The 32" Watch: Sam Alison Explains

 Excitement For 32"ers Builds:

I was honored on Tuesday of this week to speak with Sam Alison of Singular Cycles. I wanted to get him on the Guitar Ted Podcast since he has spent plenty of time designing bicycles and has a deep background on geometry and how to apply it for certain characteristics which are desirable in a good handling bicycle. 

Sam also has a fair amount of time on the new-ish 32" wheels which are about to hit the cycling world in a big way here in about a month. 

If you'd rather skip the rest of this and head on over to the audio, here is the link on Spotify for the episode.  

 I should mention we had an idea for saving Sam from having to phone in his interview and end up spending an exhorbitant amount on the call. The idea was sound, (no pun intended), but my audio was the side which suffered. It sounding like a digital phone call even though I was working through my PC here with a USB condenser microphone. 

Oh well..... If I continue to have opportunities to speak over the oceans with folks about cycling I probably will have to invest into something like Riverside FM, or another platform instead of trying to get by not spending money on something I don't often do. We will see. But enough about the technical difficulties. 

The Singular Albatross 32" wheeled bicycle. (Image courtesy of Singular Cycles)

 Sam said something I had not heard before about the early development of 32"ers by Trek. Yes......Trek. Apparently Travis Brown was dabbling with these bigger hoops. Sam said something about stitching tires together and rolling up bigger aluminum rims to test this out with. That's a story which I would like to know more about someday. 

Other than that nugget, Sam did a great job of presenting the good and the maybe not-so-good of 32" wheels. He gave us some great insight on the geometry changes from 29"ers to 32"ers, and  he spoke to who might benefit from bigger wheels. 

Sam also seems to think that Sea Otter will be where this 32" thing will blow up big time. What gets revealed around mid-April should be pretty exciting. I know about one surprise which is coming out, but there will be several, I am sure, which will knock us all back a step due to the impact of the introduction. 

Sam expressed excitement about all of it. And to be honest, this might be the best thing about 32" wheels. That something is worth anticipation and excitement. We really haven't had that in cycling since this decade started. 

And we all know this industry could use some positive energy now. 

Stay tuned...... 

It Is Too Late

Recently mountain biking and trials riding legend, Hans Rey, penned a piece for "Bicycle Retailer and Industry News" where he opines on the mess which exists in the e-Bike categories. 

In the article Rey asks for clear language surrounding pedal assist, and other, high-powered, non-assist electric two-wheeled vehicles. His main complaint is seemingly all of these vehicles are lumped into a single category by law-makers. Lawmakers who are trying to sort through issues stemming from unregulated products coming in and creating issues like fires, crashes, and parts failures which unfortunately sometimes results in deaths. 

I see this as a problem as well. However; it would seem Rey is asking for something which, unfortunately, it is too late to ask for. The genie is out of the bottle, and the bicycle industry has proven to be ineffective at self-regulation. 

Now the government is stepping in, asking law enforcement to enact new measures. Laws which, as in the case most recently reported on from New Jersey, make all electric two-wheeled contraptions essentially motorcycles. 

In other words, the government is not interested in the "three-class" system the bicycle brands dreamed up and most likely doesn't have the resources to sort it all out anyway. The regulations should have come first, then - perhaps - we could have stopped the importation of devices clearly outside of the set parameters. However; this wasn't done, and now we have the equivalent of an "E-Bike Wild, Wild West". 

Even the endemic brands to e-biking are pushing "updates" to make their machines more powerful. Easier to ride, and more power/torque? Maybe not a great idea for dirt riding especially.

I'm all for the electric bike which helps those who otherwise could not ride to get exercise, but the problems are not being created, for the most part, by this group. Unfortunately, it appears the solutions to the problems will affect this group, and that is a shame. 

An Intersting Ruling

You get a DQ, you get a DQ, you all are DQ'ed!

The Crossroads Of Social Media And Competition:

You may have seen the news concerning Ironman and and their revision of a rule concerning taking images during an Ironman competition.  

Here is the wording taken from an article found online at tri-today.com: 

 "Under the revised rule, using any device – including phones, cameras, video cameras, or recording-enabled glasses – to capture images or video during the race is strictly forbidden. Athletes found doing so will face disqualification."

The ruling is to help keep riders safer and to ensure a focus on competition rather than content creation. Some online sources suggest this ruling, effective now, was a revision to help define the previous rule and outlaw smart-glasses along with phone cameras, Go-Pro type units, etc.  

I'm not really all that interested in the "how" Ironman will enforce this ruling, but I am very intrigued by the "why" of it all. As I read more about this I discovered that Ironman is very strict about phone usage and other tech surrounding social media and individual usage of devices.  

Technology and gravel events have had a pretty cozy relationship over the last several years. It is hard to even imagine a world where, for instance, cameras would be banned at Unbound. Events like Unbound, Gravel Worlds, and Mid-South rely heavily on social media both from an organizational point of view, but also as a way to entice sponsors and as a way to activate sponsor involvement in their events.  

Ultra-endurance events also have been impacted by athlete/film crew/marketing agendas and in some cases (Tour Divide) have caused major issues between competitors and the event organizers. 

My stance is the gravel and ultra-distance events people are participating in have become a means to an end when it comes to "social media currency". Of course, not every rider or company/sponsor is there to bank off an event, but this happens a lot and I think we all can agree it happens. What you think of it is where the diverging opinions come into play. I don't like it, and I have many reasons as to why this is, but that is another entire post. 

What do you think of it all? Or maybe you just do not care. Let me know in the comments.

Review: Redshift Sports Mousetrap Pedal Adapters

The Redshift Sports Mousetrap Pedal Adapter in the wild

Introduction:

Redshift Sports sent over a pair of Mousetrap Pedal Adapters at no charge to Guitar Ted Productions. Guitar Ted was not bribed, nor paid, for this review. All images and opinions are Guitar Ted's unless otherwise noted.  

I have several bicycles. Some of them have flat pedals installed and some do not. Maybe it is just me, but there are days I'd like to ride the bikes without flat pedals and well...... Riding in street shoes on SPD's is not only uncomfortable, but likely dangerous. 

Most likely....

But I would do the deed on street shoes and SPD's at times because I am just in a hurry or I really want to test ride that bike NOW! Going up to slide into SPD compatible shoes is just going to take time and energy. 

Now what if there were a product you could install in seconds which would convert your clipless pedals into flats, look good doing it, and perform well? Now you might call something like this a "better mousetrap. And you know what? This is exactly what Redshift Sports has done. 

The Mousetrap Pedal Adapter:

The Mousetrap Pedal Adapter is a Nylon composite device with a magnet which attaches to the interface of your SPD type pedal, giving it a flat platform which you then can safely and comfortably pedal on. 

Measuring a healthy 80mm x 105mm, there is plenty of space for most feet. The surface is textured to provide some grip for street shoes. (With a rubber soul, don't-cha know ) The stack height of the Mousetraps is 10mm, which should be nearly imperceptible and according to Redshift, make a saddle height adjustment unnecessary. 

Redshift Sports claims a pair of Mousetrap Pedal Adapters weighs about 176 grams. I didn't weigh the pair I have until after they had gotten dirty and they weighed 165 grams. So, that's nice. You can obtain a set of Mousetrap Pedal Adapters now for a price of $59.99/pair. Oh.....and they come in Black/Grey, but there are some limited edition colors too. 

Currently the Mousetrap Pedal Adapters are only compatible with SPD type pedals. However; Redshift Sports says  SPD-SL, Look Keo, and Crank Brothers compatible variants will be coming Fall 2026. 

How The Mousetrap Works:

So, I don't think these could be any easier to use. I was a bit skeptical when I was pitched the idea for the review. I've seen pedal adapters before. You might recall those Shimano "test ride" inserts. I know lots of bicycles are running around with those on one side of a set of SPD pedals, and once they are in there they are nearly impossible to remove.  Was the Mousetrap going to use a similar retention idea? 

The Mousetrap Pedal Adapter showing the tab which interfaces with the SPD pedal 

 Thankfully the Mousetrap does not work like those old Shimano test flats. The Mousetrap has an inner, hinged rectangular part, (on my samples it is the light grey colored bit), which when the front tab is pulled up, the pedal is adapter is ready to be installed, as shown above. Next.....

Place the tab into the leading retention clip on the SPD pedal

 

Then fold over the open part of the Mousetrap Pedal Adapter

And........DONE! Ready to ride!

As I stated above, I don't think this could be done any easier. I installed the adapter with one hand as I took the above images. The Mousetrap comes off just as easily. Well, when you want it to come off. When installed the Mousetrap Pedal Adapter stays put quite nicely. 

Part of the stability of the Mousetrap Pedal Adapters is the magnets embedded into the glass-fiber infused Nylon body. Near as I can tell, there are two magnets in each adapter which land right above the back end of the pedal body. So besides the mechanical connection there is a magnetic one as well. 

Black and grey Mousetraps along with the Limited Edition colors. (Image courtesy of Redshift Sports)

 Riding Impressions:

I've already given it away, but the Mousetrap Pedal Adapter does ride very well. It isn't loose or noisy. It feels pretty secure, although I maybe wouldn't take to doing stunts with these on a bike. No, these adapters are not going to replace your flat pedals, but what they could do for you is open up many options. I'll get to those ideas in a minute. 

I've had the Mousetrap Pedal Adapters for about a month now. I used them for commutes, for the most part, along with some errand riding, and just for bombing around the neighborhood. Again, these adapters feel good, they feel pretty secure, and the diamond pattern molded into the pedal adapter platform is grippy enough for casual pedaling around and maybe a spirited sprint now and then. Rubber soled shoes work best, naturally. I used my PF Flyers, a pair of Keen hiking boots, and a pair of Giant branded MTB shoes with an SPD interface and a rubber sole. 

I have just a couple of nits. One is that the adapters make your pedals hang the Mousetraps face down to the ground. This is a bit of a kludge when the ride requires a lot of stopping and starting. You could buy two sets of Mousetraps and have double-sided platforms. So, if this is really an issue, there is this remedy. Secondly, while Redshift designed these so you wouldn't have to change your saddle height, I think it is a bit noticeable that you have something a bit different going on with regard to leg extension. Now granted, this may be due to shoes. I understand this. I also know I have a sensitivity to saddle height, an almost "Princess and the Pea" level of sensitivity to saddle height changes. So this could be chalked up to Guitar Ted's weirdness.  

I used the Mousetrap Pedal Adapters on a recent gravel ride.

 I even did a gravel ride with the Mousetraps on the bike, using the adapters for about half the ride, and the clipless side for the other half. The Mousetraps stayed in place without any noises or issues at all. I was pretty impressed. 

Comments:

I could see how the Mousetrap Pedal Adapters could be used as a way to make it fun and attractive to use your race bike at a venue to get around with. I know many times big events have a day, or maybe two days, ahead of the event with expos, food, and music. You can easily pop in these adapters and go run about wherever without worrying about slipping off the clipless pedal or fatiguing your feet. Plus you won't have to clomp around in stiff riding shoes. 

Obviously commuting, errands, or fun rides on your SPD equipped bike can now happen for you anytime without the hassle of finding your cycling shoes and putting them on. The Mousetraps are small enough to fit into your pocket, and can be installed and removed in seconds. So, it is something you might even want on a touring bike or bike packing trip for short excursions to the showers in your flip-flops, or for that beer run into town and back. 

Conclusions:

The Mousetrap Pedal Adapters are a very clever idea which was implemented excellently. They are easy to use, effective at what they were designed to do, and they could be applied to many different situations. I found them to be very impressive and useful. They opened up an easy way for me to grab any bike in my stable and ride it in my street shoes. 

It is hard to find anything not to like here. So, I will quit trying and just enjoy them. I'd recommend these to anyone who has a bicycle with a clipless Shimano style pedal who could use a platform pedal now and again. 

Check these adapters out HERE and the other great products Redshift Sports offers at Redshift Sports .  

Fender Season

The weather people are telling us March will be wet. Besides the snow which has to melt, and the frost which has to come out yet, this has the makings of a perfect time for fenders. 

So, I preemptively mounted some Planet Bike Cascadia ALX fenders I bought several years ago. (Note: Link takes you to currently available Cascadia ALX model) 

The Singular Peregrine Mk4 seemed to be a great candidate for mounting those fenders to, and so this is what I did. There was one part though which proved to be a tiny bit of a challenge. This was in relation to the rear fender mount at the "brake bridge", as we used to call that part of the frame. It is odd we call it this because it no longer supports a brake these days. Maybe we should call this the "upper seat stay bridge" Or perhaps just "seat stay bridge" because there is no "lower" one. Anyway.....

That downward facing mounting boss....

At the top of the Planet Bike fender is a mount which is supposed to attach to a point where a caliper brake would mount on a rim braked road bike. Mountain bikes, while not supporting a brake off this bracing member between the seat stays, also generally had a hole going more or less horizontally through the tube. 

But not the Peregrine. Nope! That boss is pointed straight down at the ground. Yes....fancy fenders do mount on a boss like this. I understand. However; not all folks buy those kinds of fenders, and well......I have fenders which mount in a completely different way at this point. 

The Planet Bike fender has a metal mounting tab sticking up vertically from the fender which is supposed to mount to a seat stay bridge with the more common horizontal mount. I decided to modify the fender mounting tab as shown. Now I had to find a hex wrench with a short extension to fit in between the top of the fender and the mounting tab, now bent at a 90° to accommodate the bottom-facing boss. .  

Since a suitable wrench did not exist, I had to modify a 3mm hex wrench to be short enough to have its "elbow" end fit between the fender and the bolt I was using to attach the fender to the mounting boss. Just getting the bolt started was a minor miracle, by the way. The easy part was tightening it.  

Easy, maybe.... But also tedious, slow, and awkward. Once this hurdle had been cleared the rest was a can-o-corn.  I even found a small stash of long spacers and corresponding bolts to help clear the front brake caliper. It pays to squirrel away parts sometimes! 

The test ride wasn't maybe the best idea. We still had a lot of compacted snow and slush around the neighborhood. This cut my ride short, but not before I knew everything was tight and was working correctly. Even the slush was good for checking how sturdy the installation was due to the frozen stuff clogging up around the tire and fender at times. I'm confident this set up will do what I need to to do. 

And hopefully that will be riding a lot more soon! 

The Path To Discovering Gravel Grinding: Part 1

My number plate from the 2006 Dirty Kanza 200

 As gravel grinding in the Modern Era continues into its 3rd decade, I thought it might be interesting to those who weren't a part of those pioneering days of gravel events to read my experiences and thoughts about those times. 

Twenty years ago I signed up for an event in Kansas being put on by two men most folks had never heard of before. Joel Dyke and Jim Cummins were two guys brought together by their mutual love of two-wheeled, off-road fun, and challenging rides. 

Jim came from the moto world and was into mountain biking. Joel was more into whatever cycling hi-jinx he could find, and if he couldn't find it, he created it. Between the two they had forged an interest in a silly gravel road based event in Iowa called Trans Iowa.  

Joel and Jim had been in contact concerning Trans Iowa with Jeff Kerkove. Jeff was the "point man" of Trans Iowa those first few years. Mostly because Jeff was a well-known solo 24hr endurance racer who had a very popular blog at the time. While I was more of an assistant in those days, it meant I wasn't a big part of the communications going back and forth between we Trans Iowa organizers and the organizers of the DK200. I was verbally kept abreast of all of this though since I worked in close proximity to Jeff. Both literally and figuratively!

An image I pulled off an online source on the Flint Hills back in 2006

Joel came up and rode in the first two editions of Trans Iowa and took many ideas back to Kansas for he and Jim to mull over as they were going to put on a similar event in Kansas. They settled on the Flint Hills for this ride which, originally wasn't called "Dirty Kanza", but nearer to their inaugural running of the event, it took on that name. 

It was kind of an unspoken thing back in the very early days of gravel that if you put on an event and another event organizer came to ride in your event, you went and rode in their event as well. It was a sign of solidarity amongst the early gravel event promoters. So, when Jim and Joel announced registration was open for the 2006 Dirty Kanza 200, I signed up.  

While I could have plied questions and received knowledge from the event organizers, due to the circumstances I was in at the time, I did not do this. Being in a gravel event was a completely new idea back in 2006. Everything you were going to do was pulled from other cycling disciplines and when it came to big decisions, like what bicycle to use, it was an unknown to a degree. Mostly because I, and others coming to the first Dirty Kansas, had no idea what the Flint Hills of Kansas was like. 

I was researching online, looking at pictures, reading stories about the grasslands, and getting to know some of the history of the area including the history of earlier peoples who called the Flint Hills home. Especially the history behind the Kanza people.  I actually learned a lot just because I signed up for an event, so it was a good thing besides the cycling bits. 

I eventually decided on riding my then new On One Inbred as a single speed. It would be my first bicycle race in ten years and it would be 200 miles long! (Look....no one said it was a smart decision!) So, you can see why I was a bit concerned and why I was doing a bunch of research. There were chats online in the Endurance Forum of MTBR.com, there were blog posts from fellow cyclists, and I did actually pick Jeff's mind about nutrition and such, since he was a Pro at it.  

It was an exciting time. There were a lot of unknowns, and decisions made were weightier and harder to make back then. In my next post on this, coming up in a week or two, I'll discuss more about what this event meant in terms of the overall nascent gravel scene  

Friday News And Views

Sour Bikes Pasta Party 32"er (Image courtesy of Sour Bikes)

The 32" Watch: Sour Bikes, TPU Tube News:

The hype and number of bikes surrounding the 32" wheel continues to grow. This week Sour Bikes, a German based company, released news concerning their Pasta Party 32"er. This is a production frame which you can order now. 

Interesting bits on the bike shown on Sour's site include a Manitou fork modified for 32" wheels having a claimed 120mm of travel, Schwalbe Rick Race XC tires, and Reynolds aluminum rims in 32" size. 

Sour claims this bike has only marginally longer chain stays and stack height over the similar Pasta Party 29"er model. They used a very short tapered head tube and a curved seat tube to achieve this result. I think it is very reminiscent of Gary Fisher's early 29"er prototype which also sported a modified Manitou suspension fork, a very short head tube, and a curved seat tube.

Also, a press release was sent out by Tubolito saying they are going to offer TPU tubes for 32" wheels. Tubolito is a German based concern as well. It would seem the Germans are really pushing 32" wheels then as all the companies represented in today's 32" Watch are German based companies. 

Image courtesy of Teravail.

Teravail Launches Component Range:

Teravail is getting into the components game with a range of handle bars in carbon and aluminum, stems in aluminum, and seat posts, including a dropper post. 

News released on Tuesday of this week revealed a few flared drop bars of interest to gravel riders, some MTB flat bars, and  they also dropped news on some grips and handlebar tape as well. 

Comments: The QBP owned brand seems to have a bit of redundancy now considering QBP's Whisky Parts Co. also has similar products. The drop bars look fine, and carbon is good for gravel, so I suspect the products will be good performers. But why double up on product offerings with two different brand names? Curious move.... 

Image courtesy of Castelli

Castelli Announces Unlimited Pro 2 Jersey:

Gravel racing is pushing apparel design into new territory. This Castelli jersey is evidence of a new trend in gravel racing jersey design which combines the function of a jersey with that of a basic hydration pack. 

The jersey is designed for hot weather. Castelli recommends this piece for anything from 64°F - 95°F temperatures. The jersey has a close fitting, race cut. The design features shoulder fabric treatment which is intended to enhance aerodynamic efficiency. The pocket on the upper back of the jersey will hold a 1.5L bladder, (not included) and there is fabric loop to hold the drink hose down across the shoulder and upper chest area. 

The jersey is available in three colors. Paprika, (shown), Elmwood, (a tan hue), or black. Price ius set at $230.00 USD. You can view more details and images of the Unlimited Pro 2 Jersey HERE. 

There is also a matching bib short called the Pro Aero Race S Kit which you can check out HERE. 

Comments: I was offered a chance to test this jersey but since I am built like a linebacker and not a Pro level cyclist I declined the offer. Sizing runs small, by the way. What is shown as 3XL comes out to an American XL, and I'm being generous there, I think.  Suffice it to say that this is a serious bit of kit for anyone who wants to glean every marginal gain they can in competition at unpaved events. 

The price is a bit dear, but if you are attacking the pointy end of the gravel racing scene, you probably already are caught up in the "arms race" and a 230.00 dollar jersey for race day is maybe no big deal. I have it on good authority that Castelli gear is well made and does the job it is intended for well enough that the price seems justified. I'll leave it at that. 

Berd spoke (Image courtesy of Berd)

Berd Offers Light XC MTB Wheels:

Berd Spokes now offers complete wheels for XC racing which tip the scales at barely over 1000 grams. Featuring a carbon, hookless deign for a rim, and Berd branded hubs, these wheels should be some of the lightest wheels out there for XC MTB.

The inner rim width is listed at 30mm, so these are legit MTB racing width rims. The rims are backed by a Lifetime warranty as well. The Berd wheels are dubbed the Hawk30 Gold. A set of the Hawk30 Gold wheels runs $2,395.00 USD and can be purchased direct from Berd HERE. 

Comments: The Berd spokes are picking up steam with racing teams and people looking for the best, lightest, and most comfortable riding spokes. I've been using a set of wheels since 2020 with Berd Spokes and they have been solid wheels with no issues for me. I would imagine these Hawk30 Golds would be fantastic riding wheels, if mine are anything to go by. 

Guitar Ted Podcast Episode #97:

Another podcast dropped this week since N.Y. Roll has made it back from Mexico where he had a little vacation time. 

On this episode we discuss a wide variety of topics beginning with series events and why we like them and don't like them. We also get into the news which came out yesterday concerning those new Conti racing tires and the new Singular Albatross 32"er.  

We also discuss how some event directors are bowing out now who had been producing events for several years. We discuss this within the context of the Raputitsa event, because it has been garnering a lot of attention on Facebook with their recent posts, but this is just a high profile example from what I have noted as being a small exodus of event directors from the gravel scene of late.  

If you'd like to listen to this latest episode, please click THIS LINK to go to the Spotify home page, or find the Guitar Ted Podcast on your favorite podcast platform. Pleas like, subscribe, and leave a review. It sure helps us out on our end if you do. Thanks!

That's a wrap on this week. Get out and ride those bicycles!