Rail trails, perfect pavement, classic rake and ride singletrack, a few big machine built berms and table tops, sandy doubletrack, and haggard Midwest washboardy gravel. I love this Redline so much.
(don’t mind my friend with gears… I can’t take pictures of myself riding fixed gear of course)
I've enjoyed the last few months on my Stooge MK4 with pinner tires and no inserts, but I'm missing the damping as I start riding it harder on chunky singletrack again. My back wheel/tire situation is sorted, but I was wondering what everyone in the MEATengine world is doing for front wheel/tire/Cushcore combos these days? I will be running a Bontrager XR2 3" on a 45mm rim. I have ran Cushcore Plus in the past but I'm thinking of just trying Trail or Pro this go around. Cheers.
"The charge has been made that the bicycle engenders a freedom of manners in women, quite in contrast to all accepted ideas of retiring modesty. At summer resorts she is wont to sit around on the hotel porticoes in her bicycle costume, and chew gum and talk slang etc. While this may be considered by some immodest and unbecoming, it is, nevertheless, simply another example of exuberance and good-nature of health. Bicycle women have ceased to be the pale, frail, painted butterflies they used to be..."
[From 'Dr. Neesen's Book on Wheeling, 1899. Hints and advice to Men and Women from the Physician's Standpoint.']
Bless this Redline D440
The trails were luscious, and a master class in how to build flat trails that are super fun. Endless berms and a lot of good side hits, you can get hauling dickity especially on a fix. 40 miles of post industrial fun, can’t wait to get back.
I really want narrower bars but the bike felt good on it all! A mix of buff pavement, smooth gravel roads, hand built singletrack, machine built dirt water slide trails, blown out old doubletrack, and just about everything else in between. I wouldn’t have minded some knobs up front but I kept ‘er upright.
I’ll post the other 2 another time
Got another riser bar to add to the MEATengine mix. These S&M S.A.C. bars are pure red-blooded made in USA 1" steel. Via S&M: "Originally a one-off custom for a co-worker’s 700c bike, this design quickly became a shop favorite affectionately known as the “Sick Ass Cruiser” bar. We eventually made a small run for sale and the rest is history. Pair this bar with our 40mm Enduro stem and use it on everything from klunkers to motorcycles and beach cruisers. Made in the USA from 100% seamless 4130 Cr-Mo, mandrel bend, roll marked, and end finished."
They're easy to get here in the states, and I am really really enjoying them on my Stooge. Full dimensions below:
| RISE | 6.375″ aka 160mm |
|---|---|
| WIDTH | 31.75″ aka 810mm |
| UPSWEEP | 12° |
| BACK SWEEP | 20° |
| WEIGHT | 2.10 lb (.95 kg) |
| MATERIAL | 4130 CrMo Straight Gauge |
ENO hub, dynamo hub, dirt drops, trailer hitch to drag around the Tout Terrain single trailer with my baby, 2.5” rubber (2.3” actual), and 62”. Fun on the roads, paths, and flat singletrack. Just put a rando rack on after taking this picture to swap between a small pack, a rando bag, or a basket.
Looks like silly amounts of fun tbh
A new entrant into the plus tire market, this time for the rare and dope 26+ crew! Looks like a solid contender for ATB fun.
My buddy found this Bianchi Volpe at a thrift store for $6. His only bike has been a Trek Soho fixed gear, but he’s been wanting a single speed “cruiser”. So I went to work setting this up for him.
I didn’t know much about the Volpe before this rolled into my shop, but it seems like a super sick bike. Lugged, at least 700x35c clearance, rack mounts, but still a fairly pointy geometry and not just a portly touring bike.
Anyway, I removed the derailers and chainrings, and moved the 48t to the middle. I got lucky and was able to magic gear a reasonable one out back. I put these $17 Bontrager Satellite bars on, which mated to the Nitto stem with no shims fortunately. Tiagra levers and new cables/housing, and it’s braking great.
He wants to go all in with a new wheelset complete with White Industries ENO eccentric hub for proper single speeding in the future. I told him he’d have a forever bike if he did that. 😎
Anyone else’s power out again?
575 AQI and DTE can’t keep the power on for the 2nd time in two weeks. Third world company if there ever was one.
Like the title says, anyone else running a coaster brake on their MTB?
I've put quite a few trail miles on my Stooge MK4 with the Mone Souped Up Coaster hub and it's just stupid amounts of fun. Fairly technical singletrack, steep ORV trails and bumpy forest roads, and just wandering around on pavement and champagne gravel. It's all great. Before that I ran a lightly modified Shimano coaster hub laced to a Velocity Cliffhanger on my 1984 Fuji Mt. Fuji. That lit the flame of coaster brake fun, but I figured any time I was riding my Fuji I wouldn't be riding my Stooge, so I sold it.
Until recently I ran a 32 / 18 ratio with a 29 x 3.25" Duro Crux up front and 27.5 x 3" Specialized Ground Control out back, and was really impressed by the grip and brake modulation of the souped up hub. The air volume is no joke and the braking traction was solid.
But for a more recent trip that had a lot more mixed terrain, and not just rolling singletrack, I switched to a 32 / 16 ratio with a 29 x 3" Bontrager XR2 up front and 27.5 x 2.8" Schwalbe G-One Allround out back. It really livened up the bike when munching the miles, and it didn't take too much away from the singletrack sections. That being said, the other heavier tire setup is way better for all day singletrack rides.
I also swapped to a fully round chainring for maximum chain retention and safety. I don't know if it's because of the nice flex on the Stooge's rear triangle but I was able to jump the chain on some back to back g-out turns on some singletrack. Which was of course terrifying since you lose your only brake. Fortunately it wasn't on a steep section of trail. I'm curious if anyone else uses ovals on their coaster brake builds. I've never had a problem on my other single speeds with ovals and 3/32" chains, but I think the sloppy interface of the rear cog on the driver + oval + stiff brittle 1/8" chain just leads to too much slop in the system for proper chain retention when the going gets super rough.
So, coaster cruisers show yourself!
It’s just so fast and so capable. It did great up in the big Manistee National Forest hills. 66”
I swapped my Stooge coaster cruiser from a 32/18 MTB gear to a 32/16 gear to make it a little more ATB and a little less MTB. Then I promptly proceeded to ride a lot of fairly steep singletrack. 🥵
Hiking’s biking for sure… but it was definitely a whole lot better for various dirt roads and moto trails.
Funny enough when you go harder on a coaster brake gear it’s not only harder to pedal, but it also engages the brake less hard. So less skids and more feathering the brake.
Anyone else coaster cruising? It’s loads of fun on certain hills and pretty darned sketchy on technical singletrack.