Friday News And Views

Apidura's Racing Hydration Vest.

 Welcome to this "Not Black Friday" edition of the FN&V. Hope that you all are having a great T-Day aftermath and are going to have a great weekend. (For those who observe the tradition)

Apidura Debuts New Hydration Vest:

There seems to be a new trend in hydration packs. The 'racing vest' type hydration pack typically integrates some storage capabilities via the front straps and a small-ish hydration bladder in the back. It's kind of a 'roadie's version' of a MTB'ers hydration pack. The traditional MTB type hydration pack being a bit bulkier and more roomy than these slimmed down versions are. 

Well, anyway, here's a new one from Apidura. It's similar to some others I've seen and does the same thing- provides easy to access hydration with some functionality for storage on the body. 

Comments: Remembering the very first Camelbacks, they weren't a whole lot dissimilar to these 'racing vests'. They only lacked the pockets and meshy side panels of their modern counterparts. Many of these new ones seem to want to allow you to access the jersey pockets. Well, this brings up one of the major complaints people had early on with hydration packs. The fact that those early ones, and these new ones, sit high on the back, which seems to not be the best place to put weight on a rider for some folks. 

This is where the hydration 'fanny packs' seem to have their fans. Weight is distributed across the hips where it is less fatiguing to carry. So the story goes. I have no dog in the fight, but I find the two schools of thought fascinating. 

My thought is that- at least when it is hot, I don't want anything on me that makes me hotter. Hydration packs anywhere on me do make it less than ideal for staying cooler. Run the motor too hot, well, you know what happens next..... Overheating can be tricky to avoid. So, either option for hydration, the vest, or the fanny pack, is out for me. Plus, I really despise having to clean out those hoses. Gah! Water bottle nipples can be bad enough. But that's just me. Where do you fall? Team Water Bottle or Team Hydration Pack?

State Bicycles 4130 Flat Bar.

State Bicycles Announces The 4130 Flat Bar:

Flat bar gravel bikes. I guess it is a 'thing' now with a few companies calling these rigs out in their lines for 2022. State Bicycle has one now which is a take-off on their popular drop bar bike for gravel. The Flat Bar 4130 will sell for $899.99 with one wheel set or you can get 650B and 700c wheel sets for an additional $399.99.

Comments: State Bicycle poses the question. "Are flat-bar gravel bikes really just 90’s mountain bikes?" Well, as a guy who actually was working in a bike shop and riding mountain bikes in the 90's, the answer to that is really easy: NO. These are much more like the 1990's version of a hybrid bike, which was a failed attempt at making a 700c version of a mountain bike. So, if these are 90's MTB bikes, they are failures out of the box. Well, for real mountain biking, which anyone with any sense at all already knows without question. So, that's a silly notion. I wish marketing wonks would just drop that line from their repertoire already.  

Otherwise this bike seems like a pretty good deal. I'm not sure I'd pay 400 bucks to get the second wheel set though. That's almost half the price of the Flat Bar 4130 in the first place, plus, that isn't going to be a wheel set to write home about. 

Question: Would You Take A Survey?

The other day a reader commented on the blog and stated that they followed my ride reports on Google Earth to see where I'd been on my rides. This prompted a thought for me. 

What do you readers like about this blog?

I have never really asked that question before, but I do know that at times some of you out there have offered your opinions. For instance, I recall one comment about not being all that into my industry and technical related pieces but that my personal posts and ride reports/adventures were what made that person come to the blog. Another person out there was more interested in my fleet of bikes and liked those posts. Another person recently let me know that he enjoyed my "large doses of "my opinion"...".

So, I wondered, should I post a survey? Or is THIS as good as a survey?

I guess to make it easy I would do more of a "Yes"/"No" question format and maybe leave a space at the end for comments. This wouldn't be a emailed thing or whatever. Just a post here that you would use the comments section to respond to it with. 

This wouldn't mean that I am going to quit doing things the way I am, but that maybe an emphasis should be weighted more toward certain aspects of the blog and maybe less weighted on others. 

What do you think? Hit me up in the comments on whether or no if you would take such a survey here.  (And maybe that's all we need. Just a response to the questions here on today's post?)

That's a wrap for this week. Look for the 'end of year' posts to start cropping up here next week and throughout December. Thanks for reading G-Ted Productions and have a safe, happy, fun weekend