All the best for 2020 Andrew.
Both of the mountain bikes sitting in my man cave right now have Porcelain Rocket bags on them. Great products. My oldest PR bag is ~9 years old and going strong despite regular use. Occasionally I'll chat with Scott at PR about one of his sweet new bags and he'll ask if I am interested in ordering one. My answer is usually yes, but I'm still wear out the old one that it would replace! A good problem to have I guess.
My Guerrilla Gravity Smash 29er is a great bike from a rider focused company. Well made in the US. Great geo and suspension. Great customer service. I rarely buy complete bikes as I'd end up replacing so much stuff, but the combo of GG's smart build kits and the ability to change parts before the bike ships meant I got to enjoy the OEM cost savings and have the spec I wanted to ride.
I've wanted a custom MTB for a while. I finally pulled the trigger on a steel hardtail made by Peter over at Daambuilt in PQ in 2019. Custom bikes are $$$ compared to a production frame so I was a bit worried it wouldn't live up to my own self-generated hype. With 5 months of riding under my belt I can say it was well worth it. It's so nice to have a bike that fits me well and has exactly the features/geo I care about.
Finally I'll give a shout out to RSD Bikes in Toronto. My GF was envious of my steel hardtail stoke. She started riding 10 years ago on a SC Nomad Mk2 so never went through the rigid/hardtail phase of MTB evolution us older riders did. She wanted to try one, but didn't want to spend huge $$. The RSD Middle Child was an amazing deal on a well built frame with up to date geo/features. Best of all as I built up her complete bike every part was a keeper except the dropper remote. Right down to quality inner tubes, saddle and grips. Getting a quality frame, progressive geo and excellent build kit from a Canadian company at a very affordable price seems like the promised land. Great news is she loves the MC and loves the hardtail experience.
Dec. 31, 2019, 6:02 a.m. - Vik Banerjee
All the best for 2020 Andrew. Both of the mountain bikes sitting in my man cave right now have Porcelain Rocket bags on them. Great products. My oldest PR bag is ~9 years old and going strong despite regular use. Occasionally I'll chat with Scott at PR about one of his sweet new bags and he'll ask if I am interested in ordering one. My answer is usually yes, but I'm still wear out the old one that it would replace! A good problem to have I guess. My Guerrilla Gravity Smash 29er is a great bike from a rider focused company. Well made in the US. Great geo and suspension. Great customer service. I rarely buy complete bikes as I'd end up replacing so much stuff, but the combo of GG's smart build kits and the ability to change parts before the bike ships meant I got to enjoy the OEM cost savings and have the spec I wanted to ride. I've wanted a custom MTB for a while. I finally pulled the trigger on a steel hardtail made by Peter over at Daambuilt in PQ in 2019. Custom bikes are $$$ compared to a production frame so I was a bit worried it wouldn't live up to my own self-generated hype. With 5 months of riding under my belt I can say it was well worth it. It's so nice to have a bike that fits me well and has exactly the features/geo I care about. Finally I'll give a shout out to RSD Bikes in Toronto. My GF was envious of my steel hardtail stoke. She started riding 10 years ago on a SC Nomad Mk2 so never went through the rigid/hardtail phase of MTB evolution us older riders did. She wanted to try one, but didn't want to spend huge $$. The RSD Middle Child was an amazing deal on a well built frame with up to date geo/features. Best of all as I built up her complete bike every part was a keeper except the dropper remote. Right down to quality inner tubes, saddle and grips. Getting a quality frame, progressive geo and excellent build kit from a Canadian company at a very affordable price seems like the promised land. Great news is she loves the MC and loves the hardtail experience.