The Monkey Decade: Plus Three

The operating table

The "Monkey Decade" was a series of posts I did back in 2013 concerning my Campstove Green Karate Monkey single speed. (The last update can be revisited here) The bike was purchased as a frame and fork by me in 2003, March I believe it was, and I rode it pretty religiously up till about 2007-2008 when other bikes and obligations kind of put that old critter on the back burner for quite a while. That series was a way for me to rekindle interest in the bike, and it did. There was one small detail that precluded me from getting back in the saddle with the project, as it were. That one thing was a very stuck bottom bracket that was in need of replacement.

Well, as I posted my Minus Ten Reviews, I was looking for an image, and found one of that old Karate Monkey in its heyday. (See yesterday's post) That pushed me over the edge, as I was not going to ride to work Friday in the sub-zero windchill, and I knew the repair schedule was pretty open. My boss at work is into challenges like stuck bottom brackets, so I knew he would be okay with me doing this in the dead of Winter. So, I hauled in that hulk of a Monkey and fastened it securely into my repair stand. The game was afoot!

There is one image of the process I did not get that I wished that I had. First, a bit of imagery description to help out here. I had purchased a large, 1 1/4" combination wrench which fit the Shimano bottom bracket tool quite nicely. That was all affixed to the non-drive side bottom bracket cup, (the drive side I managed to remove in 2015), and that big ol' wrench was hanging out there quite a ways. More leverage than I thought one may need. I braced myself, grabbed the frame in one hand and the heavy lead mallet with the other, and smacked away as hard as I could. That didn't work, so Andy stepped in to lend a hand, but to no avail.

By now my boss had come out and he decided that three of us could do the job. Two folks bracing the frame, me whacking the wrench with the lead mallet.

Nope.

My boss stood back and said, "Where is the fork straightener?" I knew exactly what he was on about.

The fork straightener comes from a less litigious, a less carbonated time, when forks were steel and people were willing to take the risk that a mechanic's bending a fork back in plane was an okay thing to do. Nowadays it's main usage is for cases that require extreme amounts of leverage. Times like this ......

Todd had wandered in about this time to see what all the fuss was about. Then he was employed into the process. Four grown men, heaving on a four foot long lever of steel on a 1 1/4" tool affixed to a splined interface. We were pulling so hard that the big combination wrench was deflecting about two inches. Finally, it moved! We all stood back in self-congratulatory stances, as only men can do after accomplishing manly tasks. Not that women couldn't have done it, but we men have a special air about us. I think everyone knows what I mean by that........

Anyway, it wasn't loose. We broke off the splined interface!!!

Yeah........that's just awesome. Now what?!!

 Okay, so now what? Well, there was no tool interface left anymore, so a destructive technique was all that was left to me, but how? I looked at the bottom bracket and knew that Shimano had assembled it in some way, but in what way? If I could reverse the process some how, I could maybe break it down to just the threaded part which was stuck in the frame. I began to pick at it with my sharp pick set tools. Eventually, a circlip came out, then a seal. I was making progress, so I was encouraged. I eventually pulled out the bearing cage and revealed the 1/4" ball bearings in their races. Hmm......hammer time! I grabbed a ball peen hammer and whacked the end of the spindle with a few sharp blows.

The BB-UN72 bottom bracket cartridge.

It came flying out of the frame like a missle, just barely missing a bike in the other stand! Whew! That would have sucked if I had hit it. But, I didn't, and now all I had to do was to remove a steel collar which was about an inch and a quarter wide and which was threaded into the bottom bracket shell.

Yeah.....that's all I had to do. 

There was only one way that was coming out. Remember, I had no tool interface, the piece was already missing a bit of its outer dimension which we had sheared off, and getting a chisel in that tiny space was almost impossible. I tried the chisel route, but it was not really very effective. I was going to have to hack saw that bugger out of there, and in doing that, not ruin the frame! We didn't have a jab saw, so I had to disassemble a standard hack saw, pass the blade through the bottom bracket shell, and then reattach the blade to the frame of the hacksaw. Tedious, but not impossible. Now, on to cutting!

I made three, very calculated, careful cuts. Two close together, and one roughly 90° from those two. Then I used a standard blade screw driver that I had sharpened a bit as a chisel to start to split the collar at the cuts I made, and then to drive the blade under the collar, hopefully prying up the smallest bit of the circumference of the collar first. It was a slow, tedious process, but I could see that the edges were working up. Finally, it snapped up off the bottom bracket shell! Then the two larger pieces came right out as well.

The two larger pieces of the collar show how rusted they were into the frame.

Success!

I got the bottom bracket out, and cleaned up the threads of the bottom bracket shell with the bottom bracket thread chaser. Whew!

That was close.

And it took entirely way too long to reach this result, but at least now I have a frame that I can rehabilitate and rebuild into a working bicycle once again. No more hang ups. Nothing to stop forward progress anymore.

Now what.....

You know, back in 2013 I thought maybe I would put the KM back into the (mostly) original configuration that I had it in back 2003. The thing is, that configuration was short lived, and I actually liked it best in the 2005-2008 time frame when I had a Midge drop bar, leather saddle, and a pretty stout gravel grinding gear set up on the bike. I got to thinking, well.........why not do that? 

New KM's are much more capable off road machines than my '03 is.

The old KM was good for its day, but the straight 1 1/8th head tube, non-gusseted frame, and antiquated rear drop out design make for a less than optimal off road bike now compared to the modern day KM which is a better Monkey all around for single speed activities on single track.

Plus, as I looked at the old, worn frame, it occurred to me that I might be able to use a specific, "old school" style wheel set I picked up from Mike, a Trans Iowa/Tour Divide veteran a few years back. It's an XTR hubbed, Salsa Delgado rim brake style wheel set which comes right out of the same time frame that the 2003 Karate Monkey does. You may remember also that '03 Monkeys could run cantilever brakes. Plus, the Shimano SLR levers I have on the bike should pull linear pull brakes well enough, and even if they don't, I have a pair of Tektro long pull levers sitting around that will.

I figure I'll set up a fresh pair of Bruce Gordon Rock and Road skinwalls on that, and my Velo Orange leather saddle. That along with a new handle bar, stem, and a TruVativ, outboard bearing single speed crankset, and Surly cog with a 9 speed chain driving it all, and I should be sitting pretty well and have a great single speed gravel travel rig.

So, no bike project is worth doing without a goal. This bike is being resurrected at the perfect time for me to reprise the first Guitar Ted Death Ride course. The Karate Monkey single speed was the bike I used on that first GTDRI, and as we're doing the same route, why not use the "same" bicycle?

All righty then......its on. 
 

The Monkey Decade: Plus Three

The operating table

The "Monkey Decade" was a series of posts I did back in 2013 concerning my Campstove Green Karate Monkey single speed. (The last update can be revisited here) The bike was purchased as a frame and fork by me in 2003, March I believe it was, and I rode it pretty religiously up till about 2007-2008 when other bikes and obligations kind of put that old critter on the back burner for quite a while. That series was a way for me to rekindle interest in the bike, and it did. There was one small detail that precluded me from getting back in the saddle with the project, as it were. That one thing was a very stuck bottom bracket that was in need of replacement.

Well, as I posted my Minus Ten Reviews, I was looking for an image, and found one of that old Karate Monkey in its heyday. (See yesterday's post) That pushed me over the edge, as I was not going to ride to work Friday in the sub-zero windchill, and I knew the repair schedule was pretty open. My boss at work is into challenges like stuck bottom brackets, so I knew he would be okay with me doing this in the dead of Winter. So, I hauled in that hulk of a Monkey and fastened it securely into my repair stand. The game was afoot!

There is one image of the process I did not get that I wished that I had. First, a bit of imagery description to help out here. I had purchased a large, 1 1/4" combination wrench which fit the Shimano bottom bracket tool quite nicely. That was all affixed to the non-drive side bottom bracket cup, (the drive side I managed to remove in 2015), and that big ol' wrench was hanging out there quite a ways. More leverage than I thought one may need. I braced myself, grabbed the frame in one hand and the heavy lead mallet with the other, and smacked away as hard as I could. That didn't work, so Andy stepped in to lend a hand, but to no avail.

By now my boss had come out and he decided that three of us could do the job. Two folks bracing the frame, me whacking the wrench with the lead mallet.

Nope.

My boss stood back and said, "Where is the fork straightener?" I knew exactly what he was on about.

The fork straightener comes from a less litigious, a less carbonated time, when forks were steel and people were willing to take the risk that a mechanic's bending a fork back in plane was an okay thing to do. Nowadays it's main usage is for cases that require extreme amounts of leverage. Times like this ......

Todd had wandered in about this time to see what all the fuss was about. Then he was employed into the process. Four grown men, heaving on a four foot long lever of steel on a 1 1/4" tool affixed to a splined interface. We were pulling so hard that the big combination wrench was deflecting about two inches. Finally, it moved! We all stood back in self-congratulatory stances, as only men can do after accomplishing manly tasks. Not that women couldn't have done it, but we men have a special air about us. I think everyone knows what I mean by that........

Anyway, it wasn't loose. We broke off the splined interface!!!

Yeah........that's just awesome. Now what?!!

 Okay, so now what? Well, there was no tool interface left anymore, so a destructive technique was all that was left to me, but how? I looked at the bottom bracket and knew that Shimano had assembled it in some way, but in what way? If I could reverse the process some how, I could maybe break it down to just the threaded part which was stuck in the frame. I began to pick at it with my sharp pick set tools. Eventually, a circlip came out, then a seal. I was making progress, so I was encouraged. I eventually pulled out the bearing cage and revealed the 1/4" ball bearings in their races. Hmm......hammer time! I grabbed a ball peen hammer and whacked the end of the spindle with a few sharp blows.

The BB-UN72 bottom bracket cartridge.

It came flying out of the frame like a missle, just barely missing a bike in the other stand! Whew! That would have sucked if I had hit it. But, I didn't, and now all I had to do was to remove a steel collar which was about an inch and a quarter wide and which was threaded into the bottom bracket shell.

Yeah.....that's all I had to do. 

There was only one way that was coming out. Remember, I had no tool interface, the piece was already missing a bit of its outer dimension which we had sheared off, and getting a chisel in that tiny space was almost impossible. I tried the chisel route, but it was not really very effective. I was going to have to hack saw that bugger out of there, and in doing that, not ruin the frame! We didn't have a jab saw, so I had to disassemble a standard hack saw, pass the blade through the bottom bracket shell, and then reattach the blade to the frame of the hacksaw. Tedious, but not impossible. Now, on to cutting!

I made three, very calculated, careful cuts. Two close together, and one roughly 90° from those two. Then I used a standard blade screw driver that I had sharpened a bit as a chisel to start to split the collar at the cuts I made, and then to drive the blade under the collar, hopefully prying up the smallest bit of the circumference of the collar first. It was a slow, tedious process, but I could see that the edges were working up. Finally, it snapped up off the bottom bracket shell! Then the two larger pieces came right out as well.

The two larger pieces of the collar show how rusted they were into the frame.

Success!

I got the bottom bracket out, and cleaned up the threads of the bottom bracket shell with the bottom bracket thread chaser. Whew!

That was close.

And it took entirely way too long to reach this result, but at least now I have a frame that I can rehabilitate and rebuild into a working bicycle once again. No more hang ups. Nothing to stop forward progress anymore.

Now what.....

You know, back in 2013 I thought maybe I would put the KM back into the (mostly) original configuration that I had it in back 2003. The thing is, that configuration was short lived, and I actually liked it best in the 2005-2008 time frame when I had a Midge drop bar, leather saddle, and a pretty stout gravel grinding gear set up on the bike. I got to thinking, well.........why not do that? 

New KM's are much more capable off road machines than my '03 is.

The old KM was good for its day, but the straight 1 1/8th head tube, non-gusseted frame, and antiquated rear drop out design make for a less than optimal off road bike now compared to the modern day KM which is a better Monkey all around for single speed activities on single track.

Plus, as I looked at the old, worn frame, it occurred to me that I might be able to use a specific, "old school" style wheel set I picked up from Mike, a Trans Iowa/Tour Divide veteran a few years back. It's an XTR hubbed, Salsa Delgado rim brake style wheel set which comes right out of the same time frame that the 2003 Karate Monkey does. You may remember also that '03 Monkeys could run cantilever brakes. Plus, the Shimano SLR levers I have on the bike should pull linear pull brakes well enough, and even if they don't, I have a pair of Tektro long pull levers sitting around that will.

I figure I'll set up a fresh pair of Bruce Gordon Rock and Road skinwalls on that, and my Velo Orange leather saddle. That along with a new handle bar, stem, and a TruVativ, outboard bearing single speed crankset, and Surly cog with a 9 speed chain driving it all, and I should be sitting pretty well and have a great single speed gravel travel rig.

So, no bike project is worth doing without a goal. This bike is being resurrected at the perfect time for me to reprise the first Guitar Ted Death Ride course. The Karate Monkey single speed was the bike I used on that first GTDRI, and as we're doing the same route, why not use the "same" bicycle?

All righty then......its on. 
 

Geezer Ride: Gear Review

The Pofahl custom single speed upon arriving home from the Geezer Ride.

As I mentioned yesterday in the Geezer Ride report, I did a little something different and pulled out a single speed for the ride. But not just any single speed. Nope. Likely a "one-of-a-kind" single speed. I also used a couple of other things I wanted to touch upon as well.

First though, a little background information for those of you who haven't been here reading for a long time. This bike goes back to 2007 when I had just met Ben Witt, who was the founder and owner of Milltown Cycles in Faribault, Minnesota. I had mentioned that I had an idea for a 29"er frame and fork. Ben asked me to send it to him to see, and then his wheels started turning. Using a BikeCad program, he cleaned up a few details and then suggested that I get the frame and fork brazed up by Mike Pofahl, a Northfield, Minnesota custom frame builder. This is what resulted, as seen here, a blue powdercoated single speed specific frame and non-suspension corrected fork. Based loosely off a Karate Monkey, this Pofahl Signature frame and fork was to feature a specially designed titanium handlebar. The design by Ben was sent off to a very well known titanium frame builder to have it fabricated. However; nothing was ever done by said builder. He basically ignored us, and several months later, hey, presto! He introduces a new handlebar/stem combo that looked suspiciously like Ben's design. Live and learn......

Anyway, I ended up putting a drop bar on it, and it's been that way since. It has a Luxy Bar on it now with a high rise Bontrager stem. The gearing is 38 X 18, and I have 180mm Race Face Turbine cranks, vintage 1995 on there as well. Tires are out of production WTB Vulpines, and the wheels are 2007 vintage Industry 9 single speed specific wheels with DT Swiss rims. The seat post is a 27.0mm Syncros, vintage 1994, which I used to run on a '92 Klein Attitude. I'm using a Minoura bolt on water bottle cage on that seat post for an additional third water bottle.

The ol' Pofahl handles gravel really smoothly.

So, anyway, this rig is super-smooth on gravel and with those 2.0" Vulpines, it really rolls pretty well. I was able to keep up all right with the geared folk, except when things got really flat, then some of the guys would drop me behind, but as any single speeder will tell you, the climbs are where you reel them back in. That I did.

The interesting thing to me was that the single speed has to be worked in an entirely different manner than I do a geared bike. I had to really spin like the dickens to roll the hills and many times I found myself sprinting up the other side to keep that precious momentum up. It was like intervals, in a way. I was pretty worked over, much more so than usual, from riding the single speed on this loop. Overall, it was good for me, and the Pofahl worked like a well oiled clock. Well, except for that durned flat tire!

You might notice the frame pump on the lateral tube. I get asked about my frame pumps a lot. I still have two of these left. They are vintage Blackburn frame pumps from 1995. Obviously, these are not made anymore. I may have to start looking into those new Silca frame pumps if my two Blackburns fail, which may happen any day now. I had one explode spectacularly on a gravel ride last year, I think it was. I suppose gravel travel is pretty stressful on things like frame pumps, what with all the vibrations. I could have bought a case full of Blackburns for what one of these new Silcas cost though!

The Gravel Worlds rig

The Bike Bag Dude Garage Bag I used was fine, with two nits. One was my fault. I neglected to secure the tail end of the bag with the thin, Velcro strap provided, which made the bag harder than heck to close one handed while riding. That was a boneheaded mistake on my part. The other was weird. The bag wanted to list to the port side no matter what I did. However; if I put it on my Raleigh, it is rock solid stable. I attributed this to the odd stem/head tube interface on the Pofahl that the front straps have to go around. I couldn't seem to get that tight enough, so chalk it up to an odd bike and set up.

Speaking of the Raleigh Tamland, I am choosing it for Gravel Worlds next weekend. This will be the last big "hoo-rah" for the year, a 150 miler, and the second time I've ever used a geared bike down there. In fact, the Pofahl has seen duty down there at the last event they called the "Good Life Gravel Adventure" in '09. The first time I ever used a geared bike down there was at the first Gravel Worlds, I believe. Anyway, the Tamland Two gets the nod and you can see how I have it set up in the image  here.

I've got my modified gearing, so I have a low enough gear for the Denton Wall, (hopefully), and I have my Bruce Gordon Rock & Road tires for the looser, sandier gravel they have down that way. I've got two Bike Bag Dude Chaff Bags for extra water bottles, and all I need now is a computer. I guess I'll have to buy one of those cursed things this week. bah! 

I'm looking forward to this weekend. It's gonna be awesome. Stay tuned......

Geezer Ride: Gear Review

The Pofahl custom single speed upon arriving home from the Geezer Ride.

As I mentioned yesterday in the Geezer Ride report, I did a little something different and pulled out a single speed for the ride. But not just any single speed. Nope. Likely a "one-of-a-kind" single speed. I also used a couple of other things I wanted to touch upon as well.

First though, a little background information for those of you who haven't been here reading for a long time. This bike goes back to 2007 when I had just met Ben Witt, who was the founder and owner of Milltown Cycles in Faribault, Minnesota. I had mentioned that I had an idea for a 29"er frame and fork. Ben asked me to send it to him to see, and then his wheels started turning. Using a BikeCad program, he cleaned up a few details and then suggested that I get the frame and fork brazed up by Mike Pofahl, a Northfield, Minnesota custom frame builder. This is what resulted, as seen here, a blue powdercoated single speed specific frame and non-suspension corrected fork. Based loosely off a Karate Monkey, this Pofahl Signature frame and fork was to feature a specially designed titanium handlebar. The design by Ben was sent off to a very well known titanium frame builder to have it fabricated. However; nothing was ever done by said builder. He basically ignored us, and several months later, hey, presto! He introduces a new handlebar/stem combo that looked suspiciously like Ben's design. Live and learn......

Anyway, I ended up putting a drop bar on it, and it's been that way since. It has a Luxy Bar on it now with a high rise Bontrager stem. The gearing is 38 X 18, and I have 180mm Race Face Turbine cranks, vintage 1995 on there as well. Tires are out of production WTB Vulpines, and the wheels are 2007 vintage Industry 9 single speed specific wheels with DT Swiss rims. The seat post is a 27.0mm Syncros, vintage 1994, which I used to run on a '92 Klein Attitude. I'm using a Minoura bolt on water bottle cage on that seat post for an additional third water bottle.

The ol' Pofahl handles gravel really smoothly.

So, anyway, this rig is super-smooth on gravel and with those 2.0" Vulpines, it really rolls pretty well. I was able to keep up all right with the geared folk, except when things got really flat, then some of the guys would drop me behind, but as any single speeder will tell you, the climbs are where you reel them back in. That I did.

The interesting thing to me was that the single speed has to be worked in an entirely different manner than I do a geared bike. I had to really spin like the dickens to roll the hills and many times I found myself sprinting up the other side to keep that precious momentum up. It was like intervals, in a way. I was pretty worked over, much more so than usual, from riding the single speed on this loop. Overall, it was good for me, and the Pofahl worked like a well oiled clock. Well, except for that durned flat tire!

You might notice the frame pump on the lateral tube. I get asked about my frame pumps a lot. I still have two of these left. They are vintage Blackburn frame pumps from 1995. Obviously, these are not made anymore. I may have to start looking into those new Silca frame pumps if my two Blackburns fail, which may happen any day now. I had one explode spectacularly on a gravel ride last year, I think it was. I suppose gravel travel is pretty stressful on things like frame pumps, what with all the vibrations. I could have bought a case full of Blackburns for what one of these new Silcas cost though!

The Gravel Worlds rig

The Bike Bag Dude Garage Bag I used was fine, with two nits. One was my fault. I neglected to secure the tail end of the bag with the thin, Velcro strap provided, which made the bag harder than heck to close one handed while riding. That was a boneheaded mistake on my part. The other was weird. The bag wanted to list to the port side no matter what I did. However; if I put it on my Raleigh, it is rock solid stable. I attributed this to the odd stem/head tube interface on the Pofahl that the front straps have to go around. I couldn't seem to get that tight enough, so chalk it up to an odd bike and set up.

Speaking of the Raleigh Tamland, I am choosing it for Gravel Worlds next weekend. This will be the last big "hoo-rah" for the year, a 150 miler, and the second time I've ever used a geared bike down there. In fact, the Pofahl has seen duty down there at the last event they called the "Good Life Gravel Adventure" in '09. The first time I ever used a geared bike down there was at the first Gravel Worlds, I believe. Anyway, the Tamland Two gets the nod and you can see how I have it set up in the image  here.

I've got my modified gearing, so I have a low enough gear for the Denton Wall, (hopefully), and I have my Bruce Gordon Rock & Road tires for the looser, sandier gravel they have down that way. I've got two Bike Bag Dude Chaff Bags for extra water bottles, and all I need now is a computer. I guess I'll have to buy one of those cursed things this week. bah! 

I'm looking forward to this weekend. It's gonna be awesome. Stay tuned......

Rock & Road

Looks "right & proper" now.

Tires- I've probably ridden more types of tires than most folks on a bicycle, but they keep making more! Sometimes you have to wonder, "How can they make anything really different?" I mean, what type of tread hasn't already been tried? I find it to be kind of funny how many tires actually don't work very well, especially when there are tread patterns that work really well, and could be slightly altered to be someone elses tire that works reasonably well.

Well, however that works, I don't understand, but here's something unusual in the bicycle tire world: A tread design made up by a Mountain Bike Hall of fame member in the late 80's that you can still buy today, and still gets rave reviews. The Bruce Gordon Rock & Road tire.

I was up late last week on a Facebook page for cyclists here that trade and sell components and bikes. I happened to jump to this page 13 minutes after a Nebraska friend posted two Rock & Road tires with minimal use for sale. I did not hesitate to pounce. The deal was fair, and I have always wanted to try a pair of these out. He already has another pair anyway, so these were not getting used. A win-win, you could say. 

These tires get thumbs up from many users yet, even 25 years after they were first made. Gravel riders, dirt riders, and even folks that mountain bike with these. It's a tire made by Panaracer in Japan, so the quality is top notch. Plus- it's got snazzy skin walls!  I like that myself. (For the party-poopers, there is also a black wall version.)

Funny thing about tread design. I once heard it said, (or read this somewhere), that the best design for an off road tread is one that uses square blocks. Just look at most any dirt tire from any discipline and you'll see that a squarish block pattern is predominately the favorite type. Notice the Rock & Road's pattern? Well, I've heard it said that these do quite well on dirt, and I will be finding that out soon. 

The Rock & Roads are 43mm wide and true to spec, mine weighed in at 540 grams. I mounted them to the HED Ardennes+ wheels and used tubes, but honestly, they fit so tight and snapped into place so well, I probably could have gone tubeless. Anyway, I am sure they will work just fine with tubes. I'm not going to lose any sleep over that.

So, gravel and dirt will be assaulted with these tires and I will be back with a report. Although these are not "brand spanking new" Rock & Roads, they are the next best thing to it, and I suspect I'll be using them for quite some time to come.

Rock & Road

Looks "right & proper" now.

Tires- I've probably ridden more types of tires than most folks on a bicycle, but they keep making more! Sometimes you have to wonder, "How can they make anything really different?" I mean, what type of tread hasn't already been tried? I find it to be kind of funny how many tires actually don't work very well, especially when there are tread patterns that work really well, and could be slightly altered to be someone elses tire that works reasonably well.

Well, however that works, I don't understand, but here's something unusual in the bicycle tire world: A tread design made up by a Mountain Bike Hall of fame member in the late 80's that you can still buy today, and still gets rave reviews. The Bruce Gordon Rock & Road tire.

I was up late last week on a Facebook page for cyclists here that trade and sell components and bikes. I happened to jump to this page 13 minutes after a Nebraska friend posted two Rock & Road tires with minimal use for sale. I did not hesitate to pounce. The deal was fair, and I have always wanted to try a pair of these out. He already has another pair anyway, so these were not getting used. A win-win, you could say. 

These tires get thumbs up from many users yet, even 25 years after they were first made. Gravel riders, dirt riders, and even folks that mountain bike with these. It's a tire made by Panaracer in Japan, so the quality is top notch. Plus- it's got snazzy skin walls!  I like that myself. (For the party-poopers, there is also a black wall version.)

Funny thing about tread design. I once heard it said, (or read this somewhere), that the best design for an off road tread is one that uses square blocks. Just look at most any dirt tire from any discipline and you'll see that a squarish block pattern is predominately the favorite type. Notice the Rock & Road's pattern? Well, I've heard it said that these do quite well on dirt, and I will be finding that out soon. 

The Rock & Roads are 43mm wide and true to spec, mine weighed in at 540 grams. I mounted them to the HED Ardennes+ wheels and used tubes, but honestly, they fit so tight and snapped into place so well, I probably could have gone tubeless. Anyway, I am sure they will work just fine with tubes. I'm not going to lose any sleep over that.

So, gravel and dirt will be assaulted with these tires and I will be back with a report. Although these are not "brand spanking new" Rock & Roads, they are the next best thing to it, and I suspect I'll be using them for quite some time to come.

Two Cases Of Misunderstood Bikes

Today I am posting about two bicycles. One, an influential rig in several ways, the other, a "poster child" for a group of bikes from an era that is getting misunderstood. First- The Influential one....

Bruce Gordon, (who plays a prominent part in my "The Beginnings Of The Modern 29"er: A History" story found here), has been making a model called the "Rock & Road" for more years than you can shake a stick at. Noted for its adaptability for off road trails, this 700c bike, at least at first, was the bike that sported the biggest knobby 700c tire you could get. It was oft sold as a flat bar bike as well, so this isn't necessarily a one trick pony when it comes to set up. How is this misunderstood today?

Well, some folks are saying it was/is a "monster-cross" bike. I say, no. It isn't, and here is why....

First of all, the whole "monster-cross" thing is almost laughably undefined. What some folks think is a monster-cross bike is another person's plain ol' cyclo-cross rig, and then some of these bikes are too "mountain bike-ish" for others to see any "cross-bike" in them. Some say disc brakes are a no-no, some say they are okay. Some say a level top tube is a must, some say it don't matter none.

See what I mean? And I haven't brought up the entire tire width debate. To toss the "monster-cross" tag on Bruce Gordon's fine, influential 700c off-roader would be a disservice. Did it make folks pursue the "monster-cross" ideal? Well, I seriously doubt most folks into the whole "monster-cross" scene even know who Bruce Gordon is, much less anything about his Rock & Road bike. Influential, maybe, but definitely not a monster-cross bike here folks. My take is that Mr. Gordon helped perpetuate the "adventure" side of cycling, which has been expanded upon recently, most notably by Salsa Cycles, but I digress....

Just like the Rock & Road bike isn't really a "monster-cross" bike, the 90's era 700c based mountain bikes are not 29"ers. I know lots of folks will disagree with me, but think about it: The modern 29"er gets its name from the tire diameter. (2" plus wide, high volume tire on a 700c rim = nominally 29 inches diameter). Simple enough. Okay- using that criteria, the 90's era bikes with 700c rims, (see Bob Poor's oft ripped off photo, to the left here), like the Diamond Back Overdrive, Bianchi Project Series bikes, Specialized's Crossroads, various Gary Fisher models, and others were just 700c off road bikes. Some had 28" tires, most were smaller than that.

The Diamond Back gets credited the most with being a 29"er, but, even though it had 45mm wide, true off-road rubber, it falls short by the measuring stick we use today. (Pun intended) Yes- like Bob Poor's example shown here, you could shoe-horn in a Nanoraptor with an appropriate amount of chain stay manipulation, and then I suppose you could qualify it as being a 29"er. However; it wasn't ever sold that way, obviously, and was never intended to have tires, (which didn't exist at the time), that big stuffed in there.

Once again, it took "The Tire"- the WTB Nanoraptor- to usher in the 29"er movement as we know it in 1999. These other bikes faded into obscurity before the Nano's introduction, and 700c mountain biking morphed into the contemptible "hybrid" bike of the late 90's. So, any way you look at these bikes, the most you can say is that they were slightly influential on what became 29"ers, but really, more than that they were failed attempts at big wheeled off roading, which the Nanoraptor helped fix after its introduction.

Two bicycles, two misunderstood takes on big wheeled fun. These bikes should be looked at in the context of the times they were introduced in, not through the eyes of what we understand today as "monster-cross" or 29"ers.

Two Cases Of Misunderstood Bikes

Today I am posting about two bicycles. One, an influential rig in several ways, the other, a "poster child" for a group of bikes from an era that is getting misunderstood. First- The Influential one....

Bruce Gordon, (who plays a prominent part in my "The Beginnings Of The Modern 29"er: A History" story found here), has been making a model called the "Rock & Road" for more years than you can shake a stick at. Noted for its adaptability for off road trails, this 700c bike, at least at first, was the bike that sported the biggest knobby 700c tire you could get. It was oft sold as a flat bar bike as well, so this isn't necessarily a one trick pony when it comes to set up. How is this misunderstood today?

Well, some folks are saying it was/is a "monster-cross" bike. I say, no. It isn't, and here is why....

First of all, the whole "monster-cross" thing is almost laughably undefined. What some folks think is a monster-cross bike is another person's plain ol' cyclo-cross rig, and then some of these bikes are too "mountain bike-ish" for others to see any "cross-bike" in them. Some say disc brakes are a no-no, some say they are okay. Some say a level top tube is a must, some say it don't matter none.

See what I mean? And I haven't brought up the entire tire width debate. To toss the "monster-cross" tag on Bruce Gordon's fine, influential 700c off-roader would be a disservice. Did it make folks pursue the "monster-cross" ideal? Well, I seriously doubt most folks into the whole "monster-cross" scene even know who Bruce Gordon is, much less anything about his Rock & Road bike. Influential, maybe, but definitely not a monster-cross bike here folks. My take is that Mr. Gordon helped perpetuate the "adventure" side of cycling, which has been expanded upon recently, most notably by Salsa Cycles, but I digress....

Just like the Rock & Road bike isn't really a "monster-cross" bike, the 90's era 700c based mountain bikes are not 29"ers. I know lots of folks will disagree with me, but think about it: The modern 29"er gets its name from the tire diameter. (2" plus wide, high volume tire on a 700c rim = nominally 29 inches diameter). Simple enough. Okay- using that criteria, the 90's era bikes with 700c rims, (see Bob Poor's oft ripped off photo, to the left here), like the Diamond Back Overdrive, Bianchi Project Series bikes, Specialized's Crossroads, various Gary Fisher models, and others were just 700c off road bikes. Some had 28" tires, most were smaller than that.

The Diamond Back gets credited the most with being a 29"er, but, even though it had 45mm wide, true off-road rubber, it falls short by the measuring stick we use today. (Pun intended) Yes- like Bob Poor's example shown here, you could shoe-horn in a Nanoraptor with an appropriate amount of chain stay manipulation, and then I suppose you could qualify it as being a 29"er. However; it wasn't ever sold that way, obviously, and was never intended to have tires, (which didn't exist at the time), that big stuffed in there.

Once again, it took "The Tire"- the WTB Nanoraptor- to usher in the 29"er movement as we know it in 1999. These other bikes faded into obscurity before the Nano's introduction, and 700c mountain biking morphed into the contemptible "hybrid" bike of the late 90's. So, any way you look at these bikes, the most you can say is that they were slightly influential on what became 29"ers, but really, more than that they were failed attempts at big wheeled off roading, which the Nanoraptor helped fix after its introduction.

Two bicycles, two misunderstood takes on big wheeled fun. These bikes should be looked at in the context of the times they were introduced in, not through the eyes of what we understand today as "monster-cross" or 29"ers.

More On The Beginnings Of The Modern 29"er: Part IV

It's winter, the "off-season", and I don't have much better to do than to delve back into this whole deal again. I wanted to lay some groundwork as to the "pre-history" of the "modern 29"er" as I call it.(Part III can be read here.)



The Main Players Set The Stage For "The Tire": In all that came before the WTB Nanoraptor, the thing all the riders of 700c based mountain bikes were noting was that a truly voluminous, aggressively treaded mountain bike tire did not exist and was the one thing that most of these folks felt was the thing holding back 700c from becoming a truly viable size for off road bicycles.

Not that there weren't efforts being made despite that fact. Not that things like geometry and proper frames hadn't been made, because they had been done. Still, none of this was quite working as well as 26 inch based mountain biking, but the performance of the 700c stuff was so tantalizingly close and showed so much promise that the people behind the 700c movement were not giving up. If anything, they were even more determined to see it through.

In my last post I mentioned that Gary Fisher (and Charlie Kelly too, by the way), had some big wheeled  influence from Englishman Geoff Apps. Well, they may also have picked up a cue from local frame builder and general mountain bike genius, Charlie Cunningham. Charlie was often seen riding a bike with a 28"er/700c based front wheel because he liked it better than a 26"er front. Here I will quote from Mark Slate of WTB:

"Charlie has been riding a 700x35c tire bike since I think about
1978. I think the first thing Charlie heard of a fat tire for 700c rims
was when Wes came out here and brought his "Mountie" with 700x47c Goliath tires."

So it would seem that Charlie Cunningham also may have had some influence on the thoughts that a 700c mountain bike wheel may be viable thing. 

<=== 1993 Rock n Road. Image from X0-1.org 

 Another of the early "big wheel" proponents was Bruce Gordon, a frame maker in the city of Petaluma, California. Bruce was pushing the idea of a "multi-terrain" 700c bike he called the "Rock n Road" bike. WTB's Mark Slate remembers Bruce in this e-mail transcription found in a thread on mtbr.com:

"Bruce is a highly opinionated and talkative guy (if he has the right audience). He is an ace frame builder himself, so experimenting with bike geometry is something he has done plenty.....No doubt in my mind that Bruce favored the bigger wheels."

Ross Shafer, the founder of Salsa Cycles, had a shop in Petaluma as well, and his remembrances of Bruce and 700c for off road cycling are also found in a thread on mtbr.com:


"Bruce Gordon (his shop was next to Salsa's at that time in history) is indeed the first person I know of who seriously pursued trying to get fatter tires for 700c rims. I know that Wes (Williams, of Willits fame),  and he were pals, but I have no idea how much Wes had to do inspirationally or logistically with those first bigger tires Bruce got ahold of (had made?). I know that before Bruce got his tires going the biggest they could find was indeed the Hakkapelitas (sp?) from Finland. This was back in the days when the bike industry was trying hard to create a new "niche" and tried really hard to push "hybrid" bikes. A hybrid bike being a 700c bike with upright bars and tires that were fatter than your usual 700c fare. Bruce sold quite a few of the "Rock n' Road" bikes that he designed around the bigger tires he got. But the whole hybrid thing became more of a joke in the industry than anything else. Wes' is the man when it comes to really pushing the 29'er mtb thing. Wes was a friend of mine as well and if I recall correctly he first caught the bug by offroading on his fixed gear 700c scorcher bike"

From the above we can safely say that Bruce Gordon was a touchstone for setting off the big wheeled 700c idea in several folks minds, but most importantly, Wes Williams.  Wes, who was the principal frame builder, designer, and production manager at Ibis Cycles for 9 years, was tinkering around with ideas he gleaned from late 19th/early 20th century designers. He built his first "28"er" in 1988 and never looked back to 26"ers again.

Wes was thoroughly convinced that the early bicycling experimentalists that landed on the 28"er as being the ideal size for rough roading were still as right as ever, and he was willing to tell anyone that would sit still long enough to listen. Wes made a trip to see WTB and brought a 28"er with him. Again we hear from Mark Slate:

"Wes and I rode together and he left the bike with WTB so others could
ride and experience the big wheel feel. He pushed hard as you know Wes will
do when he has an idea of the better way and he certainly was not shy about
letting others know that the little wheels were inferior. I'm not sure
of the dates when Wes was here but he might remember."

The stage was being set. Gary Fisher was poking around at this time as well, having a race team sponsored by WTB in the 90's. The big wheeled idea was now seeping into the minds at WTB as shown by this inter-company Word Document Mark Slate shared from WTB in the same mtbr.com thread referenced before:

"Some old Word docs
survived somehow. In search of the "smoking gun" I found this (to the mold
maker):

September 28, 1998 - Gary Fisher has been after WTB to produce a 622
bead "2.1" tire. Several top riders I know in Colorado have bikes to fit
these 28" (+) tires. The Continental Goliath 47mm is now being used. These
guys are also interested in a full size tire to fit 700c rims. There is
validity to this size and we may be seeing future production of bigger wheel
mountainbikes. Mold production for this diameter tire may be a problem. Please
inform me regarding production of the 2.1 Nano Raptor with a 622mm bead."


With the tenuous promises of "future production mountain bikes" and Wes Williams passionate evangelism, WTB set off to do what hadn't been done before: Make a true 2 inch wide mountain bike tire based on a racing tread pattern in 26 inch size. What became known as "The Tire" to the early proponents of 29"ers- The WTB Nanoraptor.


Next: Why The Nano And What Happened Afterward.....

More On The Beginnings Of The Modern 29"er: Part IV

It's winter, the "off-season", and I don't have much better to do than to delve back into this whole deal again. I wanted to lay some groundwork as to the "pre-history" of the "modern 29"er" as I call it.(Part III can be read here.)



The Main Players Set The Stage For "The Tire": In all that came before the WTB Nanoraptor, the thing all the riders of 700c based mountain bikes were noting was that a truly voluminous, aggressively treaded mountain bike tire did not exist and was the one thing that most of these folks felt was the thing holding back 700c from becoming a truly viable size for off road bicycles.

Not that there weren't efforts being made despite that fact. Not that things like geometry and proper frames hadn't been made, because they had been done. Still, none of this was quite working as well as 26 inch based mountain biking, but the performance of the 700c stuff was so tantalizingly close and showed so much promise that the people behind the 700c movement were not giving up. If anything, they were even more determined to see it through.

In my last post I mentioned that Gary Fisher (and Charlie Kelly too, by the way), had some big wheeled  influence from Englishman Geoff Apps. Well, they may also have picked up a cue from local frame builder and general mountain bike genius, Charlie Cunningham. Charlie was often seen riding a bike with a 28"er/700c based front wheel because he liked it better than a 26"er front. Here I will quote from Mark Slate of WTB:

"Charlie has been riding a 700x35c tire bike since I think about
1978. I think the first thing Charlie heard of a fat tire for 700c rims
was when Wes came out here and brought his "Mountie" with 700x47c Goliath tires."

So it would seem that Charlie Cunningham also may have had some influence on the thoughts that a 700c mountain bike wheel may be viable thing. 

<=== 1993 Rock n Road. Image from X0-1.org 

 Another of the early "big wheel" proponents was Bruce Gordon, a frame maker in the city of Petaluma, California. Bruce was pushing the idea of a "multi-terrain" 700c bike he called the "Rock n Road" bike. WTB's Mark Slate remembers Bruce in this e-mail transcription found in a thread on mtbr.com:

"Bruce is a highly opinionated and talkative guy (if he has the right audience). He is an ace frame builder himself, so experimenting with bike geometry is something he has done plenty.....No doubt in my mind that Bruce favored the bigger wheels."

Ross Shafer, the founder of Salsa Cycles, had a shop in Petaluma as well, and his remembrances of Bruce and 700c for off road cycling are also found in a thread on mtbr.com:


"Bruce Gordon (his shop was next to Salsa's at that time in history) is indeed the first person I know of who seriously pursued trying to get fatter tires for 700c rims. I know that Wes (Williams, of Willits fame),  and he were pals, but I have no idea how much Wes had to do inspirationally or logistically with those first bigger tires Bruce got ahold of (had made?). I know that before Bruce got his tires going the biggest they could find was indeed the Hakkapelitas (sp?) from Finland. This was back in the days when the bike industry was trying hard to create a new "niche" and tried really hard to push "hybrid" bikes. A hybrid bike being a 700c bike with upright bars and tires that were fatter than your usual 700c fare. Bruce sold quite a few of the "Rock n' Road" bikes that he designed around the bigger tires he got. But the whole hybrid thing became more of a joke in the industry than anything else. Wes' is the man when it comes to really pushing the 29'er mtb thing. Wes was a friend of mine as well and if I recall correctly he first caught the bug by offroading on his fixed gear 700c scorcher bike"

From the above we can safely say that Bruce Gordon was a touchstone for setting off the big wheeled 700c idea in several folks minds, but most importantly, Wes Williams.  Wes, who was the principal frame builder, designer, and production manager at Ibis Cycles for 9 years, was tinkering around with ideas he gleaned from late 19th/early 20th century designers. He built his first "28"er" in 1988 and never looked back to 26"ers again.

Wes was thoroughly convinced that the early bicycling experimentalists that landed on the 28"er as being the ideal size for rough roading were still as right as ever, and he was willing to tell anyone that would sit still long enough to listen. Wes made a trip to see WTB and brought a 28"er with him. Again we hear from Mark Slate:

"Wes and I rode together and he left the bike with WTB so others could
ride and experience the big wheel feel. He pushed hard as you know Wes will
do when he has an idea of the better way and he certainly was not shy about
letting others know that the little wheels were inferior. I'm not sure
of the dates when Wes was here but he might remember."

The stage was being set. Gary Fisher was poking around at this time as well, having a race team sponsored by WTB in the 90's. The big wheeled idea was now seeping into the minds at WTB as shown by this inter-company Word Document Mark Slate shared from WTB in the same mtbr.com thread referenced before:

"Some old Word docs
survived somehow. In search of the "smoking gun" I found this (to the mold
maker):

September 28, 1998 - Gary Fisher has been after WTB to produce a 622
bead "2.1" tire. Several top riders I know in Colorado have bikes to fit
these 28" (+) tires. The Continental Goliath 47mm is now being used. These
guys are also interested in a full size tire to fit 700c rims. There is
validity to this size and we may be seeing future production of bigger wheel
mountainbikes. Mold production for this diameter tire may be a problem. Please
inform me regarding production of the 2.1 Nano Raptor with a 622mm bead."


With the tenuous promises of "future production mountain bikes" and Wes Williams passionate evangelism, WTB set off to do what hadn't been done before: Make a true 2 inch wide mountain bike tire based on a racing tread pattern in 26 inch size. What became known as "The Tire" to the early proponents of 29"ers- The WTB Nanoraptor.


Next: Why The Nano And What Happened Afterward.....