Friday News And Views

The Lauf "True Grit" gravel bike Image courtesy of Lauf.

Lauf Suspension Introduces A Gravel Bike:

I heard a story from last Spring's Dirty Kanza 200 about a ride one fellow was getting to be extricated from the course after DNF-ing. He was in a car with the Lauf Suspension company's owner. I heard nothing but good things about the man and his love for gravel events. So, it comes as no surprise to me that Lauf has a complete bike now on offer for gravel grinding.

Of course, it is carbon fiber, since it is aimed at racing, which is also cued by the saddle to bar drop you see here. It also features the second generation of the Grit gravel fork. 30mm of undamped travel are on tap here. There is one thing I really like about this bike and one thing I really do not like while there is another thing that I feel is just aesthetically wrong. (I bet you can guess the last one.)

I've been an advocate for slacker head angles and longer offsets for gravel bikes for years. Just as with mtb designs, this idea has a lot of merit for the rider doing lots of gravel travel. Lauf did use a slacker 70.5° head angle which I think is fantastic, but they stopped short of going long on the offset with a 47mm offset. I suppose they are using the slacker angle to account for a slight steepening of the head angle as the fork sinks into its travel.

I do not like the bottom bracket drop here which is right in line with Euro cyclo cross geometry at 65mm. In fact, for gravel bikes, that height is ridiculous. There really is no benefit to using a high bottom bracket for gravel bikes, and it takes away from stability at high speeds on looser gravel. I'll tell you something- I stop having interest in any bike sporting CX type BB height. It basically seems to me to be a nod to making this bike a possible CX bike choice for those buying in, but to my mind, it takes away a vital facet of stability which, in my opinion, cannot be compromised on. Your mileage may vary, but Lauf made a mistake here and the bike could have been so much better. Too bad.......

Besides, The Duke wouldn't cotton to a bike making compromises that is named "True Grit", now would he? I don't think so.

Gravel World's rig

Gettin' Ready For Worlds:

Ha! How pretentious does that sound? Like I deserve to be in a "worlds"of anything! Well, I cannot help that they call the event "Gravel Worlds", so there! They let me in, so I am going.

And.....I'm taking "Captain America". (Note- My daughter dubbed the bike thus, so I am going with it.) I've done a couple of modifications here which are note worthy. The first is adding the BodyFloat seat post from Cirrus Cycles. I used the same post on my Fargo last year to great effect. The washboard gravel they have down there around Lincoln is no match for this post.

I also added the Redshift Sports ShockStop stem to the Tamland. The stem should also reduce front end induced vibrations and over the course of 150 miles, I should feel fresher than I would without it. In my test run Thursday morning I was pretty happy with how smooth it felt. Together with the BodyFloat, the bike felt much calmer in rougher stuff that would normally have your arms shaking.

Finally, since the Tamland doesn't have an under the down tube bottle mount, I swapped over the B-Rad system from the Otso Warakin and this will allow me to have two easily reached bottles, a third on the seat tube, and one stashed inside the top tube bag. With all the chances at convenience store stops, and oasis stops, I should get by just fine with that amount of water on-board.

I'm choosing to run the excellent WTB Resolute tires for the event on my White Industries, WTB rimmed wheel set all tubeless, of course. I'll have 46T/36T X 11-36T gearing for plenty of low end and good high end ranges without running a wonky chain line. I also will be using the Ritchey Venturemax bar on this attempt at Gravel Worlds.

MONe Bikes El Continente

This Gets Me:

So, I have a few things in cycling that will always get my attention- Plate crown forks, fillet brazed construction, single speed capability, and drop bar specific, non-suspension corrected designs. I also have a fascination with 29+ wheels, as I think the possibilities of that wheel size are mostly misused and misunderstood by most companies that try to use them.

Well, I saw someone post this frame from a company called MONe Bikes on Facebook and I was like, "Dang it! There is a bike I can get behind! "  It is steel, fillet brazed, uses a plate crown fork, is a drop bar specific design with no provision for suspension, and can be set up single speed. Plus it is a 29+ wheeled rig.

Yep. I sure do like it!

Some Salsa Cycles honches asked me a couple years ago what I would do for a 10th anniversary Fargo. Well, had I seen that MONe Bikes El Continente back then, I would have just handed them the image and said, "Do that!" If I could persuade them to do it now, I would. But as the 2018 stuff will be released September 8th by Salsa, that probably will not happen. I doubt they have the hutzpah to just go with a non-sus corrected deign, for one thing, much less a specific 29+ rendering of a Fargo.

Maybe, (hopefully), I'll be wrong.

Have a great weekend and get some bicycling done!

Friday News And Views

The Lauf "True Grit" gravel bike Image courtesy of Lauf.

Lauf Suspension Introduces A Gravel Bike:

I heard a story from last Spring's Dirty Kanza 200 about a ride one fellow was getting to be extricated from the course after DNF-ing. He was in a car with the Lauf Suspension company's owner. I heard nothing but good things about the man and his love for gravel events. So, it comes as no surprise to me that Lauf has a complete bike now on offer for gravel grinding.

Of course, it is carbon fiber, since it is aimed at racing, which is also cued by the saddle to bar drop you see here. It also features the second generation of the Grit gravel fork. 30mm of undamped travel are on tap here. There is one thing I really like about this bike and one thing I really do not like while there is another thing that I feel is just aesthetically wrong. (I bet you can guess the last one.)

I've been an advocate for slacker head angles and longer offsets for gravel bikes for years. Just as with mtb designs, this idea has a lot of merit for the rider doing lots of gravel travel. Lauf did use a slacker 70.5° head angle which I think is fantastic, but they stopped short of going long on the offset with a 47mm offset. I suppose they are using the slacker angle to account for a slight steepening of the head angle as the fork sinks into its travel.

I do not like the bottom bracket drop here which is right in line with Euro cyclo cross geometry at 65mm. In fact, for gravel bikes, that height is ridiculous. There really is no benefit to using a high bottom bracket for gravel bikes, and it takes away from stability at high speeds on looser gravel. I'll tell you something- I stop having interest in any bike sporting CX type BB height. It basically seems to me to be a nod to making this bike a possible CX bike choice for those buying in, but to my mind, it takes away a vital facet of stability which, in my opinion, cannot be compromised on. Your mileage may vary, but Lauf made a mistake here and the bike could have been so much better. Too bad.......

Besides, The Duke wouldn't cotton to a bike making compromises that is named "True Grit", now would he? I don't think so.

Gravel World's rig

Gettin' Ready For Worlds:

Ha! How pretentious does that sound? Like I deserve to be in a "worlds"of anything! Well, I cannot help that they call the event "Gravel Worlds", so there! They let me in, so I am going.

And.....I'm taking "Captain America". (Note- My daughter dubbed the bike thus, so I am going with it.) I've done a couple of modifications here which are note worthy. The first is adding the BodyFloat seat post from Cirrus Cycles. I used the same post on my Fargo last year to great effect. The washboard gravel they have down there around Lincoln is no match for this post.

I also added the Redshift Sports ShockStop stem to the Tamland. The stem should also reduce front end induced vibrations and over the course of 150 miles, I should feel fresher than I would without it. In my test run Thursday morning I was pretty happy with how smooth it felt. Together with the BodyFloat, the bike felt much calmer in rougher stuff that would normally have your arms shaking.

Finally, since the Tamland doesn't have an under the down tube bottle mount, I swapped over the B-Rad system from the Otso Warakin and this will allow me to have two easily reached bottles, a third on the seat tube, and one stashed inside the top tube bag. With all the chances at convenience store stops, and oasis stops, I should get by just fine with that amount of water on-board.

I'm choosing to run the excellent WTB Resolute tires for the event on my White Industries, WTB rimmed wheel set all tubeless, of course. I'll have 46T/36T X 11-36T gearing for plenty of low end and good high end ranges without running a wonky chain line. I also will be using the Ritchey Venturemax bar on this attempt at Gravel Worlds.

MONe Bikes El Continente

This Gets Me:

So, I have a few things in cycling that will always get my attention- Plate crown forks, fillet brazed construction, single speed capability, and drop bar specific, non-suspension corrected designs. I also have a fascination with 29+ wheels, as I think the possibilities of that wheel size are mostly misused and misunderstood by most companies that try to use them.

Well, I saw someone post this frame from a company called MONe Bikes on Facebook and I was like, "Dang it! There is a bike I can get behind! "  It is steel, fillet brazed, uses a plate crown fork, is a drop bar specific design with no provision for suspension, and can be set up single speed. Plus it is a 29+ wheeled rig.

Yep. I sure do like it!

Some Salsa Cycles honches asked me a couple years ago what I would do for a 10th anniversary Fargo. Well, had I seen that MONe Bikes El Continente back then, I would have just handed them the image and said, "Do that!" If I could persuade them to do it now, I would. But as the 2018 stuff will be released September 8th by Salsa, that probably will not happen. I doubt they have the hutzpah to just go with a non-sus corrected deign, for one thing, much less a specific 29+ rendering of a Fargo.

Maybe, (hopefully), I'll be wrong.

Have a great weekend and get some bicycling done!

DK My Way: Gear And Comments

The Gen I Fargo in Americus

The gear and clothing I used for the century ride in Kansas was spot on, for the most part. I wanted to detail what I used and what was good or not so good here, in case anyone wanted a reference and ideas on what to do for a ride in the Flint Hills.

First of all, it has been my experience down there that water, specifically having enough of it, is a big challenge to riding the Flint Hills. There are some pretty remote places down there with no chances for resupply of water. Added to this is the fact that, generally speaking, the area is windy and somewhat arid. This has the effect of sucking your moisture out of you without you realizing it. Staying hydrated, in my opinion, is mission number one when setting up for a self supported ride in the Flint Hills.

The Gen I Fargo is a bicycle that has a lot of braze ons for water bottle cages. This along with the Wolf Tooth B Rad System afforded me the opportunity to carry six water bottles of water. I could have gone with seven, but the lowest, down tube mounted bottle I reserved for my tool kit. I'll talk about the B Rad System in more detail in a separate review, but (spoiler alert), it works. I was glad I got that before the trip.

The capabilities of the B Rad equipped Gen I Fargo allowed me to get by without a hydration back pack. I carried nothing at all on my back except a few odd things in jersey pockets. This allowed me to not have to suffer the beat down of 3 liters of water on my back over Kansan gravel roads. I had plenty of water, but given the conditions this time, I wasn't really tested in this.

You can see my Bike Bag Dude "Chaff" bag hanging in the front of my bike here.

The Bike Bag Dude's Chaff Bags have been a staple of my set ups over the past 5 years or so now. I would not ever do a long, extended tour or day ride without at least one of these on my bicycle.

This time I used the single Chaff Bag I took for tube and tool storage, along with the convenience of having a quick place to shove used almond butter packets and other trash. I attached this bag to my Bar Yak System.

The Bar Yak System I use is a combination of the load bars, aero carbon bar ends with a titanium cross bar, and the Pergrine Arm Rests. I also attached the Q; Pro cue sheet holder to the load bars. The cue sheet holder is awesome and probably something I should have had a long time ago. The Bar Yak arm rests and aero bar end set up allows me to relieve hand pressure and prevent numbness. Obviously it is more aero as well. The load bars are a great place to strap an under the bar roll or, as in my case, the Chaff Bag. I even mount my light off the Ti cross bar, so there is that bit of versatility to take advantage of here as well.

I did not use a frame bag or traditional "under the top tube" half bag/tank bag/triangle sort of deal this time. First, it really doesn't work to have that and all the water bottles on the bike. Secondly, I was trying to minimize my kit. I did use my Bike Bag Dude Garage top tube "fuel tank style" bag. I also used a just acquired Carousel Designs top tube bag that is most like a "Jerry Can" from Revelate, but kind of different. In the Garage Bag I stowed food, a few small tools, lip balm, and other items I wanted quick access to. In the Carousel Designs bag I stowed my Lezyne mini pump and all my maps I needed.

Luxy Bar, Gevenalle shifters, Bar Yak, Terrene Honali tires, and my Trelock Control Ion light are seen here.

I did not use a saddle/seat tube mounted bag, although I brought one by Banjo Brothers in the event I thought I might need to carry rain gear. The improved forecast ixnayed that choice from the final set up.

I also swapped out my BodyFloat seat post for my Salsa Cycles Ti Regulator post. I did that mostly so I had the option to run a saddle/seat post mounted bag, but in the end I think it worked out well in terms of comfort. It isn't as compliant as the BodyFloat, but it feels better when climbing because it isn't as compliant as the BodyFloat post. I missed the BodyFloat on the copious amounts of washboard road, but other than that, no. The saddle was changed to a WTB Pure, by the way. A Brooks Cambium will get put on at some point.

The Terrene Honali tires were really nice. See my RidingGravel.com review here. 

Clothing was my new RidingGravel.com kit with a Bontrager base layer tank underneath. Thin wool socks, 8"ers, and my Shimano three strap mtb shoes were on my feet. On my head I had a Twin Six cycling hat and my Bontrager helmet. Eyewear was from Oakley.

Nutrition was basically Epic pemmican bars and Justin's Almond Butter packets.I did have some salty chips and the Budweiser. I used Gu energy electrolyte tabs since I forgot my Elete at home. I drank 11 bottles of water throughout the ride.

Comments: Mentally I used a couple "mantras" on this ride. One was "Shift early-shift often." I said this at the beginning of almost every hill. I have a tendency to mash, so I used this little phrase as a way to remind myself to shift and spin. The other was "Enjoy the ride". Sounds simple, but this helped when I found myself suffering, or going too hard. If I was hurting, I tried to focus on things around me that brought me joy or put a smile on my face. If I was going too hard, it was a way that I could limit my output and be more attentive to burning up too many matches.

I also allowed myself to take as many images as I wanted to. This was about enjoyment, not racing. I wanted to take in as much as I could on this ride. That said, when I got back, had showered, and had walked down to the start line, there werestill riders coming in for their DK100 Half Pint finish. So, maybe I should start "racing" the way I rode the DK My Way!

DK My Way: Gear And Comments

The Gen I Fargo in Americus

The gear and clothing I used for the century ride in Kansas was spot on, for the most part. I wanted to detail what I used and what was good or not so good here, in case anyone wanted a reference and ideas on what to do for a ride in the Flint Hills.

First of all, it has been my experience down there that water, specifically having enough of it, is a big challenge to riding the Flint Hills. There are some pretty remote places down there with no chances for resupply of water. Added to this is the fact that, generally speaking, the area is windy and somewhat arid. This has the effect of sucking your moisture out of you without you realizing it. Staying hydrated, in my opinion, is mission number one when setting up for a self supported ride in the Flint Hills.

The Gen I Fargo is a bicycle that has a lot of braze ons for water bottle cages. This along with the Wolf Tooth B Rad System afforded me the opportunity to carry six water bottles of water. I could have gone with seven, but the lowest, down tube mounted bottle I reserved for my tool kit. I'll talk about the B Rad System in more detail in a separate review, but (spoiler alert), it works. I was glad I got that before the trip.

The capabilities of the B Rad equipped Gen I Fargo allowed me to get by without a hydration back pack. I carried nothing at all on my back except a few odd things in jersey pockets. This allowed me to not have to suffer the beat down of 3 liters of water on my back over Kansan gravel roads. I had plenty of water, but given the conditions this time, I wasn't really tested in this.

You can see my Bike Bag Dude "Chaff" bag hanging in the front of my bike here.

The Bike Bag Dude's Chaff Bags have been a staple of my set ups over the past 5 years or so now. I would not ever do a long, extended tour or day ride without at least one of these on my bicycle.

This time I used the single Chaff Bag I took for tube and tool storage, along with the convenience of having a quick place to shove used almond butter packets and other trash. I attached this bag to my Bar Yak System.

The Bar Yak System I use is a combination of the load bars, aero carbon bar ends with a titanium cross bar, and the Pergrine Arm Rests. I also attached the Q; Pro cue sheet holder to the load bars. The cue sheet holder is awesome and probably something I should have had a long time ago. The Bar Yak arm rests and aero bar end set up allows me to relieve hand pressure and prevent numbness. Obviously it is more aero as well. The load bars are a great place to strap an under the bar roll or, as in my case, the Chaff Bag. I even mount my light off the Ti cross bar, so there is that bit of versatility to take advantage of here as well.

I did not use a frame bag or traditional "under the top tube" half bag/tank bag/triangle sort of deal this time. First, it really doesn't work to have that and all the water bottles on the bike. Secondly, I was trying to minimize my kit. I did use my Bike Bag Dude Garage top tube "fuel tank style" bag. I also used a just acquired Carousel Designs top tube bag that is most like a "Jerry Can" from Revelate, but kind of different. In the Garage Bag I stowed food, a few small tools, lip balm, and other items I wanted quick access to. In the Carousel Designs bag I stowed my Lezyne mini pump and all my maps I needed.

Luxy Bar, Gevenalle shifters, Bar Yak, Terrene Honali tires, and my Trelock Control Ion light are seen here.

I did not use a saddle/seat tube mounted bag, although I brought one by Banjo Brothers in the event I thought I might need to carry rain gear. The improved forecast ixnayed that choice from the final set up.

I also swapped out my BodyFloat seat post for my Salsa Cycles Ti Regulator post. I did that mostly so I had the option to run a saddle/seat post mounted bag, but in the end I think it worked out well in terms of comfort. It isn't as compliant as the BodyFloat, but it feels better when climbing because it isn't as compliant as the BodyFloat post. I missed the BodyFloat on the copious amounts of washboard road, but other than that, no. The saddle was changed to a WTB Pure, by the way. A Brooks Cambium will get put on at some point.

The Terrene Honali tires were really nice. See my RidingGravel.com review here. 

Clothing was my new RidingGravel.com kit with a Bontrager base layer tank underneath. Thin wool socks, 8"ers, and my Shimano three strap mtb shoes were on my feet. On my head I had a Twin Six cycling hat and my Bontrager helmet. Eyewear was from Oakley.

Nutrition was basically Epic pemmican bars and Justin's Almond Butter packets.I did have some salty chips and the Budweiser. I used Gu energy electrolyte tabs since I forgot my Elete at home. I drank 11 bottles of water throughout the ride.

Comments: Mentally I used a couple "mantras" on this ride. One was "Shift early-shift often." I said this at the beginning of almost every hill. I have a tendency to mash, so I used this little phrase as a way to remind myself to shift and spin. The other was "Enjoy the ride". Sounds simple, but this helped when I found myself suffering, or going too hard. If I was hurting, I tried to focus on things around me that brought me joy or put a smile on my face. If I was going too hard, it was a way that I could limit my output and be more attentive to burning up too many matches.

I also allowed myself to take as many images as I wanted to. This was about enjoyment, not racing. I wanted to take in as much as I could on this ride. That said, when I got back, had showered, and had walked down to the start line, there werestill riders coming in for their DK100 Half Pint finish. So, maybe I should start "racing" the way I rode the DK My Way!

Wolf Tooth B Rad - Introduction

The Wolf Tooth B Rad 2 and Double Bottle Adapters.

Wolf Tooth is a company that is perhaps best known for drive train bits and pieces, like those fancy derailleur adapters or ginormous cassette extender cogs. That's all great and stuff, but I never really was too interested in those things. Then they recently announced a new product range dubbed "B Rad". It is a system of bits and pieces that allow a rider to mount things on the bike and get them off the rider's back. Literally. Like water, for instance.

Okay, now you've got my attention Mr. Wolf Tooth! I checked this out and found that it may be something worth getting for my gravel bikes. With my "DK My Way" ride coming up, I figured that I would try to graft that gizmo on to my Gen I Fargo. That's my adventure bike and it carries a lot of water as is.

The B Rad system is modular and you buy the system parts separately. I chose the B Rad 2 rail and the Double Bottle Adapter since what I wanted to do was add an extra water bottle. Actually, I was also making a difficult to get at bottle easier for me to access and add another bottle. You see, the original Gen I Fargos in size Large, XL, and XXL had two down tube mounted bottle cage options inside the front triangle. I can put two bottles there, one on the seat tube, and one underneath the down tube. That's four bottles plus the two I can mount on the fork blades.

With the B Rad parts mounted, I can run seven bottles on the Gen I Fargo.

The trouble was that the upper most down tube mounted bottle was really hard to get out and remove. It was possible, but it wasn't ideal. Last year I ran a frame bag and stuck bottles in there. For Gravel Worlds I ran a top tube bag with an extra bottle in there. This year I am maxing out the water carrying capacity for what I anticipate will be a hot, drier Kansas trip. The B Rad gets me the water I need without dealing with a hydration pack.

Here is a good look- The rail mounts to the bike and the adapters to the rail.

I still need to work on my storage for other items. I have been using the under the down tube bottle as a tool kit. (That's what you see here in the image, by the way.) That leaves six other 20 ounce bottles for water so I figure that if I can plan resupply points at four to five hours ride time I should be okay on water. The new-to-me black Carousel Design Works bag on the top tube will be used for some food carrying duties and I have yet to add my Bike Bag Dude Garage Bag on the top tube which should also be handling food and some personal items. I will likely also use a couple Chaff Bags from Bike Bag Dude as well for easy access food or possibly a wet weather jacket storage.

But back to the B Rad..... I have only done a short test ride, but out of the saddle pedaling shouldn't be an issue. I noted that I had the B Rad mounted up the down tube far enough, (due to an interference issue with a cable stop more than anything else), that it places the bottles far enough forward that I have plenty of clearance for my legs. The bottles are easily accessed while riding, as you might imagine, and the extra clearance gained above the lower down tube water bottle will now allow me to use a larger sized water bottle in that position, as well as a large sized bottle on the seat tube. Actually, if I decided against the Chaff Bags, I could use large sized bottles on the B Rad mounted cages.

Speaking of wet weather. If I am wrong and the weather looks to be more like the way it was two years ago, I may use a Bar Yak mounted dry bag with spare clothing. But I won't make that call until closer to the event. Late next week I should have a better idea about that, but either way the B Rad set up stays.

Stay tuned for a full review post DK.......

NOTE- The B Rad bits were bought with my own damn money and I was not asked, paid, or bribed for this post.

Wolf Tooth B Rad - Introduction

The Wolf Tooth B Rad 2 and Double Bottle Adapters.

Wolf Tooth is a company that is perhaps best known for drive train bits and pieces, like those fancy derailleur adapters or ginormous cassette extender cogs. That's all great and stuff, but I never really was too interested in those things. Then they recently announced a new product range dubbed "B Rad". It is a system of bits and pieces that allow a rider to mount things on the bike and get them off the rider's back. Literally. Like water, for instance.

Okay, now you've got my attention Mr. Wolf Tooth! I checked this out and found that it may be something worth getting for my gravel bikes. With my "DK My Way" ride coming up, I figured that I would try to graft that gizmo on to my Gen I Fargo. That's my adventure bike and it carries a lot of water as is.

The B Rad system is modular and you buy the system parts separately. I chose the B Rad 2 rail and the Double Bottle Adapter since what I wanted to do was add an extra water bottle. Actually, I was also making a difficult to get at bottle easier for me to access and add another bottle. You see, the original Gen I Fargos in size Large, XL, and XXL had two down tube mounted bottle cage options inside the front triangle. I can put two bottles there, one on the seat tube, and one underneath the down tube. That's four bottles plus the two I can mount on the fork blades.

With the B Rad parts mounted, I can run seven bottles on the Gen I Fargo.

The trouble was that the upper most down tube mounted bottle was really hard to get out and remove. It was possible, but it wasn't ideal. Last year I ran a frame bag and stuck bottles in there. For Gravel Worlds I ran a top tube bag with an extra bottle in there. This year I am maxing out the water carrying capacity for what I anticipate will be a hot, drier Kansas trip. The B Rad gets me the water I need without dealing with a hydration pack.

Here is a good look- The rail mounts to the bike and the adapters to the rail.

I still need to work on my storage for other items. I have been using the under the down tube bottle as a tool kit. (That's what you see here in the image, by the way.) That leaves six other 20 ounce bottles for water so I figure that if I can plan resupply points at four to five hours ride time I should be okay on water. The new-to-me black Carousel Design Works bag on the top tube will be used for some food carrying duties and I have yet to add my Bike Bag Dude Garage Bag on the top tube which should also be handling food and some personal items. I will likely also use a couple Chaff Bags from Bike Bag Dude as well for easy access food or possibly a wet weather jacket storage.

But back to the B Rad..... I have only done a short test ride, but out of the saddle pedaling shouldn't be an issue. I noted that I had the B Rad mounted up the down tube far enough, (due to an interference issue with a cable stop more than anything else), that it places the bottles far enough forward that I have plenty of clearance for my legs. The bottles are easily accessed while riding, as you might imagine, and the extra clearance gained above the lower down tube water bottle will now allow me to use a larger sized water bottle in that position, as well as a large sized bottle on the seat tube. Actually, if I decided against the Chaff Bags, I could use large sized bottles on the B Rad mounted cages.

Speaking of wet weather. If I am wrong and the weather looks to be more like the way it was two years ago, I may use a Bar Yak mounted dry bag with spare clothing. But I won't make that call until closer to the event. Late next week I should have a better idea about that, but either way the B Rad set up stays.

Stay tuned for a full review post DK.......

NOTE- The B Rad bits were bought with my own damn money and I was not asked, paid, or bribed for this post.