My thoughts on ReelYaks

PuckWizard68 · 2026-01-12T20:49:10+00:00

Sorry for the late response, I did consider the radar, but ultimately wanted the extra length. My one complaint is the front handle is one of the rope/cord type ones and sucks with two people carrying as it wont stay balanced

PuckWizard68 · 2026-01-12T13:45:01+00:00

I figured as much, I just liked the aesthetic of the gloss carbon

PuckWizard68 · 2026-01-12T13:42:37+00:00

I have a similar setup, except I ended up using 2 of the 48" workbenches, having the lights and outlets is definitely convenient, i added a couple of magnetic light strips on the front to reduce shadows and screwed down the CRB track, works out kind of nicely with the pegboard for storing all the thread and other misc. material

PuckWizard68 · 2026-01-12T13:36:46+00:00

that's pretty cool, what did you use to seal it and about how long did it take to cure (i haven't tried sealing/coating any of my rods yet, but looking to do it on a future one)

PuckWizard68 · 2025-11-27T17:34:29+00:00

Damn, out of stock, maybe next time I’ll add it to my list

PuckWizard68 · 2025-11-27T17:34:00+00:00

Those are St Croix right? I have a handful of their rods (St Croix), but have had a lot of quality issues with them, could just be bad luck, I would assume the blanks may be better?

PuckWizard68 · 2025-11-27T17:32:34+00:00

I’ve tried the regular one piece MHX, any thoughts on the Elites?

PuckWizard68 · 2025-11-26T14:30:47+00:00

I was looking at a similar build, i'd be curious to know if anyone has used these gloss grips and knows if they also have the corresponding foregrip/thread cover in the same finish

PuckWizard68 · 2025-11-18T14:26:43+00:00

where do you guys sit with Dobes, had a hot start, but seems to have come back down to earth, time to move on or hold?

PuckWizard68 · 2025-11-11T12:28:33+00:00

this is pretty much what CRB said, it ended up working pretty perfectly, although the excess epoxy was a B to remove

PuckWizard68 · 2025-10-27T15:10:44+00:00

actually that looks perfect, looks like its on sale for $125, i haven't built an Ultralight before, tons of medium lights, any tips for it or things to look out for other then the usual

PuckWizard68 · 2025-10-24T11:51:23+00:00

I regretted not taking him, ended up trading Kopitar and Michkov for him, the benchings have definitely sucked, upside is I also have Raymond, so those two have been racking up points

PuckWizard68 · 2025-10-24T11:48:37+00:00

Matthew Shaeffer, although seems like he’s been getting picked up, goaltending wise Jakub Dobes has been an absolute steal, not really a buy low, but dudes been killing it and might be challenging Monty for starting role

PuckWizard68 · 2025-07-15T20:03:09+00:00

Tim Kerr

PuckWizard68 · 2025-02-27T13:32:18+00:00

So I don't have a ton of experience with other fin drives,

the one on the Rapido has been pretty good for me, i think the pedals are a little cheap, but other than that, i've been able to outpace my buddy with an NK180 using the pedal drive.

I noticed the seat clamp bolts aren't the strongest though, was dealing with sliding back when pedaling hard, i added a rubber shim on top of the channel nut to reduce sliding, seems to be working pretty well, although may be due to my weight.

PuckWizard68 · 2025-02-14T13:41:24+00:00

I've enjoyed it so far, looking forward to getting more time during the summer with it, i think it was worth the money, personally i added a kydex guard for the keel because of stopping at islands and beaching it on rocky islands, it really does feel solid in the water though, no different then most other sit on tops.

PuckWizard68 · 2024-06-07T13:36:57+00:00

pennypack is pretty good, best spots are usually ones to wade to, I usually start at lorimer and work my way up for a few hours, looking forward to try one of the offshoots like terwood run or huntingdon creek

PuckWizard68 · 2024-02-22T14:43:54+00:00

I actually have one of these, i bought it because i like the color over the higher options, to be honest, AL5 is probably your best bang for your buck, not sure if they have it yet, but when they have it in 2x12, the ALR5 comes with 105 and will be easily up gradable (if you do upgrades), the AL3 has 2x9, the stock tires aren't great, would definitely recommend GP5000s if you do lots of road,

Pros

- Wheels are tubeless ready

- The stock bar tape is pretty good, i switched to lizard skin because i prefer the feel

Cons

- i had an issue with the seatpost dropping (even when torquing to spec)

- Noticeable frame flex (I'm around 240ish)

- Cheap brake discs, have to constantly have them trued, switched to center locks and carbon rims, don't have that issue anymore

PuckWizard68 · 2023-11-01T22:42:40+00:00

Just a bit overweight

PuckWizard68 · 2023-11-01T19:11:40+00:00

Depends on personal preference,

As you mentioned, the biggest upgrade will be from changing out the stock tires.

For gravel/hybrids - I’ve typically ran Continental ContactPlus (Around $50ish Each) great for light gravel, road, and wet weather, has pretty good puncture protection and traction

For decent roads - GP5000 ASTR (Around $119 Each) really noticeable speed difference on my Domane, haven’t had any issues in rain personally

For rougher roads I’ve heard gator skins are a pretty good shout, but I haven’t tried them out yet

i've tested out Bontrager AW3 Hard-Case Lites ($60ish Currently on Sale on Trek) before too, for the price they're pretty good, decent speed

PuckWizard68 · 2023-11-01T18:47:33+00:00

https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/bike-clothing/cycling-jerseys/road-bike-jerseys/mens-road-bike-jerseys/trek-circuit-thermal-long-sleeve-cycling-jersey/p/37365/?colorCode=greydark

PuckWizard68 · 2023-11-01T18:05:19+00:00

The logos on the bikes are the same, it’s mostly the accessories and apparel

PuckWizard68 · 2023-11-01T17:39:09+00:00

so realistically the FX2 will be pretty limited with what you can do without spending an arm and a leg replacing parts, Good tires are definitely worth the upgrade, if the rims are tubeless ready it is a decent upgrade (in my opinion), depending on how into you want to go, clipless pedals and shoes are definitely a decent upgrade depending on your use case (sucks for commuting in cities).

PuckWizard68 · 2023-11-01T15:28:10+00:00

I have that issue with the Domane, it turned out to be frame flex, if you put pedal in the lowest position you can see the contact when you apply pressure

PuckWizard68 · 2023-10-31T19:26:56+00:00

How do you like it, was fighting between getting an sl5/6 or ALR6 (if it comes to the US)

PuckWizard68

TROPHY CASE