Singular Peregrine Mk4 Build: Part One

Most of the parts from this bike are being used for the Peregrine build.

The first step in building up the Peregrine Mk4 was to get the Twin Six Standard Rando torn down. This was necessary because most of the parts from this bike were going to be used on the Peregrine.

Even the wheels are going over, and for now, the WTB tires are staying on there as well. The reason for this is to help me contrast and compare the ride of the Peregrine to the Standard Rando v2, which had these wheels on it. 

Again, I'll say the internally routed front brake cable is just dumb. You may say it is more "aero". I say, put a channel on the backside of the left fork leg, integrate clips to hold the hose in, and make everyone's lives a lot easier and aero. Internal routing for the average cyclist is just not necessary.  It is a step backward for most cyclists and mechanics as well.

Okay......rant over, now on with the build!

There were a couple of things I could not switch over. The head set, for one, was not compatible with the Peregrine, so I got the Chris King 1 1/8th silver head set as seen previously to accommodate this build. The other bit was the bottom bracket. 

The Twin Six uses a PF-30 shell, and I have a screw-together Enduro bottom bracket in there now. The Peregrine Mk4 uses a traditional English threaded 68mm bottom bracket. So I was going to need to find if I had one around to use, or if I needed to purchase one. 

I had thought I had a Chris King bottom bracket somewhere, but I could not find it. So, while searching for the Chris King I came across a brand new Shimano bottom bracket. These are okay, but their durability and longevity is not so great. I decided to use it up on the Peregrine and when it goes bad, I'll put something nicer in there. 

While I could have used the seat post and saddle, along with the stem, I decided against those parts due to their being black in color. I wanted bright, polished parts if I could find them. So, I ended up using the seat post and saddle from the Black Mountain Cycles Monstercross frame, (which is being retired as well), along with a stubby, 60mm Whisky Parts stem which I had on the Singular Gryphon Mk3, ironically, before this.  

Even the through-axles are emblazoned with the brand name!

Since both the Twin Six Standard Rando v2 and the Singular Peregrine Mk4 use full-run cable housings, I was able to just drop the rear brake caliper, hose, rear derailleur, housing, and cable, and the housing and cable for the front derailleur as a unit with the handlebar. 

The plan being to just swap all these bits wholesale onto the new bike. The front derailleur could not be brought along with this assembly since there was no way the derailleur could pass through the tiny window between the stay bridge and the bottom bracket shell. It simply had to come off as its own bit. 

My only concerns were if everything was going to be long enough. The Singular Peregrine runs longer chain stays than does the Standard Rando v2, and the stack heights might have figured into cable length as well. I did a dry run with the wheels on and handle bar in place using a 90mm long Ritchey Classic stem. This looked close, so I was pretty sure the 60mm Whisky stem would give me just enough slack to fit everything and still be able to turn the bike. 

Worse case scenario I would have to re-cable and bleed the rear caliper. I still may have to do this, but I cannot determine this just quite yet. I am trying to avoid this, if possible. Again, if I had cable actuated brakes I'd be a lot less reticent to swap every cable housing and cable. 

Dremel to the rescue!

The frame has an eccentric insert at the bottom bracket. Now these should always be greased, or at least some sort of anti-seize paste should be used here. Since almost every eccentric bottom bracket (EBB), I've ever worked on straight from the box has never been greased, I decided to take a wee peek inside to find if there were a need for some slippery-stuff.

Well, first I had to be able to remove the insert! It was stuck in there as if it were a press fit unit. I tapped on it with the wooden handle of my dead blow hammer and noticed a little movement. I continued with this until I had it removed. Oh!...... Yes, I removed the grub screws. So, don't wonder about that part!

Once I had the insert removed, a very nicely made, Singular branded, black anodized aluminum insert, I tried to see what could be the problem. I noted a varying amount of paint and corrosion treatment. Perhaps this, or a warped eccentric shell from welding were the cause of my issues. Hopefully it was just the paint and coating.

Dremel to the rescue! I used 220 grit sandpaper on a barrel attachment to remove most of the paint and coating. It worked! The EBB went in very nicely with just a bit of effort. I cleaned up everything and layered in a coating of Finish Line Premium Grease. The insert glided right in this time, and I then put on some blue thread locking compound on the grub screws and tightened up those to 6nm.   

With the problem solved the insert went in like a champ. Next - Installation of the crank set. 

With this big hurdle cleared, I had a bit of an easier time installing the crank set and a few more odds and ends. The next bit would include getting cables sorted and managed, installing the chain, and then determining fit from where I had things at this time with my other bicycles. 

In the next installment for this build I will get into those things and more. Stay tuned....  

Weekly Top Five

 Welcome to the weekly Top Five" showing links to five of the week's most read articles on the blog.
Sometimes those will be current posts, but sometimes not. I will also post commentary with perspective on some of the older posts, and try to give some context as to why I wrote what I wrote then, which may not reflect what I'd say in 2025. With all of the above said, here is this week's list.

 Closure: Wednesday, September 10th, 2025 - The post letting everyone know about the Medical Examiner's report on Jacob. 

Winter Is Coming: Monday, September 8th, 2025 - A post concerning my Ti Muk 2's Rohloff SpeedHub maintenance. 

Friday News And Views: Friday September 12th, 2025 - The latest Friday News And Views post finds its way on the list this week.  

Last Ride For The Gravel Bus: Thursday, September 11th, 2025 - A post about the final ride on the Gravel Bus and why this bike is being dismantled.  

Incoming: Schwalbe G-One Overland 700 X 50mm Tires: Saturday, September 6th, 2025 - People love tires for bicycles. This post helps prove this theory.  

And there are your Top Five posts for this week. Once again, the numbers for hits have been going nuts. This past week was at another level. My intuition says this is an artificially inflated data set due to the influence of AI bot crawlers which use posts like this to "learn" from. 

Maybe... Hard to really know, and maybe I'm just being paranoid. 

At any rate, if you are actually a human and reading this: Thank You!  

Review: Singular Peregrine Mk4

NOTE: Guitar Ted paid for the Peregrine Mk4 out of pocket. Singular Cycles is not paying for, nor has any knowledge of this review, (that is - until Sam reads this post!) All thoughts and opinions are Guitar Ted's.

The Singular Cycles Peregrine Mk4 fresh out of the box

 As mentioned earlier here on the blog, the Singular Cycles Peregrine Mk4 was headed to me here at Guitar Ted HQ. Well, as you can obviously see here, it has arrived. I wanted to give my first impressions of this frame set as I took it out of its shipping box and unwrapped the thing to see it with my own eyes now for the first time. Technical data be damned, at least for now, because all I want to convey with this first post is what I am thinking about this frame set initially. Techy stuff will come later. (Or you could click the link toi the Peregrine Mk4 page above. )

First of all, I want to point out the images here are of the frame and fork directly after unpacking. There was no attempt made to clean up the finish from all the fingerprints, dust, and shipping detritus accumulated since the frame and fork were packed up at Singular Cycles US warehouse. So, no apologies for the dullness of the colors here and there. This will look a lot prettier once I have it cleaned up.

Okay, with this out of the way, this thing is gorgeous. In a very neo-classic cycling way, that is. Sam Alison, Singular Cycles founder, has a way of taking classic bicycle design and paint scheme cues and integrating those within a fully modernized bicycle which makes no compromises, in a general sense, because of those classic influences. 

So here we have through axles, disc brakes, (flat mount, natch!), and accommodation for large gravel tires in 700c or 650B sizes. Full accessory mounts are integrated in a way which seems unobtrusive and does not detract from the classic looks. Of course, the paneled British Racing Green and Ivory only adds to those classic looks leanings. Worth noting is the custom paint option Singular offers, at an up-charge, should this hue just not appeal to you. 

The cable routing is all external, and this may seem, upon first considerations, to be a 'not very modern' way of doing things. Given the hidden cables craze, it would seem very 'retro', but it is by far the most practical and easily maintained way to run cables. I like the removable cable guides in case you should decide to run a single speed/fixed gear set up.

Some folks are surprised to find the Peregrine uses lugged steel construction in several places on the frame. This is a huge attraction for myself, as I love lugged steel frames. Plus, a modern lugged steel frame is a pretty rare thing in 2025. This is also appealing to me.

Look at the head tube! Straight 1 1/8th as it should be with a standard external cup Chris King headset installed. Obviously classic, and easily maintained for the foreseeable future. 

I mean, a 'clean' looking integrated headset can be okay, but those are not 'classic', and many have parts not easily obtained in case of a need for replacement arises. This Chris King head set will likely outlast me!

Besides, a straight steer tube gives a bit, which enhances comfort, and this will be plenty strong enough. So stiffer is maybe okay for Pro roadie sprinters, but this is not what I am looking for in my gravel bikes. I have always thought tapered steer tubes were overkill for road and gravel for the vast majority of the riding public. 

Standards for this frame are all pretty basic. Flat mount brakes, 27.2mm seat post, threaded bottom bracket. the aforementioned head set, standard through axles. Nothing proprietary or odd here. 

These are all things I like to see. These are the things which make building up a bicycle like this far easier.

 For instance, my Twin Six Standard Rando v2 has a port through the front fork for the brake hose. To get this out, or installed, one has to disconnect the hydraulic hose from the lever and thread the hose through the fork, reattach the hose with a new barb and compression nut, then bleed the system. 

What a hassle! Just to switch components in or out from the fork.  This is something which I find irritating. Your mileage may vary. The Peregrine has a much easier set up and ability to swap components. 

Of course,it wouldn't be a true Singular unless you could run it as a single speed bike! Sam Alison usually integrates an eccentric bottom bracket into his designs which allows for an easy way to go single speed/fixed. Not all Singulars were made this way, but I appreciate this feature in the Peregrine Mk4.

In my opinion, a single speed option is critical for any self-supported type cycling. Having this option could help you pedal home in case of a catastrophe regarding the rear derailleur. So, as a cyclist who spends a lot of time alone in remote county areas, I desire this sort of "bail out" option in my bikes. 

Another, less considered feature of the eccentric bottom bracket is the ability to alter your effective bottom bracket drop. Of course, this only applies if you are running a geared set up, but where you place the eccentric will affect your seat height slightly, and with big tires, I probably will set my eccentric at the "six o'clock" position to accommodate for this. 

I know some folks are down on eccentric bottom brackets due to rumors or old experiences with these making noise. I have had several eccentric bottom bracket bicycles and I can report this has never been an issue with any of those bicycles so equipped. 

I said I wasn't going to get all techy, didn't I? Oh well! These are things I see when I look at a frame and fork. So, forgive my more "mechanic's viewpoint", but again, this bike is just really good looking. Sam knocked it out of the park with the Peregrine Mk4 as far as the aesthetics go. 

I mean, just look at the fork crown! If you do not find this part of the frame attractive I have no words for you. 

Okay, enough of this! I have to quit writing and start turning wrenches!

I'll be posting a build series around this bike in the next few days and then, hopefully, a first ride post. In case you missed it, I plan on putting on a 2X GRX Limited Silver group with my GRX wheel set and those Schwalbe G-One Overland tires I introduced the other day. 

The plan after this is to use the Peregrine Mk4 as my main bicycle for gravel travel for the remainder of the gravel riding season of 2025. This should provide a good basis for giving a final verdict on the Peregrine Mk 4 as a gravel riding platform. 

Thanks to Sam Alison for getting the frame and fork shipped out so promptly and for the excellent customer service. Look for more on the Peregrine Mk4 coming soon! 

Friday News And Views

Image courtesy of Salsa Cycles social media

Salsa Cycles Teases Drop Bar MTB:

On Tuesday of this past week, Salsa Cycles dropped a teaser for a new bicycle which is said to be coming to their dealers in January of 2026. 

Tagged only with the words "Curioser and Curioser", the silhouette of the bike is shown against a murky, forest-like scene. Perhaps this hints at the model's new name.

Comments: Whooo-boy! The comments on this are just what you'd expect from the mostly-negative peanut gallery. I won't get into their thoughts as they are not really going to do anything but be noise here.  

What I will say is this looks like stab at a niche which may be pretty far off most folks radar. My guess is this is a "fast bikepacking" platform. But this is just a guess. I highly doubt it is a drop bar alternative for trail riding only, but obviously, it probably will be capable of doing just that. My first impression when seeing this was it could be a full-sus gravel bike, but I think the travel on the fork looks a bit long for this to be pigeon-holed as just a gravel bike. Besides, look at the height of the bottom bracket. This looks much more off-road than on-road. 

I guess we will all find out together in January!

Image courtesy of Mondraker Bicycles.

Mondraker Offers Arid Carbon Unlimited Frameset:

On Wednesday Mondraker Bicycles announced a new version of their Arid Carbon gravel bike called the Arid Carbon Unlimited. This new frame set is painted in a color-shifting "Eclipse" scheme which will look different depending upon the viewer's angle of sight and lighting conditions.  

The frame also features a lighter version of the  Stealth Air Carbon Fork which has the accessory mounts removed for a sleeker look and 60 gram lighter weight. 

Prices in the press release were not given in US dollars, but looking at the listed retail pricing my guess is this would be around $2,500.00 before any tariffs. This is assuming it will even be available in the USA. With this in mind, I still think this is a high-end frame set worth seeking out for its geometry and promised smoother riding qualities.   

Image courtesy of Castelli

Castelli Partners With Polartec For New AirCore™ Jacket Tech:

Castelli released news of a new Perfetto RoS jacket on Tuesday of this past week which uses a new fabric which may radicalize how we view rain wear.  

The inside joke regarding any weather protective jackets has always been you get wetter on the inside than you would on the outside when wearing a rain jacket while cycling. I've tried several rain jackets and this has mostly been the case. I did have one Endura made, Niner Bikes branded soft shell jacket which was the only cycling jacket I ever had which kept me warm, dry, and was almost wind proof and had a little resistance to wetness. But yeah, most claims of "breathability" in rain wear is laughable at best. 

To understand this one must know a lot of the details and tech behind poor weather wear for cycling. Most, if not all, rain wear has three layers. In the simplest terms, the rain is kept at bay while this three layer fabric supposedly allows your perspiration to find its way through to get evaporated into the atmosphere. Trouble is, this happens at such a slow rate in most jackets as to be largely ineffective. 

Then Shakedry, a magical, single layer fabric came out around eight years ago or so which actually did the magic trick of being waterproof and kept you dry inside of it. However; it was difficult to make and was limited by its non-stretchy, and less durable nature. Then it was found to have high levels of PFC's which were being linked to cancer. A ban on PFC's in several countries has led to the discontinuation of Shakedry jackets. Back to the same ol'-same ol"? No.... Not according to Castelli. 

Castelli went to Polartec and asked them to create a new fabric with no PFC's which would repel water and wind yet be actually breathable, not just breathable in theory. So, the claim is now being made. The new AirCore™ fabric, spun from recycled polyesters, is this new wonder-fabric which will breath and repel water and wind. 

This fabric will be an exclusive to Castelli and its sister brand, Sporful, for cycling, but look for AirCore™ to show up in other brand's outwear this Winter. We will see if the mystical combination of weather-proofness and dry interior performance during active use will become a reality.  

Image courtesy of Specialized Bicycles

Specialized Releases Details On Gen4 Diverge:

Specialized on Tuesday released details on a new version of the Diverge, their gravel bike, and there are several new features and tweaks to cover here.

First off, the Future Shock system gets an upgrade on the higher end models with hydraulic damping and adjustability for rider weight and preferences. The geometry has been tweaked by way of a longer front-center for each size matched up with a slack head angle and 5mm lower bottom bracket across the range. Tire clearance is up to 700 X 50mm, and alloy models now get down tube frame storage capabilities. Prices start at 2K and range up to 10K for the top-end model. Se the range HERE. 

Comments: The social media commentary on gravel bikes, including this one, is hilarious. Many think 2017 MTB's are "old school", that gravel bikes are "just pretend flat bar hard tail MTB's", and seeing many trying to wrap their minds around an 85mm bottom bracket drop is particularly fun. 

Anyway, this new Diverge was developed through feedback from Specialized sponsored Pro gravel racers, so anyone making comments on these bicycles being lacking, or dumb in any way are just not getting the message. Racers want what racers believe they need to go faster. Much of what they believe is data-driven, so this is not just a bunch of marketing hoo-ha cooked up to strip the riding populace of their hard-earned dollars. 

Oddly enough, many of the details which the Pros seem to want in a gravel bike align with what I think works best for "just riding around", on gravel. Besides the lack of versatility which racers do not need or want, I'm in. This is the only nit I would have with the Diverge.  

Image courtesy of Santa Cruz Bicycles

New Stigmata HTSQD Colorway Debuts:

Santa Cruz showed off this special colorway of their Stigmata gravel bike recently which can be had as a full-build or frame and fork. The frame and fork combo is listed at $2,799.00 USD. 

The frame/fork combo can be seen HERE. 

Comments: N.Y. Roll has an older Stigmata, and he seems to like it well enough to keep it around for now. I like this newer version, maybe as a more racy option for myself, at any rate. 

The geometry on this is a bit longish and sizing this bike is a bit of a conundrum fror me. I think I'd opt for the Large but with a 52.5cm seat tube length it would require quite a lot of seat post extension. I suppose this is by design to accommodate dropper posts, which these MTB-centric brands like to put on their gravel bikes. 

Cool colors, at any rate. I do like this about the new Stiggy. 

That's a wrap for this week! Have a great weekend and ride those bicycles!

Last Ride For The Gravel Bus

The 2020 Twin Six Standard Rando v2 I dubbed "The Gravel Bus" 

 I suppose many of you fine readers are aware I am about to take delivery of a Singular Peregrine Mk4. This frame and fork will be built up using most of the parts from the Twin Six Standard Rando I have. I've gone over all the reasoning for this in past posts about these two bicycles. If you want the lowdown see HERE and HERE for the story. 

Since this Standard Rando v2 is about to be dismantled, I thought one final ride was in order to get a benchmark on how it rides again and to give it a proper send-off from my stable of bicycles.  It isn't that this bike is "bad", or even a bicycle which isn't quite "good enough" when it comes to why I am passing it on, because it is a great bicycle. It is just that I have grown to love fatter tires again on gravel and the T-6 just cannot get me where I need to be in this regard. So, I have decided to move on from this bicycle mainly based upon this fact. 

If you look closely, you can see how minimal the tire clearance is with this WTB tire which is listed as a 700 X 44mm. 

 Currently I have a 700 X 44mm WTB Raddler mounted on Shimano GRX rims which measure 25mm inner rim width. This wheel is standard width now days for gravel use. Some are advocating for even wider rims, but for what I typically use here, 25mm - 30mm inner rim width is going to be the maximum for my needs. 

So, as you can see above, putting a 45mm+ width tire on a current issue Standard Rando just is not going to work with today's rim widths. So, this issue is solved by the Peregrine Mk4 quite handily. This is but one reason I am moving on from the T-6, but I had to have a certain look and feel in the replacement bike, and I feel the Singular does this. See the linked post above if you want to know more about this. 

 The Standard Rando is a great bicycle and my wish would be for Twin Six to come up with a v3 of this model with the capability to handle up to a 50mm tire. But at this point, I cannot get the bike in the configuration I would like. This is sad, in a way, because the Standard Rando is a fun bicycle to ride. I love the water bottle capacity, the classic look, and the way it handles is very predictable. Maybe a tad on the stiff side, yes, but with the ShockStop stem, I can tame this characteristic of the Standard Rando v2 easily. 

I'm going to miss this bicycle, for sure. However; it is plain to see to me, at least, that I am more apt to grab a bicycle from my stash with larger tires than what this bicycle can handle. As an example, this ride I took the other day was the first time I had ridden the Standard Rando in 2025. So, yes, it was time to rectify the situation, and my expectation is for the Singular Peregrine Mk4 to do this for me. 

The switch over of components should begin this weekend as the Peregrine is expected to find its perch here on Friday. You may wonder what is going to happen to the Standard Rando v2 frame and fork.  I initially thought I might sell it, but..... I could use a fatter tire fixie. Hmm...... 

Closure

 Note: This post is a follow-up for all those who were concerned about the death of my son, Jacob Stevenson, on August 2nd, 2025. If this is news to you as you read this, I am sorry for this, but for everyone else, I felt answers were being looked for, and this post is here to provide some closure.

 Okay, so as many of you know, this death was unexpected and, maybe more importantly, unexplained. When someone this young (22 yrs old in this case) dies there is a curiosity and need for "a reason". This extends to the official account needed by our medical and government officials. This also affects the closure of accounts and such financials, as you might imagine, which are important in a secondary realm. 

Because of all these reasons, an autopsy was performed immediately afterward which showed no obvious conclusions for Jacob's death. So there were samples taken and sent off to laboratories for further examination and tests including genetic and toxicology testing. These things take time, but last Saturday we received the results of all the testing and an official end to this part of our dealing with our son's death. 

The results showed Jacob died of "natural causes".   

In other words, there was no explanation for "why he died". 

We were prepared for this answer and while it is difficult, we now can rest. Rest in the fact of there being no reasons for us to believe we did not do something we should have while raising him. Something which may have been missed by us in our living with and taking care of Jacob throughout the years we had him in our lives. We also know Jacob was not doing anything to endanger himself, nor was there any medically related issue which can be pinpointed for his death. I hope this also answers some of those who were concerned about Jacob's death and concerned about us here afterward dealing with it all. 

Of course, the "why" of it all is left hanging. Sometimes we as humans have to accept we cannot, and will not ever know why some things happen. You may deal with this fact of life in several ways. We here have our Faith and we lean heavily into that. For those of you who pray, know we have felt this and appreciate each and every one of you who did, and may still be, praying for us.  

We also want to thank all of those who have reached out, and still do, to see how we are doing and all of you who have contributed to our family in any way in the last month or so. You are all greatly appreciated. 

Now that this chapter is closed I will move onward to my regular postings, but I wanted to make sure these things were communicated and I hope this brings those who had questions about Jacob's death some closure.  

SRAM Announces Limited Edition 1987 Eagle Transmission Group

 Note: Information and images i9n this post were provided to Guitar Ted Productions by SRAM.

SRAM's 1987 Eagle Transmission Group (Inage courtesy of SRAM)

 

 
In 1987 the USA and the world experienced many things. The "Black Monday" stock market crash, Ronald Reagan's "Tear down this wall" speech, and Whitney Houston's emergence on the music scene. But did you know this was the year SRAM designed its first cycling product?

Yep! It was the Grip Shift shifter which mounted on drop bars, triathlete bars, and flat bars. It was, to be kind, a dismal failure as a shifter, but SRAM quickly redesigned the shifter, and by the mid-1990's it was a serious competitor to Shimano and others in the flat bar shifting market. Also, SRAM introduced the cycling world to 2.5mm hex keys, which I still haven't quite gotten over yet, but this is another story for another time. 

But this is about a celebration of an anniversary, not my grudge against 2.5mm hex keys! SRAM decided to mark this year, their 38th, with a sort of throw-back to a silver finish on the components which was common for cycling componentry in 1987. 

AXS shifters (L) and the special logo SRAM Flat-Top chain from the 1987 group (Image courtesy of SRAM)

 

Special Features & Accessories: 

SRAM has done a few nice tweaks to this Transmission group to make it special besides the silver finishes. They managed to carve out another 25 grams from the 10 - 52T cassette to make this the lightest Transmission cassette of all. SRAM also notes this cassette is NOT compatible with eMTB's. 

Each of the group sets will come with a special Flat-Top chain which has "SRAM" in founder Stan Day's handwriting  emblazoned on every other outer link along with an individual serial number for each group from 1 to 1,987, which is all SRAM is making of this special group set. 

Each group set will be boxed with 32 and 34 tooth chain rings and a special tool to install the threaded chain ring lock nut. Each crank set will be offered only in a 170mm length and has built-in power meters for left and right power measuring. Each group set will ship with a 4-battery charger and two extra AXS batteries. 

As mentioned, this group set is limited to 1,987 units world-wide. So, hit up your local SRAM retailer or online outlet to see if you can get your hands on one of these new silver groups. 

(Note: At the time of this writing SRAM had not provided any pricing for the 1987 Transmission AXS group. Also, please check for the regular post which proceeded this post to learn more about the Schwalbe G-One Overland tires which are being reviewed here.) 

Schwalbe G-One Overland Tires 700 x 50mm: Review

 Note: Guitar Ted was gifted these tires by a friend for his upcoming Singular Peregrine Mk4 bicycle build. Guitar Ted is not being paid, nor bribed for this review. Schwalbe is unaware of this review and have no input in the content here. All opinions are Guitar Ted's.

Schwalbe G-1 Overland 700 X 50mm tires.

 The wheels I am using for my upcoming Singular Cycles Peregrine MK4 build need tires, and when I recently saw Schwalbe has a G-One Overland tire in a 700 x 50mm size, my interest was piqued. I asked a mechanic friend about these tires, if he had heard anything good or bad about them, and he then offered to send me a set for this new build.

This was a nice gesture for this bike build I am dedicating to my son, Jacob's memory. So, I thought as long as I was going to be getting acquainted with these new-to-me tires, you all out there might also want to know about them. So, I am going to share my thoughts and opinions on these tires with you over the coming weeks and months. 

What It Is: The G-One Overland was introduced in 2022 by Schwalbe, rounding out its offerings for gravel tires. It is designed to be an all-around tire, good for pavement and gravel, dirt roads, and wherever the road goes ahead of you. They are limited to being available in 700 X 40mm, 45mm, and 50mm widths in black only. They are expensive tires, compared to many, at around $90.00-ish a piece. 

The tires have an overall "arrow", directional shape to the tread pattern. This is made up of various trapezoidal blocks which are bordered along the tire's shoulder by laterally placed rectangular knobs. The tread is tightly packed which should lend a speedier roll to these once ridden, especially on harder surfaces. 

I always like to see lateral edge blocks, like the G-One Overland has, but these do not protrude out far enough, nor are they spaced away from the central tread enough that I would think they will do much for lateral stability in looser gravel. However; they may come into play when cornering on dirt, or smoother, harder packed gravel.

Schwalbe says these Evolution range tires have their ADDIX Speedgrip rubber compound. They do feel a bit grippier in the hand than many tires do. The tires also feature Schwalbe's SUPERGROUND casing, which I cannot seem to find any clear information on. It seems to have some sort of puncture protection, but this is all I could uncover.

Of course, the G-One Overland is tubeless ready and I do intend on running these tires as tubeless. 

Interestingly, the G-One Overland is eBike certified, so I suspect a bit of the weight these tires have is due to the beefing up of the overall construction to withstand the rigors of electric motor usage. My pair weighed in at 663gm/671gm which is more akin to what I would expect from a 29" x 2.2" XC MTB tire. As a comparison, the WTB 700 X 50mm Resolute tires weighed in at 608gm/609gm each. The Resolute at 50mm also featured WTB's SG+ casing, a full protection belted tire. 

First Impressions:

The Schwalbe G-One Overland tires remind me a bit of the Pirelli Cinturato H tires I tried out a few years ago. Both are tires for similar uses and come in similar widths.If the Overalnd version of the G-One range is anything like the Cinturato H, I'd be happy. I liked those tires quite a bit and they were tough, resilient, but nice riding tires for all-around riding.

The G-One's have a nice feeling casing, while perhaps a bit on the thicker side, but again - this is likely due to the eBike intentions on the part of Schwalbe. I would be willing to bet Schwalbe could lighten these tires up a fair amount if they were not eBike rated.

As an example, the Schwalbe G-One Allround 29" X 2.25" tires I tried back in 2019 were weighed in at 553gm/556gm. Quite a difference there with a tire which was actually larger in volume than these G-One Overlands. So, I think my guess as to why the casing is thicker and why the tire is heavier is partially due to this eBike certification.

But if this makes the G-One Overland tires tougher, I am okay with this. My intentions for the Peregrine Mk4 is that the bike will be an all-around exploration machine and tougher tires are welcomed in this scenario.  

My expectation is the tires will roll pretty fast for what they are. I think the closely spaced tread might be a cause for concern with chipped gravel getting lodged in between those trapezoidal tread blocks. We will see about this soon enough, I hope. 

The Peregrine Mk4 is in transit to me as of this writing, so until this bike gets built up, we will have to wait for any updates on the tires. 

Stay tuned..... 

Note: There is an embargoed press release coming this morning at 9:00am CST.  

Winter Is Coming

 I know....we haven't even officially gotten to Fall yet, and GT is talking up Winter! I get it, but like the wild animals, I feel Winter coming, and it is time to get ready for it now, not later when it may be too late.

One of those things I need to get done, (besides the stuff around the house I need to do), is refresh/clean/lubricate my Rohloff Speedhub. 

The internally geared hub has 14 speeds and if you have never used one, it is a very nice piece of gear. In my estimation, there is nothing quite like a Rohloff Speedhub, with the possible exception of the Pinion gearbox, which I have not had the chance to use. 

The main advantage here is the lower maintenance and the ability to shift gears when not pedaling. In fact, letting up on the pedals, or a slight "hiccup" in your cadence is necessary before a gear change can be made at all. Internally geared hubs do not like to shift with pressure on the pedals, no matter what brand they happen to be from.  

All these internal Sun and planet gears, with all their bearings and bushings, look like a Swiss watch's guts, and all that stuff requires a lubricant to keep everything happy and spinning along. here is where the Rohloff Gear Lubricant and cleaner comes in. 

I was changing this out once a year, but I decided this was a bit foolish as I was only riding the Ti Muk 2 around five months a year, if that. Plus I was mainly only using it as a commuter bike, and therefor the mileage was very low on the bike. So, I decided not to change out the gear oil last year at all, and now I will change it out for the remainder of 2025 and for 2026. 

Okay, so another interesting thing to consider here is the folowing: I have had the Ti Muk 2 since 2018, and I have changed out the fluids probably maybe five times since then. Kits cost around 30 bucks. This means I have spent about $150.00 on maintenance on the Ti Muk 2's hub since 2018. Given that I have gone through a bottom bracket and a chain ring and chain as well, this means I have spent around $225.00-ish on this bike in seven years. This does not include labor, as I do my own work, so the price would be higher for anyone who relies on outside labor services. 

So.....I don't know that IGH hubs are less money on service. Some believe they are, but I feel it is bike-dependent. I mean, a single speed bike is still probably far less money for maintenance over a period of years than this fat bike has been. Then add in a fixed gear, brakeless situation, and it gets even less expensive. 

Anyway, just some things to think about there. The main point is Winter is coming and I have to get the Ti Muk 2 up and going for the season. 
 

Weekly Top Five

  Welcome to the weekly Top Five" showing links to five of the week's most read articles on the blog.
Sometimes those will be current posts, but sometimes not. I will also post commentary with perspective on some of the older posts, and try to give some context as to why I wrote what I wrote then, which may not reflect what I'd say in 2025. With all of the above said, here is this week's list.

Image courtesy of Singular Cycles

Incoming: Singular Peregrine Mk4: Tuesday, September 2nd, 2025 - The news of a new bicycle build project topped this week's most read posts. This bike is going to replace two others in the GT stable. Stay tuned on this one.....

Salsa Cycles Gen I Fargo vs Singular Gryphon Mk3 - Saturday, August 30th, 2025 - I thought it would be fun to compare two similar bicycles I have from two different eras. Some of you thought this was a good idea as well, apparently, because it ranked as the second most read post last week. 

Guest Post: Charlie Farrow's 2025 Tour Divide Report -  Wednesday, August 13th, 2025 - This has been the Featured Post on the site for a few weeks, but recently the post hits have risen to make this the third most read post of the past week. 

Labor Day Ride: Wednesday, September 3rd, 2025 - The story of my paved bicycle path ride with N.Y. Roll. 

Two Things: Thursday, September 4th, 2025: The venerable series of "Two Things" posts continues with the latest version on this past Thursday which ends this week's Top Five list. 

That's a wrap on the top posts for this week. Thanks again for reading Guitar Ted Productions. 
 

Incoming: Scwalbe 700 x 50mm G-One Overland Tires

Image by Ari Andonopoulous. 

 With the new Singular Peregrine Mk4 coming in, I thought it might be nice to get a new set of tires to test out on it. I had heard recently about Schwalbe's new G-One Overland tires and these being available in a 50mm width. So, I asked my friend Ari about them and he got a set coming in for me. 

I do have Vittoria Terreno Dry tires in 29" X 2.2" which is the Peregrine's maximum tire size. So, I thought maybe something more in the 50mm range might actually be good to try first, just to make sure I can ride the bike right away. I can always try the Terreno Dry's on another wheel set for a test.  

So, why the Schwalbe G-One Overlands? I had tried Schwalbe  G-One tires back in 2019 and I had a terrible experience with them regarding the mounting of the tires. They had a very loose fit and were so poor I ended up giving them away to someone, (I think, I cannot remember) Anyway, I was pretty burnt by this experience to the point I wasn't ever going to buy anymore Schwalbe tires again. 

However; lately Schwalbe tires have seemed to have been well received by many and the Overland model of the G-One range is meant for road and gravel. Pretty much exactly the surfaces I ride, so when I asked about what my friend Ari had heard about them he asked if I wanted to order a set and well..... here we are.

The tires in the image are mine, but are pictured on Ari's bench, so as of this post they are in transit to Guitar Ted Productions. When they get here I will start a review and give you all my impressions of them, ride reports, (later on) and a final verdict on them when Winter sets in, if all goes well. 

Stay tuned..... 

Friday News And Views

Image courtesy of Pashley Bicycles

 Pashley Wildfinder: Another "Fargo-Like" Adventure Bike Introduced:

This past Tuesday word came out about Pashley, a UK bicycle brand, and their new Wildfinder adventure bicycle. Sporting a Reynolds 853 DZB frame, this bike is aimed at what Pashley says are "off-grid adventures".  

Featuring suspension corrected geometry for the addition of a suspension fork, this bike also has all the accessory mounts you may need for touring, bike packing, or adventures way off the main path. 

The Wildfinder has clearance for a 29" x 2.4" tire maximum. It is compatible and available with a few different geared drive trains but the Wildfinder has no single speed option native to the design. 

Prices start at $2,595.00 USD for a frame and fork. 

Comments: I find this bike to be a great idea which is probably better executed by others for less money. For instance, the original Adventure Bike, the Fargo, can be had as a frame and fork, (a carbon fork, by the way) at 1K.  Plus the Fargo, as well as others in this category, can handle much larger tires if so desired. The Fargo also is single speed capable in case of emergency, or if an IGH type hub is utilized. Another awesome bike in this category, the Tumbleweed Stargazer, is $1,300.00 for the frame and steel fork. 

I get most others are not using Reynolds tubing, but this is of such a minute relevance it seems silly to bring this up as a nit against other adventure bikes in the category of the Wildfinder. Great idea, a nice bike, but a bit pricey, in my opinion, for what you get.  

Logo courtesy of Life Time Fitness

"The 40"

In the early days of mountain biking one of the toughest parts concerning this, then new, activity for cyclists was finding proper venues to enjoy off-road cycling here in the Mid-West. Obviously, most of the land is put to use for agriculture, so forests and woodlands are few.

One of the earliest opportunities to engage in competitive, off-road riding in this part of the country was started in 1983 in Northwestern Wisconsin and was called the "Chequamegon Fat Tire 40". A local rider named Gary Crandall started the event by promoting it via local ski and bicycle shops and on various cork bulletin boards in grocery stores in his area. 

During the 1980's and early 90's, I used to go on a fishing trip to Northwestern Wisconsin with friends every year starting on Memorial Day Weekend. I recall being in a grocery store in Hayward, Wisconsin, waiting for my friends to check out with our supplies for the week. As I was waiting I scanned the bulletin board on the wall. Grocery stores in those days used to have these cork boards for people to post yard sales on, local services, business via business cards, and posters for upcoming events. Amongst all this chaos was a lined sheet torn from a spiral bound notebook with information on "The Chequamegon Fat Tire 40" with a pen dangling from a pinned string next to it. On this sheet you could write your name and phone number so Gary Crandall could call you and get you on the roster for the event. 

Can you believe that? Well, believe it, because this is how "grassroots" this event used to be. Maybe I saw the first sign up sheet for this event. It had to be one of the first years the event took place, at any rate. They had 27 riders at that first Fat Tire 40, and today Life Time expects a field of over 1,700 riders in "The 40" with another approximately 800 in the "Short and Fat" event, which is a shorter distance. 

My belief is "The 40" kind of represents what happened to gravel events. Say what you will about the event itself, or the course, (many would say the Fat Tire 40 is essentially a "gravel race" anyway), but it is easy to draw parallels to another Life Time event called "Unbound". The 40 has been around over 40 years now and shows no signs of disappearing. Maybe gravel events have a similar trajectory? 

Maybe...

Image courtesy of Fulcrum Wheels

Fulcrum Wheels Announce New, More Affordable Aero Wheel Set:

On Wednesday news came down concerning a new aero wheel set from Fulcrum. Their new Sonq 42 wheels employ the radical "shark tooth" profile which is said to lend more stability in cross-winds. This variable rim height also acts like a deeper section wheel would in calmer air, or in tailwinds/headwinds.  

The section is called "mid-profile" by Fulcrum and amounts to a 42mm height varying to 45mm height along the rim profile. Other features include 24 rounded spokes in each wheel, a 25mm inner rim width, and a claimed tire width compatibility from 29mm to 76mm (!!!) 

Offered in several free hub combinations in 100mm/142mm through axle configuration only at  approximately $1,855.00 USD. 

Comments: The tire width compatibility is laughable. 76 mm is approximately 3 inches, in case you were wondering. Yeah..... That's insane. But otherwise I can see these being on a serious gravel racing set up, or for anyone who rides in windier conditions on the regular. By the way, the sub-1600 gram weight for the pair is not bad, considering the price and size of the rims here.  Probably not a climber's wheel set, but on the plains of the Mid-West, I can see these doing well. 

Maybe more competition will bring the prices down, and perhaps we will see even more aero wheel offerings for gravel in the near future. I still think this is a severely overlooked asset for gravel riding by many gravel riders.  

New Episode Of The Guitar Ted Podcast:

If you have not heard the latest episode of the podcast, the link to Spotify is HERE. You can also find us on Apple Podcasts, and most other podcasting platforms. We appreciate it when you listen!

This latest episode was a fun one for me. N.Y. Roll and I ramble on about several subjects. One in particular I wanted to touch upon here. 

The subject of muddy dirt roads seems to crop up every year lately. Some big gravel event will have a rain event, then the following day, or on following days, an event with muddy roads. Then the typical complaining and grousing about why muddy roads have to be a part of any gravel event. Complaints about "ruined races" or damaged equipment are often seen and heard.

Most gravel racers at the "pointy end" of things are what? Thirty years of age or younger? Let's say the average age is 30. Well, there are 2/3rds of their years with gravel racing history knowledge at their disposal. All VERY public, and VERY accessible. Finding out about "muddy dirt roads" is easy to do. So......who is at fault for a lack of knowledge? 

My mind is boggled by the lack of historical knowledge displayed by most top-flite gravel Pros and semi-Pros. They often seem to be oblivious to any sort of practical decision making skills when presented with difficulties like a muddy dirt road. They definitely often do not know these sorts of roads have featured in gravel events since the beginning of the Modern Gravel era.

Two decades worth of historical information on your specific sport is a treasure trove of information with which one could use to their advantage, but we'd rather obsess over tire widths and aero frames. None of this matters when you come across a muddy dirt road. 

I hope promoters don't cow-tow to the desires of pampered gravel Pros and take these roads out of events in the future. If this does happen, and those types of roads cease to exist in gravel racing, then it will be just one more step toward the road-ification of gravel racing. 

Have a great weekend! Get out there and ride those bicycles!

Two Things

 Local Sale/Swap

 On September 11th, 2025, from 4:00pm - 7:00pm, N.Y. Roll and I will be holding a bike swap in his yard. I realize many of you are not local to us, but if you are, we will be selling some stuff for pretty sweet deals. 

N.Y. Roll says he's got some crank sets to unload, and I do also. But I also have this Origin 8 Scout fat bike, (in the image), and several wheel sets which will be there.  More surprises if you come. 

Cash or trades only. No holds. No early sales. No shipping. Must be present to purchase/trade. All sales final. No Support After Sales*. N.Y. Roll and I will be at his place located at 237 Arden Street, Waterloo, IA. We will be there from 4:00pm till 7:00pm Thursday, September 11th, 2025. 

Thanks for considering this.  

The Bookman Volume  Light

Nights Are Longer - Here's A Great Light For Night Rides:

With nights getting longer and night riding becoming more likely, I have a recommendation for a light which I think is not well known but is a fantastic option for night riding. 

It is the Bookman Volume. This light has a couple standout features which I think separate it from almost every other light choice you can make. If you are wanting to know all the things about this light I reviewed two years ago, check out this post HERE. 

The main feature is the knob which allows you to instantly and easily flick to any desired power level on the light without going through multiple pushes of a button. Tired of touch screens and wimpy buttons? This light is for you. 

It also mounts to Garmin mounts, and it comes with a nice mount, by the way, but this opens up the options which you may already have for mounting. The 1500 model, linked above, can run up to 5 hours at 750 Lumens, which is half power for the light and likely bright enough for almost any gravel road. 

Anyway, I LOVE the one sent to me to review two years ago and it is one of the best lights I have ever used. Check it out. 

_______________________________________________________________________________ 

* I've sold things in the past  and had people come back afterward expecting me to do basic maintenance on their purchase, or for other reasons. My point in selling anything is to be rid of it. So, I'm trying to set the expectation that I won't be answering questions, or doing any kind of work on a purchase after the fact from this bike swap. 

Labor Day Ride

August was a rough month. The last day of it N.Y. Roll asked if I wanted to do a chill ride on the first day of September, which was also Labor Day. I liked the idea, so we planned to meet at N.Y. Roll's home at 8:00am. He insisted I bring a camera. I thought, "Well, of course! I always bring a camera along on most rides!". This seemed a rather odd request, but so be it. 

When I awoke on Monday it was cool, but not too cold to the point of having to wear a vest, arm warmers, or the like. Not yet, but we are hearing we will have to later this week. Fall is coming.... Or at least it is "False Fall". 

Well, when I got over to his house on my Raleigh Tamland Two, I saw why he wanted me to bring a camera. A ten foot high human-like skeleton alongside his ginormous dog skeleton was in his front yard. The dog skeleton was from last year, but the human-like giant skeleton was new. 

Sergeant Road Bike Path

Checking out the aid station at the junction of Sergeant Road Trail and Cedar Prairie Trail

The plan was to take bicycle trails to Cedar Falls and grab some coffee and then ride different trails back to Waterloo. We started by going South on Sergeant Road Trail and we had a bit of an adventure crossing all the main roads. This trail parallels Highway 63 and this road has been under construction all Summer to resurface it. The highway is mostly finished but all the approaches for the bicycle trail are dug up and forms have been placed to pour fresh concrete. This will smooth the transition from trail to road to trail again where the trail crosses three major routes for Waterloo. 

A rather canopied section of the Cedar Prairie Trail

Summiting the hill along HWY 20 on the Cedar Prairie Trail. 

N.Y. Roll was grousing about the unkempt nature of the Cedar Prairie Trail as it is a small section of the Great American Rail Trail. (GART). The cracks, weeds growing through them, and the encroaching plant life on the trail from a Summer's worth of growth were disturbing him. He was feeling it was a bad look for anyone coming through on the GART and he was advocating for more maintenance. 

I could see his point, but also considering the fact that we've had an unprecedented amount of growth this year due to copious rains versus normal, and this seems less alarming. Additionally, the past two years have been so dry nothing grew very much past May, so this year's situation is unusual, in my view.   

I'm certain N.Y. Roll will think I am wrong, so.....

Prairie Lakes Trail

A very large, very kind dog in front of Cup Of Joe in Cedar Falls. 

We went through the HWY 58 madness at Ridgeway Avenue, which is just bonkers, and skirted the edge of the industrial park on a bike path running along Ridgeway's North side. Then we found a spur to the Prairie Lakes Trail and we headed back South. 

Trails along HWY 58, the "Mayor's Bridge" across this highway, and a tunnel under Greenhill Road got us into Cedar Falls proper where we went along the Dry Run Creek on older trails to get in front of Cup Of Joe coffee shop. 

Cup Of Joe has been around since the mid-1990's. It is the first coffee shop I ever had been in and it is largely unchanged from those days inside. They serve up great coffee and if you are ever in Cedar Falls, I recommend them highly.   

Heading into George Wyth State Park

N.Y. Roll LARPing as an Army Corp Engineer.

We had a nice chat in front of Cup Of Joe and some great coffee. Then it was time to hit the trails back towards Waterloo. We chose to go on the "Cedar Valley Lakes Trail" (AKA - George Wyth Bicycle Trail) and we were heading into the more canopied parts of the trail when N.Y. Roll said suddenly, "Hold up, I gotta....) and I lost clear hearing while he slowed suddenly, and he looped back down the way we had come a bit. What?!

Apparently his Army Corp of Engineers super-power abilities were turned on because he saw a drainage issue he thought he could improve upon regarding some backwaters of the Cedar. After his rock scrambling we remounted and continued on our way to Waterloo.  

South Riverside Trail

Shirey Way, 

We saw Super Dave when we crossed the Cedar River to Pfieffer Park where we parted ways with him and rode the South Riverside Trail to Shirey Way. This was an old gravel road between Cedar Falls and Waterloo, Iowa, which I remember when it was still in use as an open road! Now it is a de-facto interurban Level B Road.  This kicked us out into the Greenwood Avenue part of the bike trail through the old Sherwood area. This then goes behind Cattle Congress and then back along the Cedar to downtown Waterloo and the end of our ride. 

It was a fun, relaxing morning ride with a good friend. I needed this and it was a bright spot in a tough weekend for me. So, thank you to N.Y. Roll for taking the time out to ride with me.  

It also is a good example of how we have a great trail system which keeps you, for the most part, off roads and away from traffic. Oddly enough, folks come from all over to ride our trail network. I know this from meeting many people over the years who have told me they were from out of town and specifically came to this area to ride the paved trails.

I ended up with 24 miles on the day, but I could easily double this amount and not ride the same trail twice. It is pretty impressive for an urban area the size of Waterloo and Cedar Falls. I don't talk a lot about these resources we have here much on the blog. But if you want to know more, here is a link to the Cedar Valley Trails Partnership site.