Friday News And Views

Image courtesy of Ergon

 Ergon Redesigns Flagship Grip:

Ergon announced yesterday that their iconic "winged" design grip has been refreshed and released for use. Using a manufacturing process that reduces waste to near-zero, and using refined rubber and natural cork (GP-1 BioKork Evo) , this grip represents a responsibly produced product that is 100% manufactured in Germany and is SGS certified. Using SGS certified, pollutant-free, medical grade rubber, the grip meets German toy and food standards. 

In the case of the BioKork GP-1 Evo, the grip contains 40% organically grown cork from Portugal and the rest is manufactured to SGS standards in Germany. 

The aluminum clamp is integrated into the GP-1 Evo and BioKork Evo grips and now features a hidden hex head clamping bolt. 

Prices are $39.95 for the GP-1 Evo and $49.95 for the BioKork GP-1 Evo. These are available now via Ergon's Amazon partners or from bike shops with a Quality Bicycle Products account. 

Comments: the much-copied, flagship grip from Ergon gets a long awaited refresh but it seems to have retained its basic features which made it a revolutionary grip in 2005 when it arrived on the scene here in the US. I know that I have personally gained much from having these grips installed on my bicycles since 2005, which has increased comfort and reduced hand numbness for me to a great degree. 

Interesting from my viewpoint is that Trans Iowa was Ergon's first sponsorship activation in the USA back in 2005. Ergon supplied each of the starting riders a set of the then unknown grips. It is safe to say that this sponsorship not only enhanced Trans Iowa as a concept for an event, but set Ergon off in an upward trajectory with endurance cyclists and mountain bikers immediately. Ergon also graciously allowed Jeff and I our own sets of GP-1 grips which was how I was introduced to the grip's benefits. 

Check out the Ergon GP-1 grips here. Thank you to Ergon for the information and image used in this post. 

Guitar Ted Podcast Episode #30:

Well, we've put up another episode of the "GTP" again, and we covered the discontinued  Cross Check model, plus a whole bunch of other stuff. You can listen HERE if you care to. I'd be honored if you decide to listen in on any of our episodes. 

This Cross Check thing kind of caught me by surprise. The discontinuation bit and the reaction from riders. Apparently, Surly doing this struck a nerve in many of you. Has Surly done a disservice to its original ethos? Has Surly "lost its way" lately? Seems that many of those who are lamenting the loss of the Cross Check, 1X1, and the Long Haul Trucker seem to think so. And what about the old Pugs? That's gone too. 

My feeling is that this all started back in the early twenty-teens. I spent time in the bowels of the QBP mother ship at different Frostbike gatherings and I could see the "foundation issues" within the organization. Any company worth its salt has a strong core of people. Humans that drive the thing and have passion for that mission are necessary for the end product's appeal to the customer base. Those "foundational" people all started to fall away in the twenty-teens. The mold had been cast for what has happened now, to a degree. 

Of course, a world-wide pandemic, economic upheavals, and other factors come into play here, but a lot of what we see now is the fall-out of stuff that had its beginnings over a decade ago now. That's my take. But the reasons why we are at where we are at with Surly's products have just served to lead us to the current state of affairs. That's all it is. That's something that cannot be undone. Things change, times end, and so I remember the Cross Check with fondness for where it took us.  

Image courtesy of Mavic USA.

Mavic Introduces All-Road Wheels & Shoes:

Mavic. Remember them? Well, they are back again and now have a USA office. They just introduced two sets of wheels and a couple of shoes for riders of gravel and dirt. 

What is interesting is that Mavic decided to enter the complete wheel market in the entry level. These are aluminum rimmed wheels with the patented Mavic FORE rim design which leaves no spoke hole drillings which would require rim tape. These rims don't need that as the rim well is solid aluminum. 

The hub for the rear wheel uses what Mavic calls "ID360" design, but basically what it is is a star ratchet system. DT Swiss used to have the exclusive patent on that design but it has run out now, so you will see that offered in several wheel designs in the future and this is one of them. 

The wheels are not what you'd call "impressively light weight". The All Road S weighs in at 1700 grams and the SL version weighs 45 grams less. However; there is some versatility in the axle standards as Mavic says that you can get 15mm end caps for front wheels and a QR end cap for rear wheels in this range. (Note: It wasn't clear if a QR end cap is available for front wheels.) The wheels ship with the now standard 12mm through axle compatible end caps. Prices set at $530.00 USD for the All Road S and $830.00 USD for the All Road SL wheels. 

Image courtesy of Mavic USA

The shoes I would be interested in are these Cosmic BOA SPD kicks with a faux leather upper and a fiberglass reinforced Nylon sole. The BOA dial is the one that you can micro-adjust on the fly, which is a nice feature. 

The perforations promise some air flow and the rubber walking tread areas on the bottom promise safe walking in convenience stores when you are looking for that savory slice of Casey's pizza! 

These come in a brown (shown) and black, but since Jeff Kerkove told me about dark shoes making your feet hotter I have been wishing for lighter colored footwear. So, that's a bummer here because you cannot get that with these shoes. 

Comments: I like the shoes, and the wheels are kind of a head scratcher. I mean, yeah.....if my stock wheels on - say a Journeyer - were up for replacement, these would be marginally better for not a whole lot of cash. However; wheels are so competitively priced now that you can get a nice set of carbon rimmed wheels for about the same price as the All Road SL's. So, it's a bit puzzling on that side as to why Mavic would choose to go into the high-end aluminum complete wheel market and not have something on offer that is lighter weight. 

LeMond All-Road Prolog - A Gravel eBike from LeMond?

So when Greg LeMond decided to start an independent bicycle company I assumed, as I am sure many of you all did, that there would be a drop bar bike of some type immediately. 

But there wasn't.

It was electrified flat bar bikes, then a Dutch inspired ebike, and after all that, I figured, well.....maybe LeMond isn't into drop bar bikes anymore. Weird thought, but ya know..... 

Well, then this All - Road bike debuts, and it is kind of impressive. Especially when I think about that Specialized bike I talked about last week. This LeMond bike costs significantly less, has better range, and weighs under 30lbs. Plus it comes with Panaracer Gravel Kings at 700 X 43mm size with room to spare. 

Adding in some proper geometry, and you know what? I'd ride this sans motor. I am not interested in electrified bikes, but a gravel bike from LeMond? That'd be pretty cool.

That's all for this week! Thank you for reading Guitar Ted Productions!