How's it going?

 So far, so good.

I got in my first ride on my EVO Epic (or Epic EVO... I need to learn what this bike is called) on Saturday.  My legs were tired from thirty four miles in DuPont the day before.  My shins were splinted from the dumb run/walk home Friday night.  All I know is that I was had an absolute blast... but getting used to how these gear things work is gonna take some time.  Obviously, climbing is going to take some adaptation to and probably some different muscles I don't have at the moment.  That said, I forgot to put a wheel sensor on, and at about fifteen miles in (but not really because GPS doesn't track trail rides for shit), my Wahoo stopped showing my movement entirely.  So get home, go to STRAVA so I can see how far my ride really was by recalculating... and I see that I'd set something like ten PRs on that ride.

I don't normally pay attention to that stuff, and hardly ever look at STRAVA because my Wahoo tells me what I want to know (calories burned that I can replace with beer and food), but it was hard to ignore all those yellow PR medal things.

And that was without even trying because I really have no idea what's what segment-wise anywhere.

Mr Donald Butler of Bike Source said I'd have my first complaint in six days.  If we're counting the day I paid for it... here we go.

125 millimeters of droop was okay... ummm... ten years ago?  I'm using 175 or more right now on my other bikes, and this is currently the most "capable" bike I own.  Hell, my garvel and my bar bike have 125mm of droop. I've done the measurements, and I can fit at least a 150 (or a 170 reduced to 155 with a 28 gram penalty).  That's gotta happen soon.

SRAM brakes.  I'd love to complain, but so far, they work.  I don't know how to bleed them, but I could learn.  I don't like having to keep two different kinds of pads on the pegboard, but I could.  So be it... for now.  Also, new brakes are expensive.

The SID fork... just like the SRAM brakes... it works.  Well enough.  I'm a Fox man tho, and I have spare seals and oil and a limited knowledge on how to put them in the places they go.  BUT Fox inventory is limited right now... so there's that.  And then, if I get a new fork, do I over-fork it and potentially ruin a bike I kinda like already?  Dunno.

Wheels.  I love my Industry Nine wheels.  The lack of engagement with the stock DT Swiss 350 hub is... disconcerting.  Oh... that clunk.  I cringe when I hear it.  That said, money + wait times - settling - effort = ?  Also, I have no idea which color goes well with burnt Donald.

Also my droopy and shifty bits bang my top tube.  I've gotten used to my high zoot hard tails and never having to worry about this issue.  Makes me a little nervous since I done went OTB pretty hard twice this year in a manner that woulda really doinked the top tube of this bike.  Mebbe I wouldn't have wrecked on this bike tho?

I like the SWAT tool under the cage that comes stock with the bike, but no chain tool means I still gotta carry something somewhere.  Mebbe I'll wrap one of my tiny chain tools up inside my toob or something.

Other than that?

The bike came stock with some kinda X1 Eagle aluminum crank with a steel 30 tooth chain ring, and it's like the internet doesn't know it even exists.  I don't know how much it weighs, I think 30 is on the small side for an XC'ish bike, and because it's DUB, I can't put the new crabon Race Face cranks I still have on there without buying a new bottom bracket.  That said, they are pretty low profile and not too hideous... so there's that.  At least knowing that a new 32 tooth alloy ring will drop almost 60 grams just like that is comforting.

I also swapped out the stock saddle to an Ergon, the 60mm Specialized stem for a 50mm Easton, and I stole the pedals off another bike because I don't have enough pedals... or I have too many bikes.

Yeth, I have too few pedals.

Not too many bikes tho.

I didn't think I'd have room in my world for a third mountain bike, but I can still see where I'd want this bike, a long travel single speed, and a rigid single speed.  It's hard to feel like this piece of plastic has a soul, being that I have such an attachment with both my metal bikes.  I assure you that if you spend enough time walking up the sides of mountains talking to your bike, and you'll develop a certain unhealthy relationship with it.  This bike is a shit load of fun AND mebbe I shouldn't be romanticizing over material objects.

Mebbe.

On the plus side (since I dove deep on anything I might consider negative), this might be the bike I've been wanting ever since I bought that OG Tallboy a million years ago.  The geometry is so close to the Bronson (HTA, STA, wheelbase, chainstay length, and ETT).  It's nuts that this is an "XC bike" in 2021.  I had the Epic EVO (or EVO Epic?) hanging over my Vertigo Meatplow V.7 and noticed something that stuck out immediately.  Although the chainstays are only 10mm longer on the Spesh, the wheelbase is almost @100mm longer.  When I'm cornering, my chin is right over the stem where it belongs without even trying, and I'm sure there's a reason for it, but gawdammit it just works.

So obvs I'm rethinking everything I think I know about single speeds and optimal geometry for a rigid single speed VS fjorked and my brow furrows and...

I'll just sit on my wallet for now.