Back On It

Fresh blue skies and lots of wind.

The Fat Bike Century kind of knocked me for a doozy this week so far until Wednesday when I finally felt "okay". I didn't want to get out of bed Wednesday morning, and I was still kind of in a funk till about noon, but it passed and I finally felt like I could maybe take a nice, easy ride out in the country.

Monday my legs were still toasted, Tuesday I felt better, but both days I was fatigued and by evening time I was falling out of my chair. Of course, I was still commuting by bicycle. The Big Dummy may have been a bit much, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do! That's my transportation to work and back for the time being.

At any rate, the plan yesterday was to just do a nice, easy ride out on the gravel, nothing too crazy. I took out the Black Mountain Cycles "Orange Crush" rig because it has these Arisun tires on it that I am testing out. I like that bike a lot anyway, so that was okay by me. The trouble is that my left shoulder isn't digging the traditionally shaped drops or even the slightly flared Cowbells, like the Orange Crush has on it now. That dang injury from last Winter hangs on, but it seems to get better bit by bit. It is just taking a very long time to come around. So, maybe I need to think about different bars on that bike and on  a few others. We'll see........

In the meantime, I wasn't planning on some multi-hour, all day ride, so the Cowbells should be fine, but I would see about that later. The Fat Bike Century actually did put the hurt on that shoulder, (despite it having flat bars), so I wasn't sure how this was going to go. Otherwise it was a splendid day, with maybe a stiff wind, but otherwise perfect. Wind isn't that big of a deal anymore since I have that almost every ride anyway. It has just become part of the whole experience. The wind has to get pretty bad for me to start complaining about it now.

Petrie Road looking East.

The Sun was out, and the roads were in great shape at first. Not too much gravel, and with the rain we had overnight, not too dusty either. I was feeling pretty good, actually. The legs had a bit of snap in them after all. So, the "easy" ride started turning into......something a bit more than that. I ended up dialing it back a bit, but it felt good to be able to go fast, even if just for a bit. I think it was that fat bike and riding it 100 miles. The Orange Crush was lighter, easier to move with skinnier tires. It was almost like when my friend Ari rides his road bike and he refers to it as his "cheater bike". Because it is easier. Yeah......it was easier!

Giving my "cheater bike", and myself, a quick break.

I ended the ride after about 20 or so miles, which I figured was a good reintroduction to gravel after the Fat Bike Century ride. I didn't want to over do it and get really tired afterward or worse, sick. I think that felt about right anyway. The ride was pleasant, despite the wind, and it was a great day to be outside. I was really glad I got out there and back on it again.

Now my next, and last scheduled ride for the year, is coming up at the end of this month. I want to be ready for that, so I am going to work on getting some good rides in before then. Hopefully the weather holds up for that ride. Hint: I will be using my Gen I Fargo for this particular ride. 

Besides that, I want to sneak in some bigger rides before the year is out. I have to finagle a way to finish up my Cup-O-Dirt challenge and my last scheduled ride could be part of that. Otherwise I have to knock out three really big rides in less than three months and who knows what the weather will be like coming up in November and December. It seems weird to be thinking about those months, and yet here we are. The end of the 2016 calendar is coming fast.

The fields are being emptied, the leaves are changing quickly, and my cycling mode is going to be switching to the Winter selection soon. My fat bikes are ready, that's for sure. But until that time comes I will be riding my gravel rigs and maybe the odd single speed mtb rig throughout the Fall season. I have to do at least one fall mtb ride!

Back On It

Fresh blue skies and lots of wind.

The Fat Bike Century kind of knocked me for a doozy this week so far until Wednesday when I finally felt "okay". I didn't want to get out of bed Wednesday morning, and I was still kind of in a funk till about noon, but it passed and I finally felt like I could maybe take a nice, easy ride out in the country.

Monday my legs were still toasted, Tuesday I felt better, but both days I was fatigued and by evening time I was falling out of my chair. Of course, I was still commuting by bicycle. The Big Dummy may have been a bit much, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do! That's my transportation to work and back for the time being.

At any rate, the plan yesterday was to just do a nice, easy ride out on the gravel, nothing too crazy. I took out the Black Mountain Cycles "Orange Crush" rig because it has these Arisun tires on it that I am testing out. I like that bike a lot anyway, so that was okay by me. The trouble is that my left shoulder isn't digging the traditionally shaped drops or even the slightly flared Cowbells, like the Orange Crush has on it now. That dang injury from last Winter hangs on, but it seems to get better bit by bit. It is just taking a very long time to come around. So, maybe I need to think about different bars on that bike and on  a few others. We'll see........

In the meantime, I wasn't planning on some multi-hour, all day ride, so the Cowbells should be fine, but I would see about that later. The Fat Bike Century actually did put the hurt on that shoulder, (despite it having flat bars), so I wasn't sure how this was going to go. Otherwise it was a splendid day, with maybe a stiff wind, but otherwise perfect. Wind isn't that big of a deal anymore since I have that almost every ride anyway. It has just become part of the whole experience. The wind has to get pretty bad for me to start complaining about it now.

Petrie Road looking East.

The Sun was out, and the roads were in great shape at first. Not too much gravel, and with the rain we had overnight, not too dusty either. I was feeling pretty good, actually. The legs had a bit of snap in them after all. So, the "easy" ride started turning into......something a bit more than that. I ended up dialing it back a bit, but it felt good to be able to go fast, even if just for a bit. I think it was that fat bike and riding it 100 miles. The Orange Crush was lighter, easier to move with skinnier tires. It was almost like when my friend Ari rides his road bike and he refers to it as his "cheater bike". Because it is easier. Yeah......it was easier!

Giving my "cheater bike", and myself, a quick break.

I ended the ride after about 20 or so miles, which I figured was a good reintroduction to gravel after the Fat Bike Century ride. I didn't want to over do it and get really tired afterward or worse, sick. I think that felt about right anyway. The ride was pleasant, despite the wind, and it was a great day to be outside. I was really glad I got out there and back on it again.

Now my next, and last scheduled ride for the year, is coming up at the end of this month. I want to be ready for that, so I am going to work on getting some good rides in before then. Hopefully the weather holds up for that ride. Hint: I will be using my Gen I Fargo for this particular ride. 

Besides that, I want to sneak in some bigger rides before the year is out. I have to finagle a way to finish up my Cup-O-Dirt challenge and my last scheduled ride could be part of that. Otherwise I have to knock out three really big rides in less than three months and who knows what the weather will be like coming up in November and December. It seems weird to be thinking about those months, and yet here we are. The end of the 2016 calendar is coming fast.

The fields are being emptied, the leaves are changing quickly, and my cycling mode is going to be switching to the Winter selection soon. My fat bikes are ready, that's for sure. But until that time comes I will be riding my gravel rigs and maybe the odd single speed mtb rig throughout the Fall season. I have to do at least one fall mtb ride!

The Tire Switcheroo

You just never know what you'll find out there!

One group of tires tested, then another group comes in. Time for the ol' tire switcheroo. I seem to do this about every three months or so, I think. Maybe more often sometimes.

I just finished up on the Riddler 37mm tires. I really liked them. They are a good gravel road tire that isn't too big, but is just big enough. You can really cover a lot of different types of terrain with a 36mm-42mm tire. Well, as long as it has a good design for the tread and is made well. I think if you are looking at tires in this size range, the quality casings are a must. You are milking every bit of performance out of a tire like this, so it has to be a well made tire, or you will get short changed. The WTB Riddler 37mm tire is just such a tire. I kind of get bummed out when I have to peel off a set of tires like the Riddlers to set up anther review tire, but with the tires most companies are putting out there now, it just is a different flavor, and not a real big let down.

That said, I liked the design of the Riddlers a lot. I think the design is really a good way to tackle a gravel road tire deign. Smooth in the center to promote fast rolling and easy accelerations, and lateral knobs to allow for stability. This with a flattish profile is the winning combination, as far as I can see. I thought that this might be the case and when I rode the Challenge Gravel Grinder, I found out it really works. Peaked crown tires, or very rounded ones, are the absolute worst on gravel. They plow, have no lateral stability, and generally ride poorly on gravel.

New tires means more switching around.

Well, however that works out for me with older tires, it all gets thrown out the window when a new set shows up. Peel off. Remount. More sealant. The same ol' song and dance again. Then it is getting used to the new treads. What do they do well, what do they do poorly, and how do they ride? So much to pay attention to.

The funny thing is that tires are a really big deal, and can be one of the most controversial components that one uses on a bicycle. I have used so many different tires on the Black Mountain Cycles Cross bike, (Orange Crush), that I can tell you that tires can make or break a bike. I've used absolutely horrible tires on that bike, (Vee Rubber models of some sort), which made the bike terrifying to ride, and have used tires which made the bike a dream to ride. Same bike, different tires, way different results.

So, yeah.......tires are a really big deal. 

That is why I like trying out different tires, why I like thinking about them, and it is one of the reasons I like riding bicycles. Tires can really affect your enjoyment of bikes. Not to mention tire pressures, which is an entirely different subject and deserves its own post. You can ruin good tires with wrong air pressures. That's all I'll say about that right now.

So, anyway, I am not complaining at all when I have to do the ol' tire switcheroo. It's just a part of what I do and I find it pretty interesting. 

The Tire Switcheroo

You just never know what you'll find out there!

One group of tires tested, then another group comes in. Time for the ol' tire switcheroo. I seem to do this about every three months or so, I think. Maybe more often sometimes.

I just finished up on the Riddler 37mm tires. I really liked them. They are a good gravel road tire that isn't too big, but is just big enough. You can really cover a lot of different types of terrain with a 36mm-42mm tire. Well, as long as it has a good design for the tread and is made well. I think if you are looking at tires in this size range, the quality casings are a must. You are milking every bit of performance out of a tire like this, so it has to be a well made tire, or you will get short changed. The WTB Riddler 37mm tire is just such a tire. I kind of get bummed out when I have to peel off a set of tires like the Riddlers to set up anther review tire, but with the tires most companies are putting out there now, it just is a different flavor, and not a real big let down.

That said, I liked the design of the Riddlers a lot. I think the design is really a good way to tackle a gravel road tire deign. Smooth in the center to promote fast rolling and easy accelerations, and lateral knobs to allow for stability. This with a flattish profile is the winning combination, as far as I can see. I thought that this might be the case and when I rode the Challenge Gravel Grinder, I found out it really works. Peaked crown tires, or very rounded ones, are the absolute worst on gravel. They plow, have no lateral stability, and generally ride poorly on gravel.

New tires means more switching around.

Well, however that works out for me with older tires, it all gets thrown out the window when a new set shows up. Peel off. Remount. More sealant. The same ol' song and dance again. Then it is getting used to the new treads. What do they do well, what do they do poorly, and how do they ride? So much to pay attention to.

The funny thing is that tires are a really big deal, and can be one of the most controversial components that one uses on a bicycle. I have used so many different tires on the Black Mountain Cycles Cross bike, (Orange Crush), that I can tell you that tires can make or break a bike. I've used absolutely horrible tires on that bike, (Vee Rubber models of some sort), which made the bike terrifying to ride, and have used tires which made the bike a dream to ride. Same bike, different tires, way different results.

So, yeah.......tires are a really big deal. 

That is why I like trying out different tires, why I like thinking about them, and it is one of the reasons I like riding bicycles. Tires can really affect your enjoyment of bikes. Not to mention tire pressures, which is an entirely different subject and deserves its own post. You can ruin good tires with wrong air pressures. That's all I'll say about that right now.

So, anyway, I am not complaining at all when I have to do the ol' tire switcheroo. It's just a part of what I do and I find it pretty interesting. 

Friday News And Views

Another look at the All City rig to be revealed full on 7/18/16

More On The All City Rig:

So, there ya go folks. Another peek at the upcoming All City rig to debut on July 18th, as far as I have seen on their Facebook page. (Image courtesy of said page belonging to said All City)

So, pretty obvious that it is a disc brake bike, right? Looks a heck of a lot like a Space Horse, with, you know..........disc brakes. Yeah.

Well, if that is all it is, that wouldn't be a very big surprise. Like I said last week in this space, almost anything saleable these days either has to have disc brakes or "plus" something or another in its name. Not that this is a bad thing, necessarily. But marketing gets on a roll and it seems that all of a sudden all you hear about is "disc brake road bike this" and "plus sized wheels" that. Interestingly, this could all be attributed to one phenomenon that occurred in the last decade.

Stated as briefly as possible, that would be 29"ers and the way the industry did their best to ignore a grassroots trend that just wouldn't go away. Then the industry wished they would've hopped on that "love train" sooner. Because, ya know.......the perception was that they lost out on making sales to some other early adopters. 

Anyway..... All City's something or another disc braked, drop barred bike will be revealed soon.

New JET-9 from Niner. Of course it is a "plus" bike, you ninny!

Speaking Of Plus Bikes......

Niner Bikes dropped their "plus" versions of the venerable JET-9 and RIP-9 models. All new, "modern" slack/long geometry with stubby stems/wide bars and lots of travel.

Some media outlets are making a big stink about these not being 29"ers. Whatever...... Click baiters all of 'em. Playing upon people's lack of understanding of tire sizing tradition to get them to read the same press release everyone else is regurgitating. Brilliant.

Anyway, I was just reading about Intense's new FS "plus" bike too. Nice looking rig, and Jeff Steber, the head honch over there, actually was expounding on something you don't hear many companies saying, and is something I was talking about here a while back. That being how it is difficult to get suspension which is intentional, designed to a certain goal, and obviously has damping to work with big, voluminous tires that have very little to no damping and can vary a great deal in how they "suspend" the bike and rider due to air pressure settings. Now that's smart thinking right there, and since Jeff was talking about that, I wonder how other companies approached that issue, or even if they did. To my way of thinking, it would be a critical component of the design for any plus FS trail bike  design.

So, yeah........more plus bike stuff! 

It's not bad, actually

With Bacon, How Could It Be Bad? 

Last year, I think it was, I was chatting with Yuri Hauswald at Gravel Worlds. He'd just won the Dirty Kanza 200 a couple of months prior and, amongst other chit-chat, he was telling me about this new flavor of GU gel called "Maple Bacon". Well, he wasn't so much telling me about it as he was raving about it. 

I like bacon, but in a gel packet? I was not convinced that this was anything other than Yuri being loyal to GU and spouting off as an ambassador of the brand. Which is cool. He should do that. I get that about marketing and it doesn't bother me one bit.

Fast forward to yesterday at the shop. A sales rep comes in that we are familiar with that reps for GU Energy. By the way, I happen to like and use their stuff. Roctane, Fizz tabs, and GU Chomps are amongst my favorite things they make. So, I was interested in what the rep had to say about GU products. He laid out some packets and they were, of course, the Maple Bacon flavor. So, I figured, what the heck! I tried one and.......

Dang it! It was really good! So, I was all wrong about that one, and Yuri was right. It is that good. Maybe you aren't into bacon because, ya know.....animals, vegetarianism, etc. Well, did you know that this and other GU gels are actually vegan and kosher? That's what the rep said. Weird. How could Maple Bacon taste so good and not have real bacon?

Never underestimate the Power of the Name "Bacon"! <==HA!

Studded. Tubeless. and yes.....in plus sizes!

 But Wait! There Is More Plus Tire Stuff To Talk About!!

Readers here may recall back in May I talked about this new tire company that isn't really new, but is "coming out" from behind the curtains to market under their own brand name, Arisun. I mentioned that they will have studded, tubeless tires. Well, I just got word yesterday what they are doing.

The line of tires Arisun is going to bring here are called "Sharktooth" and will consist of the following sizes: A 26" X 4.0" tire in wire bead, folding bead, and "TLR" (tubeless ready) with thread counts ranging from 30, 60, and 120. There will also be a 27.5+ configuration to come. But get this- they are doing a 29" X 2.8" Sharktooth in the same versions as the 26" X 4.0"ers! Did you catch that? A 2.8 inch wide, studded 29"er tire?

Sign me up! 

The tubeless version will be killer. And yes......I have a bike that will fit these. By the way, this is another thing I've heard a lot of rumblings about, and may be the next "evolution" of "plus" bikes. That being that 27.5+ and the attendant "Boost" wheel spacing that came along with that has now created a bunch of bikes that probably will fit 29" X 2.5"-2.8" tires, and the industry is going to start pumping out that size tire very soon, as we can see with this Arisun model. So, yeah.........more plus tire stuff!


Have a great weekend, y'all! 

Friday News And Views

Another look at the All City rig to be revealed full on 7/18/16

More On The All City Rig:

So, there ya go folks. Another peek at the upcoming All City rig to debut on July 18th, as far as I have seen on their Facebook page. (Image courtesy of said page belonging to said All City)

So, pretty obvious that it is a disc brake bike, right? Looks a heck of a lot like a Space Horse, with, you know..........disc brakes. Yeah.

Well, if that is all it is, that wouldn't be a very big surprise. Like I said last week in this space, almost anything saleable these days either has to have disc brakes or "plus" something or another in its name. Not that this is a bad thing, necessarily. But marketing gets on a roll and it seems that all of a sudden all you hear about is "disc brake road bike this" and "plus sized wheels" that. Interestingly, this could all be attributed to one phenomenon that occurred in the last decade.

Stated as briefly as possible, that would be 29"ers and the way the industry did their best to ignore a grassroots trend that just wouldn't go away. Then the industry wished they would've hopped on that "love train" sooner. Because, ya know.......the perception was that they lost out on making sales to some other early adopters. 

Anyway..... All City's something or another disc braked, drop barred bike will be revealed soon.

New JET-9 from Niner. Of course it is a "plus" bike, you ninny!

Speaking Of Plus Bikes......

Niner Bikes dropped their "plus" versions of the venerable JET-9 and RIP-9 models. All new, "modern" slack/long geometry with stubby stems/wide bars and lots of travel.

Some media outlets are making a big stink about these not being 29"ers. Whatever...... Click baiters all of 'em. Playing upon people's lack of understanding of tire sizing tradition to get them to read the same press release everyone else is regurgitating. Brilliant.

Anyway, I was just reading about Intense's new FS "plus" bike too. Nice looking rig, and Jeff Steber, the head honch over there, actually was expounding on something you don't hear many companies saying, and is something I was talking about here a while back. That being how it is difficult to get suspension which is intentional, designed to a certain goal, and obviously has damping to work with big, voluminous tires that have very little to no damping and can vary a great deal in how they "suspend" the bike and rider due to air pressure settings. Now that's smart thinking right there, and since Jeff was talking about that, I wonder how other companies approached that issue, or even if they did. To my way of thinking, it would be a critical component of the design for any plus FS trail bike  design.

So, yeah........more plus bike stuff! 

It's not bad, actually

With Bacon, How Could It Be Bad? 

Last year, I think it was, I was chatting with Yuri Hauswald at Gravel Worlds. He'd just won the Dirty Kanza 200 a couple of months prior and, amongst other chit-chat, he was telling me about this new flavor of GU gel called "Maple Bacon". Well, he wasn't so much telling me about it as he was raving about it. 

I like bacon, but in a gel packet? I was not convinced that this was anything other than Yuri being loyal to GU and spouting off as an ambassador of the brand. Which is cool. He should do that. I get that about marketing and it doesn't bother me one bit.

Fast forward to yesterday at the shop. A sales rep comes in that we are familiar with that reps for GU Energy. By the way, I happen to like and use their stuff. Roctane, Fizz tabs, and GU Chomps are amongst my favorite things they make. So, I was interested in what the rep had to say about GU products. He laid out some packets and they were, of course, the Maple Bacon flavor. So, I figured, what the heck! I tried one and.......

Dang it! It was really good! So, I was all wrong about that one, and Yuri was right. It is that good. Maybe you aren't into bacon because, ya know.....animals, vegetarianism, etc. Well, did you know that this and other GU gels are actually vegan and kosher? That's what the rep said. Weird. How could Maple Bacon taste so good and not have real bacon?

Never underestimate the Power of the Name "Bacon"! <==HA!

Studded. Tubeless. and yes.....in plus sizes!

 But Wait! There Is More Plus Tire Stuff To Talk About!!

Readers here may recall back in May I talked about this new tire company that isn't really new, but is "coming out" from behind the curtains to market under their own brand name, Arisun. I mentioned that they will have studded, tubeless tires. Well, I just got word yesterday what they are doing.

The line of tires Arisun is going to bring here are called "Sharktooth" and will consist of the following sizes: A 26" X 4.0" tire in wire bead, folding bead, and "TLR" (tubeless ready) with thread counts ranging from 30, 60, and 120. There will also be a 27.5+ configuration to come. But get this- they are doing a 29" X 2.8" Sharktooth in the same versions as the 26" X 4.0"ers! Did you catch that? A 2.8 inch wide, studded 29"er tire?

Sign me up! 

The tubeless version will be killer. And yes......I have a bike that will fit these. By the way, this is another thing I've heard a lot of rumblings about, and may be the next "evolution" of "plus" bikes. That being that 27.5+ and the attendant "Boost" wheel spacing that came along with that has now created a bunch of bikes that probably will fit 29" X 2.5"-2.8" tires, and the industry is going to start pumping out that size tire very soon, as we can see with this Arisun model. So, yeah.........more plus tire stuff!


Have a great weekend, y'all!