Friday News And Views

 Bicycle Sales Still Slumping:

You probably have noticed it. All the "Black Friday" sales stuff which kicked in right after Halloween was over here. We may as well call the month of November "Black Friday" and have no days other than Friday for 30 calendar days until December 1st.  

News coming out of all the trade publications are still showing sales numbers mostly down for the Summer. You can tell because some companies have been running ridiculous discounts for months already.  

There have been a few businesses shutting down, and many bicycle shops seem to be closing up across the world, not just here. I'm certain there are parts where shops are thriving and business is brisk, but this seems to be less common now. 

And there are "bicycle deserts" which are getting larger all the time. The city I live in currently has no bicycle shops at all. None. It's crazy to think about it. There are several places in Iowa which have no close local bicycle services at all. I'm sure nationwide it is commonplace. 

It will be interesting to see if 2026 brings any positive changes.  

Prototype known as "D62" Image courtesy of Brant Richards

Luxy Redux Update:

Last Friday I asked if anyone was interested in a Luxy Bar reissue. (IYKYK) I wanted to give those interested parties an update, as far as what I know. 

The Luxy Bar was sold through Chain Reactions Cycles, an online retailer which had many "in-house" brands. One of those brands was Ragley, and the main designer for Ragley Bikes at the time of the Luxy Bar's availability was Brant Richards. The Luxy was sold as a Ragley Bikes product. 

I do not know the particulars involved in a possible revival of a component which has a license through a company which went through financial distress and I do not know who owns the rights to the Luxy now. All I know is Brant is getting back into bicycle stuff again and asked if I thought the Luxy was a viable offering in 2025/26. 

I posted about this, as I stated, last Friday, and Brant has seen all of your comments. So, if those carry any weight, then .......maybe. Also, I did ask for a carbon version to which Brant replied to by saying, "You can ask. But I’m sticking with metal. Not plastic!"

You can read into this statement if you'd like. I am saying it still is a big "what if" until I see one for real. Stay tuned.....

Image courtesy of Ratio Tech

Ratio Mech Now Available:

Early in October I reported in another FN&V regarding Ratio Technologies stab at making a rear derailleur with an aim to be versatile enough to work with several different shifters. It appears now this component is now available from the U.K. based company and is called the "Mech".  

Riders can choose the correct Mech configuration for their preferred cassette and shifter right from the webpage.  The Mech can also be configured for traditional derailleur hangars or UDH style mounting. 

Comments: I think this sort of mechanical rear derailleur is really a thing filling a void. The major component makers have, for the most part, abandoned cable pull derailleurs. This Ratio offering fills a void in the marketplace for those who want 12 and 13 speed drive trains but do not want electronic shifting for whatever reasons they may have.  

The asking price of approximately $457.00 (based upon current exchange rates and no tariff or VAT) seems steep, but a SRAM AXS XPLR rear mech is only about one hundred bucks less. Given some competition in this space for high-end, cable pull rear mechs and some decent amount of demand, I could see this 457 number coming down. 

But who knows? Perhaps this will only be a niche offering for old-school, cable pull holdouts. Once the demand is met, and those folks age out, perhaps all we wil see is electronic rear mechs in the future.  Either way, it is nice to see a company offering an alternative to electronic shifting. 

Image courtesy of Ritchey Design

Ritchey Design Septimer Carbon Breakaway Frame:

Whoops! I had to redact this news last Friday because I didn't read the embargo date correctly, so if you've already seen this here, or thought you might have, you did!

My bad! Sorry Ritchey Design! 

So, anyway, the Septimer is a break-away frame design in carbon. Ritchey has its own design for travel frames which come apart and can be packed into a small travel bag which can be checked at airports as regular baggage, saving on shipping costs for folks who like to travel with a bicycle. 

If you are interested you can check out the Ritchey Septimer and all their other fine products HERE. 

More 32"er Watch Rumors:

I was pointed to a mtbr.com thread by fellow blogger Rich Dillen which detailed the latest in 32"er news. With Mike Curiak being the current "Central Scrutinizer" of all things 32" in the MTB world, at least here in the USA, it was enlightening.  

Apparently the scuttlebutt from Mike is that at least "5-6 new 32" tires " are due out next year. I would assume this would mostly become news around and at Sea Otter, given the MTB nature of the event in April. 

Chatting via text messenger with "Mr Vague Idea Racing", we both agreed gravel stands to be addressed with the 32" wand as well. What exactly becomes of this is anyone's guess as of now, but more companies than Maxxis will have to jump in to make this viable. My guess is the German based tire brands will not be included due to their notorious conservative natures, I'd look for brands like Kenda, (who could use a shot in the arm), Panaracer, or maybe WTB to be brands which come in with 32" offerings for tires in 2026. 

This 32 inch nonsense reminds me a LOT of the heady days of 29"ers, fat bikes, and early gravel bike tire threads online where certain individuals were looked to for breaking news and posters would theorize on stuff they had no idea about. Ah! I recall this sort of thing and I understand it is "fun", but I'm not going to press into this too hard myself. The rewards are ethereal and fleeting for the amount of "grind" one has to exert. But with this said, I will be keeping a close eye on things in relation to 32" wheels and gravel bikes. 

That is a wrap on this week! The FN&V will be taking a break next week (unless there is breaking news) for Thanksgiving. Look for the next FN&V to appear at the end of the first week of December. 

Now get out and ride those bicycles!  

Friday News And Views

Image courtesy of Wilde Bicycle Co. 

Wilde Bicycle Co. Announces Heighliner Titanium Adventure Bike:

Due to a leak of information, Wilde Bicycle Co has decided to release the information and pre-orders on its newest model dubbed the Heighliner. 

Featuring clearance for 29" 2.25" tires, fully internal cable housing, and UDH compatibility, this new model is Wilde Bicycle Co. head Jeffrey Frane's favorite bike currently. In fact, he designed the geometry himself. 

The frame has double-butted titanium tubing with a T-47 bottom bracket. There are two water bottle mounts in the front triangle, one Three-Pack mount under the down tube, and a top tube bag accessory mount on the top tube. 

The frame is made at the ORA factory in Taiwan. Pre-orders for a June 2026 delivery are open now. Price for the frame and fork is $3,300.00. The details can be reviewed on the webpage for the Heighliner HERE. 

Image courtesy of Moots

Moots Announces Scrambler Adventure Bike:

Moots released information yesterday on a new model called the Scrambler. This drop-bar, wide tired bicycle is designed around a 100mm travel suspension fork.  

Available as a frame only or with a Rock Shox SID fork and Shimano GRX/XT build, the bike will only be available for  -according to the press release - "a limited time".  (End of January 2026, to be exact)

Tire clearance is stated at 20" x 2.4" maximum. The frame is a Boost spaced frame. Completes will ship with Chris King MTN30 AL29" wheels. Tires will be the WTB MACRO 29" X 2.4".  

For details see Moots page for this model HERE.  

A Gen 2 Fargo pictured in 2015.

The "OG" Would Like To Have A Word:

This trend to 29"er MTB sized rubber, drop bars, and a penchant for telescopic front forks in the realm of "Gravel™" these days reminds me of something....

I cannot quite put my finger on it now. Was it some bike back in 2008 or 2009 with a marketing tagline which went something like "Adventure by Bike"?

Anyway, you get my point by now, I am sure. It was inevitable we'd see all things garvel eventually reach a point where the lines were blurred and what we were looking at now became what we already have seen for sixteen years now.  

You'll note I did not write any "Comments" for the first two entries. This is the comment section on those two entries. Welcome to "Adventure by Bike" Moots and Wilde. There's plenty of room on the couch here and for the rest of you brands who think they have discovered something here.  

I'm not criticizing here, but unless you remind people of the past, they will make up their own stories. So, check the history and be informed.  

Image courtesy of Vittoria Tire

Vittoria Announces Future Availability Of Eco-Friendly Brown Hued Tires:

On the heels of my recent post concerning these tires (HERE), it has come to light recently that Vittoria Tire is indeed going to sell the eco-friendly, brown gravel tires. Tires which have been claimed to be faster than their carbon black infused siblings. 

The full range of Vittoria's PRO gravel catalog will eventually be available in this compound and casing made with 92% renewable, recyclable materials. 

Vittoria claims this brown-hued compound is 5% faster, has 19% more grip, and has 18% better puncture resistance than its current gravel tire range. 

All this performance and earth-friendliness comes at a price though.  Tires in the range are well over $100.00 each at $112.99. This compares to Vittoria's current range which runs at $81.99 for each tire. 

Comments: Wooo! That's a big jump in performance at a big jump in price. Would you be willing to slap on nearly $225.00 of tires, (before shipping and taxes), and have your bike seen with brown rubber? Yeah..... That's a big ask, but I'm willing to bet a lot of people are going to give this a go on their gravel bike. 

A comment left indicating the Luxy Bar redux is a possibility. 

Do You Really Want It? Then Say So!

Thursday (yesterday) an long ago memory was stirred when I saw "Brant Richards" pop up in my email.  

Brant Richards was heavily involved in UK MTB as a writer and parts designer up until about seven years ago when he and a partner opened up a boutique clothing business called HebTroCo. But before the trousers came into Brant's life, he designed a lot of cool stuff like the On One Inbred, some nice forks, steel frames for trail MTB, and this odd flared drop bar called the Luxy Bar. 

Now Brant seems as though he's back into bicycles, at least for a bit. He hit me up yesterday asking what I thought about a reissue Luxy Bar. So lokk, if you ever wanted one, wanted another one, or are "Luxy-Curious", give a shout. Hit the comments and say something. 

If you don't ask, you won't receive anything.  

That's it for this week! Get out and ride those bicycles! 

Minus Ten Review 2009-28

Production prototype code name- "D-62", otherwise known as the Luxy Bar

Ten years ago on the blog I was finally able to reveal a drop bar designed for off road that I had been asked to make suggestions for. Brant Richards, then formerly of On One and running his own design firm dubbed "Shedfire", had sent me an email asking me "what would you do if you could design a dirt drop bar?", but he probably asked me in a more English way than that. I cannot remember now! The image I have today is courtesy of Brant and he sent along several others which I shared in a post here ten years ago.

What I saw was not what I was expecting, not at all! My idea was more closely related to what the Cowchipper ended up being. This bar, which ended up becoming called the "Luxy Bar", after some pub/bar Brant was familiar with somewhere, ended up being sold through the Ragley brand, which was connected to Chain Reaction Cycles UK.

It was heavily influenced by Sam Alison from Singular Cycles, who had the most input, as I understand it, as to the final form of the bar. What was finally decided upon remains the most radical, useful, and unique dirt drop bar ever released. Oh.......there have been weirder ones, but they were imminently unusable designs for one reason or another. No.....this one nailed so many things missing in dirt drops. The radical sweep is probably the number one thing here that separates the Luxy from all other flared drop bars. I liken this bar to how Jeff Jones might have designed a drop bar to be. Fair assessment or not, the swept extensions of the Luxy are very reminiscent of the Jones Bar.

The Luxy immediately made me think of all the failings of the Woodchipper. This was what the Woodchipper should have been. Usable extensions that kept your levers up and the brake levers reachable from the drops. No weird ramps and the bend of the drop was perfect. In fact, the Luxy had really minimal drop, which is another awesome feature of it. The final icing on the cake was the straight 31.8mm top section which, up until that time, I'd never seen before.

The total package was brilliant. I was very sad when the bar, after a run, maybe two, was no longer in production. If you missed the initial selling of the bar, you missed it. And despite some solid promises over the years, Brant hasn't been able to, or won't, bring it back again. Too bad. The Luxy is truly one of the classic flared drop bar designs. Nothing else comes close.

Minus Ten Review 2009-28

Production prototype code name- "D-62", otherwise known as the Luxy Bar

Ten years ago on the blog I was finally able to reveal a drop bar designed for off road that I had been asked to make suggestions for. Brant Richards, then formerly of On One and running his own design firm dubbed "Shedfire", had sent me an email asking me "what would you do if you could design a dirt drop bar?", but he probably asked me in a more English way than that. I cannot remember now! The image I have today is courtesy of Brant and he sent along several others which I shared in a post here ten years ago.

What I saw was not what I was expecting, not at all! My idea was more closely related to what the Cowchipper ended up being. This bar, which ended up becoming called the "Luxy Bar", after some pub/bar Brant was familiar with somewhere, ended up being sold through the Ragley brand, which was connected to Chain Reaction Cycles UK.

It was heavily influenced by Sam Alison from Singular Cycles, who had the most input, as I understand it, as to the final form of the bar. What was finally decided upon remains the most radical, useful, and unique dirt drop bar ever released. Oh.......there have been weirder ones, but they were imminently unusable designs for one reason or another. No.....this one nailed so many things missing in dirt drops. The radical sweep is probably the number one thing here that separates the Luxy from all other flared drop bars. I liken this bar to how Jeff Jones might have designed a drop bar to be. Fair assessment or not, the swept extensions of the Luxy are very reminiscent of the Jones Bar.

The Luxy immediately made me think of all the failings of the Woodchipper. This was what the Woodchipper should have been. Usable extensions that kept your levers up and the brake levers reachable from the drops. No weird ramps and the bend of the drop was perfect. In fact, the Luxy had really minimal drop, which is another awesome feature of it. The final icing on the cake was the straight 31.8mm top section which, up until that time, I'd never seen before.

The total package was brilliant. I was very sad when the bar, after a run, maybe two, was no longer in production. If you missed the initial selling of the bar, you missed it. And despite some solid promises over the years, Brant hasn't been able to, or won't, bring it back again. Too bad. The Luxy is truly one of the classic flared drop bar designs. Nothing else comes close.

Minus Ten Review 2009-11

Gravel bikes in titanium are hot now. ten years ago it was 29'ers in Ti.

Ten years ago on the blog I was talking about a few forward thinking designers of bicycles that were working with 29'ers. one of those, "Shedfire", (Brant Richards, of On One fame and now involved in making trousers great again) was designing a rig in titanium back then which never really saw the light of day as a titanium rig. But it was realized in aluminum under the Ragley Bikes name.

The other thing I was yakking about was how the economic collapse of 2008 hadn't really affected the bicycle business. Record sales were being recorded and the outlook for 2009 wasn't bleak, and so it was looking to be a great year.

Not so ten years down the road. The shop I work at has been struggling. Many other shops are as well. Some I know of have closed. Things look bleak, and to be honest, I wonder now whether or not I'll be wrenching on bicycles at all by the end of the year. I mean, it isn't like there are a lot of bike shops around!

Anyway, the only constant is change, and whether or not I am working in a shop in the next few weeks or the next few years is anyone's guess at this point. I know I have no idea at this point.

Minus Ten Review 2009-11

Gravel bikes in titanium are hot now. ten years ago it was 29'ers in Ti.

Ten years ago on the blog I was talking about a few forward thinking designers of bicycles that were working with 29'ers. one of those, "Shedfire", (Brant Richards, of On One fame and now involved in making trousers great again) was designing a rig in titanium back then which never really saw the light of day as a titanium rig. But it was realized in aluminum under the Ragley Bikes name.

The other thing I was yakking about was how the economic collapse of 2008 hadn't really affected the bicycle business. Record sales were being recorded and the outlook for 2009 wasn't bleak, and so it was looking to be a great year.

Not so ten years down the road. The shop I work at has been struggling. Many other shops are as well. Some I know of have closed. Things look bleak, and to be honest, I wonder now whether or not I'll be wrenching on bicycles at all by the end of the year. I mean, it isn't like there are a lot of bike shops around!

Anyway, the only constant is change, and whether or not I am working in a shop in the next few weeks or the next few years is anyone's guess at this point. I know I have no idea at this point.

The Tale Of The Luxy Bar: Revival?

Two rare Luxy Bars from 2011.

Here we go again! more on the old Luxy Bar. To catch up on the story so far, you'd better click in here.

Since that last post more Luxy Bar Lust has occurred, and Brant Richards left On One to start up a company dubbed "Pact Bikes". So....

Tuesday I see a Tweet that the Luxy Bar is coming back and it will need a new name. Anyone going to their Facebook page can suggest a name and if chosen, they will get a new handle bar.

So, I cannot say exactly when this will happen, but Brant Richards has reached out to me and said it is all true. The bar is coming back, in original form, with a new name re-branded under Pact Bikes marque. There will be a U.S. point of distribution for retail sales.

Hang on.......I've been promised the latest information when it becomes available.

The Tale Of The Luxy Bar: Revival?

Two rare Luxy Bars from 2011.

Here we go again! more on the old Luxy Bar. To catch up on the story so far, you'd better click in here.

Since that last post more Luxy Bar Lust has occurred, and Brant Richards left On One to start up a company dubbed "Pact Bikes". So....

Tuesday I see a Tweet that the Luxy Bar is coming back and it will need a new name. Anyone going to their Facebook page can suggest a name and if chosen, they will get a new handle bar.

So, I cannot say exactly when this will happen, but Brant Richards has reached out to me and said it is all true. The bar is coming back, in original form, with a new name re-branded under Pact Bikes marque. There will be a U.S. point of distribution for retail sales.

Hang on.......I've been promised the latest information when it becomes available.

The Luxy Bar: Why It Is The Bar Many Want But Few Can Get

Pardon my craptastic finishing tape job!

In the super-niche of off road drop bars, maybe there is no other drop bar that has engendered such curiosity and desire as the Ragley Luxy Bar. Why is that? In this post, I'll take a stab at answering this question and telling the back story on this peculiar handle bar.

The Start:

As I recall, there was a thread on mtbr.com on the 29"er forum that was going on about off road drop bar set ups and what bar would be best. Of course, at this time in history you had two choices: Find an out of production WTB Dirt Drop, or similar bar, or use an On One Midge Bar, which was based off the original WTB offering, but tweaked in several important and good ways. (Note- There was  also a revival of the WTB Dirt Drop that was never really embraced by the public, due to it's super-deep drop and weird anatomic drop shape, so I have left that out of this discussion.) I was in the On One Midge camp, but I had nits to pick with that design. I stated something to the effect that I had a "perfect" off road drop bar design in mind which I would have loved to have seen made. Not long after I posted this, I received an e-mail from Brant Richards.

Mr. Richards was a designer at On One, but had recently left to do bicycle and component design on his own, dubbing the company "Shed Fire". He was doing several designs for Chain Reaction Cycles UK brands and mostly for a brand Mr. Richards developed dubbed "Ragley". In his e-mail to me he asked, in his typically abbreviated style, to send along a copy of my design for his consideration.

The Luxy featured a much wider, more flared, and longer drop bar sectioned design.

So I did and Brant seemed truly interested in coming up with something. Months went by, and Brant consulted with others on the design, most notably Sam Alison of Singular Cycles. After this period of time passed, I received images of the rough prototype which no longer bore any resemblance to my crude drawings, but I found fascinating nonetheless. Not that anything I contributed was worth keeping, but I'd like to think that I influenced the design in some small way. I guess I may never know that.... Anyway.....

The design process completed, the bar went through the various stages of prototyping and manufacturing, which Mr. Richards was kind enough to keep me abreast of. It was a fascinating look "behind the scenes", and I learned a lot along the way. Finally, one day a box arrived that had two Luxy Bars inside of it. One in polished ano and the other in black ano. A "thank you" for my thoughts and whatever help I lent along the way, I suppose, and also to get the word out, which I figure was part of the plan on Brant's part.

With its extremely shallow drop and super short reach, the Luxy Bar had no peer.

The Hey-Day:

The Luxy Bar hit the scene and was embraced by a few, but from where I sat I thought that it was a a product most misunderstood at the time it was released. As far as I was concerned, it wasn't anything like I had envisioned, but it was really quite nice, actually. It had a unique 31.8mm diameter top section, and with its "wheelbarrow" handle feel, climbing torque was awesome, so the Luxy Bar and single speed seemed a natural marriage to me. However; some found geared set ups to be quite nice as well.

Still my fave!

The End:

I didn't really keep up with how the Luxy was selling, and not too long after it came out, Brant went back to On One. Whether or not that had anything at all to do with the Luxy's demise is anyone's guess, but it seemed to coincide with the disappearance of this product from stock. I am told it only had two production runs before Chain Reaction UK shut the availability of it off.

The Legend Begins:

I shrugged it off as "one of those things", and since the demand seemed soft for it, I figured that this would be the end of the story. However; maybe a year or two ago now a sudden interest in the Luxy Bar appeared and I was getting asked about the availability of the bar and whether or not I could find any for people. I actually tracked two down and sold one of them to a good friend in Des Moines. Others were being sold for about twice what they originally sold for. I am aware of at least three people that have gone to the length of e-mailing Chain Reaction UK to find out if there was some way to get them to either make more, or release the design to another company to be manufactured. 

There is a lot of behind the scenes scuttlebutt on a "Luxy-like" design drop bar being potentially developed. As of now, that's all it is- scuttlebutt. I really do not foresee the Luxy Bar, or anything very close to it, ever being made again. I think that is sad, since I really like the design, and I know many others do as well. Maybe just as many more would like to try one just because they have heard about the scarcity of these. It's an odd thing that I have dubbed "thing wanted- cannot get". In other words, it seems to me that when you could actually get a Luxy Bar, no one seemed interested, but now that it cannot be had, the "demand" for one seems to have rekindled.

The future will possibly bring other drop bars for off road to light, but maybe none will have such a legendary story as the Luxy Bar has had.

The Luxy Bar: Why It Is The Bar Many Want But Few Can Get

Pardon my craptastic finishing tape job!

In the super-niche of off road drop bars, maybe there is no other drop bar that has engendered such curiosity and desire as the Ragley Luxy Bar. Why is that? In this post, I'll take a stab at answering this question and telling the back story on this peculiar handle bar.

The Start:

As I recall, there was a thread on mtbr.com on the 29"er forum that was going on about off road drop bar set ups and what bar would be best. Of course, at this time in history you had two choices: Find an out of production WTB Dirt Drop, or similar bar, or use an On One Midge Bar, which was based off the original WTB offering, but tweaked in several important and good ways. (Note- There was  also a revival of the WTB Dirt Drop that was never really embraced by the public, due to it's super-deep drop and weird anatomic drop shape, so I have left that out of this discussion.) I was in the On One Midge camp, but I had nits to pick with that design. I stated something to the effect that I had a "perfect" off road drop bar design in mind which I would have loved to have seen made. Not long after I posted this, I received an e-mail from Brant Richards.

Mr. Richards was a designer at On One, but had recently left to do bicycle and component design on his own, dubbing the company "Shed Fire". He was doing several designs for Chain Reaction Cycles UK brands and mostly for a brand Mr. Richards developed dubbed "Ragley". In his e-mail to me he asked, in his typically abbreviated style, to send along a copy of my design for his consideration.

The Luxy featured a much wider, more flared, and longer drop bar sectioned design.

So I did and Brant seemed truly interested in coming up with something. Months went by, and Brant consulted with others on the design, most notably Sam Alison of Singular Cycles. After this period of time passed, I received images of the rough prototype which no longer bore any resemblance to my crude drawings, but I found fascinating nonetheless. Not that anything I contributed was worth keeping, but I'd like to think that I influenced the design in some small way. I guess I may never know that.... Anyway.....

The design process completed, the bar went through the various stages of prototyping and manufacturing, which Mr. Richards was kind enough to keep me abreast of. It was a fascinating look "behind the scenes", and I learned a lot along the way. Finally, one day a box arrived that had two Luxy Bars inside of it. One in polished ano and the other in black ano. A "thank you" for my thoughts and whatever help I lent along the way, I suppose, and also to get the word out, which I figure was part of the plan on Brant's part.

With its extremely shallow drop and super short reach, the Luxy Bar had no peer.

The Hey-Day:

The Luxy Bar hit the scene and was embraced by a few, but from where I sat I thought that it was a a product most misunderstood at the time it was released. As far as I was concerned, it wasn't anything like I had envisioned, but it was really quite nice, actually. It had a unique 31.8mm diameter top section, and with its "wheelbarrow" handle feel, climbing torque was awesome, so the Luxy Bar and single speed seemed a natural marriage to me. However; some found geared set ups to be quite nice as well.

Still my fave!

The End:

I didn't really keep up with how the Luxy was selling, and not too long after it came out, Brant went back to On One. Whether or not that had anything at all to do with the Luxy's demise is anyone's guess, but it seemed to coincide with the disappearance of this product from stock. I am told it only had two production runs before Chain Reaction UK shut the availability of it off.

The Legend Begins:

I shrugged it off as "one of those things", and since the demand seemed soft for it, I figured that this would be the end of the story. However; maybe a year or two ago now a sudden interest in the Luxy Bar appeared and I was getting asked about the availability of the bar and whether or not I could find any for people. I actually tracked two down and sold one of them to a good friend in Des Moines. Others were being sold for about twice what they originally sold for. I am aware of at least three people that have gone to the length of e-mailing Chain Reaction UK to find out if there was some way to get them to either make more, or release the design to another company to be manufactured. 

There is a lot of behind the scenes scuttlebutt on a "Luxy-like" design drop bar being potentially developed. As of now, that's all it is- scuttlebutt. I really do not foresee the Luxy Bar, or anything very close to it, ever being made again. I think that is sad, since I really like the design, and I know many others do as well. Maybe just as many more would like to try one just because they have heard about the scarcity of these. It's an odd thing that I have dubbed "thing wanted- cannot get". In other words, it seems to me that when you could actually get a Luxy Bar, no one seemed interested, but now that it cannot be had, the "demand" for one seems to have rekindled.

The future will possibly bring other drop bars for off road to light, but maybe none will have such a legendary story as the Luxy Bar has had.

Fat Thursday

New Maxxis 29+ tire: image courtesy of Brant Richards

The Taipei Bicycle Show is happening right now and some leakage is going down that is Fat and Beautiful! (I know, that sounds dirty, but it's all legit. REALLY! )

First off, on Wednesday morning I awoke to two images posted by On One's Brant Richards of some Maxxis tires. one a 29+ and the other a 4 inch wide fat bike tire called the Mammoth, which looks kind of like a fat Ardent-like tread.

So my thoughts on this were that finally some break through on tires was imminent. This could only mean one thng: More companies were ramping up fat bike production. The tire companies are not going to do fat bike tires or 29+ unless some mainstream company is pulling the trigger for them with orders to put on new bicycle models. Expect this Summer to be rife with news on fat and 29+ stuff!

But you may say, "Okay- but that's just two tires. How many bikes would use those?" You are right to be skeptical, but I had a funny feeling Maxxis wasn't the only ones jumping in. And I was correct.....

Duro Fat: Image Courtesy of "Red"

Later on Wednesday, I got confirmation that Trek will have a Bontrager TLR-type tubeless set up for fat bikes. The system will consist of tires and rims which will work together- the first of its kind for fat bikes. Not only that, but another source has informed me that the rim is a ".... pretty wild departure from anything "normal"". 

This source went on to say that Trek will have five total fat bike models for 2015: Two aluminum hard tails, two carbon hard tails, and a full suspension fat bike! 

Think about that final statement a bit. That means the long awaited front suspender from Rock Shox will become reality for 2015 on Trek fat bikes. Probably on Salsa fat bikes as well. Why? Did you see how all the Salsa 2014 fat bike models are suspension corrected and have 51mm offset forks? Think about it.......possibly two full suspension fat bikes with dialed suspension in 2015. It boggles the mind to think what was available for fat bikes in 2011 were pretty much basic hard tails with rigid forks and Surly Larry tires were the talk of the town. Now we're talking about more things happening in one model year for fat bikes then has happened in the fat bike's entire previous history combined. 2015 "The Year of the Fat Bike"? I don't think that is too far from the mark if it isn't dead on. 

While many folks seem to think fat bikes are too dull and heavy to be all-year-around mountain bikes, apparently many companies are betting differently. It will be interesting to see how all the geometry choices affect snow, sand, and mud riding, which early fat bikes were specifically dialed in to tackle.

Then later in the day I get the word that Kenda Tire is doing a fat bike tire. A 26 X 4.0" tire with their DTC compound and dubbed the "Juggernaut Sport".  It is interesting to note that all of these "leaked" tires are in the 4.0" range. Apparently that is where we are going to see manufacturers focus their efforts on in terms of fat bike tires.


So, the market really is opening up, eh? With Maxxis in, Duro Tire in, and Kenda Tire in, along with the Bontrager tires, and what I would assume should be more offerings from Specialized, the fat bike tire selections will effectively triple in one year! 

Like one source told me, "...this is like 2006 and 29"ers all over again!" I would have to agree. I am sure this is just the tip of the iceberg as well. Obviously we don't have any idea what Salsa Cycles is doing, and I am sure other surprises lurk in the shadows yet, like Specialized's offerings, or other companies with components, (tires, rims, and forks), that we will be finding out about soon. 

This week was " Fat Tuesday", but the real deal this year is "Fat Thursday"! 

More Images:

Prototype Bontrager tire

Mammoth Tread

Chronicle Tread

Maxxis Mammoth

Fat Thursday

New Maxxis 29+ tire: image courtesy of Brant Richards

The Taipei Bicycle Show is happening right now and some leakage is going down that is Fat and Beautiful! (I know, that sounds dirty, but it's all legit. REALLY! )

First off, on Wednesday morning I awoke to two images posted by On One's Brant Richards of some Maxxis tires. one a 29+ and the other a 4 inch wide fat bike tire called the Mammoth, which looks kind of like a fat Ardent-like tread.

So my thoughts on this were that finally some break through on tires was imminent. This could only mean one thng: More companies were ramping up fat bike production. The tire companies are not going to do fat bike tires or 29+ unless some mainstream company is pulling the trigger for them with orders to put on new bicycle models. Expect this Summer to be rife with news on fat and 29+ stuff!

But you may say, "Okay- but that's just two tires. How many bikes would use those?" You are right to be skeptical, but I had a funny feeling Maxxis wasn't the only ones jumping in. And I was correct.....

Duro Fat: Image Courtesy of "Red"

Later on Wednesday, I got confirmation that Trek will have a Bontrager TLR-type tubeless set up for fat bikes. The system will consist of tires and rims which will work together- the first of its kind for fat bikes. Not only that, but another source has informed me that the rim is a ".... pretty wild departure from anything "normal"". 

This source went on to say that Trek will have five total fat bike models for 2015: Two aluminum hard tails, two carbon hard tails, and a full suspension fat bike! 

Think about that final statement a bit. That means the long awaited front suspender from Rock Shox will become reality for 2015 on Trek fat bikes. Probably on Salsa fat bikes as well. Why? Did you see how all the Salsa 2014 fat bike models are suspension corrected and have 51mm offset forks? Think about it.......possibly two full suspension fat bikes with dialed suspension in 2015. It boggles the mind to think what was available for fat bikes in 2011 were pretty much basic hard tails with rigid forks and Surly Larry tires were the talk of the town. Now we're talking about more things happening in one model year for fat bikes then has happened in the fat bike's entire previous history combined. 2015 "The Year of the Fat Bike"? I don't think that is too far from the mark if it isn't dead on. 

While many folks seem to think fat bikes are too dull and heavy to be all-year-around mountain bikes, apparently many companies are betting differently. It will be interesting to see how all the geometry choices affect snow, sand, and mud riding, which early fat bikes were specifically dialed in to tackle.

Then later in the day I get the word that Kenda Tire is doing a fat bike tire. A 26 X 4.0" tire with their DTC compound and dubbed the "Juggernaut Sport".  It is interesting to note that all of these "leaked" tires are in the 4.0" range. Apparently that is where we are going to see manufacturers focus their efforts on in terms of fat bike tires.


So, the market really is opening up, eh? With Maxxis in, Duro Tire in, and Kenda Tire in, along with the Bontrager tires, and what I would assume should be more offerings from Specialized, the fat bike tire selections will effectively triple in one year! 

Like one source told me, "...this is like 2006 and 29"ers all over again!" I would have to agree. I am sure this is just the tip of the iceberg as well. Obviously we don't have any idea what Salsa Cycles is doing, and I am sure other surprises lurk in the shadows yet, like Specialized's offerings, or other companies with components, (tires, rims, and forks), that we will be finding out about soon. 

This week was " Fat Tuesday", but the real deal this year is "Fat Thursday"! 

More Images:

Prototype Bontrager tire

Mammoth Tread

Chronicle Tread

Maxxis Mammoth

The Tale Of The Luxy Bar

My latest Luxy Bar acquisition.

The Luxy Bar: It is an odd ball bar that has taken on a life of its own of late. I call it, "thing wanted-can't get it", because it seems that once something odd like this passes from availability to obscurity and people start showing up with them on bicycles, then folks want it.

Maybe I am wrong, but this component is the most asked about component from my contacts via Facebook, e-mail, and Twitter, not to mention at gravel events and rides. Apparently, I have found out, it also is something a lot of folks are wanting to try. A little tiny market for used ones has sprung up. I actually got one just yesterday in the mail I purchased from a guy in Connecticut via Facebook. Another Luxy Bar fan I know just grabbed another Luxy Bar from a guy I helped get one to that ended up trying it and not liking it. It's kind of bizarre, but here's my take and a little back story on the Luxy Bar.......

The Luxy Bar started out with something I posted once on MTBR.com about how I would make a good drop bar and no one had it right yet back in 2009.  Well, I got a quick e-mail from Brant Richards, who had just left On One and had started his own design company and was running a brand for Chain Reaction Cycles called "Ragley Bikes". He wanted to know what I would do for a drop bar. I had actually done a sketch, so I scanned it and sent it to him with my thoughts. He said thanks and that he would get back to me.

I didn't hear anything for quite awhile, then Brant e-mailed me some factory images of a bar called the "D-62". I thought it was a bit of a radical departure from my original intentions, but I also had not seen anything quite like it either. (See these images in my blog post here from 2009. )

Brant was calling them the "Luxy Bar", after a bar/lounge in Asia. The bars were then to see some time under some testers and refinements were made. (Note, production bars differ from those raw images you see in my '09 post.) One of those testers was Sam from Singular Cycles. Near as I can tell, it was Sam's influence that made the Luxy come out as it did.

It was a long while before I heard the Luxy was ready, but in early 2011, Brant sent out a pair for me to try out and to say thanks for helping. (Although the final product was so radically different than what I initially put forth I have to say that I had no input! At least it wouldn't appear that I had.) So, I immediately mounted them up and started riding. After the first 300 miles or so, I posted an update. (Seen here) The Salsa Cycles Woodchippers were already out and I had purchased a few, but after the Luxy came along, I eventually gravitated toward using them more and soon the Woodchipper was no longer a favorite of mine.

Apparently a few folks fell in love with them, but not too many. I didn't hear much about Luxy Bars from others and I was always surprised to find out that certain people had them. You just never heard about them and they didn't come up in conversations about drop bars back then. Soon after I received the Luxy Bars, they went out of production, and perhaps that was due to Brant Richards going back to On One, or for low sales, or both reasons, I do not know. At any rate, that was that, and I figured I'd never hear about Luxy Bars again.

Well, about six months ago, I noticed that some people were chatting up Luxy Bars and I began to hear about folks looking for used ones. Then the inquiries came, probably based upon my past postings on them. The answer was always the same: "No- You can not get them anymore. No- I do not know if Chain Reaction will ever do another run." I heard from a Facebook friend that he had e-mailed about Luxy Bars going back into production and the answer was that there were no future plans to do anything with them. Then I decided to start a bit of a Twitter campaign to point out that folks could not get them anymore, but were looking for them. (hash tag #thingwantedcannotget) Then I actually contacted Brant one day and asked if he could get something done similar to the Luxy for On One.  Maybe that would work? Brant said he'd look into it, but that's been the last of it.

Still the Luxy Bar seems to be "in demand" by certain aficionados of drop bar usage off road and by gravelists. Just yesterday I ran across three more folks that said they'd like to try them.

Crazy, innit?

The Tale Of The Luxy Bar

My latest Luxy Bar acquisition.

The Luxy Bar: It is an odd ball bar that has taken on a life of its own of late. I call it, "thing wanted-can't get it", because it seems that once something odd like this passes from availability to obscurity and people start showing up with them on bicycles, then folks want it.

Maybe I am wrong, but this component is the most asked about component from my contacts via Facebook, e-mail, and Twitter, not to mention at gravel events and rides. Apparently, I have found out, it also is something a lot of folks are wanting to try. A little tiny market for used ones has sprung up. I actually got one just yesterday in the mail I purchased from a guy in Connecticut via Facebook. Another Luxy Bar fan I know just grabbed another Luxy Bar from a guy I helped get one to that ended up trying it and not liking it. It's kind of bizarre, but here's my take and a little back story on the Luxy Bar.......

The Luxy Bar started out with something I posted once on MTBR.com about how I would make a good drop bar and no one had it right yet back in 2009.  Well, I got a quick e-mail from Brant Richards, who had just left On One and had started his own design company and was running a brand for Chain Reaction Cycles called "Ragley Bikes". He wanted to know what I would do for a drop bar. I had actually done a sketch, so I scanned it and sent it to him with my thoughts. He said thanks and that he would get back to me.

I didn't hear anything for quite awhile, then Brant e-mailed me some factory images of a bar called the "D-62". I thought it was a bit of a radical departure from my original intentions, but I also had not seen anything quite like it either. (See these images in my blog post here from 2009. )

Brant was calling them the "Luxy Bar", after a bar/lounge in Asia. The bars were then to see some time under some testers and refinements were made. (Note, production bars differ from those raw images you see in my '09 post.) One of those testers was Sam from Singular Cycles. Near as I can tell, it was Sam's influence that made the Luxy come out as it did.

It was a long while before I heard the Luxy was ready, but in early 2011, Brant sent out a pair for me to try out and to say thanks for helping. (Although the final product was so radically different than what I initially put forth I have to say that I had no input! At least it wouldn't appear that I had.) So, I immediately mounted them up and started riding. After the first 300 miles or so, I posted an update. (Seen here) The Salsa Cycles Woodchippers were already out and I had purchased a few, but after the Luxy came along, I eventually gravitated toward using them more and soon the Woodchipper was no longer a favorite of mine.

Apparently a few folks fell in love with them, but not too many. I didn't hear much about Luxy Bars from others and I was always surprised to find out that certain people had them. You just never heard about them and they didn't come up in conversations about drop bars back then. Soon after I received the Luxy Bars, they went out of production, and perhaps that was due to Brant Richards going back to On One, or for low sales, or both reasons, I do not know. At any rate, that was that, and I figured I'd never hear about Luxy Bars again.

Well, about six months ago, I noticed that some people were chatting up Luxy Bars and I began to hear about folks looking for used ones. Then the inquiries came, probably based upon my past postings on them. The answer was always the same: "No- You can not get them anymore. No- I do not know if Chain Reaction will ever do another run." I heard from a Facebook friend that he had e-mailed about Luxy Bars going back into production and the answer was that there were no future plans to do anything with them. Then I decided to start a bit of a Twitter campaign to point out that folks could not get them anymore, but were looking for them. (hash tag #thingwantedcannotget) Then I actually contacted Brant one day and asked if he could get something done similar to the Luxy for On One.  Maybe that would work? Brant said he'd look into it, but that's been the last of it.

Still the Luxy Bar seems to be "in demand" by certain aficionados of drop bar usage off road and by gravelists. Just yesterday I ran across three more folks that said they'd like to try them.

Crazy, innit?