We have Issue 8 of Calling in Sick Magazine here at the shop. We’re buds with the guys behind the mag and love the writing and photos in it. Pre-order for Issue 9 is up rn here, but it’s worth snagging one of the issues we have as an intro to what it is that Calling in Sick is all about.
Wide bars and fat tires and lotsa dirt plus even a lil architectural article or two. Stop by and flip thru an issue.
****Photo credit to Will Keating from Rivendell****
Pinarello brought one of its Granger X gravel bikes up to Sea Otter this year, something covered by BikeRadar here (we were actually the shop that built this up for Pinarello!).
Pinarello considers this in the tier below the flagship Grevil F, instead using Toray T600 carbon fiber for this build. The frameset can fit up to 700 x 50mm tires or 650b x 2.1” depending. Feel free to drop us a line for more information about ordering, etc.
This is my last newsletter as a full-time employee here at Spoke Easy! I’m going to keep writing the weekly newsletters for the shop, but, as of tomorrow, my old college buddy, Ben Cohn, will be taking the helm.
It was funny actually: I was riding through the Panhandle on the way back from filling out some paperwork for my new employer when I saw Ben. I hadn’t seen him in a year or three and there he was. We began chatting and catching up as old friend do, talking about bikes and life and other stuff. He mentioned that he was applying to some graduate programs, but needed something until he started in the fall of 2024. Turns out he loves bikes, does all of his own work, and that taking my spot sounded good to him!
As for me, I’m making my way over to Merry Sales (Merry oversees/owns such brands as Soma Fabrications, Yokozuna, Newbaums, and Crane bells) down in South City. I struck up the acquaintance of the owner, Jim Porter, a couple of years ago when we were with some mutual friends. We’ve chatted quite a bit since then, nerding out on bikes and bike parts a lot. Then, out of the blue, he offered me a job to essentially do what I do at Spoke Easy, but at the international bicycle distribution level. What’s more, I’ll have a chance to test prototypes, help create new bike components, and get a guaranteed 35 miles of daily riding in while commuting there (lol).
I’m going to miss all of the wonderful customers of the shop and, most of all, the little family that I’ve become a part of here at Spoke Easy. Admittedly, Ben is also tall as heck and is, honestly, a lot funnier and nicer so the shop's in good hands. I’ll definitely be stopping by and will continue to write these newsletters so I’ll be around still!
Until next time,
Luke <3
P.S.: All of our old newsletters are now on our site as blog posts here.