actonca

On a bike like this there's actual utility to internal routing: when you strap bags into the frame, it is easier without the cables, bosses, zipties, etc. To me, its not required, but it can be nice.

Is that an oval chainring or is it just my lame work computer that makes it look that way? I've heard they need to be clocked specifically for a high pivot/idler. I confess to not understanding why because I thought it was human physiology driving the clocking and not something mechanical.

It almost reads like a description of an Onyx/sprag clutch hub. I'd be curious to know more too.

Question for the podcast: what is the limit of mulleting? It seems like they are becoming increasingly popular. A few years ago, there were quite a few people experimenting with 29/26 combinations. Would those be better than 29/27.5 with modern geometry? 29/24? 32/26? Full penny-farthing? Or does it work best with two really closely sized rims? Just curious - haven't had the opportunity to try one yet.

Love seeing the Revolution Bike sticker on the pump.

Two shout outs: Salsa: bought an El Mariach lightly used on eBay. Five years later, l cracked the dropouts, outside the normal warranty period, and having bought it used as the second owner. They gave me the crash replacement option to replace the bike with any of their other models. Thanks Evan! Onyx: After four years on a set of hubs, I sheared the rear axle while bikepacking. I put it down to a loose cassette and rode the last ~50 miles with the bad axle before discovering it while troubleshooting at home. Onyx upgraded the hub to their new bearing/axle standard, shipped it back to me quickly, and wouldn't accept payment. Thanks Daniel! Both were quick and easy to work with, and in my opinion, were incredibly generous and understanding. The Cutthroat is now rolling with Onyx hubs.

@TerrapinBen: "BHA is not looking to limit access to public lands for any other user group, but are only promoting responsible public land use management while addressing the needs of wildlife. In this instance illegal trails compress elk habitat in a an area of special importance. Public lands are for everyone, but it is everyone's responsibility to respect and take care of those lands." This statement from them suggests that they are not about sharing access to public lands: https://www.backcountryhunters.org/bha_statement_on_mountain_bikes_in_wilderness

@Athertonbikesteam: Any chance you could publish Top Tube Lengths on your geometry charts?

@mikelevy: You're probably right that the potential audience for e-bike riders is larger than the potential audience for fat bike articles - one fills a pretty specific niche, while one is largely applicable worldwide. I own one, and have a blast on it, but it is by far the least used bike in my garage. I wasn't so much requesting more coverage as pointing out that sometimes different niches on Pinkbike receive more or less coverage, even if both might be active trends in the mountain bike world.

To push back gently, I feel you guys are being a little obtuse with regards to e-bike coverage, framing it in terms of "We wouldn't be doing our jobs if we didn't cover e-bikes because that's where the stuff is happening". For instance, I see at least five e-bike-tagged articles for just the month of January (https://www.pinkbike.com/news/tags/emtb/). In contrast, for all of 2021, you only wrote two fat bike articles (https://www.pinkbike.com/news/tags/fat-bikes/), with the last fat bike specific review being the Manitou Mastodon in 2017. Now I get that the fat bike trend and progress has died way down from where it was a few years ago, but Pinkbike never covered that niche part of the sport with the gusto that it covers e-bikes. I don't think you can only attribute the amount of coverage e-bikes receive to "That's the direction the sport is moving", but rather deliberate editorial prioritization and choices.