tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12831567.post4175307011484097331..comments2024-03-28T08:40:23.164-05:00Comments on Guitar Ted Productions: Friday News And ViewsGuitar Tedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10960580677548417562noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12831567.post-85221259400444317152020-02-10T20:45:40.520-05:002020-02-10T20:45:40.520-05:00+1 on shirt & stickers!+1 on shirt & stickers!Derekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14475155788128587287noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12831567.post-61549300146514856282020-02-10T13:29:34.207-05:002020-02-10T13:29:34.207-05:00@Rydn9ers - Thanks for you thoughts. On my bikes- ...@Rydn9ers - Thanks for you thoughts. On my bikes- Only my "gravel" bikes weigh that little, but yeah.....I get it. Your pugs IS your gravel bike. Cheers! Guitar Tedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10960580677548417562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12831567.post-77682426143924872822020-02-10T11:22:30.567-05:002020-02-10T11:22:30.567-05:00Sorry to hear about the hit and run, as you say fa...Sorry to hear about the hit and run, as you say far too many of these happen in our country, far too often. <br /><br />If all your bicycles are 23 lbs or less, we ride different kinds of bicycles my friend. Ole Pugs with zero assist from anything other than tacos and beer tips the scale at 50 lbs when setup for longer gravel rides.Rydn9ershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13365397419875871840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12831567.post-73943794241892642732020-02-08T07:25:10.002-05:002020-02-08T07:25:10.002-05:00T-shirts and stickers. TI stuff always. AriT-shirts and stickers. TI stuff always. AriArihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13083766829086663770noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12831567.post-24201269580656480992020-02-07T17:15:00.458-05:002020-02-07T17:15:00.458-05:00Got chills when you said he was a second shift com...Got chills when you said he was a second shift commuter. Plenty of close calls when I used to do that. <br />Also, in for a shirt. Or sticker. Or whatever gets made. :)KChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15595904422854349191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12831567.post-30933246586252948902020-02-07T17:14:40.044-05:002020-02-07T17:14:40.044-05:00@Michael Lembereger - Thanks for that perspective....@Michael Lembereger - Thanks for that perspective. I am going to pass that along to a couple people in the CF fight for these issues. <br /><br />And stickers are good! I'll see if I can't get that rolling. Guitar Tedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10960580677548417562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12831567.post-20916333883347164632020-02-07T17:12:18.060-05:002020-02-07T17:12:18.060-05:00@ S Sprague - Noted! Thanks!@ S Sprague - Noted! Thanks!Guitar Tedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10960580677548417562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12831567.post-28863810586600219662020-02-07T16:47:10.268-05:002020-02-07T16:47:10.268-05:00GT, I'm in for a T-shirt! I like the cube as y...GT, I'm in for a T-shirt! I like the cube as you posted. It's a good design and timeless. Thanks!S Spraguehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02861366038585272365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12831567.post-25259726635958375432020-02-07T12:32:28.360-05:002020-02-07T12:32:28.360-05:00I saw the news about Gerrick on BikeIowa's Fac...I saw the news about Gerrick on BikeIowa's Facebook feed, and unfortunately, it's the usual gut punch. We're finally getting to the point here in Dane County where the DA is willing to prosecute for this sort of thing, but more often the traditional Oopsie-Daisy model of law enforcement applies where people on foot or on bicycles are concerned. These are just "accidents" after all, right?<br /><br />The bit of good news is that we've made great strides in Madison toward maintaining non-motorized infrastructure using this argument: <b>We spend money on facilities people actually use, so what's the point in abandoning it for 4-6 months out of the year? Do the people who use it go away in the winter?</b> Hammering the safety angle was very effective. People will listen to arguments about safety far more readily than anything else like the environment or exercise. It's worked so well, the city even found money to clear major paths on weekends. Contact me offline if you want more specifics.<br /><br />On a lighter note, I have so many t-shirts that I've come to love the space-saving advantage of stickers. I'd especially love more TI stickers.Michael Lembergerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17749139439039241349noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12831567.post-72450083928749341212020-02-07T11:24:31.294-05:002020-02-07T11:24:31.294-05:00@Scott - I had not considered this until I saw a d...@Scott - I had not considered this until I saw a discussion of how some riders of MTB-HPC's use this "feature" as a way to slow down hill descent speeds. Basically "motor-braking". Interesting. <br /><br />@Nebo - So noted. Again - If I can exceed the threshold to make each t-shirt cost a reasonable amount we will proceed. Thanks! Guitar Tedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10960580677548417562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12831567.post-89666603729896261362020-02-07T10:54:12.194-05:002020-02-07T10:54:12.194-05:00I would definitely purchase a t-shirt. Would prefe...I would definitely purchase a t-shirt. Would prefer something besides black but I'm in regardless.Nebohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08304855252627910354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12831567.post-58194851673730156832020-02-07T10:20:17.156-05:002020-02-07T10:20:17.156-05:00There's another little "feature" you...There's another little "feature" you might have to deal with on many HPCs. Once you exceed the max pedal assist speed (16 mph in your example above) the rider may experience motor drag on any additional pedaling efforts. So imagine hitting a nice long flat section of gravel and getting to 16 mph. Not only will you now be pedaling a 33lb road bike, power from your legs will be sapped by motor drag. I don't know for a fact that the Fazua Drive has pedal drag but I know the Bosch motors do. I recently rented the Trek Powerfly HPC and I could definitely notice the motor drag once the e-assist turned off at 20mph.Scotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05758145503638487390noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12831567.post-41629623052996703902020-02-07T09:22:09.836-05:002020-02-07T09:22:09.836-05:00@graveldoc - Appreciate the thoughts. Thank you.
...@graveldoc - Appreciate the thoughts. Thank you.<br /><br />@MuddyMatt - Thank you for your thoughts on the death of the rider here.<br /><br />Concerning what you said about the Kinesis Range HPC - Yes, you have it right. These are, and this is for the US too, "General Purpose" bicycles. That's where I had motioned the naming should go years ago, but the industry latched on to the term "gravel" and won't let it go. <br /><br />My thoughts, condensed down, are that THIS bike, the "GP" bicycle, is what most riders need. It will become the most versatile bike anyone can own, given an open mind and a chance. <br /><br />Now in particular concerning the UK and this specific Kinesis bike- I can absolutely understand and agree with your point. That said, bicycles like these are being marketed to us here for what we are doing, and this sort of limited platform (speed/power) idea is not going to work for most riders in rural areas. <br /><br />I've had event directors contacting me asking my opinions on how to accommodate racers with these electrified gravel racing bikes and it is a veritable can of worms. Provide drop spots for extra batteries? make riders choose when and when not to boost so logistics come into play? Have shorter courses just for these things? I don't know the answer, and then you get into cheating/modding. Bah! It's not going to end well. <br /><br />And as far as calling regular bicycles "acoustic" I think it is a subtle way for riders of HPC's to make light of "old technology" and gain a false sense of superiority when thinking of HPC's as "digital". It's goofy. I pay no mind to that tripe. Guitar Tedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10960580677548417562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12831567.post-20187355472738028332020-02-07T06:40:23.208-05:002020-02-07T06:40:23.208-05:00Mark - I posted my last comment without reading be...Mark - I posted my last comment without reading beyond the Kinesis segment - sorry to hear of the hit and run and I share your thoughts on the matter. I didn't want to appear crass by seeming to ignore the far more important news about this incident. My best thoughts go to the rider and family.<br /><br />Car-centric life reflects on us all, to our collective detriment.<br /><br />MattMuddyMatthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06774731534552286917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12831567.post-81862903874279998192020-02-07T06:29:32.649-05:002020-02-07T06:29:32.649-05:00Hi Mark, I think what no-one really admits to (esp...Hi Mark, I think what no-one really admits to (especially in marketing) is that gravel in the US is not the same as gravel in the UK - hence that Kinesis and it's trade off between battery size and range.<br /><br />Over here the tarmac is generally horrible - pot holes, scabby surfaces and a general dis-repair. On the flipside, we don't have miles of US-style gravel roads, although you can find it in very remote areas. The point is, to use a gravel bike on its intended surface you have to go on a road trip or holiday.<br /><br />What no-one admits is that most gravel riders in the UK are using gravel bikes as great commuter bikes - myself included. I can link short sections of off-road but the tracks are closer to singletrack than gravel in the main, and on 700x40 tyres on a rigid bike its not a great experience for more than a mile or so at a time.<br /><br />Used as a commuter, gravel bikes are superb - much more comfortable over rough tarmac, stable handling, slightly more upright for visibility but still with a turn of speed. You don't need to worry so much about crashing pot holes either so it's easier to hold a line with (lots) of traffic bearing down on you.<br /><br />Our marketing is about gravel and adventures and bike-packing - no-one has come up with a sexier story to compete with the promise of gravel. But our reality is a gravel bike is a great general purpose bike that lets you dream of those things instead!<br /><br />In that context, the 34 mile range makes better sense - even on a long commute you'll be able to re-charge in the evening. And the speed limiter is mandated by UK law for e-bikes. In practice commuting, I struggle on my Topstone to average more than 15-16mph over a 15 mile each way commute anyway, so being limited to 15.5mph on an e-bike doesn't seem such a bad thing. A lot of commuters would be riding slower too.<br /><br />You definitely won't be smashing out a century on one of these though without support! I agree with you; it can't live up to the gravel marketing and its an expensive fail too - but it does quietly succeed at it's real job.<br /><br />Thanks, Matt<br /><br />PS - I see people calling traditional bikes acoustic and e-bikes digital. But surely the opposite of digital is analogue??MuddyMatthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06774731534552286917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12831567.post-51372837292174095252020-02-07T05:55:07.885-05:002020-02-07T05:55:07.885-05:00This is shocking and my prayers are for the gentle...This is shocking and my prayers are for the gentleman's family. Since this is an election year, I hope cyclists in your area let their thoughts be known at town meetings and in their vote. graveldochttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07735646900935591880noreply@blogger.com