After a three year absence from the market, the Belgian Cycling Factory is re-launching the Eddy Merckx brand with several updated road and gravel options. And for a limited time, several models will be available in this awesome retro Team Panasonic colorway. No word on US dealers or availability at this time. Read more at Bicycle Retailer and Eddy Merckx

BikeSnob’s rant today on new bike advice got me thinking. I used to be an “automotive journalist” and so I get a lot of new car questions from friends and family. And as a former bike shop employee, I have always gotten a lot of new bike questions. My answers to these “what car (or bike) to buy?” questions have always been the same:

1. Decide what you want to spend.
2. Decide what you want to use the car (or bike) for.
3. Go buy the appropriate Toyota or Honda (or Trek or Specialized).

Now, in the case of bikes, there is the added question of fit, but I’m going to assume your local Trek or Specialized dealer will fit you to the right size bike, once you have it narrowed down to the right model. (Of course, in the rare case where you have odd body dimensions or a very big budget, you might do better with custom.)

Do I follow my own advice? No. I’ve never bought a Toyota or Honda. And I’ve never bought a Specialized. (I bought a Trek 950 in 1994, but only because the employee deals were too good to pass up, and I sold it at a profit a few months later.) Most of my personal bikes are weird mongrels ill-suited to anyone but me.

When it comes to cars, over the years I’ve mostly purchased old American junk, old Swedish junk, Italian cars and used mid-engine Porsches with potentially catastrophic IMS bearing issues that have hit the bottom of their depreciation curve. Would I recommend any of these cars to friends or relatives? Absolutely not.

However, if my friend or relative follows my generic advice above, there is a very good chance that they will be happy, and a very low chance that I will receive any kind of blowback. In the worst case scenario, the friend or relative ends up with a high quality car or a bike with half-decent resale value.

Now, the nice thing about bikes is even if they buy something other than a Trek or Specialized they will probably still be fine, assuming they spend more than about $400 at the LBS (strangely, this $400 LBS threshold has held firm for decades). This is very unlike cars, where if you don’t buy a Toyota or Honda, you can end up with blown head gaskets, recalled batteries or worse.

The closest I have come to following my own advice was when I bought a new modern full suspension 29er two years ago. I hadn’t really kept up with the evolution of these bikes and was not up to speed on a lot of the new tech. My own personal feelings/biases/vibes prevents me from shopping Treks or Specializeds, but to keep it simple, I decided to limit myself to two very established players in this category: Ibis and Santa Cruz (and I've owned a few of each over the years). I decided what I wanted to spend ($5,000, which would get me the top notch frames with half-decent parts I could upgrade later) and what I wanted to use the bike for (riding in the PNW woods with lots of nasty roots, but nothing too crazy). This allowed me to quickly narrow it down to the Ibis Ripley and the Santa Cruz Tallboy. After watching several YouTube comparisons between the two, I ascertained that the Ripley was a tad better going up hill and the Tallboy was a tad better going down hill. The sizing/geometry was nearly identical: in both cases, I would ride a size Large. Normally at that point I would have just gone with the one that I could find cheaper. But this was during Covid, so I went with the first one I could get my hands on, which turned out to be the Ripley. And it’s worked out just great.



Now, how about used bike advice? That’s a whole other topic! And a lot more complicated! But a good place to start is BikeList Price Drops!

I started reading BikeSnobNYC shortly after the blog launched in 2007. Back then I was an ex-racer, ex-bike mechanic and my time on/around bikes was confined to bike commuting, which I did every day in Seattle, rain or shine. Reading about bikes for a few minutes each morning at work seemed like good harmless fun and was a nice daily escape. Also, blogging was THE hot thing back then, and I thought BikeSnob did it better than just about anyone. My coworkers would see me laughing hysterically at my desk each morning and would be like, “Oh, he’s reading that bike blog again.” They didn’t get it, and it was too hard to explain BikeSnob’s humor to someone who wasn’t a full-on bike nerd. Which made it even funnier.

Eben Weiss dropped his anonymous stance with the publication of his first book in 2010. He did a book tour and I saw him read at the UW Bookstore, which was really cool.

For some reason, I stopped reading Bike Snob a few years ago. I’m not sure why. I have seen his name pop up on paywalled articles on Outside and Bicycling, so I knew he was still alive and active. But now I’ve rediscovered his blog and feel like I have to catch up. I have no idea how he maintains this daily/weekly output, but I am impressed. He explains why he continues to keep blogging in the TikTok age here.

These days his blog seems less concerned with the PistaDex and more about his rotating stable of oddball 80s and 90s bikes with gears and fenders. He’s settled into a retro-grouch stance that would make Grant Peterson proud. He hates full suspension mountain bikes and e-bikes. He appears to ride his Jones bike more than a fixie. Hey, we all get old. But I’m happy to report he’s still hilarious, and still a snob.

Watch this video and let me know your thoughts!

If you’re a big bike nerd, chances are you have thought about starting your own bike brand. I know I have. In fact, a buddy and I gave it a try a few years ago with Domestic Bikes. I learned a ton in the process. Mostly I learned that it’s really really hard. We shut it down before we got too far.

Our buddy Jeff Frane launched All-City while he was working for QBP. And now he has gone out on his own with Wilde. I’d say he’s doing everything right. But guess what? It’s still really really hard. Listen to his convo with Russ on The Path Less Pedaled.

As we approach the New Year, it's time to reflect back on our riding in 2023 and our goals for next year. So I thought I'd share something that made a BIG difference for me and my riding this year–something that I plan to continue in 2024: Dynamic Cyclist. I’m 55 now and have wrestled with hip flexor issues and a general lack of flexibility since my late 30s. With Dynamic Cyclist I’ve made more progress toward unwinding those issues than anything else I have tried in the last decade. It just takes about 15 - 20 minutes per day. So far I have mostly focused on their Stretching & Mobility program, and haven't delved into their other programs like Strength Training and Injury Prevention, or some of their training plans. In any case, to me the $9.99 a month has been well worth it. And no, this is not a sponsored or affiliate post! Check it out for yourself!

I’ve been riding my gravel bike a lot more than my road bike recently, so when I get on my road bike the bars feel super low. So I decided to raise them. I have been using a 11cm -6 rise Ritchey WCS stem on my road bike, and wanted to compare simply raising the Ritchey 5mm to swapping it out for an 11cm 0 rise Easton EA90 stem. Enter the handy Stem Comparison tool! Below is the comparison. As you can see the reach stayed about about the same, but with the Easton 0-rise stem the bars would be 7mm higher. I made the swap and it feels great! Not quite Grant Peterson approved yet, but getting there!

If you haven’t already, be sure to bookmark this handy tool at yojimg.net!

If you have some time over the holiday, be sure to check the new film from Red Bull: The Engine Inside. Narrated by Phil Liggett, it tells the story of six individuals around the globe and their very personal relationships with the bicycle.

Matthew Heitmann, currently Chief Marketing Officer for SIGMA Sports United, and former marketing executive for The Pros Closet, BMC and USA Cycling, got hit by a car the day after Thanksgiving and was almost killed. Read his harrowing account and his eight lessons on LinkedIn. He’s not sure he will ever ride on the road again. Would you?

Be careful out there!

Chain wax has been around forever. Personally I’ve always been an anti-waxer, and I doubt you’ll ever get me to give up my Dumonde Tech. But that isn’t to say I don’t understand the appeal. Plus with companies like Silca offering wax products, it’s got to be legit, and may be worth me re-considering.

If you want an easy way to try it out, our own I Know a Guy Bicycles is offering pre-waxed chains for sale on BikeList! Check them out!

And if you want to learn more, Justin has a few videos on the topic below!