Silver Makes A Comeback

Shimano GRX Limited (Image courtesy of Shimano)

 I'm an old school cyclist in some ways. I came up when components were silver. I have had friction shift bikes when I was young. Not that I am in any way a 'retro-grouch', (Older cyclists will know where that term originated from), but there are certain things which I think have gone away that deserve a come back tour, and maybe might make sense today more than ever. (Friction shift front derailleurs for one.)

Anyway, I loved silver anodized components when they were done right. Maybe the pinnacle of beautaciousness when it comes to silver anodized parts is the original Shimano XTR. That stuff was just so good looking when new. It literally glowed. There was a Sugino crank set that was similarly anodized, as I recall, but that entire XTR group back in 1992 was just tops in my opinion.

Levers will also be silver. (Image courtesy of Shimano)

Then everything went black. Even road bike groups ended up becoming all black anodized. Silver was out! While black was cool, and it went with everything.....

Boring!

And to make matters worse, black looked just about like plastic, and the lowest level components could mimic that look with ease. So any attempt to set yourself apart from the crowd with high-end components in terms of aesthetics was pretty muted. 

Now, that is not to say that Shimano hasn't tried. They have. One year XT was silver in the late 90's, but Shimano made it look painted. They kind of carried that look through into this century, and some of that was cool. But it just was not that pearly goodness that XTR had been, nor was it shiny silver anodized in most cases. (There were exceptions)

XTR itself came out in grey hues several times, which I also liked, but again- no cigar when it comes to shiny silver. Maybe being 'pretty' and mountain biking don't go together? Whatever! I missed silver anodized drive train parts!

GRX Limited will only be available as a complete set up, 1X or 2X, or flat bar.

Shimano announced the GRX Limited on Tuesday, and I got a sneak-peek at it via the press release. It's not the same anodization Shimano used on the original XTR, but it is brushed. Sort of a stainless steel look, I guess. I have (hopefully) seen it this morning as you read this as I am supposed to be at the All Things Gravel Expo for a bit before I come home. Stay tuned for my trip report which starts tomorrow.

My hope is that enough interest is seen at the OEM level that silver ano makes a comeback for real. I would love me some shiny bits on my bikes again! And to be honest, I think a dusty GRX Limited will look a heck of a lot nicer than a dusty black ano GRX, but maybe that's just me!

Silver Makes A Comeback

Shimano GRX Limited (Image courtesy of Shimano)

 I'm an old school cyclist in some ways. I came up when components were silver. I have had friction shift bikes when I was young. Not that I am in any way a 'retro-grouch', (Older cyclists will know where that term originated from), but there are certain things which I think have gone away that deserve a come back tour, and maybe might make sense today more than ever. (Friction shift front derailleurs for one.)

Anyway, I loved silver anodized components when they were done right. Maybe the pinnacle of beautaciousness when it comes to silver anodized parts is the original Shimano XTR. That stuff was just so good looking when new. It literally glowed. There was a Sugino crank set that was similarly anodized, as I recall, but that entire XTR group back in 1992 was just tops in my opinion.

Levers will also be silver. (Image courtesy of Shimano)

Then everything went black. Even road bike groups ended up becoming all black anodized. Silver was out! While black was cool, and it went with everything.....

Boring!

And to make matters worse, black looked just about like plastic, and the lowest level components could mimic that look with ease. So any attempt to set yourself apart from the crowd with high-end components in terms of aesthetics was pretty muted. 

Now, that is not to say that Shimano hasn't tried. They have. One year XT was silver in the late 90's, but Shimano made it look painted. They kind of carried that look through into this century, and some of that was cool. But it just was not that pearly goodness that XTR had been, nor was it shiny silver anodized in most cases. (There were exceptions)

XTR itself came out in grey hues several times, which I also liked, but again- no cigar when it comes to shiny silver. Maybe being 'pretty' and mountain biking don't go together? Whatever! I missed silver anodized drive train parts!

GRX Limited will only be available as a complete set up, 1X or 2X, or flat bar.

Shimano announced the GRX Limited on Tuesday, and I got a sneak-peek at it via the press release. It's not the same anodization Shimano used on the original XTR, but it is brushed. Sort of a stainless steel look, I guess. I have (hopefully) seen it this morning as you read this as I am supposed to be at the All Things Gravel Expo for a bit before I come home. Stay tuned for my trip report which starts tomorrow.

My hope is that enough interest is seen at the OEM level that silver ano makes a comeback for real. I would love me some shiny bits on my bikes again! And to be honest, I think a dusty GRX Limited will look a heck of a lot nicer than a dusty black ano GRX, but maybe that's just me!

Preparing Before I (Was Supposed To) Go

The Bubblegum Princess as it should look for the Prairie Burn 100

So, as I have stated in earlier posts, I was bound for Emporia, Kansas this week and was to be gone through Saturday. That all changed yesterday when MG and I discussed plans. It seems we are both betwixt rocks and hard places with regard to our domestic/family/home maintenance issues. Some of it exacerbated by the recent heavy rains, some by circumstances. So, the bottom line is I'm not going to Kansas afterall.

But I didn't know that until yesterday. That meant that I had to get the Bubblegum Princess ready for the Prairie Burn 100 this past weekend for June 8th. I didn't need to do much. But one major thing I wanted to do was to get some tubeless tires set up on it.

I had been running the Tioga Binary tires which I reviewed for RidingGravel.com recently. Since that review was over, I was free to swap to this set of WTB Resolutes which are my favorite gravel tires these days. They ride super smoothly and have really decent traction when things get iffy on Level B Roads and the like. I have been super impressed with how fast they roll, compared to a WTB Riddler 45, for example, or many other gravel tires. So, a fresh injection of home brew sealant and these went on well. This makes the Bubblegum Princess about as smooth a rig as I could ask for to tackle the big hills of gravel around Grinnell.

 Since I had expected to be gone the rest of the week I had scheduled some preliminary "Trans Iowa Stories" to run Thursday and Friday. I'll still let that stand, I think. Plus, I wasn't going to do a "Friday News And Views", but since I will be around after all, I am back on that.

Preparing Before I (Was Supposed To) Go

The Bubblegum Princess as it should look for the Prairie Burn 100

So, as I have stated in earlier posts, I was bound for Emporia, Kansas this week and was to be gone through Saturday. That all changed yesterday when MG and I discussed plans. It seems we are both betwixt rocks and hard places with regard to our domestic/family/home maintenance issues. Some of it exacerbated by the recent heavy rains, some by circumstances. So, the bottom line is I'm not going to Kansas afterall.

But I didn't know that until yesterday. That meant that I had to get the Bubblegum Princess ready for the Prairie Burn 100 this past weekend for June 8th. I didn't need to do much. But one major thing I wanted to do was to get some tubeless tires set up on it.

I had been running the Tioga Binary tires which I reviewed for RidingGravel.com recently. Since that review was over, I was free to swap to this set of WTB Resolutes which are my favorite gravel tires these days. They ride super smoothly and have really decent traction when things get iffy on Level B Roads and the like. I have been super impressed with how fast they roll, compared to a WTB Riddler 45, for example, or many other gravel tires. So, a fresh injection of home brew sealant and these went on well. This makes the Bubblegum Princess about as smooth a rig as I could ask for to tackle the big hills of gravel around Grinnell.

 Since I had expected to be gone the rest of the week I had scheduled some preliminary "Trans Iowa Stories" to run Thursday and Friday. I'll still let that stand, I think. Plus, I wasn't going to do a "Friday News And Views", but since I will be around after all, I am back on that.

Friday News And Views

Swollen Head Tube syndrome: (Image Courtesy Of Bike Europe)

Making The Most Elegant, Simple Machine More Complex- Part 179:

Bicycles are wonderfully efficient, simple machines. That is, until you unleash some budding engineers and people who think they can make perfect better on the subject. Take belt drive for instance. I've covered that to death here.

Now with these hybrid powered cycles (HPC's or also known as "e-bikes"), which are supposedly making bicycles "better", we are finding out, almost daily, that the lowly simple machine just isn't good enough. It hasn't got "easy" ingrained into its DNA to the point we humans think we need, so all kinds of goofy things are being developed to take care of issues being raised by the addition of a high torque motor to a bicycle.

The latest in the long line of "upgrades" which are being proposed is this new steering assist design developed by Technical University in Delft, the Netherlands and the bike brand Gazelle. The idea stems from what has been noted in the Netherlands in regard to an uptick of crashes, typically involving e-bikes. Here is a quote from the story.

"These accidents causing serious injuries often occur as cyclists lose control of the bicycle. In many cases it involves elderly on e-bikes."

The system is still under development, so no timeline is given for its possible future implementation. But again- HPC vehicles are just taking us down a lane where, eventually, they will become vehicles that require no human input. Electric motorcycles may happen, but I think the goal is something even more detrimental to the human species. Time will tell. 

The Hirobel Clamp, here shown in my workstand at work

 Tool Geekery:

I like my tools and using good tools is fun for me. So when I heard about a new kind of clamp that would work with tri-bikes and weird aero seat tubes in my work stand, I checked into it. The Hirobel Clamp, which at the time was a product of an independent, small company, was not available and was expensive. I slotted that into the back of my mind for the future. 

See, there is nothing worse than working on a bike that is flopping around because you cannot safely clamp it into a work stand. Frustration? You bet! That Hirobel clamp though- yeah......that would reduce my stress a lot! 

So, a chance came up to review one for Riding Gravel and I jumped on it. The clamp is awesome, works as advertised, and makes me way more efficient as a mechanic. No more fighting with a bike that doesn't conform to a stand designed for bikes 50 years ago. I look forward to working on those dreaded tri-bikes now because the Hirobel Clamp has them covered. 

 Headed To Kansas......Again:

You know I've been down to Kansas the last what....four years now? Anyway, I've raced, ridden my own gig, and just hung out as a support person. This year I am just going for the "All Things Gravel Expo". That takes place Thursday and Friday. I'll be leaving town either late Friday or very early Saturday morning, so no racing/riding down there this time. 

This trip will be all about Riding Gravel stuff and that's actually going to be a somewhat busy deal, by the sounds of it. This big swing toward gravel/all-road stuff by the cycling industry has this expo looking like a mini-Sea Otter of drop bar, dust infested madness. Of course, it wasn't always this way. 

Back when I first started this string of Emporia, Kansas appearances in 2015, there was an expo of sorts. It was about two blocks in size and featured about......mmmmm......maybe 20 vendors? That's being generous. Now this deal is bringing debuts of cycling gear and bicycles, Pro racer appearances, and demos of equipment and bikes. Like I say- sort of like a Sea Otter in that respect. 

I am expecting some big news and many interesting things. So, come Wednesday I'll be down there with batteries charged and my pen and paper at the ready. I'm not sure what I will be able to accomplish for content on the blog here, so just a forewarning. You may not get a whole lot while I am there. The travelling computer will be with my wife and all I'll have is a smart phone. 

That's it for this week. have a great Memorial Day Weekend!

Friday News And Views

Swollen Head Tube syndrome: (Image Courtesy Of Bike Europe)

Making The Most Elegant, Simple Machine More Complex- Part 179:

Bicycles are wonderfully efficient, simple machines. That is, until you unleash some budding engineers and people who think they can make perfect better on the subject. Take belt drive for instance. I've covered that to death here.

Now with these hybrid powered cycles (HPC's or also known as "e-bikes"), which are supposedly making bicycles "better", we are finding out, almost daily, that the lowly simple machine just isn't good enough. It hasn't got "easy" ingrained into its DNA to the point we humans think we need, so all kinds of goofy things are being developed to take care of issues being raised by the addition of a high torque motor to a bicycle.

The latest in the long line of "upgrades" which are being proposed is this new steering assist design developed by Technical University in Delft, the Netherlands and the bike brand Gazelle. The idea stems from what has been noted in the Netherlands in regard to an uptick of crashes, typically involving e-bikes. Here is a quote from the story.

"These accidents causing serious injuries often occur as cyclists lose control of the bicycle. In many cases it involves elderly on e-bikes."

The system is still under development, so no timeline is given for its possible future implementation. But again- HPC vehicles are just taking us down a lane where, eventually, they will become vehicles that require no human input. Electric motorcycles may happen, but I think the goal is something even more detrimental to the human species. Time will tell. 

The Hirobel Clamp, here shown in my workstand at work

 Tool Geekery:

I like my tools and using good tools is fun for me. So when I heard about a new kind of clamp that would work with tri-bikes and weird aero seat tubes in my work stand, I checked into it. The Hirobel Clamp, which at the time was a product of an independent, small company, was not available and was expensive. I slotted that into the back of my mind for the future. 

See, there is nothing worse than working on a bike that is flopping around because you cannot safely clamp it into a work stand. Frustration? You bet! That Hirobel clamp though- yeah......that would reduce my stress a lot! 

So, a chance came up to review one for Riding Gravel and I jumped on it. The clamp is awesome, works as advertised, and makes me way more efficient as a mechanic. No more fighting with a bike that doesn't conform to a stand designed for bikes 50 years ago. I look forward to working on those dreaded tri-bikes now because the Hirobel Clamp has them covered. 

 Headed To Kansas......Again:

You know I've been down to Kansas the last what....four years now? Anyway, I've raced, ridden my own gig, and just hung out as a support person. This year I am just going for the "All Things Gravel Expo". That takes place Thursday and Friday. I'll be leaving town either late Friday or very early Saturday morning, so no racing/riding down there this time. 

This trip will be all about Riding Gravel stuff and that's actually going to be a somewhat busy deal, by the sounds of it. This big swing toward gravel/all-road stuff by the cycling industry has this expo looking like a mini-Sea Otter of drop bar, dust infested madness. Of course, it wasn't always this way. 

Back when I first started this string of Emporia, Kansas appearances in 2015, there was an expo of sorts. It was about two blocks in size and featured about......mmmmm......maybe 20 vendors? That's being generous. Now this deal is bringing debuts of cycling gear and bicycles, Pro racer appearances, and demos of equipment and bikes. Like I say- sort of like a Sea Otter in that respect. 

I am expecting some big news and many interesting things. So, come Wednesday I'll be down there with batteries charged and my pen and paper at the ready. I'm not sure what I will be able to accomplish for content on the blog here, so just a forewarning. You may not get a whole lot while I am there. The travelling computer will be with my wife and all I'll have is a smart phone. 

That's it for this week. have a great Memorial Day Weekend!