Category: Reviews

5+ Ways to Make a Super Wide Range 2 x 11 Speed Drop Bar Drivetrain – Only 1 With an Adapter!

Adventure / touring / gravel bikes are great, aren’t they? They allow you to get out on the road and almost hang with the best road bikes out there. They also let you depart from said road and nearly keep up with the best cross country mountain bikes around. This is a great fantasy except …

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On The Passing Of American Classic Wheels

The news I read was that AC wanted to sell their intellectual property and Bill Shook was available for consulting. I hope some of AC’s ideas and designs are picked up by another wheelmaker.

Pearl Izumi X-Project Pro Shoes: High Performance Commute/Touring Shoes? And Shoe Fit Basics

Picture the plight of  poor Pearl Izumi when it comes to marketing their X-Project shoes. These are race level, high-tech, top performing shoes. Pearl has figured out that even on a race shoe the entire sole of the shoe does not have to be so stiff that they make you walk like a penguin. X …

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What’s A Bike Shirt? Zoic District, Troy Lee Grind, Club Ride Vibe, Others

Bike Shirt (bīk SHərt) noun: A shirt suitable for cycling, styled like a casual shirt with a collar, made with technical fabrics and features helpful to cyclists. Why bother with a nerdy definition? It distinguishes bike shirts from bike jerseys, tech tees and wing suits. Many companies that make them call them jerseys but I …

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The Math Behind A Wide Range 2×11 Drivetrain

I recently modified a mountain bike that came with a 2×11 drivetrain. It was nice, but I wanted a wider gear range. The result was a 10/42T 11 speed cassette paired with a 40/24T 2x crankset. I can hear the cries already: “A 24×42 granny gear? That’s madness!” “You will never get shifting to work …

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Interbike 2016 Report

I decided to make a short visit to Interbike this year. They have customer appreciation day now, and I am appreciated I guess. This is not meant to be some exhaustive industry report of Interbike, you can get that from various magazines and such. This was just me having fun. I made the decision to …

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Steampunk Tourer, Commuter, Soldier, Spy

My current multi purpose bike features some unusual component combinations that may be of interest to other bike builders. It is a fairly techy build, so warning: this post may cause eye twitches and other assorted muscle spasms in retro grouches. You have been warned. The frame is an Airborne Carpe Diem, circa 2004. And since …

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Santa Fe Dehydrated Refried Beans Review

Yummmmm, dehydrated bikepacking food. Before I look at these beans in more detail it is probably worth talking a little about “why” dehydrated foods and some of your options. The pros of dehydrated foods are that they pack down small and they are lightweight since you are not carrying the water. And they keep for …

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