The Path To Discovering Gravel Grinding: Part 6

 This is Part 6 of a mini-series of posts telling the story of what it was like to attend events in the early days of the Modern Gravel Era. In today's post I am going to explore things which, in my opinion, made early gravel events unique and more than just a competition. 

Image by Ari Andonopoulos

Early gravel races and rides had something which up until the start of the Modern Gravel era in 2005 were mostly unheard of anywhere else. This would be a side of gravel which drew many into the scene and gave rise to the term, "Gravel Family". A term co opted by a certain big-time gravel event now. 

What am I speaking of, you might ask? Well, it would be the social functions surrounding many of the different gravel events in those early days of gravel grinding. 

This was always a part of the gravel scene right from the jump. At the first two Trans Iowa events there was a pre-race meeting, but it was held at a Pizza Ranch restaurant with a full spaghetti meal for all in attendance. This served as a social meeting, as the riders were all in one place and could meet each other. Given the low-key nature of these early events, the front-runners mixed in with the back-of-the-packers and everyone got along famously. It was as if Pro racer perks were against the rules. And in a way, this was kind of an unspoken rule in gravel. No one was above anyone else. Snobbery, in even the slightest form, was looked down upon. 

From the beginnings, in the mid-2000's, this facet of gravel events was evolved by different event promoters. Some copied the Trans Iowa format, while others invented their own ways, and it even infiltrated the actual events in some cases. 

The first Gravel Worlds held their sign-in at Oso's restaurant in downtown Lincoln, Nebraska.

Trans Iowa held a "meat-up" where riders had to grill their own meals. Image by Wally Kilburg (R.I.P.)

Eating together is a basic human activity and is conducive to having people engage in discourse with each other. This helped bond the riders and created reasons to go to other events which had similar social gatherings to reconnect. 

Odin's Revenge sandwiched their event with a beginning social at the Walker's Steakhouse...

...and ended at a KOA Kampground with food, beer, and socializing.

Events branched out to do some different things then and each event director tended to have a bit of a different spin on the social activities. It was a fun time to go see how things would be done, and if the event was successful, word of mouth would spread and the event was sure to get even more attention in following years. 

Night Nonsense, an event held entirely at night, had a truck with volunteers handing out slices of pizza about 3/4's of the way through the course. 

The Moonshine Metric started and ended in the RD's garage and there was a potluck afterward. 

Not every event did things this way, and some still do, but I think early on this facet of the gravel scene was a huge draw for riders tired of going to an event, racing, packing up, and driving home. Now you had reasons to go besides the bicycle racing/riding. You went to see those folks you met at another gravel event, and you had time to talk, and maybe even enjoy something like a meal, a cold one, or some other activity with those folks. 

The Fargo Adventure Rides often had meet-ups the evening prior with food and drink with a social gathering afterward, (Image by Jason Boucher)

Gravel clinics, like this one for Trans Iowa held in 2014, were another excuse to gather together outside of competitive riding.

I truly believe that without a social component to these pioneering gravel events we would not have seen the rise of gravel as a sport such as we have now in the last ten years. All this talk about how "gravel has grown up" and become "serious" now is not possible without the bedrock foundation the Pro level sport stands upon now. People are making a living off gravel because of the way events were done back then, not despite the way they were done. (And in many cases, still are being run.)

So, when you see the malarkey being posted online concerning how Pro racing has legitimized gravel, you should call "BS", because that isn't what happened. The early gravel scene made what they are doing now to the sport possible, and without it, no one would be making bank off gravel. Not that I am concerned about the money, because I honestly don't care. But when the story gets twisted, I don't like the results the twisting of the actual background stories causes. Or the out-right ignorance of the way gravel history unfolded. Which, honestly, is more the case than not, unfortunately. 

Too bad there isn't some organization out there to gather up this history, preserve it, and tell the real stories behind gravel cycling. Hmm.... anyway. 

Now you know, and knowing is half the battle.  

Friday News And Views

Image courtesy of Ritchey Design

Ritchey Design Announces Comp El Camino Handlebar:

Ritchey Design makes a lot of cool handlebars and is one of the brands which keeps the "alt bar" flag flying high. Their latest design hearkens back to cruiser bike design and is called the Comp El Camino. 

Featuring a generous 35° degrees of backsweep, 50mm of rise and a 750mm width, the Comp El Camino could be a great addition to many types of bicycles. 

The handlebar is constructed from double butted 6061 aluminum alloy which gets the weight down to a nice 340 grams (claimed) and should result in a nice ride quality. The bar comes in "BB Black" and is priced at $59.95 USD. (€51.90 (inc. VAT), £45.90 (inc. VAT))

Comments: This is a cool handlebar. I cannot count how many times I've seen similar handlebars at the Cedar Valley Bicycle Collective which were steel, chrome plated, with rust pits, and thought, "This would be such a great handlebar if it were modernized". Well, this El Camino design is about as close as you can get to that old shape but with modern appointments such as the 31.8mm clamp section, room to mount accessories, and in a decent width. 

Image courtesy of Life Time

Sea Otter Soon:

This time in two weeks we will be in the thick of Sea Otter craziness. Before this I would expect several press releases will go live. In fact, I know this because I am sitting on several. (Embargoed, don't cha know!)

Without giving anything away, what can we expect? 

Well, we all are waiting to see what gets shown in the way of 32"ers. I can say there will be news. It definitely will spark debate and attention. 

Besides 32"ers? Well......not a lot to be excited about, really. There is some component news, but nothing earth-shattering. I do suspect Shimano will drop something 13 speed, probably Dura Ace, I don't know, but Shimano typically announces stuff at Sea Otter and the road side is up for change after Shimano overhauled their MTB groups recently. 

SRAM typically has a big deal announcement at Sea Otter as well, so I'd expect something there, but again, we'd probably not be too surprised by anything they would announce either. At this point with electronically controlled shifting the only big surprise I could see would be wireless braking, which SRAM has worked on, and something I'd have ZERO interest in even looking at. Maybe I'm the odd man out. 

At any rate, stay tuned.... Things are going to be busy for a bit on the news front. 

Image courtesy of Vittoria Tires

Vittoria Offers Really Wide Road Tires:

Vittoria Tires says, " Road tires are getting bigger. Much bigger."

Several weeks ago I talked a bit on this site about the move many companies are making to include wider tire clearances on their "endurance" road bike models. 

Vittoria's introduction of a 700 x 38mm and 700 x 42mm Corsa Pro Control road tire points to this being a solid trend. Although it should be mentioned that Vittoria also sees these tires as being replacements for gravel treads where riders are focused more on pavement. 

I'll also mention a comment left on my February 19th post, (link above) mentioned the 42mm Corsa Pro was on a Cervelo as stock, but the person commenting did not know if the tire was available separately. It would appear that this is now the case. 

On their Facebook page, Vittoria posted about the Corsa Pro tires by saying the following: "Developed to bring race-level road performance to the new generation of crossover bikes, these slick tires are built to handle asphalt, pavé, cobbles, and compact gravel while preserving the speed and ride feel of the Corsa PRO family."

Comments: This also lines up with my thoughts of how the "road bikes for the people" will be wider tired, less racy bikes with a LOT more capability when it comes to terrain use. Honestly, a bicycle with 42mm tires like the Corsa Pro tires is right up my alley. There are a lot of times when a tire like this with a wide-range drive train makes tons of sense here, especially a bike that has fender mounts. 

In my opinion, most tread is useless on crushed rock roads. I've ridden a Donnelly tire which was very similar to this Vittoria tire on gravel here and it was fine. You can run the pressures down and on a wider rim something like this, with its lighter weight and nicer ride quality would be awesome. 

Image courtesy of Aeron TPU Tubes

Review Announcement: Aeron TPU Tubes:

 Today I should be receiving some Aeron TPU tubes in the post which I plan on reviewing here for GTP. 

You may have seen my Rene Herse TPU tube review from last year.  I've also looked at WTB TPU tubes, (With an update on those HERE) and the original TPU tube, Tubolito. 

As you might notice from looking at all those reviews and updates, if you do, you will mark a slow evolution in TPU tubes and performance. Most notably around the valve stem part of the TPU tube. 

Manufacturers are still dialing in and fine tuning TPU tubes to be reliable, easy to use, and have better features. My attention has been brought to bear on what Aeron is offering and I thought it would be good to see how this product stacks up against others in this field. 

The Aeron valve stem is partially threaded for grip when using friction interface pumps and screw-on pump heads.  The valve core is removable as well. Aeron claims their tube is a multi-layer construction and this allows the tube to fit anywhere from a 32mm tire to a 52mm tire. Quite a difference from previous TPU tubes I've tried. 

This and the price is just under 30 bucks a pop. So, there is a lot of promise there and the expectations are high. Stay tuned for this review to be started next week.  

That is a wrap for this week. Get out there and ride those bicycles! 

Rack Me: A Decision Has Been Made

My first car rack. A Thule T2. Circa 2007

The decision on which car rack to purchase has been made. First off, I want to thank each and every reader here who took the time to post in the comments and share their rack thoughts. Many of you went to great lengths and  detail in those comments and all of those comments were dear to me. 

It was immediately apparent in those comments that you all had very passionate feelings about your car racks. There was some advice, but mainly a sharing of those feelings and experiences. I learned a lot and went back and looked at a few things after reading some of your feedback. 

Let me also say that I don't think there would have been any "wrong" decision to be made between the One Up, Saris, or the Kuat racks. It seemed apparent that there were enough positive experiences to recommend any of those brands. However; it did come down to a few important details, to me at any rate, and I made a decision.

I decided on a Kuat Piston Pro.

Now, based upon a few comments, and on some outside research, here is what made me go in this direction, just for the record:

• There were some customer service concerns from some of you regarding One Up.
• There were some wear related concerns with One Up racks, which wouldn't have been too big a deal, except none of the other choices did not seem to bring up any wear related concerns at all. 
• Saris isn't well represented here in my area, and their design (of the rack I was most interested in) lacked ground clearance when going up driveway inclines, and the like. It was mostly the ground clearance issue which finally made me look at Kuat instead. 
• Kuat seemed to get high recommendations in terms of customer service.  

Kuat Piston Pro

While the Piston Pro model was a bit more than I was wanting to spend, it has features which I found to be attractive, and its ease of use seems to be at least on par with One Up and maybe even better. 

And let's be honest, while one Up did their design which caught on and was/is successful, now every rack manufacturer has a version of this design out. Some have improved on this design, and I think Kuat has made some advancements which make using their version of this design a little more user friendly. 

Plus, the shopping experience online was much easier and more pleasant in the case of Kuat, which helped me navigate my options. One Up's site - at least for me - was not fun to get through to a point where I understood what I needed with regard to options to satisfy me. That and the price was no better, apples to apples, with Kuat. 

One more thing: I don't have any chance to see a One Up rack locally, but my friend N.Y. Roll has a Kuat rack, so this was influential, I will admit. 

Okay, that's it, really. Now for the actual rack to appear and then I'll get into my thoughts and impressions of it. Again - thank you all  that commented in the previous "Rack Me" posts. You did make a difference. 

The 32" Watch: Maxxis Speaks, The Industry Hedges

Singular Albatross 32'er. (Image courtesy of Singular Cycles)

 Note: I know it is "April Fools Day", but this is a serious take on 32"ers. In fact, I despise April Fools posts. I hope you enjoy today's article. Hit me up in the comments section with any thoughts you may have on 32 inch wheels. 

Last week the Taipei Cycle Show took place in Taiwan, global home to several cycling industry brands and manufacturers. Many watching from the sidelines were curious as to what would be new, especially in terms of 32" wheels. 

While there was some new product shown and teased there, it was mostly underwhelming from a consumer viewpoint. Mid-tier frames and suspension forks were shown, but this only reinforces the idea that perhaps 32" bikes are going to be relegated to only being entry level hard tail MTB's. There were rumors of tires, but nothing beyond the already ubiquitous Maxxis Aspen and a few other tires were shown. Promised new treads were spoken about, but nothing showed up in reality. 

As seen on social media

This week a story was posted on the "Bicycle Retailer and Industry News" site which was reported from the Taipei show. The BRAIN report quotes Maxxis employees in the article and some of what was revealed is interesting. 

It seems there are new tread patterns coming from Maxxis and even a gravel tire is in the works, according to the article. Maxxis has been rumored heavily in recent months as having several tread patterns in the works for 32" wheels. The article says April 16th is the date when the covers will come off Maxxis' offerings, which kicks off Sea Otter, so look for all the news to be blasted across the internet then. 

A Maxxis employee interviewed for the report seemed to indicate gravel as a sector where 32"ers will be focused as far as development in bicycles. Of course, further MTB development is also forecast as well. 

Comments: 

That gravel is a sector where 32" wheels will make somewhat of an impact is fairly noteworthy. It makes sense in many ways, but there is always the specter of limited fit options and weight which may hinder enthusiasm for the wheel size. There will definitely be something for gravel aficionados to get excited about at Sea Otter, but how the market actually responds to any of this is still a big unknown. 

I noted industry wonks in a couple of Taipei Cycle Show videos I watched being sort of lukewarm about the impact of 32"ers. Industry issues in MTB are still being felt as inventory gluts in certain segments are still being worked through. Consumer enthusiasm for buying new stuff is still not very good. One online publication even puts forth the notion that 32" wheels have come at "the wrong time" and should be put on pause.  

Perhaps Sea Otter will boost enthusiasm on the consumer side and industry folks who are hesitant to mark this as "The Next Big Thing" will suddenly change their attitudes. In my opinion, shops are hurting across the country. Many won't want to stock something as unknown a quantity and which represents a big risk financially. There will be questions about the sustainability of such a wheel size. Maybe it will be like fat bikes - People ran out and bought them like crazy for a few years, and then the bottom fell out of that market. Or perhaps it will be like 650B/27.5"ers which were touted as the "Next Big Thing" in 2011 but are nowhere near the popularity today which was promised by purveyors of the wheel size fifteen years ago now. 

We will see. But one thing is for sure - 32 is creating a buzz unlike anything seen in this decade so far. Will it hang on? Will consumers float this wheel size into the future? It'll be an uphill battle, in my opinion, but we shall see. 

Image courtesy of Scwalbe social media

Bonus Material:

One of my dear blog readers sent me a link to a test/review of the bicycle you see here in the image from Schwalbe's social media. 

It is a great comprehensive look at 32"ers and in particular, from a drop bar perspective. Now.....they call this gravel riding in Germany, but it sure looks like average MTB trail riding terrain in my eyes. Your mileage may vary, but "gravel" ain't "gravel" unless it is crushed rock road. 

At any rate, give this link a shot. It's in German, so you have to hit your translation function in your browser, which even then will make the read a bit challenging, because German to English is not a smooth transition! 

But the gist of it will come through. Most interesting to me was the last bit concerning the UCI gravel series and 32"ers. Looks like they are banned from competition for now. This may seriously affect things in Europe. But seeing as how the UCI has little to no influence on the US market it shouldn't be an issue for events here unless there are further developments which would make 32"ers illegal. 
 

Gravel Grinder News: Shand Cycles Stramish Gravel Bike

The new Stramish by Strand Cycles

Note: All images and information used in this article were provided by Shand Cycles. Comments are Guitar Ted's. 

Today Shand Cycles from the United kingdom unveils its all-new version of the Stramish gravel bike. This steel frame, carbon forked bike has several new features which  should pique the interest of the adventurous cyclist. 

This bike is hand fabricated and painted in the UK and is available by order with a delivery of six to eight weeks. 

Shand says that "stramish" means a racket, or disturbance, in Scottish, and fits the intentions of this adventure/gravel bike perfectly. The Stramish uses a Columbus steel tubing for the main frame and has 50mm tire clearance. There are two sets of water bottle bosses in the main triangle, a set under the down tube, and top tube "bento-box" accessory mounts as well as the "Three-pack" style mounts on the carbon fork. Of course, it wouldn't be a UK bike without mudguard mounts and rack mounts.    

Shand is now making their own stainless steel rear drop outs and with this model the addition of a UDH hanger is also adopted. Note the split in the frame which allows the rider to choose a belt driven drive train, if so desired. 

Furthermore, the T-47 type bottom bracket shell allows for the use of a standard threaded bottom bracket or an eccentric insert, so the bike is compatible with geared drive trains, single speed, or internally geared hubs as well. This provides for a multitude of set ups using the Stramish as a platform. 

The geometry of the Stramish is ready for adventure, but not too far removed from standard gravel geometry that it looses its identity trying to be a drop bar mountain bike. The frame comes in four sizes: Small, Medium, Large, and Xtra Large.  

The Stramish is available now and starts at  £5,495/$7,245.00 USD See this bike and other Shand Cycles models at their website HERE. 

Comments: I'm fairly picky about what I choose to post here for press releases. So much of what gets slid across my inbox represents sameness or is of little relevance to gravel or adventure cycling, so it gets passed on from me. However; this bike has something unique and fits right into the adventure/ultra-distance/gravel grinder type thing which I personally find intriguing. I hope that you do as well.  

The Stramish isn't what I would term as "racy", although one could race on it. The geometry is very good, in my opinion, and stack height is neither too slammed or too upright. While I realize there are some elements of gravel riders who are not going to look at anything new without mahoosive tire clearances, I find this 50mm maximum to be quite adequate for all-around - all-road uses. If you ride on single track, mountain trails, or the like, then maybe I can see your point but there are plenty of drop bar mountain bikes now for those pursuits.  

The price is steep. Especially to get one here in the USA. However; what isn't really expensive now and what other steel bikes have the versatility the Stramish has? Stateside we have the Co-Motion Divide, a similar steel bike, and when configured to do what the Stramish could do it costs about the same. So, I think the value is certainly there with this Shand Cycles model.  

Do You Really Want To Know?

What's on the other side?

 We asked for listener questions the other day on the latest Guitar Ted Podcast, and one came in this past weekend which had me thinking quite a bit. The question will get addressed soon enough, but one part of the consideration I had for the question landed on something which is close to my heart. 

Do we really need to know? 

You might say in answer, "What do you mean?  What is it we might need to know?" 

And it could go a lot of ways from this point.  But keeping things cycling related, I was thinking that, speaking for myself here, I tend to get a lot more excited about going on a ride where there are elements to the ride I do not know about. Unfamiliarity with a course, or roads, is an obvious one there.  

It could be as simple as taking a road I haven't been on, ever, or for a while. Or it could be meeting new people. Whatever it is, not knowing things is exciting. Taken a bit further, getting lost is even more exciting. Okay, you may not like feeling lost, but sometimes I do like this feeling. As long as the end comes out on the positive side, I think getting a little lost is fun. 

I know.....I'm a bit odd that way. 

So, I saw this new bit from some route-finding app which promises AI analytics for any given gravel course. You plot in the route, say from a GPS file you were sent by an event, and this program tells you all about the road surfaces, elevation gradients, and more. Now......maybe it actually works, I do not know. I don't care either. But what got me was that people want to spoil their experience. To me, this takes all the excitement right out of going to an event. 

Image by Wally Kilburg (R.I.P.)

 Maybe if you "know all the stuff" ahead of time it makes you feel safer. Perhaps this is the motivation? Or perhaps you "have an advantage" of some sort? I don't know. I think you've just sucked the life out of your possible cool experience. But you do you....

The world is a dangerous place. Knowing everything" you can know ahead of time does not take the danger away. It is a sick illusion. It just takes your focus off the thing that could be giving you "life". That "oh shit!" moment when your heart rate spikes and you somehow pull out of there with most of your skin intact and a great story to tell. I don't know, but I'd rather have that than a saran wrapped, safe ride with zero surprises and nothing exciting. 

Image by Jason Boucher

Kind of like the day we did the Tree In The Road Ride. Nothing turned out like we expected it to. There was a split in the group, we got sort of lost, our GPS units were being weird, and it was hot as Hades, but ya know what? 

It was damn fun. That's what. 

Had I known what lay ahead that day? Had I known it wasn't going to work the way we had intended it to? Yeah.... I probably would have totally short-circuited one of the funnest rides I've been on in a long time. 

Sometimes it is better not to know. 

Choosing For The L.O.G.

The current state of the Gen I Fargo

 In a little less than three weeks from now I hopefully will be in Kansas for the Legends of Gravel ride. I have ridden quite a bit in Kansas, so I do have somewhat of an idea of what I am getting myself into there. But bicycle choice for an event is always something I end up tripping myself over anyway. It seems inevitable. 

The obvious choice would be to go with my Gen I Fargo. I've ridden this bike down there before and I know it would do quite well. My only concern is for the tires. 

While you do not hear about all the flat tires you used to hear about down there, the chance for tire failure is much higher than anywhere else I might be riding near me. Yes....goat heads, sharp rocks, and thorns reside waiting to assail your tires in other parts of the USA, but around here flat tires are rare. So, it doesn't take much of an increase in risk factor to raise my level of concern, and the Flint Hill demand respect. 

N.Y. Roll has offered me his pair of Vittoria Mezcals to put on this bike. I could do that. I have those Schwalbe G-One AllRoads. I also have a pair of Cannonball tires from Teravail I could use. Actually, the Cannonballs were on this Fargo at one time. Back when my Maxxis Ikons failed just before the DK20 and I had to buy the Cannonballs which were, at that time, the Official Tire of the DK200. (Now Continental is the Official Tires of Unbound) 

Anyway... I'm changing tires, because the ones on there now are not going to be up to the task. 

The Noble GX5

The other bike under consideration is my Noble GX5. The reasoning behind taking this bike would be the lighter weight of this bike. 

Generally I haven't taken this bike anywhere I would be on a remote, longer ride because it only has three bottle mounts. The original fork had no accessory mounts. So, with limited water carrying capabilities, I would end up using another bike instead. 

However; now that it has the State Bicycle Co Monster Fork on there, I have bottle mounts and this alleviates the water carrying issue. A bonus to this fork is that it will clear a 29"er X 2.1" tire. So, that would maybe be handy in the Flint Hills. 

My only concern is this bike does not have a Redshift Sports ShockStop stem on it. I could snatch one off another bike though. If I decide to go with the Noble I'd make the switch. It would be a lot nicer on the body if I did!

The third choice would be the Singular Gryphon. It's got big tires and a ShockStop stem already. It also has one of my favorite drop bars in the Ragley Luxy Bar. It's heavy though, and I'm not in the greatest shape right at the moment due to all the wonky weather we've had since the beginning of the year. 

Gotta make up my mind soon. Stay tuned....

The Path To Discovering Gravel: Part 5

Riders in the first Trans Iowa 2005 (Image courtesy of Joe Pqrtridge)

 This is Part 5 of a mini-series of posts telling the story of what it was like to attend events in the early days of the Modern Gravel Era.In today's post I wanted to cover some of the gear used by folks competing in gravel events before there were gravel bikes, gravel tires, or "gravel anything" to buy. 

Early on the bicycles used for most gravel events were mountain bikes. This was likely due to the usage of mountain bikes on gravel roads for training rides in the Mid-West, and because cyclo cross bikes were rare in the Mid- West at the time. 

Not surprisingly, most of those mountain bikes were 26 inch wheeled bikes. 29"ers were still fairly new, having debuted in 1999, and were not widely available in 2005 - 2007 yet. But there were some 29"ers at every early gravel race I was at in the early years of gravel grinding.  

Constantine Peters single speed at T.I.v6 (Image courtesy of A. Andonopoulos)

 One of the early trends in bicycles for gravel racing in the early days was single speed. From the jump, single speed bicycles, and in some cases, fixed gear bicycles, have been a theme. Drop bar, straight bar, 26", 700c, or 29'er. Single speed was preferred by many riders for the reliability factor, their ease of in-the-field repair, and because extreme conditions did not foul their drive train. 

A drop bar single speed from T.I.v2 in 2006 Image by Jeff Kerkove

 Many ideas flowed into gravel cycling from ultra-distance mountain biking and the Great Divide/Tour Divide style events. Bags to carry extra gear are not a new thing! Top tube bags, feed bags, frame bags, and seat packs were all in existence at the onset of gravel events and helped gravel events be a possibility as they were formeatted back then. Shorter gravel events which popped up did not force this sort of adaptation, but the events like Trans Iowa, DK200, and later, Gravel Worlds, did push boundaries and innovation followed. 

Take fork mounted water bottles. These water bottle bosses are now ubiquitous features on many adventure/gravel bikes. These mounts did not exist on bicycles before around 2008 with the introduction of Salsa Cycles' Fargo model. Before this, riders could be seen using hose clamps to put water bottles on fork blades to increase water carrying capacity and to provide an easier access to water while riding. I would have to think what Salsa saw at early gravel events was responsible for this, now common, feature of gravel and adventure cycling. 

HED's Andy Tetmeyer's bike at the 2017 Almanzo 100

From the earliest days of gravel brands have used events to test product. This was evident from about 2008 onward. 

Salsa Cycles was probably the forerunner in these areas, but other brands like WTB, Clement/Donnelly, HED, and even Shimano were testing product on gravel early on. Shimano's participation in gravel eventually led to the first gravel-specific group set for bicycles in their GRX range of componentry. 

So, it was fun for the eagle-eyed to spy new tech being tested at gravel events. This development led to things gravel riders expect as stock features on their 2026 gravel bikes. Carbon wheels, tubeless tires, wide range group sets, and accessory mounts. All things which did not exist in the 2000's at gravel events. 

Can you even imagine such a time? You show up at an event with a biccyle using either a mixture of road and MTB gearing, or on a mountain bike. This bike has maybe three  bottle mounts and that is it. You have to figure out how to carry enough water to get through the event. There are no GPS tracks, so you have to use cue cards and how do you manage mounting those? Lights were nothing like today's amazing technology, so how do you get lights good enough to see going downhill at 35mph and last for eight hours? Where do you stuff all the food you need because there are no aid stations? How many tubes do you carry and what patch kit do you get? 

These and a hundred other questions no one has to ask anymore were regularly asked back in the early days of gravel. It was certainly a wild time in the sport's history. 

Friday News And Views

Image courtesy of Corima

Corima Shows New Gravel Racing Wheel Set:

Spring cycle shows are not limited to Sea Otter. Recently Cycling World Europe showed consumers and media new wares for sale. One of those being a new wheel set from Corima. Perhaps more well known here in the States for track racing, Corima has been involved in carbon fiber wheel construction for quite some time now. Their newest wheel set is for gravel racing and is called the 50G. 

As indicated by the name, this wheel set has a 50mm deep, aero profile with a 27mm inner rim width which Corima advises is best for 35mm to 60mm wide 700c diameter tires. *Why do Euro brands insist on calling these 28" wheels? Weird)

With hookless rim sidewalls the maximum pressure allowed for 35mm tires is 58psi. Wheel weight for the pair is claimed to be 1,550 grams. The price is approximately $1,850.00 USD. 

Comments: Corima claims gravel racing is getting "smoother, faster, and more competitive". So......more like road racing? Got it. 

Look for more aero stuff to be released soon. I feel as though the lack of unpaved routes outside of the USA and particularly in Europe is going to drive design closer to road racing in one sense. Although plenty of bikes seem to have been shown at Cycling World Europe to give one some hope that this is not going to be totally the case there across the pond. 

Image courtesy of social media

The 32" Watch: Taipei Bike Show 2026:

This week the Taipei Bike Show is wrapping up and several sightings of 32" wheeled product were noted. I won't cover everything in detail here, but I will note a few things I was struck by after seeing what was shown and hearing what attendees had to say about 32"ers. 

First of all, 32"ers are not going to be just a flash in the pan. This category is getting the full Original Equipment treatment. This was evident in offerings in suspension forks from the likes of Sun Tour, Xfusion and a few other mid-level and entry level suspension fork companies. 

This would indicate there are big-brand commitments to offer entry level to mid-tier offerings in the XC hardtail marketplace. Bikes like Rockhoppers and Marlins, as an example. I would think there would be a three-stage sizing scheme where some brand, (Trek?) will offer 27.5 as XS and Small sizes, 29"er at Medium and Large, and 32"ers at Large/XL/XXL. 

Tires: There weren't any big name brand tires dropped but I heard specifically from a video watched that Vittoria's Peyote 32"er is "in development" and "other brands are working on this" size tire. On bike was shown with a 32"er Schwalbe Rick Race XC tire. Forks: With no big name brand forks or tires being introduced/shown, at least publicly, it would indicate to me that IF there are to be Rock Shox/Fox/Marzocchi 32"er forks they would likely be 2027 product and maybe  we'll see some sneak peeks at Sea Otter. 

No talk or sightings of any gravel related product, but..... I think Sea Otter will be interesting. 

Industry chatter from the embedded folks at Taipei Cycle Show seem to indicate a sort of indifference to almost a disappointment in the development of 32"ers. But as I recall, acceptance of the 29"er concept was pretty cool from within the industry as well. Even as far as brands like Specialized, Giant, and Yeti saying 'they would never make a 29"er' and coming up with derogatory terms for the wheel size. Negativity for 32"ers may not be at this level, but we've heard this story before. 

Listener Comments & Questions Episode:

The latest Guitar Ted Podcast just dropped. In this episode we answer a bunch of listener sent questions which cover bike geometry, tires for cornering on gravel, and more.

Give it a listen by finding the Guitar Ted Podcast on your favorite podcast platform or check it out on the Spotify homepage HERE. 

We had a lot of fun fielding these questions and we would like to continue to offer our listeners the chance to ask questions which we will answer in future episodes of "Listener Questions & Comments". 

Just send in any question about cycling, gravel riding, or whatever related cycling question you may have to g.ted.productions@gmail.com. Then listen to the next LQC episode and hear N.Y. Roll and I riff on your questions, comments, or whatever you have on your mind you'd like to hear us chat about.  

Thanks for checking out the podcast! 

The Adventure Monkey Returns:

Years ago a bicycle rider and photographer, Eric Benjamin, was instrumental in popularizing gravel riding.  He started off with his blog and then moved to a proper "dot-com" later on. His site included stories, trip reports, and of course, his stunning imagery from his adventures. 

Eric then had a health scare and kind of dropped out of cycling for several years. But now he is back, and he has jump-started his old site as well. 

You can read about his journey HERE.  It's an open, honest, raw look at what Eric has gone through. Plus you will get a sense of what it was that drew many of us toward riding gravel back in the 2000's. Well worth your time to read. 

I'm linking Eric's Adventure Monkey blog to the right sidebar here so when he posts new material it will show up there. Make sure you check it out and support him as you can.  

Image courtesy of Wolf Tooth Components

Wolf Tooth Components Introduces "Mark0" Component Line:

Wolf Tooth Components has just announced a high-end range of race-oriented, tweaked components which they are calling "Mark0". (MK0 for short) 

Identified by their Shadow Gray anodized surfaces, these components are optimized by Wolf Tooth for the highest performance and lightest weight possible. 

Wolf Tooth's press release says: "Design detail examples include ceramic bearings, DLC-coated titanium hardware, and finely-detailed machine profiles to shave every possible gram in pursuit of speed."

You can check out all the MK0 components HERE.  

 Thanks for reading Guitar Ted Productions! Go ride those bikes today!

Review: BT OrthoCell Road Tape Update & An Idea

 Note: Ergon sent the SR Allroad saddle and the BT OrthoCell Road handle bar tape to Guitar Ted Productions at no cost for test and review. Ergon has not paid for, nor bribed Guitar Ted for these reviews. All opinions and images, unless noted, belong to Guitar Ted/Guitar Ted Productions.

What It Is & Expectations:

It is time for an update on this review of the Ergon BT OrthoCell Handlebar Tape. You can check back on previous posts on this product by following the link HERE and clicking back to the intro from a link on that post.  

The promise of this handlebar tape is that it will reduce vibrations which are generated by riding over gravel or rough roads. This would be realized as less numbness, less fatigue in the hands, and a reduction in any pain, hopefully. I think this BT OrthoCell tape does do all of these things. 

While BT OrthoCell does not eliminate vibrations, pain, or numbness, it can be a vital element in helping to make a rider more comfortable. It needs to be mentioned that previous physical conditions and ailments a rider brings with them, and how a rider is fit to any particular bicycle will have major implications as to the effectiveness of this product. So, if one goes into using BT OrthoCell tape with a poor fit to a bicycle, or previous ailments which are going to persist whether or not you use any brand of handlebar tape, that person may feel this review is in error. This is something I would expect and understand if it happens. 

An Idea:

One more thing to add. In my years of experience being a retail bicycle mechanic, and after talking with many riders, it is evident many riders spend their time "on the hoods" while using drop bars. 

This is something which struck me as I was using the BT OrthoCell tape. Unless you ride a lot in the drops, (I tend to), or on the tops next to the stem, (I do occasionally), you would miss any benefits of the BT OrthoCell tape. 

So, what if Ergon got with Shimano, or SRAM, or ideally both, and made hoods for their drop bar levers using this OrthoCell material? Wouldn't this be even better? 

Actually, I suggested this very thing to my Ergon contact, so.....maybe someday? I think it would be a stellar idea. It would provide an entire systemic approach to handlebar tape/hood comfort using a material proven to make riding more enjoyable. 

My Thoughts On The BT OrthoCell Tape So Far:

Finally, before I ride off from this update, I did want to mention the tape has a good grip quality. Either with or without gloves,  The great grip qualities come with no tackiness or sticky feelings at all. The "give" in the tape also enhances this quality of the tape. While it has been too cool for any sweat-inducing riding where I could gauge how well the grip is sustained through a sweated surface, I hope to find this out before the final update.

So the BT OrthoCell tape is a good tape for vibration reduction. It is comfortable, but not squishy. It remains firm in the hand, like a good, thick cork/cork-like tape would feel. It is not rubbery, plastic feeling, or slippery. The BT OrthoCell is definitely more "traditional" feeling despite the techy material it is made from. So far, I am quite happy to use it for gravel rides. 

The final update should occur within the next few weeks, hopefully. Thanks for reading this review! 

"Rack Me" - A Follow-Up

Kuat Piston Pro (Image courtesy of Kuat)

Last weekend in my running series, "Two Things", I asked about hitch racks for an upcoming trip, and occasional usage afterward, and you readers sure came through with answers!

And I am getting really tired of watching reviews on car racks! My goodness! Some people should not be on camera. But I slogged through several of them, considered the advise I received on the comments from the post over the weekend, and I have arrived at some thoughts so far.

It's coming down to a few things which I think are important, and a few things I just have opinions about which are maybe no big deal to some of you readers here. 

First, I am getting away from as much plastic bits as I can. This maybe isn't a big deal, but plastic generally doesn't hold up great and well.....I just don't want it on my rack. This steered me away from more traditional rack brands like Thule, Yakima, and some of the Saris stuff out there. 

Secondly, I think the One-Up style rack is superior, and every good rack company has their take on this iconic design out now. In my opinion, One-Up's more "ala carte" way of selling isn't really easy to navigate, for me at any rate. I do appreciate their videos on the site explaining every detail of their product line. But other companies have caught up and have easier ways to understand buying their product than One-Up does. Again....my opinion. 

Saris MK2 (Image courtesy of Saris)

My price point is a little shy of what I see for features and what is available. Sheesh! These things are spendy! So, it is important to me that this rack lasts a while, is supported by a company with good customer service, and that will be around a while. I know there are no guarantees for any of those wishes, but this eliminated a couple of companies which are either too new or not well known. 

Details matter. There were a few things I hadn't thought about going in. Things like bike placement on the rack, ground clearance, and locks. I used to own a Thule T2 Pro, and it had a few things I would have missed had I not been reminded I liked those thing. Locks being one of those. 

Where I Am At With This So Far:

Okay, so what is tripping my trigger so far? Well, right now I am really leaning toward a Kuat Piston Pro. The reason why mainly has to do with a few things. One- It is easy to use. This really comes down to being functional for Mrs. Guitar Ted. If she can get along with how it works, and I feel this model from Kuat is super-easy to use, than that is a passing grade from me. 

One Up rack (Image courtesy of One Up)

Ease of use also kind of goes along with function. I like how the Kuat functions versus something like One Up. And again, while a One Up can be configured to match a Kuat pretty closely, there are so many extras you have to buy to get there with One Up it becomes a hassle and ends up being more expensive. That's my take on it. The shopping experience online is just more streamlined with Kuat. 

Saris is close, but lacks the ground clearance and has more plastic bits than I would like to see. So while their modular system is cool, it isn't what I need or would ever use, and so I'm out on this company. 

That's where I am at so far. If I get any other advice or see something which sways my opinion, I'll let y'all know, but for now the Kuat Piston Pro is looking like a front runner. 

Stay tuned. 

The Definition Of "Gravel"

Okay, so this whole "Gravel™" thing. What the heck? What does the term even mean anymore? It seems "gravel" can be darn near mountain biking or it could mean riding on paved back roads. It could be a full-suspension XC-MTB-ish bike or a bike packing/touring bike, or maybe an endurance road bike with clearance for 40mm tires. Does anyone have a handle on the definition for "gravel"? 

Even events are all over the place with this. So, I thought I'd dive into this mess and see if maybe there could be some sense made of it all. It doesn't help that the term "gravel" is the wrong term, but it is what we got stuck with early on. So, it is what I have to work with here. 

For the record, I would have preferred "all-road" for these bikes and riding style. I just wanted to get that out there up front. 

So, as with any good research project, it is good to know what the word means you are working on. I headed over to the Merriam-Webster's Dictionary for the definition of "gravel" and this is what I found..... 

Cut from the webpage for "gravel" on Merriam Webster's site

 So, now it all makes sense. All these variations have gravelled me into a state of confusion. Who knew "gravel" could be a verb? Do not let it be said that Guitar Ted Productions is not educational. Ha!

Obviously, we're most interested in the "loose rounded fragments of rock", and "a stratum or deposit of gravel - a surface covered with gravel, ie: a gravel road". 

I know, it makes so much sense when you see the definition. It also points out how far off the rails "Gravel™" has gone. It has made the original term defined here meaningless, or maybe a different definition is now required. I don't know...... I think words should be attached to specific meanings, and in terms of cycling, words seem to be pretty fluid. At least in this case it seems that way. 

Extreme gravel. Maybe even epic. 

 I know this might offend many people, but most cyclists who think they are riding gravel are not really riding gravel. This is not their fault. The term should never have been used. Because look - most people don't have crushed rock roads near them. And even if they did, they probably wouldn't want to ride a bicycle down them. Especially if the road looked like the image above! Which, I should point out, is a rare size of rock in Iowa. 

There are a lot of dirt roads all over the world. Some may even have some small gravel in them, on them, or near them. This is not gravel, as in crushed rock road, but it gets lumped into the whole "Gravel™" thing anyway. Besides, mountain bikers had the lock on "dirt", along with maybe BMX'ers, long before this whole thing with "Gravel™" came along. It would have been hard to make a catchy name using dirt anyway, so those roads were just co-opted into gravel riding and you know what? Nobody blinked an eye! We seem to have gotten away with adopting those roads into this scene. 

Then you have this situation in most areas where dirt, maybe crushed rock roads too, are not capable of being strung together into a continuous course. You have this pesky surface which we call "pavement". You sometimes will see courses which utilize this surface to string together the "good stuff". 

Besides, you sometimes will be going through towns and villages. It seems most civilized places in the USA want pavement. Not always, but generally - yes. So, pavement is on the menu in small doses, hopefully just small doses. Too much and we'd have to go by the name "roadie", don't cha know? Can't have that, now can we? . 

Look, this article is an exercise in futility,I understand this, but I also think you might get the point here. "Gravel™" is just the wrong name. I was going to use a stronger wording here and say the name we ended up with is "stupid", but back in 2010 or so most of the folks running roads unpaved were doing so on actual crushed rock. So I can forgive those folks who saddled this style of riding with the term gravel. However; I was also saying at that time we shouldn't use the term "gravel" and I really wish we wouldn't have landed on that term. 

But like I said, it is futile to think we would ditch "gravel" for what we do and use something much more sensible and easily defined like "all-road". So, I just hope everyone who reads this comes to the understanding of what the shortcomings are when we say gravel-this, or gravel-that, and see how vague and open-ended the results are for using this terminology. It is why you shouldn't be surprised to see a full-suspension MTB with drop bars called a "gravel bike" and why you also see road bikes doing gravel bike things at the other extreme, (but those are "endurance road bikes") 

As always, thanks for reading Guitar Ted Productions. 

Brown Season: Riding Into Spring

Escape Route: South Riverside Trail

 A little more than a week ago we were staring down a blizzard. High winds and snow battered us Sunday evening through until Monday evening. Then it got brutally cold with negative wind chills and air temperatures in the single digits on Tuesday. 

By Friday it was shirt-sleeve weather! 

What a crazy Winter, and I sure hope it is all over with. We were on a roller coaster of freezing, thawing, snow cover, no snow cover, all Winter long. But hopefully it is all done with, and this Spring can be a bit less up and down. 

Friday I took advantage of the nice weather and got out on my Honeman Flyer since it has all the Ergon stuff on it I am reviewing. It was 65°F and so I put on a wind vest, a short-sleeved jersey, my Twin Six bib knickers, and I wore normal cycling shoes. A bandana and Bontrager Circuit helmet rounded out the kit for the day. 

There were a lot of people enjoying Big Woods Lake on Friday

 

First gravel on Mt. Vernon Road. 

I saw the breeze was out of the Northwest before I left the house so I decided to use my "Northwest Passage" route out of town. It essentially follows the Cedar River along quiet city streets and bike paths, stays out of the wind, and allows me to get out of town without expending a lot of energy.Once I get away from Big Woods Lake I only have about two miles worth of headwind. 

The roads are nice! No fresh gravel......yet!

Not much snow in the ditches anymore here. Probably none now!

It's amazing how quickly the snow disappeared. Tuesday the ditches were full last week. Now on Friday, during my ride, snow was hard to come by, and most of it was stained black from dirt blowing into it during the storm. The winds scoured the snow off  during the blizzard and picked up the black dirt afterward. 

Angles in the Sky and angles on the ground. 

 

It felt like a Summer ride. I almost took the wind vest off a few times to stuff it into my jersey pocket, but I never did. I stuck it out. Because the heat was so unfamiliar to me at this point of the year for around these parts, I decided not to take a longer route. Later on, after I was at home for a while, I was happy I made that decision. 

 

One example of the rolling hills North of Waterloo.

Now we are back to what feels like Spring. This past weekend, well Friday and Saturday, at any rate, were straight out of Summer. It's too early for Summer! Hopefully Spring will be good. I need to get some miles in. 

Stay tuned....