Friday News And Views

The Cane Creek eeSilk stem utilizes a clever elastomer set up.

Cane Creek Adds eeSilk Stem To Compliment Their Seatpost:

Last week before I went to Emporia I noticed the news on the new Cane Creek eeSilk Stem. It is another elastomeric based spring, minimalist travel stem engineered for vibration reduction, much like the vaunted Redshift Sports ShockStop stem.

Elastomers are tunable via a clever through-bolt design which places the elastomer material into puzzle-like slots and pockets on top and bottom, near to the stem pivot point placement, which is just ahead of the steer tube.

The stem also has a 'Soft/Firm' switch just ahead of the steer tube junction. This lever stiffens up the stem for harder efforts, or when you do not need so much of the vibration eating capabilities. Stems come in three lengths- 80mm, 90mm, and 100mm, and for a limited time, a "Launch Edition" will be offered which will be in polished anodized silver aluminum. Stems all retail for $229.00 and are available on Cane Creek's site. Note: Images shown courtesy of Cane Creek.

The "Launch Edition" will be offered for a limited time only.

Comments: This is probably going to be a pretty decent stem and I expect it to work well. Obviously, I have not ridden one, yet- I hope to get my hands on one to test. That said, I don't expect it to be a whole lot different from an experiential point of view than what I feel from a Redshift stem. 

That lever! I assume it works on a cam which preloads the elastomers, but I don't know that yet. At any rate, this is an intriguing feature of the eeSilk Stem since it could be used to set it up differently than I would set up a Redshift stem. 

For instance, I could go with a slightly too soft of a set up initially. (Assuming Cane Creek offers several elastomers to swap out, as Redshift does) This would then make the lever a way to set the stem for most of my riding, and then when the going got really rough, I could flip that lever for that section, and then back again when I hit smoother gravel or pavement. You cannot do that with a Redshift stem.

Otherwise the Redshift stem is pretty on par with this, and I think it looks better than the eeSilk stem. This Cane Creek offering telegraphs its intentions pretty much on first glance, while that Redshift stem looks like a regular stem unless you get up real close. Furthermore; Redshift offers more options in length than the Cane Creek stem, and Redshift has a rider stem version as well. 

But this is still a good option. I think it will do well in the market, and any suspension stem like this or the Redshift is miles less money, less maintenance, and far lighter than a 40-50mm travel, telescopic suspension fork, or a Lauf fork. Plus you can easily swap it over to another bike.

FNLD GRVL isn't the only gravel game in Finland.

Formula 1 Star Announces Partnership With SBT GRVL To Promote Event In Finland:

Okay.....hold on a minute here. Did anyone ever have an F-1 racing star putting on a gravel road event on their bingo card? No way! Again- I'm just blown away by what is happening in gravel events now days. Just mind-blowing.

Anyway, last week this news blew up all over the net, so I am covering it here now. Valterri Botas, the famed driver in F-1 racing, has announced that he is putting on an event in his home country of Finland in 2023 and has partnered up in this effort with the SBT GRVL folks out in Colorado. 

Bottas was in attendance at SBT GRVL last year and was smitten by the event, its atmosphere, and the format. He has previously put on duathlons in his home country, so he is no stranger to event promotions. Bottas hinted last year at SBT GRVL that he was interested in doing this, thus the connection with that US based event. 

The event will be dubbed FNLD GRVL, of course, and will happen in the Fall in Lahti Finland. This perked up my ears because I've heard that cities' name and gravel mentioned together before. After a short Google search I was reminded that yes- Lahti is home to one of the Nordic Gravel Series events. So, I have no idea whether or not Bottas is aware of that, but we will see if there is a merger of the two events or if they stay separated. Whatever the case may be, that gravel cycling is on an F-1 driver's radar is pretty crazy to me. 

Unbound Gravel Comments: 

Last weekend Unbound Gravel happened again. I paid a bit of attention as several folks I knew were involved. There were a few notable things which I saw that I thought I would comment on.

One: There was an unfortunate fatality the evening before the event on Friday. According to authorities, a 61 year old Colorado man collided with a truck driven by a local man at an intersection on a gravel road West of Emporia. 

I have actually ridden the road the man died on, and it is fairly unremarkable as far as any features that might make an intersection dangerous. It is a puzzling accident, and without any other hard data, I cannot say more. Certainly it was a tragedy and I wish all the comfort and peace for the family and friends of the deceased rider.

This brings up an important, and very overlooked point. The gravel roads around Emporia are now rife with cyclists three days out from the event and more than a few "tune-up" rides are occurring now then ever before.  One has to wonder how this affects the areas citizens, who are not used to this, and what, if anything, should Life Time be doing to aid in keeping the chaos limited. I mean, this is happening out there because of their event. How long will it be before we see more trouble and how long will locals be willing to put up with riders riding two and three abreast with no indications of deferring to traffic on narrow gravel roads? (Something I witnessed with my adventure with Erik)  I think the onus here is on all parties involved, and the wild growth of this event, without consideration for how side effects are possibly engendering negative outcomes, is something that needs to be addressed.

Two: The weather played a factor in the event, but it was one of the fastest 200's ever. What gives? Well, less heat, that's one thing. It wasn't very warm and the Sun was shrouded for most of the event. Crashes and mechanicals were common due to the mud and rough roads. Given the unusually cooler,  favorable weather, (minus the mud and rain, of course),  it makes sense to me. Get out there on a typically hot, windy day of 200 miles of Flint Hills gravel and you'd see a different result. Also- see my next point for why this event was faster.

Three: Pit stops and support. Originally the event in Emporia was completely self-supported by the rider. Then as numbers of riders grew, a support system at checkpoints was allowed. Only in the designated area could a rider get support, and outside that it was forbidden. But now? 

Checking social media it was easy to find road side rider assistance happening and full-on rider pit stops, ala cyclo cross or 24hr racing, were commonplace for front runners at checkpoints. Riders were pretty much availing themselves of full-on mini-tune-ups, having folks put food in their jersey pockets for them, and hustling them in and out of checkpoints within minutes. This is not my opinion. You can see this on social media.

That wasn't how it was done originally, so you really cannot compare times from, say anything pre-2019 to this. (Maybe Pre-2017?) Anyway, the nature of how the race is executed up front now days is full-on supported, and is 1000% different than how this event was conceived to be in the beginning. 

That's a wrap for this week. Have a safe and fun weekend!