Two Things

This is my photo of Jim Cummings (L) and Joel Dyke, co-founders of the DK200

The Guitar Ted Podcast Episode #66:

The latest podcast dropped last Friday evening. This one was inspired by you, the readers of Guitar Ted Productions. I received a couple comments which were questions and I took them to the podcast to give you all some longer answers. Plus we get N.Y. Roll's perspective as well. 

I also covered the recent news from the Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame. You can refer to the post I made when the news came out by clicking HERE. 

In that post I mentioned the issue I had with Jim Cummings exclusion from the Hall. While some of you may have noticed, some of you may not read the comments to my posts. I received a comment from a GCHoF board member who completely ignored the question of Jim's exclusion and instead restated that the current direction of the GCHoF will be maintained going forward. 

I only bring this up because I reference this in the podcast. So there is some context for my remarks should you choose to listen in. The episode can be accessed HERE on Spotify, or you can find the Guitar Ted Podcast on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts from.

New PCL jersey

New Jersey Day:

The Pirate Cycling League (PCL) is an entity that has been around now for almost 20 years. You could argue that its roots go back further than 2006, but the jersey says 2006, so... I'm going with that. 

One of the latest designs for a jersey from the PCL just arrived here at GT Headquarters and I must say, I like it a lot! This jersey says - to me at least - what it is about gravel cycling that I found attractive in the first place. 

A couple of things come to mind immediately. First, gravel cycling was, at least originally, a rebellion. The act of putting on events, be they competitive or not, on gravel was an act of defiance in several ways. There was the rejection of overly complicated rules, uppity attitudes, and against the licensing/entry fees that seemed to be designed to fleece the rider and enrich....somebody. 

That is reflected in the motorcycle gang-like faux denim look with 'patches' and non-matching fonts. It also is a bit "punk rock" in that way. Knowing the mind(s) behind this, I'm leaning more punk rockish here. 

Then there is the historical aspect. The front features several "patches" which represent notable people and events from the PCL's past. You have "CVO", (Christopher Van Oyen) and the rainbow striped "g" for Randy Gibson. Two "pirates" that we lost far too soon. 

You've got the "TODR" patch (Tour of Dirt Roads), which represents the PCL's first event promoted that took in the area around Lincoln, Nebraska's dirt roads or "MMR's" as they are known as around those parts. 

Then maybe my favorite thing on the jersey is the "Hello" sticker. It hearkens back to a time when events were smaller, less structured, and everyone was interested in everyone else. No pretenses, just humans in honest fellowship. 

I need another jersey like I need a another hole in my head, but this spoke to me and I had to grab one. It will go alongside my other PCL jerseys and I'll likely be wearing this one a bunch during 2024. I know it may not matter to anyone else, but this PCL thing means something - to me, at any rate. 

The PCL's motto, "Ride Free", encapsulates so much of what I like about gravel and some gravel events from the past to the present. It eschews corporatization, barriers to entry, and any attempts to codify the sport by way of rules or a culture driven only by competition. 

Yes, Gravel Worlds was a PCL event until recently. You could say that Gravel Worlds strayed from the molds cast originally by the PCL, and you'd get no argument from me. But now that the PCL has separated itself from Gravel Worlds, I think the ideas behind what the PCL stands for are better represented. That's just my opinion on matters.

The Six String Side: Kittycaster Mohair Fuzztortion Pedal

 When I started this blog nearly 20 years ago, I stated that it was a "Bicycle and guitar oriented elixir....". Well, the "guitar" part sort of got pushed out by the bicycle stuff, but I've always been playing. In an Easter post, several years ago, I mentioned playing my '90 Strat, and someone suggested I detail the fleet,which I have done in the past. (Just search "the Six String Side" in the search box in the upper left of the header to find those older posts) This post is a review of an effects pedal. Enjoy!

While it may seem useless to some to write a review on an effects pedal with no sound samples, that's what I am going to do here. Hey! "Back in the day" all we had were written reviews. Besides, there are a ton of You Tube videos on this pedal out there for you to listen to, if that is your bag. So, here we go...

The Kittycaster Mohair is a fuzz/distortion box that has its roots in the Big Muff from Electro Harmonix. Designer of the circuit in the Mohair, Howard Gee, stated that he did not get on with the Big Muff circuit and he wanted to see if he could make something similar that he did want to play. Okay, this grabbed my attention, as I have had zero luck getting a Big Muff to sound good to my ears. Now before you get all in a huff and hit the comments, I happen to love a lot of players work that used Big Muffs. Gilmore, J. Mascis, and Billy Corgan, who are probably the best known Muff users, are players who have a tone and sound that I do like. It is when I play a Big Muff that I don't like the sound. And I've tried it. With every combination available to me, in two different eras. 

My first Big Muff was bought from the Mandolin Brothers' catalog back in 1980. Back when all I had to go on were magazine articles that stated what people were using. To say I was bitterly disappointed in the sound is an understatement. I sold it in short order. Or did I give it way? Can't remember. I do know I hated the way it sounded. 

Same thing in 2010 when I bought another Big Muff thinking that now I would get it. But.....I didn't. Same hate, different decade. Big Muffs sound cool when other people play them, just not when I do. So, when Howard Gee stated he was going to make a Muff circuit for himself, a person who apparently didn't get on with a Muff, I was intrigued.

Upon opening the box. That's a bandana, by the way.

I followed the Kittycaster social channels and waited to see how this was going to come out. Fuzz is an interesting effect, maybe the most popular form of distortion for guitarists, if what I see being proffered out there by builders is any indication. Fuzz circuits are fairly simple, so getting a fuzz to sound like something interesting probably is pretty hard to do now. This made me even more curious as to just how Howard Gee was going to pull this off.

A typical Big Muff sounds buzzy, with a lot of lower frequencies, and Muff's don't poke out from a mix well due to the lack of midrange. Perhaps this is what makes them hard for me to like when I play the Muff. But I've always been bothered by the graininess and "broken" quality to the sound. The very thing a lot of players say they love about a Muff. Yeah, a Muff just is not for me, right? But this begs the question: How is it that I love the tones these other artists are getting who use a Big Muff? What is the secret? You know, I still don't quite get it. 

I tried eq'ing, using a Rangemaster in front, and other things, but to no avail. Then when I heard that Howard Gee was going to put a Rangemaster circuit into his new pedal I figured it wouldn't work, unless......

Maybe Howard knows what he's on to. Maybe. 

The pedal. The 'case candy'.

Then the official release came out with a long You Tube video of Howard demonstrating the pedal. (The video can be seen on the Mohair page HERE)  And I liked it, but of course I did. I wasn't playing it! Still, the boost circuit seemed like it was the saving grace, and the demonstration showed some really wide-ranging tones. 

Maybe.....

Then Kittycaster ran a sale, and I jumped on and purchased the Mohair back in September of last year (2024) Since then I've played it off and on using it in front of my Roland JC-40 and in front of a Fender Deluxe Reverb RI. 

So..... Was it the same ol' - same ol' or? Well, it was both. The Mohair does a fair interpretation of a Big Muff. Howard Gee wanted the pedal to retain pick attack and clarity, and to some extent, that was successful in my mind. I can hear that when I play just the Mohair side of the pedal. I can dial in a smoother, less raspy/broken distorted tone too. Just the type of thing that maybe some would argue is 'less Big Muff, more something else', and I cannot deny that. But the Muff sound, or a pretty close approximation of the sound, is still in the Mohair. 

Gut shot.

The Boost circuit is based on a Rangemaster, according to Howard Gee, and is accessed via the right foot switch. You can add the Boost to the Fuzz, or not, but you cannot get just the Boost. I feel that is a bit of a miss, but hey..... I did not design the pedal. I wish I could have just the boost though. 

I will say that it is the Boost that makes this pedal something quite different from most Muffs out there. In fact, it 'un-Muffs' the circuit and turns the Mohair into a distortion box that can be mild or gritty and mean. It probably does what a lot of distortion boxes do, but then you can go back to a Muff at the push of a foot switch, so, maybe this is what makes a Mohair a worthwhile pedal. 

It is not a pedal that "cleans up" with a lowering of the volume control on your guitar like a Fuzz Face type circuit. It does clean up a little, and maybe that's enough for you. But if you are looking for a fuzz that does that glassy-clean thing with a tiny bit of hair? This is not that pedal. I happen to have a Reeves Electro 2n2 Face, a silicon based Fuzz Face design, and that does do the clean up thing magnificently, so I know the difference. 

Conclusion: So, did Howard Gee get to the finish line with a design that does Muff but with clarity and definition? Yes, but the Boost circuit makes this something else altogether, and to my ears, the Boost + Fuzz is where I would live. So, it doesn't make me love a Muff based circuit any more than I did, which was not much! I am still exploring ways to use the Mohair, and it is on my board for now. 

From a 'Big Muff family sound' point of view, I think this is more a Muff-adjacent design than something a person who loves a Big Muff would like to hear. Maybe you would like something a hair off center from a true Muff? On the other hand, if you never liked Muffs, but want to? This might work for you. 

It's well made, the presentation of the product is great, and it has Howard Gee pedigree, if that appeals to you. It should be said that Gee left Kittycaster shortly after I bought this pedal and is currently trying to start another company. His first product will be another fuzz design.  Surprise, surprise! Maybe that will be something I'd like, but we'll see. The fuzz quest continues! 

Note: Kittycaster did not pay for this review, nor sponsor me in any way. I paid for the Mohair out of pocket.  Kittycaster were totally unaware that I was going to write this. All opinions are my own.

Clik Valves, Cores, and Pump Head: Review Update 1

 Note: Guitar Ted received a suite of products from Clik Valve for test and review at no charge. Guitar Ted is not being bribed nor paid for this review. All opinions are Guitar Ted's.

Last time I posted on the Clik Valve products I introduced all the range and parts I was sent to test/review. You can check that out HERE in case you missed that or want a refresher. In this post I will cover the installation of the pump head parts, the installation of the valve cores, and then how that all worked in practice when used.

Of course, if I was going to use Clik Valve cores I needed a pump to use with them. I chose my SILCA Pista Plus floor pump and it was an easy swap to use the screw-in Clik Valve pump head converter. However; when I went to use this I discovered that my SILCA pump's gauge was not working. So.... Plan B!

This meant I needed to convert my old Topeak Joe Blow pump. I noted that this pump utilized the press-in barbed nozzle and hose fitment which happened to be what the complete Clik Valve pump head uses. So, I actually got to use both heads from Clik Valve in this operation. 

Then, obviously, I had to swap out valve cores on one of my bikes. With Winter being nearly over and, quite frankly, non-existent with the exception of sub-zero temperatures now and again, I decided that it looked like gravel season might start early. Now wait..... I probably just jinxed it. We'll have three weeks of snow! 

Anyway, I chose the Honeman Flyer I had made by King Fabrications. The single speed gravel bike will see a lot of use in the upcoming early parts of gravel riding for the year. The swap of valve cores was pretty simple, but I did notice one detail that I hadn't considered before. 

While the Clik Valve cores have flats so you can use a tool to tighten them, most "over-the-core" tools will not slip over the lipped opening of a Clik Valve. I was happy that Clik Valve did decide to utilize knurling on the valve core's body so I could get enough purchase on the valve core to tighten it by hand.  I am thinking a small, spanner-like wrench would be what you'd need here if you wanted a tool, but I am not aware of such a tool off the top of my head. In the end, I didn't need a tool, but if I had a problem in the field, and I needed to install a tube? I might wish for that spanner-like core removal tool. 

Maybe.

Since catastrophic tire failures are not a big thing, at least around here, I am not too worried about this detail, but I know that for some folks it is a concern, so you may want to look for an appropriate tool. 

Airing up the tires with Clik Valve parts on my pump and valve stem is definitely easier than using Presta or Schrader valves. Pushing on the pump head couldn't be any easier, and the pump head stayed put on the valve as I pumped up my tires to 40psi, which was done to account for the cold air of January outside. Now, of course, this isn't a big deal for low pressure tires, perhaps. So, I would like to try this on a road bike. I do have one, but I need to check to see if I have any tubes with removable cores to do that test. Once I get that lined up, I'll report back with a finding on how this Clik Valve pump head does going up to 100psi. 

You can see here how the pump head adapter screws into this SILCA fitting.

So Far... A ride or two, and sitting around for a bit shows me that the cores do not leak. That's a good sign. The only thing to do now is to complete many cycles of inflation and do a bunch of riding to determine if these cores are doing a good job. 

I am looking for any clogging of the valve that may cause difficulty with inflation. I will also be inspecting the seals on the cores after some time to see how they hold up against sealant. I'll be looking at the pump head to determine if there is any degradation in use over time. And I'll get around to that high pressure test as well.

Meanwhile I do have the full valves from Clik Valve to evaluate, I just need to figure out which wheels I am going to use with those. Hopefully that will be the next update on the Clik Valve products. So far, I am impressed with the ease of operation.

Gravel Grinder News: Shimano CUES Drop Bar Components

CUES 10/11 speed hydraulic Dual Control Lever. Image courtesy of Shimano

Note: All Images courtesy of Shimano

As expected when Shimano released the CUES flat bar parts, a drop bar lever for CUES has now been revealed. We first got wind of the parts last year, which I talked about in this FN&V.

Featuring hydraulic and mechanical brake Dual Control Lever options, along with "dummy" levers for 1X set ups, this group stands to become one of the more popular, affordable choices for gravel riders. 

These levers will be available for 9,10, and 11 speed set ups, but like their flat bar siblings, CUES has its own cassette spacing and lever pull ratios so these cannot be mixed and matched with any other current Shimano 9,10, or 11 speed components. 

However; you can mix and match within the CUES ecosystem. So, say for instance that you had purchased a 10 speed CUES flat bar bike and then got a sweet deal on a drop bar frame for gravel. One could just buy the Dual Control Levers, use the rest of the CUES flat bar parts, and save a little coin. 

CUES mechanical Dual Control Lever

CUES drop bar will also have 1X and 2X options for crank sets. In 2X they will offer 50/34 and 46/32 options using HollowTech, two piece design. In 1X there will be a 42T and a 40T option in HollowTech along with a heavier, hot forged two piece model with the same chain ring options. 

Brakes, cassettes, and rear and front derailleurs are all similar to the current CUES offerings with the addition of a braze-on style mount option. Both new front derailleurs are optimized for their companion crank sets. 

Essa 8spd: It should also be noted that a drop bar lever set for Shimano Essa has also been introduced, albeit in just a 1X configuration. Essa is compatible with previous Shimano 8spd parts. 

Comments: This is great news for those who want lesser expensive alternatives to 11 and 12 speed groups and should satisfy many folks in terms of look and feel. 

There have been some reports that I have seen with issues with  CUES rear derailleurs not operating correctly. This may be due to some manufacturing issues, so it is hoped that those things can, or have been addressed. It is also notable here that CUES uses LinkGlide cogs and chains which prioritize shifting precision, and not speed, so instantaneous shifts are not going to happen within the CUES range.

CUES as a concept is valid, but in its implementation it finds some push-back from those in the cycling community. It would appear that the incompatibility with anything else Shimano has out is part of this. But when you think about things, Shimano had to make some kind of call on spacing/shifter ratio. They either had to use nine, or ten, or eleven standard, and then in terms of 10 and 11 you have the difference between MTB and road ratios, which are different as well. 

So, what did you think Shimano should have done? They decided to circumvent all the choices and made a call to make one that fit their intentions. I totally get it, and it does make sense. The wish for a "backward compatible 9/10/11 groupset" is a pipe dream. 

What concerns me more are the reports of rear derailleurs that are not up to snuff in terms of precision or durability. One would hope that Shimano will, or has, addressed this. 

If the rear derailleur issues are behind Shimano with regard to CUES, then this is an exciting development.

Some Things Didn't Stick

 In celebration of the twentieth year of this blog, I have a few tales to tell. This post is one of them. This series will occur off and on throughout this anniversary year, I hope to illuminate some behind-the-scenes stories and highlights from the blog during this time. Enjoy!

In the nearly 20 years of blogging here I have had the privilege to share a lot of really cool things that most riders may not ever get the chance to try out. Some stuff like full suspension 29"ers, carbon wheels, and "gravel bikes" that I was afforded early access to have become rather standard items now. Most of you readers have likely tried all of those. 

But I have also tried a few things that I would characterize as "fringe" in terms of desirable products. Heated flat bar grips come to mind there. I have also tried some stuff that didn't stick, not in a mainstream sense, but are things you could still try. Take for instance Gates Center Track Belt Drive.

Gates Center Track Carbon Belt Drive on a Trek (Gary Fisher) Sawyer.

"The Belt", as I called it then. Back around the late 2000's and early twenty-teens, Gates was trying hard to make their "Carbon" Center Track belts a mainstay of cycling. One way they tried doing this was to get me, a belt critic, to be convinced of The Belt's "magic powers". I tried these belts out at Interbike at first and this was before Center Track. That was, quite frankly, an abject failure and Gates quickly pivoted to the vastly superior Center Track version of The Belt which was reinforced with carbon strands. 

I ran this for an extended period of time. I had some hiccups along the way. Sizing The Belt was not quite figured out at this point, and there were limitations to The Belt which made it a sort of niche, at best, application for most cyclists. 

I really liked this Raleigh XXIX with The Belt.

The worst parts of The Belt is that, although the claim is that these are quiet, The Belt can and will squeak. Very dry or very wet conditions will bring this out. In the dry, silicone spray will take care of the noise, for a while, but it comes back again, and again, and.....

The Belt can and will break. I've seen it (at Trans Iowa back in the day) and have heard about this before from riders. You cannot fix that. You must be carrying a complete belt to replace the broken one with. And there are strict rules as to how a belt can be stowed so as not to cause it to fail. 

The Belt, and its required cogs, are expensive. Far more so than with a chain and alloy or steel cogs are. You need a belt compatible frame, which is another barrier. And finally, you have to run an internally geared hub or gear box to use The Belt. No lighter, more efficient external drive trains (past single speed) here. 

Of course, now belts are being promoted as a solution for down hill racing, since that discipline often now uses gear box drive trains. Still, that's not going to be quite the mainstream goal Gates had back in the late 2000's. 

That was a multi-year try with a product which, in the right applications, works, but isn't anywhere close to "mainstream". I was proud to be able to bring this to the blog when it all was very new. Just one of the really cool things I was able to be a part of because of this platform.

Friday News And Views

Image courtesy of QO

 New Lightweight, Aero Carbon Cranks For Gravel:

A new company, founded by the original pair that started Rotor, has announced several new carbon crank sets, one of which is for gravel riding. 

The company is called "QO" and unlike Rotor, these chain rings are not ovalized. The crank set for gravel in the QO range is called "Grava" and features carbon arms reinforced with Kevlar strands to help protect the arms against rock strikes and chipping. 

Available with aluminum single rings, the crank set features aerodynamic "dimples" which help to break up air flow and allow the crank to move more freely through the air, much like a golf ball. The crank set also has a very slim profile to help the arms cut through the air. Spindle/ bottom bracket compatibility is based upon the SRAM DUB standard.

Crank arms will be available in three lengths: 172.5, 170, and 165mm. The arms are said to help reduce vibrations to the rider as well. Availability should be soon with US pricing yet to be determined. Expect these to be somewhere in the 700 - 800 dollar range. 

Image courtesy of Canfield Bikes

Canfield Bikes Debuts New Nimble Ti Frame:

Canfield, known for their multi-link full suspension designs, really pumped up the 29"er scene in 2011 with a long travel hard tail MTB. This sort of thing was unforeseen and very unusual back then. The frame was called the Nimble 9. That frame is still in production all these years later, albeit with an revolutionized geometry. 

Now that frame can be had in titanium as Canfield Bikes announced last week. The new "Nimble Ti" is based around a 150mm travel fork, 29" wheels, and has a sliding drop out set for adjusting wheelbase or for single speed set ups. 

The design is lifted right off the Nimble 9 steel hard tail with the exception of a change to the seat tube to allow more post insertion for today's longer travel dropper posts. 

Frames are going for $3,199.99 and there are complete builds available as well. If you are interested you might want to check this out soon as Canfield is only making 100 of these Nimble Ti frames available. Check out the webpage for the bike HERE. 

Gravel Amplifier: Dirty Disco:

 A new event for the gravel calendar is set to take place on Saturday March 1st. This event will happen out of El Dorado, Kansas, which is just up the turnpike from Wichita, Kansas. 

The event will have two competitive distances of 100 miles and 50 miles with a casual ride distance at 30 miles for those who just want to turn some pedals for a while. 

The price versus distance quotient looks good here and there are fewer categories to make things simpler. The vibe sounds about right and this is in the Flint Hills, so you really cannot go wrong.

The event promises a mid-ride sag, "dirty disco music" and more. Check out the BikeReg page HERE. 

Image courtesy of Ritchey Design

UCI, Ritchey End Licensing Agreement For World Champ Stripes:

The UCI and Ritchey Design had an agreement which ended in December 2024 which allowed Ritchey Design to use the rainbow stripes representing World Championship status. These stripes were used on the components Ritchey Design offers for sale in its WCS line. 

The UCI decided not to extend the licensing agreement, so Ritchey is transitioning its branding to reflect this change. Going forward, all WCS components will feature a gradient strip in grey tones. You can see an example in the image above. 

Comments: I'll be honest, I was surprised that Ritchey had an arrangement like this with the UCI for as many years as it had. It does not surprise me that the UCI did not agree to extend the arrangement. The UCI is pretty persnickety about things like the rainbow stripes. I found out this when the UCI mistakenly thought I was involved in using the rainbow stripes on the Gravel Worlds jerseys. I had quite the jaw drop when I received that cease and desist email! 

Image courtesy of Salsa Cycles

Cutthroat Gets GRX, UDH Hangar - Fargo Updates:

Salsa Cycles doesn't really do a lot of major overhauls of older models nor do they offer many really new, innovative bikes anymore. (Yes - you might say those eBikes are "innovative new models", but they are not, really)

What Salsa does, and it is not a bad thing at all, is evolve their already really good platforms. Take for instance their Cutthroat, which is the most commonly used bike at Tour Divide, according to Salsa Cycles. (Probably in no small part due to the influences of Jay Petervary, by the way) 

Well, now Salsa has offered a new colorway with Shimano GRX 600. The new model also features SRAM's UDH hangar which is swiftly becoming a standard for replaceable hangars. I have to say that the leaf green to sky blue fade paint job is not something I would have ever dreamed up, but it might be growing on me. Hmm...  You can check out the details on Salsa's site HERE. 

The new GRX Fargo in "Brass". Image courtesy of Salsa Cycles

 Also, for 2025 the Fargo will also be only available with GRX 600 and now will feature flat mount brake mounts on the frame (on the Alternator Flat Mount 1.0 drop outs, actually) and on the Cutthroat Carbon Deluxe fork. The fork features inserts to guard against abrasions, much like those found on the Stormchaser gravel bike. The bike is priced at $2,999.00 USD. You can see more details on the Fargo GRX HERE. (Note- There also are Fargo Apex 1's out there yet, but those will feature the post mount brakes and no carbon guard inserts.) I've updated my Fargo Page accordingly.

Annnnnd......that's a wrap! Get out there and ride those bikes this weekend!

Industry Changes Revolve Around Wheels

A 29"er wheel circa 2012

 I was researching my blog, as one does after writing stuff for nearly 20 years, and came across something that made me think. I wrote this post about how 29 inch wheels had changed the cycling industry. First off, I often find it surprising to see what I wrote more than ten years ago. But more than that, I noted that as of 2025 we have finally exited an era where wheel sizes and types have finally settled back into a groove not seen since the year 2000. 

Previous to 2000 wheel size was not a question. Road bikes? 700c. Mountain bikes? 26" diameter. Sure, you had some weird niches here and there. Of course, we cannot ignore the rando/French touring group. A small, insular bunch. Hardly anyone outside of themselves had any idea of their existence. They were the bastion of 650B tire use. There were the old 27"ers being used yet, but no new bikes with those wheels were being produced anymore. Finally, you had the oddball 26" based tires and rims which some Schwinns had and some 70's era department store bikes used. 

But for the outliers, it was 700c based stuff and 26"er MTB wheels. That was pretty much it. Then "The Tire" came along, the internet became democratized, and information started to flow in a way that had never occurred before. These things made a pathway for people to start dreaming about "what ifs" and some business people bought in. 

If 29"ers hadn't come along, would we have ever seen things like this?

I'd argue that the 2010's were the zenith for wheel experimentation. Bicycle shops were then carrying a dizzying assortment of wheel diameters and tires to fit them. 

There were even variants on certain diameters that made them so different that they were unrecognizable next to their more traditional rim/tire combinations. 650B tires, fat bike tires, and 29"ers all used rim diameters that had been around for decades, but they were so different they all required their own special components and frames/forks. 

The "Pandora's Box" of wheel sizes and tire formats had been opened. 36" wheels, 32" wheels, and now 24" X 6" wheels and tires are now all a thing which previous to 2000 did not have any foothold or even a hint of a chance of being real, as they are now. Add to this the weird combinations that some electrified bikes have these days and you can see how things are very different now. 

In my opinion, these wheel size changes and innovations are what drives the industry. Just take the big fat bike tires, or larger, wider 700c tires that became known as 29"ers as an example. Both wrought changes in the industry that were exciting and drove consumer demand. Without those tires, and rims, of course, that demand doesn't materialize. 

Now that the wheel thing has been pretty much exhausted, the cycling industry is trying to recreate demand with "technological advancements" and motors. Aerodynamics, esoteric changes to cabling, and proprietary drive train ideas are being put forth with the hopes that "the next big thing" will be hit on. But these types of incremental, niche interest changes are not going to move the needle like the wheel changes and ideas to implement those ideas did. 

The "next big thing", in my opinion, will be when governments and the people at large start to realize that electric cars, self-driving cars, and more of those are not the answer. Healthy, outdoors in the Sun, moving on bicycles and the safer, separated infrastructure to utilize bicycles on - be they motorized or not - is what we need. That will be the next big deal, and while it may not happen in my lifetime, the sooner it does, the better for the cycling industry, people, and the environment.

Events

My riding plans are about as shoddy and reliable as this. Image courtesy of Rob Evans.

I know.... I have a checkered record when it comes to making riding plans. so, take the following with a grain of salt and don't be surprised if none of it happens. Although, I'm pretty sure something will happen. It's just that a lot of these things are outside of my control, so I cannot say with a high degree of certainty that any one of the following is a "sure thing" for my ride calendar. 

Secondly, since the announcement of the 2025 class of GCHoF inductees was going to influence my plans this year, I had to wait until Monday to start putting some wheels in motion. I mentioned this first event at the end of last year here. but now I can speak a bit more clearly on what might be happening. 

It is a tentative plan to hold another Victory Ride, much like the event held last year which you can read about HERE. This time the location will be somewhere in the Flint Hills of Kansas.

From the 2024 Victory Ride

The date is to be determined, but right now I am thinking that a trip to the Flint Hills in Spring sounds a heck of a lot more comfortable than one in Summer. So, with the information I have now, this looks like an event that will happen sometime from late April to maybe mid-May. 

Again, I am not organizing this, but when I find out more, I will post it here. Some of this may be determined according to when I can find transportation to said Flint Hills. (Remember - I don't have a vehicle anymore) I may have to rent a car. I don't know at this point. Stay tuned..... 

Since the news of Jason Boucher's Fargo series, I have text-chatted with Jason and he floated an idea for a Fargo Reunion Ride. This has not happened for several years and the last one was pretty notable for several reasons! I wrote about that HERE , HERE, and HERE. 

November, 2016. The last Fargo Adventure Ride.

The last Fargo Adventure Ride was in 2016  in November. I was signed up to ride in the inaugural Spotted Horse gravel race, but I nixed that idea when this popped up as a choice in late October that year. While I never ended up doing a Spotted Horse, and I do have a twinge of regret regarding that fact, I am super happy I made the choice to do the Fargo Adventure Ride instead. 

So, being the nutcase about the Gen I Fargo that I am, and being that every adventure on this bike I have has been a memorable one, I will definitely do everything in my power to attend another Fargo themed ride whenever that might be. 

I cannot stress enough that this is an idea, and that I am not the organizer. IF it happens I am going. But as of now, it is a big IF, and it could conflict with the Victory Ride or any of a hundred things, so ya know..... Just stick that idea under your hat for the time being. It is merely a possibility. 

From the 2023 Guitar Ted Death Ride.

Last year I didn't get a really long ride in at all. And.....it may not happen this year either. But I am going to try, and if I do get something in, it will be this year's Guitar Ted Death Ride for 2025. 

I used to invite people to join me on this, and I'm not saying that will never happen again. I did also say I retired from event production and promotions though, so doing the Invitational part kind of goes against that declaration. 

Look.....I'm just trying to be a man of my word. If I "un-retire" you'll all be the first ones to know here. So, the Guitar Ted Death Ride is a solo gig for now. 

I probably will look for any open window to do this and if things align properly, (a day with no responsibilities, the right weather, fitness looks okay), then it will happen at the time it happens. I was stymied for much of last year so I designated the Victory Ride as my 2024 "Death Ride". Cheap and easy choice, I know, but that was how the year shook out. 

Then there are three more riding events for 2025 I have loosely penciled in to try to get done before Winter 2025/26. In no particular order:

N.Y. Roll/Guitar Ted "Fun Ride":

N.Y. Roll and I have bounced around an idea for a group ride somewhere in Iowa this Summer. Could be a ride to "The Tree In The Road". Could be something around here. It also may not happen. We'll see....

The Virtual Turkey Burn Ride: 

Of all my ideas, this and the Victory Ride have the best chances of actually happening. Hopefully the weather is not as frigid as it was for the 2024 version here! The high amount of world-wide feedback I got for this idea makes it a no-brainer to do again. Plus, I suppose it is about as close to an event production as a retired event promoter can get to without actually promoting an event. 

Or something.......

The Redemption Tour:

A two-day bikepacking trip on gravel that will have a lot of personal meaning for myself. That is if I can make this happen. This has been on my radar for three years already, with everything all ready to go, and it still has not happened. I have to make time for this....

So, there you have it. Some super-vague, definitely maybe, probably vaporware events that may or may not happen for me in 2025. Stick around for the excuses, stay tuned for any surprise happenings!

The Original Mukluk: Reviewed With Perspective

One of my first rides on the Mukluk in 2011.

 Recently I have been spending more time on my 2011 Salsa Cycles Mukluk fat bike better known here as The Snow Dog. (Yes, it is a reference to the Rush song, "By-Tor and The Snow Dog"

Anyway....

I have not been on the Snow Dog much over the past five to ten years. It just kind of was one of those bikes I didn't reach for in Winter for riding because I had the Blackborow DS and the first Ti Muk. Those two fat bikes were "more capable", in my opinion at that time, than the original Mukluk was. So, when I started riding the Snow Dog again, it was almost as if I had forgotten everything I ever knew about the bike and what I was experiencing was new. 

It might be a good idea to look back and gain some perspective on the original Mukluk that may be forgotten by some folks. First of all, it should be noted that the vast majority of cyclists had never thrown a leg over a fat bike until 2011. 

That was because there weren't any fat bikes that you could just go and buy off a bike shop's floor. It was much more expensive and difficult to obtain one of these bicycles before 2011. The first efforts to make a bike to "float" over sand and snow were spread out across the globe, but most agree that the 1980's were when this idea started to come together to formulate the fat bike as we know it today. You can read a brief history of the fat bike at this Wiki page HERE. 

One of two steel framed prototype Mukluks Salsa Cycles made shown at Interbike 2010

While some say Surly offered "the first commercially available fat bike", I find that to be a bit misleading. Surly offered a frame, fork, tires, and rims. The purchaser was left to finish the build, including building the offset wheels, which was a huge hurdle for many folks, and even some bike shops. Besides these barriers to riding a fat bike, the cost was not "fat bike curious" friendly. It was a big commitment. I remember spec'ing out a fat bike from Surly in 2007 or so and it was going to be over two thousand dollars, and I was getting an employee discount! 

That was a lot for a bike that, well, quite frankly many thought would not work. So, while it is true that Surly made a pathway for many to try a fat bike, it wasn't until 2010 and the announcement that Salsa Cycles would offer an out-of-the-box, turnkey fat bike for a little more than one thousand bucks that interest skyrocketed from all across the USA. 

Surly saw the writing on the wall and so they also went in on offering the Pugsley as a complete bike, but those did not hit the market until a few months after the Mukluk. But suffice it to say, many were now getting their first chances at riding what was, before 2011, nearly a unicorn experience. 

My 2011 Mukluk in its original set up in February of 2011.

Now, with that out of the way, we should think about what these original fat bike designs were all about. There was not a concern for "all-mountain" type handling. In fact, it was more about staying on top of the trail, be that snow or sand, and being able to pedal instead of walking. 

A lot of this can get into the weeds, as far as design, but to boil it down into basics, fat bikes were originally about stability. Weight distribution between the wheels was also a bit of that recipe, for sure, but besides this, it was a typical 26" wheeled design for a mountain bike. There were no "long, slack, and low" designs influencing the earliest fat bike designers. 

Additionally, there was no concern for 1X anything. These were purpose designed to have multiple front chain rings, which - I know - may blow some minds of those younger folks out there. Then you had standard bicycle stuff. Nothing weird or unusual there. So, the reality in 2011 was that this fat bike thing was really about staying stable, moving forward, and that on semi-compacted snow or firm sand. Surfaces that would not support a 2.2" 26"er tire, which would cut into those surfaces and require massive amounts of effort to keep upright and moving forward. 

Fat bikes were not a free pass to ride non-compacted snow, finer, loose sand, or mud. This was a misconception many had at the time when these bikes first came about. That part turned a lot of people off, after a while, and so fat bikes began to be marketed as all-around MTB choices for all terrain. This is when designers started moving away from the previous stability-first designs and more into overall trail handling aspects. By 2015 most fat bikes had lost the older geometry and design specific cues that the original fat bikes had. 

The Snow Dog from a ride last week.

Why would anyone want a fat bike that can only handle up to about a 4.5" tire on 80mm rims, has quick release dropouts, and an axle standard that is not supported anymore? That's the problem with The Snow Dog, but it is still a worthwhile bike if you understand where it will work best. 

I've already given away what it was that slapped me upside the head when I started riding this bike again. Stability. In spades. As an example: My Ti Muk 2, (2015 Salsa Cycles titanium Mukluk) cannot be ridden with no hands for very long. At least not by me! I end up wobbling and swerving right or left not long after I let go of the handle bars. Not so with the original Mukluk. I can ride that thing no-handed with little effort. 

This manifests in slow-speed handling, where I can cut a tight turn, keep the bike upright, and use a lot less effort than I would on my other fat bikes. I wish we had enough snow for groomed trails because I think this bike would really come to life on a packed snow trail. 

We didn't have groomed trails for the first five to six years that I owned this bike, and by the time we did, I had two other fat bikes. So, The Snow Dog kind of got a bad rap for not being great at cutting its own trail, like the Blackborow DS. But then again, these early fat bike designs were meant to be ridden on snow machine tracks and firmer sandy trails. 

The Snow Dog did get ridden on dry single track, and this was where I found the Mukluk was a great trail bike. It handles really well on our typical river bottom dirt trails which wind around the flotsam and jetsam of past floods and the several underbrush plant varieties we have here. 

So, as a plain old mountain bike, it is sort of like an old 1990's mountain bike with 4" wide rubber. No suspension correction either. I was impressed by the single track handling. So much so I wrote a few blog posts back then about why I thought this was more than just a "snow bike".

Of course, it makes a great bike for gravel. If you've ever gotten zinged by the constant barrage of vibrations induced by crushed rock, and thought you might like to try to do something to get rid of that, a fat bike will erase chatter from gravel. Plus these older designs that can only take narrower tires are just perfect for gravel travel. It's the stability thing again.

This bike has its merits. I am coming around to the feeling that it might actually be worthy of some upgrades in componentry soon. Also; if we get any rideable snow late this Winter, I'll try to get out and give an update on this post afterward. 

Stay tuned..

Gravel Grinder News: 2025 Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame Class Announced

The Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame has announced its class of inductees for 2025. These four individuals were nominated by the public, had their nominations read and voted upon by the electors of the GCHoF which includes past Hall members, and then the results were tabulated and the inductees identified by the GCHoF. 

Following are the official press release announcements for each individual, edited for brevity for this post, and a comment after each from myself giving my own opinion on each inductee. My opinions are my own and definitely do not reflect those of anyone else involved in the matter of choosing this class for the GCHoF

. Note: In the FN&V last week I stated only three would be inducted, but it will be four. I apologize for any inconvenience. Also, all images of the inductees and information on the inductees was provided by the Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame.

Amanda Nauman Sheek: 

While Amanda Nauman Sheek may be best known as a professional gravel cyclist, her work to promote the positive aspects of gravel cycling has had a profound and lasting impact. On the bike, Sheek is a two-time DK200/Unbound Gravel champion, and holds the distinction of winning one of the toughest editions of the event –– the infamous “mud year” in 2015. She’s also won or finished on the podium at countless other events, including Mid-South, Unbound XL and Belgian Waffle Ride California, among others.

It should also be noted that Amanda along with her husband started Mammoth Tuff, a gravel event in California and have made that a part of the UCI Gravel World Series this year. 

Comments: Amanda is one of the first women with a Pro/semi-Pro status that crossed over to gravel and made a big impact. Along with fellow GCHoF'er, Rebecca Rusch, these two women put gravel racing at the forefront of women's minds when it came to opportunities to enter competitive cycling as a money-making, or supplementary income sort of vocation.  

Sheek also, more importantly, showed the way to other women that gravel was a good way to have fun, stretch themselves, and be more than they may have thought they could be. A true influencer who made a mark in the sport.  While Sheek is on the GCHoF board, I don't have a problem with this. I believe it shows that Sheek truly cares about gravel cycling.(And I know this to be true from personal experience)

LeLan Dains:

With a gravel resume stretching back to the earliest days of Unbound Gravel’s predecessor, the DK200, LeLan Dains has played a critical leadership role in the sport of gravel cycling. His tireless vision has helped Unbound Gravel grow into the world’s premier gravel event, and his work has been instrumental in putting Kansas gravel on the map as a top travel destination.

LeLan continues to help push gravel cycling/bikepacking forward with his influence on The Great Plains Gravel Route.

Comments: I cannot remember which GCHoF induction ceremony this happened at, but during a conversation I had with LeLan Dains I told him that he belonged in the Hall at some point. He scoffed at the notion, which should tell you a lot about his character. 

But LeLan deserves to be in the GCHoF. LeLan helped push the DK200 into the limelight and to the top of the heap when it came to gravel events worldwide. There are not many that can lay claim to that, although there is one individual that can, which I'll get to later here. 

For that alone, LeLan should be in the Hall, but the Hall itself owes a huge debt of gratitude for its mere existence to LeLan. Truly, without LeLan there probably wouldn't be a GCHoF. Again, not many can approach the influence LeLan has had on gravel cycling since from its beginnings in the Modern Era. There is no question, he definitely deserves this honor.

Ted King:

Widely credited as the first UCI World Tour road cycling competitor to cross over to the gravel cycling discipline, Ted King raised the bar for the professionalism required to win big gravel events. With palmares that include winning Unbound Gravel twice and victories at SBT Gravel, Grinduro, Rasputitsa, Vermont Overland, and UnPAved, among others, King is well-known as a fierce competitor.

Ted continued to influence gravel cycling with his podcast, gravel event promotions, and social media. 

Comments: I was at the finish line when Ted King won the DK200 in 2016. It was apparent then that gravel cycling, in terms of competitiveness and popularity, was going to explode into the next level. Wow! I had no idea it would get where it is today, but Ted King was the harbinger of all of that, in my mind. 

Ted's draw on other seasoned Pro road folks to come and try gravel events cannot be underestimated. Definitely a Hall worthy choice!

John Hobbs:

While the task of deciding exactly when or where the modern gravel era started, it’s clear that John Hobbs was an early visionary in the sport. As far back as the mid-1980s, Hobbs was hosting formal “rough road rides” in the southern Flint Hills of Kansas.

Buoyed by the success of the rides, Hobbs began promoting a ride out of Matfield, KS called the Matfield Green 100k. This evolved into the infamous Kansas Death Ride, an event that was known for being rougher than most mountain bike races. The event’s successful 22-year run, often attracting more than 600 riders, proved that cyclists wanted to explore beyond paved roads, onto roads less traveled. In fact, it was the success of the Kansas Death Ride that inspired a group in Emporia, KS to create the DK200/Unbound Gravel in 2005.

Comments: Long over-due for inclusion, this nomination speaks to me as something the GCHoF needs more focus on. Longtime readers of this blog will understand where I am coming from here. If the GCHoF is about telling the untold stories, then this nomination reflects that perfectly, but it is far, far from the last such story hanging out there that "no one", including many of the electors, knows about. More on this in my overall commentary. 

 Overall Comments: 

This is a great class of inductees and I can 100% get behind all of them. They all are deserving and they all will enhance the GCHoF. They all, however, have one thing in common which, while missing from the GCHoF, is an integral part of this class' stories. 

That would be Jim Cummings. 

Jim is not in the GCHoF, despite the fact that he takes a direct line from John Hobbs' influence, and was the major contributor to the other three being in the Hall. Without Jim Cummings, none of these stories either happen at all, or matter at all. 

So, the question is "Why?" Why is he not in the Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame? Is Jim Cummings to be seen as the "Pete Rose" of gravel? Someone who will never be forgiven for something done that had zero to do with gravel cycling? 

I'm not going to get into the weeds on the backstory, or on the reasons I think Jim should be a GCHoF'er. I will only point out that of the people who are in the Hall today, barely anyone can say they would be in the Hall without Jim Cummings and what he did regarding his efforts to promote the DK200. 

So again, the question is "Why isn't he in there?" I cannot answer that. I can say that he's been nominated every year the Hall has existed. But as to why the other electors don't see him as being worthwhile to vote for......? You tell me if you know. 

As for my comment about those stories left hanging out there being untold, well some of those were on the ballot this year as well. This is very good. I hope that the GCHoF will undertake a bit more proactive approach to helping electors too young to remember, or too uninformed to have a proper opinion, to have access to better backstories/history on each of those stories/people/events that were represented there in the ballot for this class. Not everyone/everything can get nominated in a given year, but I saw some things that deserve to be the stories that get told. 

I also saw some things that made me scratch my head. I get that these are submitted by the public, but as I stated a while back in another post, many people are so new to this sport that the old, untold stories are not known to them. On the other hand, some things creep in which have very little to do with gravel. Things and people which don't have anything about them related to gravel in a historical/influential context. This confuses things, in my opinion, and it dilutes the choices made available to electors. So, you have a confusion as to what is important, merely by these things being on the ballot, and a dearth of backstory/historical context being provided.

I cannot help but think that many of the electors who are in the media and cycling industry fall prey to this situation. All I know is that there is precious little done to enlighten the electors as to why certain stories matter, and why certain ones probably do not. 

This would place the onus on the GCHoF board, but at some point you probably need to do two things. First, you need to take nominations in-house to weed out the chaff which currently gets into the machinations of the process via the public. Second: The GCHoF needs to research and provide the narratives on nominees so electors can have an informed vote. 

If I could, I would also have the GCHoF remove a nominee's name after a designated period of years if they do not get elevated into the Hall, just like most professional sports' halls of fame do. 

That's about it. Love this class. There is a glaring omission. And some changes to how things work internally with nominations and voting would be my recommendation going forward. That's just me. My opinion only. If you've got a take on any of this, let me know in the comments. Otherwise, that's all I have to say about it.

Two Things: Pack Fodder

 The Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame announcement will happen at 9:00am CST today, January 27th. I usually have something up for my readers in the morning, and I have not forgotten about you. Thank you for reading this blog, by the way. 

So, to get you early-birds satisfied I have a "pack fodder" version of my ongoing "Two Things" posts for you to check out. And do come back to read my announcement/commentary on the GCHoF announcement. I've got a bit of a spicy take on it all. I think you might find it interesting. Thanks and enjoy! 

Weird. I'd never seen anything like it before.

Holey Bolt:

When I was a little shaver, maybe seven or eight years old, my parents would buy me these Converse basketball shoe knock-offs from K-Mart. They almost always blew out along the edges where my foot bent and sometimes in other places. I went through a pair or two every Summer. 

My Grandpa saw me wearing these once when I was with my folks visiting his farm. He looked at me and casually said, "So, those must be the shoes you wear to church, eh?" And I looked at him funny, thinking he was crazy to think this, and replied, "No! These have holes in them, Grandpa!". 

He would reply, "Right. They are "holey", so you wear them to church!"

Ahem.....Anyway. The bolts in the image here came off a Dura Ace crank from the early 1970's, and while you might never see it in a church, only one of this pair is "holey". I get it. Someone was trying to save weight. By the way, I don't know which side the one with the hole was on. I would guess the non-drive side. And no- It wasn't drilled after manufacturing. It was machined this way from the get-go, from what I can tell. The hole goes all the way through, by the way.

If you've ever seen a set of crank bolts like these, give me a shout out in the comments. I'd love to learn more about this. 

Image courtesy of RAGBRAI

The Hordes Of Cyclists Are Coming!

Word came out this past weekend that RAGBRAI is coming through Cedar Falls, Iowa on its 52nd annual ride. If you do not know about RAGBRAI (Where have you been hiding?), it is the world's largest recreational week long cycling ride. Tens of thousands will take to the county roads and village streets to cross the state of Iowa in seven days during the last full week of July. 

Cedar Falls is the adjacent and attached town to Waterloo, so I expect that this announcement will have some bearing on us at the Collective. I say that because in the past, whenever RAGBRAI came through here, people would be looking for cheap options to go for a day or two and hang with the RAGBRAI crowd. I'm ready as I have a lot of road bikes we can scarcely give away in the shop. I would love nothing more than to have RAGBRAI-curious folks wipe us out of that inventory. 

But I also know that things aren't too cheery or on the upswing economically, and although we have crazy low pricing on our bikes, even that may not convince those folks that are curious about this ride to jump in and buy a bike. That is if there even is a demand. We will see. 

I do know that since the Collective does not offer a retail repair service that I won't have to deal with last minute non-sense concerning this event like I used to. That's something I don't miss at all.

Remember to check back in today after 9:00am CST for the GCHoF announcement and commentary.