Well, today is the day I am leaving for the week-long Bicycle Ride Across Nebraska (BRAM) on its 44th annual ride. I will be doing their gravel route, which stands alongside the traditional paved route and has been in existence for only a few short years.
Disclaimer:
I was contacted by BRAN to come along and be an "in ride" social media/story-teller for the event in hopes that I could bring more awareness to their gravel route.
In turn, BRAN has given me free entry to the ride and all ride benefits which any paying rider gets are also available to me. Just to be clear on that. Other outside expenses, (some food, beverage, etc) are on my tab, as well as travel to and from the ending town of Arlington, Nebraska. Otherwise there is no money being exchanged here, so if you think I'm making bank off this opportunity, think again.
Okay, with this out of the way, I must next say I am grateful to a few of you dear readers and friends who have reached out with encouragement to me on the occasion of this event. I appreciate all your support! Thank you!
Next, I want to thank you - the readers of Guitar Ted Productions - for being here to read about this experience. From tomorrow on through next weekend I will be posting randomly and perhaps multiple times daily to bring the feel of BRAN 44 gravel here for your consideration. More on this below.
And yes, I ordered the jersey. Won't be here till late Summer, but this will be my souvenir, or at least one of them, from this event.
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| Image courtesy of MOMBAT |
Wednesday brought the sad news of Mountain Bike Hall of Fame member and one of the founders of Wilderness Trail Bikes, Charlie Cunningham's death.
Charlie Cunningham had suffered a traumatic brain injury in 2015 and was recently in declining health. His life will be remembered for his numerous contributions to mountain biking and cycling in general.
Using what at the time (late 1970's) was a rare metal for frames in aluminum, Cunningham created some of the most forward thinking mountain bikes of the 1980's. His life partner, Jacquie Phelan, was routinely seen winning mountain bike races, often coming in ahead of most of the elite men in the races she contested. All aboard a Cunningham mountain bike.
In more recent years Jacquie was Charlie's caretaker. The couple lived in Marin County, California where Charlie maintained a shop where he made innovative products such as the roller cam brake and its variants.
Charlie was an early adopter of drop bars off road and modified existing drop bars into what is now known as flared drop bars, or what was then called "dirt drops". These bars were very influential in the early 29"er days and essential for many gravel riders up to the present day.
I'll leave you today with this quote, found on Charlie's Mountain Bike Hall of Fame page: " The bicycle is a way for people to gain contact with something that has been misplaced. .....They (bicycles) can be an alternative to the abuse of technology that is so widespread in our world today. The more one uses a bicycle, especially in a natural environment, the more sympathetic and understanding one becomes of oneself and the planet. "
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| Crux v5 (Image courtesy of Specialized Bicycles) |
Trends In Gravel Racing Bikes
Interestingly a couple of trends from last season have faded somewhat in 2026. Two, possibly three things have perhaps been seen at their peak of popularity in 2025.
First, the 2+ inch tire trend is perhaps at full swing yet at this point, but from comments made by racers previous to Unbound, I can see the trend slipping a bit.
Sure, there are some bicycles hitting the marketplace now with massive, (for a road bike based bicycle) tire clearances. 2,2" clearances are easy to find now. However, many gravel specific tires are still maxing out at 50mm as are many gravel bicycles.
The cycling industry has a way of "crossing a line" (see 3" wide 29"er Plus), and then retreating back to a more common sense place. My observations from racer commentary support a move to more aero, and less wide, front tires. In fact, one bike set up for Unbound had a skinnier front tire and a big rear tire, while another sported smooth tread up front and knobbier tread out back. All with aero in mind.
"Real-world" gravel cyclists probably don't care, but in case you haven't noticed, the cycling market caters to what Pro cyclists want and are doing, event though these riders account for a minuscule amount of gravel riders. But hey! I'm not the one who decided it had to be this way. I just have noted it throughout the years.
The second thing I've noted is a lot less buzz happening around telescopic front forks for gravel bikes. Certainly, they are offered on a few select builds from most brands. Most cutting edge gravel bikes allow for the usage of a suspension fork. However; again with the racer comments and what is actually being used, I'm seeing less of these devices out there. The same aero reasons exist for not using a suspension fork which saves watts of energy versus more aero rigid forks.
Finally, aero itself maybe fading in primacy over everything else. Witness the new Specialized Crux v5, which was designed based upon research data gained from years of gravel racing. The Crux has aero qualities, but the design is not 100% aero focused. Given the massive success the Crux v5 experienced at Unbound recently, I would suspect the design style utilized in the production of the Crux v5 will be dissected and regurgitated by other brands quickly.
Okay, with a light news week, and all my time focused on BRAN preparations, this is all you get this week! I'll start tomorrow with a pre-BRAN look at the ride, and then updates from the BRAN route will happen all week at random times. Please keep checking in for a look at my experiences on this week-long gravel tour of Northern Nebraska.
I'll be posting on Instagram, Facebook, and Threads also all week long. Check on the #BRANgravel hashtag to find my posts, or look for me at g.ted.productions
Thanks for reading Guitar Ted Productions! Now get out there and ride those bicycles!
1 comment:
Safe travels, Brother! I hope it works to meet up with you at some point later in the week.
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