A Couple Of New Things

This is a new book by gravel aficionado, Nick Legan.

First- A New Book:

Well, I've been waiting at least a couple of years, maybe it has been three? I don't know, but I've known about this book being written by Nick Legan for quite some time. The reason being is that Nick was leaning on me with several questions about the gravel cycling scene and I helped give him some answers/opinions about his queries.

So, now it is almost time for this book to be hitting the shelves at Velopress. However; in the meantime you can pre-order this book from Nick on his site, "Rambleur"

Note: I have no skin in this game other than that Nick may have written something about me or used information on things I told him about. So, order the book, or not. It doesn't affect me. That said, Nick Legan is a good writer, (he wrote for "Velo News" for several years among other freelance gigs). He is a good dude, I've met him a couple of times, and he has always been gracious and kind. He also loves gravel road riding and racing. I actually got to congratulate him after his 2016 Dirty Kanza 200 finish when he was riding his pink Black Mountain Cycles frame.

So, all that to say that Nick is the real deal and I expect this book to be pretty good. I actually ordered up a copy for myself already. I'll have a review of the book here and maybe on RidingGravel.com once I lay hands on it.

Jones Bikes SWB w/27.5+ rear and 27.5 based fat front

Second- A "New" Bike:

Jones Bikes- Love them or hate them, there isn't anything else really like them. I'll give Jeff Jones credit- He has evolved his design and continues to do so. It would seem that he never quits trying to push the design ideas he has forward. Not many can say that in an industry that trashes a design one year and jumps on another the next for their models.

This news isn't all that surprising, but Jeff Jones now has two basic design ideas which facilitate two different ways to approach the "Jones Geometry". The "Plus" bike was the longer, 29+ wheeled bike and then you had the original design with 29"er wheels. Well, it's a little more complicated than that, but that's the basic idea. Now the original was not "plus" rated, but going forward, it is. That bike gets a new moniker, the "SWB", which stands for "Short Wheel Base". It can handle 27.5+ and 29"er wheels and tires. The "Plus" model now will be known as the "LWB", or Long Wheel Base" model and will be the go to bike for 29+ and 29"er applications where a longer wheel base makes sense.

So, the old "Plus" model remains unchanged, it goes forward with just the name change. The SWB is; however, slightly different in that the wheel base was lengthened a bit to accommodate the 3" 27.5+ wheels it was intended to handle. Not by much, but that's the main difference. Here is a super-detailed look at the two models.

I've always been intrigued by the Jones Plus, or now the Jones LWB model because Jones claims that it"...is quite possibly the best bikepacking, gravel road, and general purpose bicycling bike ever made...". Best gravel bike? Hmm..... Well, I'd give that a shot. I do know that it looks as though Jeff Jones went to great extents to make a 29+ wheeled bike work well. That's really what I'd be interested in- a 29+ wheeled bike that works well. My experiment sure wasn't a very good experience, that's for sure!