Friday News And Views

Image courtesy of Otso Cycles

 Window Dressing:

I mentioned this in last week's FN&V, and  I am still seeing a lot of stagnation in introductions of really new, redesigned or new designs for cycling. But what I am seeing a ton of  is new colors and new spec choices.

Take this Otso Cycles "Special Edition" Waheela C. This bike is not new, it's really just two new color choices and a special spec on their long-standing carbon gravel bike. 

Now, I will say the Rainbow Sparkle is pretty rad, but this is where we are at now. Companies need something to entice you to buy beyond discounting and they cannot afford to chuck up a new design or new idea for a component and sell those as the market has been in stagnation for the better part of three years now.

Part of what is going on is a complex, evolving change in retail. How we purchase things is changing and how things were/are offered to consumers is stagnant, or slow to catch up to these changes. I wrote about these things in a three part series which you can check out by going to this post which has links back to the two other articles in the series.

This cycle of refreshed paint and spec bolted to the same frames and forks may not end soon either. It's all window dressing, but again.....rainbow sparkle. C'mon! Even I can get jazzed by the window dressing from time to time, so I understand how it can work. 

Gravel Earth Series August Events:

A big month for a few USA based gravel events and the Gravel Earth Series. Three of the stalwarts of the gravel calendar now are taking place soon. You've got Rebecca's Private Idaho, the venerable Gravel Worlds, and the newcomer, but an important event now, CORE4 in Iowa.

I find it interesting that the Gravel Earth Series accepts events as they have evolved over time, (Rebecca's, Gravel Worlds), and accepts new events as envisioned, (CORE4). This is quite different to how the UCI structures events, which I have covered here to a fine degree of detail.

While I understand both theories of each entity's series, I find it rather curious when considering what will come out on top, in terms of what matters to the gravel scene overall. There is one key to the puzzle, and neither series - The UCI's or Gravel Earth's - have an opportunity to snag the premier jewel of gravel events because another entity owns it. Consider the magnitude of a decision to sell Unbound, as an event, upon the gravel racing world. 

Whichever entity grabbed that event would instantly become THE racing series worldwide.  Life Time doesn't quite seem to want to, or maybe cannot, separate MTB from gravel and grow a series which would become the premier gravel racing series in the World. Maybe they don't care about such things. I don't know. I just find the whole idea intriguing and whether or not it happens really doesn't natter to me except from a historical standpoint. 

Public Service Announcement:

Recently I've noted a few comments in the comment section which were "nice", but had a hyperlink in them. These may be AI generated spam, or.....? I'm not sure 100% because every one of these is from a "person" with a female name who I have never heard from here before. So, take that as you will. 

My point is that any comment waiting for moderation here which has an active hyperlink in it will be deleted summarily. I do not allow live hyperlinks in the comments. You can copy and paste a html link to a webpage in the comments which others can copy and paste into a browser, if they so choose, which  - know - might be a pain, but it is what I will allow in the comments.  

Again, it all may be much fuss about nothing to do with 'real people' here. Thanks for your attention to this message! 

Image courtesy of DT Swiss

DT Swiss Recalls Wheels In CRC, HEC, ERC Ranges:

Possibilities for rim/side wall delamination has caused a stop-ride and recall for DT Swiss wheels in their CRC, HRC, and ERC wheel ranges. A directive was sent out regarding the recall on Wednesday of this week.

On the DT Swiss site the reasons for the recall were detailed as such:

"We would like to inform you that DT Swiss is recalling affected wheel models of the ERC, CRC, and HEC series with rim heights of 35 and 45 mm and models of the ARC series with rim heights of 50, 55, and 65 mm. While the initial Stop-Use Notice applied to selected ERC, CRC, and HEC wheels, the recall includes ARC models manufactured at the same facility. Although no product defects have been reported for the ARC series, in-depth quality checks have revealed manufacturing concerns similar to those previously identified in the ERC/CRC/HEC models."

For more details see the recall page on DT Swiss' site HERE.

Got An Itch To Scratch:

The beginning of 2025 was all about looking forward to the Tree In The Road ride. That one was fun, but it wasn't quite what I was wanting in terms of distance.

I need a long ride. Trouble is, the weather, since the TITRR, hasn't been conducive to achieving this goal of mine. The extreme heat, humidity, and rains have thwarted any ideas for an all-day in the saddle ride.

And now that the heat and humidity have departed for a short time, we have wild fire smoke. Bah!

But August can't bad all bad, can it? So, hopefully very soon I will be able to carve out one day to ride most of that day and get this itch scratched. I am hopeful the weather will at least be tolerable and wildfire smoke goes away soon.

Fall will bring more opportunities and I am going to try to fit in the alley ride, plus the annual Turkey Burn ride. So, at least three or four more big days could happen, or none of them will. I am not hanging all my hopes on any of this because I know how things have gone the past three years and the rest of my life hasn't changed at all in other areas during this time period. If any of these rides happen it will be regarded as "unusual" and a huge blessing. 

Image credit: Google search

An Ode To Tubasti:

A comment was left on the blog the other day by a reader who goes by "scottg". It was a poem credited to an Aldo Ross about tubular glue.

Tubeless goop raises the ire of some riders, but they should be aware that tubular glue, which was used to set up tubular tires, was a thing for decades and we all should be thankful we don't have to deal with it much, if at all, anymore. I never did glue up tubulars, which may surprise some of you, but I caught on very early in my career as a bicycle mechanic that this procedure was not a lot of fun. 

So, I left the deed to others who were either ready to accept the hassles of tubulars or weren't aware of the consequences of using tubular glue.  

 Here's the poem as it was left in the comments for your enjoyment:

Tubasti 

 Tubasti on the sidewalls
Tubasti on the spokes
Tubasti on the workbench
And a bunch of cotter bolts

Tubasti on the visegrips
Tubasti on my arm
Tubasti on my chin and cheek
I hope it won't cause harm

Tubasti on the light switch
Tubasti on the cats
Tubasti on my shoes and socks
And on my car's floor mats

Tubasti on the carpet
Tubasti in my hair
I tried to glue just one damn tire
Now Tubasti's everywhere!

Credited to Aldo Ross. 

Thanks scottg for tipping us off to this gem!  

That's a wrap for this week. Get out and ride those bicycles! 

Friday News And Views

The 2025 Gravel Earth Series Calendar

Gravel Earth Series Announces Official Dates For 2025:

The Gravel Earth Series has expanded its palette of offerings to the competitive gravel rider to include several new events to the series. 

Events now span the globe from the Philippines, South America, North America, Iceland, Europe, and Africa. The USA has six dates on the 26 event calendar alone. 

Most interesting to my local readers is that - as reported here previously - CORE4 in Iowa and Gravel Worlds in Nebraska are both Gravel Earth Series events. This will mark the first time that Iowa has figured into any international series or has gotten any spotlight in a world-wide stage, such as the Gravel Earth Series brings. 

More details can be found at the Gravel Earth Series site. 

Comments: This series is ambitious and seems to be aiming to be the preeminent series for gravel racing worldwide. There is, of course, the UCI Gravel World Series, but at this point, if plans come to fruition, the UCI series will have half the events that Gravel Earth Series has in the USA and the UCI has nothing in Iowa or Nebraska at this point. At least the Gravel Earth Series seems to place a heavy emphasis on the birthplace of the modern day gravel scene, both in having events on its calendar and in allowing those events to be what they are uniquely suited to be. 

Now the outlier here is the Life Time Grand Prix, which is a mix of MTB and gravel, but within its smaller series of events, it has a very lucrative payday and the "crown jewel" of gravel, the Unbound event in Emporia, Kansas.  "Crown jewel" in that it is regarded as the most prestigious Pro level event, but that is all. Whatever charm the event had in its early days is being heavily overshadowed or eliminated in favor of a focus on the highest levels of competition, media access, and prizing.

Schwalbe G1 RX gravel tire (Image courtesy of Schwalbe)

Schwalbe Announces G1 RX Gravel Tires:

On Tuesday of last week, Schwalbe announced new G1 RX gravel tires. The tread pattern is Schwalbe's most aggressive pattern for gravel tires. 

Schwalbe also considers this tire as the gravel tire in its range with the best traction and best cornering traction. They also claim good mud clearing abilities, but I wouldn't hold my breath there when it comes to Kansan clay or Iowa's black dirt. 

The G1 RX comes in 700 x 38mm, 700 x 43mm, and 700 x 50mm. Black or tan side walls. Webpage for the black version HERE. 

Comments: I am not all that familiar with Schwalbe gravel tires. I did try a set of their lighter weight MTB treads for my Fargo one year and had a poor experience so I haven't been all that interested in Schwalbe's offerings. There are a LOT of fans of Schwalbe tires, however, so they must be doing some things right. 

I'll have to try a set again someday just to see what the hype is all about. 

Image courtesy of Good Grief Bicycles

These Are Some "Nice Bars":

I follow "Fixie Dave" Nice on several different social media platforms. He has done Trans Iowa in the past and he really does ride fixed gear off-road and everywhere else all the time. Anyway, he was showing these handle bars recently and they struck me as being very familiar looking. 

In fact, they are a dead ringer for the original Jones H-Bars. I first saw those handlebars at the very first DK200 in 2006. I always thought those were cool, but they were expensive, being made from titanium, as they were. 

I ended up buying some Titec H-Bars, which were made out of aluminum and varied a bit from Jeff Jones' design by using a riser center section instead of a plain, straight section of tubing like Jeff Jones had been doing. It was ugly, but man! It was sure awesome on my OS Bikes Blackbuck. 

One thing led to another and those bars came off, others went on, and the Titec bars went to the recyclers. But when I saw these "Nice Bars", (yes- named after Fixie Dave, it seems), I thought I should try a sample, so I have purchased them. 

These are made from steel, not titanium, but the effect will be similar, I hope, to my old Titec H-Bar experience, which is when I thought the Blackbuck was at its best. I'll have more to say when I get them, but if you are curious, here is the website page. And it looks like my handlebars will be here on the 23rd. So, that's pretty quick service from a small fabricator/business. 

Rocky Mountain Solo Carbon 90 gravel bike.

Rocky Mountain Bikes Files For Reorganization:

News broke yesterday that Rocky Mountain Bikes has asked for a "Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act" from the Canadian government, according to this report on the "Bicycle Retailer and Industry News" website. 

Citing the all too familiar story of a crash in sales post-COVID and a market-wide drop in pricing, Rocky Mountain hopes to avoid interruption of its business with this move.

Comments: This was the sort of thing I thought we might have seen more of earlier in 2024, but it seems that the end of the year has pushed some companies to the brink and now we are seeing the results expressed as financial troubles. 

One has to wonder when you see the brand being "closed out" on internet sites like Jenson USA where you can buy a Rocky Mountain gravel bike for 50% off. In fact, that retailer can sometimes be used as a barometer for what companies aren't doing so well by looking at the deeper discounted brands. 

Rocky Mountain isn't the only brand with recent troubling news. I'll have another brand featured in next week's "FN&V".

That's a wrap on this week. Thanks for reading Guitar Ted Productions and remember: Get out there and ride those bicycles!

Friday News And Views

Iowa Single Speed Gravel Championships: 

Where have I heard this before? Oh! Well...... Anyway. If you know, you know. (I mentioned this last Friday in the "FN&V") That said, this idea is taking shape again out of Cumming, Iowa. I understand that the field is getting pretty full and that the promoter is already getting lambasted with questions about what a single speed is. In any event promotion, you are going to get people that want you to bend your rules/definitions/suggestions to their way of thinking to make things easier for them in some way. This is happening here with this event, from what I can see on Facebook. 

It's a free event too. But that doesn't register on people's brains, I guess. They still are 'demanding' things, tongue in cheek or not. It doesn't matter, it's goofy. But that said, I am not at all surprised. 

Good luck to all involved.  I hope the event goes off well and becomes popular. I also am very happy I am not doing events/promotions anymore. Nuff said.....

Pinarello's new hardtail MTB. (Image courtesy of Pinarello)

Pinarello Debuts The Dogma XC:

Pinarello has to be commended. They do things outside of the box in terms of design often. Squiggly forks, electric gravel bikes, and now this asymmetrical hard tail mountain bike. 

This thing is designed to have the stiffest bottom bracket for energy transfer out there. Great for racers. Not so great for fun.  It reminds me of a painful experience I once had back in the 1990's.

Klein mountain bikes were racing inspired hard tails which were designed to have the stiffest bottom bracket area at the time for, you guessed it, efficient energy transfer to the rear wheels. I bought a 1992 Attitude model which "Velo News" had tested and found to be off the charts stiff compared to anything else out there at that time. 

That's good, right? Well......no. Not really. 

I remember that bike being so stiff that if you hit a small depression in a smooth trail at speed the bike would buck you off the saddle. Like you became airborne for a brief moment. Other MTB's did not do this. It was disconcerting, and it caused the rear wheel to loose grip when the bike unloaded that brief input as energy to the rider. That bike was a climbing beast, and it went GO when you stomped the pedals, but otherwise it was a chore to ride it, and other bikes were a LOT more fun to ride.  

I don't know about you, but I like "fun", so I don't think a modern-day version of what I had is a good idea for the average rider. But yeah....Pinarello is a cool company. 

Iowa's largest Competitive Bicycling Event?

Tomorrow CORE4 will happen near Iowa City, Iowa, an event in its second year. Last year it was easily the largest cycling event outside of RAGBRAI in Iowa, but this year it has grown to nearly 1000 riders. 

I hesitate to call CORE4 a "gravel event", due to its very nature, it is not that. CORE4 uses a healthy dose of single track and pavement in their course, along with gravel road sectors, so it wouldn't have passed my "sniff test" I used for gravel events back in 2008. Not by a long shot. 

But it certainly could be said to be "gravel adjacent", and I'd agree with that assessment of this event. Regardless of how anyone wants to classify CORE4, it is a huge event and a surprise from the standpoint of its relative newness on the scene. It would appear that "adventure' cycling in a competitive format is touching a nerve here in Iowa. 

I'm interested in how things go mostly from the standpoint of a certain person being in the event. N.Y. Roll is set to take on the challenge of riding his fat bike on the 100 mile version of the course. We will see how things go when he gets back and tells his tales. 

It's a pretty big day in gravel racing tomorrow with several events taking place, most notably SBT GRVL in Colorado. Good luck to anyone who will be pinning on a number this weekend!

Lithic Carbon Gravel Fork:

Note: Image of the Lithic Carbon Gravel Fork courtesy of Wolf Tooth

You may not be aware that Wolf Tooth/Otso Bikes has a component arm called Lithic. they have some pretty cool carbon fiber forks that are available for your mountain, gravel, or fat bike needs. 

made for a replacement for more modern geometry gravel bikes, the claimed 505 gram fork will fit bikes with a suspension correction from 30mm - 50mm. the offset is 47mm and the axle to crown is 420mm. It jas the ubiquitous "Three Pack" bosses on each fork leg too. Tire clearance is a whopping 29" X 2.1". 

Flat mount only and tapered steer tube, of course. $549.95 USD

You can check it out here:  https://www.wolftoothcomponents.com/collections/forks/products/lithic-carbon-gravel-fork

Comments: I have ridden a Lithic Carbon fork before on an Otso Bikes Warakin. It wasn't very compliant, but there are not many carbon forks that are for a gravel bike. This all-new fork is likely pretty stiff in keeping with the genre.  

I have ridden a carbon fork I thought was pretty good at vibration damping, but you rarely ever see them. The TRP carbon gravel fork was really quite nice, but it isn't in production anymore, and old ones can be found but they are post mount for the brakes. I've complained about this before, but carbon gravel forks are just far to non-compliant. So, if there is a negative to this new Lithic fork, I would not be at all surprised to find out that it has to do with stiffness.

That's it for this week. Thank you for reading Guitar Ted Productions!

Friday News And Views

Iowa Single Speed Gravel Championships: 

Where have I heard this before? Oh! Well...... Anyway. If you know, you know. (I mentioned this last Friday in the "FN&V") That said, this idea is taking shape again out of Cumming, Iowa. I understand that the field is getting pretty full and that the promoter is already getting lambasted with questions about what a single speed is. In any event promotion, you are going to get people that want you to bend your rules/definitions/suggestions to their way of thinking to make things easier for them in some way. This is happening here with this event, from what I can see on Facebook. 

It's a free event too. But that doesn't register on people's brains, I guess. They still are 'demanding' things, tongue in cheek or not. It doesn't matter, it's goofy. But that said, I am not at all surprised. 

Good luck to all involved.  I hope the event goes off well and becomes popular. I also am very happy I am not doing events/promotions anymore. Nuff said.....

Pinarello's new hardtail MTB. (Image courtesy of Pinarello)

Pinarello Debuts The Dogma XC:

Pinarello has to be commended. They do things outside of the box in terms of design often. Squiggly forks, electric gravel bikes, and now this asymmetrical hard tail mountain bike. 

This thing is designed to have the stiffest bottom bracket for energy transfer out there. Great for racers. Not so great for fun.  It reminds me of a painful experience I once had back in the 1990's.

Klein mountain bikes were racing inspired hard tails which were designed to have the stiffest bottom bracket area at the time for, you guessed it, efficient energy transfer to the rear wheels. I bought a 1992 Attitude model which "Velo News" had tested and found to be off the charts stiff compared to anything else out there at that time. 

That's good, right? Well......no. Not really. 

I remember that bike being so stiff that if you hit a small depression in a smooth trail at speed the bike would buck you off the saddle. Like you became airborne for a brief moment. Other MTB's did not do this. It was disconcerting, and it caused the rear wheel to loose grip when the bike unloaded that brief input as energy to the rider. That bike was a climbing beast, and it went GO when you stomped the pedals, but otherwise it was a chore to ride it, and other bikes were a LOT more fun to ride.  

I don't know about you, but I like "fun", so I don't think a modern-day version of what I had is a good idea for the average rider. But yeah....Pinarello is a cool company. 

Iowa's largest Competitive Bicycling Event?

Tomorrow CORE4 will happen near Iowa City, Iowa, an event in its second year. Last year it was easily the largest cycling event outside of RAGBRAI in Iowa, but this year it has grown to nearly 1000 riders. 

I hesitate to call CORE4 a "gravel event", due to its very nature, it is not that. CORE4 uses a healthy dose of single track and pavement in their course, along with gravel road sectors, so it wouldn't have passed my "sniff test" I used for gravel events back in 2008. Not by a long shot. 

But it certainly could be said to be "gravel adjacent", and I'd agree with that assessment of this event. Regardless of how anyone wants to classify CORE4, it is a huge event and a surprise from the standpoint of its relative newness on the scene. It would appear that "adventure' cycling in a competitive format is touching a nerve here in Iowa. 

I'm interested in how things go mostly from the standpoint of a certain person being in the event. N.Y. Roll is set to take on the challenge of riding his fat bike on the 100 mile version of the course. We will see how things go when he gets back and tells his tales. 

It's a pretty big day in gravel racing tomorrow with several events taking place, most notably SBT GRVL in Colorado. Good luck to anyone who will be pinning on a number this weekend!

Lithic Carbon Gravel Fork:

Note: Image of the Lithic Carbon Gravel Fork courtesy of Wolf Tooth

You may not be aware that Wolf Tooth/Otso Bikes has a component arm called Lithic. they have some pretty cool carbon fiber forks that are available for your mountain, gravel, or fat bike needs. 

made for a replacement for more modern geometry gravel bikes, the claimed 505 gram fork will fit bikes with a suspension correction from 30mm - 50mm. the offset is 47mm and the axle to crown is 420mm. It jas the ubiquitous "Three Pack" bosses on each fork leg too. Tire clearance is a whopping 29" X 2.1". 

Flat mount only and tapered steer tube, of course. $549.95 USD

You can check it out here:  https://www.wolftoothcomponents.com/collections/forks/products/lithic-carbon-gravel-fork

Comments: I have ridden a Lithic Carbon fork before on an Otso Bikes Warakin. It wasn't very compliant, but there are not many carbon forks that are for a gravel bike. This all-new fork is likely pretty stiff in keeping with the genre.  

I have ridden a carbon fork I thought was pretty good at vibration damping, but you rarely ever see them. The TRP carbon gravel fork was really quite nice, but it isn't in production anymore, and old ones can be found but they are post mount for the brakes. I've complained about this before, but carbon gravel forks are just far to non-compliant. So, if there is a negative to this new Lithic fork, I would not be at all surprised to find out that it has to do with stiffness.

That's it for this week. Thank you for reading Guitar Ted Productions!