Friday News And Views

And so it begins..... #TIv14 registration started this week.

Trans Iowa v14 Registration Begins!

The post cards, which Trans Iowa has utilized as a way to register for the annual event since V3, are beginning to roll in to TI headquarters. (NOTE: If you want to know all the registration details, check the "Featured Post" on the right margin and click the title, "Trans Iowa v14 Registration Details") The first two cards rolled in on Thursday, and I suspect many more are on their way and will arrive today and tomorrow. 

The first wave of registration is for the past winners and riders of six or more Trans Iowas to get in. There aren't too many of them, and of course, not all will avail themselves of the opportunity to join in all the gravel games planned for next April. So, I suspect perhaps a few spots might roll over to the next wave of registration, which begins Wednesday next week, and will be for past Veterans and Finishers of Trans Iowa post Trans Iowa v8.  I decided that if any individuals hadn't bothered to be back and try Trans Iowa since Version 8 that they likely weren't coming back. That said, the third wave of registration, also reserved for Rookies to Trans Iowa, is for them. Enough has changed since v7 that the event will be pretty new to those older racers anyway. 

The registration won't be as exciting on my end as it was in those days when people were sending me flowers, gifts, and booze, but the post cards are all I really need anyway. It works, it is tradition, and it is simple. I don't see that the process is broken and I don't get many complaints about it either. So, it still is fun and as long as it does what I need it to do, I'll keep doing it that way. I'll post some finer examples if I get any soon.

27.5 carbon fat bike rims from Whiskey Parts.

Will 27.5" Fat Kill Off 26" Fat?

About two years ago now Trek decided to roll out 27.5" fat bike wheels. It was an introduction I didn't see coming, but then again, I haven't gotten much right about fat bikes anyway. I said 170mm rear ends were going to stick around and well.......y'all know how that has gone. I said that we would probably never see single wall, cut out carbon fat bike rimes and well.......they exist now. So whatever I thought about the 27.5" fat bike wheels is probably not worth my talking about and not worth your reading about.

But now that they exist, and now that other companies are jumping in, I have to wonder if that eventually spells the end of 26" fat. I am really curious about how 27.5" is going to work out, but I have heard it can be the bees knees. If other riders start choosing that bigger size over 26" fat stuff then I think the days of 26"er wheels are really going to be numbered. 

But that will take time, if it ever happens. In the meantime, just go ahead and assume I am wrong about that too. 

In the meantime, I was made aware of a new 27.5" carbon fat bike rim from my friend, Ben Witt, who happens to be the head honch over at Whiskey Parts. The No. 9 carbon rim is typical of many of the other Whiskey Parts rims, double wall, and tubeless ready, of course. These would lace up into a really sweet set of wheels for a 27.5" wheeled fat bike set up. I'm looking in to maybe switching over to 27.5" fat bike stuff, and these rims could be a good start on my way to that. 

We'll see........

Better than your Zip-Loc baggie? It's certainly more high tech!

 It's A Pouch Thingie:

I was just made aware of a high tech "pouch" gizmo that basically does what a sandwich baggie does, only, I guess, even better? That's what they say anyway.

It's called the "Multi Pouch" and comes from Spurcycle. Yes.......the same company that does those bells. This does the job of keeping your smaller, flatter valuables, like bank or credit cards, or that anachronism called cash, from getting wet and from getting lost. 

It's light, bieng made from that Cuban Fiber stuff, and it can be folded in a couple different ways, making it a versatile choice for packing with other things. It's light, and it is somewhat transparent, soyou can actually see what you packed in there. Anyway, I thought it might actually be a better deal than going through Zip-Loc baggies left and right. Those don't seem very durable to me.

I could see this being useful as a wallet, or a small paper map case, or as a place to stow smaller bits and pieces for........whatever, that you don't want to lose in a bigger bag of stuff. For under $30.00, it is a lot more expensive that the "dirt bag way" of using Zip-Locs, but it seems maybe a bit smarter. Maybe. 

Have a great weekend and get out there and ride those bikes.

Friday News And Views

And so it begins..... #TIv14 registration started this week.

Trans Iowa v14 Registration Begins!

The post cards, which Trans Iowa has utilized as a way to register for the annual event since V3, are beginning to roll in to TI headquarters. (NOTE: If you want to know all the registration details, check the "Featured Post" on the right margin and click the title, "Trans Iowa v14 Registration Details") The first two cards rolled in on Thursday, and I suspect many more are on their way and will arrive today and tomorrow. 

The first wave of registration is for the past winners and riders of six or more Trans Iowas to get in. There aren't too many of them, and of course, not all will avail themselves of the opportunity to join in all the gravel games planned for next April. So, I suspect perhaps a few spots might roll over to the next wave of registration, which begins Wednesday next week, and will be for past Veterans and Finishers of Trans Iowa post Trans Iowa v8.  I decided that if any individuals hadn't bothered to be back and try Trans Iowa since Version 8 that they likely weren't coming back. That said, the third wave of registration, also reserved for Rookies to Trans Iowa, is for them. Enough has changed since v7 that the event will be pretty new to those older racers anyway. 

The registration won't be as exciting on my end as it was in those days when people were sending me flowers, gifts, and booze, but the post cards are all I really need anyway. It works, it is tradition, and it is simple. I don't see that the process is broken and I don't get many complaints about it either. So, it still is fun and as long as it does what I need it to do, I'll keep doing it that way. I'll post some finer examples if I get any soon.

27.5 carbon fat bike rims from Whiskey Parts.

Will 27.5" Fat Kill Off 26" Fat?

About two years ago now Trek decided to roll out 27.5" fat bike wheels. It was an introduction I didn't see coming, but then again, I haven't gotten much right about fat bikes anyway. I said 170mm rear ends were going to stick around and well.......y'all know how that has gone. I said that we would probably never see single wall, cut out carbon fat bike rimes and well.......they exist now. So whatever I thought about the 27.5" fat bike wheels is probably not worth my talking about and not worth your reading about.

But now that they exist, and now that other companies are jumping in, I have to wonder if that eventually spells the end of 26" fat. I am really curious about how 27.5" is going to work out, but I have heard it can be the bees knees. If other riders start choosing that bigger size over 26" fat stuff then I think the days of 26"er wheels are really going to be numbered. 

But that will take time, if it ever happens. In the meantime, just go ahead and assume I am wrong about that too. 

In the meantime, I was made aware of a new 27.5" carbon fat bike rim from my friend, Ben Witt, who happens to be the head honch over at Whiskey Parts. The No. 9 carbon rim is typical of many of the other Whiskey Parts rims, double wall, and tubeless ready, of course. These would lace up into a really sweet set of wheels for a 27.5" wheeled fat bike set up. I'm looking in to maybe switching over to 27.5" fat bike stuff, and these rims could be a good start on my way to that. 

We'll see........

Better than your Zip-Loc baggie? It's certainly more high tech!

 It's A Pouch Thingie:

I was just made aware of a high tech "pouch" gizmo that basically does what a sandwich baggie does, only, I guess, even better? That's what they say anyway.

It's called the "Multi Pouch" and comes from Spurcycle. Yes.......the same company that does those bells. This does the job of keeping your smaller, flatter valuables, like bank or credit cards, or that anachronism called cash, from getting wet and from getting lost. 

It's light, bieng made from that Cuban Fiber stuff, and it can be folded in a couple different ways, making it a versatile choice for packing with other things. It's light, and it is somewhat transparent, soyou can actually see what you packed in there. Anyway, I thought it might actually be a better deal than going through Zip-Loc baggies left and right. Those don't seem very durable to me.

I could see this being useful as a wallet, or a small paper map case, or as a place to stow smaller bits and pieces for........whatever, that you don't want to lose in a bigger bag of stuff. For under $30.00, it is a lot more expensive that the "dirt bag way" of using Zip-Locs, but it seems maybe a bit smarter. Maybe. 

Have a great weekend and get out there and ride those bikes.

Friday News And Views

Salsa's Beargrease goes to 27.5"ers on the current style frame.

Saddledrive 17:

The annual Saddledrive show is going on now. It is the show where QBP shows select dealers the newest rigs that will be, maybe, on dealers showroom floors this Fall and in to 2018.

Only you don't get to see any of it until September 8th. Thus saith the Q.

Apparently QBP wants to control the message more so than in the past, where dealers were pumping out images on social media and talking up stuff that wasn't quite cooked up enough for the Q to have out there quite yet. In fact, dealers were sworn to secrecy by the Q with an embargo agreement. All the 2018 line was shown in a special room sequestered away from prying eyes. This isn't entirely new for QBP, by the way. They did something similar when they announced privately to dealers the DW Split Pivot bikes.

So, all you are going to get now is a peek at Mukluk colors for 2018 and the Beargrease with 27.5" fat bike wheels. Same frame, by the way, just different wheels. Surly has the ECR in 27.5+ wheels in size medium on down and 29+ in size medium on up. The Straggler gets a new, blue sparkly colorway. That's about it for now.

So,stay tuned until September 8th when the wraps are lifted off and Salsa (and I assume Surly as well) is free to disseminate the new 2018 stuff.

Cyclo cross is hard, so e-bike it!

 First They Said You Can't- Then They Say You Should:

Remember all that ballyhoo about the Belgian cyclo crosser that had an electric motor in her seat tube and got banned from CX for it? The UCI got real serious about all of this and they even went so far as to develop testing machines that officials could employ at future events to detect any "e-doping" that may be occurring. To date, I have not heard that anyone has been busted.

So, e-biking in UCI cyclo cross events is a no-no, yes?

Well, maybe not! 

Apparently there is going to be a cyclo cross event at the next UCI sanctioned Cross Vegas, dubbed a "fun event", where e-biking will not only be allowed, but encouraged. Check the following quote out from the press release for this event: "The event is open to men and women riding any style of e-bike. It is a "bring your own bike" event; however, 15 lucky entrants will ride a Focus e-whip for the race."

So, any e-bike? Like, even modified, no speed limited e-bikes?

Wow!

I know cyclo cross is hard, so ya know......let 'em use motors, I guess. I'm just waiting for the basketball hoops to be lowered so even I can dunk. "When everyone is special......no one will be."

Sheesh! Giving us a break, I see.

GTDRI Is Tomorrow:

At 6:00am tomorrow, the Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational will head out from Reinbeck, Iowa to ride 102+ miles and 25 miles of that dirt. The ride will have four people on it, as far as I know, plus myself.

The weather is weird for this event this year. Usually it is in the 70's at the onset of riding and gets into the 90's with high humidity by the afternoon. This, combined with some of the stupid-difficult courses I have come up with, have conspired to make the ride a real "death ride", or as close to real death as you'd want to get.

This isn't a totally unprecedented situation though. I do recall the first attempt at the Egin-Elkader-Garber-Strawberry Point area course where the temperatures were mild with low humidity. That was nearly ten years ago. The second GTDRI was cut short by a thunderstorm, which we were caught out in. That one wasn't too bad either.

But typically it was almost always hot, humid, and really hard to ride. This year it seems we have caught another break as the heat and humidity have been tempered by a cold front with cooler, drier air, that blew through here yesterday. Hey, I ain't complainin', I just think it is odd.

So, I think many of you might be surprised to find out what rig I am taking on this adventure. You'll have to wait until Monday to find out what it was. I am pretty stoked to give this a whirl, that's for sure.

That's all I have. Look for a recap of the GTDRI to start on Monday. Have a great weekend and keep the rubber side down, y'all!

 

Friday News And Views

Salsa's Beargrease goes to 27.5"ers on the current style frame.

Saddledrive 17:

The annual Saddledrive show is going on now. It is the show where QBP shows select dealers the newest rigs that will be, maybe, on dealers showroom floors this Fall and in to 2018.

Only you don't get to see any of it until September 8th. Thus saith the Q.

Apparently QBP wants to control the message more so than in the past, where dealers were pumping out images on social media and talking up stuff that wasn't quite cooked up enough for the Q to have out there quite yet. In fact, dealers were sworn to secrecy by the Q with an embargo agreement. All the 2018 line was shown in a special room sequestered away from prying eyes. This isn't entirely new for QBP, by the way. They did something similar when they announced privately to dealers the DW Split Pivot bikes.

So, all you are going to get now is a peek at Mukluk colors for 2018 and the Beargrease with 27.5" fat bike wheels. Same frame, by the way, just different wheels. Surly has the ECR in 27.5+ wheels in size medium on down and 29+ in size medium on up. The Straggler gets a new, blue sparkly colorway. That's about it for now.

So,stay tuned until September 8th when the wraps are lifted off and Salsa (and I assume Surly as well) is free to disseminate the new 2018 stuff.

Cyclo cross is hard, so e-bike it!

 First They Said You Can't- Then They Say You Should:

Remember all that ballyhoo about the Belgian cyclo crosser that had an electric motor in her seat tube and got banned from CX for it? The UCI got real serious about all of this and they even went so far as to develop testing machines that officials could employ at future events to detect any "e-doping" that may be occurring. To date, I have not heard that anyone has been busted.

So, e-biking in UCI cyclo cross events is a no-no, yes?

Well, maybe not! 

Apparently there is going to be a cyclo cross event at the next UCI sanctioned Cross Vegas, dubbed a "fun event", where e-biking will not only be allowed, but encouraged. Check the following quote out from the press release for this event: "The event is open to men and women riding any style of e-bike. It is a "bring your own bike" event; however, 15 lucky entrants will ride a Focus e-whip for the race."

So, any e-bike? Like, even modified, no speed limited e-bikes?

Wow!

I know cyclo cross is hard, so ya know......let 'em use motors, I guess. I'm just waiting for the basketball hoops to be lowered so even I can dunk. "When everyone is special......no one will be."

Sheesh! Giving us a break, I see.

GTDRI Is Tomorrow:

At 6:00am tomorrow, the Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational will head out from Reinbeck, Iowa to ride 102+ miles and 25 miles of that dirt. The ride will have four people on it, as far as I know, plus myself.

The weather is weird for this event this year. Usually it is in the 70's at the onset of riding and gets into the 90's with high humidity by the afternoon. This, combined with some of the stupid-difficult courses I have come up with, have conspired to make the ride a real "death ride", or as close to real death as you'd want to get.

This isn't a totally unprecedented situation though. I do recall the first attempt at the Egin-Elkader-Garber-Strawberry Point area course where the temperatures were mild with low humidity. That was nearly ten years ago. The second GTDRI was cut short by a thunderstorm, which we were caught out in. That one wasn't too bad either.

But typically it was almost always hot, humid, and really hard to ride. This year it seems we have caught another break as the heat and humidity have been tempered by a cold front with cooler, drier air, that blew through here yesterday. Hey, I ain't complainin', I just think it is odd.

So, I think many of you might be surprised to find out what rig I am taking on this adventure. You'll have to wait until Monday to find out what it was. I am pretty stoked to give this a whirl, that's for sure.

That's all I have. Look for a recap of the GTDRI to start on Monday. Have a great weekend and keep the rubber side down, y'all!