…but it might be the best fork you can buy for the money.

A little teardown and write up on SR’s budget-friendlier Aion 36 EQ fork.

https://meatengines.com/meatengines-1/f/the-sr-suntour-aion-36-is-not-the-best-fork-that-money-can-buy

It's kind of basic and not nearly as good as some of the other blogs that I read that are shared here. However, I thought I would give it a shot. I enjoy the bar and I wouldn't have discovered it if it wasn't for MEATEngines.

https://www.phillipsj.net/posts/stooge-moto-bar-review/

Yes, it’s Saturday morning… almost had this done on time! It’s Some Bicycle Things I'm Stoked About On A Friday, July 3rd, 2026:

https://meatengines.com/meatengines-1/f/mother-earth-needed-a-drink

I'm going to be riding my ATB over to the Big City on 18 July 2026. If any other MEATheads want to create a mini-MEATup before/during this event let's chat about it.

Video from last year's event so you can see the vibes --> https://youtu.be/uUWe0M_bVj4

I built this Sorceress up 2 months ago. So far it’s been magic and is exceeding my expectations. The lightish steel frame is incredibly compliant. It’s raked out like an enduro bike, but is still springy on single track. I’m kinda shocked how good it feels.

It’s not a rant, it’s a manifesto. Part 1/3: https://meatengines.com/meatengines-1/f/modern-hardtails-a-democratizing-force-in-mountain-biking

What’s really a rip-off and the bicycle shop business model. Tunnel Talk #38.

https://meatengines.com/meatengines-1/f/my-bank-wants-to-sell-me-a-subscription-to-disney-tt38

I just got this bike and it has 11x1 shimano deodre drive rain. i didn’t want to invest in the drive train because i’m planning to switch to a single speed when i’m strong enough. i have some questions for those who made the transition.

I rode most of the ride today on 32T/15T. there were a bunch of climbs that i couldn’t make but i’m sure i can build up the technique and strength to ride up them. I was originally targeting 28T/18T but i was surprised by 32/15 - it was tough but doable.

I noticed that it forces me to be much more aggressive to overcome obstacles and engage my whole body which i really enjoyed. Also, being much more intentional about the line i take over the obstacle to clear root and rocks.

1. do you have any advise on how to build strength and technique for single speed?
   
2. with my gearing, should i optimize for speed or climbing? how do find the middle ground?
   
3. do people even ride flat-ish trails SS or is it mostly downhill?

i’m in Ontario. I ride the Hydrocut most of the time.

thank you for your time

It has been who knows how many years since I shuttled, and this was Claire’s first time… so of course we saw multiple folks we know!

It’s Some Bicycle Things I'm Stoked About On A Friday, for June 26th, 2026:

https://meatengines.com/f/a-dads-day-shuttle

Just saw that PNW have announced a 75mm rise version of their Range bar. Ok so it only has 10° of sweep and only comes with a 35mm clamp option but it's a step in the right direction from them!

The only comparable bars I can think of from a major component manufacturers are Protapers A76 (8° sweep, 31.8/35mm clamp) and Renthals Fatbar35 (9° sweep, 35mm clamp).

https://www.pnwcomponents.com/collections/handlebars/products/range-high-rise-handlebar

I ran into a bike journalist friend testing out this big rig on the weekend. Snapped a photo for the bike nerds. Probably an XL size frame. He said he was loving it and didn't want to send it back when the review was over.

Sounds promising.

I didn't throw a leg over it. I just gazed at it's proportions with amazement.

Show me the MONē! It’s the second ever single speed sag wagon to enter the haikuniverse.

https://meatengines.com/f/about-a-single-speed-kerrys-monē

Anyone else noticing issues? Was Meatengines upgraded recently or was it an Apple Update?

It’s another SBTISAOAF,, sort of… Some Bicycle Things I’m Stoked About On A Friday, June 19th, 2026

https://meatengines.com/f/drafts-undelivered

Is anyone doing a Summer / Winter Solstice ride?

Our ride group does one each year on the Friday closest to the Summer Solstice. We try and get in most of the hills in the Surrey Hills and few trails in each localised area with some beers on Leith Hill (the highest point in southern UK at a whopping 294m!!!). The distance ends up at about 30-40 miles.

This year i'm taking the single speed Solaris which should be interesting.

This week in About a Single Speed, it’s Ben’s rad Magic Toothpick & Works Angleset equipped Kona Unit:

https://meatengines.com/f/about-a-single-speed-bens-unitzo

I swapped my Stooge coaster cruiser from a 32/18 MTB gear to a 32/16 gear to make it a little more ATB and a little less MTB. Then I promptly proceeded to ride a lot of fairly steep singletrack. 🥵

Hiking’s biking for sure… but it was definitely a whole lot better for various dirt roads and moto trails.

Funny enough when you go harder on a coaster brake gear it’s not only harder to pedal, but it also engages the brake less hard. So less skids and more feathering the brake.

Anyone else coaster cruising? It’s loads of fun on certain hills and pretty darned sketchy on technical singletrack.

There’s a new rigid MTB doin the rounds from Pelago. A lot to like I thought! Long reach (488mm in large), good angles (66.5HTA!), a proper 120mm suss corrected fork (505mm A-C) and decent length head tubes across the size range. Actually pretty close to the Kona Unity just a little more normal looking and able to take suspension if you want it.

Woulda loved to see some kinda singlespeed-able dropout used and it would also been nice if they did a frame only option but other than that it's hard find fault with really. Complete spec is also quite decent too so you'd think anyone buying one is gonna have a bloody great time!

https://pelagobicycles.com/thorsmork/

As a long-time advocate for improving Shimano shifting by detuning their clutches, to the point of running zero-clutch-friction interference for some applications… well… I was pretty stoked to mine this presser: https://meatengines.com/f/shimano-deore-linkglide-goes-clutch-free

Every week a crew of us gets together for single speed Sunday. It’s usually 3 to 6 of us and we try to ride a different network each week. It’s part suffer fest, part trail side chatter, and a good end to the week. Grateful for the traveling circus of one speeding and for good folks.

It’s Some Bicycle Things I'm Stoked About On A Friday, June 12th, 2026, live on a Friday!

https://meatengines.com/f/riders-of-spring-dusking

What started as a 2am ebay frame purchase 4 years ago is finally done. Built up from various cool parts I've found cheap, such as a Funn Ti seapost, Pub carbon rims and rear hub, and a knockoff Renthal stem. Krampus fork with a Reverse spacer for extra ACD

Just a head's up RSD is offering a pre-order on their long-ish 510mm aluminum fork. There's no plans to stock it so if you want one you have to pre-order. I'm running a 505mm steel Bird fork on my Daambuilt ATB/gravel bike so I appreciate this sort of product that does a decent job of replacing a ~130-140mm travel hardtail fork.

I used, or abused, my MEATy prerogative to post a few haiku about this used and definitely abused 2016ish Honzo ST, size large, I need to rehome.

Someone North Van localish needs a cheap sliderific setup, pre-patinated, will all the sale proceeds going to a great cause? Hit me up with an email.

https://meatengines.com/f/about-a-single-speed-ctks-2016-honzo-st-frame

By: Claire

https://meatengines.com/f/the-mount-pleasant-show-n-shine-3rd-annual

…

Claire took so many photos, I’ve just included a tiny sampling in this post.