Friday News And Views

From my last trip to Frostbike. Maybe my last one ever?

Frostbike 2019:

Another February, another Frostbike. Another Frostbike I won't be going to. This makes it four years in a row that I haven't gone to the dealer only show in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

I probably am seen as a liability to those in the legal department at Quality Bicycle Products. (Hold that thought) I used to get invited personally every year, but since 2015, I haven't been invited at all, except through the "general admission" channel which dealers get. I am not in charge of that at my shop and those who are don't ask if I want to go, or bother to sign me up when I do express interest, so whatever..... It is what it is. Anyone who thinks I should have gone just needs to ring up the shop where I work and put a plug in for me next time. It isn't that I won't go, just so you know.

So back to the "liability" comment. See, when I used to go to Frostbike, it was complete mayhem, generally. Yeah, I know most of you reading this think I am a level headed dude, for the most part, but Frostbike was the scene of some of my more outlandish examples of misbehavior. The former Northfield bicycle shop, Mike's Bikes, being the primary venue, but there were other times. Like that time I got then Salsa Cycles head honcho, Jason Boucher's car towed. Or that time a bunch of us were traversing barriers in a parking garage with three story drops. Or how about the last time I went, where I walked from downtown Minneapolis to the 494 loop in the middle of the night with nothing but a cotton hoodie for a coat in 17°F weather in the snow.

There was the time I crashed a dealer only party upstairs at QBP, and several times I was in places I wasn't cleared to be in. Yeah....... Those were the days, or so they say. Anyway, I lived a lifetime of hi-jinx at Frostbike so not going is probably adding years to my life.

Anyway...... Surly is set to introduce an e-bike and Salsa is set to introduce new FS mountain bikes. There will be media press release blitz packages broadcast everywhere. This and more media splashes will occur making the going to Frostbike pretty much superfluous. Besides, Minneapolis is supposed to get a blizzard this weekend. Ah! The joys of the internet!

The Honest Air gauge left a bit to be desired.

Blackburn Honest Air Digital Gauge: Mini-Review:

Back in November I got this Blackburn "Honest Air" digital tire pressure gauge. It is supposed to read your pressure and give you an audible prompt when it has that reading for you. Then it holds that reading until you dismiss it. The gauge was made to read Presta or Schrader tubeless valves/tubes.

The head swivels to reach awkward angles and leave the gauge readable. There is also a bleed valve to bleed off excessive pressure until an optimum pressure has been reached.

I liked the portability and that an audible prompt let you know that you had an accurate reading. Valve type compatibility isn't a top priority with me, but the head looked like it was very suitable for Presta valves so I was fine with that. Initial tests with the gauge after I purchased it proved to be good. I figured I was off to a good experience with this gauge.

That wasn't to be the case, however. I tried using the gauge to monitor pressure in my fat bike's tires after riding in 10°F weather and I had a lot of difficulty even getting the gauge to read anything at all. In use on one tire, I had to try three times to get the gauge to read, and the other tire proved that the gauge simply would not read anything at all.

Was it the cold? I tried just the other day to read the pressure on the same fat bike tires after the bike had warmed up after several hours indoors. I still had issues with getting a reading. I had to try three times to get the gauge to give me any reading at all.

Unfortunately buying the Honest Air digital gauge has proven to be a frustrating purchase. When it does read a pressure, it is accurate, but I cannot abide by a product that only works in a random fashion. The Honest Gauge is a subpar effort, in my opinion.

Note- The Honest Air Digital Gauge was purchased by Guitar Ted with his own money. He was not paid, nor bribed for this review. 

Guitar Ted and his snow pile.

Snow Record:
  

Well, we did it. We broke the record for February snow fall recorded in Waterloo, Iowa. I've lived here since 1991 and I have never piled up snow this high before.

By the way, I'm standing in front of one of about four piles I've shoveled this high. Not to brag, but to say, "We've gotten a lot of snow in the last few weeks." As N.Y. Roll would remind me if he were here right now, this ain't nuthin' compared to upstate New York's "lake effect" band, but for Iowa, this is a bit unusual. Anyway, this and whatever we get this weekend, (supposedly another big dump, or mostly rain, depending on who you believe), will make for a very interesting March. 

Obviously, the Sun is going to win, and very soon. Winter will retreat, and as it does, all this snow is going to become water, and that will need to go..........somewhere. Now, I am no climatologist, hydrologist, or expert in that way, tell me I am crazy if ya want to, but I think flooding is in our future. Yep. And it may end up becoming a real big problem if we have a wet Spring.

Another thing I am betting on and that is that we will have snow in the ditches yet for the C.O.G. 100. N.Y. Roll says "no". Guess we will have to make a wager out of this. Stay tuned........

That's it for this week. Have a great week. Go CIRREM riders!

Friday News And Views

From my last trip to Frostbike. Maybe my last one ever?

Frostbike 2019:

Another February, another Frostbike. Another Frostbike I won't be going to. This makes it four years in a row that I haven't gone to the dealer only show in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

I probably am seen as a liability to those in the legal department at Quality Bicycle Products. (Hold that thought) I used to get invited personally every year, but since 2015, I haven't been invited at all, except through the "general admission" channel which dealers get. I am not in charge of that at my shop and those who are don't ask if I want to go, or bother to sign me up when I do express interest, so whatever..... It is what it is. Anyone who thinks I should have gone just needs to ring up the shop where I work and put a plug in for me next time. It isn't that I won't go, just so you know.

So back to the "liability" comment. See, when I used to go to Frostbike, it was complete mayhem, generally. Yeah, I know most of you reading this think I am a level headed dude, for the most part, but Frostbike was the scene of some of my more outlandish examples of misbehavior. The former Northfield bicycle shop, Mike's Bikes, being the primary venue, but there were other times. Like that time I got then Salsa Cycles head honcho, Jason Boucher's car towed. Or that time a bunch of us were traversing barriers in a parking garage with three story drops. Or how about the last time I went, where I walked from downtown Minneapolis to the 494 loop in the middle of the night with nothing but a cotton hoodie for a coat in 17°F weather in the snow.

There was the time I crashed a dealer only party upstairs at QBP, and several times I was in places I wasn't cleared to be in. Yeah....... Those were the days, or so they say. Anyway, I lived a lifetime of hi-jinx at Frostbike so not going is probably adding years to my life.

Anyway...... Surly is set to introduce an e-bike and Salsa is set to introduce new FS mountain bikes. There will be media press release blitz packages broadcast everywhere. This and more media splashes will occur making the going to Frostbike pretty much superfluous. Besides, Minneapolis is supposed to get a blizzard this weekend. Ah! The joys of the internet!

The Honest Air gauge left a bit to be desired.

Blackburn Honest Air Digital Gauge: Mini-Review:

Back in November I got this Blackburn "Honest Air" digital tire pressure gauge. It is supposed to read your pressure and give you an audible prompt when it has that reading for you. Then it holds that reading until you dismiss it. The gauge was made to read Presta or Schrader tubeless valves/tubes.

The head swivels to reach awkward angles and leave the gauge readable. There is also a bleed valve to bleed off excessive pressure until an optimum pressure has been reached.

I liked the portability and that an audible prompt let you know that you had an accurate reading. Valve type compatibility isn't a top priority with me, but the head looked like it was very suitable for Presta valves so I was fine with that. Initial tests with the gauge after I purchased it proved to be good. I figured I was off to a good experience with this gauge.

That wasn't to be the case, however. I tried using the gauge to monitor pressure in my fat bike's tires after riding in 10°F weather and I had a lot of difficulty even getting the gauge to read anything at all. In use on one tire, I had to try three times to get the gauge to read, and the other tire proved that the gauge simply would not read anything at all.

Was it the cold? I tried just the other day to read the pressure on the same fat bike tires after the bike had warmed up after several hours indoors. I still had issues with getting a reading. I had to try three times to get the gauge to give me any reading at all.

Unfortunately buying the Honest Air digital gauge has proven to be a frustrating purchase. When it does read a pressure, it is accurate, but I cannot abide by a product that only works in a random fashion. The Honest Gauge is a subpar effort, in my opinion.

Note- The Honest Air Digital Gauge was purchased by Guitar Ted with his own money. He was not paid, nor bribed for this review. 

Guitar Ted and his snow pile.

Snow Record:
  

Well, we did it. We broke the record for February snow fall recorded in Waterloo, Iowa. I've lived here since 1991 and I have never piled up snow this high before.

By the way, I'm standing in front of one of about four piles I've shoveled this high. Not to brag, but to say, "We've gotten a lot of snow in the last few weeks." As N.Y. Roll would remind me if he were here right now, this ain't nuthin' compared to upstate New York's "lake effect" band, but for Iowa, this is a bit unusual. Anyway, this and whatever we get this weekend, (supposedly another big dump, or mostly rain, depending on who you believe), will make for a very interesting March. 

Obviously, the Sun is going to win, and very soon. Winter will retreat, and as it does, all this snow is going to become water, and that will need to go..........somewhere. Now, I am no climatologist, hydrologist, or expert in that way, tell me I am crazy if ya want to, but I think flooding is in our future. Yep. And it may end up becoming a real big problem if we have a wet Spring.

Another thing I am betting on and that is that we will have snow in the ditches yet for the C.O.G. 100. N.Y. Roll says "no". Guess we will have to make a wager out of this. Stay tuned........

That's it for this week. Have a great week. Go CIRREM riders!

Friday News And Views

The Blackburn "Honest" digital air gauge

Keepin' The Air Honest:

When you ride in colder temperatures, and especially if you ride voluminous tires, you should be monitoring air pressure more vigilantly. Why? Because if you set your plus bike's tires at, say 18psi, and you do that indoors, your pressure will be different outside at 28°F on the trail. In fact, it will be lower, and as you may know, 1psi can be a huge difference in feel, grip, and makes the difference between "fun" and, well.......not fun. 

Digital air gauges are nothing new. In fact, I've had one before. It was a PRO (Shimano accesory brand) digital gauge that was awesome. It was small, read very accurately, and was easy to use. Unfortunately, when the small battery went dead and I opened up the unit with expectations of replacing it, I found out I couldn't. The geniuses that manufactured the gauge tack welded in the battery.

Brilliant!  

So, I got a mechanical gauge, and my son got a hold of it, dropped it, and broke the glass over the gauge face.

Doh!

I went without a gauge last year, but I knew I needed another, and the shop where I work just got in these Blackburn "Honest" digital air gauges. I figured I'd give it a try. It has a pivoting head, holds the reading until you dismiss it, and reads in Bar or PSI. It's light and is about the size of a slightly plump BIC lighter. (Does anyone even use those anymore?) You can get one for about $24.99. NOTE- I bought this with my own damn money.

Velocity USA- More than just rims and hubs.

Taped Up:

My old polished set of A-23's from Velocity USA were quite tarnished and soiled. It was time for a clean up. This included changing the tape, which had been on there since 2012, and through various tire changes. It was time to re-do the tape, clean up the rim well, and get the wheels ready for a tire test I have to do.

Now, I could use Stan's yellow tape, and that would be fine, but did you know that Velocity USA also makes a tubeless tape and valve kit for their various wheels and rims? Yes, and it is good stuff too. So, since they make stuff made to measure for their rims, I ordered up and purchased this tubeless tape and valve kit. The tape has just the right consistency. A great mix of stretch, toughness, and sticky adhesive. It isn't like Stan's, but it is similar. The valves come with nice plastic spacers which sit between the rim and the Presta valve nut which helps lock in the valve inside the rim well better.

My old A-23's are polished, as I said, and are laced to polished Velocity branded hubs too. Classic looking stuff, but re-polishing cruddy, neglected rims is a chore! Ha! No one to blame but myself there! It took quite a while, but I got them looking pretty spiffy again. Next will be the new tape, valves, and then on to mounting the tires I need to test. By the way, if you haven't replaced your tape and/or valves in several years, you should. It may help to avoid a failure. Valves corrode and tape adhesive degrades over time. Another thing you should be doing is to replace your removable valve cores about every other time you re-up on sealant.  

Anyway, these wheels will be going on the "Orange Crush" Black Mountain Cycles bike which is being converted to single speed. I found some killer 80's era Sugino AX cranks in 180mm length in my stash that are going on there with a UN-55 sealed cartridge bottom bracket. It's going to be awesome. Stay tuned........

Special (Undeserved) Delivery:

The "gravel family" continues to amaze me with their thoughtfulness and generosity. The latest example comes from the IC Gravel event, which occurred October 27th. Originally I was scheduled to take part in the event. However; something came up within the family, (my own), and I had to cancel. I regretted doing so, and sent my notice and apology in to the race director.

I figured that was that. I would try to rectify my absenteeism next year. Although, I still am serving a self-imposed ban from the Spotted Horse for bailing on them two years in a row. Maybe I should do that in this instance. If there was anything that stuck in my craw about Trans Iowa was drop outs for no reason. While I had my reasons, I still feel like a heel for not coming, but I digress.......

Anyway.... The day was like any other day yesterday, but when my son brought the mail in, he had a package. Hmmm......... What could this be? I opened it up and it was my race packet for the IC Gravel replete with my race number, t-shirt, patches, and stickers. Wow! I was blown away!

Look, I didn't expect any of this because I didn't deserve it. Why should I get something others got because they toed the line? But that's not how IC Gravel saw it, and I have to say I am humbled. Thank you! I will wear the event t-shirt proudly and tell everyone that sees it about this great gravel event.

That's it for this week. It may have snowed where you are, but don't let that stop you from riding!

Friday News And Views

The Blackburn "Honest" digital air gauge

Keepin' The Air Honest:

When you ride in colder temperatures, and especially if you ride voluminous tires, you should be monitoring air pressure more vigilantly. Why? Because if you set your plus bike's tires at, say 18psi, and you do that indoors, your pressure will be different outside at 28°F on the trail. In fact, it will be lower, and as you may know, 1psi can be a huge difference in feel, grip, and makes the difference between "fun" and, well.......not fun. 

Digital air gauges are nothing new. In fact, I've had one before. It was a PRO (Shimano accesory brand) digital gauge that was awesome. It was small, read very accurately, and was easy to use. Unfortunately, when the small battery went dead and I opened up the unit with expectations of replacing it, I found out I couldn't. The geniuses that manufactured the gauge tack welded in the battery.

Brilliant!  

So, I got a mechanical gauge, and my son got a hold of it, dropped it, and broke the glass over the gauge face.

Doh!

I went without a gauge last year, but I knew I needed another, and the shop where I work just got in these Blackburn "Honest" digital air gauges. I figured I'd give it a try. It has a pivoting head, holds the reading until you dismiss it, and reads in Bar or PSI. It's light and is about the size of a slightly plump BIC lighter. (Does anyone even use those anymore?) You can get one for about $24.99. NOTE- I bought this with my own damn money.

Velocity USA- More than just rims and hubs.

Taped Up:

My old polished set of A-23's from Velocity USA were quite tarnished and soiled. It was time for a clean up. This included changing the tape, which had been on there since 2012, and through various tire changes. It was time to re-do the tape, clean up the rim well, and get the wheels ready for a tire test I have to do.

Now, I could use Stan's yellow tape, and that would be fine, but did you know that Velocity USA also makes a tubeless tape and valve kit for their various wheels and rims? Yes, and it is good stuff too. So, since they make stuff made to measure for their rims, I ordered up and purchased this tubeless tape and valve kit. The tape has just the right consistency. A great mix of stretch, toughness, and sticky adhesive. It isn't like Stan's, but it is similar. The valves come with nice plastic spacers which sit between the rim and the Presta valve nut which helps lock in the valve inside the rim well better.

My old A-23's are polished, as I said, and are laced to polished Velocity branded hubs too. Classic looking stuff, but re-polishing cruddy, neglected rims is a chore! Ha! No one to blame but myself there! It took quite a while, but I got them looking pretty spiffy again. Next will be the new tape, valves, and then on to mounting the tires I need to test. By the way, if you haven't replaced your tape and/or valves in several years, you should. It may help to avoid a failure. Valves corrode and tape adhesive degrades over time. Another thing you should be doing is to replace your removable valve cores about every other time you re-up on sealant.  

Anyway, these wheels will be going on the "Orange Crush" Black Mountain Cycles bike which is being converted to single speed. I found some killer 80's era Sugino AX cranks in 180mm length in my stash that are going on there with a UN-55 sealed cartridge bottom bracket. It's going to be awesome. Stay tuned........

Special (Undeserved) Delivery:

The "gravel family" continues to amaze me with their thoughtfulness and generosity. The latest example comes from the IC Gravel event, which occurred October 27th. Originally I was scheduled to take part in the event. However; something came up within the family, (my own), and I had to cancel. I regretted doing so, and sent my notice and apology in to the race director.

I figured that was that. I would try to rectify my absenteeism next year. Although, I still am serving a self-imposed ban from the Spotted Horse for bailing on them two years in a row. Maybe I should do that in this instance. If there was anything that stuck in my craw about Trans Iowa was drop outs for no reason. While I had my reasons, I still feel like a heel for not coming, but I digress.......

Anyway.... The day was like any other day yesterday, but when my son brought the mail in, he had a package. Hmmm......... What could this be? I opened it up and it was my race packet for the IC Gravel replete with my race number, t-shirt, patches, and stickers. Wow! I was blown away!

Look, I didn't expect any of this because I didn't deserve it. Why should I get something others got because they toed the line? But that's not how IC Gravel saw it, and I have to say I am humbled. Thank you! I will wear the event t-shirt proudly and tell everyone that sees it about this great gravel event.

That's it for this week. It may have snowed where you are, but don't let that stop you from riding!