It’s been a summer to remember, that’s for certain. I’ve been lucky enough to log over thirty-five hundred miles so far this year and a bunch of those miles have been riding a trio of gravel bike tires on a trio of gravel bikes. Here’s a bit of feedback about the Panaracer Gravel King SS, […]
Archive | Components
First Look – FSA K-Wing AGX Carbon Drop Bars
In this crazy year of ‘virtual trade shows’, I had the opportunity to observe an exciting new line of components from FSA (full speed ahead). One of the things that I’ve had on my wish list for a certain pink Salsa Cutthroat (hybrid) that has taken up residency in my garage is a carbon drop […]
G-SPEC TRP TR12 Derailleur and Shifter Kit – by JP Syverud
I have been a huge TRP Sypke Brake Caliper fan boy for years. Something about those dual actuated pads paired with compression-cables just makes a super nice hard braking system without the hassle of hydraulics. So, when I was at my local bike shop buying another GX Eagle cassette for my skinny fat bike wheel […]
Wren Bar & Stem Review
Back in June, we posted a ‘First Look’ about the Wren 350 Series Bar and Crazy Lightweight Stem that’s been bolted to the Steer Tube of my fat-bike, and today I’m going to share my thoughts on how all that worked out. If you’d like to see just how light these Wren components are, just […]
Teravail Rutland Review – By Andy Amstutz
I suppose I could have decided to go about writing this review in a Scooby-Doo type style, which would have been the road our favorite website curator may have gone. It would have started with something like, “Rut-Row Raggy…these Teravail Rutland tires are rad rad rad”, but that wouldn’t be my style and I wouldn’t […]
First Look – Wren Sports Bar & Stem
A couple of weeks ago, I bolted a new joystick onto my Fatback Corvus FLT carbon fat-bike that some of you might know as Ten Beers. Joystick is an interesting bit of gnomenclature from the early days of gaming. A stick that creates joy! In this case, the joystick, in question translates to what most […]
Platform Pedal Shootout
Platform Pedals are ubiquitous to the fat-bike scene. When I started riding fat-bikes, I ditched the spd pedals that I’d ridden for years and enjoyed the foot loose and fancy free platform pedal cycling lifestyle from there forward. I still run spuds on some of my bikes, but I run platforms on just as many, […]
Teravail Coronado 29×2.80 Tanwall Tire Review
About eighteen months ago we took possession of a set of 29×2.80 Teravail Coronado tires. You might say that this was the set of tires that started the thought process that gave birth to the new set of Bike Nerd inspired 35mm (id) wheels. This is what I closed our first article about the tires […]
First Look Bontrager XR5 Team Issue TLR 29 x 2.60 MTB Tires
It’s been one hell of a good spring for hitting the dirt and a new set of wheels that Adam Blake built up provides the right width rim to delve into the ‘don’t call me plus-sized’ 29 x 2.6 category. I peeled off the set of Teravail 2.8″ Coronados (full review is in the works) […]
(bikenerd) 29+ Wheelset – RaceFace AC 35 Rims, DT Comp Spokes & White Industries M16 Hubs
If you follow the site, you may have seen Bikenerd’s Plus Bike Editorial that we published at the end of 2019 and maybe you’ve been following some of the podcast discussions that we’ve had with Adam Blake about plus bike rim width. After digesting all of that information, I decided to have Adam build a […]
Cantu Rumble Wheelset Review by Adam Blake
An immediate difference… that’s what I noticed after installing the Cantu Rumble wheelset on my Salsa Cycles Beargease. The question was: what was I noticing? In my initial Cantu review, I touched on the fact that double-wall carbon rims aren’t much, if any, lighter than single wall alloy rims that are available and quite popular […]
45NRTH Tan Helga 27.5 x 4.0 Review
Back at the very end of 2019, I started riding a set of 45NRTH Van Helga 27.5 x 4.0 tires on a pair of Fatback Big Su wheels. We shared ‘first looks’ about the Tan Helgas and the Big Su Wheelset HERE & HERE. This story will be a review of the Van Helga tires […]
Fatback 27.5 Big Su Wheelset Review
It’s kind of funny that I’ve reviewed the 26″ version of this wheelset and never really asked about the story behind the Big Su Name. So when it came time to write the review of the 27.5 Big Su Wheelset, I asked Fatback’s Head-Honcho, Greg Matyas ” I’m curious to learn the story behind the […]
Niche Bike News – Klunkers – Gravel – Wide Drops – Birds – Film – Contest
Simple #klunkybuttsauce If you wanna know the truth behind the core motivation behind this new NBN series, then you need to look no farther than the bicycle in the photo above. Do you klunk? Are you at least klunk curious? I’ve been a fan of curved tubed bikes like this since I was a kid […]
Niche Bike News – The Moment – Sram AXS – Terevail Tires – Surly Home Delivery – Global (online) Bike Festival – CONTEST!
Red Bull created a documentary film about the origins of Freeride MTB with interviews with Wade Simmons, Richie Schley, and Brett Tippe. The trailer is above and a link to the full-length film is below. I went down this rabbit hole and I was glad that I did! https://www.redbull.com/gb-en/films/the-moment?fbclid=IwAR3enabBhb4kqfBnqfhiZT-MCR6kym4raUY98RNW0jWa8afERzoZPwl_rgE Sram AXS SRAM’s AXS Web Ride […]
CABDA MidWest SitRep
I made a trip to what I like to call the belly of the beast, Schaumburg, Illinois, yesterday to browse groovy cycling wares at the CABDA Midwest Expo. CABDA has been around for a long, long time. Way back in the last century, the shop that I worked at (ABC Cyclery) used to prep and […]
Terrene Tires Johnny 5 Review
The True Detective Dime Novel Johhny 5 Tire Review
Fatback Big Su 27.5 Wheelset
We’re field testing a pair of solid, lightweight Big Su 27.5 wheels from our amigos at Fatback Bikes up in Alaska. We tested and reviewed the 26″ version of Fatback’s Big Su Wheels back in 2018. You can read how they performed here. The twenty-six inch set of big su’s received high scores so when […]
First Look – 45NRTH Van Helga 27.5 x 4.0 (Tan Helga)
Otis w/VanHelga in 2014 It’s been a number of years since I’ve ridden a pair of 45NRTH Van Helga Tires. The best that I can tell, it was back in 2014. We’ve published two reviews by a couple of different product testers and the results are all pretty positive. Ken Blakey-Shell wrote, “I think the […]
45NRTH Wrathlorde Update
I wanted to post an update about these 45NRTH Wrathlorde 26 x 4.2 studded tires. We initially mounted these bad boys on a set of 100mm rims and published a report here. We read some of your interesting comments about the Wrathlordes on our social media feed. One cat said we had created a very […]
Cantu Rumble 27.5” Fat Bike Wheels Initial Review – by Adam Blake
“Its totally a thing.”… generally that is my response when people approach me about carbon rims on a fat-bike and their viability. A lot of people immediately focus on weight savings in carbon vs aluminum rims, but with companies removing material from aluminum rims, and utilizing single wall designs, the weight savings from a reasonable […]
The 2019 Fat Bike Holiday Gift Guide
The 2019 Fat-Bike Holiday Gift Guide
First Look – 45NRTH Wrathlorde 26×4.2 Tire
Last week, just as I was leaving to go to the Funduro down in Illinois, our set of 45NRTH Wrathlordes was delivered. This is the most exciting new set of tires that I’ve laid eyes on since say…the Johnny Fives last winter. The Wrathlordes sport 300 concave studs per tire with an aggressive tread pattern […]
Press Release – Manitou Mastodon Pro LTD Northwoods Edition
Our amigos up in Mequon just announced a special edition Mastodon. Here’s a press release that covers the New Manitou Mastodon Pro LTD Northwoods Edition. [MEQUON, WI October 29, 2019] The leaves have changed color, your windows are covered in frost, and you cannot seem to remember where you left your window scraper after last […]
New 45NRTH Wrathlorde & Vanhelga Tires
45NRTH has introduced two new fat bike tires for winter riding the Wrathlorde and the Vanhelga. Here’s the full rundown from 45NRTH! Wrathlorde 26 Wrathlorde is our all-new fat bike tire for hitting the sketchiest trails you can find this winter. Wrathlorde’s 300 studs—more than any other tire in the 45NRTH lineup—deliver unparalleled grip on […]
Custom Danger Gnome Saddle made by Jerry JM Smith
First Look at a custom hand-tooled Danger Gnome saddle created by Jerry JM Smith.
Wolftooth Silicone Grip Review – by Andy Amstutz & Jeff Price
Editor’s Note : We’ve got a pair of transcontinental test pilots teaming up for a review of the new Wolftooth Components line of Silicone grips. Andy is from Michigan and comes to the review process as an experienced Silicone Grip user, while Jeff had never ridden silicone grips before now. Jeff lives and rides in […]
Summer Solstice Bivvy
June 21st and the summer solstice luckily fell on a Friday, and luckily for me I finish work early on a Friday! YEAH!! The sun was shining, the forecast was good so a quick plan hatched to bivvy out for the night. I’ve had my eye on this sheltered spot facing east for some time […]
Wolf Tooth acquires RedMonkey Sports grip line, launches new grips
What do you get when you cross a Wolftooth with a Red Monkey? Apparently, you get a new line of silicone grips that come in three different thicknesses and a myriad of tasty colors! Check out the new release from our amigos at Wolftooth Components! Minneapolis, Minn., June 17, 2019–An expanded grip lineup has been […]
Surly SunRise Bar
A little over a year ago, I switched the bars on my 29+ Surly Krampus from a low riser mountain bike handlebar to a set of Jones Loop Bars. The long-term net result was that I grew to marginally dislike riding that bike. This is the same bike that I had raved about in a […]
2019 Sea Otter Classic SITREP
The 2019 Sea Otter Classic has become the best bike show in the US and they just announced expansion plans for Sea Otter Europe. The US version of the Sea Otter Classic is held at the Laguna Seca Race Track out near Monterrey, California about an hour drive from Silicon Valley. It’s quite beautiful there. […]
Fatback/Knight Wide Ride Wheel Review – By JP Syverud
Back in January the Secret Underground Fat-Bike Test labs received a set of Fatback Carbon Wheels. What can I say? Fatback continues to innovate the market with their latest product. This time they partnered up with Knight Composite to make this glorious love child of a carbon fat bike wheel set. I was super pumped […]
ENVE M685 Wheelset and Fat Fork Review – by Julio
Way back in December I wrote an introduction to a new wheelset and fork from the carbon fiber maestros over at ENVE. This was big news given that one of the biggest names in carbon fiber was (finally) getting into the fat game. You can read all about the M685 wheels and Fat Fork here […]
Surly Terminal Bar – By Spinner
Let’s be honest here, Surly is trying a few new things that you might not have expected. Sure, they’re usually one of the first to get weird when compared to other companies in the bike industry when they introduced fat bikes, fatter bikes, 29+ bikes and fat cargo bikes but it appears they’re willing to […]
Otis gets a 2×9 to 1×11 Conversion
I got this crazy idea to upgrade the drivetrain on my legacy fat-bike Otis from a 2×9 Shimano/Microshift set-up to a Box 1×11 with a 30 Tooth Wolftooth Oval chairing and Camo/Direct Mount spider. Let me begin by saying that it’s not our intention to disparage our long-time amigo ‘the front derailleur’ or the folks […]
Product Spotlight – 45NRTH Hüsker Dü 26 x 4.8 Tires
Some time ago, 45NRTH released their tried & true Hüsker Dü in a 4.8″ width. Mi amigo Adam Blake had a pair and told me that they were the cat’s pajamas and hell man, Jay Petervary rode a set on his Salsa Blackborow a thousand miles to Nome in the ITI. I’ve never tried to […]
45NRTH Dillinger 27.5×4.0 Review
As I was loading up the super blingy Why Cycles Big Iron outfitted with Enve Fat Fork and M685 Wheels for testing (First Look here), Uncle Gomez says “Here – try these out while you’re at it and tell me what you think . . .” as he shoves two folded up 27.5×4.0 45NRTH Dillingers […]
First Look Fatback Wide Ride Carbon Wheelset by Knight Composites
Our amigos at Fatback have followed up their (5 Gnome Rated) Aluminum Big Su fat-bike rim and wheelsets with a cross-town collaboration with Knight Composites. In addition to the shop in Anchorage, Fatback has a shop and warehouse in Bend Oregon where Knight is also located. Fatback brings a ton of fat-bike expertise to the table […]
Mid-Term Report: Terrene Cake Eater 27.5 x 4.5
I have been testing the 27.5 x 4.5 Terrene Cake Eaters since late fall and up until very recently Mother Nature has not been very giving with the snowfall in our area. Luckily we got about 4′ of snow in 10 days recently and it allowed me to get out and get a more well-rounded […]
Mid-Term Report: 27.5×4″ 45NRTH Van Helga
At the beginning of this winter I got a bunch of tires to test, mostly of the 27.5 fat variety. Of the tires I have available, I have been riding the 27.5×4 45NRTH Van Helgas far more than anything else. Part of this is because Mother Nature had been stingy with snow but even more […]
Fatback Sweet 16 H-Bar First Impressions
Fatback sent us a set of their new Sweet 16 carbon bars in December. I was honestly pretty skeptical about the prospects of this new bar’s 16-degree sweep improving the fit or comfort of the Fatback carbon riser bar that came with my Corvus FLT, Ten Beers because I felt pretty comfortable riding Ten Beers. […]
First Look – ENVE M685 Fat-Bike Wheelset and Fat Fork
While there are currently a quite a few rim/wheel options out there in the fat-bike universe, one major player in the high-end carbon market has been noticeably absent – ENVE Composites. The same can be said for fork offerings … lots of choices but no ENVE. Well, that’s now changed with the launch of the […]
First Look – 45NRTH Van Helga – 27.5 x 4.0
The 27.5 fat tire selection continues to expand and this is the second tire that 45NRTH has offered in the 27.5 size (the other being the Dillinger 4). For those of you not familiar with the 45NRTH line of tires, the Van Helga is their more aggressive 4″ tire that is designed for “all-round mixed […]
Fatback Big Su Review
Back in September, we spotlighted the Fatback Big Su Wheelset and after a couple months of gnome roping, we’re back with a full review. I’ve been running the Big Su’s on my ‘murdered out’ Fatback Corvus FLT – [code name: ten beers] with a set of Schwalbe 26×4.0 Jumbo Jims (tubeless). I took a […]