Atomik/BERD Wheels: Long Term Review

NOTE: Back in 2020 I received a set of Atomik/BERD wheels for test and review while I was writing for Riding Gravel. I did not pay for these wheels and was allowed to keep them after the review period. Since then I have seen a little interest in the wheels due to my mention of them during my recent WTB tire reviews. I thought it would be good to give everyone a long-term review of the wheels and talk a little more about the technical aspects behind the BERD spokes, which you might not be familiar with.  

Atomik and BERD have no idea I am writing this, they have no influence on what I am saying in this article, and all opinions are mine. I will be quoting liberally from my previous writings on these wheels. Some of the material will be new views since 2020. Let's dig in.....

Obviously the 'star' of this show is the BERD spoke. BERD spokes are not made from metal. In fact, if I were to show one not under tension it might look to you like a rope or braided thread. (See image below)  It would be limp and pliable. Not what you might think of for a good spoke! Here's what BERD has to say from their site:

"Berd spokes are made with Dyneema® (also known as ultra high molecular weight polyethylene). Dyneema® has 15 times the strength-to-weight ratio of steel and floats on water. Berd spokes have an improved fatigue life over steel and are impervious to the elements. This is what makes Berd spokes the lightest, strongest, and most durable spokes ever invented."

Well, now what do you think? Pretty impressive! But how do you make this stuff into a spoke and then lace it into a wheel? That's a special skill set. BERD trains wheel builders to use their spokes and how to tension a wheel set using them to provide long-term results. So, not just anyone can do this, but more wheel builders are getting certified as BERD wheel builders all the time, so these are not rare anymore. For any technical questions on BERD spokes, click that link above and read all their data and FAQ. I'll just say here that the claims and tech data is VERY impressive and I have no qualms whatsoever about riding these wheels. 

One of those claims is that BERD spokes can reduce vibrations to the rider by up to 200%. Whoa! That sounds too good to be true, and I was super suspicious of that upon first reading the claim. Here is what I wrote in November of 2020 about my feelings on this after riding the wheels for several months:

" The Atomik/Berd Ultimate wheels do damp vibrations. Is it 200% better? That’s the big question. I have to say that over a standard type of through axle wheel, such as the all aluminum construction with steel spoked Shimano GRX wheels, yes- The Atomik/Berd Ultimate wheels are definitely approaching a massive amount of wheel vibration reduction here. Compared to a stiff carbon wheel though, the sensation of vibration reduction, while still there, is not as great. "

Image courtesy of BERD.

 So, "it depends", is the actual answer. The point is, however, that the BERD spokes will definitely be noticeably nicer riding wheels, and will always be better in that regard compared with anything else. One unique quality in the Atomik/BERD wheels I noted, and one BERD doesn't even mention, is how the wheels feel "softer" over certain ruts and depressions in the roadway. Here again is what I wrote back in 2020 concerning this:

" I also noted how this wheel set was capable of smoothing out dips and depressions, transitions from pavement to gravel, or lumpy chip sealed roads. There is a vertical compliance component to these wheels which is remarkable. But that isn’t to say that the Atomik/Berd Ultimate wheels have anything approaching a bump damping/absorbing characteristic because anything sharper edged, like a rail road crossing, or a pot hole, is still going to zing you a bit. Quick, sharp hits are still going to be an issue. "

So when I was first riding the Vulpine S tires I was feeling this "smoothing effect" and forgetting that it was the BERD spokes and it was not the tires. Coupled with the notable vibration reductions and you can see how maybe a wheel set like this is not a good platform for tire reviews! My bad!

Over The Long Haul:

Now four years down the line I can say that the Atomik/BERD wheel set has been no problem at all and if it weren't for how light they are (1400 grams for the pair with 28 spokes each) and how nicely they ride, I wouldn't have anything to report. I did 'de-sticker' them, as I did not care for the "billboard" decals, but otherwise they are unmodified and I have not lifted a finger to maintain these other than cleaning and using new rim tape now and again. So, they are pretty reliable spokes and the Industry 9 hubs have been perfect so far. 

Are they worth the money? Well, BERD spokes are not cheap. At eight bucks a shot times 56 holes to fill that's $448.00 just in spokes alone! Add in carbon rims, a set of Industry 9 hubs, and labor, and you can see how the price for these wheels adds up in a hurry. 

The Noble GX5 bike with the Atomik/BERD wheels

 But here's where I would point to my Noble GX5 and tell you it is one of the only bikes I own without a Redshift ShockStop stem on it and that my hands are relatively okay with that. As I get on in age my hands have become even more sensitive to vibrations and I would not ride a bike long without something to damp down the gravel vibrations. The BERD spokes help me do that as well as the Whisky carbon handle bar, the carbon seat post, and that excellent Ergon bar tape and saddle. 

If I were racing longer distance gravel events or if I craved a smoother ride without adding a suspension fork or stem, these wheels would be well worth the extra cash. They are durable and well made. The spokes may seem weird, but they have been around a while and they look like they will be around for a while longer, judging by the buzz these BERD spokes are getting lately. So, it depends upon what you value in wheels, but I will only say that they work and ride like nothing else I've ever tried. 

I don't plan on taking them off my bike anytime soon either!

Addicted To Wheels

 Note: EXTREME nerding out again today on wheels. You've been warned!

 The Atomik/Berd Ultimate wheels.

I've probably written a post like this over the past 15 years of this blog. I don't remember, and you probably don't either. Ah! No searching! That's cheating. Gotta use the noggin. I vaguely recall something along these lines, so I'm betting I have before. Oh well..... Here goes!

Wheels. Everybody knows that there are good wheels, bad wheels, and wheels that make you all giddy in the......well.....I won't go there! You know what I mean. A good wheel set can really make your cycling experience a LOT better. I keep learning this all the time. You see, I have an issue that prevents me from being 100% on board with spending the big bucks on wheels. That is this practical 'gene' in my DNA that says to me "you can just get by with THAT wheel set! It's good enough for you". And I roll with that and believe it until I get these chances I get- and I know - I am totally blessed to have these chances - to get these chances to ride incredibly great wheels. Then I am blown away and think my inner voice is so full of BS that I must get these wheels! It's crazy, I know. But it is real. Both the voices in my head and what good wheels can do. Ha!

So, anyway, here's the thing. I am not the only person that should be riding really incredible wheels. It makes a huge difference in your riding experience. Again- because of what I do I get to ride various wheels and I have so-so ones, good ones, and the occasional great one comes along as well. Now here's the thing: The really great ones are not always from where you might think they should be from. 

I've ridden some really expensive wheels that were.....  Honestly? "Ho-hum" comes to mind. Especially compared to others I have used that were simply amazing. Some are a LOT less expensive as well. There are two wheel sets I am using right now that are the sort of wheels that make me think my inner voice, my practical gene inside of me, has it all wrong. These two wheel sets are great examples of really incredible wheels that would make a huge difference in anyone's riding. Not necessarily what I would call inexpensive wheels by any stretch, but good bang fer the buck anyway. 

Once again, I am reminded how much wheels affect our riding. It is crazy. My favorite example is the old 1X1 with those Velo Orange hubs laced to Velocity Cliffhanger rims and shod with those monstrously fat Extraterrestrials. That wheel set flew! There was no reason to think it should be so fun to ride those wheels. All the parts were decent, yes, but none of them were incredible or had any quality alone to recommend being wowed by the combination. But those wheels really did the trick. Andy is the owner of that bike now and I think he's been bitten by the bug those wheels have. He rides it quite often now! 

 These aero wheels from FLO Cycling are amazing AND aero.

To my way of gravelly thinking here, a 'great wheel set' needs to do three things really well: They need to be comfortable. That's number one on the list because if the wheels make your hands go numb, are too rough, or are a negative in the handling department, I don't care how light they are. Two? They need to be STIFF laterally. This is a huge deal! Wheels that lack this quality suck to ride on gravel, and the thing is, many people probably don't know they have this issue of laterally flexy wheels. Three? They need to have high quality, free rolling hubs. This is another forgotten quality of wheels that is absolutely a big, big deal. I've ridden some hubs touted as being really 'all that and a bag-o-chips'. Hubs I thought were the bomb at one time and I have been disappointed in how they perform on gravel. Not gonna name names here, but great hubs are not a given. 

You'll notice that weight has not been listed. Yep. Hold that thought, because the next thing I'm going to suggest trumps weight too. That is aerodynamics. In my mind, this will be the next big deal in wheels for gravel. Aero is real folks. You'd know it if you've spent time on a aero wheel set in a tri or on the pavement. Well, the very same things are in effect for gravel travel. Why wouldn't they be? Mark my words. Aero wheel set wars will be happening between the brands for gravel just like they do for triathlon and road racing. You don't need aerodynamics to have that great wheel set experience, but this is icing on the cake if you do. Trust me. I have felt this. 

Weight? Yeah, it is important, but it isn't THE most important thing like many think it is. Simply making a wheel set light isn't going to result in a great wheel set for gravel. Those things above here need to be happening, or that light weight? It won't matter a lick. Plus, there is such a thing as too light. There have been scientific studies to show this. A certain amount of 'fly wheel effect' is a very good thing for humans that cannot apply an even power stroke in 360° of rotation. Think about that. It makes a ton of sense. 

Of course, there are obvious things that I haven't covered here. Durability? Yes. VERY important. Wheel and tire fitment? Totally important. But any decent wheel set should have those things, or why bother? Looking good? Maybe. Some great wheels don't look anything special, in my opinion. But yes- aesthetics of the presentation may matter to many of us. So, yeah, three things of importance is really saying those are MY three top concerns with any wheel set. 

And I am an admitted wheel addicted dude. I LOVE wheels. Building them, fixing them, and especially riding them. I know there are many of you just like me out there too. You probably already know all about great wheels. But shouldn't everyone get to ride great wheels at least once? I think so. It is such a joy to try a great wheel set.

Addicted To Wheels

 Note: EXTREME nerding out again today on wheels. You've been warned!

 The Atomik/Berd Ultimate wheels.

I've probably written a post like this over the past 15 years of this blog. I don't remember, and you probably don't either. Ah! No searching! That's cheating. Gotta use the noggin. I vaguely recall something along these lines, so I'm betting I have before. Oh well..... Here goes!

Wheels. Everybody knows that there are good wheels, bad wheels, and wheels that make you all giddy in the......well.....I won't go there! You know what I mean. A good wheel set can really make your cycling experience a LOT better. I keep learning this all the time. You see, I have an issue that prevents me from being 100% on board with spending the big bucks on wheels. That is this practical 'gene' in my DNA that says to me "you can just get by with THAT wheel set! It's good enough for you". And I roll with that and believe it until I get these chances I get- and I know - I am totally blessed to have these chances - to get these chances to ride incredibly great wheels. Then I am blown away and think my inner voice is so full of BS that I must get these wheels! It's crazy, I know. But it is real. Both the voices in my head and what good wheels can do. Ha!

So, anyway, here's the thing. I am not the only person that should be riding really incredible wheels. It makes a huge difference in your riding experience. Again- because of what I do I get to ride various wheels and I have so-so ones, good ones, and the occasional great one comes along as well. Now here's the thing: The really great ones are not always from where you might think they should be from. 

I've ridden some really expensive wheels that were.....  Honestly? "Ho-hum" comes to mind. Especially compared to others I have used that were simply amazing. Some are a LOT less expensive as well. There are two wheel sets I am using right now that are the sort of wheels that make me think my inner voice, my practical gene inside of me, has it all wrong. These two wheel sets are great examples of really incredible wheels that would make a huge difference in anyone's riding. Not necessarily what I would call inexpensive wheels by any stretch, but good bang fer the buck anyway. 

Once again, I am reminded how much wheels affect our riding. It is crazy. My favorite example is the old 1X1 with those Velo Orange hubs laced to Velocity Cliffhanger rims and shod with those monstrously fat Extraterrestrials. That wheel set flew! There was no reason to think it should be so fun to ride those wheels. All the parts were decent, yes, but none of them were incredible or had any quality alone to recommend being wowed by the combination. But those wheels really did the trick. Andy is the owner of that bike now and I think he's been bitten by the bug those wheels have. He rides it quite often now! 

 These aero wheels from FLO Cycling are amazing AND aero.

To my way of gravelly thinking here, a 'great wheel set' needs to do three things really well: They need to be comfortable. That's number one on the list because if the wheels make your hands go numb, are too rough, or are a negative in the handling department, I don't care how light they are. Two? They need to be STIFF laterally. This is a huge deal! Wheels that lack this quality suck to ride on gravel, and the thing is, many people probably don't know they have this issue of laterally flexy wheels. Three? They need to have high quality, free rolling hubs. This is another forgotten quality of wheels that is absolutely a big, big deal. I've ridden some hubs touted as being really 'all that and a bag-o-chips'. Hubs I thought were the bomb at one time and I have been disappointed in how they perform on gravel. Not gonna name names here, but great hubs are not a given. 

You'll notice that weight has not been listed. Yep. Hold that thought, because the next thing I'm going to suggest trumps weight too. That is aerodynamics. In my mind, this will be the next big deal in wheels for gravel. Aero is real folks. You'd know it if you've spent time on a aero wheel set in a tri or on the pavement. Well, the very same things are in effect for gravel travel. Why wouldn't they be? Mark my words. Aero wheel set wars will be happening between the brands for gravel just like they do for triathlon and road racing. You don't need aerodynamics to have that great wheel set experience, but this is icing on the cake if you do. Trust me. I have felt this. 

Weight? Yeah, it is important, but it isn't THE most important thing like many think it is. Simply making a wheel set light isn't going to result in a great wheel set for gravel. Those things above here need to be happening, or that light weight? It won't matter a lick. Plus, there is such a thing as too light. There have been scientific studies to show this. A certain amount of 'fly wheel effect' is a very good thing for humans that cannot apply an even power stroke in 360° of rotation. Think about that. It makes a ton of sense. 

Of course, there are obvious things that I haven't covered here. Durability? Yes. VERY important. Wheel and tire fitment? Totally important. But any decent wheel set should have those things, or why bother? Looking good? Maybe. Some great wheels don't look anything special, in my opinion. But yes- aesthetics of the presentation may matter to many of us. So, yeah, three things of importance is really saying those are MY three top concerns with any wheel set. 

And I am an admitted wheel addicted dude. I LOVE wheels. Building them, fixing them, and especially riding them. I know there are many of you just like me out there too. You probably already know all about great wheels. But shouldn't everyone get to ride great wheels at least once? I think so. It is such a joy to try a great wheel set.

Fall Views: Harvest Begins

Wednesday was another back-to-back wheel testing day for me. I had the Atomik/Berd Ultimate wheels versus the FLO Cycling G700 wheels. I had a perfect day to test on as well. Couldn't have asked for better. Not a cloud in the sky and the winds were there, but nothing I couldn't handle. 10mph out of the West and upper 70's? How can you complain about that, I don't know. 

I launched from Prairie Grove Park and I used the same loop I set up from the last wheel test I did. When I got started I was in for a shock as some of the seed corn fields have already been harvested. One was being fertilized while another was seen to be getting disced up. I was a little bit surprised by this since it is kind of early for harvesting, but everything is drying down quickly and the way these hybrids are engineered now, I suppose anything is possible. Hey! I'm not a farmer, I just make observations here folks! 

Another observation: When they say "10mph winds", why does it always feel like it is more like a 20mph wind when you are riding? I remember once we had one of those portable weather stations on loan and used it for Trans Iowa recon once. I was amazed how the read out was saying "this is but a breeze" when in my mind I'm thinking it is pretty bad out! Maybe it is a cyclist thing, or maybe I'm crazy. Probably the latter. 

A big farm tractor pulling a big disc/field conditioner. 

 

More yellow corn in the fields here to the right. Brown Season is coming soon!

We've had some recent rain so the dust was tame compared to this past weekend. I gotta say, I don't mind that a bit! My Noble GX5 bike is in dire need of another cleaning from the rides I've done recently. So the gravel was perfect, really. Not too chunky or too dusty. Some bits were smooth and fast. 

It isn't just the corn that is drying down quickly. These soybeans are halfway dried up as well.

 

This fresh cut hay smelled wonderful- if you are into that sort of thing!

The wheel testing was a success and I learned a few things that surprised me. That will all come out later. Overall it was a great day out and just enough pedaling to keep me on track physically but not over doing it by any means. That's important as I want to get to be able to do those century rides I have planned. 

Fall Views: Harvest Begins

Wednesday was another back-to-back wheel testing day for me. I had the Atomik/Berd Ultimate wheels versus the FLO Cycling G700 wheels. I had a perfect day to test on as well. Couldn't have asked for better. Not a cloud in the sky and the winds were there, but nothing I couldn't handle. 10mph out of the West and upper 70's? How can you complain about that, I don't know. 

I launched from Prairie Grove Park and I used the same loop I set up from the last wheel test I did. When I got started I was in for a shock as some of the seed corn fields have already been harvested. One was being fertilized while another was seen to be getting disced up. I was a little bit surprised by this since it is kind of early for harvesting, but everything is drying down quickly and the way these hybrids are engineered now, I suppose anything is possible. Hey! I'm not a farmer, I just make observations here folks! 

Another observation: When they say "10mph winds", why does it always feel like it is more like a 20mph wind when you are riding? I remember once we had one of those portable weather stations on loan and used it for Trans Iowa recon once. I was amazed how the read out was saying "this is but a breeze" when in my mind I'm thinking it is pretty bad out! Maybe it is a cyclist thing, or maybe I'm crazy. Probably the latter. 

A big farm tractor pulling a big disc/field conditioner. 

 

More yellow corn in the fields here to the right. Brown Season is coming soon!

We've had some recent rain so the dust was tame compared to this past weekend. I gotta say, I don't mind that a bit! My Noble GX5 bike is in dire need of another cleaning from the rides I've done recently. So the gravel was perfect, really. Not too chunky or too dusty. Some bits were smooth and fast. 

It isn't just the corn that is drying down quickly. These soybeans are halfway dried up as well.

 

This fresh cut hay smelled wonderful- if you are into that sort of thing!

The wheel testing was a success and I learned a few things that surprised me. That will all come out later. Overall it was a great day out and just enough pedaling to keep me on track physically but not over doing it by any means. That's important as I want to get to be able to do those century rides I have planned. 

Fall Views: Neeker-Breekers, Grit, & Insects

Things are drying out and turning brown now out in the country.

 Got out Wednesday for a nice test on a few things I have to review for RidingGravel.com. The day was promised ahead of time to be hot, humid, and breezy. It hit on two of the three. Humidity, while at 58%, wasn't bad- for around here. Usually it's around 70% this time of year when it is hot. So, actually, I was thinking it didn't feel too bad. 

I took the Noble GX5 with these crazy Atomik/Berd Ultimate gravel wheels on it, which was part of what I had to review. I also had on these gloves to review, (not ready to post anything quite yet on those), and the Hutchinson Tourareg 700 X 45mm tires. Busy day taking it all in, for sure. Oh....yeah, I almost forgot. I was also wearing those Rudy Project Cutline glasses I'm reviewing. Sheesh! Anything else? Nope..... That's it! Gotta get the work in! 

Anyway, I headed North this time up Burton Avenue for a bit. The wind was out of the South, so I made up my mind to turn East and go a ways that way, then South and back home. Not a big loop. Just a couple hours to get in some test riding. The gravel was exemplary. Really good. Only a few stretches were treacherous with loose, chunky gravel. I was a bit surprised by this. But.....I'll take it! 

It wasn't cloudy, but those wildfires out West are polluting our upper atmosphere in the Mid-West and it was weird outside. The light is diffused and this casts a weird light on everything. You could almost see the haze, it was making things so different to look at. You really notice the issue when the Sun is low in the horizon. The Sun looks reddish-orange and the sky turns a brownish-red/orange. Not a natural look! But while things looked odd, at least we weren't subjected to breathing the smoke down here. Being a 'flat lander' does come with some advantages! 

The roads were fast, dusty, and lacking in deeper chunk. The Atomik/Berd Ultimate gravel wheel shown here.

Moo!

It was very difficult to get a good shot due to the atmospheric conditions. My camera kept wanting to 'blow-out' the highlights, and I'm not a good enough photographer to figure out how to work around the issue I was having. A few shots I got were totally unusable, but I did get what I needed. 

At the crossroads of Bennington Road and Sage Road

Yep! That's some tall corn right there!

I couldn't get a shot to look right if my life depended upon it if I was pointed East. Weird. And even looking other directions, it was a difficult day to shoot. Just really odd out there. Anyway..... Nuff said. 

The nature of the countryside is definitely saying "Fall". The birds are gone. No Red Winged Blackbirds to contend with anymore. No Starlings. No Robins warbling in the distance. The Western Meadowlark has fallen silent. The only sounds I heard were the constant singing chorus of 'neeker-breekers'. You "Lord of The Rings" fans will understand that reference. The crickets and grasshoppers, rubbing their legs together, making that "neeker-breeker" sound. Listen for it, you'll never hear those insects the same again. 

Then there was the gritty sound of tire against gravel. And the wind, of course. That was it. No other sounds to be heard out there for two hours. Sights were not all that noteworthy either. With the obvious lack of birds, only the occasional cow and horse were seen. Insects were flying about though. Grasshoppers, butterflies, and the odd dragonfly were seen. But yeah......this is looking more like the end of the season and the beginning of another. 

Throw-back jersey

I also took this occasion to bust out one of the old Advantage Cyclery race team jerseys that I have. This was the race team that was based out of the shop where I first plied the trade of bicycle mechanic back in the mid-90's. After Advantage Cyclery folded, in very early 1997, I moved on to become an auto mechanic and did not get back into working on bicycles until late 2002. 

In the meantime, I left racing behind, and I had my race jerseys, which I tucked away in a drawer. Now every 'blue moon' I get the urge to dig one out and ride in it. So, that was fun. I will say that in the last 25 years jersey technology has come a long, long way. This thing was like wearing a garbage bag compared to what we have now! But hey! It was for kicks, and I had fun wearing one of these again. 

Last time I posted about this someone that had an old one of these sent theirs to me! Ha! Well, listen- I have plenty. I don't need anymore of these Advantage jerseys! I think I must have about four of them as it is! But the thought is what counts and I still appreciate that I was sent one of these a few years back. 

The testing went well. I learned what I could and rode home. Now it is time to put thoughts to digital letters and images for all to read at some point. I have also decided I need to do some specific wheel testing coming up soon. I have some theories to either debunk or to confirm. Always thinking out there on these test rides.......

The ride was in the morning, before it got beastly out. Still, it was 88°F and with the wind, it was fairly draining. I did have to back off from riding too hard in the heat so I wouldn't get myself in the 'hurt locker' and be down for the count the rest of the day. I had a driving lesson to give! So, I had to be on my game.

The driving went okay. My daughter, who will turn 20 this December, finally decided she needs to know how to drive. I took her out on a gravel road, (natch!), and turned her loose for a couple of very tentative miles. It was fun. She peeled out once, unintentionally, but I had to let out a good "WooHoo!" for the occasion regardless. I mean, you just cannot let a good spewing of gravel go without a yelp of uninhibited joy, now can you? Well, it ain't happening around here! 

Afterward it was time to hit the ice cream store for celebratory treats. She made a good start. Now for some continuing education......

Fall Views: Neeker-Breekers, Grit, & Insects

Things are drying out and turning brown now out in the country.

 Got out Wednesday for a nice test on a few things I have to review for RidingGravel.com. The day was promised ahead of time to be hot, humid, and breezy. It hit on two of the three. Humidity, while at 58%, wasn't bad- for around here. Usually it's around 70% this time of year when it is hot. So, actually, I was thinking it didn't feel too bad. 

I took the Noble GX5 with these crazy Atomik/Berd Ultimate gravel wheels on it, which was part of what I had to review. I also had on these gloves to review, (not ready to post anything quite yet on those), and the Hutchinson Tourareg 700 X 45mm tires. Busy day taking it all in, for sure. Oh....yeah, I almost forgot. I was also wearing those Rudy Project Cutline glasses I'm reviewing. Sheesh! Anything else? Nope..... That's it! Gotta get the work in! 

Anyway, I headed North this time up Burton Avenue for a bit. The wind was out of the South, so I made up my mind to turn East and go a ways that way, then South and back home. Not a big loop. Just a couple hours to get in some test riding. The gravel was exemplary. Really good. Only a few stretches were treacherous with loose, chunky gravel. I was a bit surprised by this. But.....I'll take it! 

It wasn't cloudy, but those wildfires out West are polluting our upper atmosphere in the Mid-West and it was weird outside. The light is diffused and this casts a weird light on everything. You could almost see the haze, it was making things so different to look at. You really notice the issue when the Sun is low in the horizon. The Sun looks reddish-orange and the sky turns a brownish-red/orange. Not a natural look! But while things looked odd, at least we weren't subjected to breathing the smoke down here. Being a 'flat lander' does come with some advantages! 

The roads were fast, dusty, and lacking in deeper chunk. The Atomik/Berd Ultimate gravel wheel shown here.

Moo!

It was very difficult to get a good shot due to the atmospheric conditions. My camera kept wanting to 'blow-out' the highlights, and I'm not a good enough photographer to figure out how to work around the issue I was having. A few shots I got were totally unusable, but I did get what I needed. 

At the crossroads of Bennington Road and Sage Road

Yep! That's some tall corn right there!

I couldn't get a shot to look right if my life depended upon it if I was pointed East. Weird. And even looking other directions, it was a difficult day to shoot. Just really odd out there. Anyway..... Nuff said. 

The nature of the countryside is definitely saying "Fall". The birds are gone. No Red Winged Blackbirds to contend with anymore. No Starlings. No Robins warbling in the distance. The Western Meadowlark has fallen silent. The only sounds I heard were the constant singing chorus of 'neeker-breekers'. You "Lord of The Rings" fans will understand that reference. The crickets and grasshoppers, rubbing their legs together, making that "neeker-breeker" sound. Listen for it, you'll never hear those insects the same again. 

Then there was the gritty sound of tire against gravel. And the wind, of course. That was it. No other sounds to be heard out there for two hours. Sights were not all that noteworthy either. With the obvious lack of birds, only the occasional cow and horse were seen. Insects were flying about though. Grasshoppers, butterflies, and the odd dragonfly were seen. But yeah......this is looking more like the end of the season and the beginning of another. 

Throw-back jersey

I also took this occasion to bust out one of the old Advantage Cyclery race team jerseys that I have. This was the race team that was based out of the shop where I first plied the trade of bicycle mechanic back in the mid-90's. After Advantage Cyclery folded, in very early 1997, I moved on to become an auto mechanic and did not get back into working on bicycles until late 2002. 

In the meantime, I left racing behind, and I had my race jerseys, which I tucked away in a drawer. Now every 'blue moon' I get the urge to dig one out and ride in it. So, that was fun. I will say that in the last 25 years jersey technology has come a long, long way. This thing was like wearing a garbage bag compared to what we have now! But hey! It was for kicks, and I had fun wearing one of these again. 

Last time I posted about this someone that had an old one of these sent theirs to me! Ha! Well, listen- I have plenty. I don't need anymore of these Advantage jerseys! I think I must have about four of them as it is! But the thought is what counts and I still appreciate that I was sent one of these a few years back. 

The testing went well. I learned what I could and rode home. Now it is time to put thoughts to digital letters and images for all to read at some point. I have also decided I need to do some specific wheel testing coming up soon. I have some theories to either debunk or to confirm. Always thinking out there on these test rides.......

The ride was in the morning, before it got beastly out. Still, it was 88°F and with the wind, it was fairly draining. I did have to back off from riding too hard in the heat so I wouldn't get myself in the 'hurt locker' and be down for the count the rest of the day. I had a driving lesson to give! So, I had to be on my game.

The driving went okay. My daughter, who will turn 20 this December, finally decided she needs to know how to drive. I took her out on a gravel road, (natch!), and turned her loose for a couple of very tentative miles. It was fun. She peeled out once, unintentionally, but I had to let out a good "WooHoo!" for the occasion regardless. I mean, you just cannot let a good spewing of gravel go without a yelp of uninhibited joy, now can you? Well, it ain't happening around here! 

Afterward it was time to hit the ice cream store for celebratory treats. She made a good start. Now for some continuing education......

Spoke Madness

Atomik carbon rims laced with Berd spokes.

Some time ago now I saw on the famous Mike Curiak blog that he was building a wheel set with these spokes made of a polymer fabric called Berd Spokes. Mike is a pretty straight shooter when it comes to marketing claims. He has always been the guy to call "BS" on things that were not quite right. Now, lately he's been a bit mellower. Maybe it's older age and wisdom, but when Mike speaks, I tend to perk up an ear, and these Berd spokes were something he was serious about. That's all I needed to know. I followed along with his initial explorations of these spokes and when I read about the insane process necessary to make a wheel out of them, (three stretching periods and a 24 hour mandatory rest period), I thought, well..... "Neato, but too complicated for my tastes." Besides, they cost an arm and a leg. Like $600.00 for a set to build wheels? Nope! 

This was a clear case where maybe if you have TONS of disposable income, and a wheel builder certified to do these, you get a set. OR- some brand gets a hold of this and spreads costs out enough that a wheel set might make sense to an average "Joe" or "Jill".  Well, it would appear that this has finally happened and Atomik is that company.

The Atomik/Berd Wheels are available in mountain or gravel configurations. They claim to have an exclusive on the black color Berd spokes, because if you have other wheel builders build Berd spoked wheels, you get the 'whitey-titety' white ones. These spokes are a pretty weird deal too. They supposedly float on water. They are twelve times stronger, from a strength to weight ratio perspective, than steel spokes, and a set of Berd spokes can weigh up to 200 grams less than a set of steel spokes. Berd claims their spokes have 200% better vibration damping qualities than steel spokes do. 

Crazy.

RidingGravel.com is going to be testing a set of these, so hang on..... I'll have ride reports on these later on.

But these aren't the only crazy spokes out there. MG is testing these Gulo Composites wheels which have these way-out carbon braided spokes. And, of course, you all probably know about the Spinergy PBO spoked wheels, which are not metal either. It's like the World has gone mad or something with all these non-metallic spoke offerings. Oh........wait- 

It is 2020. 

Anyway, I'll be looking forward to seeing what these Berd spoked Atomik wheels have up their sleeve. Stay tuned......

Spoke Madness

Atomik carbon rims laced with Berd spokes.

Some time ago now I saw on the famous Mike Curiak blog that he was building a wheel set with these spokes made of a polymer fabric called Berd Spokes. Mike is a pretty straight shooter when it comes to marketing claims. He has always been the guy to call "BS" on things that were not quite right. Now, lately he's been a bit mellower. Maybe it's older age and wisdom, but when Mike speaks, I tend to perk up an ear, and these Berd spokes were something he was serious about. That's all I needed to know. I followed along with his initial explorations of these spokes and when I read about the insane process necessary to make a wheel out of them, (three stretching periods and a 24 hour mandatory rest period), I thought, well..... "Neato, but too complicated for my tastes." Besides, they cost an arm and a leg. Like $600.00 for a set to build wheels? Nope! 

This was a clear case where maybe if you have TONS of disposable income, and a wheel builder certified to do these, you get a set. OR- some brand gets a hold of this and spreads costs out enough that a wheel set might make sense to an average "Joe" or "Jill".  Well, it would appear that this has finally happened and Atomik is that company.

The Atomik/Berd Wheels are available in mountain or gravel configurations. They claim to have an exclusive on the black color Berd spokes, because if you have other wheel builders build Berd spoked wheels, you get the 'whitey-titety' white ones. These spokes are a pretty weird deal too. They supposedly float on water. They are twelve times stronger, from a strength to weight ratio perspective, than steel spokes, and a set of Berd spokes can weigh up to 200 grams less than a set of steel spokes. Berd claims their spokes have 200% better vibration damping qualities than steel spokes do. 

Crazy.

RidingGravel.com is going to be testing a set of these, so hang on..... I'll have ride reports on these later on.

But these aren't the only crazy spokes out there. MG is testing these Gulo Composites wheels which have these way-out carbon braided spokes. And, of course, you all probably know about the Spinergy PBO spoked wheels, which are not metal either. It's like the World has gone mad or something with all these non-metallic spoke offerings. Oh........wait- 

It is 2020. 

Anyway, I'll be looking forward to seeing what these Berd spoked Atomik wheels have up their sleeve. Stay tuned......