Friday News And Views

Image courtesy of the UCI. From the 2024 Gravel World Championships

Gravel Season Ending On The Professional Level:

This weekend and next weekend mark the end of the Pro gravel season for the riders of Life Time Grand Prix and for the UCI Gravel World Series. 

Up this weekend we have the UCI event, held in the Netherlands. We will see the women and all age group riders set off on Saturday while the Men's Elite category will tackle 111 miles in 3,5 laps of a loop course. The women and age group riders will do less miles with only 2.5 laps. 

Meanwhile, next  weekend  in Bentonville, Arkansas, the Big Sugar Classic will end the Life Time Grand Prix series with a 100 mile course in the Ozarks. Of course, the Grand Prix isn't all gravel events, but it is seen as one of the bigger gravel series from a Pro perspective regardless, mostly due to the wealth of the prize purse for participation and getting good results.  

Trans Iowa v14 Image by Celeste Mathias

Pro Events Are "Watered Down Gravel":

As I peruse what the UCI, Life Time, and even events like the much vaunted Traka 560 have for courses, I am left wanting. Why? Because most of these events have less than 3/4's of the distances as "gravel" and several are barely over 50% "gravel". And I use the term "gravel" in quotes because what many of these events have to use for courses just do not measure up to the same level as what is on offer in the USA.  

This is why you'll notice several European riders who come to Unbound say it is an amazing, tough course, because it is mostly gravel. I know, for many of you dear readers this seems silly to even think about, but a gravel event, in my opinion, should be at least 80% gravel, or more, to be considered a "true gravel event". 

Maybe you think this is a harsh judgement? Well, what if we had a UCI XC MTB course which was 45% paved? Does this even make sense? Or how about a UCI DH MTB course which was 50% flat? You'd hear about this, and people would say it was a farce. 

Well, I'm pretty much saying the same about these "big time" gravel events which feature LOTS of pavement. You might counter with something like, "Well, they have to put a lot of pavement in to connect the gravel sectors.". Well, that is true. Maybe those places are not all that great for actual gravel events which would challenge Pro riders on courses which were 80% gravel or more. 

Good, Pro-level events deserve the best courses. Not a compromised version of gravel racing. There are places this could be done. You know.....like they do at Gravel Worlds in Nebraska? (And elsewhere) 

Image courtesy of Shimano

 Shimano Offers Limited Edition CUES 10/11 Speed Components:

Shimano released news earlier this week concerning a new hue for CUES components. Silver polish will now be offered for a limited time in their 11 speed and 10 speed  range for CUES. 

Previously Shimano had done a limited run of silver anodized GRX components. The CUES signals a less expensive way to get in on some silver components. 

The limited silver edition CUES includes a crank, levers, the rear derailleur, hydraulic flat mount calipers, a front derailleur, and a cassette. (Standard  CUES cassettes are black)

Comments: Is Shimano now going to start offering silver anodized/polished parts more often? This bears watching from a fashion standpoint. I can see older, aging cyclists digging it as it would remind them of bicycles of days gone by. 

But younger folks will drive the market, and from what I have been seeing, younger folks are not showing as much interest in cycling as they once had when silver was common for components. Maybe if Shimano made electric scooter parts in silver..... 

Image courtesy of Ari Bikes

Ari Bikes Shows Off Shafer V3 Gravel Bike:

Ari Bikes (Formerly Fezzari Bikes), the direct-to-consumer brand, has just released their version 3 of the Shafer gravel bike. Boasting revised geometry, room for 29" x 2.2" tires, and in-frame storage, the new Shafer is on-point with regard to today's gravel bike trends. 

The Shafer can be configured in several ways to suit most budgets. There are plenty of accessory mounts and Ari has also boosted the stack height on the Shafer per customer requests. 

The head tube angle is a slack - for garvel bikes - 69° and the bottom bracket drop is a healthy 78mm, which means the Shafer is not a good choice for skinny tires or 650B wheel sets.  Interestingly, the chain stays are size-specific on the Shafer, which you do not see normally, especially in carbon fiber. 

Starting with prices for complete bikes at $2,549.00 and topping out with the Shafer Pro at $8,499.00, there are several ways to get into this bike. You can also purchase a frame set for $ 1,999.00. 

Comments: This trend for fatter tires and slacker angles up front now is getting to the point where we are entering Fargo/Cutthroat territory. In fact, the new Shafer is very much like a Cutthroat. The main difference is the Cutthroat's 8mm higher bottom bracket, lack of in-frame storage, and larger, 2.4" tire clearance. 

And Just Because It Is Beautiful.....

Singular Kite Ti which will be at the Bespoked Dresden Show this weekend. (Image courtesy of Singular(

  Gotta give a shout-out to Sam Alison Singular Cycles for this special Kite Ti which will be at the Brooks booth for the Bespoked Dresden bicycle show this weekend. 

That is a wrap for this week! Thank you for reading Guitar Ted Productions! Get out and do some Fall bicycle rides!