We currently stock two e-bikes here at the shop: the venerable Yuba and Surly. We have the Kombi E5 from the former and the Skid Loader from the latter. Both can be means of urban getaround or perfect kid haulers. And both are in our online shop.
We have the Surly spec’d with a Yepp seat from Thule, something that can easily be done with the Yuba, too (having a load capacity of over 400 lbs. allows for that sort of thing.
I had a chance to swing by last week’s cutty cx race in GGP put on by Swell x OBF415. It was a lotta fun and I got to see a whole mess of bike industry people, shop mechanics, and rad rippers on some sick bikes. The photos don’t really do it justice: the sun and dust and screaming made an epic scene. Beer and donut hand-ups helped take the edge off and kept it playful.
**Snap above from the super nice Collin Evans.**
I’ve been spending a lot of time on the Wolverine that I mentioned in last week’s newsletter. It’s a supremely capable and fun bike – far more maneuverable than the leviathan that I normally ride. I noticed it especially when I was riding with my buddy, Mike, a few weeks ago on Dias Ridge. Where the Riv woulda necessitated putting a foot down in some of the switchbacks, the Soma didn’t and also gave me a lot of stability, far more than my last cx bike.
Riding two vastly different bikes has led me to explore what it is that I do and don’t like about each and what I do and don’t like about bikes in general. I like being able to roll fast and do so with greater stability (long wheelbases rule) however I also like having responsive turning.
I don’t think one is better than the other. I ride both on the same stuff (mixed road and trail) and can confidently descend fast on both while maintaining a lot of traction. The main difference to me is turning. Is that super important to me as a non-racer? Yes and no. My primary aim as an avid cyclist is to be comfortable and do what I can to make my bike more comfortable so that I ride more often. If the turning suffers a bit but I’m supremely comfortable, I don’t care all that much.
Would I have run the Riv in last week’s cx race? I did ride the course once through with it and it was stable in the sand, fast on the descents, and sucked in the tight corners. It would have been fun to be about a foot higher than all other riders, but I would have run the Soma 100% instead.
I have to say that both have me convinced about a couple of things: bigger tires are better and fenders needn’t be relegated to commuter bikes. I can’t wait to run 45mm tires on the Soma so that I can squeeze fenders in. I don’t mind riding in muck. I just don’t want it all over me.
Until next time,
Luke <3
P.S.: All of our old newsletters are now on our site as blog posts here.