man, I've been addicted to this guys channel lately, his shop is very close to my in-laws, I need to head up there. russ always with his finger on the pulse
here in Germany, it is all about the culture they want to fit in : Ebike and Gravel is overwelming represented., Nearly everyone you see in traffic rides a ebike today.
Most people- I wrote that onto intentionally- MOST people in the area where I live ride on pavement and they don’t ride up a lot of hills. Not all, but most. Most people would be best served by light bikes with skinny wheels and tires. Yet in the 80’s and 90’s the bike companies told everyone they needed “mountain” bikes. They looked cool and also rugged. But they were heavy and had huge knobby tires. Not good for pavement. Then they sold us all “hybrids” that weren’t good for paved roads OR trails. Bicycling could be way more popular if the bike companies would market and sell bikes to people that work good for what they are going to get to use them for.
Who doesn't love a 30 year old Trek hybrid? So much of this video resonated with me. I run a small workshop from home and actively avoid the industry trends and associated malarkey. 98% of my customers are families who just love riding bikes and I really enjoy getting them back on the road and keeping them mobile. I'm not going to get rich doing, but I am enriched by it. Keep up the great work both of you and thanks for this video, I loved it.
Hi Russ - I was hoping you'd connect with the Bike Farmer so this was a real treat. I love all aspects of cycling but it's refreshing to hear someone talk about cycling for 'normal' people. Keep up the great work!
Been watching the entire catalog from Andy, The Bike Farmer! I love his style, desire to keep old bikes rolling, and he loves the utility of the simple machines. Great!
Now the car companies are vehemently anti-bike. They see protected bike lanes as a threat to their business. Since bikes allow you to zip through traffic without delay. When cars see empty protected bike lanes and segregated bus rapid transit lanes. They see them as parts of the road taken away for cars. When in actuality benefits move more people traffic than private cars with usually just 1 person driving a car.
@@iMadrid11 You're going to see transit organizations fight bike lanes and especially e-bikes in the not too distant future. When "the poor" discover e-bikes, public transportation is done. The public transit industry claims they exist to help society, but what do they build? $2500 per month apartments, called Transit Oriented Developments (TOD) around stations, and stations which go to sports arenas. Transit is nothing but man-made waterfront property.
@@iMadrid11no they're not. Car companies aren't lobbying against bike infrastructure. They're too busy lobbying to squash foreign competition. I think you overestimate the the size and threat of the bike industry
The collab we needed! This is my mission too because you can have a decent bike for a few hundred bucks and invest the rest. Plus recycling quality durable parts is another awesome perk!
The key to sustaining the industry is advocating and rallying for more bicycle and pedestrian friendly infrastructure; especially in the U.S.! People aren't riding bicycles because they can't! It's too dangerous. As a society we need to move away from the car centricity. Bring back our downtowns. Recreate walkability and community. Personally, we need to follow in the footsteps of the Netherlands.
Years ago we started a bike shop in Portland Ore. Two of us were bike mechanics and our shop was centered on repairing bikes and selling parts at a discount. We did sell new bikes, but we realized that it was not our main means to survive. We really didn't sell a lot of fancy bikes, just bikes for the community. It is an interesting formula, but it was easier 35 years ago.
Hi! Love your channel & been a fan for years - since you were in L.A. I've been riding various iterations of "my bike" since I was 5. Now that I'm 72, I've renounced cars altogether, and riding my bike is my primary means of exercise, entertainment, and running errands. It's been 5 years since I've owned a car. So Bravo to both of us!
The mention of the Schwinn Varsity...when I was a kid, that was my first "good" bike. Came straight out of the Chicago factory, just for me in a beautiful metallic green. I remember it well and wish I still had it.
This was a great discussion. Bike Farmer, Path Less Pedaled, and Erie by Cycle are currently my go to cycling channels. You guys get it. I've been a serious cyclist since 1978, but kinda stopped with road bike technology at downtube shiters, and I still ride a rigid mtn bike (custom steel, however... very fun). Gila Proven!
Great to see WI own Bike Farmer on with you. Very good questions Russ. I keep my 40 year old Trek with a rack for grocery shopping and find no real need for disc brakes or carbon frames. Appreciate kindred spirits.
"Practical bikes for practical people" is something I can get behind gladly. I'm a relatively high-end roadie/cx racer and love working on simple cruisers etc. and do it regularly. I manufacture grips for cruisers too. Any type of cycling is good. Just purchased the Bridgestone font Partypace shirt 🙂
Two of my favourite recently discovered TH-camrs, I’ve already learned so much from both of you! Enjoyed this chat a lot. Keep up the great work fellas, greets from Vancouver!
Really great to hear from another shop that is more or less a one person show - and are succeeding. Make me wonder whether shops like that (incl ours) are better navigating the post-boomlet waters than the bigger shops. Thx Russ!
Maddening for me over the years were all the brands that the likes of Trek would buy up and slowly grind into boring me-too copies of the rest of the lineup before killing them off. Klein and Gary Fisher in particular stand out as really iconic bikes that just withered on the Trek vine.
At 58 years old, I finally decided to purchase a high-end bike. I've always rolled around on cheap Schwinns. I had my heart set on a Trek, Specialized, Gary Fisher or Giant. Oh Boy! The price of the base models! They must be making those things out of solid gold! Guess I'll stick to Schwinn and modifying them to my liking.
You guys are a breath of fresh air. Real people, great advice and a normal perspective. In so many special interest areas people become esoteric, isolated and out of touch with regular people with balanced lives. Bikes, audio gear, cameras and musical instruments all come to mind. It gets so out there that customers just shut down and exit their interests. It is an eye opener when you walk into a shop with a focus of any of the areas that I just mentioned . You get THE look of the people working there and they size you up, evaluate you to see if you are worthy. As a result of that many customers just leave and never come back. Their interest declines and they just choose to not participate. You both are rather counter culture and it's nice to see you follow your truth and sharing it with others....keep up the great work and keep offering practical offerings to normal people.
I loved this podcast, bike farmer is a class act 👍👍👍 Guys you are a diamond in the rough and take me back to cycling growing up in the 80s & 90s. Hand me down bikes, shopper, your mums, your dad's ig you lucky, first road bike 2 sizes to big so you grow into it. Steel is real, MTBs hard tail n front back...Oh those days....Beautiful ❤
@@cadriver2570 Is this true or it you expecting nice replies to comments that are passive aggressive just because they disagree and think you shouldn't be allowed to speak, even when it is the truth.. So what is this?? Do you want to back this statement up with evidence to a comment made for Bike Farmer that is genuine... Care to explain Cab driver??
@@cadriver2570 OK mate no explanation for what you said but everyone is entitled to an opinion. So here's mine on you like you had on me... You are either gate keeping for Bike Farmer, scared or just generally lurking in the shadows playing mind games.. Whatever it is upto you 👍
THere's a bloke in the UK with a channel called 2nd Life Bikes. If you don't know him check him out he rescues 'crusty' bikes and sells stickers to put on them, There's the three horsemen of the tube.
My two favorite bike curmudgeons on one screen! Love it. Excellent interview as always. BTW Russ, thx for the recommendation of the Surley LHDT and wider tread. I'm loving it. Def what I needed for touring.
This was an unexpected vid event! A real treat listening to you two. Thanks for what you do and this particular video. May the opportunities to make your dreams come true present themselves. I believe in that. Get ready. Oh! You already are! Happy trails. 🐾🎶
Great video. I think Andy has it right. I works for Wisconsin Cycle Supply/GT bicycles/Riteway for 10 years. Before that I ran a shop. We were told to force dealers into a mold if they wanted to carry Our brand. Suppliers would force dealers to buy more than they need to. Bike shops have become homogenized. There's nothing more boring than a trek store. Now after promoting these brands for decades, the suppliers are now screwing the dealers. They are biting the hand that feeds them. Andy is doing it right! Great video.
Great conversation! I feel I'm halfway between you two & a racer. Seems like bikes got better & less expensive (when adjusted for inflation) from the 70s until I bought my most recent bike in 2017, a Carbon Fiber Kestrel RT1000, the last rim brake bike they made. Then everything went crazy price & tech wise. Basically, the same bike the following year with disc brakes was more than two times as expensive & heavier and things continue to get more complex & expensive.
Great interview. Bike Farmer drew me in with one of his Rando ride videos and then going over his equipment - later he gave us a chance to watch Dave Wages (Ellis Cycles) build a frame. Being rando-curious means I'm not his bread and butter viewer but he hits some notes that catch me. This makes me feel like suggesting 'Psychic Derailleur' as a worthy interview. He's backed off from Youtubing but speaks to the alt-bike world from/with a shop experience background.
I was shopping for a bike and one Andy’s videos was sandwiched between two GCN videos. His counter to “cyclist culture “ is so rare. Thanks for taking the time to sit down with him, he seems way more than just the character I perceived him to be.
Great conversation. Love the no-nonsense approach to riding bikes. These days I always have a smile when I'm out riding in normal clothes and in Party Pace.
Really enjoyed this chat. Found it inspirational even though I'm not aspiring to be a youtuber or have involvement in the bike industry. My connection to bikes is as a user learning to do my own maintenance, my day job is in tech, and passion is adventure and art (atm primarily photography). I think I found this inspiring because a way to find purpose and direction seems to often be just stumbling through opportunities as they present themselves, and what ends up fulfilling is a novel(ish) mix of things that have mostly already been done by someone in some way. So cheers and kudos, and keep being inspired and inspiring! 🙏🤘
You mentioned Oceanside LBS. That brings back memories. I bought a Masi 3V from Two Wheel Transit bike shop in Oceanside in 1985. I think they've been gone for many moons now. Oops, that might have been in Huntington Beach. It was a long time ago.
This is awesome. I used to ride a Sirrus. Carbon fiber, hydro's, 2x9, etc. I gave it to my dad a year ago to start riding a 1988 Stumpjumper. Now I also have a 90-91 Stumpy as a project 'gravel' bike. I don't regret rim brakes and 3x drivetrains one ounce.
As someone who has a very similar but different path than bikefarmer, it definitely is an interesting and very stressful at times life. I've always been on a bike regardless of the time of year, but an interesting piece of this is being a female doing all of this. Although I love to work as a mechanic, I will always love riding so much more. Thanks for sharing this video, and all of the videos that you spend so much time working on.
This is great! Love the Bike Farmer! He’s like a nice version of Durian Rider. That would be a crazy interview for you to get! Also really like your connections with Bike Sauce, Spindatt and Lockedin. One on ones with those last two would be great. 👍
Great interview 👍. Been a bike mechanic for 32 years. I really love working on bikes. Started in 92 till now. Just left the bike shop in was working at . Making a career change. I am still going to continue working on bikes out of my garage. I love bikes and do like a lot of the technology that bikes have today but I do agree that there is a lot of bikes out there that are way too expensive and complicated for most people. Bikes are an Amazing machine and it’s beauty is how simple and pure they are. That has been lost in a lot of bikes lately. I love building and riding frankenbikes. So much fun building a bike out of parts collected and making your own creation. I believe everyone should be able to have a good quality bicycle that is built well and is fun to ride. 😊
47:32 are they making durable bikes? my polygon frame snapped from me hardly riding it on rough ground or gravel. and my latest bike the rear freewheel pawl spring has bent causing it to slip when peddled. i was even more gentle on the second bike. so my experience of mountain bikes has been crap so far.
I agree that 30 year old Trek hybrids are awesome. I've got a '92 7xx series bikes, which were built on the 520 touring frame jigs. I swapped in some flared dirt drops and fit some wide tires on it. My 2020 "gravel bike" has slightly wider tires with less extreme drop bars. That's what I want out of a bike: wider tires and flared drop bars. It rides a lot snappier, is more comfortable, shifts better, but I still ride both. You guys talked about the switch to "race bikes" and I hate hate hate that change in the manufacturer's focus and I'm glad we can get "everyman" drop bar bikes again. I mean, the "skinny tire race bikes" used to use 32mm tires, and we're just now finally getting "race" bikes that can fit something wider than a 23mm or maaaaaybe a 25mm tire in the frame, at a reasonable price, without having to buy one of those bikes with a 10 speed groupset with way too large chainrings and way too small largest cogs. I was looking at swapping my Trek to a 46/30 sub compact and the bike already had Peterson's favorite RD, the Altus, which would have given me a 30:34 ratio with chainwrap to spare. Then "gravel bikes" took off and I knew it was the marketing segment of bikes for me. 2020 bike has a 1x11 Sensah drivetrain, and I think it's fantastic value drivetrain compared to similarly priced bikes with 2x8 Claris.
This was great! Thanks for bringing the Bike Farmer to a wider audience. Between the two of you, I’m thinking I might need to put more time into my bike biz and less time being a wage slave.
Love this conversation, even though I just bought an absolute rocket of a gravel bike lol. But honest question here, are disc brakes really that much harder to maintain? Like if you are buying a new low-end bike, and imagine you have no previous experience with rim brakes, why would mechanical discs be inherently more difficult to maintain than rim calipers? I feel like most anti-disc talk is coming from people who already "know" rim brakes, but don't want to learn/try discs, but please correct me, share your opinion!
One point to consider is that most people don't ride bikes. Most cite road safety. Most kids don't bike anymore. Many companies focus on racers and serious cyclist crowd cause thats is mainly the only crowd buying many bikes and upgrades.
Yeah, it's difficult to talk about "where have all the practical bikes gone" while not talking about the true underlying issue, which is the lack of safe bike/non-motorized vehicle infrastructure available in car-centric cities and towns for those practical bikes to exist. This is one of the reasons e-bikes have exploded in popularity (and not just for squids avoiding working towards their motorcycle licence) - e-bikes, with their motors, are the only bicycles capable of meaningfully keeping up in mixed traffic, without asking their riders to become MVDP.
In Europe there is some bike commuting locally, but a good part are e-Bikes now, the rest are young people who will switch to cars once they have enough money. Decathlon and similar shops provides a good part of these bikes for the common man. I suppose the real market is also upper end, people who buy the latest tech, higher prices meaning higher margins for the business.
Just started watching bike farmer so was happy to see you chatting with him. I agree with many of his rants about the bicycle industry. I like that you both keep it simple.
It sounds like Bike Farmer could make a fun video tearing down his first few suspension forks. Mistakes can be fun to watch, struggles too. It's very relatable.
I worked in a Trek dealer in 2008, and the road bikes were great(madone), but the mtb's especially the EX8 and above were something ground breaking! No longer in the industry but have a soft spot for more practical end of the market.
I thoroughly enjoyed this. Been wanting to get something like this is Orangeburg SC. There are no bike shops and the community is in need of a walkable and bike infrastructure.
Love your Schwinn Varsity reference. I bought a new bright blue Schwinn Varsity in summer 1969 (it was just about the only 10-speed available in Eastern Washington as far as I knew - although I think you could also order a 10-speed from Sears) and spent my junior and senior years of high school riding to and from school (2 miles each way, route flat as a board, with seven 90-degree intersection corners to negotiate). Riding hands free the whole way, even around the corners, was no problem due to the extreme stability of the Varsity. Toured a couple thousand miles on it during summer 1971 after high school graduation. Two buddies on those trips had Schwinn Continentals and a third had a SuperSport. I carried about 30 pounds of gear, food, and water up and down mountain highways in WA, OR, and BC. The Varsity weighed 41 pounds with its chromed steel fenders and the frame had zero flex - the tubes seemed like water pipe, with flawlessly smooth brazed joints, no lugs, no weld marks. Ashtabula forged chromed steel crank. I'm sure I topped 60 mph with that 30 pounds of gear on descents in the Cascade Mountains ( I remember we sometimes put an extra 6 or 8 pounds of rocks we picked up at the top of passes in our bags so we could go faster downhill!) and the Varsity felt as stable as a new Ford LTD or a passenger train no matter how fast I went. Actually maybe more stable, because there were no springs, just the 27 x 1-3/8 inch tires. I think we met a total of 3 other bike touring parties in those 2,000 miles of riding. Spring 1972, working on my bike, I had to go about 2 miles to a bike shop to get some part or tire or something. Asked a fellow UW dorm dweller if I could borrow his Peugeot UO-8 for the trip so I wouldn't have to walk. He said, "OK, but I'm warning you, you'll never be happy with your Schwinn again." I borrowed it for the somewhat hilly trip in Seattle. He was right. His bike weighed about 15 pounds less than mine and I felt like I might lift off into the air while riding up a mild hill. I sold the Schwinn within the month for what I had paid for it to a dad who was buying it for a kid's birthday present - the dad didn't want to ride it, just wanted to see me ride it up and down the parking lot for a minute, I guess to make sure it worked. I bought a well-used American Eagle Semi-Pro from a grad student who was going off to Europe. Lively steel frame, double-butted throughout, Sugino Mighty-Compe cotterless cranks, Kyokuto ProAce pedals, and aluminum rims (a huge safety improvement in braking on wet days over the chrome steel rims of the Varsity, on which you could count to 4 or more after applying the brakes before any deceleration was perceptible.) First time I realized that Japanese technology was quite capable of putting the U.S. to shame. The Semi-Pro (later the brand name was changed to Nishiki, as American Eagle was apparently deemed to be somewhat fraudulently named as the bike was entirely Japanese) was lighter than the Peugeot as well, and came with a generator wired to a socket in the stem, into which plugged an elastic-banded headlamp. Also provided by the grad student inventor, a warning to be sure to keep the metal of the headlamp off my forehead while riding down big hills in the rain if I didn't want a surprise electrical shock. I toured another 3,000 miles over the next three years (and commuted many more) on that bike and I didn't miss the Varsity's extra weight, but descending was definitely more adventurous.
It's kinda funny seeing what feels normal and good for me is basically the stuff that I got into when I started to really get into bikes in 2018, so like because I got into MTB first, 1x11 and disc brakes are the perfect balance of performance and reliability for me, but I hate internal routing and electronic shifting. Although if you ask me now: belt drive, internally geared hubs and mechanical disc brakes are the best for people who ride a lot. For people who don't, I think it's all about singlespeed or geared hubs and dual pivot caliper brakes. I still really really love my classic singlespeed comfy ladies bike and I really need to get it back up and running again.
Great discussion. Our views connect from the get go. Enjoy your ride. The Schwinn Varsity was great, but I first enjoyed the 3 speed "English Bike" Schwinn Racer.
Russ, one of my fave videos of yours was about Laura getting a custom BW bike. I'd love it if you could interview Georgina Terry, who builds custom bikes. This interview with Andy is a really fun and interesting confluence of channels I enjoy. I'm a fan of his YT channel too. Good luck, Andy & Russ, hang in there!
Thanks for the interview. One thing that could save the industry is kids bikes. My parents bought 5 konas one year for us and turned me into a cyclist. My siblings ride bikes a bit and all bought bikes for their kids, but none as enthusiastic as me. Kids bikes in the 200/400$ range would create new cyclists, and the thing is they grow out of them!
@@markconnelly1806 Yes, department store bikes that are crap in that range. Every toddler grinning from ear to ear on a run bike and kids smiling as they ride past kids walking to school would disagree with you. Bike stores can sell tons of kids bikes and all the accessories to parents who are cyclist and do well. How do you get new customers who buy lots of bikes? Start with kids!
thanks for this! It is encouraging to meet the customer's need instead of pushing them into modern prices, all advancements are not needed by all riders. I rebuild traditional pedal bicycles in Michigan most my customers are low to mid income, many commuters who use their bikes as utility, not often by choice. I often do Full rebuilds for $50 to $100, it takes 3 to 7 hours, but if they come back to me in the future its worth it for both of us, because subsequent work and results on a properly reubuilt bike is great. If they don;t though, its tough for me financially.
I grew up in a working class community. It supported a bike shop, and I worked 5 seasons there. This guy's approach to a bike shop reminds me of that shop. That bike shop also made most of its money in repairs, and focused on selling mid- to low priced bikes that people in the community could afford. I still prefer shops like the one I worked in. It was friendly and not at all pretentious like so many shops can be.
I'm a recreational rider and do my own maintenance and I totally agree with the whole disc brakes thing. As long as I maintain my stuff, it's rim brakes all the way. Never had a problem in the rain. Rode the whole five boro bike tour in the rain on rim brakes. My buddy has a mobile bike shop and he does pretty well. He does farmers markets and fairs too.
man, I've been addicted to this guys channel lately, his shop is very close to my in-laws, I need to head up there. russ always with his finger on the pulse
D
"People just want to buy a bike, not a culture or identity". Well said. I feel that here in France, it's very much like that.
USA is getting this way with everything 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻😢😢😢
@@No_ReGretzky99 It's why I left. The American culture is garbage.
@@No_ReGretzky99 Its because they have been preaching cosumerism for the past 70 years or so. At least thats what I think.
here in Germany, it is all about the culture they want to fit in : Ebike and Gravel is overwelming represented., Nearly everyone you see in traffic rides a ebike today.
Most people- I wrote that onto intentionally- MOST people in the area where I live ride on pavement and they don’t ride up a lot of hills. Not all, but most. Most people would be best served by light bikes with skinny wheels and tires. Yet in the 80’s and 90’s the bike companies told everyone they needed “mountain” bikes. They looked cool and also rugged. But they were heavy and had huge knobby tires. Not good for pavement. Then they sold us all “hybrids” that weren’t good for paved roads OR trails. Bicycling could be way more popular if the bike companies would market and sell bikes to people that work good for what they are going to get to use them for.
Who doesn't love a 30 year old Trek hybrid? So much of this video resonated with me. I run a small workshop from home and actively avoid the industry trends and associated malarkey. 98% of my customers are families who just love riding bikes and I really enjoy getting them back on the road and keeping them mobile. I'm not going to get rich doing, but I am enriched by it. Keep up the great work both of you and thanks for this video, I loved it.
Hi Russ - I was hoping you'd connect with the Bike Farmer so this was a real treat. I love all aspects of cycling but it's refreshing to hear someone talk about cycling for 'normal' people. Keep up the great work!
It must be so great to be so normal, so smart and so anti-everything. Really great to hear.
Been watching the entire catalog from Andy, The Bike Farmer! I love his style, desire to keep old bikes rolling, and he loves the utility of the simple machines. Great!
Excellent interview, Great things happen when the two BEST youtoob Bike Channels get together!!!
The "trick" is to have bike companies support bike infrestructure the same way car companies pushed freeways.
Now the car companies are vehemently anti-bike. They see protected bike lanes as a threat to their business. Since bikes allow you to zip through traffic without delay. When cars see empty protected bike lanes and segregated bus rapid transit lanes. They see them as parts of the road taken away for cars. When in actuality benefits move more people traffic than private cars with usually just 1 person driving a car.
@@iMadrid11 You're going to see transit organizations fight bike lanes and especially e-bikes in the not too distant future. When "the poor" discover e-bikes, public transportation is done. The public transit industry claims they exist to help society, but what do they build? $2500 per month apartments, called Transit Oriented Developments (TOD) around stations, and stations which go to sports arenas. Transit is nothing but man-made waterfront property.
A big YES!
@@iMadrid11no they're not. Car companies aren't lobbying against bike infrastructure. They're too busy lobbying to squash foreign competition.
I think you overestimate the the size and threat of the bike industry
@@holben27 im not sure about that...
Thanks!
The collab we needed! This is my mission too because you can have a decent bike for a few hundred bucks and invest the rest. Plus recycling quality durable parts is another awesome perk!
Russ, thanks for being such a key part of this sensible biking community. It was great seeing Andy on here. He's a lot of fun, and i enjoy his stuff.
The key to sustaining the industry is advocating and rallying for more bicycle and pedestrian friendly infrastructure; especially in the U.S.! People aren't riding bicycles because they can't! It's too dangerous. As a society we need to move away from the car centricity. Bring back our downtowns. Recreate walkability and community. Personally, we need to follow in the footsteps of the Netherlands.
Yes, and secure bike parking at shops…or I just drive.
Years ago we started a bike shop in Portland Ore. Two of us were bike mechanics and our shop was centered on repairing bikes and selling parts at a discount. We did sell new bikes, but we realized that it was not our main means to survive. We really didn't sell a lot of fancy bikes, just bikes for the community. It is an interesting formula, but it was easier 35 years ago.
I recently discovered this man’s bike repair youtube channel and enjoy it a lot. I like the way he talks about life and explains repairs.
Hi! Love your channel & been a fan for years - since you were in L.A. I've been riding various iterations of "my bike" since I was 5. Now that I'm 72, I've renounced cars altogether, and riding my bike is my primary means of exercise, entertainment, and running errands. It's been 5 years since I've owned a car. So Bravo to both of us!
The mention of the Schwinn Varsity...when I was a kid, that was my first "good" bike. Came straight out of the Chicago factory, just for me in a beautiful metallic green. I remember it well and wish I still had it.
This was a great discussion.
Bike Farmer, Path Less Pedaled, and Erie by Cycle are currently my go to cycling channels.
You guys get it.
I've been a serious cyclist since 1978, but kinda stopped with road bike technology at downtube shiters, and I still ride a rigid mtn bike (custom steel, however... very fun).
Gila Proven!
You hit nail on the head. Andy is honest, funny, and shows he isn’t perfect. It also helps that he knows his stuff around a bike.
Don't know how I missed this. My two favorite bike guys together. I've followed advice from both of you. Thanks for being on TH-cam.
6:38 ‘Practical bikes for practical people’, truly a path less pedalled 😊
Then where do the hundreds of "normal" bikes I see every week come from, if no one sells them?
@@gearmonger8616Somebody buys those bikes sold in the Big Box stores.
Great to see WI own Bike Farmer on with you. Very good questions Russ.
I keep my 40 year old Trek with a rack for grocery shopping and find no real need for disc brakes or carbon frames. Appreciate kindred spirits.
Wow. My two favorite bike guys in one video! I love both of you for different reasons. Keep it up, guys.
Fun to watch two of my favorite cycle youtubers chatting on here. Love the focus on practical cycling. Keep up the good work.
"Practical bikes for practical people" is something I can get behind gladly. I'm a relatively high-end roadie/cx racer and love working on simple cruisers etc. and do it regularly. I manufacture grips for cruisers too. Any type of cycling is good. Just purchased the Bridgestone font Partypace shirt 🙂
Been following The Bike Farmer for a while now. Glad you found him and did this video. You both are so authentic and down to earth!
Two my favorite biking TH-camrs. Appreciate it guys!
the Dick Cavett of bike youtubers interviews the George Carlin of bike youtubers. Love it.
Two of my favourite recently discovered TH-camrs, I’ve already learned so much from both of you! Enjoyed this chat a lot. Keep up the great work fellas, greets from Vancouver!
Really great to hear from another shop that is more or less a one person show - and are succeeding. Make me wonder whether shops like that (incl ours) are better navigating the post-boomlet waters than the bigger shops.
Thx Russ!
Maddening for me over the years were all the brands that the likes of Trek would buy up and slowly grind into boring me-too copies of the rest of the lineup before killing them off. Klein and Gary Fisher in particular stand out as really iconic bikes that just withered on the Trek vine.
Russ,Andy. Love both your approach's down to earth simplicity. Great idea for a get together.❤
At 58 years old, I finally decided to purchase a high-end bike. I've always rolled around on cheap Schwinns. I had my heart set on a Trek, Specialized, Gary Fisher or Giant. Oh Boy! The price of the base models! They must be making those things out of solid gold! Guess I'll stick to Schwinn and modifying them to my liking.
So you expected a "high end" bike under $1000...
Go to bikes direct. Or pink bike or Craig’s list where you can find great deals on used high end bikes.
Check 2nd hand 5 yrs and older.bikes depreciate quickly
You guys are a breath of fresh air. Real people, great advice and a normal perspective. In so many special interest areas people become esoteric, isolated and out of touch with regular people with balanced lives. Bikes, audio gear, cameras and musical instruments all come to mind. It gets so out there that customers just shut down and exit their interests. It is an eye opener when you walk into a shop with a focus of any of the areas that I just mentioned . You get THE look of the people working there and they size you up, evaluate you to see if you are worthy. As a result of that many customers just leave and never come back. Their interest declines and they just choose to not participate.
You both are rather counter culture and it's nice to see you follow your truth and sharing it with others....keep up the great work and keep offering practical offerings to normal people.
I loved this podcast, bike farmer is a class act 👍👍👍 Guys you are a diamond in the rough and take me back to cycling growing up in the 80s & 90s. Hand me down bikes, shopper, your mums, your dad's ig you lucky, first road bike 2 sizes to big so you grow into it. Steel is real, MTBs hard tail n front back...Oh those days....Beautiful ❤
Not sure about that - his comment replies on his channel are pretty childish and mean spirited.
@@cadriver2570 Is this true or it you expecting nice replies to comments that are passive aggressive just because they disagree and think you shouldn't be allowed to speak, even when it is the truth.. So what is this?? Do you want to back this statement up with evidence to a comment made for Bike Farmer that is genuine... Care to explain Cab driver??
@@THECONTROVERSIALCYCLIST Speaking of classy, nice reply. I simply read comments on his channel and his replies.
@@cadriver2570 OK mate no explanation for what you said but everyone is entitled to an opinion. So here's mine on you like you had on me...
You are either gate keeping for Bike Farmer, scared or just generally lurking in the shadows playing mind games.. Whatever it is upto you 👍
I'm with you! t's a generational issue/feeling.
It's funny to hear this as a dutch person. Over here a lot of practical bike shops for practical people is the norm and not the exception.
Few people commute by bike in USA
You two and Paul Suchecki are my favorite biking channels.
I always tell people when they ask if I’m a cyclist. I say nope. I just ride a bike.
Didn't know about the Bike Farmer and am excited to deep dive on this fellow Wisconsinite's channel! Thanks Russ!
Really cool to see this. I’ve watched quite a bit of Bike Farmer lately. Seems like a down to earth guy.
THere's a bloke in the UK with a channel called 2nd Life Bikes. If you don't know him check him out he rescues 'crusty' bikes and sells stickers to put on them, There's the three horsemen of the tube.
Gary’s projects - the fourth horseman
My two favorite bike curmudgeons on one screen! Love it. Excellent interview as always. BTW Russ, thx for the recommendation of the Surley LHDT and wider tread. I'm loving it. Def what I needed for touring.
This was an unexpected vid event! A real treat listening to you two. Thanks for what you do and this particular video. May the opportunities to make your dreams come true present themselves. I believe in that. Get ready. Oh! You already are! Happy trails. 🐾🎶
Great video. I think Andy has it right. I works for Wisconsin Cycle Supply/GT bicycles/Riteway for 10 years. Before that I ran a shop. We were told to force dealers into a mold if they wanted to carry Our brand. Suppliers would force dealers to buy more than they need to. Bike shops have become homogenized. There's nothing more boring than a trek store. Now after promoting these brands for decades, the suppliers are now screwing the dealers. They are biting the hand that feeds them. Andy is doing it right! Great video.
Love this. I had been watching both you guys. I also seem to like working on bikes even more than riding them.
Great conversation! I feel I'm halfway between you two & a racer. Seems like bikes got better & less expensive (when adjusted for inflation) from the 70s until I bought my most recent bike in 2017, a Carbon Fiber Kestrel RT1000, the last rim brake bike they made. Then everything went crazy price & tech wise. Basically, the same bike the following year with disc brakes was more than two times as expensive & heavier and things continue to get more complex & expensive.
Great interview. Bike Farmer drew me in with one of his Rando ride videos and then going over his equipment - later he gave us a chance to watch Dave Wages (Ellis Cycles) build a frame.
Being rando-curious means I'm not his bread and butter viewer but he hits some notes that catch me.
This makes me feel like suggesting 'Psychic Derailleur' as a worthy interview. He's backed off from Youtubing but speaks to the alt-bike world from/with a shop experience background.
Russ, you're an excellent interviewer! Great questions, really get Andy talking. This was fun, reminded me a bit of the Grant Peterson one.
Subbed, solid content. Watching him take apart old cup and cone BB's without talking over the top, +1.
I was shopping for a bike and one Andy’s videos was sandwiched between two GCN videos. His counter to “cyclist culture “ is so rare. Thanks for taking the time to sit down with him, he seems way more than just the character I perceived him to be.
Great conversation. Love the no-nonsense approach to riding bikes. These days I always have a smile when I'm out riding in normal clothes and in Party Pace.
Thanks guys. I got a ‘94 Trek 750 and another 8 bikes just about the same.
Really enjoyed this chat. Found it inspirational even though I'm not aspiring to be a youtuber or have involvement in the bike industry. My connection to bikes is as a user learning to do my own maintenance, my day job is in tech, and passion is adventure and art (atm primarily photography). I think I found this inspiring because a way to find purpose and direction seems to often be just stumbling through opportunities as they present themselves, and what ends up fulfilling is a novel(ish) mix of things that have mostly already been done by someone in some way. So cheers and kudos, and keep being inspired and inspiring! 🙏🤘
Nice to get together with the Farmer.
Nice convo with two of my “must follow” creators! Thanks. Cheeseheads rock!!
Andy is the man. His personal collection is incredible too! Beautiful bikes
You mentioned Oceanside LBS. That brings back memories. I bought a Masi 3V from Two Wheel Transit bike shop in Oceanside in 1985. I think they've been gone for many moons now. Oops, that might have been in Huntington Beach. It was a long time ago.
This is awesome. I used to ride a Sirrus. Carbon fiber, hydro's, 2x9, etc. I gave it to my dad a year ago to start riding a 1988 Stumpjumper. Now I also have a 90-91 Stumpy as a project 'gravel' bike. I don't regret rim brakes and 3x drivetrains one ounce.
Great episode! I just found Bike Farmer a couple of weeks ago. Good to get his insight.
Hey! My two favorite bike people! This is great!
As someone who has a very similar but different path than bikefarmer, it definitely is an interesting and very stressful at times life. I've always been on a bike regardless of the time of year, but an interesting piece of this is being a female doing all of this. Although I love to work as a mechanic, I will always love riding so much more. Thanks for sharing this video, and all of the videos that you spend so much time working on.
Awesome! I love both of these channels!
This is great! Love the Bike Farmer! He’s like a nice version of Durian Rider. That would be a crazy interview for you to get! Also really like your connections with Bike Sauce, Spindatt and Lockedin. One on ones with those last two would be great. 👍
The Riv cap was an instant clue that this guy was going to be off the beaten track.
Great interview 👍. Been a bike mechanic for 32 years. I really love working on bikes. Started in 92 till now. Just left the bike shop in was working at . Making a career change. I am still going to continue working on bikes out of my garage. I love bikes and do like a lot of the technology that bikes have today but I do agree that there is a lot of bikes out there that are way too expensive and complicated for most people. Bikes are an Amazing machine and it’s beauty is how simple and pure they are. That has been lost in a lot of bikes lately. I love building and riding frankenbikes. So much fun building a bike out of parts collected and making your own creation. I believe everyone should be able to have a good quality bicycle that is built well and is fun to ride. 😊
47:32 are they making durable bikes? my polygon frame snapped from me hardly riding it on rough ground or gravel. and my latest bike the rear freewheel pawl spring has bent causing it to slip when peddled. i was even more gentle on the second bike. so my experience of mountain bikes has been crap so far.
In a word..."Genuine". Thanks very much, gentlemen!
It’s not flashy but services are always great money makers
I agree that 30 year old Trek hybrids are awesome.
I've got a '92 7xx series bikes, which were built on the 520 touring frame jigs. I swapped in some flared dirt drops and fit some wide tires on it. My 2020 "gravel bike" has slightly wider tires with less extreme drop bars. That's what I want out of a bike: wider tires and flared drop bars. It rides a lot snappier, is more comfortable, shifts better, but I still ride both. You guys talked about the switch to "race bikes" and I hate hate hate that change in the manufacturer's focus and I'm glad we can get "everyman" drop bar bikes again. I mean, the "skinny tire race bikes" used to use 32mm tires, and we're just now finally getting "race" bikes that can fit something wider than a 23mm or maaaaaybe a 25mm tire in the frame, at a reasonable price, without having to buy one of those bikes with a 10 speed groupset with way too large chainrings and way too small largest cogs. I was looking at swapping my Trek to a 46/30 sub compact and the bike already had Peterson's favorite RD, the Altus, which would have given me a 30:34 ratio with chainwrap to spare. Then "gravel bikes" took off and I knew it was the marketing segment of bikes for me. 2020 bike has a 1x11 Sensah drivetrain, and I think it's fantastic value drivetrain compared to similarly priced bikes with 2x8 Claris.
This was great! Thanks for bringing the Bike Farmer to a wider audience. Between the two of you, I’m thinking I might need to put more time into my bike biz and less time being a wage slave.
Love this conversation, even though I just bought an absolute rocket of a gravel bike lol. But honest question here, are disc brakes really that much harder to maintain? Like if you are buying a new low-end bike, and imagine you have no previous experience with rim brakes, why would mechanical discs be inherently more difficult to maintain than rim calipers? I feel like most anti-disc talk is coming from people who already "know" rim brakes, but don't want to learn/try discs, but please correct me, share your opinion!
One point to consider is that most people don't ride bikes. Most cite road safety. Most kids don't bike anymore. Many companies focus on racers and serious cyclist crowd cause thats is mainly the only crowd buying many bikes and upgrades.
Yeah, it's difficult to talk about "where have all the practical bikes gone" while not talking about the true underlying issue, which is the lack of safe bike/non-motorized vehicle infrastructure available in car-centric cities and towns for those practical bikes to exist. This is one of the reasons e-bikes have exploded in popularity (and not just for squids avoiding working towards their motorcycle licence) - e-bikes, with their motors, are the only bicycles capable of meaningfully keeping up in mixed traffic, without asking their riders to become MVDP.
In Europe there is some bike commuting locally, but a good part are e-Bikes now, the rest are young people who will switch to cars once they have enough money. Decathlon and similar shops provides a good part of these bikes for the common man.
I suppose the real market is also upper end, people who buy the latest tech, higher prices meaning higher margins for the business.
Cycling infrastructure in most places suck! Our car culture makes people fat, lazy and angry!
Just started watching bike farmer so was happy to see you chatting with him. I agree with many of his rants about the bicycle industry. I like that you both keep it simple.
It sounds like Bike Farmer could make a fun video tearing down his first few suspension forks. Mistakes can be fun to watch, struggles too. It's very relatable.
I worked in a Trek dealer in 2008, and the road bikes were great(madone), but the mtb's especially the EX8 and above were something ground breaking! No longer in the industry but have a soft spot for more practical end of the market.
"Umpteen different options for that bike" is music to my ears!
What a great installment of my two faves! Would love to hear you guys chat more often especially now there's an across the pond aspect!
Wasnt sure if his mojo was offputting with negativity when his viral videos were made, but i love his restoration videos and i am converted.
You both are great perspectives for enjoying riding. Cheers ☕️
Great interview. I've enjoyed both of your channels, and this crossover was interesting.
I've learned a lot from both of you, so thanks Russ and Andy.
Great video, I enjoy watching both of you guys ❤
I thoroughly enjoyed this. Been wanting to get something like this is Orangeburg SC. There are no bike shops and the community is in need of a walkable and bike infrastructure.
Love your Schwinn Varsity reference. I bought a new bright blue Schwinn Varsity in summer 1969 (it was just about the only 10-speed available in Eastern Washington as far as I knew - although I think you could also order a 10-speed from Sears) and spent my junior and senior years of high school riding to and from school (2 miles each way, route flat as a board, with seven 90-degree intersection corners to negotiate). Riding hands free the whole way, even around the corners, was no problem due to the extreme stability of the Varsity. Toured a couple thousand miles on it during summer 1971 after high school graduation. Two buddies on those trips had Schwinn Continentals and a third had a SuperSport. I carried about 30 pounds of gear, food, and water up and down mountain highways in WA, OR, and BC.
The Varsity weighed 41 pounds with its chromed steel fenders and the frame had zero flex - the tubes seemed like water pipe, with flawlessly smooth brazed joints, no lugs, no weld marks. Ashtabula forged chromed steel crank. I'm sure I topped 60 mph with that 30 pounds of gear on descents in the Cascade Mountains ( I remember we sometimes put an extra 6 or 8 pounds of rocks we picked up at the top of passes in our bags so we could go faster downhill!) and the Varsity felt as stable as a new Ford LTD or a passenger train no matter how fast I went. Actually maybe more stable, because there were no springs, just the 27 x 1-3/8 inch tires. I think we met a total of 3 other bike touring parties in those 2,000 miles of riding.
Spring 1972, working on my bike, I had to go about 2 miles to a bike shop to get some part or tire or something. Asked a fellow UW dorm dweller if I could borrow his Peugeot UO-8 for the trip so I wouldn't have to walk. He said, "OK, but I'm warning you, you'll never be happy with your Schwinn again." I borrowed it for the somewhat hilly trip in Seattle. He was right. His bike weighed about 15 pounds less than mine and I felt like I might lift off into the air while riding up a mild hill.
I sold the Schwinn within the month for what I had paid for it to a dad who was buying it for a kid's birthday present - the dad didn't want to ride it, just wanted to see me ride it up and down the parking lot for a minute, I guess to make sure it worked. I bought a well-used American Eagle Semi-Pro from a grad student who was going off to Europe. Lively steel frame, double-butted throughout, Sugino Mighty-Compe cotterless cranks, Kyokuto ProAce pedals, and aluminum rims (a huge safety improvement in braking on wet days over the chrome steel rims of the Varsity, on which you could count to 4 or more after applying the brakes before any deceleration was perceptible.) First time I realized that Japanese technology was quite capable of putting the U.S. to shame.
The Semi-Pro (later the brand name was changed to Nishiki, as American Eagle was apparently deemed to be somewhat fraudulently named as the bike was entirely Japanese) was lighter than the Peugeot as well, and came with a generator wired to a socket in the stem, into which plugged an elastic-banded headlamp. Also provided by the grad student inventor, a warning to be sure to keep the metal of the headlamp off my forehead while riding down big hills in the rain if I didn't want a surprise electrical shock. I toured another 3,000 miles over the next three years (and commuted many more) on that bike and I didn't miss the Varsity's extra weight, but descending was definitely more adventurous.
Great interview. I’m a big fan of the Bike Farmer channel.
It's kinda funny seeing what feels normal and good for me is basically the stuff that I got into when I started to really get into bikes in 2018, so like because I got into MTB first, 1x11 and disc brakes are the perfect balance of performance and reliability for me, but I hate internal routing and electronic shifting.
Although if you ask me now: belt drive, internally geared hubs and mechanical disc brakes are the best for people who ride a lot.
For people who don't, I think it's all about singlespeed or geared hubs and dual pivot caliper brakes. I still really really love my classic singlespeed comfy ladies bike and I really need to get it back up and running again.
I hate “polished”. That is exactly why I watch your TH-cam channels. As well as Listen to live music and love a well used bike.
Great interview. Two of my favorite channels.
love his channel so much. great interview
This is cool. My two favorite bike related channels.
Great discussion. Our views connect from the get go. Enjoy your ride. The Schwinn Varsity was great, but I first enjoyed the 3 speed "English Bike" Schwinn Racer.
This guy REALLY helped me! Now I enjoy fixing my bikes and those of my neighbor´s! Cheers :D
Russ, one of my fave videos of yours was about Laura getting a custom BW bike. I'd love it if you could interview Georgina Terry, who builds custom bikes. This interview with Andy is a really fun and interesting confluence of channels I enjoy. I'm a fan of his YT channel too. Good luck, Andy & Russ, hang in there!
We've done an interview with Georgina Terry!
@@PathLessPedaledTV ok...found it & saved it to watch later.Thx!
Bonus video! …..from two guys I greatly respect as relating to bicycles! Awesome stuff! Thanks, Key West Rick
Thanks for the interview. One thing that could save the industry is kids bikes. My parents bought 5 konas one year for us and turned me into a cyclist. My siblings ride bikes a bit and all bought bikes for their kids, but none as enthusiastic as me. Kids bikes in the 200/400$ range would create new cyclists, and the thing is they grow out of them!
Department store bikes are in that price range, but most kids don't like riding. It's either video games or traditional sports.
@@markconnelly1806 Yes, department store bikes that are crap in that range. Every toddler grinning from ear to ear on a run bike and kids smiling as they ride past kids walking to school would disagree with you. Bike stores can sell tons of kids bikes and all the accessories to parents who are cyclist and do well. How do you get new customers who buy lots of bikes? Start with kids!
Great interview! Real down to earth… keep it up!
thanks for this! It is encouraging to meet the customer's need instead of pushing them into modern prices, all advancements are not needed by all riders. I rebuild traditional pedal bicycles in Michigan most my customers are low to mid income, many commuters who use their bikes as utility, not often by choice. I often do Full rebuilds for $50 to $100, it takes 3 to 7 hours, but if they come back to me in the future its worth it for both of us, because subsequent work and results on a properly reubuilt bike is great. If they don;t though, its tough for me financially.
Would’ve loved for you guys to talk about e-bikes and how that impacts the future of the bike market
Certainly better than cars and for older cyclists with worn out knees a godsend!
Most older bikes can be converted to an e-bike rather inexpensively.
I grew up in a working class community. It supported a bike shop, and I worked 5 seasons there. This guy's approach to a bike shop reminds me of that shop. That bike shop also made most of its money in repairs, and focused on selling mid- to low priced bikes that people in the community could afford. I still prefer shops like the one I worked in. It was friendly and not at all pretentious like so many shops can be.
Such a good conversation. Love it really cool insight
I'm a recreational rider and do my own maintenance and I totally agree with the whole disc brakes thing. As long as I maintain my stuff, it's rim brakes all the way. Never had a problem in the rain. Rode the whole five boro bike tour in the rain on rim brakes.
My buddy has a mobile bike shop and he does pretty well. He does farmers markets and fairs too.
Man andy seems like a cool dude to work for and be friends with very positive and love ghis channel first video and subbed
Just stay true and real to yourselves don't cater to others. The world needs more of this!😊
Bike farmer is awesome!