dangerholm

While I do listen to a lot of chill stuff as "work/background music" it's definitely the desert/stoner/doom/sludge stuff that I'm into. Satan Worshipping Doom and Terminal are my go-to albums, but I absolutely love The Great Barrier Reefer. There's just something about the mellow parts in that song that takes me places.

Two new Gambler RC projects in the works!

Thanks, and agreed on the Hopp tuned derailleur! I actually find the rider weight/preference topic quite interesting, and while I'm a huge proponent for everyone building/buying their bikes to their personal liking I obviously don't have much personal experience on what exactly is necessary for a 240lbs rider. Because there's of course a difference between a bike holding up and a bike actually riding well. To bump things up to 220lbs you don't need to add much weight at all. Steel spindles for the pedals (+50g?), next strength level of rims (+120-130g for the wheelset), +20g to +90g for the saddle depending on the model and let's say +50g for the cockpit. So you'd still get a pretty light bike at like 9,2-9,3kg or 20.3-20.5lbs. But around 220lbs and up I guess you might start wanting stiffer fork models, bigger brakes, maybe sturdier tires and so on. So like you say, such an experiement would be pretty cool.

@trellis-opportunity-red: YES! Definitely been playing with this idea, it's just that I've had to prioritize my "regular" projects so far. But there's definitely some potential there, for example it could be super fun to get an old Scott steel frame to use as a base and have Cjell Monē work some magic on it (maybe converting the rear end to disc and 27,5/29", and how about a klunker tube in the front triangle) while I work on some cool details on my end.

The SID 35mm is pretty much the same weight as this one, while the 32mm is quite a lot lighter but then also just goes to 110mm. Either way, both the SID 35 and the Intend are great forks, they simply ride a bit differently so it comes down to preference and priorities. While I do like the torsional stiffness of the SID in many scenarios like sprints or other out of the saddle efforts, the Intend tracks the ground a bit better providing a little more grip and a slightly smoother feel.

@NWintheUSA: While I haven't given it a go, this is actually a topic I've been thinking quite a lot about and for a long time too. I find the concept super interesting, but I'm also sort of baffled that essentially no one who's adding weight is trying to lose weight in the other areas of the bike. Percentage wise it would have a so much bigger impact to add 2kg of weight to for example my previous super light Gambler, since it's already 3-4kg lighter to begin with. That "World's Lightest e-Bike" I built based on the Scott Lumen was a bit like that actually, in many scenarios it simply felt like an ultra planted XC race bike haha. Either way, it's interesting stuff.

Haha hear, hear! Cheers mate!

I'm so anti AI but with the risk of being a hypocrite I'd still like to keep a small data center just to run the "Remove object with AI" feature in Lightroom.

Thanks! I completely get that people would find it refreshing to see me work with different brands, but aside from perhaps imagining being truly financially independent and able to do absolutely whatever, I'm exactly where I want to be. I essentially grew up around Scott bikes, starting working extra in a small-town dealership when I was 14, and while I've built plenty of other bikes over the years (Intense, Spesh, Giant, Trek, Blackmarket Bikes, Orange, BMX stuff etc) I really got into Scott way before any partnership took form. And speaking of partnerships, personally I simply believe that working long term is the way to go. That's how you build mutual trust and tend to get the best results if it's a good fit to begin with, I mean, just look at Nino as an example (not saying that I'm at Nino level in any way, but still). So when I've had other brands reach out I haven't even checked what they're looking for or offering, as I'm genuinely happy working with Scott and still curious to see where it goes and what we can achieve. They also give me full creative freedom which one has to remember is pretty cool, not every big brand would support someone chopping up frames or doing other modifications. On the other hand, while I'm "locked in" with Scott by choice I've actually been working hard over the years to have as much freedom as possible on the component side of things. I probably could've gotten some "pro rider" style deal but it would not only be boring to look at if all my bikes were specced exactly the same with standard components, but I'd find it boring to build as well. So while I do try to build long term partnerships with component brands too (for example I go way back with Intend), I still always ensure that I'm able to build the bikes exactly how I want them when it comes to the all-in projects. I spent too many years paying for everything, getting used to choosing every little thing haha. So when it comes to the high-performance carbon and alloy stuff I'm living the dream, my only other wish really as a bike nerd is to at some point do a couple of projects with small steel and titanium builders. If anyone remembers my Mad Max style bike, part of why I loved that project so much was because I got to work with Cjell of Monē Bikes for the custom steel fork. So maybe at some point you'll see some side project like that, but otherwise there's a lot more Scott builds in the pipeline - like it or not haha. (Long response, just thought it was a fair point you made and wanted to take the opportunity to dive into it a bit for anyone who's reading!)

If it's any comfort we don't really have any big mountains around here, but also I'm a low cadence grinder (hence the move back up to 175mm cranks after testing the short crank trend). While other people read RPM as Revolutions Per Minute me and my thighs read it at Reps Per Minute. So at least right now I'm not that fast, but fingers crossed for a good winter of training ahead haha.