Friday, September 14, 2012

Friday News And Views

The "Tweeners" are coming!
Interbike 2012:

As I posted a couple of days ago, Interbike is on the radar here and I leave On Sunday to attend the yearly shindig held in Las Vegas: (pronounced- "lawst-way-jez": N. The city that sucks money, souls, and character like a Hoover.)

The "big" news will be 27.5"er mountain bike stuff, carbon fiber, electric bicycles, carbon fiber, road bikes with disc brakes, carbon fiber, and carbon fiber wheels, components, frames, and carbon fiber.

Get the picture?

So, yeah........I don't expect to see anything "mind blowing", but you just never know. There could be a through axle rear, front suspended fat bike, with or without rear suspension, at the show. Maybe. That would blow my mind a wee little bit. But other than that, you know, it probably won't be a show that gets described by the term "innovation". More like"tweakage", is what it probably will be. I could be wrong though.....stay tuned. 

Trek "Earl" fixie
Salsa Cycles Beargrease
How Fat Is "Fat"?

I saw something that struck me in a funny way today, so I thought I would share this observation.

The single gear, stripped down Earl, (left, in orange), weighs 26.7lbs. The Beargrease, on the right, with 20 speeds, and is definitely not stripped down, weighs 28.5lbs.

For a bit of levity here, keep in mind that most average hybrid bikes weigh more than either one of these two bikes, and also that the Beargrease costs a lot more than the Earl. But I was struck by how far fat bikes have come, and I think it could even get better. Not a lot better/lighter, but a Beargrease modded to what that Earl weighs stock? I think it is entirely possible.

Again, the fat bike costs way, way more than an Earl, but judging by the looks, I think the actual weights are astounding in comparison. Well, you decide......do these wheels make me look fat, Honey?

 Trans Iowa News Update: 

Okay, I have been toying with a couple of things and I am going to throw this out there for anyone that cares to comment on it....

Registration: The thought right now is to move registration forward a bit more than last year. I am thinking very early in November right now. Don't do anything just yet! I'll make a formal announcement after Interbike, but let me know any thoughts on that, if you care....

Field Limit: For reasons I am not ready to 'splain just now, I may be increasing the field limit a hair. As of now, that figure may be 115, or as high as 125 people. My thinking is that I can handle about 75-85 actual racers in the event, and as anyone knows that follows this, the roster never stays maxed and actually shrinks down come event day to much lower levels. (Last year we had 67 of a possible 100) So,  you may see a bit of my thinking there. Let me know what you think if you care to.

3GR: 

Yes- despite my imminent departure to western lands, I am going out on a gravel ride Saturday morning starting at the usual spot, (Gateway Park), at 8:30am. It's supposed to be sunny and quite pleasant, so come on and ride some gravel.

Next Week: Being gone at Interbike means sparse posts here normally. I may opt to Audio-blog instead, which will be easier for me, but there won't be pictures! The headings will all show up as "Trans Iowa Radio" here if I do that, so you've been forewarned!

Have a great weekend, and go ride yer bicycles!

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