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| Image courtesy of DT Swiss |
Previous to this announcement the only way you could get a DT Swiss gravel suspension fork was to buy a complete bicycle spec'ed with it. Now this has changed with DT Swiss offering two versions of the fork for sale to anyone wanting them.
There are two versions of DT Swiss' F-132 gravel suspension fork. The base F 132 with no lock-out feature and the F 132 One with remote lock-out. (Shown in image here)
The forks both feature 40mm of air-sprung travel with PLAINGAIN (f 132 One) or OPENFLOW (F 132) hydraulic damping. The F 132 One also has adjustable rebound.
There are three offset options and an offset finder to best match an offset to your gravel bike's geometry. Both forks can also be fitted with the bike packing adapters allowing up to 3Kg of cargo on each leg.
Prices for the forks are $1,269.00 USD for the F 132 One and $893.00 USD for the F 132. You can learn more about these forks on DT Swiss' page on the forks HERE.
Comments: Okay, up front I will remind you dear readers that I am not at all a fan of "gravel suspension forks" of the telescopic type. (Lauf's fork is fine with me) Why? Because the telescopic forks weigh a lot. A Redshift Sports ShockStop stem weighs under 300 grams, in most instances. A suspension fork weighs up to 4 times that amount or more depending on the model. A gravel suspension fork adds a lot of weight over their rigid, carbon siblings. A typical carbon gravel fork weighs around 600 grams, or over half as much as most telescopic gravel suspension forks. A Redshift ShockStop stem only adds about 160 grams to a typical stem weight (aluminum).
Then you have the maintenance. Fork maintenance intervals for these DT Swiss forks are better than the competition, but a light service after one year (recommended) and a full servicing after two years (recommended), is probably enough labor cost to buy two more ShockStop stems. And those stems require zero maintenance.
Finally, you might add that 40mm of travel is better than what the ShockStop offers. Yes, in terms of just the numbers, it is. However; it is what those components are meant to do that matters. I want vibration reduction. I don't use a gravel bike as a mountain bike. Your mileage may vary, but "gravel" should really be called "all-roads" with an emphasis on the ROAD part. Anything OFF-ROAD is mountain biking. Period. If your riding is more OFF-ROAD than a real suspension fork with at least 100mm of travel is what you should probably be running. Rigid fork riders notwithstanding, but this 40mm of travel stuff is not doing what gravel riders need (excessive weight, more maintenance, little benefit) and it is not doing what MTB riders need (too little travel). A suspension stem like the Redshift example reduces vibrations tremendously. I'm much more interested in the vibration reduction myself.
But that is MY opinion. Certainly, you do not have to agree.
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| Image courtesy of Clik Valve |
Clik Valve now offers AeroBlue TPU tubes for road, gravel, MTB, and fat bike uses. The AeroBlue TPU tubes also are e-pump safe having been tested to 130°C/266°F. The metal reinforced composite valve stem stays stable and will take repeated e-pump usage no problem.
The road/gravel AeroBlue TPU tubes are $24.00 USD each and can be seen HERE.
Comments: Clik Valve is so easy to use that this application with TPU tubes is a combination which is so right it cannot be wrong. Connecting a Clik Valve pump is so easy and takes so little effort that there is pretty much no way you'll damage a valve stem.
"But Guitar Ted, my e-pump doesn't have a Clik Valve adapter!" Gotcha covered!
I just converted one of my tubeless set ups to Clik Valve recently and I am now looking to add more bikes with these TPU options available now. I want to get a set of these tubes in for a test first, but I have little doubt I'll be happy with these as opposed to a straight up old Presta Valve TPU tube.
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| Image courtesy of Wolf Tooth |
Wolf Tooth Chooses Unique Marketing Strategy With Pedals:
Wolf Tooth announced on Wednesday that they are making a special run of 150 pairs of Shift pedals in a camo anodized finish. But you can only buy them at select bicycle shops.
The $290.00 USD pedals for Enduro, Downhill, or extreme MTB will be available through 46 selected bicycle shops in store, or you might get a set if you are lucky from an authorized Wolf Tooth dealer as Wolf Tooth held back 20 pairs for dealers who reach out to them.
Comments: The product aside, this is an interesting way to market product. For one thing, Wolf Tooth says this is the "first" offering of a limited edition product through its dealer network. Obviously this leaves the door open for other things.
But what is interesting to me is that this could lead to a "co-op" approach for LBS dealers. Imagine 20 independent bike shops getting a run of gravel bikes from a Chinese brand. Or a run of clothing, exclusive to certain brick and mortar shops.
Getting individual bike shops to coordinate a project like I am suggesting may seem laughable to many, but imagine what could happen if dealers decided to band together on mass ordering certain products. There is great potential there. This could be done in a pre-order style, so there would be no overstock issues and exclusivity would make buying in for customers a bit more enticing.
The next class of Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame folks will be inducted into the hall next June. The nominations for this class are open now and will be accepted through to November 30th.
To learn how you should nominate someone for inclusion in the GCHoF see THIS PAGE.
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| Image courtesy of SILCA |
You are riding in a group and about 150 yards from your next turn everyone's GPS device starts beeping and squawking as though there were a raft of droids along for the adventure. Maybe this is accepted "cycling culture" in the 2020's, but SILCA now offers an alternative to the digital interference.
SILCA offers what they claim is the "world's first mechatronic cycling computer" which silently shows speed, distance, and elevation. All while collecting data internally for later consumption. It features an all-analog display using a dial indicator type of look.
The Omata mounts on a typical Garmin or Wahoo cleat mounting standard and is USB rechargeable. It is housed in an aluminum case with a rotating bezel for mode selection. The unit is also ANT+ compatible so power data, heart rate, and cadence can be collected for later reference.
The Omata is available now and costs an expensive $800.00 USD. You can check out the Imperial version HERE. There is a metric version available as well.
Comments: I love the idea of a simple, basic computer. I love the no-LED read-out. The form factor is cool. But the price? Yikes!
Don't get me wrong, it is most likely a very fair price, (see the video for the Omata HERE), but I am disappointed in the cost as it is prohibitive and I am unlikely to get this for myself.
That's a wrap on this week. Get out there and ride those bikes!
9 comments:
I find the whole see your LBS to purchase those pedals as another scam of shop small/local. Local bicycle shops no matter the business size are already doing the car dealership/parts store scheme of selling items at MSRP and/or plus markup. Then removing the markup to make it appear a deal and/or selling to buddies exclusively. My favorite shop local deal is the additional shipping or destination charge being added to new bike sales. I say just wait a month, maybe less, and pick the items up off your favorite classified website marked wayyyyy up as rare/limited or cheap when the seller gives in.
I've tried quite a few TPU tubes and found two issues: No matter how careful I am only about half of my flat repairs hold air (the worst are very slow leaks I discover after I thought they were OK). Also air retention is better than latex but I still have to air up every other day. Altogether I prefer Schwalbe lightweight butyl tubes which may be a watt or two slower but cost less, hold air better, and are reliably repairable.
The Mechatronic computer looks good but my $130 Sigma ROX EVOI 11.1 does more and is easier to read. Kinda like a Rolex, nice but not for me.
@Stuart - We rarely have issues with flat tires here where I live, so this part is really not a concern here. I grant that for yourself and others this may play a part in whether or not TPU would work for you.
With no real concerns over flats/repair of tubes I would not hesitate , and I don't, to use TPU. Personally, if I were experiencing flats on a somewhat regular basis with any tube I would jump to tubeless with no qualms at all. But then I have almost 20 years in experience with tubeless usage, so experience is a benefit to me where it may not be so with others.
I completely agree with your assessment of telescopic suspension forks. They are completely unnecessary for gravel. But...I tried one on my gravel bike, and I don't think I'll ever go back to a rigid fork fork for gravel.
Dumb Clik Valve question here. I use an 18V Makita inflator with an old fashioned brass presta adapter for most tire inflation duties at home. Does Clik Valve work with a presta valve adapter? I am guessing "no".
@Scott - According to Park Tool, they say, " The short answer is: yes. Clik valves are the same outer diameter as traditional Presta valves, and can be inflated using most Presta-compatible pumps, including Park Tool pumps."
If you mean "A Presta Valve adapter for conversion to Schrader", which is what "Presta Valve Adapte" means to me, the answer is no. But it would work if you take the Presta to Schrader adapter off.
@Stuart - Fair.
I had way too many flats until I found some decent tires with good puncture protection. I'm currently using Pirelli P-Zero Race for road and Schwalbe Marathon Mondial for off road - so far no flats in about 4500 miles. The Mondial isn't the fastest gravel tire but it's fast enough for me.
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