The great biscuit massacre of 2012

All hands abandon ship, them biscuits ain't edible!  It was a sad morning here at Drum as our breakfast turned into one of the worst tasting disasters in recent memory.  Sure, it wasn't as bad as a chain restaurant on a Saturday night, but something was amiss with them biscuits and they all had to be destroyed by our faithful garbage disposal, Steve.  We might never know why they came out tasting like burnt paper, or why those sad biscuits were light, fluffy, one might even say airy.  Oh well, no time for tears, as Team Drum has a few new projects going on and it is time to get cracking.

Steve post biscuit massacre and just prior to ransacking a woodblock fiefdom for dessert.  

Low...Ride...er... or project ______

A long time ago we were in college. During this time we thought we could conquer the world. We also thought emo rock was cool and we spouted so much BS that we can't believe more people didn't smack us more often. We doubt that little has changed as far as university kids are concerned, but the difference between the average college kid and a Drum college kid is that we had a low-rider bike. Yes, its true, we were that cool. And to prove how cool we were we had a bike that would send anyone over the age of 25 to the chiropractor straight off. With its chromed fenders, ape hanger handle bars, TINY 16" front tire, banana seat, and sissy bars that curved down by the wheels to look like a pair of exhaust pipes that stuck out two feet out from the back tire ****(warning this is dangerous as you WILL trip over them again and again and again)**** we thought we were a force to be reckoned with! Other than proving our coolness, the other major advantage of owning this bike in college was the short distance one would fall from the low-rider when inebriated...which may have been often.

As the years went on we smartened up a bit and realized that some things are for the young, and that includes low-rider bikes. So into dry storage it went, with the thought that perhaps one day we would rebuild it into a bike a kid could ride! Oh no, don't start thinking like that, no little Drums running around here. But we do have friends, and these friends have kids that are getting to the age where they will need their second bike and that is where this story begins again!!! Thus, over the turkey day weekend, we managed to dig out the remains from its 10 + year resting place in order to start project _______ !!!




Over the course of this winter and next spring we will strip, paint, and rebuild this symbol of rebellious youth into something that can be ridden around the hood with reckless abandon!!

Rolling to enlightenment

Much like a busiest monk stuck at the airport, we here at drum are also on the path to enlightenment... Or perhaps just lost again?

Wisconsin

Looks like it might have been a rough night in Appleton?

Bike as cart.

Moving big boxes filled with whatever Drum has been slinging online can be an adventure. This morning Drum's resident delivery boy got the call to bring the bike around to the back door of the lab, where he was presented with a sweet wheel set headed to the 'live free or die or tie dye' state. Needless to say, it was a bit bigger than his pannier, and with no porter rack (the springer front end makes such a rack a bit difficult to install) he had think on his feet. Wielding only a ratchet strap our delivery boy was able to, in the words of Tim Gunn, "make it work."

With no access to his seat or steering, we had the strange feeling that he would be unable to ride this steed into battle. Hell, we're STILL not sure how he managed to turn the damn thing while pushing it! But push it he did, dragging that beast left and right! Slapping it on the keister, calling it names like a cheap porn star, and all of this only to have to dodge a chick on a fixie while crossing at the cross walk. My god woman - brakes ain't that expensive!!!

Surviving this mishap our young go getter was lucky enough to find an empty bike rack where he could lock his cart. See, here in Chicago there is many a bike rack filled with unwanted or perhaps just unused bikes. Some bikes with tires and some without tires, or a seat, or handle bars. The next leg on his adventure was the usual waiting and waiting and waiting some more in the never ending USPS line. So instead of describing the lady that sighed every two minuets or the guy on his phone talking ten decibels too loud we'll just say it was an average day at the post.

Back at Drum HQ, a few hours after his departure we received our electronic delivery conformation number, proving once and for all that our intrepid delivery boy did indeed survive this five block jaunt...guess we'll have to make it harder next time. Experiences like this make owning a cargo bike seem like a great idea, not only for packages that are a wee bit too big for our standard bike but also to give us an excuse to build a custom cargo compartment for taking the shop dog out on rides!!! Betting his 90lbs won't effect the handling as much as some of the cargo we've seen people hauling around.

We think Steve Dog is ready for some high speed bike action!

Last chance beach.

Team drum decided to spend the day at the beach. Ended up being the end of the world. Oh well...

Review!: The last ride of the Dispatch Slim Pant (V1) by Nonetheless

Let's start this off on the right foot, we love these pants but Nonetheless is running out of stock on the first generation (V1) and  currently has no plans on manufacturing them again has plans on releasing a V2 some time in the fall of 2013.  Thus, much like a classic western, they will likely be riding off into the sunset never to be seen again only to come back for a sequel; stronger, meaner, and perhaps fallen out of love with their previous paramour, dog hair. Now that we have that out of the way, onwards and upwards to the review!

A little about these pants:

They're made of a fancy-dancey wool/recycled bottles(PET)/spandex mix that will stretch with you and keep your stink down. The wool/plastic bottles material adds a nice feel, the wool seems to be high quality and doesn't itch the way cheap wool can, and they don't chafe like cheap polyester does.
Also, they have six deep pockets...two of which are super secret hidden pockets like James Bond would have if he was ever being a secret agent on an Aston Martin bicycle. The super deep pockets are great at keeping our change and phone IN our pocket while peddling along. And the hidden pockets are super sleek and work great with our new Cathrinette card wallet.

Only down side that Team Drum has found so far is that they attract dog fur like a bastard and, like all wools, they pill a bit. For more fun facts about these pants check out the Dispatch Rider Pant web page.



Ok. What else?

They are SLIM cut which won't work for everyone but it does keep the pant leg out of the way while you're riding. And be warned, if you stuff too much junk into your pockets you'll look like you're trying make, um, "it" look bigger than it really is.

Since they were designed for commuting by bicycle this leads us to believe that they will be tough in all the places your standard Levis are weak. As professional dog herders we will put the durability to the test while riding, walking, bending, squatting, and getting more drool on us than your average office worker. (If you get drooled on at your work place by any humanoids please speak with your HR department.) If we had to guess we'd say these pants would make a great three season (spring, summer, fall) addition to your wardrobe. They look sleek with t-shirts, flannels, and even as dress pants with a button-up...they were designed for the office after all.

After two weeks we are in love but love is a fickle beast so check back in a few as we will be adding on to the review after we spend more time with these pants.

*Oh yeah. We here at Drum purchased all products in this post because we wanted to. No one gave them to Drum, and we are just reviewing 'cause that's what you do on a blog. You review, give info to the people. Drum likes to be helpful. If we ever DO get free stuff, which would be kinda' cool, we'll tell ya.