I want him to trend on Reddit today!

Someone boosting from (reportedly) ICE and/or the feds

Let me know your thoughts! 15k rpm with a tungsten carbide bit and a diamond bit

Is this xbiking?

Lauren and I met on the internet. Before we ever saw each other in person, she knew bicycles were about to become a part of her life. I hoped we would be able to do some coffee shop rides, small grocery runs, or picnic rides—and she hoped for it too. The signs were all there. She is a big fan of walking every day for dopamine, clarity, and exercise. I was hoping the bike could add some range to those walks. A bike puts good coffee, sourdough, and amazing sandwiches within reach on a human-powered morning.

I really wanted to build a bike that would feel like her. I wanted her to like it—a lot. I spent a few weeks sending Lauren Instagram posts with different bikes. I sent a pretty wide range, just trying to see what she really liked and what she didn’t. It didn’t take long for HER to start sending me BLUE LUG and Rivendell pics. There’s some guy out there on a yellow Rivendell that I now have to be bike-jealous of. LOL. From sending all the IG posts back and forth, we figured out she wanted a yellow frame with swept-back bars, a basket, and a Brooks saddle.

The first Reddit post I made about moving to St. Louis led me to Matt at Hobo Hub Works. Lauren and I went up to his new space to look at frames. He had a yellow 1993 StumpJumper frame. We knew from the Rivendell IG love that we really needed a yellow frame. I told Matt that we wanted it. I requested silver everything, a dynamo, index shifting, and the coolest 2x whatever group he had. Lauren requested swept-back bars, a basket, and a Brooks saddle. One night, I told her we needed to know what grip tape she wanted. She went digging in the Bible of BLUE LUG and found that blocked-out pattern. I’ve honestly never seen a wrap like that. She picked out her own colors but riffed on the block pattern. The flower on the stem is from Matt. Lauren uses flowers a lot for emojis, but it's also kind of an icon for her. Matt picked up on that pretty quickly. It's a super nice touch that really makes the bike hers.

I’m pretty stoked to say she’s already riding it without me. Today, she went and got lost for a while. She stopped by a local coffee place and got to experience strangers complimenting her bike. Just a straight ass brag — my girlfriend even made a video about how much she loves her new bike.

I love bikes and I’m just a big bike dork. Thanks for reading.

☕️ brett☕️

Been enjoying taking my sketchbook and watercolours on my recent cycling adventures! Here's some pages from a recent trip along the Cantii Way in Kent, England.

Hope you enjoy and drop me a follow on here or on insta if you want to see more!

Remembering a legend

I retired some Ritchey Beacon XL 52 CM bars and Campagnolo 11s Chorus brifters.

My new bars are Beacon 44cm. I am using TRP levers and a 12s bar end shifter.

Brooks Cambium tape is my fav. I get pretty sweaty and I don’t need gloves. It is mega durable. I haven’t wrapped drop bars in years. I just followed what Calvin on the Park Tool told me to do.

I organized my frame bag too. I really didn’t need all 6 packets of Via.

Thanks for reading!
☕️ brett ☕️

So Hot You’re Hurting My Feelings - Caroline Polachek

1988 Stumpjumper Team! I love this bike. More of a road+ build, it is so much fun to ride.

Quick rundown: -21” frame (he’ll yeah brother) -Campagnolo Chorus 10 speed Ergopower shifters with replacement pink hoods -Shimano 8 speed 11-32 cassette -Deore XT front and rear derailleurs -Velo Orange Grand Cru 50.4 46 30t crankset 165mm -Velocity Atlas rims laced to Deore hubs -Deore XT brakes -Nitto Noodle bars -Nitto Technomic stem -Nitto Jaguar Seatpost -Ultradynamico Cava 26” 2.1 Race Grey -Salsa saddle (in matching grey) -MKS Allways pedals when I’m not in hardo mode (not pictured here) -A single Paul Moon Unit 😘

Campy 10 to Shimano 8 indexes nicely. Fork is not original to the frame, but is a close enough match. Not sure the story on that. I’ve seen other late 80’s Team Stumpjumpers missing their forks too, if anyone knows more about that, I’m curious! I’d argue these frames are harder to come by than the Rock Combos. I was very happy to find this and build it into a dream bike!

Standard xbiking arc… sold bikes to make an old bike even cooler 🤠🤷🏻‍♂️ Matt over @hobohubworks put it all together and it’s a dream to ride