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Andrew Van Til

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Will Dynaplug Damage Your Carbon Rims?

When I found out about Dynaplug, I had some concerns around whether it could damage carbon rims if the brass tip made contact with the wheel. I would love to take manufactures at their word that a thing is safe, thoroughly tested, and works the way it should, but all too often it just doesn’t play out. So I figured it was worth buying one and testing what would happen if I…

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News

Esker Cycles is Crowdfunding Itself

I generally try to stay away from crowdfunding. My personal experience hasn’t been that awesome there. But, I also have to admit that this crowdfunding effort from Esker (a startup MTB brand that also owns Terren Tires) has me intrigued. Part of that is because the thing on offer here isn’t a sleek product, that is probably vapor, but a slice of the company itself. And while I have minimal interest in…

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News

All your Shimano Dura-Ace 9270 Weight Questions Answered

I’m not sure if I’ve ever started a Rides of Japan video, and not watched it all the way through. Content I want, presented in a way that is easy to consume; what’s not to like? Today’s installment will be a bit dry for anyone not interested in the weight of bike components, or how to setup Shimano’s new semi-wireless Di-2 system, but for me this is perfect.…

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Blog

PSA: Used Vector 3 + Rally XC Conversion Kit is a great cheap SPD Power Meter

DCR made a video about this when the Garmin Rally power meter pedals launched, so I knew it was possible. But, I hadn’t actually ever done the math around whether it would be worth it if you didn’t already have a set of Vector 3s laying around. Yesterday a friend of mine mentioned that he did exactly that over the summer; back when the Rally XC 200 were in short supply and…

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Events

Gravel Worlds – 2022

It would be a lie to say that I don’t know why I keep signing up for events that can only be described as masochistic. I know exactly why, not only do I sign up for these guys, but I sign up for the longest, hardest, version of them. And it’s because for reasons that I can’t explain, I let my friend, the one that’s actually good at these, talk me into…

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News

Canyon Aeroad Handlebar Saga Coming to An End

Remember the whole Aeroad handlebar breaking problem that was supposed to be sorted in July? Looks like it’s actually getting resolved now, as we near the end of November. A friend of mine has one of their SLX bikes, and just received the email below. Oddly none of the DIY/LBS options are on the table, and he’ll have to package up the whole bike (yeah, wheels too?) and ship it to California…

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News

New Trek Speed Concept Tri/TT bike is yummy

I’m not usually a fan of black bikes, but I have to admit that the black paint on Trek’s new Speed Concept Tri/TT bike looks awesome; although I think the Emerald Iris* is my favorite. But, if you don’t like the options they have you can customize it through their Project One program. This guy is of personal interest to me as well because I’m kind of in the market for a…

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News

Garmin Makes Padel Official With fēnix 6 Firmware 20.00

Padel players can rest easy. It’s official, Padel is now recognized as a sport. Huzzah! Garmin must be in a generous mood because they’ve also extended the same courtesy to Pickleball, snowshoe, tennis (eh?), and HIIT. Good things all around. Serious business aside, the change log for the 20.00 firmware release is massive; new features, improvements, and bug fixes all around. One thing not noted though, is that at least for me,…

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Events

Melting Mann – 2022

So, remember when I was questioning how much I hate myself before? Turns out the answer was “a lot”, because there really isn’t a better answer to why I signed up for what is sure to be a completely miserable ride. There really isn’t much chance of anything but misery given that it’s taking place on March 19th in Michigan. On the plus side, at least I didn’t hate myself enough to…

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Events

Rough Road 100 – 2022

The Rough Road 100 was supposed to be my first gravel race, way, way back in 2020. For some reason, that didn’t happen, and with things still looking pretty crap last spring, IIRC they punted on even trying. Now that the COVID situation is mostly under control for those who understand how science works, I’ve been only too happy to get some events in. So at least for now, this will be…

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