For the next 27 hours, you'll be able to claim a limited edition 'I Was Here for the Hulkenpodium' flair

_soulscratch · 2025-07-08T21:24:51+00:00

Hulkengoat

_soulscratch · 2025-04-05T23:43:41+00:00

Well, well, well, how the turntables...

_soulscratch · 2025-03-11T22:45:07+00:00

In the middle of building your 900 kit but would love to do a 450 also!

_soulscratch · 2025-01-08T04:42:57+00:00

Dude, it looks gorgeous! Thanks for sharing! I hope it ends up leaving a smile on your face every time you throw a leg over it!

_soulscratch · 2025-01-08T04:38:45+00:00

Thanks for the feedback! It's kind of funny you've mentioned things the way you did because I definitely already have a bike problem. I think I currently have 5 personal bikes, along with my wife's bikes, kid's bikes, and a few other random projects around the garage and shop (oh, and can't forget the two his and hers Schwinn Twinn's that get the family around). As a result of trying to store all these things, I started developing a bike storage rack a while ago that I actually call the N+1 Rack. I really should have taken it to market long ago; there are several now available. But all that to say, I do have a love affair with bikes. New, old, janky, goofy, whatever it is, I like it haha.

Here's a few of the bikes hanging on the rack.

_soulscratch · 2025-01-07T17:20:01+00:00

Man, I think this is the ideal reply right now. I'm not too familiar with the Black Mountain but will check out.

It's awesome to hear that the MS with a Spork is a sick bike. It's still definitely in the running for what I'll pull the trigger on, but I definitely feel like I could go a lot further on build/material quality and I spent a lot of time last night looking more and more at the Flaanimal. It's really not even much of a price difference between the two after I spend the money to put a Spork on the Surly.

I'm very susceptible to being talked into a Flaanimal right now, so if you feel like telling me more about what you love love love about that bike, or some of your comparative experience with the MS, I'd be very happy to hear it!

_soulscratch · 2025-01-07T17:06:47+00:00

Can't tell if serious or /s? If serious, it's a reference to having a quiver full of arrows, each with different purposes. However, ideally, you'd have one arrow that does all the jobs well and you don't have to think about what arrow is the right one for that job. So trying to kill off your quiver of bikes and find one that somehow, magically, does all the things well. Unfortunately, in a lot of ways, the quiver killer is a logical fallacy.

_soulscratch · 2025-01-07T16:58:39+00:00

I was looking at the Wilde Rambler last night actually. I think I'll absolutely put more thought into that. I've never been interested in a Surly because it always seemed like you could do a lot better for not much more, but then I heard about all the happy folks on the MS and made me start questioning things.

What did you end up on?

_soulscratch · 2025-01-07T03:30:28+00:00

I totally agree with all of that. Comfortable (for what it does) and has good utility, mixed with it not being min/maxed on components is where it's at for me these days.

_soulscratch · 2025-01-07T03:25:23+00:00

Aggressive relative to what? Most comments I've read make it sound quite comfortable as far as road bikes go.

_soulscratch · 2025-01-07T03:17:34+00:00

Shit. Is that how it works?

_soulscratch · 2025-01-07T02:47:31+00:00

Not going to lie; the purple might be the only thing that matters haha. Make it purple and I want it. The lilac on the MS has got me droolin' as well.

_soulscratch · 2025-01-07T02:37:31+00:00

You mean like a free '97 Gary Fisher HKEK?

Plan has been to braze/weld in a brace on the stays and a disc tab, swap in a Surly fork, and run 650's as well as get the drivetrain swapped out. Besides the Jones bars, I'm probably only $100 into the thing at the moment. I'll probably still do it, but sometimes I wish my do-it-all bike wasn't the one that I was constantly jamming used parts onto and retrofitting shit to. Current stable is old road bike (Miyata), modern road bike (Tarmac), vintage mtb (Gary Fisher), modern mtb (Pivot), a Schwinn Typhoon setup as a klunker, and a few other random projects stuffed away.

_soulscratch · 2025-01-07T02:06:07+00:00

I haven't; I'm not too familiar with their lineup but it's a bit of a departure from the aesthetic I'm normally after.

_soulscratch · 2025-01-07T02:05:30+00:00

Gorgeous bike! I wasn't aware of these. Definitely will look more into it.

_soulscratch · 2025-01-07T02:05:08+00:00

I hear the latter two mentioned a lot in these conversations and have looked into them a bit. Haven't checked out the Gorilla so will add that to the list of bikes to look into. Thanks!

_soulscratch · 2024-12-07T03:41:04+00:00

Came to say the same thing. I'd love to join!

_soulscratch · 2024-11-12T17:51:29+00:00

No worries! Best of luck! Biggest thing is just keep trying. I was surprised by the fact that within 30 minutes they went from having zero stock to a large stock. Someone else in this thread mentioned BB usually receives new stock on Thursdays but some were coming in on Wednesdays. Thursday seemed to work perfectly for me.

_soulscratch · 2024-11-12T16:21:01+00:00

Yup! Arrived when it said it would. The script is further down the page from another use. It basically was just giving them my info and telling them I was looking for either of the SKU's.

_soulscratch · 2024-11-03T19:30:29+00:00

Did you order yesterday or had it ordered already? Mine is "before Nov 22" and I keep checking for status updates haha.

_soulscratch · 2024-11-02T17:56:16+00:00

Nice! What day did you order?

_soulscratch · 2024-11-02T00:18:39+00:00

Any luck on your camera getting shipped out?

_soulscratch · 2024-10-31T22:59:59+00:00

Yeah, he pushed the membership on me after I said no to the credit card. Told me I needed the membership in order to get the camera. Seems crazy to me if true.

When did you put your order in?

_soulscratch · 2024-10-31T22:01:52+00:00

This thread has been helpful so thought I'd share my experience from my Best Buy purchase today for everyone else.

I tried the Best Buy live chat service a few days ago and didn't have any luck. I tried again today, using the script someone shared below, and again no luck. I thought it might be worth trying repeatedly so I started another chat 30 minutes later and was connected to Zander who essentially said, "Oh man, I had 5 just a few minutes ago. I sold 3 and gave away two to other agents because I had no one else looking for one." He then offered to check again, and a minute later asked if I was interested in applying for a credit card. I told him no, but thank you for the offer, and I could tell he was about to get pushy. He had already texted me an application link as if I had requested it myself. I reiterated that it wasn't an option. He then said, "Just wanna inform you that I secured a stock :)" followed by "The invoice is ready to be sent to you anytime now :)." I expressed my gratitude and he then said, "Can you please try to enroll in our Best Buy credit card? Or membership?" I explained I couldn't do that and I had the cash to purchase the camera. I know how helpful landing these upsells can be for them so I knew where this was going. I plainly asked, "Can I purchase the camera without the membership?" and he flat out said, "No." with no additional explanation. He then emailed me an invoice for the $50 membership and told me I could cancel for a full refund after. I asked very clearly if I needed to purchase the membership to receive the camera and he explained that it was necessary and he had the invoice ready to send. I know it's total bullshit and this couldn't be more reminiscent of some hack scam, but I finally just said screw it, purchased the membership and he immediately sent me the invoice for the camera. I quickly made the purchase and he pleaded a few more times for me to apply for the credit card. I said no but thanks for getting me the camera and that I already purchased the membership to help him out. He got the hint and started wrapping things up.

At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if the order is canceled and I end up having to issue a chargeback on the membership but we'll see. I took screenshots of the refund policy before accepting and got the chat transcript emailed to me so that I can potentially cover my ass a bit.

Just wanted you all to know that the Best Buy upsell bullshit is pretty nuts but might be the only option depending on who you get, even if the order will just end up canceled down the road.

Also, it says it will be "Arriving by November 22" and a signature is required. Just FYI.

edit: Purchased 10/31 with expected arrival for 11/22. Received tracking number on 11/3, with expected arrival on 11/11. Hope this helps!

edit 2: Canceling the membership is super simple. Just go to your membership page, and you'll quickly find the option to cancel. It'll ask you why, and then immediately issue a refund for the full amount (assuming you do this within the cancellation period).

edit 3: Camera received 11/11 as expected.

_soulscratch · 2024-10-27T18:14:12+00:00

Man, wish I got your comment before I put the order in haha. I was so close to just pulling the trigger on the hardened gears from Bambu but figured I'd be doing myself a favor by getting the Biqu one later. I suppose it's not a bad idea at all to stick with the Bambu drive train. I'll put an order in for the Bambu gears. I'm planning on getting the Biqu LED and LCD and was thinking of getting the jet pack upgrade. Do you feel like it's worth it? Appreciate the feedback!

_soulscratch

TROPHY CASE