Photography by Dave Tolnai

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

"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."

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...

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..."

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

Helping you avoid alligator tears in the future with a mini-review of some lock options from ABUS and Hiplok

It scoots in and out of corners so quickly, and it handles steeps so well that you forget you're on a bike with only 120mm...

"Only a psychopath would assume that a US$1499 (CAD$1899) bike is going to keep up with a $9000 bike (in either dollar)..."

“…this is the benchmark. All drivetrains either work better or worse than Deore XT. It almost doesn’t matter how good/bad this stuff is, because we’re going to have to reset the goalposts either way.”

"I can almost guarantee that 2-3 years down the line, your bike is going to look more like these bikes than the one you are currently riding..."

Looks like a Jackalope.

Has SR Suntour produced a fork that can compete with the big two - and save you a wad of cash...

If they suit your aesthetic style, fit you right and you think my ideas about helmet straps are stupid, well my friend, you’ve got yourself a nice helmet.

Brooks saddles haven’t been ideal for mountain biking. After all, hand-crafted leather isn’t the best choice of material for stomping around in the woods on a muddy day…

“They seemed all kinds of wacky, crazy, advanced, interesting and totally…”

This German machine exudes solid, un-pimped well thought-outedness…

An extremely bitter, cynical and slightly delusional take on the cycling event known as the Joyride Slopestyle of 2013…

“All of a sudden, she was all people could think about, even though she’d been around for years…”

“Dig a little deeper and this is truly a remarkable bike…”

Hold on there, Johnny. We can still save some effort. You don’t need to do a full bleed…

“You say you like your saddle a little nose up? Ya, not any more…”