Friday News And Views

The new Stormchaser single speed color- "Silver"

Salsa Cycles Announces New Color For Stormchaser SS Bike:

The pandemic craziness of 2020 was mostly a bummer, with the exception of one bright spot, for me at least. That was that I had a Salsa Cycles Stormchaser single speed around to get out in the country and ride on. 

If I did not already have too many bicycles and single speeds, I'd probably track one of these down. I really enjoyed riding it that much. With the exception of its too-stiff front fork, I absolutely loved riding it. 

Since then the Stormchaser has been offered in a shiny red, a suspension equipped, geared version, and now once again in a new color. Basically all else about this bike remains unchanged from the 2020 bike I rode. (Except that it costs more at $1899.00 USD vs $1499.00 at introduction in '20) I had to laugh a bit when I asked about the press release I got on this bike. It did not say what the color was specifically and it looked like it could be grey, or maybe silver, or pearl white? I asked and the answer was "They tell me it is Silver". 

So, there ya go! Silver it is.

The Otso Fenrir Ti. Image courtesy of Otso Bikes

 Otso Fenrir Ti Announced:

It was a very long time before any good "Fargo-Alternatives" were available and one of the better ones is Otso Bikes Fenrir. Offered in stainless steel, now it is offered in titanium. 

The bike is designed to be built up either with drop bars or flat bars, lending it even more versatility. The tire clearances are 29" X 2.6" or 27.5" X 2.8". A Fenrir Ti frame set with fork is $4050.00USD. 

Comments: The price! (ouch!), but you'd better look around and see that things have all gotten much more expensive in terms of bicycles now. And if history teaches us anything, we are not going back to pre-pandemic levels of pricing again. better suck it up if ya want a new bike. 

So, why this over a Ti Fargo? Well, the Tuning Chip drop out, which thankfully now can be converted to a single speed, is a nice feature. That is a thing that can be useful instead of just a "feature'. The Fargo has its way of doing single speed, but that Alternator plate is not without its drawbacks. This idea, and Trek's very similar drop out, seems to me to be a good solution. 

Otherwise?  Yeah, pretty similar idea, but it wouldn't be a good Fargo alternative if it wasn't similar, so there is that. 

Standard Rando v2 in "Fog" Image courtesy of Twin Six

It's Not You- It Really Is Foggy!

Twin Six recently introduced another new color for their Standard Rando v2. It's called "Fog", and in the images I've seen it looks like the pictures were taken with black & white film. Put Fausto Coppi from some grinding Alpine climb on this and you could easily believe this was a period-correct design from the 1940's. 

This is a favorite bike of mine, but of course, mine is yellow. About as opposite as one can get from this color scheme. That said, everything else about the bike is the same and I know it would ride quite nicely. 

Worth noting (AGAIN! Sorry!) is the price increase here. I got mine right as the pandemic was hitting and it was about 200 bucks less than it is now, but even at $850.00, this frame and fork are a great buy. If you like classic design, steel, and good looking bicycles with an eye toward the understated side, the Standard Rando should be on your radar. There really is nothing else quite like it.  

The Jones Bikes H Bar circa 2002. Image courtesy of Jones Bikes.

Jones Bikes Celebrates 20 Years:

I first heard about Jones Bikes in a magazine. (Remember those?) The weird Space Frame and truss fork idea was out of this world. The first time I saw anything related to the company with my own two eyes was their "H-Bar", which was on a bike used by one of the guys at the first DK200 in 2006. 

Those H-Bars really had my attention. They were possibly one of the first "alt-bars" for a flat bar set up I ever encountered. The swept back extensions fell in line with what I had been reading about flared drop bars at the time and my experience with those made me think that the H-bar might not be a bad idea. 

This is my OS Bikes Blackbuck in 2008 with a set of Titec H-Bars. The design was licensed from Jones Bikes.

 Well, the closest I ever got to trying them out was a Titec version of them. Then later on I used the Jones Carbon Loop Bar on my fat bikes. I know people that own a Jones bike, and they are huge fans, and I've even spoken to The Man him self, but I haven't ever gotten around to trying one of those far out creations yet. 

Anyway, I consider Jones Bikes as being one of the last "innovators" in bicycle design and no one has really ever quite come close to what he has done. Happy Anniversary, Jones Bikes!

That's a wrap for this week. Thanks for reading Guitar Ted Productions!