Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame Class 2026

The Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame has announced its 5th class of entrants to the hall. Let's take a look at each entrant, their bio for the hall, and then I'll have a bit of commentary afterward on each individual. 

Please keep in mind these comments I make in each "Comments" section for each individual are my own opinions and may not reflect the opinions of the GCHoF, cycling media, or anyone else, for that matter. I'm open to civil discourse concerning any of my comments so please do not hesitate to reach out if you feel so inclined in the comments section here. 

Image courtesy of the Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame

 

The Inductees for 2026

Kristen Legan
Meg Fisher
Paul Errington
Jim Cummins

Kristen Legan: From her bio in the press release: "Her accomplishments on the bike include multiple Unbound 200 podiums and a victory at the 2023 Unbound XL, but today her ongoing legacy is in her storytelling and the riders she coaches. Kristen has helped cyclists of all abilities accomplish and exceed their goals in gravel cycling. In addition to her coaching, Kristen works with leading brands in the cycling industry, including Shimano, Lazer helmets and others, to advance and promote the sport of gravel cycling."

Comments: Kristen has been an athlete and a mover behind the scenes. Her husband, Nick Legan, also a member of the GCHoF, along with Kristen, are both instrumental in influencing product, particularly from Shimano, when it comes to gravel cycling. Kristen's athletic accomplishments and advocacy further underscore why she belongs in the Hall. 

Meg Fisher: From her bio in the press release: "With palmares including Paralympic gold, silver and bronze medals, Meg Fisher turned her world-class talent to gravel bicycle racing. There, she quickly became an example of courage, perseverance and inclusivity, with para category wins at world-class events including Unbound Gravel, Rebecca’s Private Idaho, Gravel Worlds, and SBT GVL, among others. As an advocate for the creation of para classes, Meg has helped create inclusive spaces at gravel events across the country. Her presence at those events, her willingness to share her story, and her encouragement of others has inspired countless riders of all abilities to find confidence, resilience and joy through gravel cycling."

Comments: The obvious influence here is Meg Fisher's spirit and grit to overcome things which seem overwhelming to many of us. In the face of her difficulties she shows us a form of the "Spirit of Gravel" which is at once both inspirational and indisputable.  

Paul Errington: From his bio in the press release: "While modern gravel cycling has its roots firmly planted in the USA, it has quickly become a global phenomenon. One of the key figures in the global proliferation of gravel events has been Paul Errington. He recognized the potential of gravel cycling as a unique and accessible form of outdoor adventure. As an early advocate for the sport, he’s inspired countless cyclists to explore the world on gravel, both in Europe and beyond. He hosted his first gravel event –– The Dirty Reiver –– in 2016 and was a key figure in the global expansion of the Grinduro gravel series. Today, as the Grinduro series owner, Paul hosts thousands of riders each year at multiple events across the globe."

Comments: I have been aware of Paul for many years. He came and rode in Trans Iowa v9 in 2013. He also partook of the DK200 as well. Being inspired by these events he went back to the UK and started the Dirty Reiver,taking cues from the US scene, and  his bio tells the rest of the story. Definitely one very influential person in the gravel scene. 

Jim Cummins: From his bio in the press release: "As co-founder of Unbound Gravel’s predecessor, the Dirty Kanza 200 (with 2023 GCHOF inductee, Joel Dyke), Jim Cummins placed his bet on the potential of gravel as a cycling discipline in 2006. Jim and the DK team successfully scaled from 34 riders in 2006, to using a lottery system to fill the 2,500 available spots in 2018 –– remarkable growth by any standards. It was also one of the first gravel events to host international riders. Today, Unbound Gravel is the world’s largest gravel cycling event, bringing thousands of riders, support crews and race fans from all over the world to the Emporia area. The economic impact is easy to see, as the empty storefronts of 2006 have been replaced by thriving businesses. Throughout the spring, summer and fall, the Emporia area is now a destination for gravel cyclists seeking adventure."

Comments: Wish granted. (IYKYK) Also: It's about time! This has been a person who has first ballot credentials who was ignored for reasons outside of gravel riding and arguably very unfairly so. Now that the electors have gotten over their nonsense the issue has been rectified. 

I've written here several times why Jim deserved to be in this hall, and I know many of you readers are in agreement. The accomplishments are without peer and his influence on gravel cycling is immeasurable. The hall saves its integrity as well. A very well-deserved, long overdue inclusion. 

Overall Comments:  The inclusion of Jim Cummins was met with many commenting and voicing happiness and relief that it finally happened. I was on my phone texting about it for a solid hour after the announcement. I know of two individuals who said they were thinking of starting their own Halls of Fame for gravel and inducting Jim if it did not happen for him this year to be inducted into the GCHoF. 

Besides Jim, the rest of the inductees are worthy additions. I like the international flavor here with Paul Errington's recognition. It points to further inclusions for others not in the US sphere of gravel, but who were obviously influenced by the scene here, and spread the word in a significant way, as Paul did with his efforts. 

Overall a significant and worthy class. I like it, but more importantly, it further legitimizes the Hall as being representative of the most important innovators and historical figures in gravel cycling. More work needs to be done there. (Jana Vavra and Sarah Cooper as women athletes, Craig Schmidt of Gravel Worlds, Mike Narchand as an athlete, as examples), but given what has happened in this class, I have hope those people needing to be included have a chance to be with a continued focus on our gravel cycling pioneers. 

It would help matters if the nomination process was streamlined and taken in-house. I am not in favor of how nominations are done by the GCHoF currently, and this has been expressed to them, and on these pages here, before. I will not belabor the point today, but there could be a far better process for nominations if the GCHoF has the appetite to take authority there. 

Congratulations to the Class of 2026 Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame inductees!

The 32" Watch: More Gravel

Baum DBM 32"er. (Image courtesy of Baum's social media)

It's Not Just For MTB:

While most 32"ers seen so far are meant as mountain bikes for XC use, there are now some being offered as gravel bikes. I showed a Singular Albatross here last Friday, and now I have come across this Baum Cycles DBM drop bar bike which was built as a gravel bike for a tall client of theirs. 

It is interesting to see a big 32"er frame which makes the wheels look normal. I would suspect their will be a lot of taller folks getting on the 32"er bandwagon now that tires and rim choices have started to become more commonplace for this size wheel. 

Speaking of rims, I was tipped off to this Chinese carbon 32'er rim choice which is sub-300 bucks each. That is a pretty outstanding price. While I am not a big fan of hookless rims, these are meant for MTB tires which would make these rims make more sense then as a hookless option.  

I have heard the 32"ers will appear on gravel bikes and road bikes as well. Look for more sightings as Sea Otter draws nearer in mid-April.  

Note: The Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame class for 2026 will be announced today at 9:00am CST. Look for the announcement and a breakdown of my reactions to each inductee tomorrow here on Guitar Ted Productions.

Congratulations to the Class of 2026! 

Jim Cummins
Kristen Legan
Meg Fisher
Paul Errington

Dreaming

Image courtesy of Cannondale's social media

I had a crazy dream this past weekend about road bikes! I know.......weird! Why should I care about road bikes? I do not understand the dream, but it was a vivid one where I was asked what I thought should be done in the future for road bikes. 

Road bicycles, the ones with a racing influence and drop bar handlebars, haven't changed their parameters for years. There is a kind of unseen "box" which road designs seem to be locked into which has been around for decades. 

Wheel spacing, bottom bracket widths, crank set design, and some other details are seemingly lines you cannot cross in road bike design. But in my dream, two things I remember from the dream were pretty outrageous. The first was wheel spacing. In my dream I said the rear wheel spacing would be widened to match current MTB Boost standards. That would be rear 148mm and front 110mm. 

The other thing was regarding bottom brackets as I said in my dream that this should also match MTB standard width. This would make sense because road wheel and tire combinations are getting ever wider and this would allow for clearances and better chain lines. 

Now, perhaps this is too extreme for road bicycles, but gravel bikes? Maybe gravel bikes will be assimilated into MTB anyway,. and road bicycles can become the "all-road" thing I was advocating for in 2011 and I can just ride some fancy new road bike with clearance for 45mm tires maximum and forget about "gravel bikes". 

Ha! Fancy that.....

Searching For The "Magic" Alloy

Image courtesy of State Bicycle Co. 

 Frame materials for bicycles can be a fun discussion amongst bicycle nerds. I have delved into the subject several times here over the years. 

In 2026, I find most people are probably thinking along the lines of the following: Aluminum is "entry level", carbon is "the best", and titanium is for "cork sniffers" in the bicycling scene. 

Steel is .......I'm not going to say it! Steel is perceived by many casual cyclists I've met as being "heavy". Most don't want anything to do with it.  

Apologies if I offended anyone with those gross generalizations, but I used those to prove a point: Most folks have no idea what a frame material really does for them. Sure, they have heard things. You might think carbon fiber is "the lightest" and most prestigious frame material. You may have heard aluminum isn't comfortable to ride. You may have heard titanium is "expensive". As generalizations go, some of their basis is true. Much of the nuance lost will paint a more detailed and truer picture. 

That goes for pretty much anything in life. 

Anyway, this is about an idea I had to help dispel some notions about aluminum gravel bike frames. The thing is, the frames you can buy are priced all over the place and some are more expensive than what I would pay for a carbon fiber frame and fork from China. 

The next thing you'll notice is that many of these frames have odd geometries. In fact, those geometries are all over the place as well. Adding in my proclivities for what a gravel bike geometry should be, and well, it gets darn near impossible to find anything I'd like to try. 

Take for instance the State Bicycle Co. 6061 AllRoad, (shown here). It is sub-$900.00 with a carbon fork. Tire clearance up to a 50mm tire. But the bottom bracket drop is straight out of cyclo cross. Too little of it, that is, so it fails as something I'd want to test. 

Then there is the fine looking Velo Orange Chessie.  I took a deep-dive look at this bike last year. It was almost there like the State offering, but the bottom bracket drop was odd on the bike so I passed on it. Honestly, I was disappointed because I really like everything else about the Chessie. 

So, if any of you dear readers have a suggestion, here are my parameters: The frame/fork must not cost 1K or more. Secondly, the frame must be aluminum, but the fork can be carbon, or whatever. Now, geometry is important. Bottom bracket drop must be 72mm or more. The head tube angle must be 72° or slacker. Tire clearance must be up to a 45mm, and preferably up to 50mm.  I'm open to suggestions on anything else, but I'd really like to stay away from any oddball bottom bracket standards and I prefer threads there, but I can work around this detail.

Got anything for me? Hit me up in the comments.  

Two Things

Cannondale Topstone Carbon 2 (Image courtesy of Cannondale)

Integration And The Future Of Bicycles:

The big feature being leveraged in today's top cycling brands is integration. Now for many of you, this may conjure up the image of seeing a lack of external cabling on a bicycle. While this is maybe the most obvious and well understood form of integration, there is more happening out there which falls under this term. 

Take for instance Cannondale's "Smart Sense" system. It is an integration of drive train, accessories, and your smart phone into an ecosystem which could be leveraged to do many things. Younger folks seem to have no aversion to "apps", and charging cables, but some of what Smart Sense does is troubling to this old codger. In my opinion, we are losing cycling's simplicity which has been central to finding escape and joy from modern world trappings.  

Smart Sense runs off a battery, of course it does! And it is USB C type compatible. Right! As it should be. You must charge the system if you use the rear radar and lights, right? No big deal. But did you know that Smart Sense uses a cable which runs from the battery in the down tube of the frame to the AXS rear derailleur because they are integrating the system using SRAM's e-Bike type AXS battery which, on an e-Bike, is running off the main battery pack? Crazy stuff there.... 

Anyway, I think you can see how my bicycle, with no batteries to recharge, might be a bit simpler and quicker to get on and, you know.....ride? Take a look at this page on Cannondale's site regarding Smart Sense and count the steps involved in going for a ride with Smart Sense on. Not easy. Not how I define easy, at any rate! 

And you know Cannondale is tracking your rides, right? The Smart Sense uses the app to send "maintenance reminders" and probably could be doing more stuff which we aren't quite aware of as well. I could see this becoming a system with a subscription to receive updates. And even if updates were free, what happens when your software is no longer supported? See that drawer with all your old phones and cables? Now imagine this as being a garage with old, unsupported e-Bikes and "integrated bikes" with no means to reverse the tech to run mechanical group sets.  

I just have an issue when technology causes more steps and more complications. Bicycles are amazing machines which are simple and efficient. Additional technology hasn't done much but make things more complicated and less sustainable. It has gone in a bad direction, in my opinion.  

Hmm..... Bicycles becoming "devices"? I'm not down, sorry..... 

Stained glass window art in Notre Dame Church, Cresco, Iowa

 On Being Recognized:

First of all, my uncle on my mother's side died Tuesday January 20th. I was called to be a pall bearer. As I was in attendance at this event, I was amazed by a couple of relatives who stated that they read these digital pages nearly daily. 

I am always taken aback by these encounters because, well.....I am amazed anyone would read what I am doing here. And to be reminded publicly that people actually do read these ramblings of mine, well, I am surprised every time. 

Surprised in a way which I react thusly: "Oh! This person actually reads my blog?!!" Wow! I really find it kind of surreal even after all this time. I always figure someone is going to say they read my blog and then give me some grief over something they didn't like, or say I'm trash, or worse, but so far...(looks for wood to knock)...this has not happened.....yet. 

Anyway, a funeral was the last place I would have ever suspected to hear compliments about this blog. So, Tom, if you are reading this, Thanks. George also mentioned he keeps up with me here. Thanks man! I know my cousin Dave also reads this stuff from time to time as well. It's just not something I take in as being a real thing, and maybe I should. Maybe I'm just not comfortable with being recognized, I don't know....  

I'll try working on that in the future, but in the meantime, just know I am very thankful for each and everyone of you who check this out. Whether it is one time or on a daily basis. Thank you!

Troubles In Waterloo

 NOTE: Large doses of "my opinion" will be handed out in gloppy dollops today. You've been forewarned.....

Introduction:

I was recently forwarded a link to an article on the "Escape Collective" site by Ronan Mc Laughlin which has painted a troubling picture of industry giant, Trek Bicycles. My link was a "gift" link, so I was able to read the entire article, but this is a paywalled site, so if you have a subscription, go read that and you will get a good feel for what is happening with Trek. Also, if you'd rather listen to N.Y. Roll and I discuss this topic, and others, we get to this in our latest podcast episode HERE. 

From my personal perspective as a person who worked at a Trek retailer for almost two decades, I will give my own take on this subject, as some of what is written about in the article I read has roots going way back with Trek. This also probably will be similar to workings at Specialized, and to a lesser extent, other brands in cycling. 

 The Problems:

There is no doubt that there are two major weights on the cycling business currently. One is still an abundance of inventory in several categories. This has been detailed at length by trade magazines. The second is an ongoing downturn in consumer buying. Several factors go into the consumer part and the consumer part directly relates to the inventory bit.  

In my opinion, Trek, and related cycling brands, haven't pivoted quickly enough, or at all, from their trade practices embedded within their company's cultures. Trying to force excess inventory on dealer's backs, discontinuing popular models, and misdirecting efforts into products with little mass appeal hasn't just been something which has happened recently. These things have been happening for decades. Literally. 

Add to this the internet. I like to think of this in terms of how we used to access music, and how music is accessed now. At one point, when I was young, (admittedly, back when rocks were soft!), we had the radio, the rare concert, or covers by local bands to learn of new tunage. That was it. Oh.....maybe your local department store played new tunes in the record department. But you get the picture. Access was limited. We were all directed into these similar silos. 

Now/ pffft! Can anyone count the ways music can be accessed now? I doubt it. This is why "record departments" no longer exist in mass quantities anymore. It is why AM/FM radio is unknown to anyone under the age of 40 years. Concerts? Yeah.....maybe. If you've got tons of expendable income, then maybe. 

We refurbish and scrap tons of bicycles every year at the Collective.

So, bike shops were the "radio/record shop/magazine" for bicycles. Now days, you can get bikes anywhere. Used ones, new ones, direct from factory ones, and you can even design your own bicycle and have it made in China and shipped to your doorstep. 

 The Non-Evolution Of Bicycle Retail:

Bicycle brands relying solely, or nearly so, on bicycle shops are cutting off several avenues for reaching consumers. And maybe it doesn't matter. Especially if Trek or some other well known brand is seen as something out of touch with younger consumers. 

Like maybe Trek is the modern day equivalent to rotary phones for the younger generations. A "grandpa/grandma" brand which is so out of touch the youth won't even give them a chance. I don't know, but I do know in the shop I worked at which handled Trek, seeing younger folks actually buying Treks was rare. 

Overproduction: 

Finally, there are just way too many bicycles being produced. At the Collective during the year of 2025 we hauled about 6 metric tons of scrap to the recyclers, all bicycles or bicycle related things. We refurbished well over 100 bikes for sale to the community. All freely donated things. All out of one tiny non-profit shop in a modest sized Mid-Western city. (I'm not counting bicycles we gave to people in need) 

Think about this - If we were to just get the bicycles sitting around in your city up and running again, we wouldn't need any new bicycles. And people are catching on to this. I've seen two recent YouTube videos with subject matter related to restoring old 1990's mountain bikes and how versatile those bikes are. (No lies told either.)

Just the sheer amount of resources and knowledge at our finger tips is also unmasking the decades long secret of over-production of bicycles. There are reasons why it worked for so long though. The marketing over the years created near feral thoughts in consumer's minds which moved us to buy the "latest and greatest" thing. Look, I am not absolving myself here. I am just as guilty as anyone when the new shiny thing comes around. (32" wheels anyone?), so yes - I am also part of this problem. But now more people are catching on that just because a bike is a few years, or even a few decades old, it doesn't mean it is not awesome. This cuts into new bike sales also.

 Conclusions:

  Read the article from the "Escape Collective", if you can. The author makes it sound like pretty dark times are ahead for Trek. You can contrast those thoughts with mine here. Any way you slice it, as I have said here before, bicycle retail is in for a major resetting in the next ten years."Traditional" bicycle shops will be rare. Whatever takes over will not look like the chaos we have now. 

Friday News And Views

Image courtesy of Wolf Tooth

Wolf Tooth Expands Colors To Standard Outboard BSA and T-47 Bottom Brackets:

Wolf Tooth recently announced it has expanded its Color Shop options to include standard BSA threaded outboard bearing bottom brackets and threaded T-47 bottom brackets as well. 

Now offered in nine colors including black and silver, these common bottom bracket standards can help add a pop of color to any bike build. They are also serviceable as well. 

Comments: The Wolf Tooth bottom brackets have been around a while now but I have not tested these yet. This will likely happen this year. I have a bike in mind to get one of these for. So, look for this to be a review shared on these pages soon.

Unfortunately it appears the older SRAM crank sets with the 24mm/22mm spindles are not supported by the Wolf Tooth bottom brackets. Since SRAM has exclusively gone to DUB spindles I assume some companies are seeing less of a need to support this older standard. Perhaps it is a sign to be aware of in case you are running older TruVativ or SRAM crank sets. 

Image courtesy of Singular Cycles social media.

The 32" Watch: Singular Albatross With Drop Bars:

On Monday of this past week, Singular Cycles' own Sam Alison shared a view of the upcoming Albatross 32"er set up with drop bars. 

His comment on the image stated he had the Albatross prototyped with a bit shorter reach than he would have for himself so it might be tried across a wider range of folks. However; he noted this played right into his hands to be able to try it out with a drop bar set up.  

Albatross preorders are open at the moment at Singular Cycles site.  Just drop Sam a line by way of the contact segment of the site. 

Comments: Now this is more what I would have in mind for a 32"er for myself. It reminds me a lot of a Gen I Fargo, to be honest. I'm quite certain this would make for a great bike in the Kansan Flint Hills, or in places in Iowa where rough Level B Roads exist. 

Bonus 32" Content: If you haven't already seen the Vital MTB interview with a Maxxis product manager concerning 32" wheels and tires, give this video a listen. There is a bit of chatter up front, but the You Tube video has chapters so you can jump around at will to get the gist of things. Also, please read this clear-headed take on 32"ers by Sklar Bikes.Note what he says about forthcoming suspension fork offsets for 32"ers. 

It is quite eye-opening and I think you might find the push for "the next big thing" in cycling is going to be 32"ers, like it or no. Whether or not it lasts, like 29"ers, or fades away like plus bikes and 27.5"ers is yet to be seen. 

Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame Announces New Awards:

Next week we should know who the inductees for the 2026 class of the Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame will be. Stay tuned for the announcement here. Until then, we have learned there will be three new awards handed out at the inductions ceremony.

First there are the two GCHoF Athletes of the Year. Two awards to help determine which gravel racers "had an exceptional single year of impact from the previous calendar year". The award recognizes the athletes based upon more than results by including examining their character off the bike. 

The GCHoF says "Honorees lead with respect, humility, and generosity toward competitors, fans, and the gravel community embodying what it truly means to be a champion on and off the bike."

The awards in this category have already been announced. They went to Rosa Kloser and Matt Beers.  

The third award will be one which recognizes an individual who went above and beyond to give back to the sport of gravel cycling. Called the GCHoF Community Impact Award, this one will be open to athletes, promoters, industry professionals, volunteers, and fans. UPDATED: We now have learned Chase Wark has won the Community Impact Award. Congratulations to all the award winners. It's rather curious also that GCHoF's own PR writer didn't even know of these awards until they were announced. Interesting.....

Comments: A curious addition to the Hall's activities. These awards seem to be an "end-of-year" performance oriented recognition type thing. If this is close to the mark, wouldn't it make more sense for those awards to be announced in November, October, or after the season ending Grand Prix event/UCI gravel event? And if these are performative based awards, wouldn't those be the purview of a sanctioning body? The media? Who determines these things anyway? As I stated, a "rather curious", and kind of hollow addition to what is supposedly an organization meant "...to preserve the stories of those individuals who have been so instrumental in creating an environment that allowed gravel cycling to flourish."

Image courtesy of Aerobag

Airbag System Promises Injury Reduction/Prevention For Racers:

We have all seen it before if we've watched any bunch sprints in Pro cycling. The pile-up which causes scrapes and in worse case scenarios, broken bones and more. A perennial issue in racing, the Aerobag company has set out to provide a solution which promises less injury in the case of a crash. 

Aerobag, funded through the EU, is hoping to get more teams to adopt this system which is minimally intrusive and high-tech for the protection of elite racers. It really isn't meant for anyone else at this point, but the system is fascinating and is being used by one Pro men's team already. Click the link to learn more.  

Comments: While the limited user focus is understandable, this sort of tech is likely going to be looked at as something to be integrated into future accessory and clothing items for casual cyclists. 

In fact, it doesn't take much of a leap to see how these technologies could be integrated into e-Bikes and helmets for commuters. If this tech proves successful in prevention of injuries, I would look for this sort of application sooner than later. It is obvious the investment into this tech by the EU isn't meant to stop at Pro road cyclists. This is just a proof of concept test for rolling this out to a wider audience where the investment into this effort could be recouped.  

Image courtesy of Salsa Cycles

Salsa Cycles Introduces Wanderosa e-Gravel FS Bikes:

Well, the full reveal of the full-suspension "gravel bike" from Salsa happened yesterday. The three bike range is dubbed "Wanderosa", and consists of three identical carbon fiber 110mm rear/120mm front suspended chassis equipped with Fazua electric motors. Yep. E-gravel here. 

Comments: Okay, let's get this out of the way right up front: These are not gravel bikes. I know......Salsa will argue otherwise, but all this amounts to is an e-assisted down country full suspension bike. Can it be a gravel bike? Well..... An old 1940's Schwinn cruiser can be a "gravel bike" if you actually are riding it on a crushed rock road. Again, "gravel" is completely meaningless here and the wrong name to be using for any of the bikes under this moniker. 

So, whatever you want to call this bike's category, the fact is the Wanderosa is an electrified full suspension bike probably best suited for trails and single track. Your mileage may vary here, but this is what I am seeing. Oh......and it happens to have a drop bar. Yep. Got it.... 

Finally, these bikes are for? (Customer base) At an 8K - 13K price range for these three bikes, I would guess the folks barely scraping by to make rent and car payments are not going to be even sniffing ownership of a bicycle like this. So, yeah..... Not a lot of folks can even attain to this level of investment into a bike with such a niche use case scenario. 
 

That's a wrap on this frigid week for the FN&V. Have a great weekend and ride a bicycle if you can!