Friday News And Views

Image courtesy of Ridley Bikes

Ridley Announces New Aero Gravel Racing Bike:

On Tuesday of this past week Ridley announced a new aero gravel bike model to compliment their current Kanzo Adventure and Kanzo Fast bicycles. The new bike will be offered in both carbon frame and fork (Astr RS) and a lower grade carbon frame/carbon fork (Astr) models.

The Astr (Is there a fear of vowels in marketing these days?) is a full-on racing bike for gravel which anticipates the expansion of sanctioned gravel events world-wide. (More on that next up) So the Astr models feature clearance for up to 52mm tires in 1X mode with a limitation of 47mm if set up in 2X configurations. Furthermore, head tube angle is 71.5° while the seat tube angle is a steep 74°. This along with a lower stack height puts the rider in a more forward, aerodynamic position on the bike, perfect for a fit athlete to race as fast as possible. (This is no adventure bike!)

As one might expect, all cables are internally routed starting at the handlebars and those bars are an integrated stem/bar in carbon featuring a narrower stance at the hoods. Again - a nod to aerodynamics. The chain stays were also kept as short as possible to give the rider the feeling of instant acceleration. 

The Astr, the lesser grade carbon counterpart to the Astr RS, is a less expensive option for riders that cannot afford the ultra-aero carbon model. The Astr RS frame, fork, seat post is approximately $5,550.00 USD currently. So, the bike is not inexpensive but the Astr model saves you about 3K from that for a frame/fork.  It's just a little heavier and the seat post is not an aero one. 

Notable: The Astr RS is UCI approved. 

Comments: So, with the UCI ramping its sanctioning of gravel events up (see next bit), we are seeing the ultra-race forms of gravel bicycles appearing which will have the influence of making gravel as much like road racing as possible. Expect to see a LOT of companies jumping onboard with high priced aero carbon gravel bikes with an aim to get those customers who believe that riding bikes "just like the Pros ride" is the pinnacle of cycling. Which it isn't, but belief is 9/10's of the truth in this matter, so whatever.... It's here and we are going to see more of it. 

Image courtesy of Union Cycliste Internatinale

Gravel World Championships & More Events Planned for 2025:

In an article published on the Cycling News website (HERE) concerning this year's Gravel World Championships, sanctioned by the UCI, Edwin Vervecken has foreshadowed what the plan is for Golazo/UCI and gravel racing worldwide. 

The plan is to increase the UCI sanctioned worldwide gravel calendar to 35 events under the auspices of Golazo. (For a primer on how Golazo and the UCI are working together, see my  article posted this past June HERE)

Vervecken goes on to say that there will be a limit to how many events a country can host, which is two, with the exception of the USA, Australia, and Canada, which may have up to three.  Vervecken claims that there will be three in the USA next year and possibly a fourth event. (Wait....isn't the limit three? )

Comments: The UCI is really pushing hard to get their grip on US gravel and making the case for it by dangling the carrot of the rest of the World's acceptance of their formatting for gravel events. Again, this flies in the face of what reality is currently for the small field of Pro gravel riders based in North America. But what about world-wide? Well, Gravel World Championships are this weekend and for a "world-wide" event, supposedly drawing from all over the world, the entire Elite Men's and Women's field is 429 riders. (I checked the official start list to get this number) So we're supposed to "do gravel" like this everywhere because less than 500 Pros worldwide want to, (or think they have to) ride the UCI sanctioned way?

As of now, Life Time Event's "Grand Prix" is the "big time" when it comes to gravel events in the USA. Life Time's purse for the events and overall winner is such that overseas travel to participate in a series which culminates in offering a jersey isn't seen as being worthwhile. (See Lauren De Crescenzo) There is no prestige or history behind the rainbow stripes for an unpaved roads World Champion like there is for the Road or MTB versions of the UCI's racing. 

Add in big prize purses for Gravel Worlds and a jersey that actually has history in gravel racing, (the Lincoln, Nebraska version), the Belgian Waffle rides, and a few other events, and you can see that by sticking to a USA based calendar the Pro athlete can make a privateer or marginally backed program work. (It is reported that the top athletes in North American gravel racing receive a six figure income from racing gravel) To get a "real" Pro roadie-like gravel series going it is going to take Pro road-like sponsored teams and that hasn't happened yet. Besides, the USA hasn't proven itself in being able to sustain a team in the Pro roadie ranks long-term, and I don't see that happening for gravel. Add in the Golazo/UCI formula for what they call a gravel event, (lame) and you can see that this is really not workable for the USA based Pro and semi-Pro gravel racer. 

Finally, the views of how Golazo/UCI see Women's racing versus Men's, in terms of distances, etc, would be brought over to gravel here. That's not going to sit well with many folks, (again, read my post from June for details). Not that the UCI won't get their way, but - This is just exchanging pavement for gravel, otherwise it is the same-ol'-same-ol' Pro roadie crap we already have seen here. If that's your bag, you do you, but it isn't "gravel racing" as it was formatted here from the get-go. 

Image courtesy of 45NRTH

45NRTH Offers New Oland Waterproof Boot:

Yeah, Winter is on the way and cold weather riding, either for commuting or sport, is going to be on the menu for many of us. 45NRTH offers their new Oland boot to tackle this problem and promises warm feet and all-day usage. 

Featuring 100 grams of Primaloft insulation and an environmentally conscientious manufacturing process for the leather uppers, this boot is rated down to 20°F and up to 45°F as far as temperature range goes.  

The Oland also features glass fiber bits embedded into the real rubber soles to enhance traction in slippery situations. The Oland has traditional lace closure and is compatible with two-bolt cleat interfaces for clipless pedal usage or leave the removable plate on and ride flat pedals. 

The Oland is available in whole sizes from 38 to 50 and costs $260.00 USD. 

Comments: This boot is going after the commuter and recreational rider, judging by the marketing and styling of the Oland. I think it is a smart move to "normalize" cycling apparel for everyone, and especially cyclists. I'd be more apt to wear this boot than some of the other cycling footwear I see for Winter on my bike and obviously, the Oland is set for off the bike usage as well. 

However; if this is what 45NRTH is thinking of style-wise and for usage type, then I think you can do a whole lot better with other non-cycling brands that do Winter footwear. As an example, I've been a user of Keen footwear on my Winter biking forays for many years and this boot they offer for quite a bit less than the Oland has similar features and twice the insulation. I'm sure other companies are doing similar hiker style boots at notable savings over the 45NRTH offering. Yes, they are not clipless compatible, but I would counter by saying flat pedals are a lot smarter Winter choice and especially composite pedals which will not transfer heat from your feet like a clipless or metal pedal does. Try them and let me know if I am wrong. I'll be here...... 

Camp Snap Camera Update:

Some of you might recall that I purchased a Camp Snap Camera last Spring and reviewed it on the site HERE. In the review I mentioned my poor experience with image quality, especially with the tendency of the sensor to "blow out" images if there was any intense light source, like the Sun, shining. 

Well, Velo Orange, who sell these (as well as other outlets) announced a v2 of the camera is now available which promises better jpeg processing and a "significantly faster shutter speed". This is probably in response to the problems I, and likely others, were having with v1 of the camera. It still is $65.00USD, so not a bad chance to take on a cheaply made camera for fun. 

Image courtesy of Boone Technologies

Boone Technologies Titanium Goodness: 

Somewhere in the depths of time I came into possession of a Boone Titanium single speed cog and matching spacer kit. I treasured those bits and one of my single speed bikes has that set up, (I think it is on my Pofahl Signature single speed gravel bike)

Anyway, the "big deal" was that Boone had gone back to making jewelry and had dropped the cycling products. But I found out via Mike Curiak's blog that they are back again making not only single speed cogs but chain rings, spiders, and titanium crank sets. 

The website is here if you want to check those out. 

What is cool is that now those cogs can be had in various anodized colors. I grabbed an image of a purple one here but there are a lot more colors available. These bits are not cheap. The cogs are nearly a hundred bucks alone, but they are well made, last a long time and are light. Check out this USA based and manufactured product line if you want to get something cool in titanium for your bike. 

Note: I get nothing for mentioning this, I just think these are good products worth checking in to.

Thanks for reading Guitar Ted Productions! get out there and ride those bicycles!

Review: Camp Snap Camera - Part 2

 Note: The Camp Snap Camera was purchased by Guitar Ted and is being reviewed without the knowledge of Camp Snap. I was not paid, bribed, nor am I affiliated with Camp Snap in any way. I always strive to give my honest thoughts and views in any review I write.

This Camp Snap Camera will focus (sorry, no pun intended!) on the usage on the bike and out in the field where I take most of my images. I have a very unique use scenario in that I require my camera to be able to be operated one-handed because 95% of the time I am taking images while moving on my bicycle. 

I can make very minimal adjustments with my Olympus TG - 5 but things like manual settings and the like? No way I have time for that. So, the Camp Snap Camera really speaks to me as it has super-simple operation. 

For a look at the camera basics and first impressions, please see my earlier review HERE. Now on with this review.

The conditions for this particular review were varied. Things started out being very bright and Sunny, but transitioned to cloudy skies later on in the ride. Because this ride started so early in the morning and the Sun was lower in the horizon and the Camp Snap Camera is so prone to blowing out images, I decided to wait until the Sun climbed up in the sky a bit before I started using the camera.

These two images are pretty much untouched. I do have a "dehaze" feature in my photo editing software that I like to run all my images through and that is all I did to the above two images. 

I was mildly surprised that these came out so well. They have a weird, almost film-like quality in their overall hue and tone. The detail is pretty good, and contrast is fine. You'll notice that in the lower image the sky is blown out a bit. No surprise there. As I stated, this camera is really prone to this problem. 

 

The above two images are landscapes taken in directions away from the Sun. The camera handles the sky a lot better here and the only issue I see is how the siding on the church reflects enough white light that it blows out the details of the side of the building a bit. Otherwise I think I could do some work in the software program and make these stand out a bit better. 

Here in these two images you can see where the Camp Snap gets a bit overwhelmed due to both of these shots facing more toward  the Sun. The top one faces South, while the bottom one faces East. 

The top image just looks a bit off in the greens and blues, kind of like the gravel picture above. The bottom image is nearly unusable. In fact, I had two images from this batch so blown out that the images appeared as yellowish squares with no detail visible. 

This shot was processed.

I was a lot happier with images taken in diffused light or in cloudier conditions. Here you get more usable imagery. The landscape above is serviceable for my purposes and was run through the process I use for images on the blog. 

Comments: Here are a few more thoughts on this camera since I have had it. These are in no particular order.

• Surprise! Yep, you cannot review your shots, so you do not know if you actually have anything usable until you download them into a computer. I suppose you could do this with a laptop in the field, but why? As things stand, you are going to find shots blown out so badly that you cannot use them, or shots that are off-kilter and you wish that you had taken another. You can always take several shots each time and hope that one will work. 
• Start-Up: The start up for the camera is laughably slow compared to today's cameras. So, be prepared to wait a few moments longer before you'll be able to take that shot. This means you may miss a few shots. But then again, you probably are not doing sports imagery with this camera, right? 
• Landscapes were better than expected. Still, you've got to be very careful about lighting or the camera gets overwhelmed and blows out the shot. 
• It is super-lightweight and the temptation to throw it into a gear bag for your ultra-light set up is pretty high, but the camera seems pretty fragile and I would caution anyone concerning rough handling and vibrations over a long period of time. 

Conclusions: Camp Snap is a fun little camera for casual, goofing off shots that you are not going to cry about if they come out poorly or not at all. I think there is some basis for creative folk to take images from the Camp Snap and to manipulate them into art or creatively produced imagery that is interesting if you take the limitations of the format and challenge yourself to making something from that. 

That said, I don't see this as the camera you are going to rely on to document the trip, to capture the graduation party, or to make money with using images straight out of the thing. There is just too much randomness and chances that your important shots won't come out right, or at all. 

Especially since just about every smart phone has a decent camera in it that will do the job "good enough" for 90% of the population. In my case, I want to push the Camp Snap camera to its limits and see if I can get interesting faults and creative inspiration as a result. Maybe use this as a B&W format camera since the resolution is low and the images have a bit of graininess. For under $70.00 I can count this up as a chance to be inspired to make some art. Kind of akin to buying a cheapo guitar for the change of pace and character of the instrument.

Review: Camp Snap Camera

The Camp Snap Camera and box contents.

Note: The Camp Snap Camera was purchased by Guitar Ted and is being reviewed without the knowledge of Camp Snap. I was not paid, bribed, nor am I affiliated with Camp Snap in any way. I always strive to give my honest thoughts and views in any review I write.

Well, a camera is kind of a 'cycling adjacent' item here, since as you all know, I take a lot of images and post many here on this blog. That said, I must post a disclaimer here: I am in no way a "photographer", nor do I know anything much about photography. 

So, any persons reading this that are well versed in photography may want to tune out here. I'm probably not going to impart the information you want, nor will I speak to this Camp Snap camera in photographer jargon. So I'll likely offend those who hold those tenants of photography religiously. If you are a 'photographer' and dare to read on, that's on you. 

I am a cyclist that happens to carry a camera and I take a bunch of images. I like simplicity and the Camp Snap Camera promised that. Turn it on. Point the lens at a subject. Press button. Done. My kind of device there. Especially since a lot of my imagery is taken while riding. I don't have time for settings, tweaking, or what have you.

This is a super-simple camera. Not much to see here.

First Impressions:

Out of the box you will notice that this camera is very lightweight. No wonder, as it is all plastic construction. The Camp Snap Camera only weighs 93 grams, so it definitely won't weigh your pocket down. The size of the device is 11.5cm long X 6cm high X 2.5cm deep, not including the "lens protrusion". It's roughly the same size as my Olympus Tough TG-5. 

Camp Snap developed this camera for kids to take on vacations and the like. So, it is super-simple. It also feels like a toy. If you want a "real camera feel", you will be highly disappointed. 

That said, Camp Snap claims this camera is rough and tumble ready since it has zero moving parts inside and only two buttons. The shutter/on/off button up top and a slider button that controls the LED flash. You will also note that on the back there is an LED read out for the number of images taken and a "viewfinder" window. Four small Phillips head screws hold the back on. 

On the bottom of the camera there is a door for access to a Micro-SD card which is held in place by a 'micro-Phillips' screw. The USB C port is also here covered by a rubber cap tethered to the surround for the opening. There is also a perforated circular shaped section where the speaker resides inside the camera housing.

Annnnnd......that's about it! You long-press the shutter button to hear a double beep from the speaker to activate the camera. One short press will activate a "shutter sound" which indicates that an image has been grabbed. The LED will read out "001" and count upward as more images are taken. One long-press again, one beep, and the camera shuts down. Or you can simply set the device down and it self-shuts down after ten minutes. 

Recharging the device is done via the USB-C port. The cable provided has double USB-C ends, so you'll need an adapter to hook up to your computer, or you can sub in another cable, as I did, to hook the camera up to a computer's USB outlet. 

The camera arrived partially charged, but it only took about half an hour to bring it up to a full charge. There is a 4GB Micro-SD card installed which can hold up to a claimed 2000 images. Images can be downloaded to a computer via USB, or directly off the card using a card reader. 

I thought the Camp Snap construction was a bit of a letdown, to be honest. It feels cheap, and it definitely does not seem robust enough to hold up to even a child's rough handling. For instance, the colorful faux-leather panel is glued directly on top of the plastic housing and the edges of that panel are exposed which could catch and end up pulling off the casing. We will see in the future. But that and the cheesy "beep" emanating from the inside of the camera, the "shutter" sound, and the 1990's era LED panel emanate a feeling of a carnival prize, in my opinion. But hey! It's 65 bucks, right? 

How about some images? 

The first three images were heavily processed in the computer. The last one is untouched. A few notes...

• It seems that the Camp Snap camera has a hard time with brightness control. I had a couple other images that were unusable due to their being blown out. The top three images required a lot of brightness control and contrasting to bring out more detail and interesting textures. 
• That being the case, this camera does not tolerate being pointed anywhere near a bright source of light. This blows out the images badly. This includes when the camera senses that it needs the flash. I found the flash to be kind of useless in the daytime. Maybe at night it would work better? I'll try to find out.
  
• Depth of field is odd. You can see how my bike is out of focus in the last image but the tree bark is in focus about a foot and a half behind the bike. So, no real close shots here. For reference, that grip is leaning on the tree.

So the camera is pretty low-tech and it shows. This is not "character" in that the images are not cheesy-fun. The images are just not very good. But we'll see how things go once I get out in the country and start shooting from the saddle of the bike like I usually do. 

Now on to my experience downloading the images. I am a card reader kind of guy. I don't like other camera's native software and I usually eschew any such complexities. Give me the card, I slap that puppy in a card reader, hook up to my computer, and boom! I get to work. It's just been my process over the years. 

The Camp Snap files can be searched and sent to your favorite processing "in the box" program or to wherever you want. But I figured I'd pull that Micro-SD card out and just get to work as usual. But wait! That door held on by that tiny screw? Yeah.... 

That screw is very tiny and you'd better not lose it or you will be looking a long time to find a replacement. Then there is the Micro-SD slot. 

Generally, in my limited experiences with SD card slots, the opening is almost impossible to miss or over-shoot when replacing the card. However; there is a "Micro-SD" sized space above the card slot in the Camp Snap that I inadvertently slid the card into and.... There went the card into the internals of the camera! 

I tried shaking it out but the card migrated further into the bowels of the camera. I could hear it rattling around in there, and I figured that was not a good thing. So, in desperation, I went in where "no user serviceable parts" are found. I removed the four screws holding the two halves of the Camp Snap together and gently tried prying those halves apart. 

That was stymied when I found that the back didn't want to separate and I could only get one end to open about a centimeter. But that was enough to shake out the SD card and get everything back where it belonged. And the camera still works! 

Phew! 

So, the lesson here is that IF you decide to get at the SD card, be very, very careful! That mess was on me. 

More soon...

Review News: Velo Orange Items

Image courtesy of Velo Orange

Note: The items mentioned in this post have been paid for out-of-pocket by Guitar Ted. Velo Orange has no affiliation with Guitar Ted Productions, nor are they aware that this review is starting. Hey! Maybe they will get tipped off to it later, but all I know is I am independently conducting these reviews and I will give you my honest thoughts and opinions throughout.

Okay, it is time for a few new review items to show up here any day now, so I figured that I would introduce each item and why I am getting that item in so you will know my plans here. Truth be told, there is a common purpose here which you will see shortly.

First up we have the Velo Orange "Burrito Supreme Handle Bar Bag". This is one of those ubiquitous barrel shaped bags you see often now for cycling. The main purpose for this bag was to have it tested with the Redshift Sports Top Shelf Bar which I am reviewing. That and I've wanted to try a barrel shaped bar bag for quite some time now. The Velo Orange example here is actually made in the USA by Road Runner Bike Bags. 

This bag runs $85.00USD and has one main compartment which holds its shape via an internally sewn in sheet of plastic. It's canvass, of course, and attaches via two straps for the handle bar and one for the stem. We will see how that all works for the Top Shelf Bar soon. 

I'm also planning on using this bag for a trip/over night gravel ride I have planned out. Stay tuned for that....

Image courtesy of Velo Orange

Mojave Water Bottle Cage:

This one is for my quest to carry large amounts of water but not on my back, while cycling. I have used over-sized bottles in traditional and extendable cages, but the Mojave Cage is a bit of a different way to solve the puzzle.

This cage fits big Nalgene water bottles, as shown. I like the concept and the Mojave Cage should be a good solution for a longer trip by bicycle, like the one mentioned above here.

This cage has several mounting holes in a plate on the base of the cage allowing for various ways to mount it including using a Three-Pack Boss. 

This cage comes in silver or black and runs $39.99 USD. This will be going directly on to the Singular Gryphon Mk3 rig. I am kind of hoping to put it on underneath the down tube so we will see how that works out soon. 

Finally, and the entire reason I purchased all these things from Velo Orange in the first place, is something you might not have considered at all. It is a camera! 

Image courtesy of Velo Orange

Camp Snap Digital Camera:

So, I've been using an Olympus TG - 5 camera for years now. I don't know a lot about how it works. I'd estimate I know maybe 10% of it, as far as what it can do. The TG -5 is a very capable outdoors camera, and it has a fair amount of features and normal "camera-guy" things that can be adjusted, tweaked, or whatever.  Most of that is completely lost on me. I usually set it on "Aperture", adjust the light balance a bit, and shoot while riding. I almost never use the viewfinder/screen. It's fairly useless to me due to glare, bright Sun light, and my old, fading eyesight. 

So, when I saw the Camp Snap camera, I immediately knew that I was the person this was made for. Well.....at least I feel that way. A truly "point it and shoot" camera with a whopping 8 megapixel sensor. You get what you get for a shot, and I am okay with that. This is almost exactly how I shoot almost every image that you've seen here in the last ten years. Point. Shoot. Download into computer. Tweak in the box. Publish. 

So, we'll see if this thing can handle gravel travel. I'll be taking images with it for the blog here and for documenting my trip I mentioned earlier. By the way, this camera costs $65.00 USD, so it isn't all that dear and if it gets biffed or craps out, well we will all know better.

So, that's what is coming up. Look for more on these items here soon.