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Geometry explainer

CyclingTips does a good job of explaining how to understand bike geometry, but there are a couple things they flubbed in the video below. First, “twitchy” isn’t a good word for a bike with a short trail. Twitchy is somewhat pejorative, and implies that the bike might be difficult to control. IMO, “responsive” is a much better term. One of the things I love about my Tarmac is how responsive the bike…

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Garmin fēnix 7 – Coming Soon

Of course it was really just a matter of time, but that time appears to be “soon” as the Garmin fēnix 7 / 7S / 7X are up on the FCC test site. Rumor has it that they were supposed to launch last spring/summer, but Garmin held back because of the global supply chain and logistics issues. It will be interesting to see what they offer over the fēnix 6, which I’ve…

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OK, I’ll bite. WTF is a “Gravel Saddle”?

Huh, apparently there are gravel specific saddles now? Also apparently, a gravel saddle is the thing I’m missing because I’ve never gotten air like that coming over a hill. Good thing fi’zi:k has me covered. Or, I guess more specifically, CMA? Unless I’m missing something it looks a lot like the Terra Argo X1 is just a wider (?) carbon railed road saddle. There’s no magic to that, carbon rails are generally…

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Xert Take The Wheel

If you follow me on Strava, you probably saw this one coming. After thinking about it, and talking to a few people who use a coach, I decided to submit to Xert’s training guidance; at least for the most part. Just to clear some things up, I do think there is tangible value in having an IRL coach. A real person providing adaptive workouts, finding areas for fitness improvement, tips, nutritional direction,…

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Endura Expands MT500 Freezing Point Lineup

When I started riding my fat bike on MTB trails in the snow, I pretty much wore a mix/match of road cycling and random sportswear. As I spent more time out in the cold, and less time bouncing off trees (skills still aren’t where they should be, but hey, I’ll take the improvement), I’ve been upgrading some of that kit to things that are more purpose built for the task. The main…

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Will Dynaplug Damage Your Carbon Rims?

When I found out about Dynaplug, I had some concerns around whether it could damage carbon rims if the brass tip made contact with the wheel. I would love to take manufactures at their word that a thing is safe, thoroughly tested, and works the way it should, but all too often it just doesn’t play out. So I figured it was worth buying one and testing what would happen if I…

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Esker Cycles is Crowdfunding Itself

I generally try to stay away from crowdfunding. My personal experience hasn’t been that awesome there. But, I also have to admit that this crowdfunding effort from Esker (a startup MTB brand that also owns Terren Tires) has me intrigued. Part of that is because the thing on offer here isn’t a sleek product, that is probably vapor, but a slice of the company itself. And while I have minimal interest in…

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All your Shimano Dura-Ace 9270 Weight Questions Answered

I’m not sure if I’ve ever started a Rides of Japan video, and not watched it all the way through. Content I want, presented in a way that is easy to consume; what’s not to like? Today’s installment will be a bit dry for anyone not interested in the weight of bike components, or how to setup Shimano’s new semi-wireless Di-2 system, but for me this is perfect.…

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PSA: Used Vector 3 + Rally XC Conversion Kit is a great cheap SPD Power Meter

DCR made a video about this when the Garmin Rally power meter pedals launched, so I knew it was possible. But, I hadn’t actually ever done the math around whether it would be worth it if you didn’t already have a set of Vector 3s laying around. Yesterday a friend of mine mentioned that he did exactly that over the summer; back when the Rally XC 200 were in short supply and…

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