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| As seen on Trek's "X" account Tuesday |
Data Acquisition:
Trek entered the data acquisition game with a new app they call "Trek Ride Club" . Promising many of the same benefits which are embedded into most ride apps, Trek Ride Club also features a roadside/trailside repair assistance feature. A rider can call in, for instance, for assistance on how to repair a flat tire on the roadside or on the trail.
Trek Ride Club can also be the one-stop source for all your ride data as it will pull in data from Strava accounts and other apps for you.
Comments: Cannondale has been trying to get riders hooked on their data acquisition model for well over five years now, so Trek's efforts are not the first in this field. It stands to reason though to assume most big brands will likely roll out some sort of ride/data programs in the future because of the perceived benefits to the rider, but more importantly, for what that data can tell the brands.
Cannondale's app is modeled after a safety/maintenance theme while Trek's looks like any other ride app from a GPS computer company. In fact, this begs the question: Is Trek going to get into the GPS computer game? It would make total sense since they already have the app and a GPS unit, say a Bontrager branded one, would further integrate users into the Trek ecosystem.
While that may or may not happen in the future, in my opinion, this is all about Trek gathering data on its customers and not so much about a "club".
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| Cannondale Habit 26 (Image courtesy of Cannondale Bicycles) |
Cannondale Habit 26 - Wait...What?!
So, I cruise the internet for bicycle news for this post weekly and sometimes I discover an oddball thing or two. This happened this week as I decided to bite on a social media post by Cannondale concerning their Habit full suspension Limited 29"er model.
As I perused the range a bike caught my eye, in particular, the name: Habit 26.
Wait! A twenty six inch wheeled full suspension bike? Yep! It is aimed at the youth market, and I see a lot of wisdom in having a model like this. Get the kid on a serious FS MTB, the kid gets the bug for MTB, and hopefully continues into adulthood as a mountain biker. Makes sense.
But what made me smile was the idea of a 26 inch wheeled full suspension bike design being derived from a 29 inch wheeled design. Maybe this has happened before, but if it has, I am not aware of it. Ten years ago this would have been unthinkable. Certainly 15 years ago it was not considered possible.
And getting back to this idea from a practical standpoint, I like that it costs well under 2G. But why Cannondale did not spec a dropper post is beyond me. If there ever were a perfect application for a dropper post, this qualifies, in my opinion.
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| Image courtesy of Kogel Bearings |
Kogel Bearings just announced a less expensive derailleur cage/pulley product in their Kolossos ST. It uses the same cage material and pulleys as the normal Kolossos but trades in the ceramic ball bearings for stainless steel ones.
The new Kolossos ST sells for $324.99 and you can find it at www.kogel.cc
Of course, that thing is for roadies. If you are a gravel person, Kogel has you covered as well. Here is a link to their GRX compatible 11 speed cage. There is a 12 speed one as available also.
Comments: I get the idea. Less chain articulation equals less losses to efficiency. But man....those are expensive gizmos! I've only ever seen a few at gravel events, but then again, I am not riding with the "fast guys and gals" either.
Have you used one of these things? I'd love to hear about it in the comments.
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| Image courtesy of Ritchey Design |
New Colors, New Size For Ritchey Outback:
Ritchey Design sent out news on Thursday concerning a few tweaks to their classic Outback gravel/adventure frame set.
Now available in an XXL size, the Outback has six sizes available now in two new colorways: Aurora and Winter Sage.
There is also now internal dropper post routing and the frameset comes with the carbon, straight 1 1/8th steer tube, Adventure Fork which has a drilling on the fork crown and internal routing for a dynamo hub.
Pricing is set at $1,599.00 USD, €1599 (inc. VAT), and £1392 (inc. VAT) See your Ritchey dealer or check out this frameset at ritcheylogic.com
Comments: I wanted to like the Outback when it came out several years ago. However, it was another of those offerings which tried to be a 700c and 650B compatible design. The compromise there is the bottom bracket has to have less drop, in case the end user wants to go with 650B wheels.
This made sense then. Also, tire clearances are- for 700c, 48mm maximum, and for 650B it is 2.0". That was great several years ago, but now? Well, first of all, 650B is, for all intents and purposes, dead to me, at any rate. So, any design making a compromise to fit something I'd never consider using is a waste. Secondly, with the move toward wider tires across the gravel-sphere, this frame set loses a bit of its appeal for me in this regard as well.
Keep in mind that my 2014 Raleigh Tamland has about the same exact clearances for both wheel sizes, so I feel this illustrates how the Outback is a bit dated in this regard.
That's it for this week! Look for some gravel related releases next week on these digital pages. Until then, get out and "spring" forth on those bicycles!
2 comments:
I’m with you on the Ritchey… I wanted to love that thing, but the tire clearance is an absolute no go for me. 48s are as narrow as I run on everything except my fender bike.
I agree with your assessment of the Outback if what you’re looking for is a bike optimized for gravel. However, if you want a bike that is used as much on road as on gravel, then a slightly higher bottom bracket is desirable from a pedal clearance point of view.
The Aspero I have is similar to the Outback in this way and I find it great. Then again, I don’t see much deep and loose gravel like you see. I would certainly appreciate a lower BB for that. And I use 650b often for gravel and swap to 700c for road or certain gravel tires.
However, I bought mine in 2020, when 650b was still looking like it had a future. I agree that in 2025, they should stick to 700c and something like 2-2.3” clearance. 650b is effectively dead in the market place, so rider preference doesn’t really matter there.
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