Friday News And Views

Low profile lock ring (L) and typical Shimano style (R)

A Close Shave:

I decided it was high time to get a move on and check out some stuff I have in for review and testing for RidingGravel.com . I had been waiting on the wheels I was supposed to be getting, but there are delays, and then shipping, and yada,yada,yada....... Time is getting short in the review world in the Upper Mid-West when it comes to gravel road travel. Soon we will have ice and snow, or one would think, and then that's that for doing anything meaningful with regard to this gig on RidingGravel.com for me.

Anyway.... I digress as usual. The thing is, all this other stuff I had was waiting on those wheels and it's been weeks now. So, an executive decision was made and I swapped out to my Irwin Cycling carbon wheels to stand in for the wheels I was supposed to be getting. That unlocks a dam of accessory stuff I used to set up the tires tubeless and the tires themselves are a review as well.

Everything went well except for when I dumped the entire cassette/free hub assembly right off the hub onto the floor as I was doing the tubeless set up. Doh! Fortunately it fell in such a way that the free hub wasn't damaged, but......a couple of those itty-bitty pawls came out!  Where did they go?!! A full blown freak-out was averted when I almost immediately found the two rascals. Then it took 15 minutes to coax it all back together and finally, I was able to get back to what I had intended on doing. NOTE: The Irwin Cycling Aon GX 35 Carbon Wheels have a free hub that has a tool-less removal. (Got it!)

Next up was to fit the wheels into the test bike, the Noble Bikes GX5. Well, the back wasn't a problem. A little derailleur adjustment and "bingo!". Spot on. I put the front in, screwed in the through axle bolt, and tightened it. The wheel would barely turn. "Ah!", I thought, "Probably needs a caliper adjustment." I loosened the caliper and.....what? The wheel wasn't turning. But the brake pads are not even touching the rotor??

Then it dawned on me. Something is dragging on a stationary part. I've had IS adapter bolts drag on rotors, and similar issues, but this was a new one on me. The lock ring for the center lock rotor was dragging on the "bulge" which accommodated the threaded insert to accept the lower flat mount caliper fixing bolt. (See image above for differences in lock rings.) The original wheels had a low profile lock ring while the Irwin ones used a traditional Shimano style lock ring.

The green arrow points to the minuscule amount of clearance for the lock ring on the rotor.

Okay, so swap lock ring, done, bing,bam,boom! Right? Not so fast....... The low profile lock ring on the Irwin wheel would not engage the Center Lock rotor unless I used a spacer. (By the way, I see now looking at my own picture that the spacer isn't centered. Yeah.... Still works, but I'll likely fix that.)

Once spacer and low-pro lock ring are on there I have a freely spinning wheel. Yay! I look at the clearance. What?! A close shave there, but it worked. All it has to do is clear that part of the fork. I maybe could look for a thinner spacer(s), and I probably will, but at least I got the thing to work now.

So, when your mechanic says that there was an issue swapping wheels on your fancy-pants bike, maybe you might recall this, and then think twice about it before you let him/her have what for. Standards? HA! It's always something, I tell ya........

C.O.G. 100 Course Drawn Up:

So, a little news today on the course for the C.O.G. 100 coming up in March of next year. I got a preliminary course drawn up and now we will see about reconning it. That is, if it ever stops raining around here. 

So, here's the deal. You C.O.G. 100 freaks weren't too pleased when I gave you 11 bonus miles for your single speed pleasure last Spring, so I've cut the bonus miles down to three.  THREE! That means the course, tentatively speaking, will be 103 miles in length. We may be able to shave it closer to 100 after we recon the thing, but I doubt it.

The next thing I recall folks getting all screwed up about was where the resupply point was. So, guess what? It is- again, this is tentative, subject to change without warning, and all that- at about FORTY EIGHT MILES INTO THE COURSE! Can you believe it? Now watch......someone will say that doesn't work for them. Just wait. Someone will complain about this. Anyway.......

So, there is ANOTHER chance to resupply- albeit off course on a hard top road about 3/4's of a mile from the course- at about 67 miles in. How about that? TWO chances to resupply. I don't know, but that sounds pretty good to me. Oh! And if you avail yourself of the second chance at resupply, YOU GET MORE BONUS SINGLE SPEEDING! (No charge, completely free and optional!)

Now, there will be Level B Road sections. Yes, plural. BUT.....the total should be 1 mile. The first section is really pretty short. Maybe a quarter mile. The next one looks to be about , (you guessed it!), 3/4's of a mile. Unlike last Spring, these will be later into the course, within the last third, I'd say now. Again, that could change. We haven't done ANY recon yet, so keep your mind open to possible changes.

Oh yeah.....there will be a few hills. I wouldn't worry much about that part.

That's it for today folks! Get out and ride those bicycles!