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| The new "Grus" by American Classic. (Image courtesy of American Classic) |
With Eurobike humming along over the pond we are getting a few new tidbits thrown our way. Despite the news of a clogged up supply chain, some companies are still showing new stuff.
One such company is American Classic, the company that came back from the dead to establish itself as the value leader in bicycle tires which have good performance characteristics. They recently added three new tires, the Grus gravel tire and two new 29"er tires.
The Grus will come in only black, only one size, (for now) 700 X 40mm, and is a claimed just-over-500 gram tire. 120TPI and it has American Classic's Class 5S puncture protection belt. The tire sells for $45.00 USD and can be found on American Classic's Amazon store.
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| The American Classic Cumbre 29" X 2.25" (Image courtesy of American Calssic) |
Comments: I'm mildly interested in the Cubre 29"er tire as it looks fast and American classic is claiming it weighs in at around 690 grams, which for a tire this big would be stellar.
But.....I have serious doubts about that weight. For one thing, this is a 2.25" tire, and I have 700 X 45mm tires that weight that much here in the house. Note: The same press release says that the Grus weighs 550 grams and it is a 40mm tire. Yeah.....
American Classic says the tire is puncture protected too, and even if that is only under the tread cap, that adds weight. So..... Either the tire isn't that light, really, or it isn't that wide. If it is, I'd be pretty surprised by that.
That all said, the Grus does look fast. Might be a great tire at that price.
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| The new WTB Silverado (Image courtesy of WTB) |
WTB Updates Silverado, Volt Saddles:
WTB announced recently that they have taken what they learned from designing the new Gravelier saddle and have applied that to their popular Silverado and Volt models.
The saddles have the new Fusion Form nylon bases where the amount of reinforcing fiber can be manipulated for the best comfort outcomes. the Volt remains pretty much unchanged with the exception of that Fusion Form tech and a refreshed look. The Silverado is where the big changes occurred.
WTB found through rigorous ride testing that the Silverado was better if it was a tad bit shorter and had less of a "dip" in its midsection. It really looks similar to the Gravelier now, to my eyes, without the cut-out.
Both saddles will be available in several price points based upon their rail material, mostly. I am a bit skeptical on the Silverado, and I would be really kind of bummed if it weren't for the fact that I know that the Gravelier is a really great saddle. Because if I hadn't have ridden the Gravelier I'd be sad that they changed the Silverado, as it is amongst my very favorite saddles now. But if it is like a Gravelier, I'd be good with that.
Maybe we'll see about that soon...
4 comments:
G-Ted, Howdy;
Just finished reading this article;
https://news.yahoo.com/doom-loop-hammering-middle-america-095800515.html
and was wondering if you may be seeing/sensing something along these lines
in your local.
Where I dwell, is open desert not quite the middle of no where but I can
see it from my front step. chucklin'
Perhaps fodder for an article on down the way.
Stay safe.
hank
@hank - Interesting. Well, the irony here is that mid to small sized urban areas, such as Waterloo/Cedar Falls, have been revitalizing their downtowns since the late 1990's. Throughout the late 1970's and 1980's, these towns saw their downtowns decimated and become wastelands where no one wanted to go.
The birth of malls in the 70's actually started it, and Walmart finished it off. What happened since then is, in some cases, amazing, and in others merely remarkable in that at least 'something' is going on again downtown.
Of course, we never had hundreds or thousands of workers in office spaces either. So, what is happening in Des Moines, as an example, or KC, is a bit different. I think these bigger urban areas can look to what smaller towns like Cedar Falls has accomplished and see what was once a literal ghost town become a thriving area where people want to go.
Waterloo is still working this out, but we are the "Little Chicago" of Iowa, (literally, that's one of the monikers used for Waterloo, Iowa) and surrounding rural residents are very hesitant to come here, and it has been that way for 60 + years. But I think that things will eventually turn the corner here as well. I see signs of that.
So, no - I don't see what the article is talking about. We have a completely different problem/development curve here, and I think maybe we have it easier because of that in the near future.
GTed, Howdy;
Thanks for the reply and your insights.
Having been a OTR truckdriver I got to see and experience a lot of different things at a multitude of locations. The last few years of driving was for a company that specialized in Hazmat. So, a bunch of pick-ups were at sites that were being cleaned out prior to demolition. So, I've been witness to a lot of what the writer was referring to regarding the industrial side of their article. Hadn't been to Waterloo/Cedar Falls so thought I'd get the opinion of someone that has been there for more then just a bit.
Thanks again for taking the time to respond to my question.
hank
@hank - You are welcome! Thanks for reading the blog as well.
A OTR trucker? My father in law was also one. Respect.
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