bhuckley

@DirtBagTim: Agree! It looks like you can unscrew the collar and slide it right out? Might be nice in your next expose to remove it from the frame/link and do a deeper dive (including some cross section art) to explain the innovation. Just because it's hidden (beautiful btw) doesn't mean it isn't packed with innovation... I for one would curious to hear more about it :)

@privateer-wheels: Lol... big coil fan here, but agree, give it time... if Bomber don't make a coil themselves, I'd bet the folks at Vorsprung or Push will set us up.

@lenniDK: That was my original reaction too... but then I asked myself... was my fit Dad riding several 100 if not 1000's of feet of vertical on his rides and was a 7-year old me trying to keep up to him? The answer was decidedly no and no. He was sitting at home with a Carlsberg in his hands and I was zipping around the neighborhood on my BMX (obviously ;)... trying only to keep up with other kids my age. Once you are talking 12year olds and up... Dad's getting older too, that's typically the time they can catch up and even beat Dad up the hill. But from 6 to 12... it's a balancing act getting kids out on bikes having fun and not being frustrated. In my family that means separate adult and kids rides (where I pace it back obviously), but this is a personal equation that might not work for all.

My two cents: I'm one of those guys big on balance bikes, one kid made a quick transition to pedals, the other didn't want to leave the balance bike (which was fine). We weren't so happy with training wheels, especially on trails... if they've spent any time on a balance bike, it's a matter of a couple of weeks (and some investment of your time) to get them on pedals. But everyone's mileage varies... just get them on something! (early) As for bike quality and resale... completely agree, it's absolutely worth it to invest in a LIGHT mtb-specific hardtail for your kiddos... skip the heavy suspension (IMO) and focus on weight, weight, and easy to use brakes/shifters. We did Spawn, but there are so many out there now... however at the time we started with a 16" Specialized Riprock and it was 26 pounds!!!! The equivalent 16" Spawn was 16 pounds... huge difference for the kids.

Congrats in advance! Biking with kids is better than ever these days, lots of lighter bikes with kid-sized brakes and shifters, legit MTB balance bikes, trail a bike type things, bike trailers and better cockpit seats. Cockpit Seats: Since that's where you'll be starting, take it from me... you don't want one of those seats with a highback... they just get in the way. We had a Yepp and the highback was too high and too reclined, so the kids heads would constantly be bouncing against my chest... reach was an issue. What you want is one of the crossbar seats, like the kidsrideshotgun.com... much more natural position for them and for you... plus they aren't strapped in, so if you do end up in a dicey situation (believe me it can happen when you least expect), you can grab/protect the kid easier than having to reach around a chair. Trailers: we had a Thule (double chair) that was absolutely great for city rides (and it doubled as a running stroller), but wasn't great on trails... too wide. (and super heavy). It still got plenty of use though, just not for my original ambitions. I did see a dad on a single-wheeled trailer, zipping through some single track... it looked very impressive. I think I just found a review of it here (and in comparison to a more traditional Thule or Burley it came out on top. https://enduro-mtb.com/en/mtb-bike-trailers-for-kids/ Have fun...

Laughs.... laughing at yourself and with your friends is a key ingredient in bringing people back Good luck!

That's a pretty nice spec for $6500, would be closer to $8K elsewhere (or maybe I'm just living in 2021)

@styleguide: Oooph, definitely not my experience. I'm on a 1st generation Blizzard with Surly Bud and Lou, and as soon as you get a little fluff on the sidewalls or soft pack on the edge of some hardpack, my tires are diving in to eat cake.

Fatbiking is great... especially if you have a regular mountain bike trail network that is groomed for winter. We tend to book ski/fatty trips early every winter so that we can decide day of whether to head up the mountain for good snow or shelter down lower on the fatty trails away from the cold and wind. Having our fat bikes with us has saved many ski trips that would have otherwise been low-fun days scraping down icy early season ski trails, vs ripping a groomed up XC trail and grabbing a happy beer afterwards.

It is... First time I brought my mountain bike buddies fat biking it was New Years Day... we were up in Burke VT (Kingdom Trails) mostly on a ski trip but were too hung over to go to the hill in the morning. Dragged our asses to the bike rental and had an ABSOLUTE BLAST. So many smiles, hangovers disappeared.