I was just on EC and suddenly thought "Hmm, I wonder if James is up to something yet." (I'm not on Insta.) So I hit the Googs and here you are!
I like the premise of this new venture. I've been finding EC less engaging since you've left, so when my membership renewal comes up I might just steer that money over here instead.
My own JH story: I bought a Crux and built it with Ekar largely on the strength of your review on CT. It's a terrific bike that absolutely slays everywhere I ride it, road or gravel. I sold my road bike and now the Soma DoubleCross that used to share gravel riding and commute duties can stay in dedicated commute mode. N-1 indeed!
Hi Dean, thanks so much for the support! Definitely jealous of that Crux setup. When TPC was going out of business, I very nearly pulled the trigger on a complete Ekar groupset they were blowing out for something like US$600. But then I remembered that I was still unemployed at the time and thought better of it :)
Honestly I was in a wreck on that bike and sent it to Cyclocarbon, they replaced the chain stays with a similar frame geo bike and the bike rides better now than the standard! I have that as my go to gravel and road bike in Steamboat with Gravel King SS tires on it and it’s been amazing..
I remember that I purchased my disc brake Crux as my N+1 killer as my all around bike. This was in 2015 or so. I had two sets of wheels and as I was riding up Bear Mountain in NY, people would come up aside me and ask why I have that “crazy” bike with disc brakes and why don’t I have a rim brake bike. I explained the idea behind my thinking and I could tell, as time went on, more and more people seemed to get this idea.. love the idea of N-1 and support anything you do. I’m a long time supporter of yours and of course the escape collective team. Thank you for a tech only hub, for nerds like me, it’s much appreciated!!
No way, I was seriously just thinking about that generation of Crux during my ride the other day! I bought a MY2014 SW frameset in green-and-blue around that time, and the thought popped up because I was exactly where I'd had the revelation that it could legitimately serve as both a really good CX race bike *and* a proper road bike. So snappy and responsive, awesome handling, so quick-feeling. It was one of the first bikes I'd remembered feeling that way about. I also remember the cable routing being a royal PITA to deal with (ha!), but it was otherwise a pretty amazing setup.
Super excited to see you’re back! Please write about everything and anything that moves you, not just tech. Your piece on EC about visiting your ailing father in Taiwan was very moving and resonated strongly with me, I’ve gone through similar life experiences recently.
Thanks for the kind words! The intent is for the majority of content to be tech-focused, but it definitely won't *exclusively* revolve around tech. For sure there will be the occasional diversions.
Totally here for this. In the last few months of CT I got very sick of the condescending attitudes on the Slack channel from certain members who always wanted to be right, so when EC happened I never paid attention. Great to hear your focus on all things tech James!
“We love to buy books because we believe we're buying the time to read them"
That resonates with me regarding bikes. When I see a new MonsterCross build come out, I dream about the adventures I can go on it. Yet then I look at the gravel bike that's been gathering dust for months, and realise it will also just collect dust.
Second part of avoiding N+1 for me has been about being grateful about what you do have, not about day dreaming about what you don't have. It's a hard one to break.
I’m glad you’re back James. You were missed. I’m in for sure. I recently had the adventure of rebuilding a broken AXS derailleur and was pondering the right to repair. I thought of you and how you would think this is so cool. I love the idea of n-1 and have long advocated for ‘maintain and repair’ in lieu of replace. I’m looking forward to where this goes! Again, welcome back!
Oh cool! I was aware of that company but hadn't come across anyone who'd actually used their replacement bits. Good to know, and glad to hear you had a positive outcome. Three cheers for stuff that can actually be fixed (and companies that are picking up the slack when the original manufacturer isn't making things easy).
I’m with you. Never been a fan of the N+1 philosophy. I just need the right bikes to do the right thing. I’ve had only 1-2 bikes during tough times and 15 in good ones. I own 9 now but really only ride 2-3 of them any given month.
I was just on EC and suddenly thought "Hmm, I wonder if James is up to something yet." (I'm not on Insta.) So I hit the Googs and here you are!
I like the premise of this new venture. I've been finding EC less engaging since you've left, so when my membership renewal comes up I might just steer that money over here instead.
My own JH story: I bought a Crux and built it with Ekar largely on the strength of your review on CT. It's a terrific bike that absolutely slays everywhere I ride it, road or gravel. I sold my road bike and now the Soma DoubleCross that used to share gravel riding and commute duties can stay in dedicated commute mode. N-1 indeed!
Hi Dean, thanks so much for the support! Definitely jealous of that Crux setup. When TPC was going out of business, I very nearly pulled the trigger on a complete Ekar groupset they were blowing out for something like US$600. But then I remembered that I was still unemployed at the time and thought better of it :)
Always N+1 for cranky bicycle content!
Honestly I was in a wreck on that bike and sent it to Cyclocarbon, they replaced the chain stays with a similar frame geo bike and the bike rides better now than the standard! I have that as my go to gravel and road bike in Steamboat with Gravel King SS tires on it and it’s been amazing..
I remember that I purchased my disc brake Crux as my N+1 killer as my all around bike. This was in 2015 or so. I had two sets of wheels and as I was riding up Bear Mountain in NY, people would come up aside me and ask why I have that “crazy” bike with disc brakes and why don’t I have a rim brake bike. I explained the idea behind my thinking and I could tell, as time went on, more and more people seemed to get this idea.. love the idea of N-1 and support anything you do. I’m a long time supporter of yours and of course the escape collective team. Thank you for a tech only hub, for nerds like me, it’s much appreciated!!
No way, I was seriously just thinking about that generation of Crux during my ride the other day! I bought a MY2014 SW frameset in green-and-blue around that time, and the thought popped up because I was exactly where I'd had the revelation that it could legitimately serve as both a really good CX race bike *and* a proper road bike. So snappy and responsive, awesome handling, so quick-feeling. It was one of the first bikes I'd remembered feeling that way about. I also remember the cable routing being a royal PITA to deal with (ha!), but it was otherwise a pretty amazing setup.
Thanks for the support!
Super excited to see you’re back! Please write about everything and anything that moves you, not just tech. Your piece on EC about visiting your ailing father in Taiwan was very moving and resonated strongly with me, I’ve gone through similar life experiences recently.
Thanks for the kind words! The intent is for the majority of content to be tech-focused, but it definitely won't *exclusively* revolve around tech. For sure there will be the occasional diversions.
Totally here for this. In the last few months of CT I got very sick of the condescending attitudes on the Slack channel from certain members who always wanted to be right, so when EC happened I never paid attention. Great to hear your focus on all things tech James!
Wishing you tailwinds only on the N-1 journey.
Thanks, Rick!
Subscribing in hope of a new podcast down the line. Cheers and the best of luck in this endeavor!
“We love to buy books because we believe we're buying the time to read them"
That resonates with me regarding bikes. When I see a new MonsterCross build come out, I dream about the adventures I can go on it. Yet then I look at the gravel bike that's been gathering dust for months, and realise it will also just collect dust.
Second part of avoiding N+1 for me has been about being grateful about what you do have, not about day dreaming about what you don't have. It's a hard one to break.
I’m glad you’re back James. You were missed. I’m in for sure. I recently had the adventure of rebuilding a broken AXS derailleur and was pondering the right to repair. I thought of you and how you would think this is so cool. I love the idea of n-1 and have long advocated for ‘maintain and repair’ in lieu of replace. I’m looking forward to where this goes! Again, welcome back!
Nice! What parts did you end up having to replace, and where'd you get them from?
The parallelogram links and bushings were replaced. From: https://madronecycles.com/
Beautiful stuff and 3D printed tools. It was a joy! And - even better - works beautifully!
Oh cool! I was aware of that company but hadn't come across anyone who'd actually used their replacement bits. Good to know, and glad to hear you had a positive outcome. Three cheers for stuff that can actually be fixed (and companies that are picking up the slack when the original manufacturer isn't making things easy).
I’m with you. Never been a fan of the N+1 philosophy. I just need the right bikes to do the right thing. I’ve had only 1-2 bikes during tough times and 15 in good ones. I own 9 now but really only ride 2-3 of them any given month.
Excited to see articles you put out next.
I love the idea of all-tech, all the time. The tech content at EC is why I subscribed, and I feel its absence.
I love all bikes, as I am sure many do. Is there really no place for road bike reviews and tech here?
This is awesomeness at its finest! I’m all in!
Really looking forward to this James!
I can’t emphasize enough, how important it is to me, that James can be more cynical/critical than myself.
I can't decide if I'm proud of myself or feel bad that I corrupted you.
And turn on the paid subscription.
It should be both.
Very excited to follow this journey, James! Congrats!