That's Aaron Goss, Seattle bike shop owner. We took the same train down and shared a motel room. Aaron helps calm some of my jitters about getting into the bike business. We talked about, O, patching tubes, adjusting headsets, trail and flop, the wisdom of the ancients, cheerleaders, advertising, culture change and culture collapse, whether or not I ride in the door zone, missing our kids, and how much cooler NAHBS is than Interbike, among other things.
I got a phone call in January from Jay Sycip. He wanted to talk to the Stokemonkey guy. He started to introduce himself formally and i stopped him -- "Jay! This is Todd Fahrner; you guys built my first custom ride in 1999!"
Jay explained that they wanted to show a bike built around Stokemonkey at this year's NAHBS, and could I supply one? Of course I could! The Sycip guys had first seen Stokemonkey on David Whetstone's Xtrabike, built by nearby Curt Inglis.
I saw the bike for the first time at the show, almost still warm from the powder coating. The concept is "two-niner offroad longtail Sport Utility Bike with heavy-duty integral racks front and rear." It attracted a ton of attention at the Sycip booth. The number one question from attendees by a large margin was "so it charges as you pedal?" Jay and Jeremy were getting tired of answering that one so I hung out a bit and tried to field some of the queries.
It was gratifying to see that many people already knew what Stokemonkey was about.
NAHBS insurance doesn't allow any riding, so I can't comment on that. Jeremy the builder had himself ridden it only long enough to confirm function; he said only that it was way more powerful than he'd expected. They did have it geared rather aggressively (38/16 on the motor side).
Sycip explained this bike as a styling and fabrication exercise, allowed to be more aspirational than utilitarian, like a monster truck. I'm a little bit skeptical of the reality factor of offroad cargo bikes in general (in those parts of the earth where roads tend to be paved, at least), and of two-niner cargo bikes in particular. I'd say the same thing about SUVs, and god knows they're popular. But then, i ride a one-sixer Brompton most days, often with an overstuffed big front bag, and I am sometimes mistaken for a clown -- must be the smile.
Scott Dion of Fraser Cycles showed his beautiful longtails.
Another mixte-esque longtail, S&S-coupled. I like the triangle bracing the stays fore of the rear wheel. The footrests are just like what Surly's using on the Big Dummy.
Scott's done a nice job thinking through his own rack and luggage system. Initially I was quizzical about his decision not simply to adopt the similar Xtracycle system, to take advantage of its modular nature and promote the brand/company that started this whole movement, but now I see that there's a unique functional and aesthetic integrity here that doesn't need to explain itself as deviation from a norm.
Scott sent this of the happy new owners, post-show.
Curt Inglis pulled off yet another mixte longtail full of graceful bends. I'm told the Dutch moniker for bikes in this format is "tweelingfiets".
pretty
Dave Strain of Jai Bike introduced a curious work-in-progress: a long-wheelbase bike with curvaceous wood fairing/cargo box and massive integral platform rack on the back. Tie-rod steering and smaller front wheel as on the Bakfietsen we're selling, but longtail-ish as well. Intended as a fast commuter or touring bike, I wish I could have taken it for a spin, preferably into the wind.
Not all that capacious. The wood is structural; the head tube doesn't extend below the deck.
Just because we love ANT stuff.
This has nothing to do with NAHBS, unless in answer to my sometimes skepticism about all-terrain cargo bikes. It's lifted from the Surly Blog, where Dave Gray keeps sharing the Stokemonkey love. Dave won this year's Arrowhead 135 ultra-endurance sub-zero offroad race, not with Stokemonkey. But he was back on Stokemonkey a couple days later for his frigid long-haul daily commute. Take that, you car-driving "bicycle assist motors are for weaklings" weenies.