Monday News And Views

Trek world is taking place right now and this bike will be on display there. Called the "Broadslider", it is a design exercise, and even has a comic book to go with it! Although Trek has no plans to ever produce such a bike, it is great to see that at least the design department is allowed to be creative which may point to some features seen here being implemented on future Trek production bikes. The fact that it is a 69er is, well.........meh! But it does work with the overall design philosophy, which is based on flat track motorcycles. More from Trek World should be coming today, and if anything interesting pops up, I'll report on it.

Okay, I could totally see Meatloaf, circa 1978, riding this bicycle! Apparently, someone by the name of Billie Grace Lynn concocted the apocalyptic velo-vison using a real bicycle frame and then gracing it with an actual cow's skeleton. Yes- the entire cow skeleton is here!  Maybe I should get this to ride at the Dirty Kanza 200 next year to scare the livestock off the roads! Actually, it would be an illegal bike, since it is fitted with an electric assist motor! I peeled this image from the Wend Blog.  

The Scout Lives! I finally sussed out the Scout's issues and have it rideable. The horizontal drop outs take me right back to Karate Monkey issues with rear wheel removal, Blecch! But with a super cheap price for entry here, how can you really complain?

I tried setting this up with the shortest possible chain stay length, but with Specialized Purgatory 2.4"ers on Gordos, that wasn't happening. I had a whisper of clearance on the stand, but you couldn't ride it. So, out came the extra chain link and I had to slam the axle all the way back now in the drops. That didn't work either because the angle of the caliper wasn't compatible with the rotor in that extreme setting.  I swapped from a 18T to a 20T and then it all fell into place. I had a mid drop out axle position, enough clearance to get by on the tires, and the rotor didn't hit the caliper anymore. And there it is, with a Rock Shox Reba Team w/20mm thru-axle and big meaty tires. It weighs in right at 29lbs. How fitting! Heavy for a single speed, but this thing feels like it would last through a nuclear attack. Maybe they should have called it the Origin 8 Cockroach!


Jeff Kerkove, who I used to work with, was just doing this little ol' bike ride in the Colorado Rockies recently. He was leading the event until some feet issues took him out after three days of racing. This was his first attempt at the CTR, (Colorado Trail race), and by the sounds of it, it is brutal! My favorite quote from his race recap is, "Everything in this race is further away than you think it is. What you think will take you 2 hours to cover....will in fact take you 8." You  can check it out for yourself here

We Iowans are proud of Jeff and wish him a speedy recovery from his injuries suffered in the event. Ride on, Jeff!