Friday News And Views

Old School Gravel:

Cruising the "Book Of Faces" the other day and I came across a new addition to an existing event in Kansas. It is called the Flint Hills Gravel Race and it is put on by a guy named Bobby Thompson. The new distance, which is in addition to his 30 mile and 80 mile distances, will be 120 miles. 

Okay, so that's cool and all, but what caught my eye was in the comments about the event on that social media channel. The chatter indicated that the event's new distance would only be navigated by cue sheets (!) and that the distance would be divided into three parts. Once a rider started they would only get cues to the first 'checkpoint' (!!) and then they would receive cues to the next and so on. Event timing would be based upon a 10mph average (!!!). I went to the website for the event and learned more about it (!!!!)

Where have I seen something like this before? Right? 

This definitely made my day. I cannot say whether or not Bobby was influenced by some certain other event, but no matter. Yeah, so if you know, you know. Interested? The registration opens soon and Bobby is taking on only 50 riders for this. (Maybe up to 73, you'll have to read his reasons why) Go HERE for the details. 

A rendering of the Rogue by Alchemy Bikes from the press release.

Also In The "Where Have I Seen This Before?" Files:

This is Sea Otter week and news will be hot and heavy seeing that the event hasn't happened for a year and a half. One of the newsy bits that hit my inbox was about a bike that Alchemy Bikes is releasing called the Rogue. 

Alchemy claims that the new Rogue model was "designed with a more progressive/modern geometry". Okay, that is a very common claim amongst manufacturers pushing out new gravel bikes. Sometimes it is true, and sometimes it isn't. What would the geometry chart for the Rogue show me? 

I looked and smiled. "Where have I seen THIS before?!" 

The Raleigh Tamland, that's where. A bike that debuted in 2014, if you want to know, and the Rogue's numbers are dead-on to what the Raleigh numbers were seven years ago. In an industry where, at times, what happened five years ago can be so outdated it may as well be antique, a company basically copying the Raleigh Tamland's numbers really are not pushing any boundaries here. 

That all said, I love it. The Rogue's geometry, that is. This geometry works. It is what I requested in 2012 when Raleigh asked me about what I'd do for a gravel bike, so yeah.....I would like that, but the Tamland was a hit when it debuted back then so a lot of folks did get on with that bike's geometry. Anyway, welcome to the Club, Alchemy! 

Handmade Bicycle Show Returns In '22:

The North American Handmade Bicycle Show returns after a two year hiatus due to COVID-19. The show often reveals new trends in cycling and is popular with cycling nerds.

The show will be held in Denver, Colorado at the National Western Complex on Denver's North side. The dates are set at September 23rd-25th. People who bought tickets to the cancelled 2020 show will be rolled over to this 2022 show in Denver. Details will be released at a later date. 

Comments: I've never been to a NAHBS show and many years it is just too far away for me to even consider going. But Denver is a place I can get to by car and, well.....maybe. It's something to consider, for sure. 

I'll be honest though, much of that show would likely be about seeing other people and less about the bikes, (but the bikes are spectacular!), so I wouldn't likely get much of anything substantial from it in terms of Riding Gravel, on the one hand. It is hard to say, but the last several NAHBS shows really did not have the impact that the NAHBS shows in the 00's had. in my opinion. 

There is a lot of time to mull it over. I'll wait and see......

Refining Product:

More news from the Sea Otter press fall-out. Kinekt (Body Float) posts are pretty rad items for those who want to take the sting out of trail, gravel, or road riding. I've used various iterations of this post for years and I have tested and reviewed others for Riding Gravel. 

In all of that time Kinekt never sat still. They have continued to take criticisms and raves and they have refined the product all along. Gotta give them props for continuing to implement better and better ideas as the years go on. The latest version of this post, (which I have not seen or handled, by the way) is said to have been improved in the following ways:

-New Bushings
-New Branding
-Improved L/XL Unit

And they have their own saddle bag which is compatible with this post now, which is nice because it was difficult to  add a saddle bag on their posts in the past without some issues. So, I thought I'd mention all this here since many of you may remember me running a Body Float post, (the predecessor to the current Kinekt posts) on a couple of my bicycles in the past. 

The Mid South and Gravel Worlds Announce Double Double Championship:

 From the press release: "The Mid South and Gravel Worlds announced they will be partnering their 2022 events to do a multi event biathlon challenge unlike any other. New for 2022, Gravel Worlds will be adding a new event called Land Ho 50k Ultra Marathon sponsored by Fleet Feet.

Gravel Worlds Promoter, Jason Strohbehn, said there will be a Gravel Worlds Double Championship that combines the time of the 50k run and their 150-mile bike race.

“We will be adding the new event to our 2021 race line-up. The Mid South has had a run/bike double option since 2017.”

According to The Mid South Promoter, Bobby Wintle, the Double Double Championships will combine the finish time from the 4 events to create one of the most unique challenges in the world of gravel."

Comments: So, take away the novelty factor, (running on gravel and racing bikes on gravel to determine a champion), this is a de facto series. Basically, Gravel Worlds and Mid-South are drawing a line in the sand by joining their events, (it really doesn't matter if it isn't ALL their events, or that it includes running/cycling), and now the door has been cracked with regard to having the straight up gravel events in this series. This quote from the press release, "“Ultimately we want this to be a sign of unity in the gravel family”, by Jason Strohbehn, promoter of Gravel Worlds, says that this idea is on the table. What would say that more than having all the events in a series between these two big gravel events?

I've talked about the allure of the single big events to join together into a series which would bring together the energies of those events and propel them to even bigger things. The mere idea is a popular thing in our culture because - for whatever reasons - if it seems that you aren't growing you are failing. So, while there may be no substance to any of this, this announcement certainly opens the door to a way to bring this idea of a series about.

That's a wrap for this week! Have a fantastic weekend and thanks for reading Guitar Ted Productions

Friday News And Views

Old School Gravel:

Cruising the "Book Of Faces" the other day and I came across a new addition to an existing event in Kansas. It is called the Flint Hills Gravel Race and it is put on by a guy named Bobby Thompson. The new distance, which is in addition to his 30 mile and 80 mile distances, will be 120 miles. 

Okay, so that's cool and all, but what caught my eye was in the comments about the event on that social media channel. The chatter indicated that the event's new distance would only be navigated by cue sheets (!) and that the distance would be divided into three parts. Once a rider started they would only get cues to the first 'checkpoint' (!!) and then they would receive cues to the next and so on. Event timing would be based upon a 10mph average (!!!). I went to the website for the event and learned more about it (!!!!)

Where have I seen something like this before? Right? 

This definitely made my day. I cannot say whether or not Bobby was influenced by some certain other event, but no matter. Yeah, so if you know, you know. Interested? The registration opens soon and Bobby is taking on only 50 riders for this. (Maybe up to 73, you'll have to read his reasons why) Go HERE for the details. 

A rendering of the Rogue by Alchemy Bikes from the press release.

Also In The "Where Have I Seen This Before?" Files:

This is Sea Otter week and news will be hot and heavy seeing that the event hasn't happened for a year and a half. One of the newsy bits that hit my inbox was about a bike that Alchemy Bikes is releasing called the Rogue. 

Alchemy claims that the new Rogue model was "designed with a more progressive/modern geometry". Okay, that is a very common claim amongst manufacturers pushing out new gravel bikes. Sometimes it is true, and sometimes it isn't. What would the geometry chart for the Rogue show me? 

I looked and smiled. "Where have I seen THIS before?!" 

The Raleigh Tamland, that's where. A bike that debuted in 2014, if you want to know, and the Rogue's numbers are dead-on to what the Raleigh numbers were seven years ago. In an industry where, at times, what happened five years ago can be so outdated it may as well be antique, a company basically copying the Raleigh Tamland's numbers really are not pushing any boundaries here. 

That all said, I love it. The Rogue's geometry, that is. This geometry works. It is what I requested in 2012 when Raleigh asked me about what I'd do for a gravel bike, so yeah.....I would like that, but the Tamland was a hit when it debuted back then so a lot of folks did get on with that bike's geometry. Anyway, welcome to the Club, Alchemy! 

Handmade Bicycle Show Returns In '22:

The North American Handmade Bicycle Show returns after a two year hiatus due to COVID-19. The show often reveals new trends in cycling and is popular with cycling nerds.

The show will be held in Denver, Colorado at the National Western Complex on Denver's North side. The dates are set at September 23rd-25th. People who bought tickets to the cancelled 2020 show will be rolled over to this 2022 show in Denver. Details will be released at a later date. 

Comments: I've never been to a NAHBS show and many years it is just too far away for me to even consider going. But Denver is a place I can get to by car and, well.....maybe. It's something to consider, for sure. 

I'll be honest though, much of that show would likely be about seeing other people and less about the bikes, (but the bikes are spectacular!), so I wouldn't likely get much of anything substantial from it in terms of Riding Gravel, on the one hand. It is hard to say, but the last several NAHBS shows really did not have the impact that the NAHBS shows in the 00's had. in my opinion. 

There is a lot of time to mull it over. I'll wait and see......

Refining Product:

More news from the Sea Otter press fall-out. Kinekt (Body Float) posts are pretty rad items for those who want to take the sting out of trail, gravel, or road riding. I've used various iterations of this post for years and I have tested and reviewed others for Riding Gravel. 

In all of that time Kinekt never sat still. They have continued to take criticisms and raves and they have refined the product all along. Gotta give them props for continuing to implement better and better ideas as the years go on. The latest version of this post, (which I have not seen or handled, by the way) is said to have been improved in the following ways:

-New Bushings
-New Branding
-Improved L/XL Unit

And they have their own saddle bag which is compatible with this post now, which is nice because it was difficult to  add a saddle bag on their posts in the past without some issues. So, I thought I'd mention all this here since many of you may remember me running a Body Float post, (the predecessor to the current Kinekt posts) on a couple of my bicycles in the past. 

The Mid South and Gravel Worlds Announce Double Double Championship:

 From the press release: "The Mid South and Gravel Worlds announced they will be partnering their 2022 events to do a multi event biathlon challenge unlike any other. New for 2022, Gravel Worlds will be adding a new event called Land Ho 50k Ultra Marathon sponsored by Fleet Feet.

Gravel Worlds Promoter, Jason Strohbehn, said there will be a Gravel Worlds Double Championship that combines the time of the 50k run and their 150-mile bike race.

“We will be adding the new event to our 2021 race line-up. The Mid South has had a run/bike double option since 2017.”

According to The Mid South Promoter, Bobby Wintle, the Double Double Championships will combine the finish time from the 4 events to create one of the most unique challenges in the world of gravel."

Comments: So, take away the novelty factor, (running on gravel and racing bikes on gravel to determine a champion), this is a de facto series. Basically, Gravel Worlds and Mid-South are drawing a line in the sand by joining their events, (it really doesn't matter if it isn't ALL their events, or that it includes running/cycling), and now the door has been cracked with regard to having the straight up gravel events in this series. This quote from the press release, "“Ultimately we want this to be a sign of unity in the gravel family”, by Jason Strohbehn, promoter of Gravel Worlds, says that this idea is on the table. What would say that more than having all the events in a series between these two big gravel events?

I've talked about the allure of the single big events to join together into a series which would bring together the energies of those events and propel them to even bigger things. The mere idea is a popular thing in our culture because - for whatever reasons - if it seems that you aren't growing you are failing. So, while there may be no substance to any of this, this announcement certainly opens the door to a way to bring this idea of a series about.

That's a wrap for this week! Have a fantastic weekend and thanks for reading Guitar Ted Productions

Gravel Grinder News: Bouncey Stems And Rubber Bits

More rad Riddler> Yes! Meet the Raddler.

WTB Tires Introduces The Raddler: 

One of WTB's more popular gravel tires is the Riddler. It's got edge knobbies and little centralized "zits" down the middle, Generally speaking it rocks gravel and smoother, hard dirt. However; some folks were wanting something a bit more. Something that had a higher "rad" quotient. WTB thought about it. More? Radder? Wait!......

We'll call it the Raddler!

Or something like that, is how I imagine it went, maybe...... Anywho.....

The Raddler comes in 40mm and 44mm sizes in blackwall and skinwall. $59.99 no matter. Both 700c. Tubeless, of course. 

The tread is bulked up and features deeper lugs, bigger knobs, and a more aggressive look. WTB says it still rolls like the dickens. Well, I will be finding out, as I have a set of these to test for RidingGravel.com. (Note- I did not pay for the tires. they are sent to RidingGravel.com for review. I was not paid to write this post and I always strive to give my honest thoughts and opinions throughout.

So, with that bit of business taken care of, I am excited to try these out. Actually, it is a good time to get a hold of a tire like this. Late Winter riding generally calls out for something with a bit of bite to the tread. Stay tuned for the lowdown coming soon.....

More boing for your bars.

Kinekt Announces Kickstarter For Suspension Stem:

Kinekt, or Body Float by Cirrus Cycles, the folks that brought you that parallelogram suspension seat post I have had in the past, now have a companion piece in a stem featuring similar design.

The stem features a coil sprung parallelogram which is tunable for rider weight and preferences with three springs, which are included in the package. The stem is available in 90mm, 105mm, and 120mm with a 7° rise or a 100 X 30° rise model. I couldn't find anywhere that said the stem in 7° could be flipped for a negative rise, like the Redshift Sports Shock Stop can be, but maybe I missed that. By the looks of the design, I'd guess the answer is that it wasn't intended to be run in a negative rise.

Early reactions to the stem are that it reminds people of the old Girvin/Soft Ride product from the 90's which also had a parallelogram design. That old design was susceptible to some pretty bad brake dive when hitting the binders hard. Hopefully Kinekt took that characteristic out of this new offering.

 Another New Riding Gravel Radio Ranch Podcast:

Whoa! Hold on to your britches, 'cause we recorded another Riding Gravel Radio Ranch podcast last Wednesday. I know, it's crazy times, but it is true. Not fake news here!

Ben and I discuss news and reviews on the RidingGravel.com site and then we dive into the big dust-up over talk that the UCI wants to get involved in maybe putting on a Gravel World Championships.

It's a pretty good show, and I think it should make for a good listen. Plus, afterward Ben asked me about doing something a bit different in terms of an audio offering. I won't say too much just yet because it still is in its nascent stages. But if all goes as we think, it should prove to be an interesting way to share more of my work, both from here and from Riding Gravel.

Okay, that's all for this edition. Thanks for reading!

Gravel Grinder News: Bouncey Stems And Rubber Bits

More rad Riddler> Yes! Meet the Raddler.

WTB Tires Introduces The Raddler: 

One of WTB's more popular gravel tires is the Riddler. It's got edge knobbies and little centralized "zits" down the middle, Generally speaking it rocks gravel and smoother, hard dirt. However; some folks were wanting something a bit more. Something that had a higher "rad" quotient. WTB thought about it. More? Radder? Wait!......

We'll call it the Raddler!

Or something like that, is how I imagine it went, maybe...... Anywho.....

The Raddler comes in 40mm and 44mm sizes in blackwall and skinwall. $59.99 no matter. Both 700c. Tubeless, of course. 

The tread is bulked up and features deeper lugs, bigger knobs, and a more aggressive look. WTB says it still rolls like the dickens. Well, I will be finding out, as I have a set of these to test for RidingGravel.com. (Note- I did not pay for the tires. they are sent to RidingGravel.com for review. I was not paid to write this post and I always strive to give my honest thoughts and opinions throughout.

So, with that bit of business taken care of, I am excited to try these out. Actually, it is a good time to get a hold of a tire like this. Late Winter riding generally calls out for something with a bit of bite to the tread. Stay tuned for the lowdown coming soon.....

More boing for your bars.

Kinekt Announces Kickstarter For Suspension Stem:

Kinekt, or Body Float by Cirrus Cycles, the folks that brought you that parallelogram suspension seat post I have had in the past, now have a companion piece in a stem featuring similar design.

The stem features a coil sprung parallelogram which is tunable for rider weight and preferences with three springs, which are included in the package. The stem is available in 90mm, 105mm, and 120mm with a 7° rise or a 100 X 30° rise model. I couldn't find anywhere that said the stem in 7° could be flipped for a negative rise, like the Redshift Sports Shock Stop can be, but maybe I missed that. By the looks of the design, I'd guess the answer is that it wasn't intended to be run in a negative rise.

Early reactions to the stem are that it reminds people of the old Girvin/Soft Ride product from the 90's which also had a parallelogram design. That old design was susceptible to some pretty bad brake dive when hitting the binders hard. Hopefully Kinekt took that characteristic out of this new offering.

 Another New Riding Gravel Radio Ranch Podcast:

Whoa! Hold on to your britches, 'cause we recorded another Riding Gravel Radio Ranch podcast last Wednesday. I know, it's crazy times, but it is true. Not fake news here!

Ben and I discuss news and reviews on the RidingGravel.com site and then we dive into the big dust-up over talk that the UCI wants to get involved in maybe putting on a Gravel World Championships.

It's a pretty good show, and I think it should make for a good listen. Plus, afterward Ben asked me about doing something a bit different in terms of an audio offering. I won't say too much just yet because it still is in its nascent stages. But if all goes as we think, it should prove to be an interesting way to share more of my work, both from here and from Riding Gravel.

Okay, that's all for this edition. Thanks for reading!

Sproingle

So this rig should be hitting the roads this week.

The weather is breaking for the better, at least for a few days. It looks more and more as if ice will become less a concern and gravel travel will be on the menu again. I've been busy getting some stuff together for this time to come. One of those things was revealed last week. Here is another thing- the latest from Cirrus Cycles, the Kinekt post.

Formerly known as the "Body Float" post, this is the latest incarnation of the design, which has been refined quite a bit from the version I have. The biggest thing is that they have reduced the set back a lot, which should make this post work better in terms of fit for a lot of people.

I think this version will end up being the preferred one for mee, but I'll reserve judgment on that for now. I also have the Terreno Dry tires from Vittoria on the "Orange Crush" which I need to conclude the review for. Then when I get that done I have to swap those tires out and get cracking on the waaaay overdue Kenda Flintridge Pro review. I'm sure a slew of other tires will be making cameo appearances on my bikes throughout the year as well. It will be interesting to see how gravel tires progress- or don't.

Then I have been checking over the bits and peices on the Raleigh and BMC to make sure I am good for some, what is sure to be, sloppy roads. I fitted fenders back on the Tamland, and I cleaned and relubed the chain on the ol' BMC. That bike is going to need a bottom bracket soon too, but I'm going to wait it out till better weather comes. I figure I may as well soak this old one in grit now and put the new one in when things clear up out there and the roads are dry again.

Of course, it's supposed to snow again Thursday. 

BAH!

Sproingle

So this rig should be hitting the roads this week.

The weather is breaking for the better, at least for a few days. It looks more and more as if ice will become less a concern and gravel travel will be on the menu again. I've been busy getting some stuff together for this time to come. One of those things was revealed last week. Here is another thing- the latest from Cirrus Cycles, the Kinekt post.

Formerly known as the "Body Float" post, this is the latest incarnation of the design, which has been refined quite a bit from the version I have. The biggest thing is that they have reduced the set back a lot, which should make this post work better in terms of fit for a lot of people.

I think this version will end up being the preferred one for mee, but I'll reserve judgment on that for now. I also have the Terreno Dry tires from Vittoria on the "Orange Crush" which I need to conclude the review for. Then when I get that done I have to swap those tires out and get cracking on the waaaay overdue Kenda Flintridge Pro review. I'm sure a slew of other tires will be making cameo appearances on my bikes throughout the year as well. It will be interesting to see how gravel tires progress- or don't.

Then I have been checking over the bits and peices on the Raleigh and BMC to make sure I am good for some, what is sure to be, sloppy roads. I fitted fenders back on the Tamland, and I cleaned and relubed the chain on the ol' BMC. That bike is going to need a bottom bracket soon too, but I'm going to wait it out till better weather comes. I figure I may as well soak this old one in grit now and put the new one in when things clear up out there and the roads are dry again.

Of course, it's supposed to snow again Thursday. 

BAH!

Gravel Worlds 2017; Gear Review

Coming up over the top of a hill at GW2017: Image by Kyle Hansen

The 2017 Gravel Worlds attempt ended at Mile 116 after my intestinal tract/stomach decided it wasn't going to allow anything to pass. Ya know? "You shall not pass!!" Ha ha! Yeah........

Anyway..........

The ride did not suffer from any of my other choices though. I thought I would comment a bit on how my choices stood the test here in case anyone was wondering about what I used. So, a brief comment or three regarding some of the highlights. I will not say anything about the Tamland, because that bike is well documented here and the reasons why it works are discussed in other posts.

Suspended Bits: I guess the big thing here for me was my experience from 2016's successful Gravel Worlds ride.  The Body Float seat post did wonders to smooth out that famous washboard that the gravel roads around Lincoln are known for. This year I added the Redshift Sports ShockStop Stem as another weapon against those washboard sections. It worked great. I had a super smooth experience. One example....

Early on when it was still dark and I could not discern where the washboard was, I steered into a section of it on a fast downhill. My calf muscles were shaking violently, but the rest of my body, being shielded by the suspended contact points, was calm. That was all the proof I needed that the idea to use the stem and seat post was justified.

One negative aspect- The frequency at which I had to absorb energy with my neck was changed from the higher frequency rattling to a much lower one. The bobbing of the stem was barely noticeable, but that motion caused my upper shoulders and the base of my neck to have to try and keep my head level through those oscillations. Think how a bobble head toy works. Anyway, that resulted in a post event soreness in the upper back/neck area that was pretty painful. Something to consider for later.

Another image of me captured by Kyle Hansen

Ritchey VentureMax Bar: This was a risk, but after a couple of test rides and a successful tweak, that bar made sense to me. I gave it a pretty glowing review on RidingGravel.com, so I won't get into details here. I will say that the Bio-bend bit wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. That was a big surprise.

The VentureMax was designed by someone, or group of folks, that "gets it" when it comes to flared drop bars. The brake lever must be reachable from the drop position, and Ritchey got that right. The drop is shallow, again, spot on. The radius of the drop is also spot on. Every critical dimension was nailed in this design. The flare and sweep things are an area, in my opinion, where there is some latitude in choices. The only way that I think the VentureMax could be improved upon is if Ritchey would go with a 31.8mm diameter across the entire bar top, ala the Luxy Bar and the new Thompson flared  drop bar. Otherwise, two thumbs up here.

Saddle: I waffled between going with the WTB Pure V or a Brooks Cambium. I really like both saddles, but in the end I opted for the Pure V. No regrets and I don't remember hating on the saddle at any point during my 11 plus hours of ride time. That may be a factor that was influenced to a great degree by the Body Float post though. I have to try that Brooks saddle out on a long, multi-hour ride to compare. Like a century ride at the least.

Me again! Image by Luke Meduna

Resolute Tires: I just posted up a review on these at RidingGravel.com as well, so again- I won't go on and on here about them. I will add that the sandier, deeper gravel at Gravel Worlds was no match for these tires. They cut right through and held a line very well.

The tires are some of the best you can get for any gravel I've tried them on so far. They aren't coming off these wheels anytime soon, I'll say that much.

Wearables: I wore the Riding Gravel kit made by Podiumwear. I used my Bontrager base layer under the jersey and I was very comfortable throughout the event. I never got overheated, despite what the guy at the Casey's thought in Bennet. I was pretty happy with the performance of the pad as well. Long wool socks made of a thinner wool and the always reliable Shimano 3 strap mtb shoes were on the feet. On the head I had my cycling hat I got at the 1996 Chequamegon 40 and my Bontrager helmet with Spy Optic amber lensed glasses. No issues whatsoever with anything I wore.

Conclusions: So, all the gear worked well. The nutrition was good, it just wasn't getting through. I have a plan to try for that in training for my next big event. More on that later. If I get that squared away, I think I'll be good to go. Questions or comments? Hit the comments section and I'll gladly answer those.

Gravel Worlds 2017; Gear Review

Coming up over the top of a hill at GW2017: Image by Kyle Hansen

The 2017 Gravel Worlds attempt ended at Mile 116 after my intestinal tract/stomach decided it wasn't going to allow anything to pass. Ya know? "You shall not pass!!" Ha ha! Yeah........

Anyway..........

The ride did not suffer from any of my other choices though. I thought I would comment a bit on how my choices stood the test here in case anyone was wondering about what I used. So, a brief comment or three regarding some of the highlights. I will not say anything about the Tamland, because that bike is well documented here and the reasons why it works are discussed in other posts.

Suspended Bits: I guess the big thing here for me was my experience from 2016's successful Gravel Worlds ride.  The Body Float seat post did wonders to smooth out that famous washboard that the gravel roads around Lincoln are known for. This year I added the Redshift Sports ShockStop Stem as another weapon against those washboard sections. It worked great. I had a super smooth experience. One example....

Early on when it was still dark and I could not discern where the washboard was, I steered into a section of it on a fast downhill. My calf muscles were shaking violently, but the rest of my body, being shielded by the suspended contact points, was calm. That was all the proof I needed that the idea to use the stem and seat post was justified.

One negative aspect- The frequency at which I had to absorb energy with my neck was changed from the higher frequency rattling to a much lower one. The bobbing of the stem was barely noticeable, but that motion caused my upper shoulders and the base of my neck to have to try and keep my head level through those oscillations. Think how a bobble head toy works. Anyway, that resulted in a post event soreness in the upper back/neck area that was pretty painful. Something to consider for later.

Another image of me captured by Kyle Hansen

Ritchey VentureMax Bar: This was a risk, but after a couple of test rides and a successful tweak, that bar made sense to me. I gave it a pretty glowing review on RidingGravel.com, so I won't get into details here. I will say that the Bio-bend bit wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. That was a big surprise.

The VentureMax was designed by someone, or group of folks, that "gets it" when it comes to flared drop bars. The brake lever must be reachable from the drop position, and Ritchey got that right. The drop is shallow, again, spot on. The radius of the drop is also spot on. Every critical dimension was nailed in this design. The flare and sweep things are an area, in my opinion, where there is some latitude in choices. The only way that I think the VentureMax could be improved upon is if Ritchey would go with a 31.8mm diameter across the entire bar top, ala the Luxy Bar and the new Thompson flared  drop bar. Otherwise, two thumbs up here.

Saddle: I waffled between going with the WTB Pure V or a Brooks Cambium. I really like both saddles, but in the end I opted for the Pure V. No regrets and I don't remember hating on the saddle at any point during my 11 plus hours of ride time. That may be a factor that was influenced to a great degree by the Body Float post though. I have to try that Brooks saddle out on a long, multi-hour ride to compare. Like a century ride at the least.

Me again! Image by Luke Meduna

Resolute Tires: I just posted up a review on these at RidingGravel.com as well, so again- I won't go on and on here about them. I will add that the sandier, deeper gravel at Gravel Worlds was no match for these tires. They cut right through and held a line very well.

The tires are some of the best you can get for any gravel I've tried them on so far. They aren't coming off these wheels anytime soon, I'll say that much.

Wearables: I wore the Riding Gravel kit made by Podiumwear. I used my Bontrager base layer under the jersey and I was very comfortable throughout the event. I never got overheated, despite what the guy at the Casey's thought in Bennet. I was pretty happy with the performance of the pad as well. Long wool socks made of a thinner wool and the always reliable Shimano 3 strap mtb shoes were on the feet. On the head I had my cycling hat I got at the 1996 Chequamegon 40 and my Bontrager helmet with Spy Optic amber lensed glasses. No issues whatsoever with anything I wore.

Conclusions: So, all the gear worked well. The nutrition was good, it just wasn't getting through. I have a plan to try for that in training for my next big event. More on that later. If I get that squared away, I think I'll be good to go. Questions or comments? Hit the comments section and I'll gladly answer those.

Dusty Shakedown

Smoke on the horizon? No- That's just a car up ahead in that dust cloud!

Gravel Worlds is coming up this weekend and I am focusing my attention on this event now. I made some changes to the Tamland that I wanted to get out and test, just to make sure I liked the set up and to make any small adjustments if necessary.

The day was perfect for riding. There was a North breeze, but it wasn't bad. I decided to ride up Burton Avenue and it was really, really dusty! We sure could use some rain around here! UPDATE: Wish granted! It is raining pretty good here this morning!

I was kind of hoping it would be really humid, as Gravel Worlds tends to have that sort of weather. Unfortunately, as I said, the weather was perfect. Low, low humidity instead of the typical "dog days" we get in August. I could feel the sweat evaporating off my body and it actually chilled me. I'm sure that Gravel Worlds will not be so dry and comfortable. Oh well......

The set up is a suspended one- BodyFloat seat post, Redshift Sports ShockStop stem, and I am using a Ritchey Venturemax handle bar. The tires are the very nice riding WTB Resolutes. All combined to make the test ride a comfortable one. I did end up tweaking the position of the handle bars a bit. Otherwise, it all should be great for Gravel Worlds 150 mile course. Now all I have to do is clean up the rig and check over the drive train.

It was so dusty Saturday that my tires looked white at times.

So now I wait and see what the weather will bring. I see that right now the weather for Lincoln is to be mid-80's with Sun and it is supposed to be humid. Mid 80's? That would be a gift, in my estimation. I believe that is about the same forecast as last year. Of course, most of the middle part of the course will be in to a head wind. Why wouldn't it be? Well, maybe I'll be wrong about that part. That would be good, actually.

The course gets sent out Wednesday. I have to figure out if it will download in to my Lezyne, and of course, I will print out cue sheets. I will be leaving for Lincoln on Friday morning with my friend Tony, so I have a lot to do before then. Buy nutrition, dial in the fine details on the rig, and get packed up and ready to go.

Oh! A side note on Saturday: There is a new dog on Burton about a 1/4 mile South of the church on the corner of Burton and Gresham Roads. The house is on the East side of the road. I hadn't ever had any trouble with a dog here until Saturday when a herding type of dog came out and expertly cut me off and I had to stop. A big old Lab came trundling out behind, so I had both these dogs to contend with. I had them talked off the ledge when suddenly they went berserk, and that was because the owner came out. A tall, middle aged woman who was very apologetic. She said the herding dog was new, and that it hadn't been trained yet.

And the ironic thing is that the dog is named Tony, just like my gravel riding companion who is going to Gravel Worlds with me. Ha!

So, anyway, if you are a local, and if you ride up North on Burton Avenue, you may get a welcome from Tony. Now you know.......

Dusty Shakedown

Smoke on the horizon? No- That's just a car up ahead in that dust cloud!

Gravel Worlds is coming up this weekend and I am focusing my attention on this event now. I made some changes to the Tamland that I wanted to get out and test, just to make sure I liked the set up and to make any small adjustments if necessary.

The day was perfect for riding. There was a North breeze, but it wasn't bad. I decided to ride up Burton Avenue and it was really, really dusty! We sure could use some rain around here! UPDATE: Wish granted! It is raining pretty good here this morning!

I was kind of hoping it would be really humid, as Gravel Worlds tends to have that sort of weather. Unfortunately, as I said, the weather was perfect. Low, low humidity instead of the typical "dog days" we get in August. I could feel the sweat evaporating off my body and it actually chilled me. I'm sure that Gravel Worlds will not be so dry and comfortable. Oh well......

The set up is a suspended one- BodyFloat seat post, Redshift Sports ShockStop stem, and I am using a Ritchey Venturemax handle bar. The tires are the very nice riding WTB Resolutes. All combined to make the test ride a comfortable one. I did end up tweaking the position of the handle bars a bit. Otherwise, it all should be great for Gravel Worlds 150 mile course. Now all I have to do is clean up the rig and check over the drive train.

It was so dusty Saturday that my tires looked white at times.

So now I wait and see what the weather will bring. I see that right now the weather for Lincoln is to be mid-80's with Sun and it is supposed to be humid. Mid 80's? That would be a gift, in my estimation. I believe that is about the same forecast as last year. Of course, most of the middle part of the course will be in to a head wind. Why wouldn't it be? Well, maybe I'll be wrong about that part. That would be good, actually.

The course gets sent out Wednesday. I have to figure out if it will download in to my Lezyne, and of course, I will print out cue sheets. I will be leaving for Lincoln on Friday morning with my friend Tony, so I have a lot to do before then. Buy nutrition, dial in the fine details on the rig, and get packed up and ready to go.

Oh! A side note on Saturday: There is a new dog on Burton about a 1/4 mile South of the church on the corner of Burton and Gresham Roads. The house is on the East side of the road. I hadn't ever had any trouble with a dog here until Saturday when a herding type of dog came out and expertly cut me off and I had to stop. A big old Lab came trundling out behind, so I had both these dogs to contend with. I had them talked off the ledge when suddenly they went berserk, and that was because the owner came out. A tall, middle aged woman who was very apologetic. She said the herding dog was new, and that it hadn't been trained yet.

And the ironic thing is that the dog is named Tony, just like my gravel riding companion who is going to Gravel Worlds with me. Ha!

So, anyway, if you are a local, and if you ride up North on Burton Avenue, you may get a welcome from Tony. Now you know.......

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!