Two Things

Image courtesy of Switchgrade

Throughout the years, I have enjoyed checking up on what Mike Curiak is doing. Mike was notably a major force in the ultra-distance MTB, ultra-distance snow racing of old. Once upon a time, Mike dominated those scenes, won his share of events, and along the way he "thinkered" up many new ways of doing things. Crazy things like putting camp stove fuel in frame tubing.  In my mind, Mike is as important, probably more important, a figure to MTB, fat biking, bikepacking, and gravel events as Jay Petervary is/ ever was. (Don't tell Mike though. The whole JP thing is kind of a sore subject with him) 

Don't ask about the friction part of what I referenced above, I just wanted to point out that Mike Curiak might just be one of the most underrated, unheralded figures in all of those scenes, and I won't even mention 29"ers, which Mike helped with from the get-go as far as promoting and championing that wheel size. 

You may not have heard of Mike. Maybe it is because Mike has quietly been running a business (Lacemine29.com) since 2004 and riding his bikes in his own way at his own pace and timing now for the better part of a decade, maybe more. Mike eschews the spotlight, and that's his prerogative. I respect that, but I'm telling you, he has done a LOT for off-road and off-pavement cycling. He's worth keeping an eye on. Fortunately you can still do that because he writes an occasional blog post from time to time. (Link in right sidebar)

Most of the time what he chooses to write about is stuff regarding his riding, his white-water rafting, or a wheel set he's trying to sell. But once in awhile Mike will come up with something I've never heard about that makes me stop and ponder things. Such was the case with his latest post (HERE) You can learn more about the Switchgrade HERE. 

It is good to see that people still think outside of the box today. Mike always has. Good thing too, because Mike was a MAJOR influence on Trans Iowa, and therefore, what came afterward. If you like gravel riding, bikepacking, fat bikes, or 29 inch wheels, a tip of the hat to Mr. Curiak would not be out of line. Although, I dare say, he likely would just rather be left to scaling some way-out-there single track and gazing at mountain flora and fauna. Notoriety seems to be way down on his list of "important things". That's cool..... 

From social media

What's Going On With Alt Wheel Sizes?

Back in 2018 I learned of a new alternative wheel size that WTB was working on dubbed "750D". If you don't remember anything about that, I wrote a post about this wheel size HERE about a year ago now. It seems that it was later last year when other folks started getting wheels and tires from WTB to "play with". I know Meriweather Cycles was one such builder. I know a friend that supposedly was sent a set. But then things went dark on that wheel size, again, so I am not sure what the latest word is on that front.

That said, 750D isn't the only new wheel size being explored. The company, Dirty Sixer, who, as you can probably tell, is the purveyor of 36" wheeled bicycles, is toying around with 32"ers. 

I saw on Facebook a mention that Dirty Sixer had a 32" wheeled gravel bike all set to show at Eurobike recently but the bike got hung up in customs and never made the show. That said, the bike exists, and it will probably get shown at some point soon. So, keep your eyes peeled for that.

Of course, none of these bigger wheels is going to be "the next 29"er". You might think I'm just being a Negative Nancy with a statement like that, but if you consider what was done in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries with regard to engineering and exploring optimal equipment for human powered cycling, you might understand that a statement like that makes more sense than you may think initially. 

700c wheels did not just appear out of thin air, nor were they adopted out of convenience. There was a LOT of math and engineering that went into calculating what wheel size was going to be best for adults. This shouldn't be forgotten. Of course, taller folks could benefit from larger diameter wheels, and there are always those people who have to try things out of curiosity, (raises hand), but wheel diameter and weight matter, and we humans have only so much horsepower and most of us are not well over six feet tall. The equation is still in favor of 700c wheels, and I don't see that changing much in the future.