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New bike day!  I hope you can tell it's from State; I feel like they could have put their wordmark on it more so you don't mistake it for something else. Darkness was falling by the time I got home, but I did ride it up the hill and back down, and that was pretty fun. The shifter is not what I'm used to; up-shifting is a single click in, and down-shifting is done by moving the shifter even further in so that it clicks twice. Maybe that's a SRAM thing? I only have experience with Shimano road shifter levers, and these are supposed to be SRAM-compatible. It's got a 1×11 drivetrain, and while the lowest gear is just 1:1, that's plenty for the kind of riding I typically do. Hell, I did the hardest climbing I've ever done while going up Elsah Hills Drive around mile 70+ of that century ride, and my Contend AR 3's lowest gear is also 1:1. I should be good with this. The bike doesn't feel particularly heavy, and it has braze-ons for days. I'll have to kit it out for some fun like I did my Contend, except more stuff like fenders and junk. Maybe. I've also got some 650B wheels with 2.1" tires, so I'll have to think about the fenders. But in the short term, I'm going to ride it around and get a good feel for it. I do have some eventual plans for upgrading various components. It's all pretty much bone stock at this point. The seat has some cushion to it, so we'll see how that feels after a long-rear end ride. I'll probably upgrade the derailleur and shifters at some point, too, especially if I find that I'm dropping chains and stuff. I have wanted a steel bike like this for a while, and didn't know if I'd go with their classic road bike (an 8-speed) or this All-Road. I told myself that I'd get it if I finished the century ride, so... happy century to me!
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Oct 20, 2023 02:42
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Pulled the trigger on a significantly discounted Brompton C-Line Explore. Having a ton of fun so far. It's a blast to zip around town, and easy to get in and out of the house. Glad I went with this over something cheapear, everything feels way more robust than I'd expected. Gonna throw a dynamo on it soon, and maybe reduce the gearing about with a 44t or 40t chainring in the front. Otherwise am gonna try to do every ride this winter on it, we'll see how that goes! tarlibone posted:New bike day! Congrats! Always love the colorways State chooses, this one in particular!
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Oct 20, 2023 03:44
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tarlibone posted:New bike day! Ayyyy I've got a 4130 as well. I do wish I could de-sticker it, but they're under the clearcoat. It's a little much. Things I've discovered in the last couple thousand miles; the stock wheels are prone to breaking spokes. They're fine for lots of people, but certainly weren't for me. State is pretty good about reimbursing for broken spokes, but it's an annoying experience. I got hunt 4 season wheels and haven't had a problem since. Stock cassette and derailleur are very much low hanging fruit to swap. SRAM rival long cage is perfect and makes an immediate improvement, and any 11-42 cassette (sram, shimano, sunrace, etc) will go right on and also help a ton. The Rival will shift a 11-46 really well if you do want more than 1:1. The stock levers are surprisingly good in my experience. The brakes need some love if you go fast or down hills, but just throwing on TRP Spyre or Juin Tech solves the problem. If you do change the levers and have the bar tape off, compressionless housings make a huge difference in brake feel. e: bike picture for relevance  Hypnolobster fucked around with this message at 13:23 on Oct 20, 2023 |
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Oct 20, 2023 13:21
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“Just replace the entire groupset”
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Oct 20, 2023 13:38
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Hypnolobster posted:Ayyyy I'll watch out for spoke issues. As far as the groupset goes, I'm aware of the issues some people have had. I've watched a lot of videos about this bike, and a bunch of them were pretty honest about the quality of some of the components. There were a lot of mentions of dropped chains from people who ride gravel aggressively, and the one thing they all eventually tried that worked was replacing the derailleur with a SRAM Rival, and thank you for saying "long cage" because I don't think anyone else did. There is a Rival with a shorter cage, and it is way cheaper. I won't waste my money on that one. The brakes are about what I expected from mechanical disc brakes. I don't know how crazy it is to put on new calipers or if changing them out will require new levers. We'll see how these perform. I'm mostly riding on relatively flat surfaces, so it may not be a big deal. I'll be breaking this in on Sunday. We are camping this weekend, and I'll be bringing my Escape because it's kitted out for that. And, if it gets stolen, I'm not out a brand new bike. But that wraps up Sunday morning.
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Oct 20, 2023 16:06
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Sounds like you shoulda spent more on the bike up front. Aftermarket poo poo is just brutal cost wise compared to buying a higher trim bike.
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Oct 20, 2023 16:23
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frogbs posted:Gonna throw a dynamo on it soon
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Oct 20, 2023 17:18
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i think brompton used to offer bikes with the dynamo preinstalled but they stopped doing that, at least for online and distribution stuff (maybe the UK dealerships still offer them). same thing with the smaller chain rings curious to hear how your upgrades go on both parts. I've considered reducing my gearing since the top 3+ gear is currently completely useless (and I use 3- maybe 1% of my riding time). dynamos I"m less sold on since they're heavy and expensive; I don't mind keeping batteries around. though I do need to get a new rear light since the seatpost one I had fell off because the mount was broken and stopped properly clamping the light. somewhere in a gutter lies a $50 USB-C light I otherwise liked  (if anyone has recommendations for seatpost lights that aren't the NiteRider Vmax - which I actually got have another of and the mount on that one works fine, so I wonder if I just got a defective one for the Brompton, or maybe I broke the mount while dropping the seatpost to fold? - I'd love to hear em)
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Oct 20, 2023 18:06
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n8r posted:Sounds like you shoulda spent more on the bike up front. Aftermarket poo poo is just brutal cost wise compared to buying a higher trim bike. You're not wrong, but a lot of higher-priced steel gravel/all-road/endurance bikes* I saw had better components but fewer options. And by "options," I mainly mean opportunities to add stuff to the bike. Just look at all those braze-ons! Adding stuff to my Escape 3 is what has me in the mindset that it'd be cool to have a bike where I have lots of mounting options if I ever want to go bikepacking or even touring. poo poo, the Katy Trail is right over there; that might be next year's goal. Earlier this year, my plan was to bikepack on my Escape, but now I'm not so sure. I did turn my Escape into my city commuting bike, and it works great for going to the gym, grocery runs, etc. But this one just looks better for any kind of adventuring. And, I want to start getting some experience wrenching on my bikes, so something ridable that will probably need upgrades is perfect for me. Buying low and upgrading also spreads the cost out over time while allowing you to get to know your bike, which may not be ideal for everyone, but it is for me. I'll know what I want to work on instead of just doing what other people say I need to do. Mainly, though, just look at this thing! I could've gotten one of these in my size earlier this year, but they were out of this color. I like the steel tube look, and the color is great. It's even better up close. I'm not ashamed to say that the overall look is a big reason I chose this bike, especially knowing its weak points. There was (probably still is) a stainless steel gravel bike with much better components at the LBS, and it's maybe even in my size. It's 2 1/2 times the price as this one, but I could've swung it. Why didn't I? Well, price, sure, but also, stainless might be super-cool and even lighter than 4130, and it might feel better... but it's as exciting to look at as a nice saucepan unless you know a lot about the components on it. It's a lot of gray with grey accents here and there. This bike is just pretty. And, if I'm being honest, this is kind-of a pattern for me. I have three hobbies that can suck the money out of you almost as fast as you can earn it: playing bass guitar, riding bicycles, and a third thing. And in each of those hobbies, my broken-rear end brain (or broken rear end-brain?) gravitates toward things that look good to me, even if--sometimes especially if--owning and using the thing is going to be a little harder than it would be with something nicer. I try not to get stuff that'll immediately break, but I'm happy with lower-performance, cooler-looking gear. I play Fender basses that always have necks that are thicker than they need to be. My new bike is a steel gravel bike that does not have the best components but looks really cool. The third thing is pretty much like that, too. * Basically, drop bar bikes with a less aggressive geometry that's easier on my back and neck
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Oct 20, 2023 18:49
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The only part of the drivetrain I felt needed to be replaced was the cassette, which seemed to have flexy or poorly aligned cogs that caused the chain to jump around after it had some miles on it. I'm still using the original derailleur and I've never had a dropped chain even while riding it like a mountain bike on fairly technical singletrack
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Oct 20, 2023 19:14
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I mean it's easier to change the components than the paint scheme (maybe that's not true but I make decisions the same way and that's how I justify it vOv). I support it. Fwiw I swapped out the cassette (?) on my 4130, but just because I wanted an easier gear for hills. I'm also probably going to swap the saddle and the handlebars, but honestly that's mostly for aesthetics... E: That Brompton also looks sick, lovely color scheme and I honestly kind of love the big old bag on a little folding bike.
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Oct 20, 2023 19:33
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RIP ZEEZ
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kimbo305 posted:Is the Brompton fork normal 100mm spacing? I suppose if any non-100mm width is out there, dynamo products would support whatever Brompton is using. I think front hub spacing is 74mm on Bromptons. abraham linksys posted:i think brompton used to offer bikes with the dynamo preinstalled but they stopped doing that, at least for online and distribution stuff (maybe the UK dealerships still offer them). same thing with the smaller chain rings I'll let you know how the upgrades go! I know my local Brompton dealer has a few dynamo models in stock, but maybe it's something they are only gonna do upon request now? Brompton at least seems to sell wheels with Shutter Precision hubs directly: https://us.brompton.com/p/656/front-wheel-with-hub-dynamo---black. From what I can tell this is what other dealers use in most of their builds: https://www.perennialcycle.com/shutter-precision-upgrade-dynamo-package-for-brompton.html Personally i'm a huge dynamo advocate. Yeah it's expensive upfront, but never having to worry about charging anything is such a relief. Imagine if you had to charge the lights in your car? Having lights that work every time turns your bike into a vehicle you can truly rely on. Brompton sells a kit with admitedly crappy lights for only a bit more than the actual wheel: https://us.brompton.com/p/669/front-wheel-hub-dynamo-incl-fittings---sv8-silver
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Oct 20, 2023 19:33
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New bike day Ride1up Roadster V2 Gravel, been a blast so far, though the rear bag looked smaller on amazon... Was trying to find the least ebike lookin ebike to see if I can live without a car.  
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Oct 21, 2023 00:38
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Finally finished my Kona resto-mod. Got a little carried away. The only original components remaining are the wheels, seatpost, and headset. I'm kinda tempted to get a black seatpost but it's a 27.0 so options are sort of limited, plus this one has the Kona thumb on it which I think is cool. The high and wide bars make it feel like a completely different bike. I lost some top end in the 1x conversion but I'm planning to do some bikepacking on this so I think the big cassette will be good when it's got bags on. 
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Oct 21, 2023 20:15
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Is that some kind of non-suspension, suspension fork? I didn't know such a thing existed, pretty cool
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Oct 21, 2023 21:20
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Yeah it's an Exotic carbon fork. They do them in aluminum as well. This bike came with a Bomber Z5, which actually still works fine 24 years later, but I wanted to go rigid and lighten it up a little. This was the closest match I could find in terms of maintaining the original geometry, which is the thing I like best about this bike.
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Oct 21, 2023 21:39
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nbd! tracklocross frame brazed by a goon, crankset bought from a goon and saddle bag made by a goon!     specs: frame: tracklocross made by goon, similar geometry to a squid SO-EZ fork: rodeo spork 3 stem: parts bin 120mm headset: hope seat post: simworks stealth froggy by nitto seat post clamp: hope saddle: specialized power expert handlebars: simworks stealth little nick by nitto grips: ergon gfr1 factory (fmd racing/oil slick) brake levers: canti levers by paul bottom bracket: campagnolo record square taper iso crankset: miche 165mm; 49t chain: izumi eco gold pedals: time atac speciale 12 front rim: h+son the hydra (24h; dt swiss competition) front hub: white industries (cld centerlock) front rotor: hope blue 160mm front brake: paul klamper high polish front tire: ultradynamico rose race (700x42) rear rim: h+son archetype (28h; dt swiss competition) rear hub: white industries ENO ecc fixed/free (pictured with freewheel, 22t) rear brake: tektro r559 long reach silver rear tire: ultadynamico cava race (700x42) extras: cages: wolftooth morse code top tube bag: dark speedworks speedpack 483d saddle bag: made by goon Development fucked around with this message at 20:56 on Oct 28, 2023 |
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Oct 28, 2023 20:49
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Development posted:nbd! tracklocross frame brazed by a goon, crankset bought from a goon and saddle bag made by a goon! That bike looks fun as hell. What's the little nubbin fastening the cable housing together called?
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Oct 28, 2023 21:28
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The Wiggly Wizard posted:That bike looks fun as hell. What's the little nubbin fastening the cable housing together called? thanks! they are called "housing hooks", ie. https://jagwire.com/products/small-parts/rotating-s-hook
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Oct 28, 2023 21:34
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Development posted:thanks! they are called "housing hooks", ie. https://jagwire.com/products/small-parts/rotating-s-hook That is a great thing to know, thanks for this I could've used one today because I changed over my bars and stem to the ones I've been waiting for all this time, also shortened the cable housings and replaced all the inners. Also fine tuned the position of the rack   Finally that bike is done On to the next project 
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Oct 28, 2023 23:22
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I got a new (to me) mountain bike: Because my wife said I needed it to keep up with her on her new(to her) mountain bike  We have almost completed our garage wall of bikes (leftmost bike is a family friend's in temporary storage here).  Why yes, the only bike shop for 100 miles is a trek shop, why do you ask?
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Oct 29, 2023 04:21
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I headed to the bicycle shop to get my 650B tires trued up--they might be fine, but I don't want to slap them on the bike to try to check it myself only to have to take them off to head to the shop anyway. While there, I got a rack for the bike, because of course I did. I may move the rack from my road bike to my wife's Verve, since it has disc brakes, but we'll cross that bridge later. At any rate, I also ordered some drink cages from Amazon that are more appropriate than the black ones I had kicking around that I slapped on there before its first 20-mile ride. Nice. Amazon's listing for these cages had a "teal" color that looked way too light, so I went with emerald, which leans more on green. It doesn't match the front STATE color very well, but it does somehow match the first "shadow" color behind it. At a distance, though, I think the effect is pretty much what I was looking for. I probably would've had better luck going with the teal color, but this is good enough for now. (Also, they're cheap, so I can always get the teal ones.) I'm going to get a light blue Wahoo mount to complete the look. It won't be perfect, but it won't be too bad.
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Nov 1, 2023 23:46
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oh poo poo those bottle cages look like they'd match on my rocky mountain perfectly
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Nov 1, 2023 23:55
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tarlibone posted:I headed to the bicycle shop to get my 650B tires trued up--they might be fine, but I don't want to slap them on the bike to try to check it myself only to have to take them off to head to the shop anyway. While there, I got a rack for the bike, because of course I did. I may move the rack from my road bike to my wife's Verve, since it has disc brakes, but we'll cross that bridge later. At any rate, I also ordered some drink cages from Amazon that are more appropriate than the black ones I had kicking around that I slapped on there before its first 20-mile ride. You took wheels that might be perfectly fine to the shop to true them? You could just spin them in your hand to verify if they were out of true. Seems like a way to burn money unnecessarily
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Nov 2, 2023 00:13
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Literally Lewis Hamilton posted:You took wheels that might be perfectly fine to the shop to true them? You could just spin them in your hand to verify if they were out of true. Seems like a way to burn money unnecessarily I tried that, and the rear one looked like it had some side-to-side motion. Could be in spec, could be the way I was holding it because I've never done it before and most videos I have watched on it involve tools and/or rigs that I just don't have.
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Nov 2, 2023 01:24
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tarlibone posted:I tried that, and the rear one looked like it had some side-to-side motion. Could be in spec, could be the way I was holding it because I've never done it before and most videos I have watched on it involve tools and/or rigs that I just don't have. If you turn the bike upside down and rest on hoods and seat, it should be stable enough that the wheel axle itself isn’t moving. Be sure to pad the hoods so they don’t sit directly on cement and get tore up.
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Nov 2, 2023 02:50
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Road bike freshly rebuilt after having some damage to the carbon patched up and the chain, chainrings and cassette replaced. Here's to another 10 years! (apologies for the terrible phone photo).
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Nov 5, 2023 06:12
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I found this ugly bar tape in my parts bin of crap and figured "why not?" Too much? Sorry for the dark pic 
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Nov 6, 2023 03:20
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Looks perfect to me
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Nov 6, 2023 03:55
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Very of the era
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Nov 6, 2023 07:46
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Slavvy posted:Looks perfect to me
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Nov 6, 2023 12:38
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Yes, I like it. I went to down tube shifters because I like the Dura Ace drivetrain but I'm really used to the uncluttered cockpit that I have on my Campy bikes 
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Nov 7, 2023 22:57
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Downtube shifters look so clean. That's an awesome retro bike. Reminds me of my childhood days in the 80s.
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Nov 15, 2023 20:36
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 Definitely needing the studded tyres now. Soon it'll be skis instead of the bike.
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Nov 16, 2023 17:51
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freddiestarfish posted:
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Nov 16, 2023 21:50
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  Road bike still rides pretty good although it's getting a little old and I want the new supersix. Just annoying how much it'll cost to get the bike I want. Also turns out dumb annoying click on road bike was my other wheel. maybe cracked rim (they're those heds with fairings so can't really look) but I suppose I'll take the freehub/hub apart and see if there's anything obvious there. These wheels are marginally lighter and have tubeless gp5ks at least. They just don't look as cool. jamal fucked around with this message at 20:22 on Nov 22, 2023 |
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Nov 22, 2023 19:52
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Bought this thing as a dumb project It has a simplex RD which I thought was pretty cool, and sakae cranks with matching very subtly oval chain rings  Prepare for pink bar tape and pedals I guess. Debating whether it's worth changing all the regular steel spokes out for stainless.
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Nov 27, 2023 00:13
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That's such a pretty frame
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Nov 27, 2023 15:56
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Had a nice ride out to the airport today. 
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Nov 30, 2023 04:02
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Project M.A.M.I.L. posted:Had a nice ride out to the airport today. The Force22 on that is sweet. Also the rest of it is sweet. And are you like 6'6"?
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Nov 30, 2023 05:15
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