A Case Study : Bicycle Ownwer's Manual

 I work at the Cedar Valley Bicycle Collective where we receive donations of bicycle related accessories, gear, and bicycles. Occasionally we get an interesting bit of bicycle related ephemera which enlightens me. Case in point: I checked the mail box on Saturday morning to find a bicycle owner's manual inside it. 

No notes. Just the manual. I almost tossed it, but then thought better of it, sat down with it, and checked out the contents. 

Typically, the bicycle owner's manuals I've seen have no real value. They were written as a kind of vague warning which gives lawyers an "out", I am sure, in case the company the manual represents gets in legal trouble with a consumer. There was never any useful knowledge between the covers.  

However; this CyclePro manual was different. It was a little instruction booklet. In fact,  if one had the correct tools, you could have easily built and adjusted a bike out of the box using those instructions, diagrams, charts, and images found on those pages.  

 Of course, the technology represented in the manual is so far out of date it is laughable, but in its day, this manual had value. In fact, it still does for teaching about bicycles, and for old-school knowledge which is becoming scarce these days. 

 There were even diagrams showing how to use some tools. This was a detailed manual, and it displayed a level of care and concern for the consumer which is sorely lacking in many bicycle shop/online transactions these days. 

 There was a section on sizing a bike to a person. There was another section concerning gear shifting, how and why you'd want to shift. This is stuff you never saw in manuals which came with bicycles when I was working in retail bicycle shops. 

A gear chart? Would the average consumer even know what to do with this?

 Anyway, I immediately thought about what you get today when you buy a bicycle. The companies selling stuff today are probably not doing manuals like this, and they are likely very similar to what I recall from the early 2020's. 

What if there were manuals like this included in bicycles sold today? Certainly the technical nature of the information would be deeper. It would have to be! Look at the hydraulic disc brakes, suspension forks, and electronic shifting. Look at the internal cable housing designs. It is a nightmare for mechanics. I don't suppose the average consumer could even start to want to dive into taking care of their bicycles. Not given how specific the tools have become to work on components and not so much when technical demands are so intense. 

Maybe this is a sign we've gone too far...... 

Selle SMP Pro Saddle: Part 2

 Note: This review is of a used Selle SMP saddle Guitar Ted purchased from the Cedar Valley Bicycle Collective. Selle SMP is not aware of this review and all opinions are Guitar Ted's.

It's another first impressions post on the Selle SMP Pro saddle. This is the second part of the initial review. You can see Par1 HERE. 

This saddle has been on several short test rides and now one two-hour ride to start seeing if I need to change anything about the saddle tilt or setback. 

I've used multiple surfaces to rest this saddle ranging from smooth pavement and bicycle path to dirt single track with gravel of several different types in there as well.

Noting I have the saddle tilted nose-down slightly, I find it rather surprising that I don't find this bothersome. Given I typically cannot live with a nose-down saddle position for any amount of time, I was taken aback by how natural feeling the SMP nose-down position felt. 

Secondly, I found the leather top to be really easy to reposition myself on without it feeling slippery or too grippy. It seems it is either way with most saddles - Too grippy or too slippery. This nice cover is also padded very nicely. 

The saddle feels sort of like a well-broken in Brooks leather saddle. There is a bit of a depression, or as I like to call it, a "bucket" you sit in. It isn't a "one-sweet spot" type of saddle either. You can find multiple small adjustments which all seemed to be as comfortable as the others, in my opinion. I like this as I cannot sit in one place, unmoved, for very long while riding a bicycle.

The weird shaped nose is completely a non-issue. You wouldn't know it was bent downward like it is while riding it. Perhaps this is bent like it is if you are riding something steep and you get way up on the nose of the saddle? Not sure.... 

Okay, that is where I am at now with the SMP Pro. Longer rides to find out if there are any small issues or tweaks to be made are up next.  

American Competitive Cycling's Future

 What Does It Take To Grow Talent In Cycling Racing And Who Really Cares?

I noted a post on Facebook recently bemoaning the status of American competitive cycling and the lack of "opportunity" for talent to be discovered. The thoughts given were that if more barriers to participation were lowered, the more chances we'd get to see an American compete on the worldwide stage. (UCI Pro road, MTB, or gravel, most likely was the thought there)

That's a nice thought, and for sure lowering barriers to accessing racing for youngsters wouldn't hurt, but there are a few other bigger hurdles, in my opinion, which stand in the way of us seeing any significant discoveries of talent which might make a dent in the Pro levels of cycling. 

First of all, we are speaking of the current "ultimate" levels of the sport which is controlled by the UCI, because what else is there? 

And if this is true, then we need to consider what it takes to get to a level where anyone might get hired by a Pro level team to compete. Because that is an extremely high bar to overcome. Hours, hours, and more hours of dedication to the sport. Money, money, and more money on gear, which kids outgrow and need to replace. Racing fees. Places to actually race. (Rare to find on the roadie side, difficult on MTB side) And let's not forget the most important thing - The person has to want to do this. 

To my way of thinking, this quality in a person is the number one determinant for success in any sport. The "want to" factor can be pretty hard to spot for coaches, parents, team owners, and sponsors, because if this trait was easy to spot, well we'd not have any difficulties finding those who would rise to the top of any given sport. Sometimes it is easy to see in a person. Other times, not so much. 

You may think "talent" is all that is necessary, but I'd caution against putting all your chips on that bet. I personally have seen very talented athletes who did not have the "want to" who were never discovered, or never progressed,  in whatever sport they showed talent. So, to my way of thinking, the number one thing which will determine success for Americans in cycling on a worldwide stage is to find the person who wants to get there. Sure, they need talent, but talent is secondary, to a degree, to the mental side. 

And even then you still have all the financial, social, and opportunity barriers to hurdle after that. I mean, where does one go to even get road racing experience anymore? Especially here in the USA. Fortunately we do have some support on the off-road side, and even gravel has some opportunities for juvenile racers. But when people are getting smoked on road rides in rural areas, how do you think parents would feel about putting their kids out there for training? 

Even the Pros who are currently racing are expressing concerns over the intensity of being on the highest levels of the sport. Expressing concerns for mental and physical well-being, now you have to wonder if it is even a good thing for us to see an American at the top levels of the sport. Maybe we're just being selfish and desire this against the odds of the well-being of the riders?  

A recent post by "The Cycling Week" on social media quotes current road Pro Jonas Vinegegaard as saying, ""As a cyclist, you feel like you're constantly on a diet. You always have to think about your weight, and you're always out training," he said. He described the current demands (by teams) taking a toll on both body and mind". 

Finally, culturally we have no support whatsoever for road, MTB, or gravel racing in the USA.  Conversely, if you want to be a Tik-Tok star we have all kinds of peer support for that. Even traditional stick and ball sports have vastly more cultural relevance here than cycling does. A kid wanting to be a road racer, mountain biker, or gravel cyclist in 2026 is walking into a social and cultural vacuum of sorts. They would be declaring their freak nature simply by wearing Lycra bib shorts and a jersey. That doesn't sound like a winning strategy for being a teenager wanting to smoothly navigate adolescence to me, but I would certainly support such rebellion.  

Anyway, good luck and safe riding to any youngsters willing to tackle that path. I hope they are successful. I just do not feel there is an easy answer to seeing top cycling athletes in the sport coming from the USA. Not that it cannot happen, but it's gonna take a lot more than just lowering barriers to "finding talent". 

Friday News And Views

 

Image courtesy of Gravel Worlds

 

 Gravel Worlds Re-brands:

 On Friday of last week news broke concerning a re-branding of Gravel Worlds. The event held annually in Lincoln, Nebraska, is going on its seventeenth year. The event is generally held around the second or third week of August and the course is a loop in and out of Lincoln. 

 Citing Nebraska's status as a top beef producer, the agricultural nature of the Gravel Worlds course, and the fact that the roads Gravel Worlds uses are primarily farm to market roads, the team at Gravel Worlds has designed an iconic logo. A logo which embodies the spirit of these facts. It has also incorporated the name of one of Gravel Worlds sponsors, McGrills, an outdoor grill brand which is manufactured in Beatrice, Nebraska. 

Following is a review of old Gravel Worlds logos, just for kicks..... 

Gravel worlds branding used most through the 2010's

 

Garmin comes on as a sponsor

In 2018 the site header lost the rainbow colors due to a cease and desist from the UCI

 

Celebrating 10 years in 2019

Obviously....

Logo from 2024, the year the founders of the event left and when the current team took over the event.

2025 header/logo

That's a good overview of how this event branded itself for most of its existence. Originally it was just a Pirate Cycling League event and the logo used was the PCL logo, but I did not include those in this mini-review. 

Virtual Ride For Jacob:

I was thinking the other day that there may be a few of you who might want to do a "ride for Jacob" but cannot come to Cedar Falls on the 25th to join me. Well.....what about a virtual Ride For Jacob? 

Here's what you can do. Let me know you've dedicated a ride for my son and tell me a bit about it. I'll send you a "Jacob" sticker. 

Just make sure I get an address to send it to. If you haven't seen one of these stickers they look like the sticker below. 

The story of your ride and why you did it can be sent to me at g.ted.productions@gmail.com.There is no time date stamp, so if you want to do this now, next week, or on the 25th, that is fine with me. I know of one fellow who is doing RAGBRAI who is dedicating a day to this. 

I guess if we want to make this a thing you could also send in a image or two and I'd post your story and images on the blog, much like I do for the Virtual Turkey Burn Ride. 

Or.....you don't have to do anything. Please do not feel obligated to write up anything, or even do a special ride. I'll still send you a sticker if you want one. 

Okay, that's really all I have for this idea. Thanks to "Tim" for the spark which led to this idea.  

Image courtesy of social media post

Wildfires In Northern Minnesota/Canada Affecting Air Quality:

Look, it's wildfire season again! And - of course - we need to be thinking about those losing their homes and livelihoods to these fires. And we need to be thinking about air quality. 

The map here is showing air quality for the Northeastern US for yesterday. Wildfire smoke issues are affecting a wide swath of this part of the nation. 

Whether or not we start seeing this in Iowa will depend on winds and air currents, but as of now we do not have issues here. However; we have had issues in the past and a few years ago, wildfire smoke pretty much shut down outdoor cycling for the month of June. 

Be safe out there! Inhaling smoke-riddled air is no joke, so consider not doing any cycling if your air quality is poor. 

 

Image courtesy of Trek Bikes

Trek Announces E-Fat Bike Models:

Trek announced a new e-Bike range on Thursday.. The new bikes are called "Borrego" and feature fat tires with a hub drive and 80mm suspension forks. 

Two models exist and the price starts at about $2,500.00.  

Comments: This looks a whole lot like the common e-Bike style we've seen from Radpower and other brands sold online. It's fairly obvious Trek is trying to reach those types of consumers here who would otherwise probably not look to Trek for an e-Bike at all.  

The price point may seem a bit steep, compared to the likes of other look-a-like e-Bikes, but here you have a dealer network and ostensibly a dealer network that will actually work on the bike when it inevitably needs work.  Try that with your Amazon sourced e-Fat bike. 

Maybe Trek will make a dent into this market, but it could be also that they are a little too late to jump on this bandwagon. I mean, this bike is totally ten years behind the times, in terms of tech and what is cutting edge now. We shall see how it goes....  

Not much else in the way of news for the week. So, that's a wrap for now. Thanks for reading Guitar Ted Productions! Now get out there and RAGBRAI, or ride however you ride!

Used Fat Bike Market Crash

 Lately I've noted several way undervalued fat bikes for sale on Facebook Marketplace. BBikes with carbon frames for between 1K and 1.5K where any bicycle with a carbon frame these days costs 2K plus just for a frame and fork. 

Aluminum framed fat bikes are even worse. Most I see are well under 1K asking price. This seems weird to me. 

I know. I wondered if the whole fat biking thing was over a while back and wrote about it HERE.  This latest observation of mine concerning used prices seems to reinforce this feeling I have concerning fat bikes. 

As one commenter on that linked post wrote, "Fat bies are for nerds..." and most of us have our fat bikes. They do not go out of style and there hasn't been any real innovations in fat bikes for years. So, maybe the market isn't "dead" as much as it is stagnant. Of course, either way, both would lead to these smoking deals on fat bikes I am seeing now. 

I don't see much analogous to the fat bike used market with the possible exception of used plus bikes. Everything else seems about right in terms of pricing. And maybe all this devaluing of fat bikes just shows that it isn't what the frame and fork are made out of or even what group is on the bike. It's more about what the bike can do for the rider, or maybe more precisely- What the rider thinks the bike can do for them. 

I don't know, but I've seen some alarmingly low prices on some really nice fat bikes. That much I do know!  

Review: Aeron TPU Tubes Update #4

Last week I posted Update #3 of the Aeron TPU Tube Review. Click that link in case you missed it. The main theme of that update was to see if and how an Aeron TPU tube could be transferred from one tire to another. 

My test involved going from a bigger tire to a slightly less bigger tire. I was asked in the comments if the Aeron tube, which is rated for anything from a 700 X 32mm to a 700 X 52mm tire would actually work in something even less wide than I tried. This update will cover that use case. 

This particular Aeron TPU tube was previously installed in a 700 X 47mm Teravail Cannonball tire. I decided to try the Aeron tube in a 700c X 40mm tire I had laying around. It was an ancient 700 X 40mm Donnelly MSO tire. (Remember those?) 

So, following is a pictorial showing how things worked out. I'll have a bit more to say at the end, so check out the images and descriptions and look for further comments below.

This is the Aeron TPU tube with a minimal amount of air. Just enough to give it some shape. 

Aeron recommends a very minimal amount of air be inflated into the TPU tube to give the tube shape. You do not want to insert a TPU tube with no air in it! Damage could occur rendering the tube worthless or cause a flat while in use. 

You can see the residual talcum powder I put on the Cannonball tire's inner casing to allow the TPU and rubber casing to more easily move against each other while installing the tube and inflating it. You can also barely make out the reinforcement around the base of the very long valve stem. I was happy to see this as I've experienced failure of a TPU tube due to the valve stem coming off which wasn't reinforced at its junction with the TPU tube like this one is. 

Here you get some context for how wide the TPU tube from AERON is after being in a 700 X 47mm tire. 

 

The 700 x 40mm Donnelly MSO and the Aeron TPU tube installed inside of it. 

Here you see the side view of the Aeron TPU tube in the Donnelly tire

The one nit I have regarding these Aeron TPU tubes is that they are trying to be a solution for too many variances in tire size. As an example, you can see above how the TPU is peeking out of the left side of the Donnelly tire. This is due to Aeron's making this tube to be compatible with 650B diameter tires. 

That's all well and good, but it makes getting this tube inside a 700c wheel and tire a chore. It also puts the user at risk of pinching the TPU material in a place where a patch probably wouldn't work well. Just make these 700c diameter and IF you feel you are missing sales because 650B exists, make some in that diameter. As far as I am aware, Aeron is the only TPU tube available which does things this way and I feel it is misguided and may cause unwanted issues. 

It should be noted that I did not want to use a 40mm tire with this tube so I ended up putting it in the matching Rene Herse tire mentioned in the previous update. I'll be running those wheels and tires as an alternate set for my Salsa Cycles Fargo Gen I. I will also be pitting these against the previously reviewed Rene Herse TPU tubes. 

Stay tuned for future updates to this review.  

The Problem Can Be Seen In The Mirror

From KCCI's social media

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

Years ago, maybe around 2008 or so, a representative from a company called Day 6 Bicycles showed up at the shop. He had an example of a 'foot-forward' electrified bicycle. The idea was the bike could provide an extremely comfortable ride position along with electric motor assist which would make the bike easy to ride. 

My boss at the shop took the front wheel motor e-Bike out for a spin in the parking lot. I watched as he zoomed back and forth. I would estimate he was going well over 20mph and without pedaling. I was alarmed. 

Why? It looked like a ton of fun. The bike put the rider in a really easy to use position. Powered riding would get more folks outdoors, out of cars, and maybe into pedaling more. 

Maybe.... Pedaling. Yeah, that means working, and if you don't have to work? Well, why would you? This is what alarmed me. That and the immediate acceleration to top speed. Unskilled or inexperienced riders on a heavy-ish two wheeled electrified bicycle? I saw trouble ahead. 

The future of e-micromobility is murky at best

Just this past weekend I was waiting for my wife in the car as she picked up an item at a big-box store in town here. I noted movement in my right side field of vision and then noted three youth riding electrified two-wheeled contraptions. One was a mini-bike kind of thing and the other two were scooters. They were in perfect formation, the scooters flanking the mini-bike thing and flying across the parking lot at near 20mph. No helmets. No adults near by. No regard for parking lot traffic. 

Ooof!

 Municipalities in Iowa are currently wrestling with coming up with ordinances and laws to regulate these devices and differentiate them from bicycles which have electric assistance. I posted about this recently here. 

Most agree that education, parental involvement, and some knowledge amongst law enforcement about the differences between what are bicycles and what are not bicycles will help. Certainly, this makes sense. 

But you are speaking about humans, right? We cannot even expect humans to follow the rules when it comes to current usage of any of the vehicles we use.  So why can we feel safe with regard to any ordinance, law, or public education measures when it comes to electrified two-wheeled vehicles like e-Motos, e-Scooters, and the like? 

The problem probably cannot be rectified with enforcement of law and ordinance. You'll catch a few, but you won't stop them all. Getting any kind of stoppage of sales of these things would be great, but if people are making money off sales of these things, you'll have a hard time stopping the in-flow of the devices used to create these issues. And, of course, there are a lot of these things already here.

The final line of defense is relying on "people to do the right thing". This is the vibe I'm getting so far from these discussions. Sorry, but I cannot buy into this line of thinking. The problem with e-device abuse is what you see in the mirror. And to regulate that? 

I don't see the good solution yet.