Friday News And Views

Ridley Kanzo Fast 2,0 (Image courtesy of Belgium Cycling Factory)

Ridley Redesigns Kanzo fast For Cutting Edge Racing On Gravel:

Ridley announced yesterday a newly redesigned version of their gravel racing bike. The Kanzo Fast 2.0 has every new trend and technology for cutting edge racers onboarded with this new release. 

Stating the Kanzo Fast has tire clearance for a 700 x 58mm tire front and rear, this 1X only bike has more than enough room for most any tire choice for gravel racing currently available. 

Ridley then went to work on the aerodynamics to optimize the usage of those big tires and they managed to reduce drag in their testing over the outgoing Kanzo Fast 1.0 which was limited to 38mm tires. In fact, their numbers show a reduction of 13 watts with a rider onboard in the wind tunnel results published in the Ridley press release. 

Comments: Amazing technology and design, to be sure. However; the actual benefits of this sort of bicycle is going to be lost on most gravel riders. Ridley is designing for Pro level racers who tune their physiques and minds for racing as fast as possible. Of course, your genetics play a big part in all of this as well. Say you are built like a - you know - regular human? Yeah....this does not seem like a good idea for most of us out there. 

This image from Ridley above was specifically chosen by me to illustrate how this bicycle is supposed to be ridden. Now, I do not know you, dear reader, but I am willing to bet most of you are not the less than 1% of gravel riders who would even want to hold that position over miles of gravel. 

Which (finally) brings me to my point: All the online media went whole-hog covering this release. Why are they focusing so much on the "pointy end" of gravel bicycles and ignoring what the vast majority wants/needs in a gravel bike? No shade on Ridley or their fine take on a gravel racing bike. It's just that this is such a niche bicycle and wrong for most people. 

750D (L) and 700c tires. Image provided by Mark Slate

Wait.....It's Not Dead?

Recently while doing research watching Bikepacking.com videos, I saw a segment from the MADE Show featuring Neuhaus Metal Works and a bicycle they had at the show sporting 750D wheels.  

Also known in some circles as 30.5", the 750D wheel was developed by WTB sometime around 2022/2023 as an alternative to 700c wheels. The wheel was paired with WTB's Nano tread in a 40mm casing which was claimed to be an overall diameter of 30". WTB had thought this wheel size would, ideally, fit into some 29"er hard tail frames seamlessly and turn those into a sort of gravel biking option. 

But some builders, like Nuehaus, saw potential in this size to be a larger wheeled bicycle much more adept at fitting folks under 6 feet tall without compromising geometry. The hope Nuehaus has is that the tire selection would become more varied and include wider casings to make gravel and bike packing bikes attractive and be in a size which would fit more people than the now trendy 32"er wheels.  

Chart courtesy of ICAN

However; 750D failed to create any traction within the bicycle industry. So, it was assumed, by myself and many others, to be a "dead wheel size". Especially with the advent of 32" wheels in 2025. So, it came as a complete surprise to me that any company would be making a bicycle to fit 750D in 2026. Moreover; Nuehaus seems to have a small cache of Nano tires in 750D and seem to be advocates for  the industry to begin exploring this wheel size more. 

This may not go anywhere, but then again..... Who knows? The main point is 750D, while not 'dead', is hanging on by a thread thanks to at least one enthusiastic builder.  

Image courtesy of Velo Orange

Velo Orange Shows Upcoming New Products:

Fresh off the MADE Show, Velo Orange shared some news with its mailing list this week concerning some interesting new products in the pipeline. 

My favorite is what Velo Orange is calling the "Gravel Crankset". It is a square taper interface, silver crank which can be set up 1X/single speed or as a double chain ring crank. It utilizes the 110/74 BCD five bolt standard, so many chain rings will fit this crank. Plus Velo Orange will also be offering chain rings as well. 

Lengths for the Gravel Crankset will be 165mm, 170mm, and 175mm. The crank set will be sold "ala carte" style so you can configure the crank set any way you'd like. Velo Orange is estimating the in-stock date for this product will be this Fall. (UPDATE: Velo Orange has informed us that a 160mm option will also be available)

For details on this and the other cool upcoming stuff from Velo Orange click HERE. 

Image courtesy of Wilde Bicycle Co. 

Wilde Bicycle Co. Offering A Take On Classic Mountain Bike Design:

One of the reported hits from the MADE Show floor was Wilde Bicycle Co's take on Joe Breeze's "Breezer" Series 1 mountain bike. Widely regarded as the first production mountain bike, Joe Breeze made a handful of these for various local Marin mountain bikers in the late 1970's. 

Wilde's take on Breeze's design is one which cuts a very convincing profile but has all the modern touches you'd expect from a MTB in 2026. Things like disc brakes, Boost spaced hubs, a 1X drive train, through-axles, and electronic shifting. 

Wilde didn't just make this as a one-off. You can order your own "Pleezer", as Wilde calls the model. They say the Pleezer is not a tribute to the Breezer Series 1, but its own thing. A frame, fork, and bull-moose style handle bar can be had for $5,800.00. For more details see Wilde Bicycle Co's page for the Pleezer HERE.  

That's it for this week! Thank you for reading Guitar Ted Productions. Now get out there and pedal a bicycle around! 

Weekend Adventure Bike Choice

So this weekend on Saturday I'm supposed to be accompanying N.Y. Roll on a metric century ride starting in Reinbeck. I needed to choose a bike for this adventure. Of course, almost anything I choose out of my stable will work, so the reasons I choose what I do is usually based upon extenuating circumstances. 

In this case, as is common for me, I am testing something for review. This time it is a chain lubricant. (Embargoed until September 1st, so I cannot speak to what it is exactly now) So, since this chain lube is on the pink BMC MCD, I am riding that bike. 

But this bike is a good choice for other reasons. Obviously, I like it. Which may be the only reason I need to ride this bike. Next is the Redshift Sports ShockStop stem. I say it all the time: I really enjoy riding with these stems. They work. I feel better after a ride if I use this stem. I wish Redshift would make a polished silver version because I would immediately put on on my Singular Peregrine Mk4 which has silver components. 

But Redshift doesn't do this as of now. Boo!

The bike is geared right, the tires are 50mm wide Schwalbe G-One Overlands, and it is a comfortable bike for long miles. I know this since it is the bike I used at BRAN this year for a week of multi-surface riding. I have always thought of this bike as the skinny-tire version of a Fargo Gen I. They really are pretty similar to each other. In fact, my set up on this BMC was taken directly from my Fargo Gen I. 

So, the pink BMC it is for the weekend. I just have to spruce it up a bit and it will be good to go.  

Randomonium

 NOTE: Okay folks, if you haven't been around long enough here to know what a "Randomonium" post is, then here is the deal. I ramble, rant, and randomly moan about all things cycling in one, in-cohesive, bizarre post. "Randomonium", okay?

Current state of the Peregrine Mk4

 Aluminum Wheels - Not A Downgrade:

I recently slapped on a set of wheels on the Peregrine Mk4 which had been languishing in the G-Ted Productions lab for ........years? Yes. Years. Why were they not used and why did I decide to use them now? This is a bit of an interesting story, in my opinion. 

First of all, I like aluminum rims. I have no qualms about using them in my personal wheel builds. So, this isn't having to do with any dislike of aluminum for a rim material. But I find it a bit uninteresting if I see or review a set of pre-built aluminum wheels.  

Why the negativity? I really do not know other than to say I am spoiled with lightweight, carbon rimmed wheel sets. Spoiled! I see aluminum pre-built wheels as being "cheaper" in terms of performance and weight. Obviously they are less expensive, but that is not why I have this proclivity to look upon aluminum wheel sets with some disdain.  

But I looked at my wheel inventory and saw a couple wheel sets which, honestly, are not too shabby, and they have aluminum rims. One is a set of Irwin wheels in aluminum. The other, and the set I used on the Peregrine, is an Easton EA-70 AX, (I think) wheel set. Both are fairly light, spin well, have great hubs, and.....well, I was being a snob I guess. I need to use these wheels up. 

And so I will. 

Prototype Manitou 32"er from earlier this year.

What Have We Learned?

The MADE Show coverage on Bikepacking.com has been extensive and thorough. If you have not either watched the YouTube videos or read the site, you should. I'll admit, I have not watched/read everything there yet. So, I maybe have missed a few things. But from what I've seen I gathered a few thoughts to share. 

Obviously, the custom frame builders see 32'ers as an opportunity to gin up some interest in each builder who chose to show one of these wagon-wheelers. Several were showcased and each has their own take on the way this format should be done. 

This indicates to me that we have not quite yet arrived at a consensus regarding standards in axle spacing, geometry, or sizing. 

It's also obvious that major component makers are taking this 32" thing seriously. I saw a Fox fork prototype and a Manitou one as well. These things do not exist without some hope of cashing in on a sweet OE contract from an established cycling brand. We know Trek is toying with 32"ers and are rumored to be bringing one to market soon. I have to assume Cannondale, Specialized, and Giant, amongst others are playing with this wheel size now as well. 

From a text sent to me by N.Y. Roll.

Don't Call It An Event:

Got a rare Saturday off coming up. It is happening due to an odd circumstance in which a gay pride festival takes over downtown Waterloo and renders doing business nigh unto impossible. 

The higher-ups decided it was not worth my being there, so I get a flyer on Saturday. I'm going on an adventure ride instead.  N.Y. Roll says we are doing "our own thing", but it will loosely be based off a ride called the "Dig Inn Dirt Incident".

I have vague information regarding N.Y. Roll's plans, but I do know it will be fun. The area we are riding in has plenty of rolling hills and plenty of dirt roads. (UPDATE: N.Y. Roll has a specific route shared with me now. Might mean something.....might not!) 

The planned distance is 60+ miles. Metric century, maybe more. Again, I am in the hands of N.Y. Roll, so.....anything is possible!  Now I just need to figure out what bicycle to ride. 

I'm leaning toward the pink BMC MCD. It has a Redshift Sports ShockStop stem on it and I have a set of wheels for it with 50mm wide Resolute tires which have some knobby tread. Tread which may help on dirt roads or places where the road is barely there, which I have a sneaking suspicion we will find ourselves on. 

Hopefully it doesn't rain and cancel our plans. Stay tuned.... 

October 3rd, 2020. A lunch with N.Y. Roll.

Those Weird Times:

Speaking of N.Y. Roll, while doing research on the blog for this post I came across a mention of a lunch I enjoyed with N.Y. Roll in 2020. 

I shake my head now, but those days were uncertain, scary, and stressful. Maybe we do not talk about this time period because we want to forget it. 

I am happy I documented these days on the blog as much as I did. It is easy to forget details after six years. My post back then I am referring to now mentioned the feelings of those days of Fall 2020:

 "You'll remember that at mid-March we were being told that this virus was going to pretty much end the world."

End the world as we knew it, is what I meant, and in many ways, it did just that. But we don't talk about this anymore, and I have to wonder, what about the scars left? What about the unhealed wounds we have from those days? Things which haven't been dealt with. They are still down there......somewhere. 

But it is the way with us in these times. We have stress, we argue about it for several days, and a month later we've moved on to some other deal. I don't know about you, but without a bicycle to ride, and my faith, I would be in worse shape than I maybe am in now. Much worse.  

Stan's Rolled Gold Sealant Review: Introduction

Stan's Rolled Gold is optimized for higher pressure set ups. 

Rolled Gold For Higher Pressure Tubeless Set-ups:

Today Stan's has introduced a new sealant for riders using higher pressure tubeless tires. Dubbed "Rolled Gold", it is designed to work between 35psi and 100psi. 

It also is designed to seal up to a 7.8mm hole at 100psi.  The sealant also allows you to use less sealant than the competing brand's sealant with Stan's claiming a 28mm tire will seal with as little as 35ml of sealant in the tire. Stan's claims this is 35% less than the average of the competition. 

What It Is:

Stan's Rolled Gold is a high-pressure use sealant which is a water based formula, using natural latex and optimized particle technology. Stan's natural, high-latex formula has improved adhesion to rubber and textile casings which make up bicycle tires. Stan's claims synthetic latex sealants cannot match Rolled Gold's abilities in this area. Furthermore; natural latex is not as brittle once a plug is formed in a tire compared to synthetic latex. This helps to insure a long-lasting repair. 

The high-particle formula also lends speed to the sealing process, in concert with the natural latex, this combination seals punctures more quickly. Both characteristics allow a rider to use less sealant in the tire. 

"Rolled Gold is a high-performance road and gravel sealant requiring less material to seal at a faster rate, making Rolled Gold the lightest, fastest sealant ever,” said Stan’s Mike Bush. “From our experience in this market and from listening to Stan’s riders, we realized we could deliver a superior product for road cyclists, that required less sealant –thus saving weight –yet with the same reliability as our Race Day product, plus you can inject this through the valve. So there are no sacrifices.”

Stan's Rolled Gold sealant is formulated, processed,and bottled in the USA by Stan's.

Prices:  500ml –$27.00 / €27.00 / £27.00125ml –$10.00 / €10.00 / £10.0060ml –$5.00 / €5.00 / £5.50

UPDATED 8/25/2026 @ 3:43 pm CST - 500ml – $29.50, 125ml – $11.00, 60ml – $5.50

How We Are Testing This Sealant: 

Since Stan's is pushing this more toward the road riding segment of riders, I have sent a bottle of this sealant over to N.Y. Roll who is using it on a wheel set with road tires. I will allow him to ride this sealant for a while, get his take on it, and report back. 

As for me, I decided to put Rolled Gold in some 45mm gravel tires and run those at 35psi -40psi. Admittedly, the lower end of the recommended range. 

I did use less sealant in my tires. A LOT less than I typically do. For instance, I would normally run around 100ml of sealant in a typical 700 x 45mm - 50mm gravel tire. I only used one 125ml bottle of Rolled Gold for both tires. So a little over half of what I'd normally use in each tire. 

I'll also admit that I rarely have a puncture here in Iowa. In fact, I do not expect to have one during my part of the test. However; N.Y. Roll is prone to having tubeless tire issues, so my hope is that he will have some valuable feedback on Rolled Gold in the near future. 

My aim is to see how long this sealant lasts compared to the competitor's products. This will take a while, so I do not expect to have any results until later on into the Fall of this year. Meanwhile, I do have some initial impressions to share. 

Impressions:

Rolled Gold is indeed less viscous than many other sealants, but not by a lot. I was able to pour it through a valve with the core removed, but this is not necessarily a rare thing. What I did notice was how fast Rolled Gold coagulates. While attempting to inject the sealant straight from the tip of the bottle, I allowed some air to be sucked backward into the bottle and the bottle's nipple was almost instantaneously blocked! 

I also noted the particle content was rather settled in the bottle and a vigorous shaking of this product is recommended before installing it in a tire. This is much like Stan's Race Day sealant in this manner, so if you've experienced this, you know what I am trying to convey here. I think a similar issue was experienced with WTB's most recent sealant as well. 

N.Y. Roll reported he felt the need to inject a bit more sealant in his tires after his first ride or so because he couldn't hear any sloshing of sealant after his initial installation.  Other than this, I haven't heard anything else from him so far. 

Okay, with that we will have a long wait until we get some miles on this product. Stay tuned for a final verdict in the Fall.  

Two Things

700c based Tumbeleweed Sunliner (Image courtesy of Tumbleweed Bicycles)

32" Done Right:

When the idea started looking real concerning 32" wheeled bicycles, I stated here what I thought should happen with this platform. Specifically with regard to wheel axle standards. 

I stated that SuperBoost rear and 150mm OLD front axles should be considered. Some agreed with the rear axle ideas, but most laughed at, or dismissed my thoughts on the front being 150mm wide. 

Well, I feel a little bit validated now due to what I saw and heard listening to the Bikepacking.com video from the MADE Show. (See the written page with the Sunliner 32"er HERE. Scroll WAY down the page!) NOTE - that link won't tell you about the axle spacing. It's only found in the video. 

Anyway, like Daniel from Tumbleweed says, this wider axle in front lends a ton of stability and precision in terms of handling, especially with a load. I experienced this when I transitioned from fat 26"er wheels to 29"er wheels in a fat bike. Those wheels were so much better than most 29"er wheels it was not even a discussion. 

Tumbleweeds are not cheap. But if I were to get a 32"er, the 32" Sunliner would top my list because of this design choice. That and it would make a killer flat bar gravel touring rig. I know someone who might just know about this. Maybe we need to talk....

2012 Salsa Cycles Titanium Warbird

The Evolution Of The Species:

This past weekend marked the anniversary of my trying out the first purposely designed bicycle for gravel racing, the Salsa Cycles Warbird. 

It was August 22nd 2012. I was at a Salsa Cycles demo in the Twin Cities. My test ride was on single track, so..... Not really representative of what I wanted to see in terms of what the bike was capable of, but it was a portent of how many would eventually see "gravel bikes". 

My test rides were on both the titanium and aluminum versions of the bike. Looking back, the original Warbird was analogous to what an "endurance road bike" is in 2026 terms. Maximum tire clearance was 38mm. (!!!) A far cry from the bikes labled "gravel" today which can swallow 29"er rubber with ease. 

It is notable to remember the context of those times though. First of all, it was 2012. The bike was developed over a period of two to three years, so the idea was hatched somewhere around 2008 -2009. Think about this: Gravel racing was a very niche sport. Obviously Salsa Cycles saw the potential for gravel racing to become something more significant, so this bicycle came into existence, but from a lens of nearly twenty years ago, it was a big gamble. 

What was, perhaps, a bit of a saving grace to making this decision was that a Warbird could just as easily have been a cyclo- cross bike, making the "excuse" to buy one a little easier to swallow, perhaps. But this is just my feeling from my recollections of those days. 

Another point: There were no tires for gravel in 2008. Getting Clement ( which became Donnelly after a few years) to jump in with the MSO tire was key to getting the Warbird off the ground, (no pun intended). Remember folks: Tires drive market trends. You can make a "gravel bike", but if Salsa had been stuck putting touring tires in this bike it would have been a big fail. 

Now we have gravel aero bikes, 2.2" wide tires, and carbon everything. But wait! Now there are 32" wheels! (Monster Gravel, right "Bike Rumor? You saw that here first.) So the breed evolves yet again. 

One could say much of this is being perpetuated to keep Gravel™ afloat as a driver in the market. Perhaps this theory has some merit. But I'll say it again: The bicycle industry cannot help itself. Everything it does gravitates toward racing, top level competition, and technical innovations for the sake of technical innovations. It is painfully obvious that the vast majority of cyclists are expected to hang on to where the industry goes or risk getting spat out the back, (shamed), so.....get on board with the latest! 

Or just 'eff it all' and ride for fun. 

Where will it evolve from here? 

The consumer will decide. 

NOTE: Tomorrows post  won't publish until 7:00am CST due to an embargo. 

Country Views: Summer Fading Away

Escape Route: I went around this road closed sign to...

Late August is when I deem Summer to be over. It kind of coincided with Gravel Worlds, but now that I don't go there anymore, it has settled on August 20th or so for me. 

That's when the Sun starts setting before 8:00pm here. The Sun is noticeably lower in the sky as well. We lose a ton of daylight time in August, and soon nights will be longer than the days again. 

Nature points out this Summertime fade away also. The song birds start disappearing. Gone away for the Winter already. The corn starts drying out. More brown things start appearing in the ditches. Life seems to be fading away like the Sunlight during the days of late August. 

The countryside rings with the sounds of insects. The "neek-breek! neek-breek!" never ends. Only the wind can drown it out, but August is usually calm, so it typically is noisy out there. 

The bridge on Hoff Road is being.....replaced? I hope so. 

I decided to use the 4Runner to haul my Singular Cycles Peregrine Mk4 to Prairie Grove Park and start off from there. It eliminates a bunch of city riding that sometimes I'd rather not do and it saves time, of course.

I'd thought to run down Hoff Road, as I am wont to do, but when I reached the corner to turn right onto gravel I saw a "Road Closed" sign. "Oh oh!",  I thought to myself, "I wonder if the bridge is out?" I figured I would run down and see what was up. And obviously, you see above what I found. 

A wee bit of pavement later and.....

....all was right with the world again.

No problem! I was willing to backtrack. However; I saw how the bridge crew had laid a steel beam on its side across the creek. Tempting.... I also looked at the shallow water, and again, I was tempted. But why risk turning an ankle and getting muddy shoes just to cross the creek? It wasn't necessary. So, I went around. Besides, it gave me bonus miles!

Looking South down Ansborough

The roads were a mixed bag. It was obvious the County laid down fresh gravel immediately after the rains quit last weekend. There were some patches of road which hadn't received fresh gravel and these were hard and fast dirt, for the most part. But those were rare. 

At least the car traffic in this area is high enough that it pushed aside the gravel to create some good lines. It was dusty though. More so than I expected. The rare car which passed me really was kicking up a cloud! 

Dust or no, it was great to be back out in the country once again. For the better part of the two weeks prior it simply was not a good idea to ride out there. Either it was blazing hot and humid, or it was raining, with thunder and lightning. So, this stellar weather was welcomed with open arms.

Rural traffic can look pretty alien at times. 

August riding is always very different than it is at any other time of the year. I learned just the other day that it is the least windy month of the year here. That tracks, actually, and it adds to the serenity one can find out in the country at this time. 

It feels different because of the way the light hits as well, which is unique to August. Not so low in the sky that it blinds you, but not so high that it washes out the shadows which lend contrast to the scenery. The massive puffy clouds on the day didn't hurt in this regard either. 

All in all, one of the best days outside in 2026 so far. Hope to repeat that again. 

Deconstruction: Part 2

Progress has been made on the wheel project. I managed to get both Surly Extraterrestrials off the Duster rims, remove both TLR rim strips, and then deconstruct the wheels. 

Now that the rims are freed up, I can measure them, measure the hubs, and calculate the spoke lengths. The spokes which came out of the old wheels are actually not bad. I may employ some of them if the measurements agree. 

The rims are in great shape. No dings or big scratches. I do still plan on de-stickering them. I will be ultra-careful with those two TLR rim strips. They are a little delicate along their edges. Fortunately both look reasonably good and reusable. 

That was the big hurdle to get over. Especially removing those tires. That was quite the chore! Once I got past the removing of the tires things went a lot more quickly. 

I'm not sure when I will get to the construction phase at this time. I have to measure everything and figure out spoke lengths. Then I'll have to see what I have in reserve for spokes and decide if I am ordering spokes or not. If an order is necessary, (and I am betting it will be necessary), this will take a bit longer and I may not get the wheels built until later in September. 

But whatever. The deconstruction phase is over. Time to move on.