A sharp pencil is a smart design and the right tool for the task at hand.

Bikes should fit from the get go, give or take a small adjustment to the saddle height. “Fit” to us means the bike is attuned to your body and dialed for the riding you do. By this definition gearing is part of fit, and so is everything you directly interact with. Brake and shift levers, grips, the height of your pedal pins, the durometer of your tire, and their pressure. If these parts are not accounted for, you just have a collection of parts that looks sorta like a bike but are painful to ride. It’s like having a shirt that looks nice on the hanger but when you put it on the label itches, the sleeves are too tight, and it’s 3 inches too short. This shitty t-shirt is the equivalent to what the bike companies want you to ride around. 

The typical outta-the-box bike is the definition of a dull pencil. It’s hard to make a good drawing with a dull pencil, and it’s hard to make a bike with many fit issues feel good to ride. It’s much easier, and believe it or not, more cost effective to start with a good design: the sharp pencil.