A Case Study : Bicycle Ownwer's Manual

 I work at the Cedar Valley Bicycle Collective where we receive donations of bicycle related accessories, gear, and bicycles. Occasionally we get an interesting bit of bicycle related ephemera which enlightens me. Case in point: I checked the mail box on Saturday morning to find a bicycle owner's manual inside it. 

No notes. Just the manual. I almost tossed it, but then thought better of it, sat down with it, and checked out the contents. 

Typically, the bicycle owner's manuals I've seen have no real value. They were written as a kind of vague warning which gives lawyers an "out", I am sure, in case the company the manual represents gets in legal trouble with a consumer. There was never any useful knowledge between the covers.  

However; this CyclePro manual was different. It was a little instruction booklet. In fact,  if one had the correct tools, you could have easily built and adjusted a bike out of the box using those instructions, diagrams, charts, and images found on those pages.  

 Of course, the technology represented in the manual is so far out of date it is laughable, but in its day, this manual had value. In fact, it still does for teaching about bicycles, and for old-school knowledge which is becoming scarce these days. 

 There were even diagrams showing how to use some tools. This was a detailed manual, and it displayed a level of care and concern for the consumer which is sorely lacking in many bicycle shop/online transactions these days. 

 There was a section on sizing a bike to a person. There was another section concerning gear shifting, how and why you'd want to shift. This is stuff you never saw in manuals which came with bicycles when I was working in retail bicycle shops. 

A gear chart? Would the average consumer even know what to do with this?

 Anyway, I immediately thought about what you get today when you buy a bicycle. The companies selling stuff today are probably not doing manuals like this, and they are likely very similar to what I recall from the early 2020's. 

What if there were manuals like this included in bicycles sold today? Certainly the technical nature of the information would be deeper. It would have to be! Look at the hydraulic disc brakes, suspension forks, and electronic shifting. Look at the internal cable housing designs. It is a nightmare for mechanics. I don't suppose the average consumer could even start to want to dive into taking care of their bicycles. Not given how specific the tools have become to work on components and not so much when technical demands are so intense. 

Maybe this is a sign we've gone too far...... 

Two Things

The second part of my BRAN experience on audio is HERE

 One Day vs One Week:

 This idea popped into my head as I was writing up all the BRAN recap posts. If you read those, you can attest to all the experiences, scenery, and riding which I was afforded the opportunity to enjoy. It was a lot packed into a full week of fun, challenges, and surprises. 

Considering all the things I was writing about I was made aware that gravel events are not generally like this. They are typically one-day events and you are in and out of there before you have any time to settle into things. 

And maybe the quick in-quick out thing works for you. There is a lot going on in most folks lives and carving out time to play gravel bikes is not easy. However; if you can get a week in Summer off, here is something to consider. 

Going to a single day event has obvious entry fee costs. You have travel expenses. Maybe you can get there and back without any lodging fees, but if you have to stay in a motel, or camp, it is going to cost even more. Obviously you have to eat, and maybe you bring your rations. Most folks are going to subsist on a diet of convenience store fare or go to a restaurant.  More money spent. 

My figuring at a minimal amount spent going to a 100 mile gravel event with an average cost of $1.50 per mile (figured from my gravel event cost survey I posted last January) , using an average cost for gas currently ($3.93/gallon), and throwing in a bit for food and small extras, I come up with around $300.00 for a one day event. That is with zero lodging fees and no restaurants, beer/liquor, entertainment, etc. 

The fee to ride BRAN this year was $425.00. You have to feed yourself, get there and back, and any extras are on you. My figure for the week would have been right around 1K. (Had I paid the $425.00 entry fee and the $110.00 bus trip out) That's for seven days of gravel riding WITH support. Seven days of single day events would be $2,100.00 minimum. Probably a lot more than 2K, and especially so if you attend a "bucket list" event in there like Unbound, Gravel Worlds, Mid-South, SBT GRVL, or a Belgium Waffle event. 

If you mechanical, bonk, crash out or anything like that in a single day event? You are done. Game over. Not so at a ride like BRAN, (are there any other rides like BRAN?), where you have mechanical support, sag support, and can recoup the next day and still ride. (Unless a severe crash or medical condition arises, which is an obvious ride ender no matter the format) Plus you get seven days worth of small town charm, meeting people, and lots of cool points of interest to explore. 

Sure, BRAN, or whatever ride there is like it on gravel, is not a competition, but it is a huge experience. Like Jimi said, "Are you experienced?" Or, are you racing to be another place on a finishing roster? Yes, I am biased, and maybe competition gives you something a tour cannot. Good, You know what to do. But if you haven't considered anything beyond the traditional one-day event on gravel, well perhaps this BRAN thing is of interest. That's all...... 

Riding shotgun on ride support for a kid's Summer program

Hope For The Future?

With my being employed by the Cedar Valley Bicycle Collective, I get opportunities to help with children's rides during the Summer via another organization which has us volunteer to do the safety checks and ride sweep for the rides. 

Sometimes I lament over the daily sightings in my neighborhood of kids on electric scooters zipping down roads and sidewals. Or kids on throttle-controlled electric two wheeled contraptions of various sorts. It is as though we are entering into the time of the movie "Wall-E" where humans never go outside and hover around on personalized craft instead of exercising. 

But a couple of these kids rides this Summer have given me hope. One in particular where we supported a ride consisting of about six boys of 10 - 11 years of age. All had 'quality' 24" wheeled bicycles in really good condition. They all rode with each other in a small Iowa town but for one young boy from another small town further away. 

These boys were amped to ride and as we went along it was a reminder of what it was that made cycling so fun when I was young. Speed, of course, but the adventure, camaraderie, and the occasional bout of competitiveness in equal parts. This was what drew me into cycling. 

There were no cell phones, stopping to take Instagram images, Snapchats, or the making of Tik-Toks. It was just pure joy and on a bicycle, outdoors, for 12 awesome miles. These boys were all about it. This experience was a shock to the system for me. 

Maybe there is a little hope after all. 

Work Update

 The part time job gig was a bit interesting the other day. Some of our board members were at the Iowa Bicycle Expo last January and met a fellow from a town about 40 minutes North of Waterloo who has a bicycle shop. First of all, this was news to me when I heard about this shop last week. Secondly, a newer bicycle shop is a pretty cool thing these days in Iowa. Cool and rare. So check out Pedal and Play Sports in New Hampton if you ever get the chance. It's at 45 Main Street. Odd weekday hours. 4pm - 8pm, if I recall correctly because this is the proprietor's second job. 

Anyway....

This fellow had some bicycles gathering too much space which he had collected from the community and after he heard we did recycling and reclamation of old bicycles and parts he invited us up to take a load of those bikes off his hands. So, on Tuesday of this week I and a couple of our Board members went up in a truck and picked up 35 bicycles. 

Nick is not a thief. Trust me!

I hadn't planned on standing in a narrow, ice and snow filled alley in New Hampton, Iowa in the early afternoon, but there I was. Helping load the truck and chatting with the shop owner a bit before we headed back to Waterloo. 

So, a little explanation here. We keep what we can use, but a lot of this bicycle stuff is not going to get used. Ever again. So, we try to get as much of the unwanted stuff into the recycler's hands that we can. If we do not, it usually goes into landfills and this isn't our best end game for bicycles. 

With that in mind we ended up going to our local recycler to unload the bikes we knew we did not want to tear apart or refurbish. If you've never been to a recycling business, it is a wild trip of a place. 

There is a HUGE shredding machine, for one thing. Those machines are fascinating. Then you have the cranes with the monster magnets on them. Add in some huge heavy equipment and big trucks and it brings the boy out in a man. It's kind of fun for a little bit, anyway. 

So, a successful trip was had and now we have another shop connection we can help out with regarding the disposal of unwanted bicycles. It was fun to see another shop operation and talk with another passionate bicycle person. 

Now we're in waiting mode until Spring sets in, probably this weekend, actually, and then we should get busier. I'm really done with Winter, I'll tell ya that much. 

Too Cold

Kid's bike give-away scene.

So, yeah..... I haven't been riding much of late, but sub-zero temperatures will do that to me. My birthday on Friday was frigid, with double-digit below zero temperatures all morning long and we did not get above zero until Sunday. 

Monday we reached the teens above zero, so I rode to work. Yee-haw! At least I am back on the bike again outdoors. It seems this Winter has decided it will act like a "real Winter" after not getting its act together for the first two weeks of January where it was quite warm. 

In the meantime I have been a bit stir crazy being cooped up indoors. I have contemplated some bicycle changes, but for the sake of just changing things. This is not good enough. I do not want to get involved in setting up a bike in a new way because I am bored. (Besides upgrading my fixed gear situation)

I did get to be involved in a kid's bike give away via a local non-profit foundation whose main mission is to help disadvantaged families with children. The foundation vetted out the kids and we just had to match them up with bicycles. That was a lot of fun to do. We ended the day giving away 16 youth bikes. 

This may not sound like much, but the hope is to see even just a few of these kids get jazzed by cycling and hopefully they will make it a long-term kind of deal. There were a lot of "thank you's" and good vibes all around. 

So, it hasn't all been a downer. 

Four Years Down The Road

Working on a 1992 Shimano shifter

This week marks my 4th year of working at the Cedar Valley Bicycle Collective. This has been an amazing job so far and I thought it might be good to tell the story of how this job has changed me and how much the Collective has changed since I've been there. 

December 2021. Andy, the owner of Andy's Bike Shop, where I had been working for a short time, told me the pandemic and how the economics of the time were crushing his ability to stay afloat. He was going to cut the cord before things got out of hand financially and so, I was out of a job. At the time I was a 60 year old man with no apparent future employment. 

I know everyone has their struggles, and maybe you are reading this and thinking this is not a big deal. I will tell you for me, it was a big deal. I had saved a bit to get through a Winter I knew I wouldn't be working, since this was how Andy had handled the Winter of '20/'21, but after the money would run out, what then? I was in a bit of a pickle.

Lots of options were considered. Worse case scenario, I could go work at a convenience store. However; I was not wanting to work customer-facing retail anymore after doing that most of my life. However; if needs be, then I was willing. Thankfully, this wasn't my course in life. 

A stop-gap money-making opportunity arose at a local moving company. I knew one of the secretaries there and she hooked me up with a "cash under the table" part timer gig helping movers there. This wasn't 'small time' moving bits and things, this was serious, big time moving. Large diesel trucks, huge wooden shipping crates, military home moves, and lots of heavy lifting. I was called up about once every two weeks to fill in when employees missed time or if they had a need for extra hands. 

Let me tell you - moving stuff is a young man's job. It was very physically demanding work, but I was glad for the pay and it helped me and my family out tremendously. Then another opportunity arose which I found out about via a friend. N.Y. Roll indicated a bicycle related job might have an opening and he encouraged me to apply. It was at a non-profit, something I had little knowledge about, but if bicycles were part of the gig, I was in. By mid-January of 2022 I had secured employment at the Collective. 

What cannot be used again gets recycled responsibly

When I started the shop was still "closed" due to the pandemic. Over the past two years before I arrived the shop had not allowed much, if any, public access. The place was a shambles as a result of previous mismanagement and carelessness due to the situation. I was tasked with a massive clean-up, rearranging, and restoring of the place to be operational and a functional contributing entity in the community. 

I guess most people would have assessed the place as having been overrun by junk. I cannot argue with the statement, as there were things being saved which not only were unnecessary for the Collective, but were things taking up huge amounts of space and making clutter. It was mind-boggling. 

There were lots of trips to the recycler, sorting, arranging, and storing of parts we were going to keep. There was a ton of organizational stuff from a programs point of view which I had to wade through, but I had a job! And it was something which was turning in a way I hadn't foreseen. 

I was finding out all about the people you just don't see in a city. The underprivileged, the forgotten, the needy, and destitute. People who lived on the margins of society. I became acquainted with several of these people. Some have become friends. Some have died and are missed. 

Then there were the immigrants, the forgotten veterans of our military, and just people in need. Transportation is critical and bicycles are cheap and readily available. Thanks to donations from the community I am able to be a part of something which helps these folks get moving, be able to get to jobs, and make appointments on time. This part of my job has been extremely gratifying and I wasn't ready for it when I took the job four years ago. 

A volunteer tear-down day where we disassemble bikes for parts and scrap.

I've been able to get volunteer days going utilizing people from the local John Deere plant to help tear down bicycles for scrap and parts harvesting. I've been able to meet a lot of nice folks through this program. I also have been able to assist children's programs by way of bicycle checks and bicycle rodeos. It's been a lot of fun.

Besides this, I have been able to visit a couple of other non-profit bicycle related shops in Ames and Des Moines, while also meeting people from other Collectives. It has been eye-opening, for sure, to have been hired four years ago by the Collective here. 

And one of the best parts is this is not retail. It makes what I am doing 100% different and far more fulfilling. This is the best job I've ever had and I look forward to working the three days I work a week. 

There is a lot more to this job than I have space or time to write about here, but this should give you all a taste of what it is I do for a job these days. I highly encourage anyone interested in this sort of effort to contact your local bicycle related non-profit and if you do not have a local one, maybe start one. It really makes a big difference in a lot of people's lives. 

Re-Entry

 The clock doesn't stop and whether or not I was ready to do this, I was determined to do it. It may not seem like a big deal to many people, but I went back to work on Saturday for the first time since my son died a little over a week ago now.

So.....it isn't a thing I would know anything about. I was going at this blind to what may occur. I could only guess and maybe I would be alright, or maybe I wouldn't. You end up just pushing off from shore and hope the boat is sealed up tight.

My co-worker, Carl, is someone pretty special to me. He's been through a lot in life, and he deals with tough health issues and mental issues as well. He adored my son Jacob. Carl often reminded me at random times while we worked how special Jacob was and that I was a lucky dad. He wasn't wrong.

Well, the day Jacob died I was supposed to be at work. I had to call Carl because I didn't want him to find out later from someone else what had happened and why I did not come into work. I hated to have to make that call, and Carl's reaction, while not surprising to me, made me feel really bad. He was crushed. 

Actually, it was the first thing I felt that day besides shock. I was still very upset about it when I went back to work, and I felt I needed to apologize to Carl for how this made everything turn upside down for him. But he was gracious and he said he was glad I called and he wasn't upset about what I did. He confirmed my feeling when he told me he didn't want to hear the news second hand.

Work started, I kind of was numb to it all. I wasn't myself, but I didn't probably show it to many. My friend Tony was in and I knew he could see it. He's pretty sharp. But I sold two bicycles and we made progress on finishing up a couple of bikes for the floor. All in all, it wasn't bad. 

I made it.  I didn't sink.

Two Things

Nick at a recent ride support gig.

 Two things: The "Heroes" You Otherwise Won't Hear About.

Today's "Two Things" focuses on two cycling stories with some folks who you will never hear about anywhere else. But their stories deserve to be told, in my opinion, so here we go...

Nick Arendt: 

The Cedar Valley Bicycle Collective has a board made up of around seven or eight folks. One of these memebers is Nick Arendt. Nick was the volunteer for the most recent Bike Valet service the Collective provides at downtown Waterloo, Iowa events like "Fridayloo", which features a live band on the riverfront stage.

RAGBRAI is going on right now, and people come from all over the world to participate in this, the largest recreational bike ride in the world. The ride started this year in the Northwestern corner of the state of Iowa. Since Waterloo is on HWY 20, the fastest, most Northern route across Iowa, it would stand to reason that we may have a few travelers coming through the city on their way to RAGBRAI's start.

On Saturday we had a big complex of thunderstorms move through the area and everything was soaking wet. I was at the Collective by 7:30am to get the day rolling as we are open from 8:00am - noon on Saturdays. Not long after the doors opened in came Nick to bring back the Bike Valet supplies and gear we use for this service. But he had a wheel in his hands. And this was no ordinary wheel!

Image courtesy of Hunt Wheels

This was a carbon fiber rim with a nice 30mm road tire on it. A disc rim with a through axle, so whatever it went on must have been a fairly nice road bike. We surmised this wheel, which Nick found in the motel parking lot behind the shop, was probably left behind when a person was loading their bike onto a rack which required front wheel removal and then inadvertently left it behind.

We also guessed this was likely a RAGBRAI rider heading out to the start who had stayed the evening in Waterloo on their travels. So, I suggested to Nick he go to the two neighboring motels and put in a word at their front desks about him finding this wheel.

Nick left and not three minutes later a frenzied young man entered into the Collective asking breathlessly if anyone had brought in a wheel. I immediately connected this young man with the wheel Nick had in his possession, so I texted Nick. Nick was quick to return and the young man was overjoyed.

Claiming we had "saved his RAGBRAI, he exited and that was that. But this could have gone very wrong for that young man had Nick not shown up on the scene when he did, and not some other person who may have just figured it was a "bicycle wheel" and taken it as a prize they had found. Nick, you are a good man!

Charlie Farrow (Image from social media)

Charlie Farrow - An Upper-Mid-West Hero.

Not long ago here on these digital pages I wished Charlie Farrow a safe and successful ride on his Tour Divide attempt. Well, now news comes to me that on the 19th of July, Charlie finished his ride in Antelope Wells, New Mexico in 37 days and some change. 

I've lauded Charlie on his legendary status in Trans Iowa  before. However, what many may not know is Charlie has accomplished so much in his endurance cycling pursuits. Tour Divide is just another feather in Charlies very feathered helmet.

Trans Iowa saw some very outstanding performances from Charlie, but these are but a pittance in his palmares.  Charlie has attempted and finished the Iditarod in Alaska, the Arrowhead 135 winter ultra, the Almanzo 100, other gravel events, several 24hr MTB events, and probably more stuff I don't know about.

Those who know Charlie hold him in high regard. He is humble, erudite, and quick with a good word. It is hard not to like Charlie if you meet him. So, when you add his excellent character with his amazing cycling accomplishments, it is an example of one rare human being. I know I will always think of Charlie as a "hero" of cycling, especially in terms of the long-distance, ultra-cycling events held off-pavement.

Congratulations Charlie on your latest long-distance triumph! 

Quick Shop Update

 Since I will have a special report coming up at 9:00am CST this morning I'm posting this for you early-bird readers of the blog. Don't forget to check back later for the press release and my comments.

Last week, and truthfully, the past two weeks, have been nuts down at the shop. We have received over 200 bicycle donations and we are barely keeping our heads above water as we have limited space in our basement to store all these bicycles.

The mass numbers of two-wheeled objects happened to come in due to three major donations, two from the same outfit. These are mostly bicycles people purchased and then ended up parking somewhere, leaving them for dead. Then the people who owned them ended up relieving themselves of these burdens once the opportunity arose to do so via a few organizations we have worked with.

I know it might sound exciting and all, but the reality is we probably get five to eight "keepers" out of every batch of fifty bikes we receive. Most of those are not very exciting, but will service needs in our communities well. The rest? Parts harvesting, opportunities for John Deere volunteers to come in and do community service by stripping these bikes down, and we keep it all out of our local landfill.

My over-all feeling about this is one of sadness. To think of the thousands of dollars burnt up on cheap, barely usable bikes, and bicycles which are fine, but never were put to their potential. I find it to be a sad commentary on consumerism. The waste is hard to look at sometimes.

So, I know what we are doing is a good thing, and I certainly find satisfaction in doing this, but what if I did not need to be employed at all doing what I do? Wouldn't that mean we would be living in a better world? I think so, and so yeah...... It is very thought provoking and humbling. 

Friday News And Views

Image courtesy of Life Time Events

 Life Time To Offer Free Live Coverage Of Unbound Gravel

For the first time in the events history, Unbound Gravel will have live, start to finish race coverage of the Pro Men and Pro Women fields.

In a press release from Tuesday of this week, Life Time promised an approximately seven hour time slot for the  event, saying it will not end coverage until all podium interviews are completed.. 

The timing of coverage seems a bit odd in that the press release states in one place that coverage will start with a pre-race briefing on the event and then turn to the race reporters for an uninterrupted stream of the event on Life Time's You Tube channel. However; this coverage is stated to start at 10:00am CST, which is typically four hours after the event gets going. Further into the release it is stated that the time is yet to be determined. Here is the quote: "The program is due to commence at [insert time here] and conclude following the elite women’s post-race interviews." 

Comments: Obviously there was not a good job of editing before the release went out. If I get clarity on the timing of the coverage I will update this story. Maybe they won't cover the opening hours of the event?

(WARNING! Old Man Yelling At Sky) The release went on and on, with the expected self-congratulatory blather and stating the event is "..the world's premier gravel event". No real argument here, but the blathering and puffery gets a bit tiring. We get it, Life Time, you think highly of how you do things and this event, which you neither created nor elevated to be the World's Premier Gravel Event, was a nice purchase by the corporation. You've shepherded the asset well. I'm sure the shareholders are pleased. 

Now, back to our regularly scheduled gravel event coverage. Thanks to all our noisy helicopters and crews on vehicles scampering across what was once a peaceful prairie causing more mayhem than is necessary so we can be entertained. For "free". 

Image courtesy of Pony Express 150 Gravel event Facebook post.

Another "Mud Year"?

Speaking of Unbound Gravel, it might be that the motos and follow cars won't be able to cover certain portions of the course anyway. As seen in the accompanying image, courtesy of the Pony Express 150 event's Facebook feed, there appears to be an abundance of moisture in the Flint Hills of late.

 Of course, there is an entire week until the event, and things could change, and probably will. So, this may be much adieu about nothing. Then again it is supposed to be unusually cool and wet through the beginning of next week.  .

Definitely something to keep tabs on. The interesting thing is to see commentary over images like this from people who claim that "this isn't gravel racing!" or "whelp! I'm out!".  As I often point out, many of these folks don't know what they don't know. 2015 was a decade ago, and many of the infamous Trans Iowas longer ago than that, so how to deal with mud, or mentally handle it, are seemingly "lost arts" for today's riders.

It will be interesting to see if Unbound modifies the course if this mud persists. You might remember the fiasco from 2023.... We will see.

Image courtesy of Wolf Tooth Components

Wolf Tooth Bottom Bracket Surfaces:

I saw mention during Sea Otter of a new component from Wolf Tooth. A bottom bracket, but no sign of an image or mention of it on Wolf Tooth's site could be found. Well, on Wednesday that changed.

Now the bottom brackets are up on their site (HERE) and several choices of color and type are available, as one would expect from Wolf Tooth.

The 100% user serviceable units come in BSA threaded and T-47 versions now and prices are reasonable with a standard threaded outboard bearing model costing $129.00 USD. These bottom brackets are designed and machined in the USA.

Comments: Another addition to the Wolf Tooth range which makes sense. While their design is touted as "best in class", I really do not see a huge difference in their design versus most other "boutique" brand bottom brackets. It is a machined and anodized cup, a cartridge bearing, and a couple of plastic sleeves.

For my money the Enduro Bearings Max-Hit bottom bracket truly is a different design and one which you can visually see a difference and feel a difference when using it. I'm not saying these Wolf Tooth bottom brackets are "bad" nor that you shouldn't buy one, but they are not what I would call "innovative". They are likely far better than a box-stock OEM model though. So, check them out if you need a good bottom bracket and if you like a touch of color on your bike.

Image courtesy of Mondraker Bikes

Mondraker Offers Arid Gravel Bike In Aluminum:

Last November I posted a story about the new Mondraker Arid carbon gravel bike. I found the story interesting from two standpoints. One: Mondraker was primarily a mountain bike brand before the Arid was offered. Two: The company was making a bigger push into the United States market.  

Actually there was a third reason. I liked the design from a geometry standpoint. The Arid has a "gravel bike geometry". Bicycles which are not in the ball park in terms of geometry just will not see coverage here. I don't see the point of promoting "old" geometry or anything which is too road-ish or is really a cyclo cross bike.

Now Mondraker has offered the Arid, an aluminum version of the Arid C, and it has the same geometry specifications, A 75mm bottom bracket drop coupled with a 70 degree head tube angle. This is the sort of geometry I feel is "right" for gravel and will perform in a way which makes gravel riding more fun and safer.

Of course, an aluminum frame is going to bring the price down. Mondraker Arids start at around $2,500.00. But that isn't what I would call "budget friendly". Compared to carbon? It seems like a bargain. I just wish Mondraker would offer the Arid as a frame set. While it would likely still cost close to 2K, I would be more inclined to build up an Arid transferring parts from my Noble GX5, as an example, than buying an entire complete Arid model.  Of course, I likely do not represent one of a possibly large enough number of sales for Mondraker to pull the trigger on aluminum frame only offerings. (NOTE: You can find Arid carbon frame sets online for about $2.100.00)

An interesting plant is growing outside of the Collective!

Being A Responsible Steward:

Part of the mission the Cedar Valley Bicycle Collective has relates to keeping bicycles out of the local landfill. To that end, we collect donated bicycles which are sorted for potential uses. If the parts or bikes are deemed not useful they go to a local metal recycler.

This past week has been a BIG recycling week at the Collective. We had a couple of organizations from Northeast Iowa discover what we are doing and they brought down 44 bicycles to be recycled. We also received nearly 60 bicycles from the local police department.

Of course, what we can save for use by people here in the Cedar Valley we will do, but obviously many bicycles are just not going to be savable. Fortunately many are, and these help underprivileged, destitute, immigrant, veterans in need, and low income folks get on two wheels. An example: We recently have put eight immigrants on bikes so they can get to jobs. We have sold several bicycles to folks recently who cannot afford new, bicycle shop quality bikes. We also have been busy supporting local school programs which have bicycle safety and phys-ed program needs with loaner bikes.

If you are a local reading this, please consider being a part of the efforts of the Cedar Valley Bicycle Collective. If you have a local collective, please consider supporting it. Help your local bicycle non-profits be good stewards of bicycles and bicycle knowledge!

Image courtesy of SRAM

Zipp Wheels Now Available With AXS Pressure Sensors:

Zipp announced on Thursday that their 353 NSW and 303 NS wheels will be available with AXS air pressure sensors embedded into the rims. The AXS sensors can send pressure monitoring information to a computer head, (Hammerhead is SRAM's preferred brand since they own it), which will allow riders to detect an issue more quickly. Riders can also set pressure levels which the AXS sensor can react to with a green light, letting the rider know the pressure has been set correctly.

Comments: This may seem unnecessary now, but I feel it is a portent of things to come. No doubt this sensor would be even more useful with a pressure regulating system so riders could air up or down while riding. This sort of system already exists and has been race proven in the Pro roadie ranks.

 I'm not sure how SRAM would do this. Perhaps a green light for your up or down settings and perhaps a red one for out of range indicating a problem? The possibilities are fascinating. Imagine a gravel racer with the ability to set a higher pressure for stretches of pavement and then being able to dump air out for the gravel, or rougher sections with less traction.

That is it for this week! Have a fantastic Memorial Day weekend, if you celebrate this holiday. Otherwise, get out there and ride those bicycles!

Two Things

Long before the days of cycling oriented "multi-tools" there were tool rolls, tool pouches, and individual wrenches. An example of this came through,my place of employment, the Cedar Valley Bicycle Collective, recently. 

An individual called about dropping off an old bike and when they came by to donate this bike it turned out to be an old Puegot road bike. It was kitted out with all its original equipment. The "carrot stick" Simplex shifters were still there intact, (IYKYK), and even the funky Simplex front derailleur still worked. It had its original, slightly dried out, Ideal leather saddle, (similar to a Brooks), and the infamous MAFAC Racer brakes.

 It was quite the time piece, as it looked completely unmolested since its sale in, probably the early 1970's, I would guess. Upon closer inspection I saw a black object which looked like a small bag just stuffed in between the saddle's rails and the leather top. I carefully removed it to find that this object was a tool bag. As you may have guessed from the image here. 

It was in remarkable condition and the tools were as well. I'm not sure the combination wrench was an original part of the kit, it looks different and may have been added years ago. However; the four other stamped steel wrenches with the "MAFAC"logo do match the bag with its embossed "MAFAC" logo. Even the hang straps are all intact, which look like easy casualties to wear and time. 

You've got to question the usefulness of stamped steel wrenches. I'm sure they might get you by, and certainly they are light, but obviously they were not precision instruments! I cannot say the combination wrench is a whole lot better, and it is a standard SAE wrench anyway. Not much use on a bicycle. 

It is a cool oddity though, and I will certainly keep it all together as a bit of a conversation starter for the shop and for clinics in the future as a show piece.  

Clik Valve products - Image by A Andonopoulous

Now as I sit and contemplate the soon to be here riding season, I wonder about dedicating a bike to using those TPU tubes to see what I think of this new thing. As I was thinking about what I like about TPU tubes, I was reminded of the number one downfall to these things, in my opinion, and that is the valve stem. 

Those plastic, flexible stems are probably not very sturdy. Although I haven't broken one yet, I know that is a distinct possibility. And furthermore, I do not want to find out. 

There is something I think would help fix this. That would be going to the Clik Valve design. I think it would work in plastic, but even just a steel or brass end, as the TPU tubes have anyway, in the format of a Clik Valve, would be really good. That is because Clik Valve is really easy to engage and disengage. It would likely pose much less of an issue when it comes to the possibility of breaking or damaging a TPU tube. 

Now there is another solution coming out very soon. I'll have more on that in this week's "FN&V", but that solution will be quite pricey. We will see.

Friday News And Views

 Job Anniversary: 

This past week I observed my third anniversary of starting work at the Cedar Valley Bicycle Collective. In case you are unfamiliar with this organization, they are a non-profit organization which benefits the community by recycling used bicycles either back into service or by being responsibly recycled via a local recycling/scrap company. 

We benefit local veterans who need transportation by providing free bicycles and accessories, as well as providing bicycles for other individuals in need. We support various area children's bicycling programs such as bicycle rodeos, Summer programs, and childrens benefit organizations. We also provide safety checks and educational opportunities as well as supporting local events via our Bike Valet program. 

There is more to it than that, but as you might be able to see by now, this is no "bike shop" gig. I get to turn wrenches, do mechanical repairs, and solve problems like I always have done for years, but added into the mix is a genuinely rewarding experience in helping others and making a difference in the community. Things I did not really get out of being a bike shop rat. 

So, I remember this week with gratitude and I don't take this opportunity lightly. It has been an amazing three years, and I cannot believe it has been three years already. But it has and I hope to add more years to that total going forward. If you have a bicycle cooperative/collective/non-profit in your community, I urge you to support that organization in some way this year. Either by volunteering or by donation. These organizations really impact the environment and the people who need bicycles for transportation and recreation.

A Light & Motion bike light on a handlebar (Image courtesy of Grannygear)

Light & Motion Ceases Business Activities:

On January 14th news hit the web concerning the bicycle, scuba, video, and photography lighting company, Light & Motion, who published an announcement that they were ceasing operations immediately. 

A story from "Bikemag" with some comments from the CEO of Light & Motion can be seen by clicking HERE. 

Comments: While many brands have ceased operations after the exit from COVID, this is one of the more well-known brands to close its doors. While Rocky Mountain and GT Bikes have "paused operations", which might leave the door open for some sort of "unpausing", I would assume, this announcement has a bit more of an air of finality to it. 

Citing "political winds" as one of the reasons for the closure, Light & Motion ends with an over 35 year run of manufacturing its products in the USA. It is no secret that the LED lighting segment for cycling is a super-competitive market and that many companies offer excellent lights for very competitive price points. So, by sticking to its guns with regard to doing things stateside, and by having product that was priced at a more premium level, it is not hard to understand how that and the downturn in sales for cycling overall has perhaps forced this action by Light & Motion. 

Snow Dog Update:

Since I rolled out the old Snow Dog again to test those BIKETUBES TPU fat bike tubes, I had to do some updating. I was using an old Archer electronic shifting box deal which could shift incompatible parts, and well, that was no longer an option here. Archer is done as a company and I didn't want to try using the app anymore to set up the thing since it isn't being supported as far as I could tell. 

So I fished out a roll of 4mm derailleur housing in silver and an old SRAM 9 speed shifter. I already had a SRAM rear derailleur mounted, so I figured that would work.

Except this was a SRAM shifter compatible with Shimano. Doh! Okay..... Back to the bins. I fished around and found an 11 speed Ultegra long cage derailleur. Probably the one that came on my Tamland Two? Maybe.... Well, that went on there and with a few adjustments, bingo! I had a working rear derailleur and shifter. 

You may be thinking, "Wait! That's an 11 speed rear derailleur running with a 9 speed chain and shifter? Isn't that forbidden?" And I say, "Don't try this at home, folks!" It's another instance of a mechanic doing what "they say" cannot be done. That's all. I would never tell anyone else this would work. Why? Because, well.....for you it probably wouldn't, and then it would be my fault for saying it does work. That's why. So, I'm saying "this doesn't work", but I'm going with it anyway. 

Remember, it is all fun and games until it breaks. Then if that describes you, and you end up with a failure, or worse, it is because you tried this. It will be your fault. I said it does not work. So there. 

And I will have an update on the tubes soon. 

Image from the Jan. 15th social media post.

Robidoux Roubaix Is Back:

Last August the race director of the Robidoux Roubaix, a gravel race in Western Nebraska, announced that the event was on "indefinite pause" status. 

Specifying a lack of concern by riders for safety and other safety related concerns for race directors of gravel events, the event was taken off the calendar. Now in an Instagram post dated January 15th, the event posted the following quote pulled from a longer statement. 

"It turns out that a little four month break, escaping an unfulfilling 9 to 5, and starting to ride bikes again was enough of a mental boost to remember why I’ve always loved hosting Robidoux!"

Comments: The statement directed readers to register now and that more details would be released about the new routes and more soon.

No mention of the concern about rider safety and conduct at gravel races. This, on one hand, seems odd, but it all may get addressed in future communications, so as of this time, I cannot really comment on this point other than to say the question is there to be answered. What about the previous safety concerns? 

I like that this event came back, however, if just for selfish reasons. I think the area would be a spectacular place to ride, and so I've always had a soft spot in my heart for doing the event. Not that it will ever happen. Especially now with a carless Guitar Ted! 

That's it for this time. Have a great weekend and ride those bicycles!

Two Things

1959 Schwinn Corvette 3 speed

 Cruiser Update:

Last week I posted about the Schwinn Corvette 3 speed and how I had freed up the frozen rear hub. I thought I would give you all an update on this bike. I've taken things as far as I can given the mission of the Collective. Now it will have to move on to someone else that will either give it a home as a object to admire or as a restoration project. 

My goal was to make the bike operative, inspect it, and clean it up. I have no idea how long the bike had set, but given that it will be 66 years old this year, I'm betting it sat for the better part of half a century. 

I think I am on to something here because this bike has all of its original parts right down to the grips, pedals, tires, and all else. There is only one thing missing here and that is the headlight. The mount is still there, but the piece broke when my assistant at the Collective was doing the initial clean-up on this project. 

What amazes me about things like this Corvette 3 speed is the detail on the bike. There are things I found on this bicycle that made me stop and wonder. Like that "AS" stamped stem wedge bolt. Or the piece of steel, about 3mm thick, tack welded behind the chain guard where it attaches to the rear of the frame. A thing done to help reinforce that area so it would not fail. Did any buyer of a Schwinn cruiser ever know about this detail? I doubt it, but Schwinn did this to make the chain guard more durable. 

Other details like the bearing races, which are machined and not stamped out like they would be now, and the sharp, crisp edges on bolts, are things you just never see on bicycles today. Of course, ALL the fasteners were SAE standard and not Metric. Not that one is better, but it just points to the USA manufacture of this piece. Which leads me to one more thing about bicycles for kids from this era....

They are TANKS! These things were made to last and last. Wearable parts are serviceable and replaceable, well.....back then they were! It is not easy to find parts now, but you get the picture. 

Bonus picture of this Schwinn Typhoon from 1963 which was donated with the Corvette.

 
We received a Schwinn Typhoon, which according to my research, (which could be wrong), is from 1963. These two Schwinns came in together, and both were salvageable. The Typhoon, if anything, is even in better shape than the Corvette. It simply is mind boggling to me that any boy's bike from this era would ever survive use. I am left to assume that both bicycles were little used, seeing that both have original tires, and other wearable parts like the grips and pedals. Cool feature on the Typhoon= It has a "red stripe" two speed kick-back hub. It works as well. Pretty neat. 

These are available from the Cedar Valley Bicycle Collective if you are interested. My thought is that we'd raffle them off as a fundraiser during our next membership drive, but that is not written in stone. Hit me up if you are interested.

More Industry Musings:

Last Sunday's post stirred up some of you out there. I could tell by the numbers that post drew out of the gate. This isn't a subject which is relegated to me, or even a few social media savants. This seems to be perplexing and has had an effect upon many folks from disparate parts of cycling. 

Once we exited the pandemic, many were predicting that sometime during 2024 things would right themselves, inventory levels would be "normal" again, and that we'd be out of the woods in terms of the post-COVID sales slump. 

Well.....that hasn't happened. So, we are seeing many folks scratching their heads wondering what is going on here. I've seen athletes posting about lost sponsorships, I've seen sales discounting continuing, and rumors worse than anything I've heard before are beginning to swirl. 

N.Y. Roll asked me to listen to a podcast, (I won't name it here because I don't want to throw anyone "under the bus"), and I gave him my reaction as to what I think is going on here. Like I said Sunday, part of this is the old way of thinking which includes just pumping out more product every year that the industry assumes will find a home. Well, that doesn't seem to be working anymore. Anyway, here are my thoughts in bullet point form:

1. The all-human powered bicycling folks are aging out of cycling
2. Many youth are not interested in cycling, (USA) and if they are, they are most interested in assisted cycling or e-scooters. They are least interested in 100% human powered cycling.
3. There are NO SAFE PLACES TO RIDE (in most cases)
4. COVID skewed the market. Those that would have purchased bicycles from 2020 - 2025 did so in two year's time from 2020 - 2021. They have their bicycles and are out of the market. 
5. Overreaction to demand spike caused over-production leading to massive inventory levels at historic levels which are still being worked through. 
6. Current pricing, even at discounted levels, is not attracting buyers as hoped

Meanwhile employees, rents, bills, and  all else needs to be payed out but revenues are lacking in many cases. Even the robust European e-bike market pre-COVID has taken it on the chin. So, it is a perplexing issue and unless more people can be enticed into cycling I just do not see how this gets better. 

Maybe I'm all wrong....

Two Things

Revival Time

 Things have slowed down quit a bit at the Cedar Valley Bicycle Collective, but they haven't come to a standstill. By no means! This is the time of the year that I try to get into those "projects" that will take up some time and will require a lot of focus. Things that are not wise to try to do when you might be getting interrupted on a fairly consistent basis. 

One of those projects is a 1959 Schwinn Corvette 3 speed. We had this bike up in the stand back in the Fall but when I realized that the internals of the Austrian made 3 speed hub were frozen up, I had to take a different approach to the job. 

The bike, overall, was in pretty decent condition considering its nearly 66 years of existence on the planet. Sure, it was scarred up, but it had all its original equipment parts still on it, which, for a boy's bicycle, is rare. Even the fenders were decent. 

So, I wanted to try to save the originality of the bike and not swap out the wheel for a similar one. My first approach was to soak the internals in penetrant, which thankfully was easily enough done due to the design of the hub. The manufacturer pretty much copied a Sturmey Archer design right down to the metal oiling port cap. I simply opened it up and loaded the hub with penetrant and sat the wheel in a corner for a month and a half. 

Recently I got back to this project and focused on the hub. I partially disassembled the axle which allowed access to the internal Sun and planetary gears. I was able to get those loosened up and then I was also able to get the hub to shift again. A little cleaning up, reassembly, and new oil and she's good to go now! 

That means the Corvette project can proceed. Next hurdle: Tires (maybe) and a different saddle. 

Image from a warmer time...

The Wheel Saga Continues

That DT Swiss wheel I have worked on is still giving me fits. I replaced all the alloy nipples and test rode it this past week and....

tick.......tick......tick......

Gah! What the....!!!

Okay, so it could be a spoke loading and unloading in its straight pull socket. It could be something else. All I know is that this tick-ticking will not be tolerated. So..... 

 I'll try another wheel set just to make sure it actually is the DT/Roval wheels. And if it is, then....

I have a set of Velocity Blunt SS rims sitting there doing nothing. I would just need to buy some nice hubs and well, build a proper set of wheels. There are possibilities to rebuild that DT Swiss hubbed Roval rimmed wheel set too, and yeah.....I could go that way, but either way, a set of J-bend hubs and spokes would need to be purchased. 

I think something like this needs to happen. Funny what an annoying noise will do to a bicycle mechanic. The thing is, at single-digit wind chills and with that cold possibly skewing my results I think this may have to wait until things warm up a bit. Then if that noise is what I think, there will need to be some hubs and spokes ordered.

Two Things

Last delivery of the year.

 Community Service:

This "Two Things" has a common thread. That being the Cedar Valley Bicycle Collective where I work these days. 

Last week I delivered the last supplies for the year from our vendor who had my order dropped shipped to the local UPS Store, which is several miles away from the shop. 

While I haven't been there in a few months, the UPS Store employees have gotten to know me and I would wager that is due to my chosen mode of transportation. There probably are not too many cargo bike riders going there to make a pick-up. I always get the side-eye glances and I'm sure many folks think I'm 'stupid' or worse. Once in awhile I get a compliment, and I did on this last run of 2024.

A middle-aged looking lady, who did not look at all like a typical cyclist, saw me run my boxes out and said, "I wondered who had the cargo bike. Cool bike!" I thanked her and went on my way. As I lashed the boxes to the bike, I thought about how rare that interaction is likely to be in Waterloo, Iowa and I smiled as I savored that one. I bet it will be awhile before I hear anything like that again. 

Usually, if anyone dares to say anything, it is more like, "Are you sure that bike can handle that?", or "Ya need a motor on that thing!". When that happens I just smile and nod politely while I'm doing my 'internal eye roll' and thinking that these folks would probably be amazed by eBikes.

Last Thursday I had to hoof it down to the Collective by 7:15 am to let in a group of six John Deere engineers who were volunteering through a program John Deere encourages their employees to get involved in. John Deere wants their employees to volunteer at non-profit organizations that benefit their local community. So, since the Collective is a non-profit, we qualify to host some of the employees throughout the year to help us do our work. 

Typically this is a "tear-down day" where I have the volunteers take bikes down to bare frames and forks. The parts are then sorted into bins and later on I sort those and save what we need to use as a source for rebuilding donated bikes, and in a secondary need, as parts for people trying to build up used bikes that cannot afford bike shop's new part prices. 

I hosted six fellows and in four hours they tore down around 30 bikes and several wheels as well. That'll keep me busy for quite some time! But this program helps us out tremendously at the Collective with being able to process bikes through more efficiently and allows us to continue to help needy people in the community with transportation needs, as well as helping with kid's programs and educational programs. 

Late 1980's vintage Shimano bottom bracket

Old Technology Rears Its Head:

Another thing that happens at the Collective from time to time is what I call "a blast from the past". Something on a bicycle that gets donated that I once knew about but had forgotten until it shows up in the Collective. 

One such thing occurred last week when my co-worker Carl was puzzled by an odd looking bottom bracket in a bicycle he was working on. It looked like a typical cartridge bottom bracket but the plastic cup was on the wrong side. I didn't even have to look at it to know what this was going to be. I was instantly reminded of early Shimano cartridge bottom brackets. 

Now, I may be wrong, but I think these were Shimano's first efforts at a cartridge bottom bracket. At least in the form-factor we know them as today. The main difference being that the steel cup which was attached to the cartridge was on the non-drive side instead of the drive side, which only lasted for a short time before Shimano flip-flopped the cups to what we all know today.  

Also back then, these were adjustable and rebuildable cartridge bottom brackets. I assume Shimano did this to appease the "old ways" and sway mechanics into accepting these new designs. Again, it did not take long for Shimano to abandon this first version of the cartridge bottom bracket for their well known sealed, non-serviceable type. 

I pulled the rubber seal off one end of this bottom bracket to show the ball bearings. The non-drive side has an actual jamb nut and adjusting nut set up, much like a wheel might have, in classic Shimano style. I actually have a Park tool to adjust these with that has followed me to every stop along my mechanic journey since my first shop job in 1993. 

By the way, as I recall, these bottom brackets were already out of the catalog by the time I started wrenching. So, those drive side, left hand threaded plastic cups were like gold! I saved every one I could because they were the weak link in those early cartridge bottom brackets as they were prone to breaking under high-stress pedaling. 

Anyway, it was fun to come across one of those old dinosaurs. Of course, I saved it. I plan on trying to service it later this Winter.

Checking In From The Collective

With heat indices above 100° over the weekend I decided to lay low and not do any big rides out in the country. Younger folks with less heat related failures can do that stuff. I'm passing on those experiences these days! 

That doesn't mean I haven't been riding. I have. I just haven't been out on anything longer than an hour or so ride just to keep from getting too hot and probably more importantly, because I've been busy with things relating to my job at the Cedar Valley Bicycle Collective. 

Recently the Collective had another donation from the Waterloo Police Department of bicycles that they pick up which were abandoned in most cases. Occasionally a bike comes through a court case, but typically, in my opinion, these are stolen bikes that are ridden for a bit and then abandoned. I could be wrong about that but.....

Most of these bikes are really pretty used up or just deteriorated from having been made so poorly, out of rust-prone materials, that they are scrapped immediately. One in about every four is a keeper. These bikes get harvested for parts or refurbished and sold to the local population at reduced rates. Some are donated to immigrants, homeless, veterans in need, or are donated to other charitable organizations to help families in need.

This is still a bit of a mystery.

Donations also come through the Collectives front door. Last week was a pretty rare week where we were gifted a lot of parts and bicycles from the public. These get used up as the bikes from the police department do, and the parts are squirreled away for fund raisers like bicycle parts swaps the Collective puts on from time to time. Most of the usable parts get stored for use later on refurbished bikes or marked for sale to customers looking for parts or accessories for older bikes. 

Once in a while something shows up that is a mystery. This happened last week. This strange cage marked with a hand-written tag that said "King Cage Gear Pack SS Handmade USA" on it. I Googled and searched but to no avail. Then I put it out on social media. 

One responder said it was a mount for a tool roll that fit into the open space and that a water bottle cage could go on top. One said it was a tubular tire holder. Both explanations make sense. 

But one person said that King Cage marks their product on the mounting "bridges" with a maker's mark that doesn't exist on this piece. Another person pointed out the "cobby welds" and questioned whether that is congruent with typical King Cage quality. 

Well, I may be a bit closer to finding out what this was for and who made it, or not. I don't know. But it is a curious piece and who knows..... All I can say is that it is hard to know what to do with items like this that come into the Collective when you have no good idea about what it is or how valuable - or not - the thing might be. 

On another front, I have been trying to have a regular schedule of educational classes at the Collective. I've settled on a three hour "Bike 101" class teaching the care and feeding of a typical bicycle, including flat repair, and a break-out of just the flat repair section in its own right. Things around this area are not like other towns and cities, and the populace here doesn't seem to be all that interested in either class, which are free, by the way. But those that do show up are very grateful, for the most part, and that gives me some hope. 

And that's a look at how things are going down at the Collective.