Bikes Of 2024: OS Bikes Blackbuck

 It's another December here on the blog. You know what that means? Yep! Another round of my bikes I used in 2024. This round-up will not include some of the bikes I did not use this year much, or at all. I focus only on the bikes that played a big role in my riding during this year.  As always, any changes or future plans for any bike I feature will also be detailed. I hope that you enjoy this year's round-up.

The OS Bikes Blackbuck is a bike that barely made the list this year, and did so because it was pretty much the only MTB I used off-road all of 2024. It also represents the bike I've owned the second longest, the Karate Monkey being the leader in that category. At least as far as bikes I have that are rideable! I have a Mongoose All-Mountain Pro frame that was used on my self-supported tours in 1994 and 1995, but it hasn't been rideable for over 25 years. 

Anyway, a little history on the bicycle being featured here. You might be a newer reader here and you might find yourself thinking, "OS what-the-buck? I've never heard of this brand. What is the story here?" Well, if that is you, here's a brief history based upon what I've been told by the originator of OS Bikes, Mark Slate. 

Yes - that Mark Slate, he of WTB, and a member of the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame. The tire designer extraordinaire. THAT Mark Slate. Mark decided to hop on the 29"er thing after designing THE TIRE and started his own 29"er bicycle company called "Of Spirit Bikes", or simply "OS Bikes". Along about 2005 or so, Mark had - according to what he told me - about 500 frames and forks built up. He offered the OS Bikes first model, the Blackbuck, as a stylish single speed with a first generation Reba 29"er fork or with his radical non-suspension corrected 51mm offset rigid fork. 

In 2006 I purchased a Blackbuck from Mark with the rigid fork. These bikes are ChroMoly frames with parallel seat and head tube angles, straight 1 1/8th steer tubes, and a split eccentric bottom bracket for chain tensioning the single speed set up. You could gear a Blackbuck with a special hangar for a derailleur, but there were no provisions for a cable for shifters on the frame. 

The bikes did not sell all that well, but Mark did have a second run made around about 2010. These Blackbucks have the white "darts" over a black frame. I'm not sure how many of those were made but these are also pretty rare. The V2's were made at a different factory than V1's. I was told that V1's were made at Maxway while V2's were made at a place called "Mercury", but I may have that second factory name wrong. I know Maxway did the original run for Mark.

My Blackbuck with the original "short/steep" fork set up. 74° parallel tube angles!

I mentioned that the Blackbuck was OS Bikes 'first' model. There was at least one other model designed and made as a pre-production sample that I have seen an image of, but as far as I am aware, it never was released, and so I cannot say anything more about that. 

Mike Varley of Black Mountain Cycles did a really great overview of this bike on his site HERE. There are a lot of details on the bike and a great image gallery as well. 

An image of a v2 Blackbuck from OS Bikes Instagram

So, back to my Blackbuck, which I love for bashing around out in the woods and single track here. I don't do a lot of mountain biking anymore since I've been doing so much on the gravel cycling side the last ten years or so. But when I go off-road single tracking, the Blackbuck is the bike I'm grabbing.

I still love the way the Blackbuck rides and handles though. I have it set up with a 470mm axle to crown Bontrager Switchblade composite fork these days which yields a pretty nuetral ride quality. Perfect for single track here. I do happen to have an original Reba 29 fork also. It came off another bike, but I keep it around to complete the "set" along with the original rigid fork.  I let a friend borrow that rigid fork for several years to use on an Xtra-cycle project, but I have that back now, so the whole set up is complete. 

I don't see going in a different direction with this bike anytime in the near future. But there is a handle bar coming out soon that mimics the original Jeff Jones H Bar and is similar to the Titec H-Bar I had on this bike originally. If that does come out I may have to swap bars and see if I can create the "old magic". Ha ha! 

So, there is a bit more to this "Bikes Of 2024" post! I hope that you enjoyed that extra detail. Thanks for checking it out!

Bikes Of 2024: Ti Muk 2

 It's another December here on the blog. You know what that means? Yep! Another round of my bikes I used in 2024. This round-up will not include some of the bikes I did not use this year much, or at all. I focus only on the bikes that played a big role in my riding during this year.  As always, any changes or future plans for any bike I feature will also be detailed. I hope that you enjoy this year's round-up.

 This bike is a special rig for me. In case you did not know, my good friend Matt Gersib basically 'crowd-funded' this for me back in 2019. I did pay a very small amount for the bike, so it was not 'totally' free, but yeah.... Thanks again to everyone that contributed to getting this for me. 

I think it is the perfect fat bike, for me at any rate. Your mileage may vary, but this bike, with its titanium main frame, aluminum fork, dynamo hub lighting system, internally geared 14 speed Rohloff hub, and carbon rims with 26 X 4" tires is as good as it gets from an all-arounder fat biking perspective. 

I added the Salsa rack on the bike when I got it. I also have had to upgrade the front light since I have had it and put a new drive train on including a bottom bracket. But other than that, it has been really easy to own and it is fun to ride. 

Recently I replaced the old rear mud flap with a highly modded Dave's Mud Shovel. I scored some old 45NRTH pogies for my Answer carbon bars and I refreshed the sealant in the Cake Eater tires. I also did a swap of the rear brake caliper to a Tektro Spyre caliper back in November. Now that brake works great! I will have to drain the fluid from the Rohloff hub soon and refresh that again. But it isn't a big deal to do the job. 

Of course, many of you will have noted that this is the bike I completed my most recent Turkey Burn ride on. I hope to have a couple more rides on this rig to talk about later here soon. Stay tuned for that!

I had thought about swapping out the Advocate Cycles aluminum fork for a lighter carbon one, and I still think about that yet. The main thing there is I cannot seem to move past the "thinking" part of that idea! So, for now, no other planned changes here on this bike!

Bikes Of 2024: Raleigh Tamland Two

 It's another late December here on the blog. You know what that means? Yep! Another round of my bikes I used in 2024. This round-up will not include some of the bikes I did not use this year much, or at all. I focus only on the bikes that played a big role in my riding during this year.  As always, any changes or future plans for any bike I feature will also be detailed. I hope that you enjoy this year's round-up. 

The Raleigh Tamland Two before the rear wheel failed!

Well, ten years of the Raleigh Tamland Two and it still is getting plenty of ride time, despite its age. This is the bike I helped design in 2012 with advice I gave Raleigh and was the bike I was going to retire a couple of years ago, but I just couldn't get it to happen. 

Why? 

Because it is still a relevant bike in 2024 and with a couple of minor details updated, it would be bang-on for 2025. Mainly those details are things that would generally be seen as deal killers for some, but not for performance reasons. First is the reason I almost retired the bike, and that has to do with axle standards. The Tamland I have is quick release based. Getting wheels which utilize convertible axle caps is not as common as it once was. 

I started out 2024 with some carbon wheels on this bike.

But a pair of Irwin Cycling Carbon Aeon 35's I had would support a switch to quick release hubs, so I converted that wheel set in 2023 and started out 2024 with those wheels. However; when I experienced some weird drive train issues, I first blamed the free hub on the Irwin wheels. I switched out to a set of DT Swiss hubbed Roval wheels I got from Grannygear, and that seemed to solve the issue, until it didn't. 

Then I found the real reason I was having trouble. It was a worn out crank set. So, I replaced that crank set with a completely new one, because it was cheaper than buying separate rings, and that would have been it but for a new problem. The Roval rear wheel starting unwinding its spokes. Uggh!

Sooo.... Back to the Irwins? Well, not so fast! I had taken that wheel set apart to investigate the free hub, which I had originally thought was the problem, and in the process I misplaced the axle end cap. 

Doh!

I kind of liked this look, but that went away for a bit

So, I ended up using an older wheel I had built up as a place holder until I got the DT Swiss hubbed Rovals rebuilt with new nipples. More on that in a bit...

The other thing that the Tamland has which might be seen as a deterrent in 2025 to owning this bike is the straight 1 1/8th steer tube. But that has already been addressed with the addition of the Fyxation carbon fork with those mounts for bottles, and that addresses the third issue with the original Tamlands which was the lack of bottle mounts. There are only two native to this 2014 model. 

Oh! And I added a carbon post with a white saddle this year, just to be fashionable. No other reasoning for that! 

In the future changes department I will be reinstalling the aforementioned Roval wheel. Other than that? I think with about every critical drive train bit replaced I won't have to do much else.

Bikes Of 2024: Nobel GX-5

 It's another December here on the blog. You know what that means? Yep! Another round of my bikes I used in 2024. This round-up will not include some of the bikes I did not use this year much, or at all. I focus only on the bikes that played a big role in my riding during this year.  As always, any changes or future plans for any bike I feature will also be detailed. I hope that you enjoy this year's round-up.

 The Noble GX-5 is another oddball bike in my stable. It is fairly rare, but it has a connection to another bike I own, the Raleigh Tamland Two. Ironically, the design for the Noble was informed by the design for the Tamland Two because one of the engineers on the Tamland designed the Noble GX-5 as well. 

This bike was ahead of the game in a couple of ways. It has semi-internal cabling. It also has a 1X specific design. While Nobel listed the GX-5 as having clearances for only 40mm tires in its marketing, it will easily swallow a 700 X 47mm tire and 45's are no big deal. It also wasn't heavily influenced by the "adventure wart" trend which was a big deal when this bicycle was developed in 2018. 

The bike now sports a State Bicycle Co. Monster Fork v2.

Now I have changed just about everything on this bicycle but the head set. Every other component attached to this frame is pretty much new, or is brand new. Now going forward I also see more stability with the stuff bolted to this bike. Changes will be more intentional, I think.

I had thought about swapping back to the original fork, but I have finally decided to give this State Bicycle Co. fork some more time in the new year. I guess I could see going 12 speed on this bike at some point also. It would be the perfect bike to do that with. But I am in no hurry to go there.

I am looking forward to riding the Noble again. I have a great time riding this bike, and why wouldn't I? The geometry is almost dead-on what I would specify had this been a custom rig.

Bikes Of 2024: Black Mountain Cycles MCD

It's another December here on the blog. You know what that means? Yep! Another round of my bikes I used in 2024. This round-up will not include some of the bikes I did not use this year much, or at all. I focus only on the bikes that played a big role in my riding during this year.  As always, any changes or future plans for any bike I feature will also be detailed. I hope that you enjoy this year's round-up. 

The Black Mountain Cycles MCD has been a staple of my bike stable for years going back to 2018 when I got it. That happened to be the year it came out and this pink color was a very limited run. Now Mike Varley no longer offers this model, instead morphing what this bike does into what is called the "Mod Zero". 

So, the ol' MCD is kind of a rare bird, and in pink, even rarer. Not that this matters to me, it just is. I only knew that when Mike had a run of Monstercross frames made in pink probably ten years or more ago that I was kicking myself for not getting one when I had the chance. So, when Mike reached out to me to say that the initial run of MCD's would have a pink option, I was all-in. 

This bike gets used for testing a lot, so it has had various wheel sets, saddles, seat posts, and handlebars. I actually almost never can tell you what the bike is running at any given moment unless I go down to the Lab and look at it!

It's a great bike. I've no doubt that the Mod Zero does everything the MCD does and more, but I am fine with this bike as it is. It is very comfortable and it easily handles 700 X 47mm tires on wide-ish rims. 

As far as changes go, I think things are going to normalize there for various reasons. Right now? I probably would only change some more of the drive train to GRX. 

The quirk concerning this bike that I often find amusing has to do with its color. I seem to cause a stir in the country when I show up out there on this bright pink rig. I have actually witnessed cars slow-rolling a mile away when they spot me on the MCD. Other bikes? Usually the rural folk take little notice of me. 

I haven't had any negative feedback on my riding a pink bike yet. But I probably will at some point. I'm good with that.....

Bikes Of 2024: Dorado Sherpa

 It's another late December here on the blog. You know what that means? Yep! Another round of my bikes I used in 2024. This round-up will not include some of the bikes I did not use this year much, or at all. I focus only on the bikes that played a big role in my riding during this year.  As always, any changes or future plans for any bike I feature will also be detailed. I hope that you enjoy this year's round-up. 

The Dorado Sherpa after the first snowfall of the 2024/2025 Winter season.

The Sherpa has been a commute to work bike for most of 2024, which is exactly what I had intended it to be. That and for short errands. However; I did use it to commute to a conference in early August which was all the way across the urban area I live in.Probably a 20 mile or more round trip.

While I could have used any of my bikes for 90% of that route, it was the last bit that the Sherpa was really the best choice for a bike I could have made. The reason being was that I ended up doing a bit of bushwhacking around the venue the convention was being held at. 

That venue had no approach to the building that was outside of car-centric amenities. The parking lot was busy, and so I ended up scouting out an approach to the venue that entailed a scaling of a steep, grassy hill, then across a gravel parking lot to a back door where there was a bike rack. In the back of the building! I mean, you couldn't get to it without doing the car dance out front, and well...... Should I be surprised? 

That's another story, but the Sherpa was and is a perfect bash-around bike that can be locked to a rack without any concerns that someone else would want it more than I do. Plus, it doesn't even look like anything "modern", which is great. The Sherpa's weirdness is a theft deterrent!

So, I really like this bike. It rides so smoothly, works all the time flawlessly, and does a great job of getting places other bikes I have would struggle to get to. That final point due to the Sherpa's geometry, gearing range, and overall degraded condition, meaning I don't have to worry about scratches or what have you. 

No plans to change anything here. Just basic maintenance going forward.

Bikes Of 2024: Shogun 1000 Fixie

 It's another late December here on the blog. You know what that means? Yep! Another round of my bikes I used in 2024. This round-up will not include some of the bikes I did not use this year much, or at all. I focus only on the bikes that played a big role in my riding during this year.  As always, any changes or future plans for any bike I feature will also be detailed. I hope that you enjoy this year's round-up. 

Ever since I retired and scrapped out my old Raleigh "Rat Rod" fixed gear bike, and gave away my old Surly 1X1, which could be run fixed, I have missed having a fixed gear bike around. There is just something about riding fixed gear that appeals to me. 

So, I had been on the lookout for the right road bike donation to come through at the Cedar Valley Bicycle Collective so I could score a bike with geometry better suited to my kind of riding. I really do not like modern day fixed gear geometry. Too high, too steep, and way too short. I wanted a frame with a decent bottom bracket drop, not too steep in the head angle, and the fit had to be very good for me to consider it. 

Along came this Shogun 1000, a 1980's era survivor road bike which was in excellent condition. Trouble is that the Collective cannot hardly give away a road bike. Well, in fact, we can't give these away. No one wants one. 

So, the fate of this bike was the scrap heap or.... I bought it for $40.00, bought a set of fixed gear wheels at the Collective and then went on to put it all together as you see it here. Since the original crank set supported a ring I could use, it stayed, and the bottom bracket was a good one, so it stayed as well. The head set was already an excellent Shimano 600 with the fluted jamb nut/adjuster nut, which I happen to have the wrenches for, and that stayed as well. 

It took me a bit to dial in the saddle angle and handle bar, a carbon Winston Bar from Whisky Parts Co., and then it was darn near perfect. I just need to get some cork grips. 

I love riding this bike! It has 30mm tires on it, but they barely fit, and I wish for poofier rubber. So, this isn't the be-all, end-all fixed gear rig for me. But it does do very well for what it is now.

Bikes Of 2024: Twin Six Standard Rando v2

  It's another late December here on the blog. You know what that means? Yep! Another round of my bikes I used in 2024. This round-up will not include some of the bikes I did not use this year much, or at all. I focus only on the bikes that played a big role in my riding during this year.  As always, any changes or future plans for any bike I feature will also be detailed. I hope that you enjoy this year's round-up. 

This bike barely made this list for 2024! I hadn't used it at all for the year until I did a Delium Tire review mid-Summer which required me to have two or three bikes available to run those tires through their paces. One of those bikes ended up being the Standard Rando v2. 

The tires weren't that great, so when I finished the review I decided to swap a few things out, and the tires were one thing. I had strongly considered removing the WTB Graveleur saddle, but I ended up not doing that. I still am conflicted on whether or not that saddle is 'good' or no. For myself, that is. It hits me 'just' wrong on some rides then on others it is perfect. Weird...

The one major change, other than tires, was the switch out to a Redshift Sports ShockStop Stem. This bike really needs that stem since the fork on the Standard Rando rides like a brick. In fact, I almost put that State Bicycle Co. Monster Fork v2 on this bike to see if that might help, but I didn't go that route. 

So, there were a couple changes, and I still am on the fence regarding the saddle and fork. The fork would radically change how this bike looks and it may still ride the same, so I am hesitant to go that direction. The ShockStop stem should help out, but since I parked the bike again after the swap, I still am not sure. 

I think Twin Six needs a v3 Standard Rando withj50mm tire clearance. Until they do that, this bike is sticking around, although I was looking at a Singular Cycles Peregrine frame just a minute ago that does all the things I need plus some, but is out of stock in my size. Now that could be a wonderful alternative to a Standard Rando, We'll see.....

Bikes Of 2024: King Fabrications "Honeman Flyer"

 It's another December here on the blog. You know what that means? Yep! Another round of my bikes I used in 2024. This round-up will not include some of the bikes I did not use this year much, or at all. I focus only on the bikes that played a big role in my riding during this year.  As always, any changes or future plans for any bike I feature will also be detailed. I hope that you enjoy this year's round-up. 

The King Fabrications "Honeman Flyer" in March of 2024 in Oklahoma. Image by Erik Mathy

The story of this bike is well told, but if you are pretty new here and don't know about the backstory, a brief synopsis to bring you up to speed here will suffice. 

The idea was spawned when I saw an old advertisement posted on Face Book by frame builder Steve Garro of Coconino Bikes. He mentioned that a spec drawing recreated in the ad showing a 1930's era track bike ridden to National Championships in the late 30's by Willie Honeman might actually make a great gravel bike. I said as much on the blog here and then one thing led to another, (See "People Of 2024: Erik Mathy") and I ended up with an exact copy of the geometry of the Pop Warner designed and built bike which Willie Honeman used in the 30's. Extrapolated to fit me, of course. Willie was of smaller stature than I. 

The Honeman Flyer in its most recent incarnation.

I won't get into all nitty gritty of the bike and how it rides. That can be read HERE. What I will say is that I was very surprised by how much I liked this bike and how often I wanted to ride it. I would even throw some shoes on just to ride it around the neighborhood for ten minutes some days. That's an example to show you that there is something to this bike, for me at least, and I am very happy with it. 

I also will say that I did not expect that I would love riding this bike. In the beginning of the project I thought it could be a failed experiment that might end up sitting around the shop for years until I decided to scrap it. But that will not be happening! Thankfully... By the way, yes, a custom bike I had made in 2007 did end up like that minus the scrapped part. I gave it to a friend who loves it now.

Maybe at some point I can get away for a really long ride on this bike. I have some ideas for that..... 

As far as changes go, I went through several seat posts before landing on one of my four Salsa Cycles Regulator Ti posts. I could see going back to a no-offset post again though. So, if one pops up on my radar in titanium I may have to bite on that. Otherwise there is nothing I am seeing here that will change anytime soon.

Bikes Of 2024: Blackborow DS (Special Ten Year Review!)

 It's another late November/December here on the blog. You know what that means? Yep! Another round of my bikes I used in 2024. This round-up will not include some of the bikes I did not use this year much, or at all. I focus only on the bikes that played a big role in my riding during this year.  As always, any changes or future plans for any bike I feature will also be detailed. I hope that you enjoy this year's round-up. 

The Blackborow DS right after I built it up in 2014

 Special Ten Year Review:

Today marks the day that ten years ago I rode the first time on the Blackborow DS fat bike I have. It was right after I was able to pay off the shop where I purchased it from on my way home from work that day. 

This bike isn't used a whole lot these days, mostly due to climate issues which render our Winters here as very dry, warmer than they should be, and with little snow. There are excpetions, of course, but if last year is any indication, we only had one major snow event and very little time to actually enjoy the snow we did get. 

Thanksgiving Day morning, 2014

But we have had some pretty good years, mostly early on in the decade since I purchased this bike, and I am happy I got the thing. The idea, at least initially, was to get this bike as a solution for Winter commutes on city streets covered in snow and whatever chemical concoction the City decides to spray on the streets for ice melting. Whatever the stuff is, it eats drive train parts up, and I was tired of the sacrifice to the whims of Winter. 

The Blackborow DS has a "dinglespeed" drive train, which is a parallel single speed set up which has cogs that can use the same length chain but offer two distinct ratios. There is a "cruising" speed and a "crawling" speed. That's it. Oh! And you have to manually change the gears by dropping the rear wheel, moving the chain by hand, and reinstalling the rear wheel. Kind of a pain, but once you get the hang of it, it goes smoothly enough. 

From the very first ride in 2014

The other reason I wanted this bike was because, at the time I bought it, the Blackborow had the widest rims and tires you could get. This meant that it had the best possible flotation, and that is what I found lacking in my Mukluks. 

I was pleased with how things went when I got the bike. It handled very well. The tires did indeed float and I was able to cut trail in snow as deep as 8". Slightly packed trail was all I needed to make a go of things. So, for the ungroomed trails I was used to, this bike was the cat's pajamas. 

I experimented with a front suspension fork for one Summer

The Blackborow DS was tried with a front suspension fork, and while that was fun, it was kind of a needless device because it was going to just be dead weight for much of the sort of riding I would end up doing with this bike. That was due to our area being mostly flat, often muddy, and sandy in Summer. Winter was snowy, sometimes, and so a front suspension fork wasn't ideal. 

Circumnavigating small lakes is fun on the Blackborow DS. Image by Jacob Stevenson.

While trying to find places to ride where a bike like this is an advantage is sometimes tough to do, the Blackborow DS does come in handy at times. I really enjoy circumnavigating lakes and ponds around here with it. However; the bottom line is snow for this bike, and that is where the whole design of the Blackborow DS comes alive, at least for me it does. 

Post-holed and bumpy trail is no match for the Blackborow DS.

Cold streets and alleys are fun when it is snowy. A January pose over the Cedar River here.

The bike has had a few changes, but very few. There was the dalliance with suspension, but most of the changes have been with the handle bar. I ran the stock Salsa bar for a while, sometimes with a pair of bar ends. Then I got a Jones Carbon H Bar. That's been on the bike ever since. 

Somewhere along the way I came upon a Thomson aluminum post and swapped that out for the stock one, and the saddle was changed to a Silverado. But that is all that I have done on this bike. Even the original drive train is still intact! 

Tracks I laid in about 8" of snow in Exchange Park in Waterloo, Iowa with the Blackborow DS

The Blackborow DS was awesome, but with the little bit that I rode it, I was starting to feel like I did not need it. Then I got the Ti Muk 2 which was an even better match for Waterloo's messy streets with its 14 speed Rohloff internal geared hub. I often only really needed 4" tires with the way things have been with our weather. So, in 2021, I was actively trying to sell the bike.

I had a couple of suitors and I came -this- close to selling it, but the potential buyer backed out at the last minute, leaving me with the bike. Then I ended up riding it that Winter and regretted trying to sell it. So, I took it off the market and well..... 

This bike is really good  at what it was designed to do. But what it was designed to do is something I don't come across often enough to even wear out the drive train. So, it sits a lot of the time until Winter comes and it makes a ton of sense for what? Two weeks? Maybe, if we are lucky, that's the sort of Winter we get. Now, that all may change this Winter, but I am not holding my breath.

And if I needed a bike with lots of flotation? Well, there are bikes I could get now that have more than I'd ever need, but why bother when I've got all I need? It is a conundrum and so the Blackborow DS sits most of the year until those days when it snows a lot and trails get groomed. Then the bike makes a ton of sense and I have a blast on it. It does the thing and it does it well. I really don't need to look anywhere else.

Bikes Of 2024: Karate Monkey

It's another late November/December here on the blog. You know what that means? Yep! Another round of my bikes I used in 2024. This round-up will not include some of the bikes I did not use this year much, or at all. I focus only on the bikes that played a big role in my riding during this year.  

As always, any changes or future plans for any bike I feature will also be detailed. I hope that you enjoy this year's round-up. 

The Karate Monkey I've had since 2003

This bike is a survivor, a bike that was an example of a trend that was destined to take over mountain biking, and a bike that is dear to me for several reasons. The 2003 Karate Monkey in Campstove Green. Now a commuter bike, for the most part, it is still one of my favorite bikes. 

The bike is a "survivor" because I almost had to retire it permanently at one point. Before it became my main gravel bike in 2004/2005, the Karate Monkey was at first my main mountain bike, then it went into commuter duty for several years. This meant it was ridden through Winter for several Winter's worth of salt, grime, and precipitation. This ended in a situation where my bottom bracket went bad and I needed to replace it, but it was frozen into the steel frame. 

The Karate Monkey was my first gravel grinder. Here seen in 2006

I was busy, I was doing a LOT of review work on 29" bicycles and products, so the Karate Monkey ended up being pushed to the darkest corners of the shop for several years. Then, around 2013, I decided to start working on the bike again. It took quite the effort, but the bottom bracket was extracted, and the Karate Monkey lived again to ride another day about eight or nine years ago now.

Last year I converted the Karate Monkey back to a flat bar bike for the first time in about 20 years! I did ride it flat bar at first, but not for very long. Now it is not only back to a flat bar, but I installed cantilever brakes last year for the first time on this bike.  

The set up hasn't changed for this year, but I did install a WTB TPU tube in the back tire for testing which has been awesome so far. I commuted on this bike for much of the year, but recently that duty has fallen to a couple of other bikes which you will see here soon in this series. 

As far as any future changes go I may return this bike to a drop bar set up with disc brake wheels and brakes if I should decide to start doing some more gravel riding on it again. But I am waffling on that point. I do think new tires are in order, at least for commuting duty. We will see. One thing is for certain though and that is that this bike is not getting retired anytime soon!

Bikes Of 2024: Surly Big Dummy

 It's another late November/December here on the blog. You know what that means? Yep! Another round of my bikes I used in 2024. This round-up will not include some of the bikes I did not use this year much, or at all. I focus only on the bikes that played a big role in my riding during this year.  

As always, any changes or future plans for any bike I feature will also be detailed. I hope that you enjoy this year's round-up. 

The Big Dummy at the Cedar Valley Bicycle Collective loaded with supplies.

This bike has been around for a while now and this year I think I used it more than I ever have. Working at the Cedar Valley Bicycle Collective has brought a new angle to owning this bike. I use it to haul supplies the last three-plus miles from the UPS Store to the shop. I also do a recycling run once a week with this bike as well. 

The ride from the UPS Store has been a hoot for me. I get really side-eyed and gawked at when folks see me lacing these big boxes to the rack with my bungee cords! The UPS folks know who I am since they figured out "I'm that bike guy" and now their amazement at how I take the packages away has subsided a bit, but they were pretty weirded out in the beginning. 

Of all the bikes I ride, the Big Dummy gets the most compliments. It is a pretty snazzy looking bike, if I do say so myself. 

As far as any changes go, I am probably going to have to service this bike which will entail a new suite of drivetrain parts, a bottom bracket, and brake service. It's been far too long. But as far as anything major goes? No, there are no modifications to be had on the horizon. I will only add that last year's decision to purchase that double-legged kickstand has paid dividends. I'd do that again in a heartbeat if I had to set up another cargo bike and it did not have a dual-leg kickstand.

Bikes Of 2024: Singular Cycles Gryphon Mk3

  It's another late November/December here on the blog. You know what that means? Yep! Another round of my bikes I used in 2024. This round-up will not include some of the bikes I did not use this year much, or at all. I focus only on the bikes that played a big role in my riding during this year.  

As always, any changes or future plans for any bike I feature will also be detailed. I hope that you enjoy this year's round-up.  

The Singular Cycles Gryphon Mk3. Pre-Redshift stem.

The Singular Cycles Gryphon Mk3 was new to me last year. I had big plans for this bike but it only got out on gravel a few times and ended up being mostly a commuter rig in 2024. I still have a big ride in mind for this bike that I just did not get around to in 2024. 

Changes included adding a Redshift Sports ShockStop stem in the 55mm length and going back to the originally spec'ed Ragley Luxy Bar. I kind of miss that silver stem, but Redshift only does black, so......

I might strip the racks off, but then when I do that a window will open up for my long-planned two-day tour. You know that's how it will go....