old_school_n00b profile

It's a custom locally-made Vallie Components rack:

I helped with the filing - 0.1mm tolerances on that mitering!

The Old Man Mountain racks have performed admirably on our Iditarod builds, but they're kind of kludgy-looking for the money. I'm a big Tubus fan; the QR Adapter kit in conjunction with a Salsa Rack-Lock seat collar will be a clean and effective solution.

Revelate Designs makes a Mariachi-specific frame bag that gives a lot more breathing room on narrow singletrack than a set of panniers, with more secure attachment when the going gets rough and bumpy.

i would have opted for black myself; as morgan says i rejoice in the absence of color

they give you an eta?

I've never been a fan of blackandyellowblackandyellowblackandyellow, myself. ETA is end of March/early April.

I was about to pull the trigger on a 27.5" Surly Instigator build until I discovered this bike was coming out - my Ferrari Red M/L's pre-booked!

Bicycle Gear
6 Spare Inner Tubes
2 patch kits
Brake and shifter cables
Avid BB7 brake pads x4
Miscellaneous tubes
4 water bottles
Bike Lock x2

I'd lighten up on the electronics and carry a spare Marathon Mondial folder or two, a spare rotor or two, spare spokes, and a good complement of tools including a Stein Cassette Cracker.

Also, with all those electronics, you seem like the ideal candidate for a dynamo hub and a Tout Terrain Plug or E-Werk adapter.

Or you could draw on our collective wisdom.

Collective wisdom is a valuable resource, but it comes with the caveat that there's no browser plug-in currently available to filter out the BS.

Bad road bike choices tend to revolve around buying the wrong size or wrong tool for your application. I can think of few "bad" mainstream frames, brands, or component groups.

THIS. A THOUSAND TIMES THIS.

I understand Ridley had a few years of making cockeyed frames, when was this?

Everyone's hating on Ridley right now because industry drama and MEC.

Nobody talks about Felt because they have no style, are they good bikes?

Nobody talks about Felt because they dump their money into R[HTML_REMOVED]D and not advertising. The new AR's look great!

Cinelli make great bikes but they're overpriced for what you get, why?

Cinelli reinvigorated their brand via lifestyle appeal, and that can sometimes create a backlash. For an A-level brand, their pricing is extremely attractive; a Saetta Radical is almost identically priced to every other identically-spec'ed 105-level bike on the market.

What do you guys this about this?
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/embrooke/blaze-bike-light

Technically illegal under the BCMVA, I believe, and rightfully so.

Vallie Components is the only game in town for top-quality custom rack fabrication; he had me filing that six-pack rack down to ridiculous sub-0.1mm tolerances!

I've finally found a bike that matches my glitter saddle:

Rocking a metal cock for a stem, 52t big ring for hot Cypress laps and double U brakes. The local Hipsters don't know what's hit them.

Panaracer still makes the Smoke and Dart, btw. ;)

The best thing about ordering a Surly from Mighty is that they might cut you a deal on a Bill or Ted trailer for touring. Right, old_school_noob?

No deals for the likes of you. Full retail, one time!

This is my new replacement Steel disc bike. It has all the braze-ons, and the disc mounts.

Soon to be seen dumped into the tape at your local cyclocross race while its rider self-handups beer from any and all unwitting spectators.