All Things Bikes and Tacos! (...and every vehicle imaginable)

I agree that if you're wrenching on your own bikes for the most part, do whatever you want.

One last bike industry insider knowledge tidbit - most bicycles on the market are made by Giant. For instance "Bicycle Brand A" does all of their own research and engineering, then they hand a blueprint to Giant and say "Make us this frame". The bike is still Bicycle Company A's bike, they just outsource the frame production to Giant. It can be hard to figure out which brands are produced by whom, but the brands that can be traced to the Giant factory seem to be much, much better. DTC or not.

 

Yeah its almost comical how the production tree of bicycle manufactures gets VERY small the higher up you go. Fezzari bikes are imported from the same manufacturing warehouse in Taiwan as Scott, Commencal, Transition, Rocky Mountain, Felt, and countless others.

The same idea is prevalent in almost any other facet of commerce. Campers and RV's are just as hilarious.

 

speaking of frames, anyone know what happened to guerilla gravity? i guess they aren't making bikes anymore but are still doing frames but under a new name, revved?

 

Per my buddy that owns one... they got hit pretty hard by the supply chain shifts from the pandemic and were gonna go out of business. A larger company bought them for their IP related to the carbon layup technology.

 

GG is gone and not coming back. From what I understand the frames went from metal made by GG to carbon made by Revved. They were always 2 separate companies, not sure if GG owned Revved or if they just used them to build frames. So GG closed but Revved is still around.

 

interesting. i guess its better that they were having supply issues and not issues with their bikes or frames. still not good for anyone. i thought it was weird yoann left GG, but now it makes sense

 

3 generations riding together.

 

I've got take-off Kryp front, Kryp rear, and Xynotal, all Enduro soft/29x2.4 in good shape if anyone wants to try em make me an offer. I will be sticking with the Michelins I'm running now for the winter.

 

I agree with everyone else- these were big during covid supply shortages.

min a big fan of used. I got a carbon ripley with three rides on it for 2500 .. worth it for 500 more than polygon.

there’s some crazy demos out there too. Check out chili pepper bike shops in Moab. They sold my buddy a demo. Esker which uses the same peddling platform as ibis for 2000. A lot of other shop, selling their demos with a full factory warranty for pennies right now. It’s the time to buy.- just ask @JasonLee my wife has me in the crosshairs for picking up a handful this season

 

One comment/question about dealers dropping brands and getting another one. I entertained starting a bike shop but I hesitated at the "start up" costs with bringing brands into it. I was looking around the 2007 time frame and minimum orders were around $20-25k. With that being said, I would think it rather difficult for any bike shop to drop a brand and pick up new ones with the quickness. Do you know if they cut deals for established shops or they don't like to risk it on new ones?

 

North Table, White Ranch, and Apex all today. Maybe Floyd Hill tomorrow. Thanks for the suggestions gents!

 

Took the hardtail out the other day and found the lookout rock. Once I replace the Rockshox Recon fork, it will be damn near perfect.

 

Nice!

and did you buy that Marzocchi yet?

 

Get ready....

 

Probably going to open up the wallet this weekend. Deciding if the red or black would work best with the bike.

 

I agree to a point. I wasn't finding the limit of my 2016 Enduro (in 2016), but I certainly ride a shit ton faster and harder on new bikes. As the margin of error grows, as does your confidence, and you get to push a bit harder and have more fun. Same can be said for tires. More grip, more confidence.
That said, the Assegai can currently only be improved upon marginally. I personally don't like the way their sidewalls feel in DD. Rode them for a looong time, hence why I'm looking for alternatives. The Mazza Enduro has been excellent, definitely not a fan of the KR fr on a fast/agressive bike.

Bummer. I really liked the company and people there. They were always holding on by a string, and I was surprised they made it through the pandemic. Guess they didn't.

 

I was just a mechanic so that would be more of a question for an owner/ manager. I am swinging by the shop I used to work at today and I'd be glad to pick the owner's brain and get a more detailed answer for you.

What I do know is that about a month ago the shop totally dropped one brand and picked up a new one in about a week. They're not a huge shop so I'd have a hard time believing they would fork out 20k+ on an initial order. That totally sounds like either a new bike shop thing or a 2007 thing.

 

https://www.jensonusa.com/Marzocchi-Bomber-Z2-29-Fork

 

Thats the current open page while I debate the color - would go with the 140mm travel with the 44mm offset.