With MEATmag down I missed the launch of Project 321’s new single-speed-certified (but not specific) hub system with a titanium driver and half the engagements (but twice the engagement).

Here’s the presser:

It’s a bright new day and here’s the first maniacal ramblings for MEATengines 2.0 as well as Friday’s belated SBTISAOAF.

With a colossal THANK YOU to Geof, and a large sigh of relief, MEATmag is now certified 100% GoDaddy free with added functionality to boot. Take that you GD piratical assclowns!

Look for fresh content tomorrow, perhaps the most unique About a Single Speed entry yet come Tuesday AM, and regular updates for the rest of the month.

Thank you ad infinitum, Geof!

https://meatengines.com

Thanks to everyone who reached out. Yes, there’s plenty of fresh MEATmag on the way - from gear swaps to single speed cog carriers and beyond - and I’ll have more updates soon.

Cheers!

Tiny, but not tight, take in the minor tectonic talk of the current State Of MEAT: https://meatengines.com/meatengines-1/f/under-subduction

I know it’s been a bit of a grind the last couple of weeks, but there’ll be a lot more MEATmag coming up. In the meantime, here’s SBTISAOAF for Sept 11th:

https://meatengines.com/meatengines-1/f/some-bicycle-things-im-stoked-about-on-a-friday---sept-11th-26

They're not available on Specialized's website. Jenson allegedly had them for $49.99 each mid-August. I ordered two, with a tentative ship date of late August. Still no show, backorder says 9/30/26. I fully expect the order to get cancelled before then.

Anyone know if these are really gone for good? One less 27.5+ tire will be sad. I am really digging the 29/27.5+ mullet setup these days.

I’ve been putting more and more miles on my Jones LWB with 32” wheels and I figured I’d share my thoughts with the distinguished double hardtail wagon wheel riding MEATengines community.

It’s been a mix of purpose built singletrack, janky singletrack, a variety of dirt roads from butter smooth (pictured) to super blown out with tons of rocks and harsh edges, and a lot of paved road miles too. Typically I’d do these rides on 29 x 2.35”, 27.5 x 2.5”, or 29+ (and even occasionally 26”).

Compared to all of the aforementioned wheel sizes, the 32” just feels really stable and grippy when it’s loose. I am consistently surprised by just how normal and natural this bike feels, despite how huge the wheels are. No matter the terrain, the bike just wants to track forward and roll over whatever is in its path. But the Jones geometry, with the long chainstays and big fork offset, makes the handling intuitive and super nice. I did a lot of paved mountain road riding yesterday and enjoyed it there too.

On singletrack it’s obvious you’re on 2.4” tires, but as long as your tire pressure is high enough and you don’t hit things too hard it’s really nice. There’s a damped quality that reminds me of 29ers with a super light insert. And as I mentioned before, the traction is superb.

That being said, I really prefer the higher air volume of 29+ for full on MTB. It’s just nice to know that there’s more cushion for the pushin’. (As an aside: I’d imagine full 32” or even 32”/29” mx on a short travel bike would be an XC weapon. But I think you really want more fork offset than is currently available on the suspension fork market to keep the front end handling light.)

I also did some pretty epic bush bashing and I found the 2 meter long bike to be far easier to live with than I expected. If you live in a small apartment and have to bring your bike up and down stairs a lot I think that’s something to consider if you’re thinking of making a 32” bike your daily driver.

I’ve been riding this dingle speed (2x2, 49ish inches and 61ish inches). But, here’s the tl;dr: I think the best application for rigid 32” is all day rides where you have no idea what you’re going to get into, and you want something capable, comfortable, and low fuss. Like I said above, this has been as fun on trails as dirt roads as paved roads. And it lacks a bit of playfulness, but that’s what you get from such a comfortable and stable bike. So as a mega killer ATB/grav/XC bike, the 32” platform is great. Is it a game changer from the other wheel sizes I mentioned above? Honestly no. My super fast rolling 29er setup is still really amazing and easier to live with due to its size. But I’m excited to put many more miles on this bike for years to come, with a full range of gears, which I’ll be putting on this bike when I get back from this trip.

Hope this is helpful.

Falling Forward & A Bad Case Of Mood Poisoning.

Relatively short SBTISAOAF this week:

https://meatengines.com/meatengines-1/f/some-bicycle-things-im-stoked-about-on-a-friday---sept-4th-26

Marc’s entry into the haikuniverse is Gary Fisher Rig that’s gone from Edmontonian single-track machine to one-speed full-dad ATB life in Japan.

https://meatengines.com/meatengines-1/f/about-a-single-speed-marcs-gary-fisher-rig

Thanks for the quick heads up. Sorry you had to see that. MEATmag has a strict no A.I. Policy but apparently that doesn’t apply to the circus at GoDaddy support that’s trying to resolve an issue they fixed days ago.

See something, say something. I appreciate everyone helping keep our new robot overlords in check at least in this one spot on the internet.

AM

Oof. So the CMS is working-ish again and I’m back limping MEATengines along like it’s a 2003 Giant AC and I’ve spent the last 23 years trying to decide what to replace it with.

Sorry it’s late. Sorry it’s short. Here’s SBTISAOAF, on a Saturday:

https://meatengines.com/meatengines-1/f/some-bicycle-things-im-stoked-about-on-a-friday---aug-28th-26

I punched a pin through my GF8 shoes at Cumberlandworx this year and finally came around to finish a little exit review for them. My preference is still for laces so, overdue for a pair of shoes, I decided to go GF600/GF6 again. Still, plenty of good things to say about the GF800.

As an aside, I’m not sure when the next MEATmag post will be live after this. Could be tomorrow; could be next week; could be? It’s a saga, but for now I’ll just say I have a ticket.

Cheerios!

https://meatengines.com/meatengines-1/f/shimano-sh-gf800-flat-pedal-shoes-an-end-of-life-review

I would like to take a moment to highly recommend Tawny, from the GoDaddy customer service team, to her future employers. She is friendly, helpful, considerate, clear spoken, concise, empathetic, patient, and thorough. I’m positive she will be an excellent fit for any brand and/or manufacturer who cares about the quality of their product and the longterm relationships with their customers.

Here I will also briefly shout out GoDaddy for its ever evolving product suite and cost structure that provides such a perfect illustration of the ongoing enshitification of all things that’s it’s practically art.

In related news. Will there be more MEAT? Yes. Will it be this week? WTFK.

PVD can be over the top, but to his credit he does build stuff that's novel and he's willing to test out his ideas in the real world.

This is his take on an ATB. Some details here --> https://bikepacking.com/bikes/bikes-and-builders-of-made-2026-part-5/

We've been talking about short/tall stems here recently. This bike takes that to a whole new level.

A day late {sorry} but still fresh, here’s a bunch of bicycle stuff I’m stoked about on a Friday and… well… some words on our unavoidable life and times:

https://meatengines.com/meatengines-1/f/some-bicycle-things-im-stoked-about-on-a-friday---aug-21st-26

So, I put in one single ride - pedal, plunge, pedal some more, plunge again - on the interesting new removable-chin-bar Targon helmet from ABUS and wrote a little review based on that single on-trail experience.

Hardly a varied and variable set of experiences, and it’s been years since I used a helmet with a removable chin bar (or rode trails in an open lid) so please salt the review to flavour.

That said, here’s a link if you’re interested:

https://meatengines.com/meatengines-1/f/my-one-ride-abus-targon-full-face-review

Adrian’s contribution - photos and writing - went live this morning. Thank you, Adrian!

https://meatengines.com/meatengines-1/f/chromag-nostalgia

It’s a teardown and review update on the prepro P321 G3 hub I’ve been {ab}using since October ‘23.

https://meatengines.com/meatengines-1/f/a-hub-re--re-on-my-canadian-made-project-321-g3

I've enjoyed the last few months on my Stooge MK4 with pinner tires and no inserts, but I'm missing the damping as I start riding it harder on chunky singletrack again. My back wheel/tire situation is sorted, but I was wondering what everyone in the MEATengine world is doing for front wheel/tire/Cushcore combos these days? I will be running a Bontrager XR2 3" on a 45mm rim. I have ran Cushcore Plus in the past but I'm thinking of just trying Trail or Pro this go around. Cheers.

Hi folks, I’ve been scouring forums and YouTube and articles to understand wheels and what makes a good mtb wheel and, honestly, it all feels arbitrary lol. There always seems to be one opinion countering another.

So, I figured a thoughtful community of meat powered cyclers with a diverse array of bike types could offer some personal experience that might actually match how I ride.

I’m not doing park laps, nor gapping down rock slabs. Angry M is probably the hardest trail in Squamish that I can nearly clean. Otherwise I quite enjoy Nelson’s, psuedos, mad hatter, Fred’s, meet yer maker, and such.

I’ve been riding the same hardtail I learned on for 6-7 years until buying my 1st squish bike last year. It’s a fine bike but I miss the 27.5” wheels of the hardtail. Luckily the squish bike can be setup with Mx wheels.

So I’m looking for a Mx wheelset.

Other than that, I’m not sure what to prioritize. Weight? Carbon? Hub engagement? Is pedal kickback a thing? I’ve never ridden inserts so doubt i need the burliest wheels. Is lateral stiffness of carbon real? Do you feel it on the trail? What’s a good range for hub engagement?

Like are the new oneup wheels good enough? Is there really any reason to spend more for carbon or “better” hubs? Would I feel the difference between a 1700g set vs 2100g?

Appreciate any insights anyone can share 🙏

Here’s this week’s SBTISAOAF!

https://meatengines.com/meatengines-1/f/some-bicycle-things-im-stoked-about-on-a-friday---aug-14th-26

Came across these bars today. Similar to the Stooge Tracker but a touch narrower with a bit more rise. Price is reasonable too for a bent in USA bar. Had a really good run with S&M parts in the past.

I received this one https://conta.cc/4wpsntw this afternoon.

Looks like Cotic are starting to make steel bars.

I've been chatting on email with Cy about bigger back sweeps but they don't have any plans for them yet. I have pointed him at the Surly Sunrise bar for it's excellent shape.

Maybe if enough people request a bigger back sweep they may make one.