The Anti-Intellectualism of the Silicon Valley Elite How the self-styled know-it-alls atop the knowledge economy want to dismantle the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake

“The tech oligarchs have somehow managed to enshittify thinking.” A bleak, although insightful article, but use the reader view for this disaster of a site. www.thenation.com/article/soci...

A dirty yellow Kona Unit rigid singlespeed MTB leaning against a white roller door.

My '09 #KonaBikes Unit. A #steel #rigid #29er #singlespeed with a #dropper and carbon wheels??? 🤯 About 10 years in its current configuration, many times cracked, many times fixed, doesn't need a fork/shock service every 50 hours, very fun and still one of my favourites.

1979 Charlie Cunningham CCPROTO: Two-Wheeled Prometheus – Tasshi Dennis & John Watson The CCPROTO represents the genesis of a Promethean figure within the world of bicycle design and fabrication.  Back in the 1970s, Charlie Cunningham took a break from modifying ultralight-weight weeni...

Great piece on the #charlie-cunningham #CCPROTO #DropbarMTB over on #theradavist. The linked article in the last paragraph on Cunningham's #29er is also worth a read. theradavist.com/1979-charlie...

Beautiful external cable routing on an old StumpJumper MTB

It looks like #hookless rims may be on the way out (www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftRD...), at least according to Josh Poertner at #Silca. Now, can we now do the same for internal headset cable routing?

CrashDash - making crash stats accessible for everyone Val and Faith are joined in the studio by Anthony Aisenberg of CrowdLab. We all share our bike moments before taking a look at some very exciting news; firstly the completion of the Gipps Street ramp ...

Great interview with the creator of #BikeSpot (www.bikespot.org) and #CrashDash (crashdash.crowdlab.com.au/app) on the #YarraBUG on #3CR. #melbourne #cycling #safestreets www.3cr.org.au/yarrabug/episode/crashdash-making-crash-stats-accessible-everyone

VicBUG App - App Store Download VicBUG by Vincent Masci on the App Store. See screenshots, ratings and reviews, user tips and more games like VicBUG.

#VicBUG is a promising new routing app that emphasises #cyclinginfrastructure type. #cycling #safestreets #Melbourne and iOS only: apps.apple.com/au/app/vicbu...

Beginning of the end for EV drivers’ free ride on road charges Jim Chalmers and the states did not specify how a new levy would work, but their statement said it should be “as simple as possible”.

Policy that disincentivises EV uptake is counterproductive and an at odds with reality. Claiming EV drivers are getting a 'free ride' ignores the massive externalities and cost of burning fossil fuels. This headline is intellectually dishonest. #carbontax www.theage.com.au/politics/fed...

A rainbow over the Melbourne CBD

#Rainbow over #Melbourne #Naarm taken from the #YarraBlvd while riding home in the rain today

A bar plot showing my relative levels of interest in various trends in cycling

I think this divergent #colorbrewer palette is more appropriate.

A bar plot showing my relative levels of interest in various trends in cycling

I was listening to this week’s Geek Warning from the @escapecollective.bsky.social and thinking about the current trends in cycling and my levels of interest. And speaking of trends, I vibe-coded my thoughts into this R/ggplot plot using Claude 4. #bikesky #cycling #bikepacking #gravel #chainwaxing

2001 Gunnar Crosshairs with bike packing bags on a platform at Rosanna Metro station in Melbourne, Australia.

Great interview from James Huang with Richard Schwinn about #Gunnar / #Waterford history and what’s next. My 2001 Crosshairs a few years ago at a Metro station in Melbourne on a bike packing ride to Warrnambool. #cycling #gravel #bikepacking

The interview: nminus1bikes.substack.com/p/podcast-ri...

FlowBack | Shimano XTR - The Story So Far From polished M900 to 12-speed, we trace Shimano XTR’s evolution through tech leaps, rider insights, and 30+ years of MTB racing history.

flowmountainbike.com/features/flo...

Shimano XTR M985 rear derailleur with a Wolf Tooth Goatlink

The best kind of #cycling journalism. #bikesky #flowmtb #shimano #xtr

flowmountainbike.com/features/flo...

Waterford and Gunnar are revived under new owners The legacy American brands will be part of Abra-Cadabra Fabrication's growing Durango, CO-based framebuilding operation.

More at @escapecollective.bsky.social escapecollective.com/waterford-an...

Top down view of a 2001 Gunnar Crosshairs on a dirt path

Great news over at @theradavist regarding #gunnarcycles! I’m interested to see how they go with the custom paint options. #gunnarcrosshairs

theradavist.com/waterford-an...

How China is controlling the world’s rare earths trade China is targeting a vulnerability in the United States with a strike in Trump’s tariffs war that was decades in the making.

What happens when naive tariffs prompt an idiotic trade war limiting U.S. access to rare earth metals?
tinyurl.com/bdvs5dyn

A directly-linked result is a new product that cannot be made in the U.S. (see above) is available worldwide, except in the U.S. youtu.be/VKz5J5PPt-Q

[insert inflation joke]

Bikes in the Age of Tariffs Today's post was going to be about a new product we're introducing—but we need to hold off while we recalculate our prices. You've probably seen the news: Virtually all imports into the United States ...

This is a more detailed discussion of the current and potential future effects of tariffs on the different segments of the cycling industry. www.renehersecycles.com/bikes-in-the...

Bikes in the Age of Tariffs Today's post was going to be about a new product we're introducing—but we need to hold off while we recalculate our prices. You've probably seen the news: Virtually all imports into the United States ...

This is a quite detailed discussion from Jan Heine at Rene Herse on the effects of the recent tariffs on the bike industry, much of which likely applies to many other sectors. It focuses on the U.S., but includes implications for those around the world.

www.renehersecycles.com/bikes-in-the...

‘We need a plan B’: Admiral’s call for AUKUS rethink over unreliable Trump Former Defence Force chief Chris Barrie says he has watched with alarm as the US president upends traditional alliances.

www.theage.com.au/politics/fed...

Too many MTB tyres on a shelf and evidence of a bad habit.

Great writeup comparing a range of Maxxis #MTB tyres from #flowmountainbike mag. I've ridden most of these and always appreciate more tyre perspectives. My current pick for summer Melbourne singletrack: Rekon MaxxTerra 3C 29x2.6/Rekon Race 29x2.4 (F/R)
flowmountainbike.com/tests/maxxis...

'Arrogance is astounding': Microsoft hikes subscription prices causing consumer backlash Microsoft has increased the price of its Microsoft 365 subscriptions, which it says has new AI features, but the price hike caused consumer outrage.

www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02...

Don’t like #Copilot, or perhaps just the $40AUD/year increase on #Microsoft 365? You can opt out.

Downgrade to Microsoft 365 Classic: support.microsoft.com/en-us/office...

A yellow Kona Unit Singlespeed on a bridge over the Belair line train tracks near Belair National Park in South Australia.

A silly mountain bike with drop bars on a gravel path

Unironically listening to @escapecollective.bsky.social Ronan’s AeroCoach interviews on a ride last night. I see some opportunities for improvement. #aeroiseverything #gravel #dropbarmtb #cycling

A Gevenalle GX level and shifter on a bike in the bush.

There’s a great article on the costs and externalities of electronic shifting at bikepacking.com/plog/cost-of-convenience-wireless-shifting-review. It got me thinking about my drivetrains, especially the simple and versatile Gevenalle shifter. 🐐 #bikepacking #cycling #gravel #dropbarmtb #gevenalle

This is one of the best discussions about the Voice Referendum I’ve seen. Also, why isn’t The Conversation (not the U.S. version) over here?

theconversation.com/is-it-ethica...

Let’s see what this does to the recommendation algorithm over here.

This really puts the term “surplus elites” in context. Also, university vice chancellors as neofeudalist lords?
www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/philosop...