You guys keep asking me for a massive bike check video, and I’ve been avoiding it.
There have been so many bikes on this channel, some of which are no longer in my possession.
Plus, the bike dungeon is not exactly in showroom condition.
This is long overdue.
Not just a cleanup, but a reorganization of this space.
Everything’s piled up in here and it’s hard to get to it all.
So while the dungeon is being remodeled I’ll do my best to summarize the bike situation.
First of all I make bike videos for a living now.
Just like MKBHD has a lot of phones, and george sprav has a lot of slingshots, I’ve accumulated
quite a few bikes.
I didn’t plan it, it just happened.
The truth is that 90% of the time this is the only bike I ride.
My Diamondback Release 5c.
It’s a carbon mid travel trail bike with 150mm of travel in the front, and 130mm in
the rear.
This particular 5c is a bit different because it’s sort of a Seth’s Bike Hacks edition,
with a Box drivetrain, carbon wheels, stem, handlebar, and grips.
It also has different suspension and brakes from the stock 5c.
If I could only have one of my bikes it would be this one, so it’s no coincidence that
I ride it the most.
Lately the bike I’ve been riding second most is the murder machine.
It’s the only bike I’ve given a name.
Originally it was a stock Diamondback Sync’r Pro, and after being overshadowed by many
new bikes I decided to breathe new life into it.
That meant turning it into a single speed with 150mm of travel, plus Box carbon rims
which aside from being overkill do make this bike really responsive and fun to ride.
But when I revealed the murder machine you guys could have cared less about the components.
You were happy to see something different that we cobbled together right here, something
purpose built for fun, and nothing else.
While we’re still looking at Diamondbacks, here’s one I’ve never really ridden.
They sent this El Oso to me in the winter to promote fat biking, and then it never snowed
again.
With big ass tires, a suspension fork, and a granny gear, the El Oso is a monster truck.
So once my wrist heals I’ll need to think of some summer fat biking activities.
For now, it’s a reminder that I still live in the South.
On to my Orange P7, a beautiful steel hardtail that I don’t ride very often.
By the way, I do ride it sometimes, but it’s just—not what I thought it was going to
be.
The reach on this bike is long, even on the size small.
Although this makes it fast and stable, it also makes it difficult to bunny hop and throw
around.
Hardtails, in general, awaken the animal in me (animal clip), so I like my hardtails short
and snappy.
This bike will likely find a home elsewhere, as it’s sooo nice and not being ridden enough.
On to another bike I rarely ride: this Thrill BMX Race bike, decked out with Box components.
Box built this to show me what a state of the art BMX race bike looks like, but I have
no experience racing BMX.
So, to the delight of my subscribers, I spent a Saturday jumping a couch on it with Phil.
Despite having featherweight components including a carbon fork, the bike handled the abuse.
But we haven’t seen the last of the Thrill bike.
I’ll take this out to a proper BMX track when I get the opportunity.
Time to check back in on the dungeon.
Things look like they’ll be ready soon, so let’s talk about some bikes that I don’t
have on premises.
First of all, my Diamondback Mission 2 is now Kevin’s.
You might have seen Kevin on the Singletrack Sampler, as the roady that alex took mountain
biking.
Shortly after that video he was looking for a mountain bike, and the Mission 2 fit the
bill.
Another bike we haven’t seen in a while is the Trek 4900, which is the hardtail that
started it all.
You’ll be happy to know that it’s still very much in service as my sister’s mountain
bike up in Rochester.
All the same parts including the DNM dropper post are on it.
Also missing is my Steel Panasonic bike, which is still mine but with a friend in Florida.
While I already did a video featuring my freak bikes, I’ll update you on the whereabouts
of the Fat Ripper.
I left it with my mom in Florida because that’s a place I’ll actually ride it.
Here in Asheville it’s not of much use, but for Miami rides it’s a dream come true.
Let’s check out the dungeon again.
Much better.
I built a ramp for easy access to the top.
With proper bike storage it’s noticeably less cluttered in here, and dare I say, primed
for more bikes.
I’m also surprised at how good of a place this is to get work done, with very little
noise and no distractions.
With that let’s have a look at the long term storage up here.
Starting on the far left is the inexpensive Overdrive XC bike from this fall.
I used it to demonstrate what a decent entry level hardtail should have at a minimum.
I also made some upgrades to it like adding a chain guide and better tires.
I’ll probably find it a home with a deserving beginner this summer—someone who doesn’t
ask for it.
Next is this SE Lager, which belongs to my wife.
With so many other bikes to choose from this doesn’t get much use these days, but it’s
a solid single speed urban bike with all the necessities and no frills.
To the right of the lager is something entirely different—my street trials bike.
I bought this over 5 years ago now to try and learn some trials on.
I didn’t stick with it long enough, and maybe that’s why I didn’t find it all
that fun.
Trials is incredible to watch, and one could be deceived into thinking that it’s easy
to get the hang of.
Some of you said I should use it as a dirt jumper, but the geometry and components are
laughably unsuitable for that.
So, I’ll either break this down for a cool project, or sell it to someone who can use
it.
This is an old steel schwinn that weighs about 4 tons.
It’s not mine.
And speaking of bikes that weigh 4 tons, here’s the Genesis Walmart bike that Alexander descended
3500 feet on.
I had an identical bike which didn’t survive the descent.
As you can see the Genesis is now kitted out with some parts I had laying around, but I’m
sorry to say that it doesn’t feel any better.
This process was going to be a video, but it got me so frustrated and pissed off that
I decided to work on something else.
And here we have the Freway Buffalo.
You might remember the Freway from an older video, where I reviewed this thing.
It felt like a decent ebike, but not the e-mountain bike that it was marketed as.
I gave it to my 86 year old grandpa, and he loved it—until it stopped working.
As far as I can tell the brushless motor controller is NFG, and Freway seems to barely exist as
a company now.
So I’m going to try and repair it myself and get it back to grandpa.
Here, we have the swing bike, the half bike, and the unicycle.
If you want to know more about these I’ll link to another video at the end which showcases
them great detail.
But let’s just say I’m really happy to have these.
Next to the unicycle is my SE everyday BMX.
Unlike the Thrill bike, this is made for concrete and ramp smashing.
I bought it for $300 to make a BMX series on over two years ago.
Since then I’ve replaced only the front tire, the chainring, and the chain, proving
how far you can push a BMX bike this cheap.
Granted I haven’t ridden this very much lately, as I always seem to get hurt when
I do.
Still it’s good to have a BMX street bike around for when I need it.
On to my Mission Pro . It’s long and slack, has plenty of travel, and takes a serious
beating.
For those reasons I use it to ride park, and might even race it this summer.
Diamondback will likely replace this bike with something more modern, so the last of
these Mission Pros can be found at insane prices, considering the components they come
with.
Here we have my least capable bike.
And finally, my road bike.
It’s a Lightspeed Antares.
The most we saw of the lightspeed was during my camping trip to Key West, where The Singletrack
Sampler and I rode over 200 miles through urban hell, endless swamp, and finally, tropical
paradise.
We encountered many challenges along the way, making the key west series an instant classic.
Despite being over 15 years old, this bike weighs around 19 pounds, features great components,
and rides smooth as butter.
There was a time when I rode this more, and I might pick it up again for cardio while
my wrist finishes healing.
So there you have it.
I hope you liked this bike check video because you probably won’t see all of these next
time.
I plan on changing up my fleet in the future, but I don’t plan on growing it.
I’m not a collector, so it feels weird owning things I don’t use.
But I might make exceptions for some things, like the frame to my Diamondback Release 3,
which is on what I now call the wall of frame.
The wall of frame is for parts that aren’t in use, but may or may not come out of retirement
for future projects—projects like the murder machine.
With that, thanks for riding with me today, and I’ll see you next time.