Friday News And Views

THIS is gravel riding? From Cannondale marketing imagery.

Cannondale Says Your Gravel Bike Is Really A MTB Rig: (With Motorized Content)

By this time you've all heard the news about the new 2021 Topstone models. I won't get into too much about specifics other than a note about the continuance of that wonky geometry for the Carbon Topstone.

No, what really stood out above all the Neo this, connected app that, were these marketing images Cannondale distributed to the media. Out of the 12 or so "lifestyle" images, maybe four could be on actual gravel roads. The rest were all right out of a page from your typical MTB marketing plans.

So, besides the fact that the biggest tire you can put on any of these is a 650B X 47mm, (on non-HPC versions), and that the suspension travel is a 1992 inspired 30mm, aren't these really mountain bikes with drop bars? Again- I'll ask the question- Where are all the 70-sish degree head angle, rigid hard tail, flat bar MTB's? I mean, if you are going to go single tracking, ya know?

Man! Somebody has to make an El Mariachi-like hard tail again. It'd be five times the bike these Topstones are, especially at what these marketers are saying these bikes are supposedly for, at a third of the price of these Topstones. Cheapest non-motorized one is $3750.00 from what I saw on the release. Then there are the motorized ones. Going up....... Those are nearly 6G and up. And get this- they showed these as if they were MTB's as well. 

I don't know where to start. 28 hole rims on an electrified bike? How about a 59mm bottom bracket drop on an XL? (I get it- they have suspension, but really?) Limited tire clearances? (700 X 37 max or 650 B X 42 max on electrified Topstone Neo) Pffft! I just don't know......

It's an odd marketing campaign for a weird bike, in my opinion.

Throwin' it back to 2009. Best DK200 logo EVER.

Another Virtual Experience 

The DK events are postponed to the weekend of September 12th, 2020, but if you are jonesing for some DK action this week, 'cause this would have been the week, then you can get on yer virtual horse tomorrow and ride, or upload a GPS file of your ride which would have been your race distance, (socially distanced, natch!) and share in the virtual joy with others.

The DK team has been doing some virtual stuff since Wednesday and that was all sent out to the folks that are signed up, so if you are one of them, then y'all know what I am talkin' about already.

It's a good way to keep the DK spirit alive, but with things getting relaxed all over the place now, some smaller events are now filling the need of many who are itching for some dusty competition. The 'anti-DK 200' event, The Sterile Iowan, is going off unhindered, unmasked, and unashamed this weekend near Iowa Falls. I'm sure others are getting their gravelly goodness on very soon at some other smaller events.

These are weird times and weird things are going on all over. I'm not sure about any of it, to be honest. Time will suss out all, that I am sure of that much. As for me..... I'm still on the solo train. Virtual stuff? Not so much.

A US made Schwinn? It's coming....

 Detroit Bikes To Build New Schwinn Collegiate Bikes for 125th Anniversary of Marque. 

Back when I started in the bicycle biz and probably up through 2010, many people still thought Schwinn was made in the USA. Well, Walmart, et al, made sure folks got that nasty idea outta their heads. But now, a Walmart exclusive Collegiate model will be sold for Schwinn's 125th anniversary, and it will be built by Detroit Bikes in the USA. Just in time to confuse the whole situation once again.

While that sounds cool and all, take a really close look at this bike. 1 X 7 drive train, lower end rear derailleur, and side pull calipers? This cannot be much more than a $350.00 price range bike, in terms of what is available in a comparable type bicycle elsewhere. That is, unless they get you on the collectable/limited edition front. Assuming a CrMo frame too. If this is a mild steel alloy frame and fork, well then.... That's different. I'd take even more off that $350.00 figure.

I've no idea what sort of numbers production will be for this, nor what price this will be. I don't see anything in this article on it. There is some yearly production goal for all of Detroit Bikes customers, stated in the article, which is set at 20,000 mark for 2021. So, I'm betting these Collegiates will only amount to a very small number of that overall total production goal.

Note: Image of the Collegiate is a stock media image posted all around the internet. No idea on source, but I'm guessing it is Pacific Cycles. 

 Riding Gravel Radio Ranch Episode #45:

The episodes keep rolling out. Of all the goals I set for myself for 2020, this is one I can truthfully say now that I have accomplished. That goal would be to get more podcasts produced and on a more regular basis. Here's a link to the latest one.

With this episode we have now done as many podcasts in 2020 as we put out in 2018 and 2019 combined. And to think we didn't get started this year until March! We are getting episodes out more or less weekly and there are no signs of slowing down anytime soon. So, with almost a half of the year done, I think I can safely check that goal off the list.

Now my goal is to get you, the listeners, more engaged. Please send me ideas, questions, and comments to guitarted@ridinggravel.com and I will try to get those ideas, comments, and questions into circulation via the podcast. Hearing about things that riders want to hear about will help diversify the subject matter and help us keep content fresher and more interesting. As an example, we will be doing the "Single Speed Nerd-Out" podcast next, which was a suggestion for a topic that a rider e-mailed me about. It's going to happen. See how that works?


Have a great weekend!