181: Hot Lime

Ok, so maybe this ride we did happened a little bit ago, but as I like to say: How do you put a timestamp on awesome? I do not actually say that, and it actually was not that long ago, but it sure as hell was awesome. We met under the guise of darkness and headed out into the moonlit night. And then all hell broke loose. Nothing like a little night time riding with your friends. I finally got an excuse to pull out the Igleheart Mtb. Such a sweet ride I have to say.


It got me thinking about this bike though and how much fun this has been over the years. What with it being a new year and all I thought it was ok to reminisce just a little bit. Chris and I cooked up this bad boy for the NAHBS event that took place in Portland a couple years ago. He needed a 29er to show off to his adoring fans and I needed a 29er. Ok, well, that might be stretching the truth a little bit, but I found that it would be a great time to get a 29er because I wanted one.


When it was completed and about to head off to be painted - by the fine folks over at Vicious Cycles I might add - I came up with the name for it. Guilt Trip. Odd name? Maybe, but also maybe not so much. Sometimes I look, longingly mostly, at the bike and feel bad that I do not ride it as often as some of my other bikes. Ding. So, I guess that it works that way. It is good to remind yourself every once in a while. Exhibit A: New running shoes in corner of room

There are a lot of great things about this bike. Where to start? The headtube badge is an eye. Get it? Eye-gleheart? I knew you would. The center is a stainless ball bearing in case you were wondering. Another great thing about this setup is that the two side pieces of this makeshift badge also protect the paintjob from that nefarious cable rubbing syndrome that happens almost every time. Instead of placing a sticker there you can rest assured that your bike will be fine.

I like my tubes doped to the gills.

Chris also has a thing for Stainless "little bits" as he calls them, which is why the seat collar and the rings around the headtube are made of stainless (dropouts too, forgot to photograph those). He used to get these from the huge stainless beer brewing tanks that he would fix up on the North Shore of Mass. So, I guess that makes the case for not being able to separate beer and bikes once again.


I would say that the fork is a throwback to the Fat City days, however it is not necessarily a throwback because it is still being made. Chris Igleheart was one of the welders for not only Fat City (Chris Chance and the makers of the Fat Chance bicycles) but other New England staple Rhygin, and also down to NC for a stint with Brew Bicycles. I do not gather that lasted very long and then he was out here to Portland, OR to build bikes for a number of people (have seen a few around town) before making the trip back to New England.

The Iglebike.com logo on the side of the fork was also designed by the same cat who made the Yo Eddy for Fat City. Not a bad little line of heritage there if you ask me. And the cable routing hardware is cool as well. Use the little clasps to hold down your cables.

This is what happens when you fabricate everything yourself. "Alien Ears" is what Chris calls them. "Ant Antennas" is what I say (just made it up).

The other thing that it interesting to note about the Guilt Trip is its colourway (feels posh if you spell it like that). When the bike arrived at Vicious they called to see what color it was supposed to be painted and I deliberated over it for days. Or weeks I can not remember. We went over all the colors that they had until I settled on this one which I think was aptly title "Hot Lime." I liked it so much that Craig Roth and I used it in the Cambridge Bicycle kit that we were designing at the same time and all the bikes that Mr. Igleheart made that year (for the team) came out the same way. Funny how that happens is it not? I believe (from the sweet Velonews Photo spread containing my friend Rob Mayer in it,) that they are still using this color for their team bikes. To which I give an emphatic thumbs up.

Also, try not to be too surprised when you see the amount of white that is on this mountain style bicycle. Maybe that is a roadie thing, and will piss off the mountain bike world? Hopefully not. But, Jason over at Superb Bicycle found these Straitline levers for my Hayes 9 and I could not resist. He acts like he is all "street" and "trackbikey" when he is over there, but we know the truth, because whenever someone mentions DH or Freeride he is the first to jump out of his chair and go "ooh ooh, me me." And when the chance came up to add the white bar and saddle to the combo, eh, why not?


I love this bike because it so much fucking fun. So much fun. Kind of like the After Black Hamer ride, which was also SMFF. So, you have that to look forward to. Hot Lime.