The behemoths like PinkBike and VitalMTB have been staples in our browsing history forever, and they really provide a great mainstream into the world of mountain bikes. But we've been particularly impressed with what the smaller blogs are doing lately, like The Dirt Tourist and Singletracks, along with established magazines like FreeHub adapting to their web presence with beautifully curated content. One of our favorites is The Loam Wolf, not only for their awesome platform, but also for the community they are growing that goes past the computer screen. So, we were stoked when Nic Hall of the Loam Wolf team gave our trusty Rainier IR and all new Loam Lever a spin on his bike this summer. Read the beginning of the article below!
I was halfway through a 10-day bike trip when my Reverb crapped out, again. Luckily I was on the way to Trans-Cascadia and was able to get a hand off in the woods. I’d been looking at PNW Components options as I was growing ever tired of issues with my current post. Issues is the polite way of saying I was completely over it after falling apart and staying at full height at the top of Double Down, which is a pretty bad ass downhill I’d just spent quite a bit of time pedaling up to. It’s amazing that even though we rode for so many years with our seatposts up, not being able to drop your post almost ruins an otherwise awesome ride nowadays.
Normally, I would have just hit up a local shop but I had to be at the Trans-Cascadia bike race the following morning and all the shops nearby were closed. I got ahold of Loam Wolf tester, Nic Hall just before he left for TC and luckily he was able to bring me a post. The next day minutes before the morning ride I swapped the post, which couldn’t have been any easier. No bleeding or mess. You simply pull the cable and housing through the frame, hook it to the seat post and boom, ready for action. From then on it’s been happily ever after... Click here to read the rest!