Recommendations you can check.
Writer, photographer and software maker based in Japan; publishes long-form essays, walking newsletters and books at craigmod.com.
7 things
Klamper disc calipersHardware Paul Component Engineering
The Pauls feel as fresh today as the day I put them on, whereas the hydraulics have required much bikeshop tuning over the course of the last eighteen months.
His essay on eighteen months of electric-bike ownership, weighing the two bikes he owns against each other. His essay index dates it September 2022; 2022-09-06 is its first Internet Archive snapshot.
2022-09-06·craigmod.com ↗
Brooks grips and saddleHardware Brooks England
I upgraded my BESV to an SRAM drivetrain and Paul brake levers and Klamper disc calipers, some MKS pedals, and a set of Brooks grips and saddle and it feels wonderful through and through.
His essay on eighteen months of electric-bike ownership, weighing the two bikes he owns against each other. His essay index dates it September 2022; 2022-09-06 is its first Internet Archive snapshot.
2022-09-06·craigmod.com ↗
MoultonHardware Moulton Bicycle Company
I still have a custom orange Moulton that I've modified into a single-speed city bomber that goes remarkably fast while floating atop its simple suspension.
His essay on eighteen months of electric-bike ownership, weighing the two bikes he owns against each other. His essay index dates it September 2022; 2022-09-06 is its first Internet Archive snapshot.
2022-09-06·craigmod.com ↗
Claude CodeSoftware Anthropic
With Claude, I've built a host of software like this. Mostly small tools for myself — programs that instantly append copy buffers to text files (I keep a running file of nice things people write to me called notapieceofshit.txt) or quickly perform live currency conversions.
An essay on a year of building his own small software with Claude Code. His essay index dates it March 2026 with no day given.
2026-03-01·craigmod.com ↗
MemberfulService
I don't use Patreon or Substack, I built my own platform atop Memberful.
An essay on a year of building his own small software with Claude Code. His essay index dates it March 2026 with no day given.
2026-03-01·craigmod.com ↗
BESV PSA1Hardware BESV
Despite these flaws I put hundreds of kilometers on this thing in the first month. The front and rear suspension turn every road to glass, and are even fine for dirt trails; I find myself hunting down paths through parks I'd never otherwise think about.
His essay on eighteen months of electric-bike ownership, weighing the two bikes he owns against each other. His essay index dates it September 2022; 2022-09-06 is its first Internet Archive snapshot.
2022-09-06·craigmod.com ↗
Vanmoof X3Hardware Vanmoof
The Vanmoof is much smarter — the brain and software within it are refined, the app good, the acceleration curves smooth — but the bike is all custom components, and they aren't the highest quality at that.
His essay on eighteen months of electric-bike ownership, weighing the two bikes he owns against each other. His essay index dates it September 2022; 2022-09-06 is its first Internet Archive snapshot.
2022-09-06·craigmod.com ↗
Every entry is a verbatim quote and a link to the public post it came from. Nothing is paraphrased. If it is not on record somewhere public, it is not here.
The verdict is what they actually said: loved and liked are explicit; recommended means they told others to get it; uses means they only say they use it; read is a book on their public shelf with no verdict; mixed and disliked are kept too.
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What counts as old depends on the thing. A laptop praised four years ago has been replaced twice; a book loved twenty years ago is probably still loved. The shading is gone after about:
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