weekly Dose of Fat, show number 99 for Friday, March 25th, 2016.
0:06
[upbeat music] Welcome to the show.
0:22
This is your Tio Gomez, and across the slab from me is the last of the great American playboys, Sven Hoppe. Yeah, yeah. Woo. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. That's me all right. And across the desk from me is the wonderful Mr.
0:39
JK Livin. Ah, should I stay or should I go? [singing] [laughs] I don't know even wh- where'd I... [laughs] There was something that triggered that earlier. Tonight's show is brought to you by the Surly Junk Strap.
0:55
The name speaks for itself. Learn more about bikes, parts, and chaos at surlybikes.com. What's on the show this week? Oh, wait, wait. There's a strap that talks? Surly's making a talking strap now?
1:09
Talking Junk Strap, what'd I say? [laughs] You just wrote, you just read what I wrote. But yeah, talking straps. Those straps do rule. Do you guys use Junk Straps? Not a lot. Nope.
1:22
See, I think that it's, like, one of the least known awesome Surly products. It's a toe strap that's, like, I don't know, 36 uses long. Yeah, I've definitely seen them. I just haven't really used one.
1:35
Literally thousands of uses. Thousands. So, uh, you are- What's on the show this week? [laughs] Just saying. We s- we start the show with the event of the week.
1:49
We check in with the Fatty Farm Field Report, brought to you by Quiring Cycles. The Quiring Triple B is the fattest ride on two wheels, featuring the new generation of 5.05-inch tires.
2:02
Visit quiringcycles.net to see the next level of bicycle exploration. And we'll talk with Chris Holmes from Marin Bikes. We'll check in with Kevin Breitenbach and talk about the White Mountains 100.
2:17
We'll talk beard and such. And Gomez is live out on Brady Street with a preview of tonight's special segment.
2:26
Sven, JK, in today's special segment, we get debriefed on the Chugach Fat Bike Bash up in Valdez by Lee Hart, along with a surprise guest that will probably blow your mind. Now, back to you in the studio.
2:42
And now- It's time for the Fat Bike Event of the Week... and this week's event of the week is our very own big 100th show celebration. Yeah. We're gonna, uh, we're gonna have goats, clowns, skids, bucket ball, beer,
3:00
bikes. R- the river trails are right there, and- Banjo. Oh. Oh. Perhaps polar bears on gold chains. And hey, guess what? [coughs] Chicken butt. Uh, Reeb- [laughs]
3:18
... and Oskar Blues Brewery have, uh, filled the shoes, the shoes that are the, our beer sponsor for the big shoe. Right on. Righteous.
3:31
Uh, so you guys gotta pick out some Old Chub or Dale's Pale Ale, little variety pack. So we're gonna have cans a-bear. And we're, I think we were gonna put, uh, Dave Ludden sit- in charge of handing out beer. Yep.
3:44
We might lose a case or two that way, but- It's all right... he'll deliver in the end. The entertainment value of Dave and a pallet of, of craft beer is,
3:56
that's- that's enough whatever, I mean, whatever he drinks is paid back almost in a perfect reciprocal curve of awesomeness, a wave of fun. Large, cresting wave. Moist. Moist.
4:12
[laughs] That's top of the fucking hill. I watch these guys, like, silently hand each other beers out of the fridge [laughs] Hey. As we're creeping toward the top of the hill.
4:26
So, uh, we're gonna talk to Chris Holmes in just a little bit, but, uh, right now we have a lucky caller from Alaska. Oh, no. Welcome to the radio program. Hello, uh, gentlemen. How you doing?
4:41
Is it- We're, we're j- [laughs]... Travis? We're just waiting for Chris Holmes to call. We thought we'd see what's up with you.
4:48
Oh, I wanted to make sure I got the chance to call and, uh, congratulate you guys on the 100th show. And thank you. Oh. Well, it's, we're only up to 99 and this one isn't over yet.
5:02
[laughs] [laughs] So don't, don't count us, don't, you know, don't count your chickens before they're hatched is what my mom always said. Right.
5:12
So did you- I thought your phones might be a little over- overloaded on April Fools' Day. Oh, April Fools' Day we're not even gonna be taking calls. We're gonna be sequestered in a padded room,
5:24
uh, with mayhem surrounding us. There's gonna be a bike circus/rodeo in town. I suppose y- We wish you could be here. I suppose people could still call in to the show and leave us a message- Oh, yeah...
5:34
while we're having fun. They could be like, "Hey, happy 100th you jackass." I'm so wasted. That was my skull. [laughs] I went right there, too. [laughs] Yeah. So what's up, T-Bone? How's the world treating you up there?
5:51
Oh, man, we're... Treating us good. Just had a, had a nice shot of snow this weekend, so you actually got, like, a, got to pedal through about nine inches of, of powder and now it's all warmed up and going away quickly.
6:05
But, uh, yeah, and the, the, the Big Fat, uh, Bike Festival in Homer was awesome. The weather just worked out Yeah, I believe, uh, you've got a Wallpaper Wednesday coming up from that trip. Nice shot of, uh- Yeah...
6:20
riding on the beach there on the, what, what's that? The Cook Inlet, right? Uh, yeah, I think that shot we were probably, probably coming into Kachemak Bay.
6:29
Yeah, you know, you start out at Anchor Point, so Cook Inlet, Kachemak Bay, about, uh, that's kinda the ride basically takes you through the merger of the two zones there. Yeah, it was, it was fantastic.
6:41
A little cold and cloudy at the start. Half, half-hour in the, uh, the sun broke out. Unfortunately, a mile in I, uh, bent my small chain ring, so I had to push the 36-tooth all the way.
6:53
[laughs] Hey, you're a strong guy. Yeah. You can- Yeah... you can have it. I've been riding, I've been riding mostly one-bys now, so that, that'd be, I don't know, that would be weird.
7:05
All right, uh- It'll be weird when I go back for, to a two by 10. You'll have more choices. Yeah. [laughs] It'll, it'll confusemate me. Um, uh, Travis, can you hang on for a little bit?
7:15
We're gonna take a quick break here before we talk to Chris Holmes from Marin and, uh, we'll- You bet... we'll be right back- All right... with Mr. Chris. We're gonna tickle you later.
7:25
[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 45 NRTH and Bontrager.
7:43
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.
8:03
Hi, this is Eric from Surly. Uh, every time I'm looking for the preferred nomenclature, I listen in to Gomez and Sven on Fat Bike Radio. Nomenclature. Hey, everybody. Welcome back to the show. Uh, we've got Mr.
8:17
Chris Holmes from Marin Bikes on the line, and, uh, welcome to the show, Chris. How you doing? I'm doing great. How are you guys doing? So far, so bad. Oh, yeah. [laughs] Tonight. [laughs] I, I feel like 10 bucks.
8:30
A stellar beginning to the show. [laughs] So yeah, man, you know, um, we're going from the kind of the fat bike winter mindset into the other part of the year. So we wanted to talk a little bit about plus bikes. Mm-hmm.
8:45
And, you know, just wanna get a start with just telling people what you do at Marin. Um, I am Marin's brand director, and I am primarily responsible for our marketing and communications.
8:58
And as a long time rider myself, I also have some input on, uh, bike design. Right on.
9:04
Yeah, when I, uh, talked to John Wells, he's a local here, so he's the first guy I thought of, um, he said that you were the guy to talk to about all things plus bike.
9:12
So, um, before we talk about Marin products specifically, can you remind our listeners about what we mean when we s- talk about a plus bike? There's like, you know, a couple different versions.
9:22
What, what's that all entail? Certainly. Well, you know, it's, with it being a new category,
9:28
you know, the, the, it hasn't really been fully nailed down, but for the most part, plus bikes are mountain bikes that generally have tires that are about three inches wide, available in both 29-inch and 27 and a half-inch diameter.
9:42
So they're gonna be a bit wider than the most typical 2.35-inch, you know, standard mountain bike tire, if you will.
9:49
Yet narrower than, you know, a fat bike tire, which is going to start at about four inches and go on up. So it's a nice, it's a nice tweener, so to speak. Right on.
9:59
Yeah, let's just, so here we are in, uh, spring turkey season, kind of the, uh, transition where people are saying a fond farewell to their
10:11
fat bike and maybe looking to ride their mountain bike and maybe looking for something in between.
10:18
Can you, uh, share with our listeners what your thoughts are for the specific benefits of this plus bike tweener platform? Yeah, certainly.
10:29
You know, let me, you know, first start by saying that we, we actually really do enjoy fat bikes, but out here in coastal California, you know, we tend to have kind of a hard time, harder time justifying owning one.
10:41
You know, it's, we don't really have the snow unless you go up to the mountains, and people really don't ride on the beach. The saltwater's [laughs] really bad for them.
10:47
So yeah, I just really don't see fat bikes out here.
10:51
So, you know, with Marin being based in northern California, uh, um, you know, we wanted to have, you know, we wanted to hit a niche, but we wanted to do something that was, you know, a little bit different.
11:03
So, you know, not only do these, uh, plus bikes, harder trail bikes,
11:09
uh, you know, they have amazing traction, and they inherit suspension from r- running lower pressure, uh, but they also make for a really fun second or third mountain bike for, you know, those who have been a little bit more experienced.
11:21
And we've had, uh, a number of customers who've returned to hardtails in the form of plus bikes after spending years on full suspension bikes, and they, you know, they remember the joy that they found in riding a simpler machine.
11:33
Uh, plus bikes can also be great platforms for use when, you know, bike packing, or as we used to call it, touring. Mm-hmm. Yeah. We put our- Back in the olden days. Hmm.
11:42
[laughs] Yeah, back, back up until about two years ago. Right.
11:44
[laughs] Um, and we do, [laughs] we do equip our Pine Mountain models with racks, fender, and on our entry-level Pine Mountain 1 model, some, uh, frame bag mounts too.
11:54
So, you know, the, for us out here in California, the,
11:58
you know, the tweener size with the plus bike is a, uh, it's a really fun new option for us to enjoy larger volume tires, but they're not as heavy and ponderous on non-snow conditions. Right.
12:10
Yeah, you know, I mean, fat bikes took a bit of time to hit the mainstream and to get kinda recognized as a legitimate, you know, category of, a product category.
12:19
The big guys, it seemed to take them a while to get into it. It, it seems to us like- Mm-hmm... jumping a lot quicker on the plus bike category than they did with the fat bike, when it's ramping up faster.
12:30
You know, several of the major brands out there are already jumping in with both feet. What do you think accounts for that, uh, quickness of that market movement?
12:37
Well, with the, you know, the fat bikes to a lot of brands, we, you know, the, they're, they were super weird at the time.
12:45
So I think the fact that there has been acceptance with fat bikes across the industry made the plus sized bikes just a lot of an easier, a much easier sell because it didn't look quite as odd, you know, the, the parts are a little bit more common, and now with, you know, plus or fat bikes have already kind of
13:04
been the trailblazer and showed the industry that there is demand for these different types of bikes.
13:10
And really, I mean, with plus bikes, I think one of the reasons why so many brands are jumping into it is, I mean, they're simply a lot of fun, and, you know, brands like Marin who sat on the sidelines and watched fat bikes, you know, we, as I mentioned before, we see plus bikes as being, you know, a new niche that we can actually explore and enjoy on our local trails.
13:31
We tested some different, uh, 29er plus bikes and, you know, 29-inch wheel, 29 by 3s are really some of the first plus bikes to hit the market. Mm-hmm.
13:40
Um, we liked them, but we felt that they were just a little bit, um, you know, the, the wheels were just a little bit too ponderous and they were... it was a bit more challenging to fit a,
13:51
a shorter rider on such a large diameter wheel. So as soon as WTB showed us the, you know, 27 plus platform that they had developed back in 2014, we jumped on that and started developing our bikes around that wheel size.
14:06
I like that idea. [laughs] Yeah. And it, and it, it really does seem that it dovetails into
14:14
components as well, the advent of, of boost, uh, et cetera, and, and shocks, RockShox, Manitou, and Fox all have B plus forks.
14:28
I mean, it really, it, it seems like everything aligns- Yeah, sort of like a, an aligning of the stars... it's like a conspiracy. Hmm. [laughs] Of course.
14:38
Well, I mean, it was, it was brilliant on WTB's part to design the first 27 plus around existing standards too.
14:46
You know, if you recall, the original 27 plus, uh, wheels, or tires were like, you know, 2.8 inches wide, and they were designed to fit into most existing 29er frames and forks.
14:59
So you could convert a bike that you may already have into a plus.
15:05
Um, but the market, or I should say the component suppliers, you know, none of, no one wanted to be left out, uh, so everyone kind of jumped in and started making specific forks for it.
15:15
And a lot, there are a lot more rim providers, and tires grew from being, you know, 2.8 inch, which is just enough to squeak into a 29er fork, into, you know, three-inch wide rubber.
15:28
So, um, it was, it was pretty cool in how quickly the industry, you know, embraced this plus technology. Yeah, well- Or plus standards, I should say...
15:37
I've been enjoying the wheel size on essentially what is like a, a, a, a performance trail fat bike frame, but with 47 millimeter rims and three-inch 27.5 tires.
15:51
And like you were saying before with the 29er, that conversion is really cool because it really kind of changes the character of the bike, but it's very doable and, and fun.
16:01
Yeah, I've been, I've been riding the 27.5 3.8-inch gender bender in-betweener-tweener- [laughs] Yeah... uh, Bone Dagger fat bike, uh, over the last few weeks here. Yeah, it's- So.
16:17
That's like, that's a sign of a really mature market where we just keep piling niches upon niches upon niches.
16:23
[laughs] Well, it's nice that there's all these choices because I think, um, no matter what your platform is, um, I think you can find something that'll work for you.
16:32
You know, it used to be there was only one fat bike tire. Uh, there's tons of them now. Mm-hmm. You know, obviously the, the- Yes... plus market has ramped up quicker too.
16:40
If you're, if you're 5'3" and below, you can go 24 inch. Yeah, yeah, legitimately- Yeah, well... now performance oriented. So.
16:48
It, it's kind of funny because it's, it's now almost going back to the earlier days of mountain biking where, um, you're getting regional specific as well.
16:56
You know, what works in Wisconsin doesn't always work in California, it doesn't always work in Florida.
17:01
You know, back in the early days of mountain biking, you know, like a lot of the West Coast bikes had the three Ls, you know, long, low, and laid back- Mm-hmm...
17:10
where the bikes out, like, you know, the original Cannondales were, you know, shorter in their design- Steep... for twisty, rooty- Yeah... you know, East Coast single track.
17:19
Where out here, people are riding fire roads all the time. Yeah, we see it in- And then... in the fat bike realm for sure. Yeah, absolutely, yeah. Colorado bikes are- Yeah... are very specific.
17:27
That's why everybody that has a fat bike needs more than one. Yeah. And one of them might be a plus bike. [laughs] 10 plus 1 around here. Me too. Yeah. That's what we believe in. Yeah.
17:35
Golf- golfers have a lot of clubs in their bag. Why can't we have a lot of bikes in our fleet, right? [laughs] I like that one. Hey- So, yeah, go ahead. What, what was I gonna say?
17:44
I was just gonna- About the Pine Mountain, let's talk about the- Yeah... about the bike and any possible, uh, other future offerings in that plus space. Well, right now we have two models in our Pine Mountain collection.
17:56
Uh, we have the Pine Mountain 1, which has a retail price of 989, and, um, that is a rigid chromoly bike. It has a rigid, uh, chromoly fork as well with a tapered steer and suspension-ready lengths.
18:10
So you can run it as rigid if that's what you want, and, but it also does have upgrade potential on down the line. So if you decide you wanna, you know, put a fork, suspension fork on it, easy to do.
18:20
The Pine Mountain 1 has been super popular for us.
18:24
We, um, are still catching up with, uh, delivery, so it's, it's kind of a good problem to have, but I, I also do our social media, so I'm on the receiving end sometimes of people saying, "I ordered my Pine Mountain a few months ago.
18:35
Where is it?" I'm like, "Just talk to your dealer." [laughs] That's $999. You, uh, you know, it is a great starter trail bike.
18:43
It has a one by 10, uh, wide range drivetrain with a, uh, narrow wide chain ring up front, um, Shimano hydraulic disc brakes, tubeless compatible rims.
18:54
So it's a really good starter platform, and as I mentioned earlier, it's, you know, adept at bike packing.
19:00
So, you know, if you wanna maybe plan a bike packing trip or two or three this summer, but don't wanna go out and invest, you know, a few thousand bucks into a new bike, this is a great option.
19:12
Uh, moving up, we have a second model called the Pine Mountain 2, and that one is built around a Columbus Thron premium chromoly tube set with some really nice investment cast dropouts and other hardware on it.
19:23
Ooh, la la. Um, Shimano XT 1 by 11. Yeah, Shimano XT 1 by 11 drivetrain and SLX brakes, a Fox 34 suspension fork with goose spacing.
19:33
So, um, you know, it's a fork that's designed with 27 plus in mind, and a really nice WTB wheel set and, and their Trail Blazer two by eight-inch tires. That one retails for about 2,750.
19:46
Uh, going into 2017 model year, can't get into details yet, but we'll be showing off something new at the Sea Otter Classic, uh, next month. So, um, just watch the internet and you'll see some, uh, some new stuff.
20:00
[laughs] I think Sven and I are gonna have dinner there. Yeah. [laughs] At the, at the, at the, at the unveiling of the, uh, Pine Mountain. Bring some pine cones along. [laughs] That's all we'll have for dinner [laughs].
20:12
Um- I will give you some, uh, custom brewed Pine Mountain pale ale as well, so. Right on. Look at that.
20:18
Hey, you know, last time we actually saw you in person was out at the, um, outdoor demo, I think, at during Interbike. Yeah. And, um, we did w- Yep...
20:25
if, we did do a video back then, I think it's got, like, 3,500 views right now on, on our site, but I'd like to, uh, I'd like to reintroduce it, 'cause this is the bikes we're, this is the bike we're talking about.
20:36
I think we talked about the, the Columbus Thron tubed, um, Pine Mountain 2- Yeah... in the video.
20:42
But, um, you know, you guys ha- were already thinking about it back then, and it takes, you know, now's the time to, it's actually gonna happen. It's, you know, it's a cool thing.
20:50
Remember how you, you said you were gonna pay us a dollar for every view we got? No? [laughs] Oh, I must have. Uh- Just- I don't recall. Maybe the tape back. I don't know. [laughs] I'm just, I'm just funning ya.
21:03
That's, like, one and done. Well, we're gonna give you one of our, I think I gave you one of our 30th anniversary ales, and then maybe you said something after that. I don't know. [laughs] I'm just funning ya. Cool.
21:14
So, well- I know, I know... you got anything else you wanna lay on us before we, uh, continue, uh, on down the road with the show here?
21:21
Well, um, you know, although we don't have Pine Mountains on it, uh, you did mention John Wells earlier, a Milwaukee boy who is one of the, uh, demo drivers that we use, uh, in conjunction with us, our Simpler.
21:33
And John'll be all over the, uh, eastern part of the US this year, uh, with a nice Ford Transit with a fleet of carbon, uh, Marin full suspension bikes, uh, hitting all sorts of different events along the East.
21:49
And we also have another one on the West C- another driver on the West Coast as well. But, uh, yeah, look for him at races and talk to him and buy him a beer, and- Cool. Send us a link-... just a great guy...
21:58
and we'll put it in the show notes- But it's all fun. It's plenty of fun... to, to the schedule of your demos. S- demo driver schedule. Okay. Yeah, yeah. I'll send that over. So people can check it out.
22:07
I need to, I need to crack the whip on my marketing assistant. She said she was gonna get it up. I need to make sure it's up there. All right. All right. Yeah. Hey, thanks for being on the show, man. Oh.
22:15
Appreciate talking to you. Yeah, thanks for coming on the show. Thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate it. Give us a shout anytime. If you got something new, we'll talk to you.
22:22
We'll, we'll see you out there at the, uh, the Web Footed Weasel, the Sea Otter Classic. The Sea Donkey. [laughs] The Ocean Weasel. [laughs] All right, man. All right, guys. Thanks very much. See ya. Yeah. Thank you.
22:35
See ya. All right. Chris from Marin up there, Plus Bike talking. How about, uh, we take a little break right here? I think a break would be lovely.
22:48
[laughs] [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.
23:05
Learn more about Chumba's American-made Ursa Major at chumbausa.com. [upbeat music] You're tuned to Fat Bike Radio.
23:21
It's time for this week's Fatty Farm Field Report with your Fatty Farm Field Reporter, Sven Hammer. And I'll just say it again, the Fatty Farm Field Report is brought to you by Quiring Cycles.
23:37
The Quiring Triple B is the fattest ride on two wheels, featuring the next generation of 5.05-inch tires. Visit quiringcycles.net to see the next level of bicycle exploration. Yeah. That's what I just said.
23:52
Did you hear me say that? Yeah. So, uh, it's, and we're, like, uh, right on time, right on schedule. I know. Schedule- That actually almost never happens. I know.
24:03
So that's, that's, it, now if Kevin calls in on time, then- Maybe we could, uh, see what's up with Travis.
24:10
We'll just wait for, uh, Kevin to call in, and Travis is gonna carry the show until such time as Kevin gives us a call. Travis. [laughs] Get up, boy. We already talked- Well, I can't handle that kind of responsibility.
24:22
[laughs] Well, I think we kind of, we touched on the, the Big Fat Bike Festival in Homer because of your photo, but- Did we talk any more about it? I mean, what, what happened up there? How'd that go?
24:31
Did- It looked like it was warm. I think you mentioned it was warm... did you drink a shot of tequila with, uh, with Sister Kim for me? Uh, you know, I did, I did not.
24:42
She was, she was really busy over at Alice's, you know- Oh. Oh... with the raffle and everything. But, uh, yeah, the bonfire was awesome.
24:50
Um, above average temperature, so you remember when you were up, Gomez, you know- It was pretty chilly... you're at the fire and you're halfway through your beer and it's frozen. Yeah.
24:59
Um, yeah, we just had some rain, a little bit of rain move through Friday night, but the bonfire and the obstacle course, great time. And, uh, but the ride started early.
25:09
Uh, we had to check in at 7:00, so kinda kept it to a dull roar Friday night. And then, um, yeah, fantastic weather on Saturday for the ride, and it was, uh, that's the longest beach ride I've done yet.
25:24
And it was- But you bent your, your granny gear, huh?... pretty interesting. Yeah, yeah, I had a, snapped a, snapped the, uh, one of the set screws from the small ring on the front,
25:35
jammed my chain between the, uh, the two rings.
25:39
Had to actually sit down and grab onto the chain with both hands and rip it out of there, hope it didn't break, and then, uh, rode out on the big ring on, for the rest of the ride. But it was exactly the excuse I needed.
25:51
I've been telling my wife I was getting ready to upgrade to 1x11, so- [laughs] So- See how that almost killed me, dear? And, and I was- [laughs] Yeah. Yeah, it was dangerous.
26:00
[laughs] Could've, I could've been run down by a- Yeah, the, uh-... polar bear. Well, not there. Probably a- Exactly... grizzly bear or a black bear or something. Uh, some kind of bear.
26:10
Or a tele- tele- Or a tiger maybe... a television camera, for God sakes. Yeah. Right. Yeah, those guys are, uh, yeah, bears are waking up again. Had a few sightings.
26:22
About time to start packing the bear spray and, uh, maybe a gun for certain rides here and again in the future. Yeah. [laughs] Yeah. Pack the old gun.
26:33
[laughs] So, so, uh, now that it's transitioning from this, uh, you're, you're, you're almost warmer than we are down here right now. [laughs] It's, like, 30 degrees out there now.
26:45
And, um, so what happens in, in the summer? Do you have, uh, beaches to ride in your general area, or do you pack up the fat bike and head to a plus bike or a mountain bike? Uh, I'm gonna be...
26:57
Actually, I just emailed Gomez. I'm looking to go, uh, last week for some tire recommendations. Um, definitely still plan on riding my fat bike a lot
27:06
this summer, and looking at, uh, going down to, you know, a 3.8 to a 4-inch tire. Thinking about going the Hoodoos. Fat Be Nimble is my choice for you, sir. Oh, yeah. Fat, Fat Be Nimble.
27:16
That, that's another choice, for sure. Yeah. Well- It's in that same genre. I said Hooskerdoos. And, uh, it's another good one, for sure. Depends a little bit on your local trail conditions.
27:25
I think I like Hooskerdoos on, like, definitely, like, gravel and packed, like, limestone. Mm-hmm. You know, stuff like that. I think I like the Hoodoos just a little better when it's softer. Yeah.
27:39
So that's, uh, my non-expert opinion- Yeah, the Fat, the Fat Be Nimble-... which actually means absolutely nothing... good on the rocks and the roots and the mud. [laughs] Those, those Hodags are pretty darn good too.
27:47
I have not ridden any of the new offerings from our friends right down the road there in Waterloo. I can't wait to try the new Rogeroos. I'll- Who, who comes up with these names?
27:58
It's almost like you're working- I can't tell... for their marketing department. [laughs] [laughs] How did, how did, how did- It sounds like pure gnomish. Yeah.
28:07
A lot of people don't know this, but, uh, Travis speaks pure gnomish. [laughs] I do? [laughs] Yeah, yeah, sure I do. Uh, sure you do. That's what- So-... that's what he said.
28:21
[clears throat] Should we take a shot at the, uh- Yeah, but- Go ahead. Go ahead, caller. [laughs] Oh, did you say yeah?
28:30
We're dry, we're, yeah, soon as the mud's, mud's gonna, uh, you know, we're hitting that break-up kinda- [laughs]...
28:35
time of year, so there'll probably be, uh, a lot of bike trail and dirt road riding coming up here in the next month. And then, uh, but yeah, also looking forward to getting back on the squish bike a little too. Yeah.
28:47
Yeah, I don't ride the squish bike. I have one, but I just don't ride it. I ride l- all my rigid bikes though, and I just got a new clunker bike that I am just so stoked on.
28:58
Look for clunkers, [laughs] bike, clunkerbikes.com. I was spending- Come- [laughs] I was spending to clunker bikes. Uh, yeah. So yeah, I need a bunch of parts for that, but it's gonna be badass. He got himself a Hank.
29:14
Yeah, an Asylum Hank. So, and it has a, it has a BMX crank on it. I've never had a BMX crank, so I gotta figure out how to get, [laughs] uh, get that- Just, it just means you need more tools and-...
29:28
all gear taken off of there and maybe s- get some off-road gears going. And then hurt myself probably [laughs] riding- To keep-... this coaster brake off-road. [laughs] Need a coaster brake roll-off hub.
29:43
Uh, yeah, it's- Or a two-speed kick back, one or the other. [laughs] Single s- single speed'll be fine on that bike. Thing rides like a dream, man. But, uh- It's a coaster brake, right? Yeah. Right on. Yeah.
29:52
But, uh, it also has the eyelets for, for disc brakes, and I have sets of mechanicals just sitting around, so I just gotta build a set of wheels. So yee-haw. Won't that be fun? It will be fun. It will be done. Indeed.
30:10
So, uh, yeah, that bike is shaping up. And, uh, where is Kevin Breitenbach when we need him? I don't know. Bloody hell. We can just pretend he's not gonna call, and then when he calls, we'll just, uh- All right...
30:23
we'll actually talk to him then. All right. And now a word from capybara butter. Capybara butter is full of rich botanical emollients suspended in the hemp oils-
30:37
For a younger or more sober sweet spot, just put a smear of the capybara butter on your chamois and your goo is gonna sabla. Take it easy, man. That's capybara butter in the can with the world's largest rodent on it.
30:55
You know when something has a capybara butter, it is top notch. That thing says quality, like a huge aquatic rodent. Welcome to the show, Mr. Kevin Brightonbach, and, uh- Thanks. Thanks, guys.
31:10
Kevin, Kevin, you know, he, he wins races, he writes articles. He, uh, he probably can crochet. Uh- I, I can juggle, I can't crochet. Ah. I don't know how many races I'm winning anymore. Yeah.
31:25
But I do write articles, so- All right... you know. So- One out of three ain't bad. One out of three ain't bad. So this weekend is the White Mountains 100 that I thought you were doing secret ninja training
31:43
all by yourself up there, not doing any other races, to focus like a laser beam to end the year of Tim. Phew. I'd like to say that would, that was the truth, but, uh,
31:59
my ninja training, truth be told, uh, I am training to be a n- ninja, but, but I don't think that'll let me beat Tim, so. But if truly you were- Yeah, I mean-...
32:09
a ninja, you would, you would, of course, come up with some cockamamie story like you're not really a ninja, or you haven't had enough- Come on... ninja training. So you might- I believe that, uh, uh-...
32:20
still actually be a double secret- Right, that's called disinformation. Right. Disinformation- Right... spewing- Yeah, it's, yeah, it's a very- You know?... very clandestine thing. Yeah. It, it, it is.
32:31
We can talk about it like it's past tense, but really it's- [laughs] You know, it's ongoing. So just hypothetically, let's just say could you beat Tim right now? Can you beat Tim? Do you think you can beat Tim?
32:43
Hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm? It's the year of Tim, you know? I am curious to see if anyone can beat Tim. Ah. I, I don't have the confidence I can beat him. Um- All right. Do you think Will can beat Tim?
32:54
There's a few guys there that... Do I think Will can get him? Yeah. I, uh, we'll see. It snowed a bit up here last week, and, um, I think it kinda, it's taken out a little bit of the horsepower game- Yeah...
33:07
with the White Mountains this year. And, um, I mean, Will, he, he's obviously super strong. I think he still has a little bit to come together with the 100-mile races.
33:16
I think he'd say the same thing, but you know, he's done two of them already this year, so, um, you learn fast, and he obviously learns fast, so. I, I, I think Will has a great chance of getting Tim. Oh, cool.
33:29
So, uh- Yeah... out of the three of you, Will, the amiable and groovy Tim, and your bad self, who do you think is the best dancer out of the three of you? I haven't seen Will dance.
33:45
I, and, you know, truth be told, I haven't seen Tim dance either. Um, I can move. I, I don't know if I'd call it dancing. [laughs] I, I, I'm trying to think of how- I can move...
33:55
Will dances because I s- he was at the after party at the Fat Bike Birkie, but- Yeah... I don't recall him dancing. Actually, I don't recall a lot of dancing going on there.
34:02
Somehow I think that Tim- There's not a lot of, there's not a lot of dancing bikers... Tim would be a groovy dancer. It, it- It's the year of Tim, so- He needs to drink some more. You know, it, it- [laughs]
34:11
So we should just go with Tim. Tim can throw a few back. I bet you he, I bet you he dances pretty well. That's what I'd, I'd suspect. I could see Tim,
34:17
uh, mainly because I think I've seen a picture of him in a suit, uh, ballroom dancing elegantly, so. He's, he's a class act. What can I say? Yeah. [laughs] Yeah.
34:28
So speaking of class acts, who is this new cat, Tyson Flaherty? Tyson's not, Tyson's not a new, he's not a new rider up here in Alaska. He has been, um, he's kind of...
34:42
In, in the summer in road racing, um, for years he's been kind of the best road racer in Alaska, and for a long time, um, he was training to be on the US ski team, cross-country ski team.
34:54
And, um, he, so he was doing that most of his 20s, and now he's kind of grown out of that lame Nordic stage. Uh-huh.
35:00
And, uh, now he's, um, the last few years he's been making a pretty serious run at, at fat biking, and now he's kinda, he's there. He trains a ton. He's just, he lives just up the road from me.
35:13
And so, um, yeah, Tyson's nothing new. He's, he's a beast. Well, man, I, I- He'll be, he'll be, he'll be up there for sure. You can't kill that kid. That's- Yeah...
35:22
he's, just see what him and Tim did in the ITI, for how long they did it. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Oh.
35:28
I think it's, I think it's- Well, that's why, that's how his name came to light down here in, in the lower, the darkness of the lower 48. Plus, it's just a, such a- Ah... badass name. Tyson Flaherty.
35:41
And now a word from capybara butter. [laughs] So Tim, or, uh, sorry, Kevin, Kevin, can you do a little, uh, a little, uh, testimonial for capybara butter? [laughs] Did you hear? For what butter? Capybara. Capybara.
35:58
A capybara is the world's largest rodent. It's like a S- Really?... South American beaver pig. [laughs] And they make butter from it. And- What a mystical creature. We harvest- What? We harvest the capybara butter.
36:14
[laughs] You, you... [laughs] [coughs] Yeah. I never know what I'm gonna get when I call this show. I know. I have no idea. And that's- I know... and that's exactly what it's supposed to be. [laughs] It's-
36:27
Oh, man, I've called you guys so many times and been like, "Did I hear that right? Is that what, is that, they didn't just say that. Okay. All right." So. I know. If we just talked about bikes,
36:37
I don't think it would be quite as exciting. So, so, so you wouldn't get the woman demographic like I'm sure you guys do. Yeah You know?
36:44
That's, yeah, this is where you put that whole system- I know we have at least one female listener, Amber, said she was listening to our show- Really?...
36:50
in preparation for our meeting today, which shows she's doing her due diligence. [laughs] But she did listen to us and said, "Wow, you guys are a lot better than I thought you'd be."
36:59
[laughs] [laughs] To which I said, "Surely you jest." [laughs] Truly, truly. Well, because of Sven's editing, 'cause he takes out all the giggles and shniggles. Oh, not this week. Oh, oh, I see, I see.
37:13
[laughs] Not this week. You take out all the white noise that we often create. Yeah, sometimes. [laughs] So what's your, what's your goal in the White Mountains?
37:20
Are you there to sight-see, take pictures, write an article for, uh, your favorite fat bike website? What's up? Could be there for all of the above. I'm gonna see how, I'm gonna see how it goes.
37:31
It's really b- that ra- I haven't done 100-mile race in a few years, and the last time I did the Whites I ended up dropping out. I got, my CamelBak exploded in 20-below and- Drenched, yeah... throwing up on myself.
37:43
Threw hisself, yeah. So I just decided I'm, I'm done. But, uh, the big thing, it, it- This year you have a, this year you, you have a Umpak.
37:50
I do have a Umpak now, but you know,y- those nozzles on the, on the CamelBak can always go bad, but- Yeah... little bite valves. But, um, that Umpak is pretty sweet, too, by the way. Yeah.
38:01
Which I will get back to you about- I know... here shortly. Yeah, yeah. Uh, but yeah, the White- A- after you've raced with it.
38:06
So, so you, are you gonna go out and you're gonna try and hang with the big boys until you- You know what, the-... until you can't, and then boom? Or what's, what's- You know what's neat about- Talk to me.
38:17
Talk to me, Juice. I'll tell you what- Goose... what's cool about the, the, the, what's cool about the Whites compared to other races, the Whites starts out with a, with a one mile uphill. Mm-hmm.
38:26
You just go uphill for a mile, and the first several miles there's, there's probably three or four climbs that are just huge killers.
38:34
That would be huge climbs in the Arrowhead, and you go through them all in like the first seven miles. Mm-hmm. And that really breaks up a pack really well, which makes it a fun race.
38:43
Um, so if I can hang with those guys up that first climb, then you're just kind of stuck and you, you just try and hang on as long as you can. Um, but it's a pretty diverse course and I, I, you know, I, I don't know.
38:58
I haven't, I've been towing a kid around in a chariot all winter, and it doesn't lead to... [sighs] I don't Strava and take, look at my heart rate- Yeah... so they do, and they're fast, and, um,
39:12
I just kind of motor along. We'll see how it goes. It'll be fun. All right. So. Well- That's, that's my vague answer. There you go.
39:19
We'll have to have you back in, uh, show 101 or 102 or 106 so you can, uh, tell us how it all worked out, and maybe introduce your new- Yeah, yeah...
39:29
your new kid in a trailer trainer, trainer program [laughs] if you win. [laughs] I, hey, I, I, I think people, I've done it for years.
39:38
People underestimate towing a kid around in a trailer, so it's- I used to do it on like an-... good workout... Xterra cycle type deal. That's how I towed my son around a lot.
39:47
Dude, I carry an 80-pound bag of concrete around [laughs] with me everywhere I go. It's called my belly. [laughs] Well, yeah, maybe it's only about 70 pounds now. I don't know.
40:01
Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving. Yeah. Or whatever, it's Easter. [laughs] Happy Easter. It is Easter. It is, and my, my daughter is really mad. The, the White Mountains 100 is going on on Easter.
40:14
It is, bad, bad, bad timing, race coordinator. Bad timing. Well, you know- So... just throw a couple of plastic eggs out there on the course and you've got yourself an Easter egg hunt. You'll have fun. Yeah.
40:25
Oh, it'll be a, should be beautiful weather. It'll be nice up here, so. All right. You guys have snow down there, or is your winter done? Are you guys like, you know, growing onions? It's gonna snow tomorrow.
40:35
It's snowing right now out in Florence. About f- about 50 miles north of here that's snowing right now. They're supposed to get eight to 12, and we'll get snow. It, it, it's, it snows every April here.
40:45
Yeah, for about a day or two. Yeah. Yeah. And we could get whacked with eight inches on a, on an April day. Yeah. But I could drive five miles south- Which is the- And then by about the 17th, next day...
40:53
and it would be 70, so. Yeah, yeah. And daffodils. Well, yeah. And real, live Easter bunnies. Ooh, daffodils and, uh- Speaking, speaking of real, live Easter bunnies... uh, bunnies.
41:03
[laughs] Do we have Leigh Hart on the line? No, we, we've got another caller from Alaska. This is like an all Alaska show right now. All Alaska show. Well, you're in- Welcome to the show from Valdez, AK. Oh, [censored].
41:17
It's Leigh Hart. Hey, how are you doing, Gomez? I, I never knew I could be this happy or silly. [laughs] How's it going? Hey, by the way, Leigh, just so you know, we've got Travis and, uh, we've also got Mr.
41:31
Kevin Breitenbach on the line. So we have Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Valdez all on the line. Wow. Craziness. It's an Alaska takeover. I know. That's three of us, and so what?
41:43
There's like 74 other Alaskans that live up here, so- [laughs]... you've got a solid part of the population. Our goal is to get them all on the show at once. [laughs] [laughs] This is all a plot.
41:57
Well, you know, we do have somebody else here too, Gomez. Remember, we're getting Greg on the line, too. I know. So if you recognize Kevin's- I know. Those, those weird... Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. What's happening, dudes?
42:08
Greg Mattis of Fatback Bicycles, ladies and gentlemen, our surprise guest. Yeah, we're all in the hot tub here. [laughs] What hot tub? What am I missing down there, Greg?
42:20
[laughs] It seems like wherever Greg goes, that's where the groovy stuff happens. I have, uh, been seeing unbelievable reports out of the Valdez, uh, Fat Bike Bash, and Leigh has, uh,
42:38
come on the show to give us the rundown. To de- debrief us is the, uh- The sexy joke- Yeah, I-... I wrote in the script. [laughs] I wanna know about the, how the, how the downhill thing went.
42:49
That just sounded like it had, uh, mainstream all over it. Well, it had...
42:56
It did have that all over it until Mother Nature, um, threw us a curve ball, and we had to, um, relocate the downhill into town and have more of a Chinese downhill, and we weren't quite up there on the pass.
43:10
Um, so, but we had a, a really great time.
43:13
The snow did not deter us thanks to, um, some really hardy, um, riders and our guests, as well as, um, the Valdez City Streets Department that totally rocked it for us and helped us build jumps and clear- [laughs]...
43:27
the rodeo grounds for that and- Nice... um, so we had- How much snow did you get?... we still had a... I don't know.
43:35
It was about e- I've got my, uh, my partner in, uh, Good Deeds here, Nick White, who's also ran the event with me, and I'll let you... He, he was the, kind of the operations guy.
43:44
He can talk to you a little bit about that. All right. Nick. Good evening, guys. How's it going? Tell us, talk to us about inches. Centimi- You guys- [laughs] You guys do inches there, right? Or centimeters?
43:57
Uh, we go with, uh, fathoms. We had- [laughs]... we had 2.5 fathoms up on the pass. [laughs] Crap. That sounds like five feet. Yeah, that does- [laughs] In my head, that's what that means. I don't know.
44:09
How much is 2.5 fathoms? I can't fathom what a fathom is. So, so- [laughs] None of us could either... you got basically one metric gnome ton of snow, right- [laughs]... boom, as the event hatched, right?
44:25
So Friday night party- Yeah. Yeah, we had, uh-... big dump. Yeah, well over two feet there right in town, and the pass probably picked up at least four feet up high. So- Yeah...
44:38
avalanche warnings and everything were through the roof, so we dropped down to the safer location and made that Chinese downhill. Cool, and I saw a cat jumped into the bay. So I've... I am not...
44:48
I don't, I'm not privy to this term, Chinese downhill. What does that, how, what does that mean? [laughs] Chinese downhill. I know. What's the format, though? [laughs] Everything in Chinese.
44:58
[laughs] Uh, the, the format's pretty lacking. Everyone takes off at once, and it's just a mad dash from top to bottom. Oh, oh, that sounds like a race. [laughs] Oh, yeah. Chinese downhill.
45:08
[laughs] Sounds like, it just sounds like a race in my book. It's like, whenever you have a bunch of people together and they're on some kind of vehicle, it's like, "I wanna get there first." It's just a race.
45:19
Yeah, mass- Why's it gotta be Chinese race? I don't get it... mass start downhills aren't you know, aren't normally... You know, they got that boop, boop, beep, one at a time. Oh, right. Okay. That is how it comes.
45:28
All right. See- But he, it was, uh, Nick here on the line was the one who jumped into the bay, so you gotta give him credit for- Oh, dude... having the stones to do that. Nick, the... And it looked like you had...
45:38
I'm like, "Oh, he's gotta have a dry suit on or something." [laughs] It looked like you had jeans on, dude. Oh, fleece Carhartts. Those things definitely keep you insulated. [laughs] I saw you too.
45:49
I was You spent no time... You were like, "F this bike, man. I am swimming as fast as I can to that ladder." And then I think there was a rope on the bike. Yeah, yeah, we roped up the bike.
46:01
Yeah, the catch was, uh, low tide, so it was, like, 35 feet instead of 15-feet drop. Oh, man. [laughs] Yikes. So, and y- And it was 32-degree water approximately?
46:13
Uh, yeah, but the bike did a really good job of busting up the slush before I hit it. So it was like- [laughs] Man.
46:20
And I saw that, uh, Carl Battrell, I hope I said his name right, got some great shots of you jumping, like, on a bluebird day before the event, uh, some great shots. So you must be some sort of- Yeah, a trooper...
46:37
you must be some sort of hero, superhero, uh, Huckabilly kinda talented rider and stuff. Um, yeah. Uh, just close your eyes and hit it hard and sometimes it works, right? [laughs] Is that, is that how it's done, Greg?
46:55
Um, well, that's, that's kind of our business plan here. [laughs] There you have it, folks. It's worked out so far. From, uh, one of the- Close your eyes and hit it hard? Close your eyes and hit it hard.
47:09
I think I did that this morning. Then I'll stop. [laughs] All right. Well, so you guys have maybe another, uh, another shot at the, at the pass downhill, right?
47:23
Maybe you're going to, uh, get a little crust downhill thing going? Yeah, we're gonna keep, um, checking out the conditions there and, um, and...
47:32
because we're thinking of moving the event a little bit later, and so we wanna just keep testing the snow, seeing how it goes, and, um, and seeing just what different kinds it can, what different sorts of aspects and exposure and times of year look like.
47:45
So yeah, we're, we're not, we're not out yet. Well, cool. Well, stay in touch. And hey, Greg, Greg, we, uh- Yeah... we, we're, we're in our 99th show. Next week is our great 100th show of Bike Rodeo.
48:00
We're only 11 years behind Harley-Davidson right now. They're going for their 111th. Yeah. Well, that- So- Oh, that's years... that's years. Whatever. Sorry. Uh, same thing. No, right, exactly.
48:09
So we're, we're, we're trying to get that young Pat Smage to come and, uh, jump over, like, I don't know, barrels of beer or people or set some sort of world record for, uh, for bike fun. So put out the- Nice...
48:25
put out the bat signal for, uh, Pat to get ahold of us. Okay. I'll do that. All right, my man. It was great to have you all on the show, the all Alaska show, show number 99. Thank you. Right on. Excellent.
48:43
That's- Thanks... one of the, one of the best shows we've- And we better get back to the hot tub here. [laughs] Don't drop the phone. Try not to drop the phone into it.
48:51
[laughs] Any, any chance you guys are gonna come join the hot tub one of these years? Oh, you know it, my man. I heard- Alaskan party [laughs]
49:00
I heard some, I heard some good news from my man Travis about, about things, so I'm thinking, uh, yeah. Next year.
49:08
Well, you know, and we have bunnies all over, we have, we have bunnies all over Valdez, and you know, those are, those are pretty cute and fuzzy to cuddle up with. Oh, wow. Bunnies. Bunnies. Bunnies. I like gnomes.
49:23
[laughs] All right, guys. Let's ride bikes together. Let's get together and ride bikes. I know that... Are you going, uh, Greg, are you going to Sea Otter? Yes. [laughs] I guess I am. Yes, I will be there. Oh, me Greg.
49:37
I'm going, too. All right. Well- Greg and Greg. That's gonna be the Greg and Greg and Gomez show... Sven, Greg, and, uh, Greg- Yeah, we'll see you there... Greg and Gomez will be there. So m- maybe we'll ride bikes then.
49:48
All right. Look forward to it. All right, dudes. See ya. Bye, all. Okay. Bye. See ya. See you, Kevin. Bye, Greg. [laughs] Bye, John boy. [laughs] Wow. All Alaska show.
50:05
Yeah, that was- That was, like, what, four people? That was like- Mm-hmm... what do you call a group of Alaskans? Um, friends? [laughs] Amigos. Alaska amigos. Cool.
50:17
Well- So our show has been brought to you this evening by the bikes, parts, and chaos of Surly Bikes. You know, Surly sent me some new stickers, and, uh, here's, here's one that I like.
50:31
"Your saddle is too high for you to be rad." Learn more at surlybikes.com. Mm-hmm. Want to wait? Till they run over you?
50:42
[laughs] The folks at Surly are ever so helpful in the area of radness, or being rad. Or maybe just rad. R-A-D. Hey, Facebookers.
50:58
[laughs] You can call 818-918-2453 anytime day or night and leave us a message. You know. Yee. Yerdme.
51:09
Join us next week when we celebrate our 100th show with a couple of bands and bike radio and gnomes and cases of Oskar Blues beer. Gnome king.
51:18
Keg stands, beer, scotch and rye, cider drink and vodka drink and whiskey drinkies. Gnome sign. And fixie hipsters, freestylers, commuters, e-bikers, BMXs, zishies, zins, zins, messengers, hucksters. Gnome sign.
51:35
Salve, tricks and drinks, bucket ball, derby.
51:39
Oh, man, as this, and as we head out of this here show, let's check out this little ditty called Drone Sales Are Up from the album A Familiar Humming by one of our Fat Bike 100th show rock and/or roll acts.
51:54
They're called El Rongo.
51:57
[rock music] Got an urgency.
52:29
Let's see where it leads us. It's all the same. It's all we see. It falls around us. Thematically, it's set to be very even.
52:47
It's all the same. It's all we see. It's all they sell us. [rock music] And they'd like you to see
53:04
it's all broken. [rock music] And they want you to see it's all broken.
53:19
[rock music] And they need you to see it's all broken.
53:30
[rock music] Don't you ever believe it's all broken.
53:40
[rock music] All this work and all this space, so just use it up.
54:01
Those that are up is in this job, we don't see them. It's all the same. It's all we see. It falls around us. It's all the same. It's all we see. It's all they sell us.
54:19
[rock music] You've been listening to Fat Bike Radio's Weekly Dose of Fat.
54:31
Find us on the web at fat-bike.com/radio. We'll see you next time.
54:55
[rock music]
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