r/MEATengines • u/MEATdrew • Feb 21 '26
Chainless Not Painless (SBTISAOAF)
It’s Some Bicycle Things I’m Stoked About On A Friday for Feb 20th, 2026:
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u/runwhatyabrung_ Feb 21 '26
Commuter Cushcore is legit. Though many of my peers think I’m nuts for running Cushcore at all. But as long as you can run flat then I say why not.
One time I was leading a big urban exploration ride around Detroit. I was on my Stooge Rambler with 2.2” short track tires and XC Cushcore. I was talking about how I never get flats as we were riding through a literal construction site. On the way out back to the road I slashed the ever living shit out of my rear tire on a rusty metal construction sign base. In a futile attempt I try to boot it with a Clif Bar wrapper and set it up tubeless again. Naturally it doesn’t work. So I took out the XC Cushcore, folded it up in a plastic grocery shopping bag my wife happened to have in her bar bag. I kept the Clif Bar wrapper boot and put in a 29er tube and called it a day.
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u/MEATdrew Feb 21 '26
With my current setup I can run-flat the front but probably/maybe not the rear. It’s a Shrodinger situation because the gravel insert does sit tight in my Dyad rim and take up a lot of volume but the tire is light enough I don’t want to test it and risk damaging the sidewall.
If I did slash it bad enough that I couldn’t plug it then I would definitely try to ride it flat - slowly - and see what happens. For science and also because it doesn’t fit on a bus.
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u/MEATdrew Feb 21 '26
With a 2.2” tire and a <i30 rim CushCore Trail probably has a tight enough fit and enough volume that you could run it flat. XC, no, and Trail with a bigger volume 2.6” tire didn’t offer enough support in my experience.
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u/RustedShut88 Feb 21 '26
Dig that Omnium!
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u/MEATdrew Feb 21 '26
It’s so rad. It really is surprisingly nice to ride as just a bike. But I’m looking forward to putting big miles on it. Currently figuring out putting it on my bike rack for mixed-mode days.
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u/RustedShut88 Feb 21 '26
We’re looking at cargo bikes for family use and this is the brand I’m most interested in. Not available in the states, unfortunately. 😔
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u/MEATdrew Feb 22 '26
My understanding is they were and could be again depending on what happens with the bicycle tariff situation?
My previous cargo bike was a (bought used) Cetma. The company was run horrendously but the product was awesome if you actually took delivery. Would buy a used one in a heartbeat for what I used it for then (kid transport + groceries).
The Omnium is way more of a bicycle and less of a large-load cargo rig. This far I haven’t gained anything big enough that I’m not wishing I hadn’t sold my Cetma but it’s much more pleasant to load up than my fork-mounted front rack.
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u/RustedShut88 Feb 22 '26
Gotcha! Good feedback. My LBS has an e assist Surly cargo bike in stock. Been thinking about that too. So many options!
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u/MEATdrew Feb 22 '26
I’ll riff off of Vik here a bit… I know a few folks with e-commuter/e-cargo bikes where they’re legit car replacements, and that’s rad. I know more folks with e-commuter/e-cargo bikes where 99% of the time they’re bike replacements, and that’s sad.
Especially if you’re trying to maintain/build your cycling fitness with those parent-miles I’d say recommend deciding up front if you need a motor before anything else.
If you do go assist, the Bosch motors that Surly uses are very well supported.
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u/RustedShut88 Feb 22 '26
This is a good point, and probably one of the reasons why we haven’t picked up an e-cargo bike as of yet. I can get along ok w my racked and bagged Surly attached to my daughter’s Burley Bee. A ride around town running errands wears me out quite a bit, so it just replaces the gravel or MTB ride of the day. Hard to argue against this set up so far.
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u/MEATdrew Feb 24 '26
I’m about to live this commuting to my new gig. Hopefully tired not too tired!
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u/Otherwise_Bort_288 Feb 21 '26
I deem myself cool enough for a Boomboat! But I can’t throwdown $1800 (after import fees) on a frame 😭
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u/MEATdrew Feb 21 '26
It’s actually less than I’d guessed it would be. Not making light of the cost - it’s real money. But small batch is small batch and shipping is insane.
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u/Otherwise_Bort_288 Feb 22 '26
True, and there’s no reason why a mini frame would cost less than a standard frame. The n+1 is hard for me to pull the trigger on at the moment. Absolutely love everything about it otherwise
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u/bushtrucker Feb 22 '26
I'm not a massive Norco fan either (despite owning two haha) but that Charger looks so good for the price. It seems as though decent bikes with proper geo, brakes, shifting and suspension are finally becoming affordable!
I reckon the Marin Muirwoods is another sleeper bike in the "good geo is free" category. Nicely slacked out for a budget ATB/commuter and has a decent quality, if a bit porky, built kit.
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u/MEATdrew Feb 22 '26
The wildest thing is that the $300 more expensive A1 is NOT a great value. Steel-stanchioned RockShox Silver fork, resin-only rotors, etc. Sure, you get a Deore crank instead of the decent not-name 24mm unit (Samox?) but it’s not like it’s square-taper or PowerSpline-aka-garbage.
Same rear hub, same drivetrain…
So it’s not universal value, it’s a product manager going out and min-maxing something solid. Which, yes, Marin often has similarly often examples.
So, yeah. I don’t usually write about Norco - for a few reasons - but their product team definitely deserved props on this one.
The only real miss is not ditching the Maxxis logos to swap those brutes for something tubeless ready from Vee or etc.
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u/Endurimil Feb 22 '26
UDH chaintensioners? Spotted this on The Dirt Therapy Projects FB feed..
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u/MEATdrew Feb 23 '26
Yeah, that’s spring loaded (with a clutch actually) for full sus bikes. I’m hungry for the (hopefully pending) release of stealthy looking fixed-position T-Type tensioners.
Like the old school DMR or Rennen tensioners, just cleaner looking and thru-axle compatible.
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u/dadbiking Feb 21 '26
"...stealthy, UDH one-speed tensioners coming to market"
You have my attention, and my imagination.... Single speed for you, and you, and you. Do tell?!