On Tuesday of this week, White Industries released news concerning a limited run of Desert Sage components. This hue is a Cerakote finish, not an anodization, and a finish which White Industries claims is resistant to scratches, stains, and heavy usage.
Available on select White Industries components for a limited time only. Once the stock is gone, this color will not be offered again.
For details see White Industries website.
Comments: An interesting choice for a limited run. I tried wrapping my head around this color, but I am torn as to what I'd do with a head set, crank set, or hubs in a color which, for me, is akin to dried cow droppings. Maybe if I had a dark matte red frame, or an egg plant colored frame. I guess maybe it would work on my pink BMC, or an orange frame.
Anyway, it is a curious hue to offer, and a weird enough color that - on the right build - could be outstanding.
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| Image courtesy of English Cycles |
The handmade bicycle show is an idea which has always drawn plenty of attention. It used to be the North American Handmade Bicycle Show, but that show faded away. Now days the show which essentially is the same thing as the old NAHBS is called MADE and is held in Portland, Oregon every year.
Thanks to the wonderful immediacy of the innergoogles, one doesn't have to attend the show, or wait very long for imagery to pop up concerning the show. NAHBS moved around the country and provided regional access to seeing these creations with your own eyes, but these days I guess this doesn't matter.
Anyway, guess what everyone is saying the "big deal" will be for this year? You guessed it, I bet. Thirty-Two inch wheeled bicycles.
I wouldn't be surprised if those bikes garner a lot of attention, but I'll bet other wheel sizes will be shown with equally as cool frames and forks. What the "trends" will be is anyone's guess.
Notable: A recent Facebook post by NAHBS founder, Don Walker, indicates that 2027 will see the return of NAHBS as the NAHBS Reunion & Invitationsl. The date is set for August 6-8, 2027 at the Palmer Events Center in Austin, Texas. Stay tuned for more details in the future.
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| Image courtesy of Mosaic Cycles |
Mosaic Offers Production Spec 32"er:
Mosaic Cycles, a custom and boutique brand based in Boulder, Colrado, announced on Tuesday of this week that it now offers a "Batch Built" 32 inch wheeled drop bar bike.
Dubbed the GT-1 i55 32", this model will be built from double-butted titanium and features completely internal routing. A 1X only design, this bike will clear 32" x 55mm tires.
Using a T-47 bottom bracket and Mosaic's own 32" specific carbon fork, this model was conceived from the ground-up as a 32" wheeled bike. The wheel spec is 110F 148R, which seems to be the direction 32" bikes will take for the time being in terms of axle spacing.
For more details see Mosaic's page for this bike HERE.
Comments: I imagine this is not a moderately priced bicycle, but besides this, it seems to be the direction many custom builders are taking with what is being shaped as 32" wheeled "monster-gravel". The lack of narrower tires in this category kind of forces this trend, in my opinion. Not that anyone is upset about it, but one has to wonder if there were a few choices in 32" x 45mm tires if axle standards and geometry would be a bit different than what we are seeing.
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| Image courtesy of Industry Nine |
Industry Nine took the covers off a new offering they have dubbed "Hush 32 Carbon". Obviously the "carbon" bit is the rims. Otherwise this is a classic I-9 wheel set with their patented alloy spokes and alloy hubs available in several anodized colors.
The wheels are available now and run $2,199.00. USD.
Comments: What is weird about this wheel set, to my way of thinking, is the low spoke count. Twenty-four spokes seems like a bit on the edge for lateral wheel stiffness in a 32" hoop.
Industry Nine makes a nice riding wheel though. I've tested several sets and I own a really old set of I-9's. The alloy spokes may seem weird but they work. So, I'd have a fair amount of confidence in these it's just that the 24 spoke count gives me pause.
Interesting to see these debut now. I would not be at all surprised to see these wheels featured on something at the MADE Show this weekend.
This week also saw the release ofthe 700c based BERD Sparrow carbon wheels. These wheels use the fiber spokes by BERD and are laced to your choice of hubs listed on the Sparrow webpage.
Using BERD's own Talon hubs, a ring drive/ratchet style hub, the BERD spokes, and the new 50mm deep/30mm wide/25mm internal width carbon rims, you can realize a very light overall wheel weight. With tape and tubeless valves installed BERD claims the Sparrow wheel set weighs 1,068 grams.
These wheels are pretty reasonably priced at $2.195.00 USD.
Apparently BERD is also offering this model in a 32" size.
Comments: N.Y. Roll actually saw a set of these being raced this past weekend at CORE4. The wheels also have been claimed to be good for rider comfort, and last weekend's event probably put that claim to the test.
I can vouch for the way BERD spokes reduce vibrations, though. I have a set of wheels from 2020 which have I-9 hubs, BERD spokes, and Atomik carbon rims. There is something to the vibration reduction claims.
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| Image courtesy of SILCA |
SILCA Offers Gravel Tire Range:
SILCA announced on Thursday it now has tires for sale. A range dubbed "Protocol" contains one road tire model and three gravel tires.
These tires all use premium materials, some in new ways, to provide claims of low weight, puncture resistance, and low rolling resistance.
Offered in black wall only with 45mm, 50mm, and 55mm widths in a range which is defined by a numerical rating. The Protocol RG-1, (shown here) is the all-out race tire with minimalist tread. There is no RG-2 (curiously), so the next one in the range is RG-3 which is meant for all around-conditions gravel. The RG-4 is a deeper tread pattern meant for wet/mud or rougher terrains.
There is even a 32" offering in the RG-3 HERE.
All Protocol tires are selling now on SILCA's site and cost $99.00 each.
You can see the entire range on this page. Check out the very informative explainer video HERE.
Comments: That explainer video is well worth your time. I guarantee you will learn something about tires from it. Josh, (SILCA head honcho) says they use a carbon fiber bead, and says they are making this tire the way they do "..because no one else is doing it." While this seems to be his messaging, I disagree with it. Maxxis has used a carbon fiber bead in some of its road and gravel tires for several years. So, this seems to be a bit of marketing-speak from SILCA on this point.
But the other data and evidence Josh speaks about in the video seems compelling. Well.....maybe not a hundred bucks a tire compelling, but I am not racing, so I am not the core audience for these tires. Racing is expensive, and these tires prove it.
I do like the "pseudo-radial" technology and the carbon fiber bead makes a ton of sense. Maybe some more moderately priced tires will eventually pick up on some of this new tech and become available in the near future.
No, your eyes do not deceive you. That is N.Y. Roll on the podium at CORE4 which occurred just this past weekend.
Despite the rains all last week, despite the course changes, and despite the chance the event conditions would be poor, N.Y. Roll showed up and finished the course. Because he did all of that, and was the only one in his category to do so, he won.
This kind of goes back to what I used to say about all the gravel riders in the earlier days of gravel riding. They showed up? They won. If they tried and couldn't finish? They won. If they finished, but were at the front, middle, or the back? They won.
Anyway.... Check out N.Y. Roll's conversation with me concerning his day and a whole bunch of other stuff HERE on the latest episode of The Guitar Ted Podcast.
And that wraps up another week here at Guitar Ted Productions! Thanks for reading. Now get out there and ride your bicycle!
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