Like presumably each different one who writes about bicycles on the Internets, I just lately obtained an e-mail a couple of massive embargoed announcement regarding bicycles and LeBron James, and you may think about my shock once I realized that after the NBA he’ll be beginning a UCI professional highway workforce and driving alongside Mathieu van der Poel:
Simply kidding:
Although he has launched a brand new marketing campaign with Canyon, an organization during which he has an funding:
LeBron James has lengthy promoted biking, although to my information he has but to partake in a gravel race:
Or personal a motorbike custom-painted by Joe Bell:
Presumably he prefers to depart his customs unpainted:
It’s in fact a boon to biking when a famous person athlete and position mannequin like LeBron James professes a love for biking, if solely as a result of it serves as much-needed ballast for the prevailing notion in America that everybody on a motorbike is a whiny entitled dork, and perhaps motorists will even assume twice earlier than close-passing you on function. Nevertheless, as a whiny entitled dork, I’d be remiss if I didn’t complain about the truth that it’s Canyon he’s selling. I imply realistically I perceive that if LeBron James goes to get entangled in a motorbike firm it’s going to be an enormous one which sponsors professional groups and makes use of cutting-edge supplies and sells gazillions of bikes all around the world, besides I reserve the proper to want he was selling Rivendell as a substitute:
Certainly, for the value of that video alone he might have funded Rivendell’s low-normal rear derailleur challenge to completion and bought a list of sq. taper backside brackets, entrance derailleurs, and long-reach rim brakes that will carry tjhe world’s retrogrouches via at the least 2030.
However hey, I suppose if it must be Canyon it must be Canyon.
Talking of collaborations, since receiving a ticket in 2018 I’ve been identified informally as “Tan Tenovo:”
It is because I used to be driving a Renovo Aerowood on the time, which the officer famous on the ticket as a “Tan Tenovo:”
And no, this error was inadequate for me to get the ticket dismissed.
In any case, as a biking blogger of observe (even when that observe is often “Give it up already”) I’m lengthy overdue to launch my very own line of bicycles, and so I’m happy to lastly announce the official launch of my signature mannequin bike, the TANWPN:
“TAN” is in fact a nod to my post-ticket moniker, and WPN is simply the phrase “Weapon” in gravelese–and a high-quality gravel bike it’s, too, with disc brakes and the whole lot:
The idea right here is “trendy traditional,” and in designing the bike I took pains to include nods to a few of my favourite iconic bicycles. For instance, I’ve lengthy admired Trek’s Perform Particular Design:
However since I couldn’t simply steal that I went with “New Design Bike” as a substitute:
I’ve additionally been vastly having fun with the LeMond Tete de Course:
By combining titanium and carbon, Trek engineers got here up with what they referred to as “Backbone” know-how and singlehandedly resolved a dilemma that had been taunting dentists for years:
Sadly neither carbon nor titanium was within the finances right here at Tan Tenovo World Headquarters, and so the very best we might do was make it out of low-cost metal and name it the “Spino:”
Additionally, we’re calling it carbon as a result of technically metal does comprise carbon:
To date we’ve despatched it out to some key influencers, and the suggestions has been phenomenal, with riders declaring that it “corners prefer it’s on rails”–at the least once you keep in mind to flip the kickstand up:
We additionally put an incredible quantity of thought and consideration into cockpit curation:
Some individuals needed downtube shifters, others needed bar-ends, and nonetheless others needed built-in shifters. It’s been stated that the very best compromise is when everyone seems to be dissatisfied, and so in that spirit we went with the 7-speed prime mount set off shifters:
Eat your coronary heart out, LeBron.
