Words by Dave Tolnai

"Every regret I have from purchasing a hand tool is due to not spending enough..."

Uncle Dave presents a counterpoint to Mike Ferrentino's Compromise Trap.

RockShox's wonder cups have faced some skepticism around here by more than one writer. Can Uncle Dave feel the difference in a blind test?

"I stagger back-and-forth from one idea to the next, before eventually buying something with near immediate regret."

Riding ski bikes in Utah with Uncle Dave (cameos by Boggs and Rogatkin).

"Just to be incredibly thorough, in the name of science, I filled up a tray full of water and then stuck my foot in it..."

"The character flaw that gets me into the most trouble is my inability to keep my mouth shut when I witness a flaw in a plan..."

Uncle Dave takes the GG Gnarvana and massages it into a Smash - and finds it's "a surprisingly different beast"

"If you’ve been following along on this inconsistent bikepacking series, you’ll know that this is as much about figuring myself out as it is about the gear."

I just rode and rode and rode, and on my last ride, I decided that this rear end might actually be kind of magical.

A new brand from an established player in composite wheels.

Uncle Dave has discovered the joys of buggering off into the woods, even if it's just for a few days - and not an EPIC(!) multi-day singletrack adventure...

Uncle Dave dives deep to uncover what to do with your used bike stuff.

The partially new 2023 Fox Factory 36 Grip 2

Detailing the process of ordering, receiving, and building a Gnarvana, plus a few thoughts about the bike itself.

"This opens up an interesting can of worms about aftermarket rear shocks in general..."

Short of your butler hot-swapping bikes for you at the top of the climb, there might not be one perfect tool for the whole ride.

"Ideal User – You’re a person who wants to go full ergo but doesn’t like answering questions in the parking lot..."

Does the familiarity of a repeated injury make it any easier to bear?

"This thing could ride down the hill like a turd caught in a rockslide, and it might not even matter..."

Big bikes come with big expectations. Uncle Dave finds the new Santa Cruz Megatower lives up to his and then some.

Uncle Dave doesn't track his rides in the Strava sense - where he's racing for a KOM... So why does he need this device?

Dave is testing TRP's Slate and Trail EVO brakes. First up, the Slates, and it's a good first impression.

Before we go assigning blame for the death of 27+ tires, Uncle Dave wants to remind us that context is everything.