Hello, I’m Dave Rome and welcome to Threaded!
Threaded is a regular newsletter for all who enjoy the mechanical side of bicycles, quality tools, and the act of using them. It’ll typically lean toward the world of tool geekery, because, well, it’s my newsletter, but I’ll strive for it to be more than that, too.
Anyone who has followed my writing or personal Instagram over the past decade will know I think a little too much about what tool or maintenance product is best for a certain situation. I’m forever trying to find the next best thing when working on a variety of bikes, and often seeing how tools from other industries may be applicable, too.
Each newsletter will offer a mix of good things. Expect to learn of well-loved tools that I’d defend in a pub fight. I’ll cover tools you didn’t know existed and how they may be applicable to bicycle fixing. Of course, you’ll be updated on new tools and workshop-related releases and what I think of them. You’ll find dives into popular tool categories, including the best and top-value options, and also how to use them. And heck, I may even do a newsletter dedicated to different types of tapes for a professional bar tape finish.
I’ll do my best to keep these newsletters (relatively) short and easily digestible with a morning coffee or an evening juice box. And if a topic deserves a deep dive, expect me to flesh it out over a few weeks.
OK, that’s all for now. Sorry there’s no actual tool content this week – the first edition will go out next week. For now I just wanted to say hi, thanks for signing up (it’s free!), and warn you that following this newsletter may lead to impulse purchases. After all, the hashtags #iblamedaverome and #romemademedoit do exist for a reason …
Don’t like email? This newsletter will also be posted on EscapeCollective.com, so you have options for finding it. Signing up merely ensures it comes to you.
I’m an open book and always prefer candid transparency over the shadows. Just don’t ask me about my tool expenditures; I prefer not to know. To be transparent from day one, this newsletter is currently free to everyone, but long term it may become a members-only product – truthfully, that hasn’t been decided yet, and you’ll get warning before that happens.
Either way, enjoy it for now, please share it with friends, and/or those doing the Christmas shopping. Just know Threaded only exists with the help of our paid members and subscribers, and your support will ensure it continues to exist.
Further side note of a side note: If you’re busy scoffing down a sandwich with hands covered in unknown muck from a stranger’s bike, then I salute you. We have extra special rates available to professional industry mechanics to ensure our content remains easy for you to access. Oh, and consider some gloves.
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