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Patrick July 29, 2023

Marin Gestalt X12

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it - If something is reasonably successful or effective, there is no need to change it. German speakers would say “Bewährtes soll man nicht verändern.” When it comes to cycling, most of us often stick to that. We ride something, like it, and we’re therefore rarely willing to change it. I have for a long time ridden the same type of road bike. There were incremental changes such as more gears and lighter and more aero frames, but in the grand scheme of things, these improvements weren’t all that world-shattering. That changed with my first Volagi Viaje. I started exploring things outside what is considered a “road bike.”

Patrick July 23, 2023

The Geometry Of A Gravel Bike

The bikes I ride on pavement or gravel are more than road, all-road, or gravel bikes. They are efficient, practical, surface-agnostic bikes that bridge the functionality gap between road and off-road. In this post, I want to look at the geometry of the bikes I have ridden in the last nine years.

Patrick May 27, 2023

Cycplus Cube Electric Bike Pump

I like shopping on Ali Express. Not so much because it’s cheap, but because I find things no one else sells. Truth be told, I ran across the Cycplus Cube on Youtube first. Cycplus introduced this electric bicycle pump on Indiegogo in February this year.

Patrick April 20, 2023

A History Of Saddles

I started mountain biking in 1986 and road cycling in 1992. I don’t remember what saddles were on my first three mountain bikes. I sat on what the manufacturers specced for those bikes. In the early 90ies that changed with Selle Italia’s iconic Flite saddle. It was a minimalist, long, slim saddle with a rounded top and a flexible hull. Equipped with titanium rails it made for a comfortable perch. It was a revolutionary saddle for the time, and I liked it a lot. Over the next decade, I stayed faithful to the brand and moved on to the even more minimalist, narrow-sided SLR. The SLR’s profile ensured minimal pedaling interference, but to be honest, while it felt good with padded shorts or bibs, it was a horrible saddle to sit on without any padding.

Patrick February 3, 2023

Vive la Modularité

I now have three sets of Rotor aluminum Aldhu cranks, or four counting the carbon version on my Ritte. My Marauder uses an older pair of Rex 1.2, and my Stooge sports a current set of aluminum Kapic cranks. Out of seven bikes, six are equipped with Rotor cranks. I love the modularity of Rotor’s cranks with the availability of various axle lengths, different spiders, and a wide selection of round or oval direct mount rings. I wish they would only offer Kapic axles for fat bikes.