Latest / Full Spectrum Cycling / Weekly Dose of Fat Radio – Show #48 – Pugsley World Champion Jeff O’Gara

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Weekly Dose of Fat Radio – Show #48 – Pugsley World Champion Jeff O’Gara · Full Spectrum Cycling

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Weekly Dose of Fat, show number 48 for Friday, March 20th, 2015.
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[upbeat music] Ladies and gentlemen, from Fatbike.com's Radio Music Hall, we present a weekly dose of fat with those two cats from the upper stratosphere, Sven and Gomez.
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Falling from the stratosphere [laughs] to the table across from me, amigo, Sven. Welcome to the radio program, peoples. One month shy of a year all up in here. One year. Show number 48. Show number 48.
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And- Four dozen shows [laughs] We've got JK Livin' straight from not one, but two and a half St. Paddy's Day ride celebrations. Oh, yes. Welcome to the show. [laughs] The body is ow. [laughs] I'm all like, ow.
1:11
Our show is sponsored by Surly. You know Surly makes cool steel bikes, but did you know that you can save 150 clams off one of their fun machines till the end of March? Check out their super fan coupon at surlybikes.com.
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We'll even have a picture of it on the show notes. So JK, what do we got going on the show today? On this week's show, our special guest is Pugsley World Champion Jeff O'Gara.
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We come to the season finale of Fatbike.com's adult drama, Beards and Beer. We talk about the cure for mud season, and we take calls from the front lines of fat bike fun right here on the studio switchboard.
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That number is 818-918-2453. Our automated attendant, Ms. Filet Mignon, will take your calls at 818-918-2453. She's tasty. [smacks lips] Tasty.
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Hey, this week's Beards and Beer is sponsored by Uncle Dick's Bead Slip. So each of our call-in guests will receive a tin of Uncle Dick's special sauce. Bead slip.
2:27
So, uh, I guess the beer segment is cleaning out- [laughs]... the studio fridge 'cause, uh, I, I'm just sticking with the fluffer beer. I brought some Modelos over. I brought a five pack of Modelos.
2:41
Uh, this is a, this is a good can of beer. Did we have, uh, Inversion on the show yet? I know we've had Modelo on the show. I think that was one of our f- that was the fluffer beer from last week.
2:50
Yeah, I don't think we actually had it as a show sponsor, or a- Uh-uh... s- featured beer, but, uh, we did h- did we have the Nooner? We had the Nooner. Yes. Yeah. Okay.
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So- The Nooner Pilsner from Sierra Nevada So we're just cleaning out old stock. Cleaning out the fridge and making room for beer when Uncle Dick comes next time and brings his beer.
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Well, that's, that's the fucking way she goes, boys. There she goes. Clink. Clink. To Schoot's Brewery Inversion IPA. I just saw them on, uh, North Avenue here in fair Milwaukee. Yeah, I- Uh, delivery truck- Oh...
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over by East Side. So I'm curious as to what place over there, Hutch or Schoolyard or something. I think it's one of those two, but I got to investigate- Somebody's got some Schoot's... 'cause that's good stuff. Yep.
3:38
Yep. So after a little beach ride on Sunday, I came and watched you two- [laughs] Prancing around... dress your stuff on the- [laughs] Like a couple of ballerinas on a c- Beard cat- beard catwalk [laughs]
3:53
The beard-erinas. The, yep. I, we specifically didn't compete in the same category just so there wouldn't be any hard feelings. [laughs] And Sven, Sven in his rookie, his, his debut takes fourth place? Fourth place.
4:07
Fourth place. Yeah, I think so. Like- Although I didn't know it the day of the show... I burp and say huzzah to that Huzzah.
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So yeah, the day of the show they only went through the top three who were podium finishers, and it took until- I-... actually today before I knew. I was, everybody's like, "How'd you do?"
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I go, "I wasn't in the top three." You know? [laughs] There was 20-plus people, 22 or something. There was a lot of- Get used to it... was the- No matter what [laughs] And JK, what, where'd you come in?
4:32
You had eight in your class, right? I had eight, and I came in fifth. Fifth, I tell you. Uh-huh. It's 'cause it's- There's [laughs] there's shenanigans in the- Yeah... [laughs] in the air. I, I, I told you.
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It's a good time though, man. Product. Product. They're gonna introduce some products next year. I'm thinking tweed next year. Well, the previous year I had won the, uh, or they created a, uh, what, WTF, what the fuck-
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Yeah... category. Category. So first in that because I had the monkey tail that went all over the head. Yeah, they j- So [laughs] They, they didn't know what to do with that They need a, they need a, uh, what, not DNF.
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What's the, uh, the other one? The off the back one? [laughs] Oh, yeah. Dead last, uh- DFL DFL. DFL. Oh, yeah. That's it. Yeah, I've already- I'm very familiar with those.
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[laughs] Having done it twice in the Mario Kart event as far as I remember. Yes. Yes. It was packed, and we met some cool people, and there were beards there that, oh, my Lord- Yeah...
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looked like some guy was a young man when he stood with that beard. Yeah, Freestyle was, uh, uh, what's his face? Uh, uh, Cactus, Brian Cactus from, uh, Cactus Brothers band. Freestyle. Yeah.
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You, the, the fwoop, fwoop, do. Yeah. So do you- I'm painting a word picture, everybody. [laughs] Fwoop, fwoop, do... you know, do you think our listeners would buy beard product from us now that we've been competitors?
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Professional- Professional beard-... beards show-... competitors... showdowns on the catwalk. We know what we're using. We know what Classical Freestyle rules of supply mean.
6:00
As long as, as long as you don't wanna finish in the top three, I think you're good. [laughs] Yeah. That's right. We've got people that wanna help us make beard product, so. Yeah.
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So if you're interested in buying, like, Sven and Uncle Gomez's beard gooch- Super gooch... beard grease. [laughs] Oh, I can see a, I can see a session of making names up for this stuff. Oh, yeah. [laughs] Beard grease.
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Beard grease. So we could get that done. If you think that's something worthwhile, you should probably send us a note so we don't just do it and then use it all on our own faces. Yeah.
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I think I have a bottle that I bought that should last me until I... well, in a box. So you, my friend, have an ice beard contest- Yes, I do... going on right now- We do... till the end of the month.
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That's all of our con- That's a contest for everybody. Really? Yeah. You know, send in a picture of your ice beard. We've got Surly rims. We've got Surly Nate tires.
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Last week you brought us a Vibe flask and a flask holder, so we could even have a third place in this contest. You got till March 31st, so getting down to the wire.
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And you don't have to be, you know, this could be from 10 years ago. Yeah, could be from your freezer. Yeah. However you wanna do it, as long as it's a frozen beard. Don't forget, whiskerinas can be doing this too.
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True that, yo. There was eight whiskerinas at the beard comp. Yeah, and s- Minus your Chicky because she- And then some [laughs] showed- She didn't go. I got a great picture of her, by the way. [laughs] Yep.
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[laughs] Well, we will- I'm just in costume. I'm not really competing. [laughs] We're gonna be right back with Pugsley World Champion Jeff Ogera right after a word from our sponsors.
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[upbeat rock music] You're tuned to Fat Bike Radio. All right. Hey, for our radio guests that don't know who we're yapping with right now, this is the 2015 Pugsley World Champion, Mr. Jeff Ogera.
8:23
Yeah, welcome to the show, Jeff. Whoo, yeah. [laughs] Thanks for having me. [laughs] You know- It's a great honor... congratulations on becoming PWC.
8:33
What did you have to beat to get that or, you know, what did you have to do to achieve this level of glory? Oh, I had to beat the, the great Chad. [laughs] You all know Chad. We know Chad. Oh, yeah.
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He, he was my, he was my main competition. Um, Dave, as we all know, Dave Luns, he apparently can't jump worth a shit. Oh. [laughs] Sorry, Dave.
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I know I've seen pictures of you jumping on the coast of the Great Lakes. Um, but I don't know, I think that might be photoshopped. [laughs] Oh.
9:11
[laughs] Well, I, I think that both Dave and Chad are going to come and throw the gauntlet down- [laughs]... for some sort of a recount. Like, "No, no you didn't. Yeah, you did."
9:23
[laughs] So I, I- I thought they might actually be in... I thought they might actually be in the studio. No, no, they're not here, but they're, they're allegedly gonna call in. We'll see.
9:33
So is it true- I hope they're listening. [laughs] Is it true that Chewie found you as an infant being raised only by a family of badgers?
9:43
[laughs] Well, I am from Wisconsin, and there, there are badgers in Wisconsin supposedly, but I only saw my first badger when I moved to Iowa. Uh-huh. So I'm not exactly sure, but.
9:53
Well, some of the Badgers are seeded number one in that dang old, uh, round ball tournament they're doing right now. Yeah, yeah.
10:00
You know, I don't really pay attention to that too awfully much, but I did, I did notice that. Yeah. Wisconsin's a basketball state, but- [laughs]... I guess it is now. It is.
10:08
Once they're number one seeded, then everybody comes and gets onto that old wagon that's running down the road. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. So did you use a special rig for the, uh, Pugsley World Championships?
10:20
I, I understood you weren't, uh, riding your normal Wiseman single speed. Did you get a special bike to help you achieve your glory days? I, I did. I got a very special bike from, uh, Eric Sovereign of Surly Bicycles.
10:33
I believe it was a, a quadruple extra large Moonman... Not a Moonman. Moonlander. Ice Cream Truck. Ice Cream Truck. A Moonlander. No, I got Ice Cream Truck now. He's got a Ice Cream Truck. Stop him when he's passing by.
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Yeah, it was like- [laughs]... you know, he's 6'7" or so I guess, and so I thought that would be a, a great thing to jump. The bigger, the better, right? [laughs] It must have been good enough for the victory.
10:57
See, see, as I'm, like, 5'6", you know, I, I think the, you know, I had a handicap, you know, Chad and Dave, so. [laughs] [laughs] Just to make it interesting.
11:09
So you know, you were riding- Yeah, 'cause if I- You were riding Eric Sovereign's bike.
11:14
Have you, have you ever thought about riding around on Sov's shoulders and ruling Dakora like, like Master Blaster in the major motion picture Thunderdome? [laughs] Starring Mel Gibson as Mad Max.
11:26
He is that big, but I'm not that small. [laughs] We could CG that in, man. It'll be perfect, or you could just put your knee in a big sock, and we'll put fake- [laughs]... put fake shoes on your knees.
11:39
That'd be way too high off the ground. I'd be, I'd be afraid being that high off the ground. If you... I would recommend both of you wear a helmet. Yeah, very good idea.
11:46
[laughs] So since the, uh, the Pugsley World Champion invents the feats of strength and shenanigans for next year's race, maybe Thunderdome would be a good place to start.
11:55
Do you have any advice to say, you know, for someone out there among our listeners that wanna walk in your footsteps and wield the PWC ax as supreme ruler of chaos? Yeah.
12:05
Pretty much don't plan for anything and just do what comes about. Yeah, I think- I guess...
12:11
I think at the, you know, at the past events, you didn't really know what those feats of strength were and, uh, you know, being agile on your bike and, uh, just having fun is the way to go.
12:21
Yeah, and I, yeah, I didn't even really, uh, plan to necessarily do it so much, but it just kind of came about. It looked fun, and we thought, what the hell? Well, I think we've got a couple- Check 'em out.
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Check 'em out, bud... callers on the line. Oh, should we take a caller? Welcome to the radio program, caller. You're on the line with Pugsley World Champion, Jeff Ogera. Who are we talking to?
12:42
Do you mean the, uh, de facto cheater Pugsley World Champion, Jeff Ogera? [laughs] Oh, Dave. It's Dave. Is that who we're talking to? Dave is on the line. [laughs] Yeah, you out-jumped a fucking 200 pound man.
12:58
Very proud of you. [laughs] Well, I, I know that- Well, yesterday, yesterday was my day, by the way. Yeah, no, it was Justin Timberline's day.
13:09
I don't know why you guys do your dress up in green to celebrate my bike's birthday, but, you know, whatever. [laughs] I know Dave's been working hard for that 200 plus mark so he can be in the Clydesdale jumping class.
13:22
That's right. Maybe that's why I break frames. I don't know. [laughs] Maybe. [laughs] So Dave, uh, you, you advocate for, uh, your boyfriend, Chad, winning the Pugsley World Championship, correct?
13:36
Um, yeah, I do, but after talking to him, you don't seem to care too much about it, so now maybe I don't anymore. I don't know.
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[laughs] It's not like it, you know, it would, it would, it would advance my position one more, but that doesn't make me the winner, so it doesn't really matter that much to me. I see.
13:54
Well, how many more people should we invite to this party? Well, uh, d- we should get Chad in here if we can. Yeah, Chad. Where's Chad? Well, right now we've- I don't know. I told him to call...
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we just added caller number three to the chaos. Dave, Dave, call your boyfriend up. You may be on. Uh, I can hear you, Spinner. How's it going? Spinner's on the line. Am I on? You bet. Am I fucking finally on?
14:16
I've been sitting here listening for a long time. Oh. Yeah, three minutes. Oh, boy. Spinner's in the house. [laughs] Threesome. Coffee call, you know.
14:25
It's, oh, you know, it's Chewy and Chad and Lady Sovereign, and it's a fricking party. [laughs] Well, sure I can call up- What up, Meg?... Sovereign's house and kick him in the nuts and we'll get him on the phone.
14:35
[laughs] There you go. Do you kick that high? [laughs] [laughs] What? That's it, you're right. That was a kick- You said you kicked Sovereign in the nice nuts. You gotta kick pretty high.
14:45
You, you gotta take a step ladder over for that? Yeah, bring a step stool. [laughs] I happen to have one in my garage. So Spinner- That'd be perfect [laughs]... I know you were up at the Fat Bike Birkie.
14:55
Do you have a question for our newly crowned Pugsley World Champion, Mr. Jeff Ogera? Uh, yeah. [laughs] Oh, this is gonna be good. I can't wait. Yeah, uh, uh, how's that, how's that ax feel? Is it heavy?
15:08
There was a rule that you had to be taller than the ax. Did anybody tell you that? [laughs] Yeah, it, it, it, it barely comes up to the bottom of my sack. [laughs] Oh. Yeah.
15:19
That wouldn't be the first time there was nut sack on that ax. [laughs] I have a horrible memory of, uh, your nut sack being on that, like right on the top. Oh, boy. I don't know if I want to win that bet anymore.
15:32
As soon as, as soon as I won it, I busted it, I think, on a PBR can. Yeah, it's, it's, it's at the cellar still. I haven't picked it up from that night. And so I'm, I'm hoping Benji will put it on the wall.
15:44
That's a good place for it. Lars just, well, Lars just said he was d- in the cellar last night, and he, uh, was wielding it around, so it, it is still at the cellar. It's still functional. All right.
15:55
I think we can add one more to the chaos. Hopefully it's Chad. Who's the new caller? Is it Chad? Hey, what's happening? Ah, Chad's on the line. Hello. [laughs] Chadwick. How are you doing, Jeff? [laughs] Chadwick.
16:11
How are you doing? Good, man. You taking care of that ax? It's the real champion, Chad Wilson. Ooh.
16:17
[laughs] So Chad, Chad, you are throwing the gauntlet down, and you are saying that you are the real Pugsley World Champion? One would say yes.
16:26
Uh, I believe Chewy said it best in the beginning of the race that, uh, you will get nothing if you do not do at least one lap around Dunning's. Ooh. So that was the deal. Oh. One for the ax, two for the money.
16:38
So now, now not only did you just throw the gauntlet down on Ogera, but you also just called Chewy a liar. [laughs] Oh. Yeah. Oh, [laughs] Chad. Well, you know,
16:53
not, not everybody can have a good time and ride their bikes. Some people have to be social director, I'll have you know. Yeah. Yeah. Did you eat one of my brats? Yeah, respect. Did you eat, did you eat one of my brats?
17:03
Oh. Yeah, big respect. [laughs] That's a rather personal question. [laughs] Did you drink one of my beers? Yeah, I did drink one of your beer. So- Some of your apple pie moonshine.
17:13
[laughs] Let me just, let me just call order here, and I just- That, that was Chewy... I want to- Did I win again? Okay. We just say every, "Fuck you, everybody. I win." All right. Is that too cool?
17:24
[laughs] All right, quiet, quiet, quiet. Class, class, class. Class. Class.
17:30
[laughs] So I just want Spinner to give Ogera some ex-Pugsley World Champion to current Pugsley World Champion advice on how to handle upstarts like Dave the Puck Lunz and, uh, Mr.
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Chad Wilson, runner-up. I mean, in, in Miss America, they have like, they have the runner-up, and in the case of Miss America not being able to fulfill her duties, maybe that's Chad's role, but how, you know- [laughs]...
18:03
Spinner, maybe, maybe you got some advice for this.
18:06
The only advice that I can say that I would, that I have done is get really fucking drunk, and I'm sure Jeff did is get really fucking drunk, and I have no doubt that Dave got really fucking drunk. I don't know- What?
18:19
[laughs] I don't know where he fucked up. I- [laughs] I don't know, I don't know where he screwed that up. I'm sure there was no sobriety in anybody, so, uh, the drunkest guy wins? I don't know how that works. All right.
18:33
I, I thought that's what it was gonna be. I was, I was working for that all day, actually. I thought that was the competition. All right. So I had to jump, jump over- Yeah, maybe, maybe Chad didn't drink enough.
18:41
Chad probably didn't drink enough. Uh, he was riding his bike a lot, so that, that- [laughs] That's a problem... that puts a damper on- So he's got that going for him... that puts a damper on drinking a lot.
18:51
T- there's your downfall right there. [laughs] You know? Chad rode his bike too much. Maybe next year, Chad, you should be a social director. Yeah, second place and social director. Yeah, I think that's the way to go.
19:02
[laughs] That would be interesting. [laughs] Um- I'm an adult, I have kids, I'm not sure about that. [laughs] Uh, all right, guys, we've got another caller on the line.
19:14
I'm gonna, uh, let, uh, Chad and Dave go and- Oh, here's Chewy. Oh, here's Chewy. [laughs] Oh, boy. Maybe I'm not letting him go yet. [laughs] Hold on a second, fellas. Helle- hello, new caller. How are you doing today?
19:28
Hey, how you doing? This is Bill from, uh, Grand Rapids, Michigan. How's everybody doing? Hi, Bill. Welcome to the show. We've got- Good, good...
19:34
we've got chaos going unabated here today with, uh, Jeff Ogera, the current Pugsley World Champion, Spinner, former Pugsley World Champion, Chad, wannabe world champion, and Dave, who is currently muted because, uh- [laughs]
19:48
... all he can do is listen to the show. [laughs] Dave, who will never be Pugsley World Champion. Never's a long time, though, so maybe, maybe next year. Oh. Who knows? It could happen, Dave.
20:02
So Bill, hang on the line and let us, uh, let us figure out what we're doing with this Pugsley World Champion segment, and then we will take your question. How's that sound? Awesome. Okay. All right. All right.
20:14
Well, I want to enter the, uh, lightning round with, uh, Mr. Ogera. Oh, right on. How does that sound? That sounds good. [bell ringing] The lightning round.
20:25
That bell means now that we have entered the lightning round of the interview. Please, uh, Mis- Lightning round... Mr. Ogera, please answer the following five questions quickly, starting with chiffon or sponge cake?
20:39
Uh, they both suck. [laughs] Sram or Shimano? Uh, Sram. He-Man or Skeletor? Uh, they're both pretty badass, actually. [laughs] He goes, "He's totally both ways on He-Man and Skeletor."
20:54
[laughs] That sounds like, uh, Fat Miller High Life or Pabst Blue Ribbon? Ooh. Ooh. Oh. So who is the best bike mechanic that you know, and what shop do they work out of?
21:06
[laughs] You're about to offend a shit ton of people. [laughs] Um, my garage at 406 Mechanic Street. Oh. Oh. Ooh. Jeff Ogera's his own best mechanic.
21:18
And finally, Jeff, Thelma- Well, when you, when you ride single speeds, you don't gotta worry about derailleurs. Yeah. And I can't deal with that shit, so. [laughs] Yeah. I hear you.
21:27
Final what, final one, Thelma or Louise? Um, how about both at the same time? Yeah. Yeah, right when they're going over the cliff, man. [laughs] I would always go with Thelma, though. Oh? That scene with Brandon Lee.
21:42
Uh, I don't, haven't watched that in 20 years plus. Well- Oh... a friend comes in handy. [laughs] So muchísimas gracias for being our special guest. So do you want to, uh, hang out- Yeah...
21:52
and, uh, hang out on the couch while we bring in another guest, or do you have to go? Um, no, we're just gonna
21:59
loading up our trailer for our trip tomorrow, and, um, kinda drinking beer out in my driveway right now, actually. You guys are heading down to Asheville. That sounds like a lot of fun.
22:09
Yeah, we're going to Asheville tomorrow morning. Pick up Spinner on the way. Hey, you guys know Dave's late- Right... laid off for a couple of weeks, so maybe he can join you. [laughs] Ooh, what a troublemaker. Mr.
22:20
Puck is laid off, Dave Lunn's, for a couple of weeks here. [laughs] We're swinging through the area. [laughs] Wow. Yeah, if you can make it to Madison, I'll haul your ass the rest of the way. There you go.
22:33
I, I went on a trip with him for a couple of weeks down that way many years ago, and it was one of the best trips ever. There's some awesome riding down there. Yeah, David'd fit right in down there- Yeah...
22:42
in the redneck, redneck South. [laughs] He'd, he'll talk his way right out of a ticket. We're trained well. We're trained well in the great state of Wisconsin. [laughs] No doubt.
22:53
[laughs] All right, guys, I think we're going to say goodbye- All right... to Spinner and Chad and Dave.
23:00
And, uh, if you want, hang on the line there, uh, Jeff, and we are going to take a break, and then we're gonna come back and, uh, take a question. From Mr. Bill. Mr. Bill. You're tuned to Fat Bike Radio.
23:18
All right. We have a caller on the line, Bill from Grand Rapids. How are you, Bill? Hey, how you guys doing? We're having fun here this evening with the, uh, Pugsley World Champion, Jeff Ogera.
23:27
He's gonna hang out on the line with us and, uh, you know, maybe give a input. We'll see what happens. Awesome. Awesome. So Bill, you had a question for us. Well, I'm a, I... Yeah, yeah.
23:38
I'm a fat bike virgin, and, um, I, um, I sent you an email earlier today, and I, I'm a 45-year-old wanting to commute, do some trail riding around Michigan, and maybe some winter riding.
23:52
Uh, you know, my question is, is, you know, with $2,500 to spend, what fat bike would you get and why? Wow. That's a tough question, because there's a lot of good bikes in that range.
24:05
I think for me it comes down to w- what am I gonna do with it? Am I-... more primarily trail? Am I gonna be riding beach? Is it trying to be a one bike fits all?
24:14
And the other thing that plays into that is what's really available, and at a place that you wanna buy a bike from. Now, you're in Grand Rapids.
24:25
There's some great shops there, but there are just certain things that are available on the internet that a person in the Great Lakes region will not be able to touch, like a Scott fat bike.
24:37
You would have to turn yourself inside out to actually get one of those at your location. Right, yeah, or Norco or any other- Right...
24:43
there's a lot of bikes that are really good bikes, but just simply not available in our market. S- Right. Even a Rocky Mountain probably would be difficult to get their hands on. You bet.
24:52
So Bill, do you anticipate riding in really soft conditions like the beach or ungroomed trails?
24:58
Or are you pretty much considering you're gonna be on groomed trails in the winter, mostly commuting, mostly the dirt trails in the summer? Um, you know, the...
25:06
I would probably doing mostly commuting, groomed trails, uh, you know, and, you know, I would say, you know, sand. Uh, it gets kinda sandy in some of these areas. Yeah. I wouldn't say sand would be probably a lot.
25:21
So I would say, yeah, commuting most of the time, doing some trail riding, and then getting out in the winter and running. They- they've even got some fat bike trails around here in, in certain areas, so, um, you know.
25:33
And Grand Rapids is very close to Grand Haven, which has world-class beach riding. You bet, yeah. Yeah. So even if you don't think that you would do it, it's, it's right there, and it's, it's really a fun thing to do.
25:45
My- So, uh, how much do you weigh, Bill? Well, let me, you know, throw that in there, but keep... I weigh about 235. Okay, so- Okay, well, I w- w- Plus or minus six or one.
25:53
[laughs] I was trying to drill down to whether we were gonna talk about a four-inch or a five-inch fat bike, but now I'm gonna say definitely a five-inch. Okay.
25:59
So you're looking at Salsa Blackborow, you're looking at Ice Cream Truck, you're looking at Moonlander.
26:04
You're looking at something with a five-inch tire simply because you get a little bit more weight, you know, dispersion with that big of a tire. Specialized Fatboy. Fatboy. Uh, the, uh, Kona Whoa. If you...
26:18
As long as you think you'll never go to a, a suspension fork, because the Whoa doesn't have a tapered headset, but those are all...
26:26
And a lot of the bikes that we're saying, uh, that we're suggesting are just a little bit north of $2,500. Like, the... Well, you...
26:35
The Specialized definitely gets you into a bike for $2,500, but the Expert with the level that I'm talking about that I think that you should go for is probably about $2,800.
26:45
Yeah, the, I think a big thing for me when you start getting a little more expensive is if you go down a little bit below 25, a lot of, uh, uh, manufacturers are speccing tires that are less than the best tire just to cut pricing and get them below, you know, 2,500.
27:00
Say, the $2,200 range. You're gonna go out and buy some Big Fat Larrys or some Bud and Lou combo. You're gonna spend an extra 300 bucks anyway.
27:08
So if you're looking at bikes that have good tires to start, I think that would be a way that you're not gonna have to upgrade immediately just because, you know, tires are one of the most important parts of the bike.
27:19
What do you, what do you guys think of the Fatback? Oh, I, I ride a Fatback, so, uh, I... An aluminum Fatback would be a great bicycle. I, I don't think that you'll quite get it for $2,500, though.
27:33
I got a guy down here that he said that we should come close to 25 with the, uh, aluminum Fatback. See what he's doing for tires- Because I w-...
27:41
because if you compromise on the tires, I think it's gonna compromise the ride a little bit. Tires are a big deal. Okay. Yeah.
27:47
I mean, you know, those guys tried to do a tire, and they did a good job for what they had to work with, but in the end they decided that there were better options, and it wasn't worth their time to make their own tire, so.
27:57
There's a great, uh- Okay... there's a great Fatback dealer right in Grand Rapids called Central District Cyclery, and I believe that Nate's- That, that's exactly, that's exactly where I was, man. Oh, cool.
28:11
Yeah, Nate's the man. Uh, you know- That's exactly where I went... it, it, it all comes down to you dealing with your local guy, and Nate is an awesome dude. We've even, we've ridden with him. Oh, yeah.
28:19
And, you know, he's gonna k- kinda get a better picture of, of you as a rider and what you wanna do, and I think he'll... The recommendation that he makes is gonna be pretty good, I would say.
28:28
And that bike is a 190 Red Red. Yeah, that... It's funny you guys say that, 'cause that's exactly who I was talking to today, was Nate. Oh, very cool. Yeah.
28:36
That's one of the things is when I, when I say w- look at what's available, is then I say, "Where's your local bike shop? Who do you actually want to service that bike after the sale?" Right.
28:47
Because if you ride this bike in the slop, things are gonna wear out, things are gonna need to be fixed, so you're gonna want a dealer that is going to stand behind their product, and I, I think you're on the right track there.
28:59
Okay. So if I were... If he, if Nate was able to get that price in, in with the Specialized Fatboy, would you take the Fatback over the Fatboy? I would personally, yes. Yeah, it's a tough call.
29:11
I think the Fatback's just a little bit more angled towards soft condition stuff, and the Fatboy might be a little more angled towards trail riding. But they're awful close, and the... One of the most, uh- Okay...
29:23
enjoyable bikes I've ridden is Gomez's Fatback, and it's too big for me, and I th- I still think it's a great bike. But those Specialized Ground Control tires sure are nice. Those are a very good set of tires- Okay...
29:35
on, on the Specialized. All right. Thanks a lot, guys. I appreciate it. Well, happy shopping, dude. And say hi to Nate for us. Thanks a lot, man. I will, I will. I'll tell him. Cool, dude. Thanks, Bill. All right.
29:48
Thanks a lot, guys. Bye. What do you think, Jeff? Somebody's looking for a $2,500 fat bike. Jeff has left the building. [laughs] I had to take it out of speakerphone.
30:00
[laughs] I had it on speakerphone because [laughs] the captain's here. The captain and Lars are here, so if I'm just talking they're gonna board, so I put it on speakerphone so they can be part of the deal. Oh, yeah.
30:10
Well, you know, the captain's north of 200 pounds. Oh, Fatboy Ask, ask the captain what he likes... yeah, the captain, yep He's, he's north of 200 pounds for sure
30:19
The captain, the captain and Lars are both over 200 pounds, yeah. Do you wanna hear from them? Sure, let's hear from them. Okay. I'll give you the captain first and then Lars. All right, here's the captain. What's up?
30:30
Hey, captain. How you doing? I'm good. Uh, we just had Bill on the line. Uh, he was talking about getting a fat bike.
30:38
He's a virgin, he has never owned a fat bike, and, uh, he's a little bit bigger guy at 230 pounds and we were talking about some five-inch, uh, f- fat bike. What, what are you currently riding, captain?
30:50
Uh, I have a Moonlander. And, uh, if he's, uh, planning on going into snow and, you know, soft conditions, it's hard to beat the Moonlander.
31:01
I'm a little spoiled because I have a Krampus Also, which, you know, we're taking down to North Carolina tomorrow.
31:08
So you know, I'm not trying to compromise a lot between what my trail geometry compared to my snow geometry. You know, the difference between a, uh, ice cream truck and a Moonlander, you know, whatever. Sure.
31:24
But, uh, quite obvious, I mean, you know, he's not going to worry about being a weight weenie and I need carbon reels and I gotta have lightweight components.
31:34
You want something that's gonna last, uh, something you're gonna have to put up with your, you know, with the abuse you're going to have. It's hard to beat a Moonlander.
31:43
I mean, yeah, you can get a light bike but, you know, components and everything else... Yep. Yeah, I think what's interesting is that, uh, you know, it, you can't really have a one size fits all bike.
31:56
You really gotta think about, like you're doing, different bikes for different conditions. So hopefully Bill is somebody that, uh, I- is a, is a bike, uh, addict and has, has [laughs] other bikes for other purposes.
32:08
Yeah, that's kind of the, one of the problems.
32:11
You know, with the fat bike it's like, okay, am I going to go with a, you know, more of a aggressive geometry so I can ride it during the summer where it's great to handle, you know, almost like a mountain bike, or am I going to go a little more relaxed riding in the snow, in the, in the sand, you know?
32:30
So it's all different things a person has to figure out where, uh, the old equation is you never have enough bikes, you know, plus one. Yeah, [laughs] exactly. What, what's... Uh, can you put Lars on?
32:44
Let's see what Lars is riding. Sure. How's it going, guys? Hey, Lars. Lars. How you doing? Pretty good. How about you? So have you been listening in to the, uh, conversation with Bill?
32:54
We were talking about, uh- Yeah, yeah. So, yeah, you know, kind of what fat bikes to choose.
33:00
You know, I kinda went through this, uh, scenario last fall and, uh, you know, I rode quite a bit different, um, fat bikes out there. And, um, I wanted something that was...
33:13
You know, winter, we don't live in a bunch of, you know, beachy, soft areas. We have winter but, you know, I want something I can ride in the summer too. And I ended up going with a, uh, specialized Fat Boy. All right.
33:26
And, you know, I'm, I love it, love it in the summer. I can put my four-inch tires on it in the summer. I can put my five-inch tires on in the winter and get some good flotation on the snow.
33:37
And I think it's a good, uh, it's a good all year round bike. Mm-hmm. Unless, you know, unless you live in maybe some really sandy, beachy areas, you maybe want something a little more suited for that.
33:48
But I think it's a pretty decent bike. Yeah, those ground control tires, man- And the only thing-... are awesome. Yeah. I love them.
33:57
You know, but one thing, I heard you guys talking about, uh, you know, spending $2,500 on a bike and I've got the Fat Boy or the Fat Boy, uh, regular, and then I looked at the Fat Boy Expert.
34:10
You know, if you really look at the specs between those, you know, the frame's the same. Right. The cassette's the same. The derailleur's the same. The shifters are the same.
34:22
Pretty much your only difference is, you know, the Fat Boy has Techno brakes and the Expert has Shimano brakes and I think maybe there, the sh- there's different hubs on them. But really,
34:36
really it's not all that different and I've added extra little upgrades to my bike, like trigger shifters and a better derailleur to make it a 2,500 bike, twen- $2,500 bike.
34:49
So you know, I think in the end that Fat Boy Expert, uh, I don't know if it's really worth the extra money from the Fat Boy for m- for what you get. Dude, it has a- Personally... Batmobile paint job.
35:02
[laughs] Well, it does. That's what I... [laughs] If you're an Iowa Hawkeye fan- Oh, yeah... you know, black and yellow. [laughs] All right. Hey- But no, I, I think they're solid bikes, but yeah.
35:18
I'll, uh, turn it back over to Jeff. Okay. Yeah, we've got another caller on the line. We're gonna just jump right into that. Give us just a second here. Hey, welcome to the show. Who do we have on the line?
35:28
Hello, this is Chris Daisy from Zion Cyclery. [laughs] Chris Dizzle Daisy. Chris Daisy. Our musical director. Chris Dizzle Daisy. Yeah, buddy. What's up, fellas?
35:38
I'm looking at Gomez wearing one of your- This whole video calling thing seems to be working. I think we- Yeah. [laughs] Sort of.
35:45
Uh, we're- [laughs] I'm, I'm looking at Gomez wearing one of your, uh, your artistic pieces on the, uh, snow enduro T-shirt. That is kickass. Nice. Yeah. I'm liking your shirt, yeah.
35:55
In my limited spare time I like to, I like to draw stuff for y'all. Yeah. Good job, man.
36:00
We, uh, we have Jeff Hogara, Pugsley World Champion lurking in the background, so if you hear, uh, some grunts or groans it could be Jeff, uh, giving us a, [laughs] giving us a little opinion. But, uh- Oh...
36:10
you got an event coming up down there. That's all right. Yeah, the, uh, the Big Fish Beach Ride. Why is it named the Big Fish Beach Ride?
36:18
Well, we were trying to land a really big fish to come ride with us, and, uh- [laughs]... said big fish happened to have a newborn baby. Baby? Oh. Uh, and so his schedule booked up pretty quickly.
36:30
But it's not to say that we won't have him in the future, and, uh, as soon as that happens, oh yes, we'll have another ride. Awesome. All right. Well, I'm a pretty big fish. Well, the Pugsley World Champion- I'm coming.
36:40
[laughs] The Pugsley World Champion did not have a new... I got no new babies. What? No new baby. You gotta come down and ride the beaches. Uh- No new baby...
36:48
[laughs] well, uh, the, the Zion beaches are- No, there's no new baby here. [laughs] You're, you're probably not 60 years old, though. [laughs] Oh, no. That's the only hint I'm gonna drop right now.
36:58
[laughs] You have a new baby when that comes out. 30% of mountain bike sales will be fat bikes. [laughs] We- we'll, we'll leave it there. A 60, 60-year-old man. So Chris- [laughs] He's a, he's a hero to many.
37:12
[laughs] S- so Chris, how are, how are your beaches down your way? Our, ours are getting a little bit, uh, a little bit high water here. How, how are they doing down in Zion? You know, it's been crazy.
37:22
Uh, there was so much ice and stuff packed up all over, and then it's gonna be interesting to see what the sand is like and- S-... if we get little drop-offs we can launch off of.
37:32
And, uh, Lake Michigan does all kinds of crazy stuff to this beach over the winter, so, um, kind of the purpose of this spring ride is to go check it out and, uh, go have fun on it.
37:42
And we're gonna bus down to the Dead River and then head up north and hit up, uh, a couple of the bars that we, uh, went to at fat camp, right? Yeah.
37:52
Figuring with the weather will be a little bit, uh, warmer, we can extend our range and, uh, hit some fine establishments on this ride, as opposed to just, uh, the back of my truck.
38:03
[laughs] Not that that was a bad thing. No, exactly. I think we could probably- No, not at all... incorporate, uh, dumpsters, bars, uh, ruins. Flaming piles of tires. [burps] Exactly.
38:18
Now you're in the spirit of, of the ride. [laughs] Of the big fish. Absolutely. So what's the date of it, Chris? That's gonna be, uh, a Sunday, April 12th, at, uh, 2:00 PM.
38:30
Uh, and, uh, we'll meet right behind the shop there at Zion Cyclery. Sounds awesome. Nice. Will there be snacks- Nothing-... and finger sandwiches?... oh, awesome.
38:41
[laughs] We'll have sandwiches that will indeed have fingers in them. Excellent. And, uh, w- provide beverages. So are you, uh, you guys are jamming tonight? You, do you have, do you have your guitar- Yeah, yeah...
38:52
slung low around your, [laughs] around your testicles right now? [laughs] I, I've literally been shredding, Tomas, shredding hard. Do you get the Joe Strummer, like, low down thing going?
39:05
Well, let's see, two, two-thirds of my band rides fat bikes currently, so that kinda counts. D- uh, you should- We'll have the third guy around soon...
39:11
you should be starting a new trend of, like, fat, fat acid rock or something. [laughs] Fat rock. [laughs] Fat sack rock. Sorry, are you plugged in? Can you, can you just play us, like, like a 15-second riff? Oh, man.
39:28
Uh, let's see. I could probably go do that. I snuck away into a corner of my basement since I have a lot of band mates and three children in the house. Yeah. Uh, you, no worries. No worries.
39:36
I just ask for the impossible all the time. I, you know, it's an idea. But, uh, no, I will send you, I'll send some music your way soon, for sure, and, uh, you'll be able to throw it up there if you wish. Killer, man.
39:47
You bet. We love your tunes, dude. Okay, man.
39:49
We gotta get you down here at the, uh, we'll get you over here to the Chateau Daisy and, uh, check out my cool basement bar and, you know, have some awesome looking at some rock. Hell, hells yes.
39:58
[laughs] Let's do that soon. I know, I, you know- Absolutely... I've been really busy through these, uh, through these winter months, but my, uh, my s- my schedule slackens out as- It's opening up...
40:09
as things warm up here, so. Heck yeah. And, uh, I'm definitely going to your ride too, so, you know, we'll see each other then. Sweet. All right, Chris. Awesome. We gotta get to our links, and- See you, buddy...
40:19
uh, we're almost out of this program already. Right on. Thanks for calling in, buddy. Yeah. Uh, we'll have a link to Chris's ride- Awesome...
40:26
in the show notes, so if you wanna join us down in Zion, check that out and, uh, join up with the guys from Zion Cyclery. Thanks, fellas. All right, man. Talk to you soon.
40:38
So somewhere, somewhere in here, I believe we have entered the weekly dose of fat. We kinda slid right into it somehow. [laughs] You know, as usual, we've got links from fat bike, uh, lovers around the world. I know.
40:55
Chewie sent me this one from the young lady who did her first Pugsley World Championships, and she, we have to do something else with her. She's, she's, if Chewie loves her, then, then we do too.
41:06
That's probably a pretty good recommendation. Absolutely. And that, uh, fat bike adventure in the Canadian National Park sure looked good. Yeah.
41:15
That's the only national park in Canada that allows motorized travel, and these guys were riding snow machine trails. And, uh, apparently, they don't have any problem with it.
41:24
The, the snowmobile guys were welking, welcominging them. Ning, ning, ning, ning. [laughs] And that's the second Iversion, inversion I've made talking next to you there, folks. [laughs] Hey, for once it's not me. No.
41:42
Uh, there's a couple 26+ things going on. I think, uh, not only did Death Rider visit it, but I'm pretty sure we had something from Coast Kid talking about it as well.
41:52
Yeah, that's something that, that has been around for since two frost bikes ago. Yeah. They showed the bike, and, uh, I, I'm, uh, I'm truly intrigued by B+. I think that that is going to be something that is gonna kill.
42:07
B+. Not just for suspension bikes? [coughs] No, I think that, I think that it will work quite well for, for front suspension or rigid bikes as well. That whole idea of
42:22
It still has, it's the Krampus width, but it's your straight up 29er bottom bracket height. So you're not, it doesn't raise your center of gravity up. At least that's what I'm thinking it's gonna be like.
42:35
That's my 26.75 plus B plus fantasy. Yeah, you got a fantasy going on. Speaking of fantasies, your friend Sparkle was immortalized. Yeah. I, the, I actually have a painting of my bike. [laughs] Who did you commission?
42:53
Uh, it's, uh, Garrett Olsen did the painting, and, uh, we're gonna be making some stickers of Sparkle. And we got a really cool raven sticker too that- [laughs]... both of those stickers will feature our new logo. Yeah.
43:08
Thanks, Chris. Fat chance. [laughs] Yeah, thanks, for getting back in business and being rad and- Making-... making cool bikes, man... and helping us evolve our, uh, our look and feel.
43:21
Yeah, there's nothing wrong with change. You bet. And it's not like it changed that much, and I think it looks rad. So now you all wanna see it, don't you? Yeah, you do. Uh-huh.
43:30
Can't believe how much Bruce actually posts. He had at least three or four this week again. Boy, that guy does post. Well, all right. Do we wanna talk about, uh, NABS next year? Did we talk about NABS next year? Nope.
43:44
It's gonna be in Sacramento, February 26th and 28th. It's the second time it's been in Sacramento. It was back, it was in Sacramento in 2012. Oh, it'll be a good time to get together with the guys from Chico, at Paul's.
43:57
Yeah, true that. That's not that far away. [laughs] They're all giggling. They're all giggling at us. What are, what are you jerks doing over there in Iowa right now? [laughs] Oh, hold on. You can hear us? Yes.
44:11
[laughs] Hold on, yes. Hold on. [laughs] We got it on speakerphone. We're just listening on speakerphone, and we're just sitting, drinking in my damn driveway still. [laughs] And- Giving everybody a roosting...
44:23
Captain said something. Captain was kinda talking shit. He said something about big hands, big feet. And I said, "Big ego." But he's going somewhere else, I think.
44:33
[laughs] Hey, uh- That's, that's why we started laughing... well, we really appreciate you guys joining us on the show. We're gonna wrap this thing up and, uh, get the hell out of here.
44:41
Maybe we're gonna stop at, uh, the local pub here- I'll give you guys a spin... for a little post St. Patrick's Day, uh, massage or something like that. [laughs] Uh, thanks again, Jeff. Very nice.
44:50
Good talking with you guys. All right, man. All right, man. Have a good trip. Travel safe. You have a good trip. And, uh, we'll see if we can get Puck up there for you. Sounds good. Okay. [laughs] Bye bye. Very nice.
45:00
We'll see you guys. See ya. Bye. Thanks again to Surly for sponsoring the radio portion of today's broadcast. Surly had a baby, and they called it Fatbike.
45:09
Sorta like the blues done got pregnant and they named the baby rock and roll. Can I get a witness? Hallelujah. I like Vishnu. I like plushy time. You know Fatbike's got soul. Whoa.
45:27
Ric Flair style. Boing, boing. [laughs] See you next week, peoples. Bye bye. You've been listening to Fatbike Radio's Weekly Dose of Fat.
45:41
Find us on the web at fat-bike.com/radio. We'll see you next time.
45:50
[upbeat rock music]