Tasty Cycle

Brake upgrade: besides tires and a dropper post, id say one of the best upgrades for a MTB is the brakes. Its typically where most companies skimp on part spec and it makes a world of difference to calmly descend down something steep without the need to white-knuckle.

Overhaul: FULL overhaul on this with new cables, new drivetrain, brake pads, bearing service, and various small fixes.

New bike protection: the first day of ownership is the best time to install a protective film on your bike frame. The bike is sparkling clean for proper application, and no accidents have happened yet. After I built this bike out of a box, we went with the medium level protection kit. More than enough for most common areas.

Some assembly required: frame up build of this TT bike with SRAM force AXS drivetrain. Also installed the newly Popular aero bars.

Unfortunately, the handlebars were not a direct fit. So I had to mount them using a BLANK adapter plate. That is to say, it had none of the mounting holes and they needed to be drilled PERFECT so that the bar sat straight and all the holes lined up.

This was by far one of the most difficult builds I’ve done and took me almost 6 hours. I love a challenge though.

Riv-nut repair: bottle cage fix on this Campagnolo spec Trek. There is only one permanent fix for loose bottle cage bolts, to grind them down, punch them into the frame, fish them out and press new ones in. I really love doing technical and uncommon repairs like this.

Frame-up build: SUCH a gorgeous chameleon color on this ENVE Melee. Every angle yileds a different color: gold, purple, brown etc. Its always a treat to build up a top spec bike from scratch.

Frame-up build: nothing like turning a pile of parts into a running, ripping bike! The newest generation of shimano XT seems nice enough. Not sure why we have to keep moving the cables closer to the bar (similar to SRAM) but ok 🤷🏽‍♂️

Find the creak: the Scott Spark is lauded as a lightweight ripper that employs A LOT of tech to accomplish pedaling efficiency and descending prowess. Some of it is actually well thought out (the linkage and hidden shock) and some of it is very poorly designed (the lock out lever and plastic headset).

In this case, the creak was coming from neither the pivots nor headset, but SRAMs fancy new chainring standard for XX drivetrain. The chainring corkscrews onto a threaded ring on the crank. Lots of surface area and nooks/crannies for dirt to collect. It also requires a special tool, awesome!

Handlebar Swap: very lovely and simple design for the internal routing headset on this Giant. Last few years, companies are really sorting out the best way to do this setup and it’s great to see. Unfortunately, the bars were a little bit bigger, so I still had to lengthen both hydraulic hoses and route them through the frame, not too bad though.