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| Dylan Johnson's Leadville bike from 2025. (Image courtesy Johnson's social media) |
(You'll see why tomorrow)
Life Time Bans Drop Bars At Two Of The Grand Prix Events:
Last weekend news circulated on the internet concerning a new rule for Life Time Events Grand Prix series. This six event series is split between MTB and gravel events.
Last year a few Pros and top athletes were noted trying out drop bars at the Leadville 100, traditionally seen as a MTB event.
Now those drop bars are banned by Life Time at the Leadville event and at the penultimate event in the series, Little Sugar, in Arkansas. Perhaps Life Time is trying to preserve the half and half nature of their series by denying the usage of drop bars making the MTB events look like MTB events. Life Time stated this was being done to ensure "riders safety" and "course compatibility". Interestingly, Chequamegon is the only MTB event allowing drop bars.
Later on it was revealed the riders of the Grand Prix asked for this ban. The thinking was the cost to have multiple bikes for specific course uses was detrimental to those in the series who could not afford a fleet of race bikes. Fair enough. Then don't say it was for "rider safety'" and then let that be the headline, because clearly this wasn't the case.
Rider safety? Speaking of 'rider safety'....So, what about riders using their fork crowns as a grip area to get an aero advantage, even going so far as to mount remote shifters to actuate their electronic drive trains? (See 2025 women's Leadville winner, Kate Courtney)
The miscommunication by Life Time had to be rectified by a media story later on clearing up the mess. Does this sound like a logical way to run PR for an event? I don't know, but I still think this has a lot to do with how this series upped the ante' in prize purses and how this affects perceptions of this event series. In the end, it is a small thing to most riders. And it looks silly on the part of Life Time Events.
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| BMC Roadmachine One (Image courtesy of BMC Bikes) |
While Gravel Tires Get Thicker, Road Bikes Creep Into Gravel Territory:
N.Y. Roll and I discussed this recently, and I think it is an underrated topic in cycling. Road bikes (All-Road Bikes?) are becoming what was once considered a "gravel bike", twelve years or so ago.
Think about this, the |"original" gravel bike, the Salsa Warbird, which debuted for the 2012 selling season, was only able to handle a 38mm tire with adequate mud clearance. You could squeeze in a 40mm tire, but just barely.
Contrast this with the BMC Roadmachine, a bike which can easily clear a 40mm tire with a 1X drive train, yet is considered a "road bike". (All-Road Bike?) My prediction is these bicycles are on the cusp of becoming the next "secret weapon" in gravel racing.
Many gravel events don't require 50mm and wider tires. Many road conditions in many places are easily ridden on bicycles with 40mm tires. If, as is suggested by the wider tire gravel pundits, the MTB-width tires on gravel are faster, why wouldn't we see this happen in pro road racing, where cobbles and yes - even gravel - sectors exist in some courses?
Don't be surprised when you hear about some Pro gravel racer showing up on a "traditional" road bike (All-Road Bike?) at some big gravel event someday soon.
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| Continental Terra Adventure Reflex (Image courtesy of Continental Tires) |
Continental announced on Tuesday their new model in the Terra range of tires called the Terra Adventure Graphite Reflex.
Essentially, this is a Terra Adventure tire with a reflective strip on the sidewalls. This provides better visibility to other road users in low-light and dark conditions. Perfect for the racer who lines up for a dark morning start, or for adventurers who ride in darkness many times.
I reviewed the Terra Adventure, sans reflective stripes, in my post HERE.
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| TideAce Carbon 32"er.(Image courtesy of TideAce) |
The 32" Watch - TideAce Carbon 32"er Frame:
I received a tip the other day to check out this carbon frame for 32" wheels. It is from a Chinese brand called TideAce. You can see their webpage for it HERE.
Comments: I'm not familiar with this brand but my source tells me it makes stuff for other brands you may have heard of, so this isn't some oddball product with little engineering behind it, is what my takeaway was from this.
It was kind of funny, because my source said "Now (N.Y. Roll) will have to "eat more crow". (IYKYK) Because he said something about waiting to see if a carbon 32"er would come out later on. Well, obviously, it already has happened.
And look at the price! My goodness, but seriously under 1K for a carbon 32"er? Ya gotta hand it to these Chinese brands, they don't sleep on a way to make a buck!
On Wednesday, an announcement went out from Gravel Worlds which claims the event will offer the largest cash payout in gravel cycling. The $150,000.00 purse is to be fully funded through Goodlife Nutrition.
Last year the prize purse was $100,000.00 so this is a significant increase. It should be noted this new, higher amount is to be distributed through the Pro fields, evenly between men and women. This surpasses any Life Time Event and one would assume the race will become a significantly important event now for anyone trying to make a living racing gravel.
Also notable is Gravel Worlds now having controlled intersections for their main 150 mile event. There will also be more law enforcement present than ever before. This should alleviate any issues with regard to riders risking life and limb trying to stay ahead in the Pro fields by darting across uncontrolled intersections. Faster amateurs will also benefit as the time windows for the intersection controls do not end with the passing of the Pro fields.
That's a wrap on this week! If you aren't freezing to death, getting iced over, or digging out from a snow storm, try to ride your bicycles this weekend! And thank you for reading Guitar Ted Productions!
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