- Continue Shopping
- Your Cart is Empty
The KETL Treasure Hunt, New Goodies from SRAM, Buying a Bike in 2025 & More... Ep. 152 [Podcast]
Today on the podcast, the guys discuss some epic recent rides as well as some fresh new products from SRAM and the KETL Treasure hunt before jumping into some classic listener questions ranging from upgrades to your drivetrain, which carbon handlebar to choose, buying a bike in 2025 and everything in between. Tune in!
Worldwide Cyclery YouTube Channel
Submit any and all questions to podcast@worldwidecyclery.com.
If you are one strange human that would like to read a transcript of the podcast above, continue reading below
[Music]
ladies and gentlemen welcome to episode 152 of the Mountain Bike Podcast
presented and hosted by Worldwide Cyclingery Kettle Mountain Apparel and Trail One Components I am Jeff I am Liam
And I'm Trevor And we are missing Jared today because he is out sick Probably
cuddling with his cat on the couch is my guess What do you think he's doing absolutely be cuddling on the couch with
his cat Probably that and then later making pasta Yeah
Or he already made pasta and he has a bowl of pasta on the couch with his cat There you go Do you think he feeds his
cat pasta uh that's a good question So if you're
watching this on YouTube and you watch the last one on YouTube you'll see the new podcast studio Did you guys explain the Catman license plate no we didn't No
we didn't Okay Well it's an important thing since we're on the topic and it made me think of it So the Catman
license plate that's right behind me uh was purchased and created so we could
put it on Jared's car while he was out for a ride like a lunch ride And the
idea was we'd put it on his car over top of his normal license plate And I was optimistic that he wouldn't notice and
he'd drive around with a license plate that said Catman for a long time and maybe get pulled over with it And I was
and I was semi-hesitant that he would get pulled over while doing something
and could get in trouble Yeah You know but it's a prank He just goes "I'm sorry officer It's a prank I didn't know that was on there." You can't do a prank if
you might have left the brewery off two fresh IPAs You might not be drunk but he wouldn't have done that That might be
frowned upon You know what I mean and the officer doesn't care if he says it's just a prank That depends on the guy
right that's where I was That's where I was going I was like you know so anyways that's why there's a Catman California
license plate uh in the new podcast studio And he did do it and he realized it and what it right away Right away
Came in came in from lunch Actually he came in from lunch with Michael which I'm pretty sure you guys went to a brewery for lunch Did you chip him off
Michael uh and he came in and I don't know what he came in dropped something in his desk and walked straight out to
his car saw it and immediately turned around and walked back in He goes "Who the hell did that?" like it took him 30
seconds Yeah he's a car guy He pays attention to his stuff It was funny though Well at least we still have a
Catman license plate out of it Um but anyways back on topic for the rest of this intro In this episode we will
discuss the Kettle Mountain Treasure Hunt which is now launched some new drivetrains and brakes from Stram and
listener questions ranging from carbon bar recommendations and the subtle differences in how bike brands sell
their bikes which is a followup to what you guys talked about last episode regarding DTOC bike brands which is
direct to consumer We'll get into that later Correct What a long intro Yep Full
of cat talk too Y great intro Zach's words of wisdom You can read them off Be
the person you know you can be Great Just just do your best you know
Isn't that the old tagline for the army or be all you can be in the army Maybe that uh Polyshore movie You guys
are too young Yeah I don't know Michael knows Pauly Shore in the army now Yeah
You got to be older than 30 to know that I know a lot of old movies but I don't know that one Do you remember Paulie
Shore though he's like a goofball him He was in all that movie with Andy Dick and stuff He's like a goofball actor
Bioddome If you tell us like that was another famous one Okay Polyshore Yeah
Like a goofball If you tell us Poly Shore we're going to think of like the Jersey Shore Yeah Whatever we got Much different era
Trevor Yeah Daniel's fun fact Uh he didn't actually have one and uh I think
I think Jared made it up and then I asked Daniel if that was his actual fact and then I just decided to change it and
put in a different fact And my fact is just more of a historical fact about us That's the which is the Breen Ridge
Colorado Film Festival once threatened to sue us That is a fact That's a true
story Uh the way that happened is when we did that little documentary of which you race a Bre Epic Liam Yep Uh along
along with Zach the words of wisdom Zack and a few of the other guys and we made a little funny YouTube documentary out
of it And for the cover photo of the YouTube video we put these fake you know
when you see one of those YouTube videos and they have all those film festival awards on them We just put all these fake ones on there And one of the fake
ones that Michael Photoshop said you know winner Breen Ridge Film Festival and then no one no one
no one actually even Breenidge Film Festival we just assumed that wasn't a thing It was fake And uh then we got an
email from them saying "Hey you this is this film wasn't entered You can't use this." Like you can't use our logo and our light And we're like "Oh it was a
joke We didn't actually know you were a real film." Did they actually send like a pre-season assist on that
I don't I don't know if it was that Not not that serious but it was it was a warning that you're going to get some
a warning that one might be in the mail soon You're going to hear from our lawyers You're going to hear from our lawyers You can't use a Breenidge film
festival I was like I didn't even know it was a thing But anyways that's the fact Fantastic testimonials I just this
pretty pretty generic but we appreciate it John Read it off Trevor Um I look forward to this podcast I've learned so much lost a bunch and I think I'm a
better bike rider and bike DIY mechanic thanks to the show Keep up the great work from John Thank you John Thanks
John I want the ones back We put that in there because we originally wanted to get roasted and like the first one we
ever put in was roasting Jeff And wasn't it you saying like you're a trust fund kid this and that and all these things I
like the fun the ones that are the ones that are really tastefully done where they actually say something nice but
they they give these sort of backhanded compliments but it's like an intellectual compliment that is also
derogatory in a way Like those are the ones I think are really funny Um but we don't get those very often Leave some
leave some comments some good ones or or leave some thoughtful ones Don't just don't just leave a roast but be like oh
say something nice but also say something rude at the same time or allude to something Yeah that's what I like Like you know you're trying to
insult someone Obviously like you're not the sharpest tool in the shed That one's overdone right like your elevator doesn't reach the top floor That's a
pretty good one You know you're almost there You got to think a sec You know like what oh man That's an
insult Bikes and rides we've been enjoying lately Liam what have you been doing
riding bikes a ton A ton Your new enduro bike mostly or what else everything A
new enduro bike short travel bike which has some new goodies on it we can get to in a bit Um rode the road bike over the
weekend Yeah Yeah Just trying trying to ride all the bikes Trying to ride short travel test the stuff and the enduro
bike to get ready for the Tasmania New Zealand trip Well Tasmania trip I'm doing New Zealand on my own But yeah
trying to get that dialed in Pretty sweet bro What are you moving up to Jeff uh I have I have been all over the place
trying to execute this kettle treasure hunt which I'll get to in a in a moment But because of that I did some riding in
San Diego which was rad Really cool And um where else did I ride that was pretty
pretty much it Most of my stuff's been on foot or paddling or on a motorcycle But then I rode the enduro bike actually
last last weekend with Liam and Jared which was pretty cool I haven't been out on the Banshee Titan V3 in a long time
with the Intense suspension and we have tuned the shock a little bit better which is nice Um although I don't know
seems to work just as good as it did when it wasn't correctly set up but man that's a complicated piece of equipment
Tell you that much Uh inverted fork People love that thing man It's a real conversation starter Yeah And
aluminum and a inverted fork Your bike's sick Yeah it's cool man I like that thing Um so yeah I'm I'm pumped on that
That thing has been a lot of fun to ride And I sold my Yeti ASR So but a new one's coming right now
New one is coming What's What's up with the new one when is that when What's the ETA on this new one three days Three
days Well the frame will be here Then I have to build a frame and then build the rest of the bike And I'm really busy
this week Oh yeah Cuz you're getting it custom painted huh for some cool color way Oh is that under wraps it's not top
secret Dude we are already said that We are NASA dude This can knock it out Um yeah
custom painted Uh so I got to put it back together but um my priority bike
work is your Banshee cuz you're leaving soon Like Friday Yeah I'm leaving on
Friday Yeah For the the trip down under Down under Yeah Um so yeah it'll it'll
be built before I leave on the trip but you won't even see it in person till you
back Yeah Yeah I got You'll probably see the frame like just But that's about it
Yeah Yeah I'm looking forward to that I really enjoyed riding that ASR um the last one I had and we sold it to an
awesome guy who actually ended up owns a company called Urban Armor Gear and he hooked a bunch of us up with sweet stuff
They make a ton of rad like phone cases and various things and yeah a bunch of charging blocks Yeah the portable
chargers I just used those recently Very very clutch Yeah I would definitely shout out that guy cuz he he was cool He
was just super nice of him and uh he had been thinking about buying an ASR and then he hopped on I think we just had it
on Pink Bike Buy Sell and he saw it and he's like "Oh man I I saw Jeff's video on that one I wanted to buy it anyway."
So yeah he was stoked pretty much all of our bikes end up one way or another getting sold on like the used ones
either on the website or on the pink bike by sell form So um yeah if you're ever curious buying our stuff they're
hot deals and they're sweet bikes and they're in always in super good shape too Yeah Yeah Everything we have is
pretty much dialed in and super well taken care of So people like buying when when you buy a used bike from Worldwide
Cyclinger you get the full warranty It's mint condition usually It's like always super wellkept and stuff's replaced on
it and it's dialed in So Yeah it's good Very different than buying a used bike from some dirt bag Yeah Different
experience Yeah It's hard to like relay that information to people but it's like they don't know what they're going to be getting a lot of times but when they do
get it it's like "Oh wow This is insane actually." Like you don't really get that anywhere else Indeed Um what I've
been riding I've been uh didn't have any mountain bikes at home this weekend and it was an absolutely gorgeous weekend in
Los Angeles So I rode uh road bikes all weekend which ended up being super nice
This is the mountain bike podcast Yeah Well it just mountain bikes at home is
what I did Um well I just got back from Italy so And he doesn't have one right now Didn't have one right now but he
doesn't have a personal bike right now He's waiting for I bought I bought a dirt bike So yeah Don't have a mountain
bike Just riding you just riding moto and road now Yeah But I did Kenny Roxson
I did uh I did I did do a good ride on the ASR this morning Took out the demo ASR Oh yeah And did the Millennium Loop
in Calabasas and that was uh super good Just the weather is amazing right now And trails are good They're fast Soon to
be overgrown Um it's everything is super green Everything is super green in LA right now But uh I got attacked by some
cabbage this morning So soon to be overgrown but taking advantage of it while it's good Yeah Yeah We rode a new
trail that is already back to like six inches wide when we rode over the weekend Yeah Yeah It's just like a rut
cuz the just the greenery is like enclosing on it Yeah The bike is the I mean there was no water that we went
through at all and the bike was muddy underneath because all the plant material and water got splashed under
your shoes and splashed under the bike and my whole jersey was muddy Yeah And Yeah And Yeah Just kind of a mess But
Still good You have to do full cleanup as if you had good dirt but you didn't have good dirt Yeah I was sweating the
whole time and it was hot and dry It's crazy But no it was good Really Uh I
enjoyed that bike actually It's nice to ride XT bike and turn the pedals over and just feel like you're being
efficient the whole time is just satisfying after riding trail bikes for a while and just kind of slugging up
every climb To be able to like push up a climb and feel strong on it is it's a great feeling Yeah Yep It's a fast bike
That's cool Well some interesting news in the mountain bike space Uh it's
always a fascinating day when drops some new products especially drivetrains because they make a lot of good
drivetrains Uh you're pretty deep in the weeds on these drivetrains huh Willie
What's the deal because by the time this podcast comes out we'll have already launched a YouTube video on the drivetrains and the brakes Yeah But yeah
what's what's the deal um so drivetrain Stram has mechanical transmission now So
it's called Stram 90 They also have a lower tier Stram 70 RAM7 is kind of just
like a OE play but Stram 90 is going to be like the currently the premier
mechanical so cable actuated full mount derailer So like transmission Yeah And
just to clarify for those who don't know when he says OE play he means that that drivetrain will come on complete built
stock bikes Yeah Not really sold aftermarket It will be aftermarket but the price is going to be so close to 90
there's going to be no point to buy Oh so they are going to sell it aftermarket Yeah I'm pretty sure I thought it was only OE They like they still sell NX
aftermarket Yeah but it's too but like NX it's almost like replacement parts at
that point You want the same thing Yeah Yeah It's it's a replacement part where you know if you're gonna drop whatever
NX is you're probably just gonna buy GX Yeah because it's only like a hundred or $200 more which I mean I guess you know
if you're tight on cash whatever Um but yeah no if you're not obsessed with upgrading which 95% of mountain bikers
are but yeah if you're if you're not you just get the same stuff Yeah So Stram 90
um it's super cool It's mechanical full mount derailer so you get the really
strong derailer You don't have a derailer hanger so it takes that out So you do need a UDH frame to run this
drivetrain It uses a Stram GX cassette and chain Um so you get the same
performance basically shifting as you would with GX because the cassette and chain is same That's kind of where a lot of the performance comes from and the
feeling of it Um and but much cheaper price point because it's cable and not not electric And just one less thing to
worry about too One less thing to worry about Um and yeah I mean I love a bike that
has no batteries just to offset all my other bikes with batteries It's fun to just grab and go Jeff doesn't have a
single bike with batteries That is true Yeah with the Type Axis stuff the stuff
with the batteries it's one thing to charge the battery that rarely ever lets you down It can still though Um it's
really for me like the shifter battery will screw you over hard You don't see it lasts about a year right yeah There's
it's few and far in between You have to replace it but when you do have to replace it it's dead Yeah Um so like
there will be a little yellow and a red light on the shifter and you don't really see that when you're riding nor when you're even checking the bike out
it's pretty hidden And uh I've I've been on rides before where someone goes "Hey your shifter is yellow." And I'm like
"Dang I'm about to do a 30- mile ride." Like I really don't want to have a dead shifter right now Yeah I did two my
first two rides on the frameworks with a red shifter Yeah Yeah red red blinking like uh your battery was low Yeah Yeah
I've I've actually built a lot of bikes recently where the they've the shifter's been sitting in a box for a year and
they're all red and I'm just like dang Well I guess replace this battery replace this battery But it's a CR 2032
right those things are kind of expensive too Probably five bucks Yeah Yeah There's a lot for battery though Like
double are like you know way cheaper I I was on a ride that uh somebody's you
know shifter or I guess they call them controllers the electric ones the the battery died way out there And we ended
up stealing the 2032 battery from I think a Stages power meter has that or maybe an old one had that A cork has it
too Yeah it I think it was a power some power meter I don't remember if it was a cork or stages but we we stole the battery from that and then just put it
in the shifter so we could keep riding cuz we were like 10 miles out Yeah So solid piece to put in your your backpack
for a backcountry ride or adventure Yeah I mean it doesn't take up any room No Yeah So So yeah Anyway um yeah tangent
Uh it's awesome I've been riding it for a while It shifts uh basically mechanical feeling on the
finger to actuate it Yet you get that perfect shift like you kind of do with transmissions So So can you shift it
pretty fast yeah like not as fast maybe as the old
mechanical like XX1 shifter Basically basically the same Yeah So on your shift
to go to an easier gear I can never remember what that is Um as you shift to
an easier gear you can shift this twice on one lever throw where the previous uh
Stram drivetrains you could do three on one lever throw So you get one less and that's how they kind of keep the you
know the perfect shifts happening And then obviously to go to harder gear it's always just a single click And you could just you can rapid fire that though Yeah
Because that was that was my big thing when I first started riding Type was and it's a lot of people's complaints is how
slow the shifting is um throughout the whole range because sometimes if you're doing a very hilly trail I'm personally
I'm dumping gears hard and especially if I'm going into a downhill I'm shifting down like three or four times just to be
in that gear immediately And with the TT type you kind of have to like pedal into it and and pre-plan your shift a little
bit A little bit I've gotten used to it Yeah But like from the difference between the mechanicals you can just dump it real quick And it'd be nice to
do that with all the shift advantages that you get on tea type stuff you know yep Yeah So it's kind of I mean
obviously you can make it shift bad if you so many gears at a time right like you're you're not you're going over what
it's meant to be doing M um but you can dump gears faster and I've ridden it on
all of our like local trails We have so much of those ups and downs and I didn't get a bad shift once Yeah it's awesome
Um yeah and another thing that I started doing with transmission which I was testing on this is shifting while
coasting Yeah So I'll shift like twice now Like if I'm know I'm going into an uphill I'll just shift two easier and
then I get on the pedals and then it just goes You don't have to worry about it I do the same thing Um and you can do
that on the the mechanical version So yeah it's pretty cool I have mine
already mix matched which I was planning to do since I I actually saw this drivetrain a year and a half ago Um and
then they it came out a bit late Uh and
I was already planning to run an XXSL cassette and chain with the 90 derailer
and shifter So you get the lightest cassette and chain possible which also
the Stram 90 derailer is significantly lighter than the Stram XXSL electronic
derailer by 60 g So yeah no servo no battery Yeah right
now I have the lightest transmission drivetrain you can put together on my bike Yeah The only downside is that
shifter the Stram 90 shifter doesn't have the premium feel of a high-end
mechanical stram shifter Correct XX1 shifter It sits at like the GX level and it does not feel like the XX1 or even XO
which which both of them feel quite good Yeah Um from the you know the original Stram Eagle drivetrains So you don't get
So this one's more of a GX level Gotcha Yep Has that sort of little bendy little
flex I know it's it's it's small but it's if you have them back to back and
you go "Ah this Yeah it just just does feel cheaper." I've always thought it's like the door handle in a BMW versus a
Civic It's like you know you can say "Oh it's fine They're just they're both operational." Like but you can tell which one's more quality It's just you
know the gears are tighter in their you know maybe more titanium or alloy versus like
forg I've always thought of the shifter as kind of the brain and the derailer as just the dumb body right okay It's just
it's just what's doing the work but the shifter is all the feel on what you're going to get And I've always like by
companies I've always speced inferior shifters Um just because classic move to reduce just because no one's going to
know that And they look at the derailer it's more visible It's like an XT build but they get an SLX shifter you know
classic Yeah I'd rather have the opposite But like when I'm building a bike you do the opposite and it's like get the nice shifter It's worth it get
the cheap derailer you're going to break it until you go down to a certain derailer level where you start getting like cheaper forged and stamped steel
products that lose stiffness and rigidity and then you'll get bad shift because of that But speaking of that on
the Stram 90 you can replace the whole cage assembly with any other Stram
transmission assembly So you can get a XO an XX or an XXSL cage assembly put it
on that uh mechanical upper and now you can get a really stiff
shifting derailer with good bearings and everything So there's a lot of cool stuff you can do Yeah Is that what you
did put the SL cage on that bike I don't have it on right now but I took photos of it and I did it for weights and I
showed it in the video that you could do it Gotcha So I don't have it on right now Super light Yeah I didn't I didn't feel like paying for paying for the the
cage right now But um I do have a ceramic speed poly wheel and cage There
you go From last year racing when they uh sent one So I'm waiting to put that on but that will be cool and bougie
That's bougie to have $600 poly wheels on a mechanical setup It's stupid but people
love options and love customization so it's cool I'm going to do it Yeah And then also SAM has new motive brakes Yeah
Someone wrote the E on there but there's no E I don't think Um M O T I V M O T I
V So these are Stram's new XC and light trail brake offering They use mineral
fluid just like Mavens do and also DB8s
um which is kind of lower-end brake that's actually really awesome Super good brake And uh yeah so essentially
they claim level weight code power So it's the weight of the outgoing level
four piston brake at the power of the outgoing code brake Uh the way they do
this is it's basically a level lever with a code caliber uh that uses mineral
fluid So yeah And a code brake pad of course And a code brake pad Yeah So yeah a few cool things It's easier to say
this on a podcast than in the video Yeah Um yeah it's it's mineral fluid It has
code power It's you know super strong Uh to get rid of the weight they get rid of
swing link technology which is a progressive link inside the brake lever that pushes the master cylind cylinder
that kind of creates a progressive power curve in the braking uh kind of bite point They go to direct link which is
more linear It saves a ton of weight They also take out the contact adjust so you no longer have that on that brake Uh
which also saves a ton of weight Interesting Um so the the brake has a more linear feel to it but the power
delivered out of the rotor is the same because it has a co- caliper Yeah honestly that kind of makes a lot of
sense for XC purposes too Like a lot of the times I've ridden like XC bikes with codes on them and you can hit them and
they hit super hard and you can kind of stab them and you all of a sudden your wheels are locked up And with the kind
of level series yeah you can tell based off how the lever feels that it's much
linear much more linear than that So it'd be cool to try these brakes just for like a downount setup Seems pretty
perfect for that That's what they're made for really right so like you have that linear lever feel not doesn't come
on super strong but it's it uh it will have power and then you have an amazing caliper and good brake pad Proven Yep
And that's sweet Yeah One thing about kind of to your point is like you can
only have so much braking power per tire traction Yeah So like if you have if you're running these you know kind of
lighter trail tires even XT tires and you have a powerful brake it's not going to do any good You're just gonna be
locking up and sliding and have no actual braking traction So yeah having it come on a little bit less strong I
think is great for that And then also their whole range of brakes is just super simplified Now they have 10
overall models between entry level all the way to high-end as well as downhill
all the way down to XC Um it's Motive has the ultimate the silver and the
bronze Maven has ultimate silver bronze and now a new base model And then
there's DB8 and new DB6 and new DB4 So
10 models all mineral fluid They also only use two brake pads between all 10 brakes That's cool So it's the large
brake pad or the XL So no more no more level brake and no more uh cuz the level
two pistons use the like the like red enforced Yeah Like road uh brake pad N
doesn't cut it No more of that No more guide pad which they call the medium pad No no more brakes with either of those
on the flat bar currently That's great Yeah So yeah a little bit more simplified and cohesive total break
lineup Totally Still a lot of options and almost on the edge of needing one of those things a private investigator
needs where you have the different images and the strings and the pins and everything's all connected They do have a chart I was trying to find it I
couldn't find it They showed me a chart when I was there of like kind of the power and the pro like the the levels
and the powers where they kind of sit I tried to recreate it a bit So maybe I'll put more effort into like recreating
that putting it on a blog Yeah Um yeah it's tough because you need a ton of options for all these different use
cases but then you also need to find a way to make it understandable to sort of someone who's a more novice trying to
figure out oh what brakes do I get for my bike what what do I upgrade to if I need more power things like that Yeah
the DB8s sit in a funny spot because they're about the same power as a motive
with just like lesser materials in a way Um so DBA's like a simplified cheaper
kind of option Yeah basically Yeah Um but yeah it still uses a code caliper So
you know it's very similar So these new motive brakes do they bleed the same as
the Mavens um well in terms of tools and tips and tricks did you guys talk about
that last episode your tips and tricks video on brake bleeds Trevor came out with a
great bleed tips and tricks that you know is geared towards the maven but honestly it works with any break And uh
Trevor and I were recently doing some secret uh break knowledge learning that
we can talk about soon Um exciting And they kind of reiterated like so exciting
So exciting dude It's crazy I mean it was exciting for Liam and I Yeah I know I know That's why I'm laughing We're
just we're just bike we're just bike nerds Yeah If it had to do like business and e-commerce and you know how to like you know massage your business into
getting more you know topline revenue You probably be super excited too That's true We're massaging brake pistons to
get a better brake fuel Um but basically they said that a piston mobilization is
something every single brake should do and they actually were like stoked that they're like I think it's a great message that Sam's putting out there
that you should do this It's needed on the Mavens cuz their pistons are so large and there's so much fluid in there
that there can be air trapped However it's great to do on everyone else's brake And also on the motives um you can
do that as well You're just extending the pistons pushing them back Yeah Doing it five times It's just lubing that
internal caliper seal or piston seal and making sure there's zero air in the
system You just want as little friction in there as possible Then it retracts properly and just makes your brake feel good Yep But they bleed the same as
Mavens which is essentially the same process as code There's almost no difference Um and bleeding edge on the
high-end ones and um dual threaded on the lower and then you need the mineral oil bleed kit as well It'll be different
fittings and different bleeding edge fitting to make sure you're using the mineral oil on the mineral oil brake
because if you use the DOT fluid Yeah syringe you're going to contaminate it and it's a problem So they change the
the the thread sizes and the bleeding edge fitting for that Yep Which is smart
That's pretty much it Um again been on those for almost like two months now
longer than drivetrain and they're great They have power Um they stop you They're
consistent I bled them once and I haven't touched them since Uh I immediately went to HS2 rotors with
centered pads because that's kind of how I run my my bikes and I had code set up with that same setup beforehand So I
wanted like a pretty apples to apples comparison Um but you could get much lighter with like center lines and you
can also run organic if you want it a little biteier off the top So it's a it's a welcome change Yeah for sure It
just makes sense So it's cool Yeah Hopefully it'll maybe pull some people over that still don't trust brakes
because they had brakes 10 years ago or something or 20 years ago and had a bad
experience and go "No terrible Only no." Like Sam's made a lot of progress a
lot of progress to a lot of the haters on dot fluid which we've looked into this pretty heavily in the past and like
it's basically a wash What one's better um my argument is dot fluid is easier to
find So it's kind of preferable in my opinion You can go any auto parts store and find it But um Stram said this
obviously coming from Sram so this is what they're claiming Uh I don't know if it's 100% true but it makes sense that
there's a rule in Europe that DOT fluid brakes need a certain uh service
interval that is shorter and more intense than with mineral fluid uh because of the hydroscopicity of DOT
fluid It can ingest more water Yeah Um and that retailers or bright companies
were pulling strand brakes off not because the brakes were bad but because they're DOT fluid and they could get around that interval basically law based
on putting on a mineral fluid brake So so the same reason that the iPhone now
has USBC instead of lightning because of some weird European regulation now we have ceram mineral oil brakes Yes So and
I'm guessing that the road will follow suit uh just based simply on that law
and reasoning So they haven't yet but I'm assuming far out iteration because
they just redid red So they're going to trickle down that over the next five years and then the next one will probably go mineral too Yeah it's nice
Well I mean Stram definitely has you know you can never end when it comes to making their brakes nicer and nicer and
I think I've been riding them for 10 years and they're great now I I agree There's been some struggles years and
years ago but yeah those are kind of long gone especially with this new stuff Yep Yeah I mean everyone personally in
the shop is primarily running brakes Yeah And we wouldn't run something that
doesn't work Yeah No chance No we got options to run and we're running the stuff that's good and works and that's what we're running Mhm Totally Yeah Nice
Do you want to hit a break or you want to talk about this treasure hunt first well I'll I'll give the gist of the treasure hunt Um I I did mention it on
the podcast a little bit in past episodes and when we did the prototype treasure hunt that you participated in
Liam Yep And uh yeah so this was a little bit just of a crazy idea that I
thought we have to do and it seemed really fun and a little bit of a gamble and a risk but uh it's on the Kettle
Kettle Mountain YouTube channel if you want to check it out there Uh and I described the whole thing Essentially I
took 10 jars and in each jar is $500 cash and a $1,000 kettle gift card And
then I distributed them across five different cities in four different states So I did and they're not in
cities they're in the the greater vicinity of the city Um Los Angeles San Diego Reno Austin Texas and Phoenix And
I I put them two in each city And uh they're a little bit crazy to find And on the Kettle Mountain website it's
kettle mountain.com/treasure The coordinates are there And you can just go literally search the coordinates and find these
things Um this is going out a day or two after we record this podcast but by the
time you hear this it'll already been out for a few days So maybe they're all taken Maybe they're all there I don't
know I think it's going to take at least a few weeks for all these things to get found What was What was my limit that
until I can go search for them months Months I don't want you guys to get them You guys have too much insider
information I was talking to him about it today I thought you said 45 This is for our customers I thought you said 45 days Maybe We'll see 60 days Well I just
want to see I I don't know what's going to happen I I have no idea if it's going to be crickets and people going to go "Oh that's cool but I'm not going to go
get that." Well there's the one that I'd go get just for also what could be an awesome trip out of it So Yeah they're
they're in really cool locations and they're some of them are a bit rugged to get to but it's it's just hard to
describe the stuff because everyone's going to be different You know some people are going to see these coordinates and go "Oh I know exactly
how to get there I've been near there or I know that trail They're going to go figure it out and it's going to be no problem Other people are going to go out
there and probably be totally unqualified and you know paste it into Google Maps and be like "Yeah I can get
that." And then they're going to get to the trail head and have no cell service and then be like "Oh I can't even find it on Google Maps now because Google
Maps doesn't work." So everyone's going to have a different experience Um I'm excited I think it could be a fun
interesting thing to that will evolve and this is just addition one with these 10 jars out there And uh yeah go hit the
Cuttle website and see if any of them are still up for grabs and and go try and get them A lot of them definitely
make sense to mountain bike to Um some make sense to sort of ride a dirt bike or 4x4 to Some make sense to hike to
Some make sense to paddle to So it's a bit of a multisport endeavor depending on how you get to these things And uh
yeah I'm excited to see how anywhere you go I would suggest also I mean this is all in the facts but bring your riding
shoes and hiking shoes Just bring long pants long shirts bring tons of water I
tried I tried to put disclaimers everywhere Just be careful and bring extra extra water and food and know how
to use offline maps and don't think it's going to be easy Yeah They don't know
They don't know you Yeah Yeah Yeah Don't Unless you're Part of it is easier than
the prototype I did because you had clues to the Yeah Yeah Jeff had clues to
the jar which I clued to the next point Yeah multi-point treasure Basically I couldn't download the map and plan that
route out based on these secondary and third figure out in the moment So that's
that's part of what I learned during the prototype was that that's a little bit hardcore Okay So you're not idea No So
this literally I just the the coordinates are right on the mountain website and that's where the treasure is
You just have to plan one route and go find your way there So but addition two will no doubt be more complex Yeah Um
maybe addition two I'll do sort of a you know easy medium and hard And then there'll be increasing amounts of cash
in in those jars And then they'll just be a lot harder to get to for the hard ones and easier for the easier ones But
yeah I don't know I'm excited I think this is just a fun idea And it's one of those things that there's just the internet and social media is such a
cesspool And I just think if there's something I can bring to the internet and social media that is actually fun
and gets people outside and entertaining and enjoyable and adventurous then I'm in to make something like that So yeah
I'm excited to bring that to life on the kettle side Sweet Yeah that's it It's exciting Let's now talk about a word
from our sponsors Bum And now a word from our sponsor You're a mountain biker
You should smell like one too Introducing Earthstick our allnew all naturatural organic deodorant Each
unique scent is made from organic soil plants and other renewable trailside ingredients so you always smell like the
trails that you love to ride Our LOM stick dirt bath and trail funk scents will unmistakably keep you smelling like
the diehard mountain biker you really are Available in a bike shop near you And now back to the
show Listener questions The first one starts out Good afternoon gentle sers
I'm reaching out with a question related to mountain bike handlebars I looked at your YouTube channel and saw that the
latest handlebars buyer guide was created 3 years ago And although I doubt much has changed in the last three years
I was hoping you guys could shed some light on the Trail 1 carbon bars I come from a free ride gravity-based
background and I ride my bikes quite intensely Is the carbon trail one bar the right bar for me i am getting tired
of the arm pump that comes with harsh descents and the Hell'sgate grips can only do so much If the Trail One carbon
bars would not be suitable for my harsh style of riding uh I do Oh harsh I do What would be
better carbon bar in comparison cheers fellas Hank Hank's a big dog Sounds like
Have you ever met a small man named Hank because I have It wouldn't work It wouldn't work He would change his name
This guy is is a big dog and he rides intensely Yeah Um Well I mean our carbon
bars are rated to the same level as every other carbon bars You know they're rated for their highest rating
Um that being said like I don't think there's a certain carbon bar that's
better for hard riding I just think you get to a point where you're just you
know it's like well I crash a lot or you know this happens to me a lot alloy
might be a safer option But as far as I mean if you are crashing a lot especially if you're crashing and have a
dual crown fork then you should just ride alloy Yeah But I think as far as like what he's kind of asking right off
the bat like if carbon if trail one carbon bars aren't up to stuff what better carbon is there and I don't think
there is I think they're all even on that plane Yeah In terms of in terms of that Yeah I mean my my take on it is you
know part part of where the design idea came from for the Trail One Bars was many years ago when OneUp did actually
oneup everyone and come out with a unique product and their handlebar which was a 35 mil clamp and it
had vertical compliance meaning it flexes up and down and lateral stiffness
Um that was a great idea and that that thing worked really well and it felt better than some other bars and some
other bars when I rode them back toback and we made a video about that those other bars felt like a pipe of steel
versus the oneup bars And as the years went on a lot carbon layups just got
better Other competitors got closer I think in realistically you don't need that special little funny oval design
they have to accomplish the same thing Um you know then you could also argue too like oh I actually feel a little too
noodly especially when you're pedaling and you're sprinting either when you're sprinting or when you're climbing out of the saddle and you're pulling on the
bars you're actually flexing them too much So I kind of ended up where after
testing all those bars I was like "Ah it's like that's like a little too flexy for most scenarios." Um but it's you
know the flex is nice compared to that super stiff rigid rental type bar Um so
the idea with the trail one bar is that we really had tried to hit in terms of that like perfect compliance whereas like yes there is some compliance um and
some flex and give there but it's not uh too much per se So it's kind of more on
a on a middle ground take which I just think is the right allaround bar Yeah Which actually Vital did a carbon bar
shootout test with bars in there Mhm And one tester said "In a certain scenario
ours felt the most compliant even more so than oneup bars." Yeah Which I found
interesting because I've done so much backtoback and I didn't find them as compliant as oneups but you know maybe
in certain scenarios or people right and it's all placebo and it's tough Yeah It's hard to really scientifically
do this down to like this one's the stiffest this one's the most compliant and what sits in the middle right yeah
It's like what are you actually feeling yeah Yeah It it is tough because the other funny thing too is when when you
factor this in if you think okay let's let's actually take the exact same bike and ride the same trail and only change
the handlebars at least you can isolate the variable of the handlebars And it actually is a really kind of eye opening
test because bars do feel differently However the difference you feel in those bars let's let's call that difference
noticeable um but not anything that would be a big
deal Yeah Whereas if you take 5 PSI out of your front tire or 10 PSI out of your fork noticeable and a big deal So
there's other things that are a much bigger deal to how your bike rides and handles than your you know the exact
compliance of your handlebars Yeah I'd even say like rise and sweep have more of a long-term feel effect than the
compliance of the bar Yeah Do you think there's anything to a a rise in a bar having more giving more compliance like
on the outside of it like you have 45 mil rise bar versus a 10 mil rise bar Do you think there's more compliance in the
45 mil rise it all has to do with the layup you know like because because yeah carbon is so stiff right yeah It's all
in the layup and and what what carbon's been wrapped around that rise Um cuz you
know in theory they're really there could be a big difference if nothing's done and there could be no
difference or it could actually be stiffer if there's like different layups done in the rise section of the board
Yeah Yeah I I would also say my similar skepticism to that is
uh how how can you actually so like you can measure the compliance and the how much these things flex but how
consistent is that layup every single time and how consistent is the exact piece of carbon in all of these carbon
bars regardless of brand right so if you tested a thousand of them how close would those you know that compliance be
between across all thousand like an actual big sample size not just like oh yeah here's our one set of bars and
we're just going to lay it up quote unquote the same moving forward Um so I I don't know there's a lot of variance
to this stuff and and realistically you know some of these things a lot of mountain bike parts in many ways have
been just more or less to some extent fully optimized Um and then there's just
options like depending on what rise you want what back sweep and up sweep you want those kind of things So that's the
kind of stuff I just think that riders need options there and like options And then when it comes down to the splitting
hairs stuff most of the time uh yeah it's like in a blind test people
wouldn't tell this stuff Or or when something like handlebars like I said like there's things that'll make a way bigger difference like having a super
thin grip or a grip with a little more cushion or decreasing your front tire pressure or changing your front tire Like those things make significant
changes Whereas if you just swap out handlebars you can ride like 20 different handlebars and if they all have the same rise and sweep like all's
good Like you might be oh yeah no I can tell a difference but doesn't really matter in terms of like your overall ride experience but you take 10 psi out
of your front tire and like it's a huge difference Yeah So and back to Hank's actual question basically he wants to
get rid of arm pump and we didn't answer that Yeah there is compliance in the trail bars No doubt we did care about
that Um it's probably not as flexy as the oneup bars and I don't think I rode
alloy bars for the last two years on my enduro bike I just went to carbon only because I wanted the exact feeling of
our bars the rise and sweep and everything Um I don't think the alloy necessarily take gives you or takes away
arm pump To me that's all about grip and cushion on the grip but what feels best
to me where am I not gripping the hardest is that a thin grip or is that a thick grip for me because that's all
preference Yeah Can you can you relax your palms on the actual grip is the most important thing And I found the Hell's Gate the thicker grip allows me
to relax more than a thin grip Yeah once you get used to it totally does And then that going forward where are your brake
levers set are they far out or they far in jeff likes his really far in That would give me arm pump because I'm not
used to it I don't prefer that But where are your brake levers set where's your bike point how far inboard are they
mounted versus outboard and this the sweep and feeling of your bars I think
getting rid of arm pump has so much to do with relaxing on the bike and only gripping and braking when you actually
are really really needing to Otherwise trying to relax in a lot of other spots and like Jeff said your fork set up
correctly your front tire pressure is perfect you check it every single ride Um those are huge factors
uh where handlebar compliance is probably it's like it's a splitting hairs not as I mean I I saw that chart I
was at a media event years ago and or like last year and it had you know this 200 mil of basically compliance right
you have 160 in your fork you have 40 in your tire and then you have like five
mil in your bar and 2 mil in your grips Yeah Just if you look at that you're like "Oh well grip and bar compliance
matters but my fork setup and my tire pressure is 80% of this equation." Yeah
Yeah I used to get bad arm pump and changing over to Hell'sgate grips has been a total game changer for me because
I'm able to like you said relax my arms Um for example I rode the ASR this
morning and it has the Stram twist lock and it has the the stock the stock the
stock push on rubber calling them rubber grips cuz they're rubber grips But yeah push on Not much design grips No And
there's not much to them And uh yeah I was riding an XC bike on Chattery Trail but I wasn't necessarily getting arm
pump but my arms were getting were or my hands were getting sore from not not having a Hell's Gate grip because that's
all I want to run That's all I'm used to And when I have something else on it it just feels wrong and it uh it throws you
off a little bit So yeah that that totally does Yeah for me it's like if if I have a totally weird pair of grips
that makes a way bigger difference than what bars I have on there And there's also the huge click of people on on Pink
Bike just trolling the comments saying 318 318 we should have never gone away from 318 And then there's people making
fun of them saying like well we should have never gone away from 25.4 Yeah You know so it's you know try it out Try a
318 alloy bar Try a 35 carbon bar that has some compliance baked into the design try all this stuff out And
there's been a handful of tests There's one website that's really tested in the weeds of it And they mapped out this was
just scientific test right like a amount of leverage on a machine going
down how much did it move based on pounds on this arm right um and it mapped them all out and there's not much
consistency uh between 318 and 35 about which one's
more flex flexible or compliant um which kind of debunks that 31A is more
compliant than 35 because it's all over the place Some of the stiffest were 31A and 35 and some of the most flexible
were also 31 and 315 Totally So it's all about the layup and design Diameter doesn't matter and 350 can always be
lighter for for the strength to weight Yeah And you have more options with the larger
amount of just layup there in the carbon So which is why everyone went to 35 to begin with Yep
I've got a uh a random question for you guys Would you rather fight one horse-sized squirrel or 50 squirrelsized
horses and this is a tricky one because normally you think of like a little duck or something but I think a squirrel
would be quite vicious A squ a horse-sized squirrel would be gnarly Yeah Oh my I just have a follow-up
question of is it just is this a bare knuckle battle or do I have weapons you you have I think you have what you
have on you right now you Well I got a blade on me so Okay you're good then I'm I'm going I'm going a little further
than Jeff Um Jeff's got his garment watch Yeah exactly Let's uh let's say
you have minimal hand weapons Like maybe some numchucks a uh I'm going
to go 50 squirrelsized horses Yeah I'm going with 50 squirrelsized horses Yeah
but if you had weapons I would pick the big one because then you could just shoot the big one once Like I'm not saying I know but if you had a weapon it
would be easier to just have one giant you know opponent Whereas if you didn't you like you could have a gun but if you
had 50 little squirrelsized horses charging you it' be hard to shoot all of them Yeah What do you think would be
more lethal though 50 squirrelsized horses or 50 squirrels
actually I think 50 squirrels might even be gnarly That would be way because their teeth their teeth might be bigger
per ratio scratch you and horses biggest thing is like how powerful their legs are right when they kick Yeah dude That
little thing is going to be like it's like it's like one of my roommates dog you know like I don't even feel it Oh my
god that's an absurd question All right let's get to the next question Read it off Trevor Hey guys longtime listener
and bike nerd I recently bought a Diamondback Catch One from Facebook Marketplace for 250 bucks It's a one 130
front and 130 mm rear 27 and a half by 2.4 tire trail bike Um the 1x11 Stram NX
drivetrain is looking a little rusty due to the elements Are there any budget options i thought about replacing the
chain and just sending it I'm getting married and money is tight but writing is worth it Thanks from Curtis J Well
he's got a Stram NX drivetrain already That's pretty much budget already I mean he can go a little bit more budget but
the quality just goes down the drain Yeah Um I'd throw a new chain on it and
then replace the drivetrain as things break Like get a GX derailer if that goes out Get a GX shifter if that goes
out And 11 speed's fine Like might as well do the actual C derailer cable and
housing while he's at replacing the chain I I would I would do cable and housing That will make a big difference You're right Cable and housing and
replace the chain and he's probably in good shape cleaning other stuff up Yeah throw some uh like penetration lube in
that shifter because sometimes the old like stock grease will get kind of gunky in there and they'll help break it all
up and make it feel good again Yeah Yeah You can keep a drivetrain running a
pretty long time and and not have to you know completely replace everything You just maintain it well And the NX
derailer will just eventually like the bushings and the pivots will just start getting some play falls apart It'll
it'll it'll sound you'll have a clapped out drivetrain but it'll work Yeah But
just going to that GX 1 by11 will make a pretty good difference Yeah Yeah Especially just fresh Like a new
derailer feels good So yeah shout out to Facebook Marketplace
$250 bike is crazy I I was actually poking around on there the other day and
it it's unfathomable the amount of nice used bikes you can buy on Facebook
market My car mechanic was like itching me for a bike and I was like "Let me see what I can get." And I found this crazy
deal on a bike Yeah it's nuts And I was like "You can get a bike that in 2019
would have normally been $8,000 used and right now they're $1,800." This bike was
brand new Never used Never used Brand new from the from the company for 41 or
42 into retail for like$ 1350 Jeez I was like yeah Crazy There's your deal And
that's why half the bike industry is going bankrupt but you know nature of the beast right now Yep So crazy
Speaking of uh some brands going bankrupt DTOC brands
Yeah Well I don't think any of them have gone bankrupt yet The ones who didn't fast enough might be Uh All right All
right so last episode we did answer a pretty in-depth question about it Um but
this guy has a follow-up question So he said "Hey guys big fan of the pod Please keep up the good times I was listening
to the last pod and had a question came up about DTOC bikes Now they compare to something like Yeti and what followed
was a great discussion I'm wondering your thoughts on what DTOC actually means It seems there are there was a
time when there is few brands Canyon YT Common Sol etc we call DTOC that you
could click and buy on their website The bike was sent to your door Then there were other brands that you could only get from a bike shop Fast forward isn't
everything essentially DOC now i can even skip the bike shop and have a Yeti delivered to my door Yes
there are some differences like Yeti might get a kickback percentage to my local dealer But those are differences
too subtle for the average consumer Um that was a question Are those differences too subtle for the
average consumer does the consumer looking at Canyon and looking at Yeti just see two bikes that can be shipped
to their house for two very different prices sorry there's a lot here a lot
there Interested on your thoughts um that is interesting Yeah it is kind of very murky now isn't it with that
kind of Yeah it is So the classic DOC's and the newer ones which we call hybrid
internally we come call them hybrid D's And would you say that's like most brands now yeah Yeah Bike brands or
component brands or anything Yeah And honestly I mean the pandemic accelerated that like crazy And the use of like a a
easy to use Shopify platform Yeah Right Um Yeah absolutely Yeah I mean we made a
video about this a long time ago and this was when a lot of people were just curious about you know DTOC direct to
consumer bike brands And the I think what I tried to express in that video
was um it kind of depends on you and if you see value in a shop right like if
you have if you think there's value to have a shop that you work with whether you work with them online or you work
with them in store Shops can handle a lot more than just the bike brand can
right like you can call the shop and ask them to help you with brakes You can have your bike serviced there if you need you can have them help you with all
sorts of stuff because they sell everything in terms of accessories and apparel and all the different components on the bike and different brands and all
this other stuff Whereas if you just buy directly with the brand it's like the experience is kind of limited there So
it just depends on you and if if you need that and and some people really do and like that and have found great shops
that are online shops great shops that are local shops Um other people that are you know just so far deep in the
industry they don't care They work on all their own stuff um they you know they've you know they see a deal directly on YT and they buy it there So
I don't know it doesn't really matter Um but it just depends on what value you get out of if you see value using a shop
or not And I think most people still do um and a lot of people who have bought
DTOC brands have realized that it's not all it's chocked up to be and mostly because of a warranty situation like how
many people have you come across that bought directly with the bike brand and something needs to be warrantied and the
bike brand's like oh no I don't we don't talk to Rockshot call them yourself and it's like I can't bought the bike from
you it's like this huge issue with all that and so I mean I think that's pretty much what we said last week yeah pretty
similar it's good to hear your perspective on it though he's going a little bit more of like
okay so now every band brand can be bought online right yeah yeah I guess
just to clarify how that previously Yeti could not be bought online Specialized could not be bought online and every
most other kind of these classic bike shop brands and now they can be Mhm So
yeah that's true So that doesn't make them necessarily a TTOC I guess we could call it like exclusive DTOC Yeah Right
So like YT is an and Canyon are exclusively DTOC Like you can only buy their bikes from them Um whereas almost
all of these other brands that used to be exclusively sold in bike shops can now be sold either directly from the
brand or from the bike shop So yeah and he's asking you know does the average
consumer looking at Canyon and looking at Yeti just see two bikes that can be shipped to the house but two very different prices which that comes into
Yeti is still selling in a bike shop and still has that margin coming to the bike shop Yeah Well that's that's the other
funny thing about all of this though right because the original core value proposition of a D TOC bike brand was
hey we're cutting out the middleman Yeah And therefore we can give you more value for what you're what you're getting And
that was a big value prop that everyone thought was a big deal and it and it worked and it helped those brands scale
And then most people that are deep in the industry saw that value proposition fade away because it just didn't work
Those brands got big enough they got overhead they got issues I was going to say and those prices have slowly started
to creep towards each other 100% You know Yeti's come down a little bit People say still they're super expensive
but I see some crazy specialized prices out there Yeah And and everyone else you know crazy prices out there for some of
these high-end bikes And yeah Canyon and YT have you know prices have gotten closer to their their uh competition
right yeah Yeah The economics have totally normalized right because all those exclusive DTOC brands as they
scaled they needed more margin to deal with how their business scaled So their prices got higher And that value
proposition they had of like oh we're cutting out the middleman went away um to a large extent And all of the other
brands that were maybe exclusive bike shop brands did everything they could to compete price-wise and so did the bike
shop selling them So they've just kind of come towards the middle now Um and then you have the whole brand value in
there as well right so um you know someone buying a Diamond Back versus somebody buying a Yeti like you're
getting a very different brand with those two names So the price is going to be correlated with it too So or
different warranty situation as well Exactly Yeah So it's definitely like that value prop of DTOC brands has kind
of faded away Kind of like which is I said this joke multiple times the last few weeks I thought it was so funny is
the value prop of the farmers market It's like oh the farmers market You go to directly to the farmer cut out the
middleman pay twice the price It's like it's so true It's like the value prop
has just changed The economics have changed Yeah I mean and then I guess back to this exact exact example Canyons
to YT Say you're looking at same exact kind of spec bike White Yeti still might be a little expensive right like $1,000
more or something And that's because they're still selling to retailers and the retailer still needs to make the
margin And they need the same price map pricing across the board right so they
can't just match Canyon's pricing because then they're going to upset their longtime bike shop or so on So
yeah the problem is like that has that has normalized and come close and it's it's also just it it becomes this very
complex and we've had customers and seen people do this You have to build out these spreadsheets right like if you're
trying to compare a Canyon versus a Yeti like you're going to literally deck out a whole spreadsheet and try and find the
most similarly speced Canyon and Yeti and then list out each individual
component and what the aftermarket retailer would be on each individual component and then try and see like okay which bike actually is the better value
here And yeah in many cases a DTOC brand might have a little bit better value
there but you also don't have the option at all to buy with a bike shop So if
that's valuable then they totally lose on that front And then all these brands
are messing around with their you know generic bars and other little tickytacky things that they're not not even listing
what chain is on it And it's like the lowest level chain and not a nicer chain And it gets so petty with some of the
details of this stuff It's just like a car right like you know you're going to compare a a Porsche to you know I don't
even know what lower-end similar thing would be a Mazda uh
Mazda Miata Mazda Miata Yeah You know like that's a good comparison Yeah Like Mazda Miata can go fast in a canyon
better than most but like it's not going to drive the same It's not going to feel the same You know all the all the little
bits and pieces are going to be less valuable So Yeah I don't know I mean the whole thing
it's it's unfortunate for the bike industry because it's it's made it a a much worse place for everyone to do
business in Um it is probably brought a little bit more value to the consumer in
the way that things are priced and what you get for the money you pay But it's also brought you uh you know kind of in
some ways worse spec bikes a worse overall experience a confusing buying
process and yeah it's it's just tough I mean the bike industry is in a bad spot because of a lot of the shenanigans and
its lack of ability for all these brands to collaborate and talk to each other and like develop a good healthy industry
But is what it is and that's part of why Worldwide Cycler has very much so
diversified its business over the last handful of years
Very interesting Jeff Yeah Yeah you're definitely the guy to talk to about that Yeah I mean it's interesting how this
how all this stuff pans out but uh yeah you know it is what it is It's it's not
like it's not going in a in a way that is I think a net positive for people who just want a nice good experience buying
a mountain bike Yeah Um it's probably made it just way more confusing and cumbersome And I think people who have
good shops in their area are probably pretty grateful for that If they get a good experience then they are loyal to
that shop you know Yeah Which is cool And I mean I just I just think the downside is that the way the industry has has evolved those shops are just
going to disappear Yeah It's few it's definitely few and far in between Yeah Like you'll be you'd be lucky to have something with some some shop with a
great experience near you Yeah Yeah Yeah Cool All right I got another question
here Yep Uh hey dudes Fresh listener and enjoyer of the podcast as of 2024 and
have listened to every episode since on my runs and daily commutes Also Worldwide Cyclinger is the only site I
buy bike parts from because of free shipping to Anchorage Alaska That being
said I'm moving to Phoenix this summer and I'm very familiar with the great riding in the area I have a 2022 Alloy
Transition Patrol with an overfork Zeb Ultimate 170 millimeter and a 160 mm DVO
Topaz shock Um is this too much bike for what I'm going to be riding in the local area i ride a good mix of blue and black
trails but I am still learning the ropes to become a more more confident on the trails Looking for your honest opinion
and how you would feel about it Thanks Thanks Thanks for being ballers from
Evan Oh no one's ever called us ballers before but thanks bro Yeah one day maybe
I called a baller You guys have probably from from Reggie cuz ballers
You guys have probably both ridden in Phoenix or Nivea right yeah Yeah I' Phoenix a handful of times Canyon
there's so much riding there Like you could ride any bike You could ride an enduro bike there plenty right yeah Enduro bike's good there An XC bike is
also pretty fun There's a lot of just like single track out there that would be great on an XC bike There's tons I
think there's like only a very hand down trail bike is probably I think 70% of
your riding like a handful of trails a small handful that would be beneficial to have a big enduro bike on Even though
a lot of the riding would warrant that just based off how rocky it is but it's not super steep not super sustained and
you'd be better off on just like a trail bike like 140 150 kind of kind of deal or even a downcountry bike Um yeah like
my mom lives in Tucson which is pretty similar and I've brought a trail bike there every time I visited her And I
told myself last trip that I'd um bring an XC bike next time Yeah Cuz I I think it would be more fun Yeah Like a capable
XC bike a capable downryount bike where you I can just do a huge ride There's just a lot of single track ribbon kind
of single track bluish greenish ton of that out there More so than the black and double black gnarly stuff you know
yeah I mean like he already has this bike a Zeb Ultimate and TVO like uh a
160 like you know L might help that bike be a little bit more suited to the
terrain but or get another bike or or get another bike Of course we're going to advise the guy that one cuz that's a
sweet bike but also buy another bike to ride all of the amazing endless amount of miles of good XC trails is uh what 2
and 1 half 3 hours from uh Flagstaff and bike park up there which can warrant that big travel bike you know Um but
yeah I I you might be a little gun over gunned with that bike Yeah Uh but it'll do though Yeah Yeah If if you don't mind
pedaling it around anywhere then it'll be fine And like you know it's not like you have to change a bike right away I
would like go out see what other people are riding If you fall into a group of what the people are riding out there or
like you get a riding group and it's like "Oh all these guys are riding big travel bikes." So you're like on the same speed Yeah Yeah You know you're
riding the same trails you guys like the same terrain then like all good You don't need to change your bike But if
you find like oh these guys you know I like riding with these guys However they're all in like 140 kind of
efficient bikes Yeah Not going to be fun I'm hurting to keep up and the trail is maybe a little more muted on the
downhill than these guys So maybe you look to swap your bike Then the bigger concern is uh learning how to live
through the Phoenix summer because you're coming from Anchorage Alaska Phoenix brother You got some learning to
do You're going to die I when I when he was reading this I was like "Wow that is the most opposite like climates you
can." Uh yeah right now Phoenix is heating up and
it is probably a very warm 90°ree day today if I guess Phoenix Yeah Yeah I
mean from what I understand people in Phoenix look at the summer the way that probably people in Anchorage would look
at the winter It's like oh those are three months of the year where the weather's just kind of so bad you mostly don't go outside Yeah It's like you just
do that in the summer in Phoenix and then spring and fall and winter gorgeous A lot of super morning rides or super
late rides um where you kind I spent a summer in Havu which is just you know an
hour away from Phoenix and we were doing 5 a.m rides all the time M like 5 a.m to
7 a.m We roll literally roll out of the house jersey already unzipped Yeah Yeah Because it's just 85 degrees The the
blow dryer is on hot Yeah Yeah It's 85 degrees and you're rolling out with ice pack already in your neck and the jersey
zipped Yeah But that's the only way you could get a ride or a workout in if you want to be on Otherwise it's just dangerous Yeah Yeah All right Last super
serious question before we sign off of episode 152
You are now the ruler of a teeny island nation where everything is made of cheese What's your first executive order
that's crazy Is everything like the ground the buildings the all that cheese
it's like kill all the rats cuz they're going to ruin our uh city
All right So your executive order is kill all the rats My executive order is eat the cheese Yeah I'm lactose
intolerant What's yours Trevor yeah Yeah I mean I don't know what else would
you would do but eat it It'd probably smell pretty bad there You probably get some funky cheese going on Oh my god I
I'm not a fan of cheese really in general And the smell to me turns my stomach and I'm lactose That wouldn't be
a very fun place So no I I would that is close to my version of uh you know some
people put some people put like cheese on everything Jared he loves cheese I'm not one of those guys People like "I
need cheese on cheese on cheese." But like no don't even put cheese in my burrito You're ruining the meat in there
More importantly if you've listened this far in the episode we would like to let you know that you can get anything on
the Worldwide Cycling website for 10% off with the code MTB podcast
and go buy something Go buy yourself something And if you leave us a review on Spotify or Apple Podcast we really
appreciate that Helps out the pod And uh yeah that's it That's all Thank you for listening We will catch you all in the
next one See you Love you Peace
© 2025 Worldwide Cyclery
