Friday New And Views

The Nine hub by 3X3 (Image courtesy of Eurobike Show Daily)

 New Internal Geared Hub Choice:

Eurobike is happening again and part of the news is a new IGH appeared which is being touted as a very versatile choice for bicycles or electrified bikes, especially cargo bikes. 

The hub is by a new company called "3X3" and the model they make is a 9 speed internally geared hub called, wait for it.....the Nine! 

 Name aside, the hub is able to be used by through axles and in a few varying axle widths. (Nothing listed for fat bikes, by the way)

The article I saw claims this hub has a 554% gear range, which is huge. But, as you might expect, that makes for some hefty jumps between gears- 23.76%. A 14 speed Rohloff hub, by comparison, has a 526% gear range and has a claimed 13.6% jump between each gear. 

Weight for the Nine hub is a claimed 2K. A 14 speed Rohloff is a claimed 1.82K, so a little lighter. No price was given for the Nine hub but a Rohloff with shifter and all the bits is approaching 2 Grand now. 

Series news for the blog

Blog News Concerning Series For Trans Iowa, GTDRI:

The three year-plus long "Trans Iowa Stories" series will wrap up at the end of this month. The final version of Trans Iowa has already been covered and now all that remains is a couple of things to close up the books on that. Speaking of books.....

So, all along, the idea of a physical book has been toyed with, but I also have had the idea of doing this as an audio book as well, or instead of a physical book. 

Either way, I am going to go back after July is over and refine what I have here and perhaps edit out bits that are redundant, not necessary, or that I don't like. Once that process is over, I want to hand off a manuscript to some folks for review and suggestions. Then a decision will be made as to what to do with all that material. 

Now that the Trans Iowa series is almost complete, I have started writing up entries for a series on the Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational. This will replace the Trans Iowa series on Sundays, so if you've enjoyed reading the T.I. stuff once a week, I'll have that in GTDRI form for you starting the first Sunday of August. 

Supply Chain Issues Ease:

 From all I can gather from my contacts and sources, it seems that the supply chain issues are easing somewhat. Parts are becoming easier to get. Certain bicycles are becoming more available than they had been. 

But now the potential is that there will be a "whiplash effect" in the supply chain. Meaning that due to the frenzied focus on production, and hiccups regarding delivering goods, there very well could be a glut of product coming through the pipeline very soon.

While shipping and warehousing issues may mitigate this yet in 2022, the fear amongst industry insiders is that a huge inventory of bikes and parts are not going to find enough demand in the market place, at least not in the near future. 

The bicycle business has always suffered most when demand is low, inflation high, and supply is abundant. That's exactly the scenario it seems we are headed for. So, by this Fall don't be surprised to see some sales and lots of inventory in stock everywhere. 

The Belador Allroad by Beria (Image courtesy of Beria)

Beria Belador Allroad Gravel Bike:

An interesting gravel bike came out this week. A "Spanish performance brand" called Beria has introduced a concept not unlike what we've seen with the Cannondale Topstone Carbon bike. The "Active Flex Concept" rear has an upper seat stay pivot and those stays are lower down on the seat tube to promote "give" and lend a smoother ride to the rider without sacrificing speed and a quick acceleration feel. 

The model is actually called the Belador Allroad. (See how sensible the Spanish are with names? "Allroad". Nice!) The bike will have five different specs  across the range with the entry level bike being different in that it will have a different frame made of aluminum. 

There are Shimano, SRAM, and a Campy EKAR equipped model to choose from, and yes- they are expensive. 

Comments: I wouldn't usually post about a new gravel bike these days what with the literally hundreds out there to choose from. You have to have a pretty unique take on the genre' anymore to catch my- or anyone else's - attention anymore. Well, putting pivots on seat stays gets my attention. This is a LOT like a Cannondale Topstone carbon, just done in a way that, in my opinion, makes a lot more sense. 

Lower bottom bracket, decent head tube angle, and a racy stance for what it is. (Low stack height for one thing!) I'm not a huge fan of the super-short chain stays, but this isn't necessarily my kind of bike either. Racing? If I was 50lbs lighter and 30 years younger? Yeah, then it would make sense. But I still find the idea intriguing.

I'm not sure a pivot bearing is of any real advantage here. I mean, there is a claimed 26mm of movement at the axle. How much rotation of a bearing do you really think there will be? Can't be much more than a few degrees of rotation there, but I could very well be wrong. Still- an interesting bike. Not like the rest, that's for sure! 

Cut-away view of the Cinturato RC tire. (Image courtesy of Pirelli)

New Cinturato RC Tires:

Pirelli Tires are advancing their presence in the gravel scene with another tire introduction. This time it is with a "race" tire called the Cinturato RC. 

This new tire has bead-to-bead puncture protection, a tread design with a fast, lower knobbed center and wider spaced out shoulder knobs, and it comes in tan or black side walls. 

Widths available are 700c X 35, 700c X 40, and 700c X 45mm. These are available now. 

Comments: I tested out the Pirelli Cinturato Gravel H last year and thought that the tire was a pretty good one for gravel roads. With the smoother tread, I thought it was more toward the touring/recreational side of gravel. Now with the addition of the Cinturato RC, there is a more aggressive, supposedly lighter, and faster tire from the brand. 

If it is anything like the Cinturato Gravel H, then I think this will be another "Tire You Should Know About". 

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