Extreme weather continues to pummel the United States with headlines:
SUVs, Republicans, and the NFL are obviously to blame, though I’m old enough to remember when we summed up all of the above as “winter.”
There was a certain economy of language in the pre-Internet days. Now we’re all linguistic spendthrifts and I think our culture and our collective psyche is worse off for it.*
*[Disclaimer: people filling bike blogs with words every day are in no way a part of the problem, no siree.]
There’s an old saying about life giving you a certain citrus fruit and then turning said fruit into a refreshing sweet beverage. Similarly, when Old Man Winter, Mother Nature, or their 21st century gender-neutral equivalent, “Climate Change,” gives you snow, you should make a ride out of it, and that’s what I’ve been doing all week:
Granted, depending on the amount of snow and the weather and all sorts of other factors this is not always possible. However, it just so happens that for the past week conditions around here have been absolutely perfect for plus-sized tire snow rides. Skipping a ride just because it’s cold and snowy is like cutting the fat off your steak, and sometimes by doing so you’re missing out on the best part.
You’ve also got to have the right bike, and the Jones LWB is certainly the right bike. No, it’s not a fat bike…
…but the tire volume is more than sufficient for a few inches of crunchy, frozen snow, and between that and the long wheelbase and upright position the bike is as sure-footed on snow as a sasquatch in crampons. Thanks to its extreme competence, it’s the sort of bike you can lose yourself in regardless of the seasons or the terrain–and yes, this is an all-Jones fan blog now. Not only does it assume command as my primary bike in the dead of winter winter, but it’s also my summer vacation escape machine:
Ah, yes, it’s hard to imagine that just a few short months ago I was basking in the sun and cooling my feet in a crystalline alpine lake:
Now I’m traversing the tundras of lower suburbia with nary a change in equipment, save for the pedals, which I’ve been swapping back and forth in princess-and-the-pea fashion:
In fact I think I’ve barely even had to top off the tires since August.
I’ve recently been addressing my bike accumulation problem, and I’m coming to understand that part of this problem is that when I really like a bike, instead of simply being satisfied with it, I find myself compelled to build it again. I’m not sure if this is a manifestation of some sort of deep-seated insecurity or paranoia, like I’m afraid it’ll somehow get damaged or disappear so I want more than one, or if it’s simply that I’m an inveterate materialist who’s addicted to the thrill of acquisition and must experience the thrill of the chase and concomitant release of endorphins over and over again. Either way, even though the out-of-the-box Jones is basically perfect for my purposes, as I ride I fantasize about having one in titanium:
Would this meaningfully improve my riding experience? Probably not. Still, as an incorrigible bike dork I can’t help slavering over the premium versions:
[Via the Jones site]
I’m no longer naive enough to believe I could have just one bike for all my riding, but I also find myself looking at this and telling myself I could totally have just one bike for all my riding:
[Via the Jones site]
Somehow these things manage to be both lavish and sensible at the same time:
In both stock and custom form Jones bikes also compel me to examine my relationship with stuff like disc brakes. While I’m predicably contrarian on the subject, a lot of that has to do with the fact that they’ve now taken over on bikes where the net gain to the rider can at times be small, debatable, or even nonexistent. (See: road bikes. And no, I’m not saying certain riders don’t gain something from road bikes with disc brakes; I’m just saying I’m not one of those riders, and I know I’m not alone.) However, on a bike like the Jones you’re really getting something out of the bargain, and one of the most important ones is 3-inch tires with fenders plus room to spare. The same thing goes with stuff like crabon and titanium. I’ve got a road bike with crabon and titanium, because of course I do:
Do I love it? Sure. But what am I gaining over a steel bike with a steel fork and regular aluminum parts? It’s a little bit lighter? So what? A road bike comprised of more pedestrian materials is already about as light as any bike needs to be. Yes, I’m prepared to admit that strategic deployment of titanium and crabon can impart a pleasing ride quality, but the lugged steel road bikes of yesteryear also represent the pinnacle of “road feel” or whatever you call it and continue to set the standard even today, and ultimately well-designed and well-built road bike made from any reasonable material is going to feel great.
Once you’re talking about a big-ass bike like the Jones though I’d imagine that the weight savings from titanium and crabon are meaningful, especially if you’re also using the bike to its full potential by carrying stuff. Of course I am not even remotely using the Jones to its full potential, and I’m lucky if I get to ride it for a few hours at a time, so I should continue to be satisfied with a bike that is, as I said before, “perfect” for all practical purposes. I will however continue to fantasize that one day I’ll “retire” (from what exactly?), order myself a premium Jones with all the trimmings, and disappear over the horizon–though even then you can be sure I’ll be sleeping inside:
Hey, I’m not saying I wouldn’t want to ride around for days on end with nothing but the bare essentials. I’m just saying at the end of every day I’d prefer to wheel my filthy-ass Jones into the lobby of a nice hotel, that’s all. Then I’ll take a 35-minute shower and wash out my merino underpants with the free shampoo.
Speaking of long journeys, my own plus-tire journey started back in 2015 with the Marin Pine Mountain 1:
This bike immediately sold me on plus-sized tires. By the way, here’s the Marin Pine Mountain 1 today:
It looks like a perfectly good hardtail mountain bike, and a bargain to boot. At the same time, since 2015, fashion has changed, and the Pine Mountain has changed with it. The tires are skinnier, the headtube is slacker… [begins sobbing] It’s no longer the bike I fell in love with. This is the difference between a “regular” bike company that sells lots of different models and a company like Jones. The Pine Mountain follows the trends, whereas Jones sticks with his thing year after year after year. Sure, he continues to refine the concept, but fundamentally the bikes stay true to themselves, and to the rigid all-terrain bike enthusiast this is important. I guess as biekpacking and garvel have gotten more and more popular there are more and more boutiquey rigid off-roadable bikes out there, but while they may be the latest darlings of the influencers, I don’t think anybody’s as single-minded as Jones is, or has put nearly as much into them.
Anyway, after awhile Jeff Jones got his hooks into me and I started to turn the Pine Mountain into a Jones…
…until 2018 when Jones introduced the SWB complete:
The LWB complete followed in 2019, and for a brief, magical time I had both an LWB and an SWB:
Even I could not justify this, and forced myself to decide between the two. It was sort of a no-lose situation, since both bikes were fantastic, but ultimately I went with the LWB and gave the SWB away in a contest. The eventual winner of that contest had bowled me over with his grandiose plans for the bike, though as of now he still has yet to realize those plans, but what am I gonna do at this point, repossess it? And hey, if every time I didn’t follow through with a plan someone took something away from me I’d be sitting in an empty room in my underpants. (I mean yes, I am sitting in an empty room in my underpants, but that’s just a coincidence.) Maybe one day when I least expect it I’ll get an amazing ride report, assuming of course he doesn’t just sell it to the desert gentrifier site.
So here we are in 2024, and the bike’s running strong stem to stern:
I haven’t even had to replace the tires yet, and I suspect that’s mostly due to the ample width. See, the wider a tire is the longer it takes to wear, which is a good thing since plus-sized 29er tires ain’t cheap–though it looks like Cheng Shin sells one for $50:
No idea how it is, but it’s good to know it’s out there.