Oops, I did it again...

2022 Crust Cantilever Lightning Bolt

I couldn't help myself. After Jan Heine's glowing 2020 review of the pre-production model in Bicycle Quarterly (BQ70), I really wanted one. Then there was the über cool Ultra Romance coverage, e.g., The Radavist and CXMagazine. I was sold. Sure, I was put off by the skate punk typography and profane mermaid/centaur head badge (but hey, to Crust's credit, it's a real head badge!). I could live with the silly text if I could get a Heine-worthy frame/fork for less than the latest Campagnolo Chorus Groupset. And even kind of liked the green "crackle" paint. But then the production model came out. 

It was brown. It had a sloped top tube. There was no seat stay cable hanger. Blech! It had gone from aesthetically marginal to downright ugly. Was I willing to buy an ugly bike in the hope its ride quality was so ethereal it made me forget how it looks? Ugh. I dithered until Crust sold out of the "canti-bolt" and the decision made itself.  

No big deal. I really like my Cycles Toussaint, don't need another steed and don't really know what I'm missing anyway. So I let it go without too much regret, went about my life, watched the entire fucking world descend into chaos and death, and hoped Crust would come out with another bike I like. 

And they did. In February I got an "Only Fans" email saying they had some sample frames with a prototype "fancy" fork crown for sale, and hinting that a new model Cantilever Lightning Bolt ('22) would probably arrive in March. And the photos of the bike? Black paint and horizontal top tube!

I jumped for the "special" fancy, but there were only an extremely limited set of "samples" and they were gone by the time I clicked the link. Then on On March 3, 2022 came another email saying the following:

Well...we're doing it, we are breaking our rule of no pre-orders, no holds. We are usually hard and fast on this rule, because we are so small and keeping track of all the pre-orders can become fairly difficult on top of the day-to-day wildness of running a small business. Alas, things are looking a bit dicey for Crust, and we are fairly certain the Lightning Bolt's are due within the month (March), so we are opening them up for sale out of necessity. We will hold back on just a handful of each size, but we are pre-selling 99% of what's to come.

Again I jumped. I did a quick look at Bike Insights in the hope that I could verify the size, and sweeeeeeet!, they had the updated numbers! With 42mm tires, the stand-over height of the XS is within a millimeter of my current bike. So I pulled the trigger instantly. The order was placed on the 3rd, and the bike was delivered March 22. So let the adventure begin anew. To the parts bin!

Lightning Bolt Mermaid/Centaur Head Badge