Friday News And Views

Teravail Cannonball 32"ers Available:

Image courtesy of Teravail

The 32" wheel introductions have most often been focused on MTB product. However; gravel usage has been teased by several manufacturers and now we have a true gravel component in 32" diameter. The first "gravel" tire for 32'ers is the Teravail Cannonball. 

The Cannonball design was intentionally focused on gravel usage, so while this tire in a 2.2" width may strike some as still being XC MTB focused, it is by design intentions a gravel tire. 

The 32" Cannonball features Teravail's Superstructure Casing which is made up of extra-fine, hardened Nylon fibers to help reduce punctures but retain a supple riding casing. The rubber compound is Teravail's Fast Plus which is claimed to be Teravail's fastest rolling rubber compound in their range. 

You can check out either the tan wall or black wall version of the 32" Cannonball by clicking HERE. 

From Wilde Bicycle Co. social media.

32"er News From Wilde Bicycle Co. 

Seen on social media this week: A Wilde Bicycle Co. post teasing a new, as yet unreleased 32"er MTB XC bike. The post indicated this is a test mule for possible future production. 

There were no concrete dates or timelines given as Wilde wants to wait on a suitable suspension fork to test the frame with. 

Comments: Again, 32"ers are being jumped on by smaller, more agile companies which don't have to wait on production lines to be geared up for large runs. 

Although, I have heard through the grapevine that current factory production is not anywhere near maximum levels, and this may also play into how smaller companies have been able to push smaller production runs through for 32"ers. 

However this plays out, my theory is that there is a small amount of 32"er curious, bike nerdy folks who are possible sales targets for 32" wheels and once those folks have their bikes? I think any sort of larger, general cycling population being interested in 32"ers won't be as eager to bite on the unknown. Big brands who aren't going to have 32"ers out until late this year or early in 2027 may find the 32"er market has satisfied their appetite for this wheel size by buying from the smaller companies who were able to pivot to 32"ers more quickly. 

And I could be completely off my rocker. We will see.......
 

Image courtesy of SILCA

SILCA Announces Super-Secret v2 Lubricant:

SILCA Super-Secret lubricant has always fared quite well in my "Guitar Ted Lube-Off" tests and it is my current go-to lubricant for my gravel bikes. It does exceptionally well in dry gravel conditions. However; it wasn't all that great in the wet and so I never really trusted it for Spring, Winter, or if things got wet at any time of the year. 

SILCA has now upped its game with Super-Secret v2 lubricant. The claim is that it is faster, longer lasting, and holds up even in wet conditions. So, I bought some and it will be here shortly. Look for more "Guitar Ted Lube-Off" content soon!

And speaking of the Lube-Off, I last updated the testing HERE.  That was later into last year. I haven't been lax in testing since then, I just haven't updated anything here yet. This will certainly change, obviously, with the new Super-Secret v2 coming here soon. 

 I also have another lube which just arrived and is not yet on the open market. I will be testing it as well. So, this new Lube-Off should be interesting and pitted against the old contenders. Those include Super-Secret v1, the Effetto Mariposa Flowerpower wax lube, and Stan's Dry Lubricant. This Lube-Off should prove to reveal the best lubricant ever for gravel riding. 

I know.....big claim. But I think it will be true, and I am excited to try out these two new lubricants over the end of Summer and into Fall. Stay tuned..... 

New Dura Ace C-50 (mage courtesy of Shimano)

 Do New Dura Ace Wheels Point To What Could Come For Gravel?

On Wednesday Shimano released the poorly held secret that they have new Dura Ace carbon wheels available now. 

These are a range of rim depths and a rear disc wheel for road, triathlon, and perhaps cyclo cross usage. They don't have current "fashionable" inner rim widths for gravel. 

However; what we do see are carbon fiber spokes. The total wheel weight for the 50mm deep Dura Ace wheels (shown) is 1,302 grams for the pair. Curent Shimano RX-880 wheels have a 25mm (vs 23mm for Dura Ace) inner rim width and a 32mm depth vs the 50mm depth of the new Dura Ace. The total weight of the RX-880's is just shy of 1,400 grams at 1,397 grams. This is with stainless steel spokes. 

Obviously trends have changed and Shimano, never one to jump on changes right away, may not be pushing the cutting edges of wheel tech with a new RX series wheel yet. But it is hard to discount what Chinese wheel companies are doing now and for the prices they are doing it at, which are pretty incredibly low. 

Should Shimano come out with an even wider inner rim width gravel wheel set with carbon spokes with a total wheel weight of under 1,400 grams, it would be a huge development. Let's say the newer wheel had a 30mm inner rim width, and carbon spokes. Maybe a 40mm rim depth. It would be very competitive, as long as you bought a bike with those wheels already on it. Dura Ace wheels are well over 2K for the pair, and this is not at all competitive with Chinese gravel wheel sets, many selling for well under 1K for a pair.  

With Shimano you do get a company with service, widespread availability of repair parts, and most bike shops understand and can work on Shimano components. Chinese wheel sets? Hmm..... Not so much. But if you are willing to take a chance..... 

Image courtesy of DT Swiss

DT Swiss Revamps 1800 Wheel Range

Usually we talk about the bougie, expensive wheels here on the FN&V, but not everyone wants, needs, or can afford those carbon fiber wonder-wheels. So, what's a regular Joe or Jill supposed to look for?

How about a reliable, durable, and practical wheel set? This describes DT Swiss' 1800 range of wheels to a "T". 

There are three newly refreshed wheels in the 1800 Spline range now with the Aero (A), Endurance (E), and the Gravel (G) 1800 models. In those three divisions there are some options as well, most notably the option to get a front wheel with a DT Swiss branded Shutter Precision dynamo hub. 

Most of the range goes for a little north of $600.00 USD, so these won't break the bank and you can get solid DT Swiss reliability from the 370 hubs to the spokes and the new rims featuring a 26mm inner width. There are separate rims from this range available also for those looking to build some wheels. 

See the range HERE.  

Image courtesy of Ritchey Design

Ritchey Updates Streem Handlebar:

It seems that the old odball tag which used to be used for flared drop bars is no longer valid. No more "alt-bar" descriptions for these drop bars in 2026. 

Especially since a traditional road drop bar like the Streem now has 10° of flare. This road riding bar now has what Ritchey said in their press release is a design which is "...in line with how riders approach road riding today." And this - "....the compact shape, gentle backsweep, and increasing-radius bends give riders a natural interface for their hands when the road goes long or the pace gets honest. So, backsweep and flare. Hmm..... Gravel has made a dent, it would seem. 

The new Streem is available in aluminum construction in the WCS and Comp ranges with the difference being the WCS has triple-butted tubing. Check out the new bars, which have been priced lower than the outgoing models, and all of Ritchey's handlebar options HERE. 
 

Thanks so much for reading Guitar Ted Productions. Now get out there and ride those bicycles! Summer is fading fast! 

Friday News And Views

From a 32"er thread on mtbr.com

The 32" Watch: Vittoria Peyote 32" :

I've had a few folks keeping me abreast of what is going on with 32"ers and I have been pointed to a thread on MTBR.com concerning these big wagon wheels. I also was tipped off to the existence of this Peyote 32"er tire, as shown here. (Thanks! You know who you are!)

This is interesting as N.Y. Roll has fallen in love with this tire and so has another local rider, (in 29"er size). It\s a popular tire, seemingly. It's also a new design. So, it is a tire on the cutting edge of tread design and compound makeup. They wouldn't use such a tire and technology unless they had some serious intentions in mind. This is telling us this 32"er thing is serious stuff. 

As if the other things we've already seen aren't enough to convince us. It seems as though all the things we've heard will be coming true. 

Only a few bicycle brands are committed so far to the 32"er along with some custom frame makers. Dirty Sixer, being the long time proponent of bigger than 29"er wheels, of course, and then you have Vassago, Singular, Lenz Sport, Genesis and perhaps a couple others here and there. 

For a look at what a gravel 32'er would maybe look like, see this report from the UK based iceBike Show by Bike Radar showing a Genesis prototype. HERE.  

My feeling is Sea Otter will be when the lid will come off this thing and we will see who of the major brands will be stepping into the 32"er scene. My guess is all of those bikes will be either MTB XC, gravel, or road bikes, in that order of prevalence. I am sure a few will get raced at Sea Otter in XC MTB and during the gravel event. 

Suspension fork prototypes will be shown, and perhaps demoed. Rigid forks will be coming as well, with Enve rumored to be developing one. It's going to be wild. 

New Podcast Episodes

The Guitar Ted Podcast has been churning out episodes at a pretty good clip of late. The latest went up on Wednesday of this week and we posted another the week before. 

This latest episode is about the proposed legislation regarding bicycles in Iowa, motivated by what is going on with e-scooters and e-bikes. The episode we posted last week was all about the latest class to be inducted into the Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame. 

So, check those two episodes out in case you missed those. We typically don't do so many episodes in such a short period of time, so apologies if we caught you off guard! There is a reason for this though.

N.Y. Roll is on a "vacation" and we thought it best to get the last three episodes out before he went out on this short trip. A result of this will be that we have a bit of a mini-break and I would not expect our next episode to land until the end of this month. 

 One more thing- If you find our podcast on Spotify, please follow us there. New podcast episode drops will prompt an alert to your inbox, so you won't miss anything. If you find is on other platforms please subscribe, like, and review the show if possible. It helps us out a ton. 

Thanks for listening to the show! 

Gravel Racing For 2026 About To Begin:

February was always the month which kicked off gravel racing since the beginning of CIRREM back in the late 2000's. This year CIRREM is on the last day of February, the 28th. 

Now the international series, Gravel Earth, has its first event this weekend. The event, Santa Vall by the Traka, is located in Spain. So, a full two weeks ahead of CIRREM. 

There are probably some other gravel events in the South, in particular Florida, which are also happening in February. But traditionally speaking, February is the kick-off month for gravel activities in the competitive sense. 

Have you signed up for any races this year? Let me know in the comments section.  

Image provided by Ergon

Canyon-DT Swiss "Alt-Terrain" Team Announced:

Taking part in the season opener for the Gravel Earth Series will be a new team sponsored by DT Swiss, Canyon Biccyles, and Ergon called "Alt-Terrain Racing". 

 The press release says the 13 member team will be competing at the Santa Valla event under the name "The Wildcards". The team will be outfitted with Ergon saddles and handle bar tapes from their Allroad ranges. 

The team will serve as "rolling R&D platforms" for future Ergon products, according to the release. Ergon sees the team as an "unprecedented opportunity" to advance their drop bar product line. 

The team will compete in gravel, ultra-endurance, cyclo cross, and marathon MTB events throughout 2026. From the press release: “We are very much looking forward to working with this new professional team,” says Ergon’s athlete liaison manager Markus Zingen. “The team’s holistic new concept will significantly professionalize gravel racing and create a wide range of opportunities for both the athletes and us as a partner to drive targeted development forward.”

That is a wrap on this edition of the FN&V. Thank you for reading Guitar Ted Productions! Get out and ride a bicycle this weekend! 

Friday News And Views

Virtual Turkey Burn Challenge Update:

Well, this time next week it will be on! The Virtual Turkey Burn Challenge will be happening all over the place. I'm excited to see where reports will be coming from, but I have had some off-line confirmations and comments elsewhere that lead me to believe that this could be the biggest turnout to date!

Riders living in Tennessee, Nebraska, Kansas, Washington, (the state) and even Spain have indicated to me that they will be taking part in this challenge. 

Wow! Even if these rides don't happen I am really honored and humbled that people are taking this seriously. And I'm sure these folks are 100% in for the challenge, I'm just saying that the mere thought that folks are excited about this is very meaningful to me. Thank you all! 

I'm watching the weather very carefully and trying to get my best shot in. I know weather can be tricky here in the Mid-West this time of the year, and darkness is a thing to contend with as well. So, we will see how it all falls out in a week and some days. 

Meanwhile, if all these folks and some surprise additions come in, I will have to take stock and jam in a lot of reports in a schedule jam-packed with stuff I have to get through for the end-of-year here. It'll be ......interesting! 

Gravel Worlds News:

Gravel Worlds announced last week that they are bringing back the 1000 Women of Gravel initiative where the Gravel Worlds team will try to raise up 1000 female participants across all categories of the event including the new Gravel Triathlon and Duathlon events, both of which are USA Cycling national championship events. 

Gravel Worlds also announced HED Cycling as their official wheel partner for the event as well. Finally, the organization claimed their original web address, "gravelworlds.com" again, which they had lost for several years. 

A Gentle Reminder: 

You've probably noticed that the "end-of-year" posts have kicked in already, but in case you haven't, I just wanted to take a quick minute to remind you all that this past week is pretty much what the rest of the year will look like here. 

I will be reviewing people, bikes, and my experiences throughout 2024. This will be in addition to the 20th anniversary of the blog reviews that are happening about weekly now also. 

Fridays will still be like this, and I will interject news and ride reports where they need to be as they happen. So, if this isn't your cup of tea, I will be back on a "regular schedule" in January. If you are up for the end-of-year stuff, hang on! I've got plenty to cover in the next several weeks! 

Thanks for reading Guitar Ted Productions!

DT Swiss, Shutter Precision Collaborate On New Dynamo Gravel Wheelset:

News popped up on Wednesday of this week regarding a new DT Swiss offering in conjunction with dynamo hub producer, Shutter Precision. 

The new DT Swiss hub has Shuuter Precision's internals to provide light on demand for any gravel/adventure rider. The hub will be offered on its own as well as a part of two different 350 hub based gravel wheel sets with aluminum rims. 

According to this report I read, the hubs and wheels are beginning to be available now, although for some areas of the world it may take until the end of this year for hubs and wheels to show up in consumer's hands. 

Comments: This should be a great deal, especially the pre-built 1600 and 1800 level wheel sets, for gravel riders. The only downside is that you will need to configure a wiring route suitable for your bike, install it, and buy a head lamp suitable for the dynamo hub. It is initially an expensive proposition, and it is tempting to think a self-contained LED based torch is easier. However; I have both systems and I never fail to be satisfied with my dynamo set up due to its ease of use and care-free nature regarding the need to maintain battery power, as you will have to do with a self-contained LED set up. 

However; you are tethered to THAT one wheel and bike set up. So, if you have multiple bikes you want to use, a self-contained LED set-up will be more efficient and less expensive overall. Plus if that hub goes down, you are without a bike and a light system. While Shutter Precision lights enjoy a reasonably good reputation, my research turned up some issues regarding these hubs and Winter riding in specific. Now DT Swiss' version uses straight-up Shutter Precision guts, but the hub shell and bearings are perhaps a better quality than the original. Hard to say at this point. 

New Episode Dropped!

N.Y. Roll and I had shiggy back on again to talk about tubeless tire stuff. You can check out the new episode HERE. 

We get into some - perhaps long forgotten - tubeless history. Then we talk about tires a bit, rim design, air pressures, and how we mount tires. There are a lot of tips and tricks shared here. 

Then we get into sealants and which work, which do not work, and I even give out MG's Secret Tubeless Formula so you can make your own sauce if you want to. 

Next up we may do a recap of Cold Weather Riding Tips with some updates to that. If you have any questions about the tubeless episode which we did not touch upon, or new questions about cold weather riding, let me know. 

I'm thinking we may squeeze in two more episodes before our Winter break. The last episode will be a recap of 2024 and the gravel scene, most likely. I expect our last episodes to drop in the beginning of December. That will close out Season #2 and we plan on Season #3 to start sometime in mid to late January. 

As always, thanks for reading and get out there and ride those bicycles!

Project Wide Gravel Wheels v2: Built And Tires Mounted!

Almost there....

Over the long holiday weekend I managed to get the Project Wide Gravel Wheels v2 completed. Then I mounted up some tires and got to mounting rotors and a cassette. One small detail has prevented me from getting them on a bike yet. 

First, the wheel build; It went well, even though I had to use those spoke washers, which made things a bit more fussy, but I managed the task. I only dropped one washer inside the rim well too! The Spank 359 rims built up well and I had no issues bringing the wheels up to tension or with having to chase any out of round condition on either rim. You never know with rims that have been sitting around a while. One drop, or ding and you can find yourself having a lot more difficult time with a wheel build. 

The only other thing worth noting is that Spank specifies a slightly lower maximum spoke tension than maybe some people think that they need. I have never subscribed to maxing out the spoke tension on a new wheel build anyway, so I was fine with the limitation. Again, everything went super-smooth with that aspect of the build and I had zero trouble with the way Spank made this rim. 

Once that was over with it was on to mounting tires. Tubeless, of course! The choice of tire was somewhat in question right up until I got the wheel set built. I had done some scrounging around for another reason and saw that I had a pair of used WTB Resolutes in pretty good condition. These are listed as 42mm tires and often come out slightly wider than that on many wheel sets. So, this seemed like a decent tire to try to see what would happen. Furthermore; I have another set of Resolutes set up on Spinergy GX wheels to compare to. So the Resolutes were chosen based on those reasons. 

The taping was super easy, despite the Spank 359's having a mid-rim well 'hump' instead of a "U" shape. In fact, I thought that the hump shaped rim well was actually easier to tape. I then mounted the Resolutes, and despite their being used, and therefor probably stretched somewhat, they fit super-tight! I used some Stan's sealant and they aired up with a floor pump. Easy-peasy. 

So.....how do the tires look on there? Well, I had a big surprise. On the Spinergy GX rims, the Reso's are actually wider than they are on the Spank rims. Not by just a wee bit either, you can visibly see the difference. The tire on the 359's squats out a bit, making it less rounded in profile and 'shorter', meaning that the diameter over all is affected. I suspect that with the beads sitting further apart on the Spank rims that I will get away with running lower pressures, but there is that chance that I get too low and bang the rim bead on the inside of the tire casing over a big bump. Maybe the psi differences will be somewhat nullified by this? That will have to be tested later. 

And finally- Somehow it escaped me that the front hub has 15mm end caps. Doh! So, I need to order some 12mm caps and then I can complete the process of the wheel build and mount these to a bicycle. Stay tuned...........

Project Wide Gravel Wheels v2: Built And Tires Mounted!

Almost there....

Over the long holiday weekend I managed to get the Project Wide Gravel Wheels v2 completed. Then I mounted up some tires and got to mounting rotors and a cassette. One small detail has prevented me from getting them on a bike yet. 

First, the wheel build; It went well, even though I had to use those spoke washers, which made things a bit more fussy, but I managed the task. I only dropped one washer inside the rim well too! The Spank 359 rims built up well and I had no issues bringing the wheels up to tension or with having to chase any out of round condition on either rim. You never know with rims that have been sitting around a while. One drop, or ding and you can find yourself having a lot more difficult time with a wheel build. 

The only other thing worth noting is that Spank specifies a slightly lower maximum spoke tension than maybe some people think that they need. I have never subscribed to maxing out the spoke tension on a new wheel build anyway, so I was fine with the limitation. Again, everything went super-smooth with that aspect of the build and I had zero trouble with the way Spank made this rim. 

Once that was over with it was on to mounting tires. Tubeless, of course! The choice of tire was somewhat in question right up until I got the wheel set built. I had done some scrounging around for another reason and saw that I had a pair of used WTB Resolutes in pretty good condition. These are listed as 42mm tires and often come out slightly wider than that on many wheel sets. So, this seemed like a decent tire to try to see what would happen. Furthermore; I have another set of Resolutes set up on Spinergy GX wheels to compare to. So the Resolutes were chosen based on those reasons. 

The taping was super easy, despite the Spank 359's having a mid-rim well 'hump' instead of a "U" shape. In fact, I thought that the hump shaped rim well was actually easier to tape. I then mounted the Resolutes, and despite their being used, and therefor probably stretched somewhat, they fit super-tight! I used some Stan's sealant and they aired up with a floor pump. Easy-peasy. 

So.....how do the tires look on there? Well, I had a big surprise. On the Spinergy GX rims, the Reso's are actually wider than they are on the Spank rims. Not by just a wee bit either, you can visibly see the difference. The tire on the 359's squats out a bit, making it less rounded in profile and 'shorter', meaning that the diameter over all is affected. I suspect that with the beads sitting further apart on the Spank rims that I will get away with running lower pressures, but there is that chance that I get too low and bang the rim bead on the inside of the tire casing over a big bump. Maybe the psi differences will be somewhat nullified by this? That will have to be tested later. 

And finally- Somehow it escaped me that the front hub has 15mm end caps. Doh! So, I need to order some 12mm caps and then I can complete the process of the wheel build and mount these to a bicycle. Stay tuned...........

Project Wide Gravel Wheels v2: Update On Build

The rear wheel is built and awaits final tensioning.

 Just a quick update on the Project Wide Gravel Wheels v2 build. I thought you all might want to know how this is all shaping up so far.

The Spank 359 rims are made in such a way that they require spoke washers. These little discs of doom are a total pain in the butt to deal with, but if I don't use them I risk having the wheels explode due to nipples pulling through the rim extrusion. Not good! So, the pain in the butt process is necessary and patience while building these up is the key. Trying not to drop a spoke washer in the inner rim cavity is not easy, and when you do, you have to shake the rim like you are peppering your favorite recipe until, hopefully sooner than later, the thing pops out and falls to the floor. Fortunately that only happened once so far! 

Ironically, I am getting even more practice with spoke washers at work, since I have a job building up a set of DT Swiss rims on a customer's hubs that also requires spoke washers. The only difference is that DT Swiss' spoke washers are curved- concave/convex, and must be inserted in the correct orientation, making the job even more tedious! When it rains it pours, right? But at least I have work, so I am grateful. 

Anyway, the rims, again which were gifted to me by a former co-worker of mine, came with the spoke washers, but not enough to do both rims. So, I did not realize this until I started building the wheel. I hadn't cracked open the package they had come to me in, so I did not know how many I had to begin with. I immediately hopped online and found what I needed at Jenson USA and the parts (I ordered extra silver brass spoke nipples as well), should be here by the weekend. Okay, with that out of the way.....

I should mention again that Spank highly recommends that you use butted spokes and I suppose that is because these types of spokes will flex easier than straight gauge ones do, and that plays into the 'vertical compliance' claim Spank makes for these rims. Well, as it turned out, I had all butted spokes for this set on hand, so in the end, it will be what Spank recommends. I had at first thought I was going to used a mixed straight/butted gauge set. 

Besides all of that, and the extra time incurred by using spoke washers, this wheel built up really nicely. I hope that the front one goes as well as this one has. Once I get this wheel set done I will dive into wheel set number two for this project using some Stan's Neo hubs laced to Velocity Blunt SS rims. Stay tuned......

Project Wide Gravel Wheels v2: Update On Build

The rear wheel is built and awaits final tensioning.

 Just a quick update on the Project Wide Gravel Wheels v2 build. I thought you all might want to know how this is all shaping up so far.

The Spank 359 rims are made in such a way that they require spoke washers. These little discs of doom are a total pain in the butt to deal with, but if I don't use them I risk having the wheels explode due to nipples pulling through the rim extrusion. Not good! So, the pain in the butt process is necessary and patience while building these up is the key. Trying not to drop a spoke washer in the inner rim cavity is not easy, and when you do, you have to shake the rim like you are peppering your favorite recipe until, hopefully sooner than later, the thing pops out and falls to the floor. Fortunately that only happened once so far! 

Ironically, I am getting even more practice with spoke washers at work, since I have a job building up a set of DT Swiss rims on a customer's hubs that also requires spoke washers. The only difference is that DT Swiss' spoke washers are curved- concave/convex, and must be inserted in the correct orientation, making the job even more tedious! When it rains it pours, right? But at least I have work, so I am grateful. 

Anyway, the rims, again which were gifted to me by a former co-worker of mine, came with the spoke washers, but not enough to do both rims. So, I did not realize this until I started building the wheel. I hadn't cracked open the package they had come to me in, so I did not know how many I had to begin with. I immediately hopped online and found what I needed at Jenson USA and the parts (I ordered extra silver brass spoke nipples as well), should be here by the weekend. Okay, with that out of the way.....

I should mention again that Spank highly recommends that you use butted spokes and I suppose that is because these types of spokes will flex easier than straight gauge ones do, and that plays into the 'vertical compliance' claim Spank makes for these rims. Well, as it turned out, I had all butted spokes for this set on hand, so in the end, it will be what Spank recommends. I had at first thought I was going to used a mixed straight/butted gauge set. 

Besides all of that, and the extra time incurred by using spoke washers, this wheel built up really nicely. I hope that the front one goes as well as this one has. Once I get this wheel set done I will dive into wheel set number two for this project using some Stan's Neo hubs laced to Velocity Blunt SS rims. Stay tuned......

Announcing Project Wide Gravel Wheels v2

A Pair of Spank 359 rims walked into the door Friday for this project.

 Back about five years ago now, I started a project to explore what a wider inner rim width might do for a set of gravel grinding wheels. I called it "Project Wide Gravel Wheels". (I know- what a genius name for a project, right? )

Anyway, probably six months after I launched those wheels out into the countryside a lot of wheel manufacturers were touting 24mm inner rim widths. Mine were 25mm, but the point is, my "wide gravel rims" were now ordinary. Hrrrumpf! 

Not that I cared that much. In fact, I was pleased to see it after my experimenting with 25mm inner rim width went really well. So, this was seemingly spot on. The industry seemed to go ahead with 24mm being at least something of a standard, but then things crept up wider. First it was 25mm, now I am seeing 26mm inner rim width. Hmm......

You all know I've been searching for some rims to match up with my DT Swiss hubs. Well, parts, as you all must realize by now, are near-non-existent. I had my eye on some Velocity Blunt SS rims, to be honest, and those are on back-order for me still. Those push the limits at 26.6mm inner rim width. So that is why I wanted to go there with my next wheel build. However; I got a text message late Thursday from a former co-worker and he informed me that he happened to have a brand new set of rims- 28 hole drilling- and he was willing to gift them to me for this wheel project. Thanks Craig!! 

Okay- so you got some MTB rims? Yes. See, this is part of my point with this trend toward wide internal dimensions for gravel. We already are using MTB rims! Look at what passed for MTB rims ten years ago. They were what we use now for gravel bikes. So, why not try something outrageous? I figured that the Velocity rims I was trying to get would be that, but these Spank 359 rims are truly outrageous! 

So, this project will really be a "Wide Gravel Wheel"  since the inner rim width will be a eye-popping 30.5mm wide! Ha! I doubt that the bicycle industry will quickly follow suit on that! I dare them to! So, at any rate, I aim to find out just what this crazy wide inner rim width will do, (other than the obvious), and I figure worse case scenario I just run 700 X 47-50mm tires on this wheel set. 

The hubs are black, the rims are black, and I am going with my "Guitar Ted Signature Spoke Set" which is all black spokes with silver nipples on one side of the wheel and all silver spokes and black nipples on the other half. By the way, the OG Project Wide Gravel Wheels were laced like that. Anyway, stay tuned! This should come together rather quickly now that I have parts in hand.

Announcing Project Wide Gravel Wheels v2

A Pair of Spank 359 rims walked into the door Friday for this project.

 Back about five years ago now, I started a project to explore what a wider inner rim width might do for a set of gravel grinding wheels. I called it "Project Wide Gravel Wheels". (I know- what a genius name for a project, right? )

Anyway, probably six months after I launched those wheels out into the countryside a lot of wheel manufacturers were touting 24mm inner rim widths. Mine were 25mm, but the point is, my "wide gravel rims" were now ordinary. Hrrrumpf! 

Not that I cared that much. In fact, I was pleased to see it after my experimenting with 25mm inner rim width went really well. So, this was seemingly spot on. The industry seemed to go ahead with 24mm being at least something of a standard, but then things crept up wider. First it was 25mm, now I am seeing 26mm inner rim width. Hmm......

You all know I've been searching for some rims to match up with my DT Swiss hubs. Well, parts, as you all must realize by now, are near-non-existent. I had my eye on some Velocity Blunt SS rims, to be honest, and those are on back-order for me still. Those push the limits at 26.6mm inner rim width. So that is why I wanted to go there with my next wheel build. However; I got a text message late Thursday from a former co-worker and he informed me that he happened to have a brand new set of rims- 28 hole drilling- and he was willing to gift them to me for this wheel project. Thanks Craig!! 

Okay- so you got some MTB rims? Yes. See, this is part of my point with this trend toward wide internal dimensions for gravel. We already are using MTB rims! Look at what passed for MTB rims ten years ago. They were what we use now for gravel bikes. So, why not try something outrageous? I figured that the Velocity rims I was trying to get would be that, but these Spank 359 rims are truly outrageous! 

So, this project will really be a "Wide Gravel Wheel"  since the inner rim width will be a eye-popping 30.5mm wide! Ha! I doubt that the bicycle industry will quickly follow suit on that! I dare them to! So, at any rate, I aim to find out just what this crazy wide inner rim width will do, (other than the obvious), and I figure worse case scenario I just run 700 X 47-50mm tires on this wheel set. 

The hubs are black, the rims are black, and I am going with my "Guitar Ted Signature Spoke Set" which is all black spokes with silver nipples on one side of the wheel and all silver spokes and black nipples on the other half. By the way, the OG Project Wide Gravel Wheels were laced like that. Anyway, stay tuned! This should come together rather quickly now that I have parts in hand.

Still Waiting

You probably forgot all about the plans for these hubs. Six months have gone by and I nearly had forgotten all about those hubs as well. This is a post that should illustrate what is going on for many folks out there in terms of getting parts. 

Back in January, I got a few ideas lined up and I decided I needed to wait a bit on ordering up anything, because, well......I like to be able to pay for what I ask for that is for personal use. But I know, that may be just me. Anyway.... 

By the time I had worked up enough cash, it was late Winter. And.......all my choices were back ordered or indefinitely out of stock. Andy, who I work for, asked if I wanted to let my order ride. It was really not a hard decision. I let it ride.....

Then later on we were checking in on a couple of other back ordered rims we had asked for and were told that my order was due in August. AUGUST! Those 28 hole silver Bontrager rims I have in the Lab are looking better all the time! This may be the longest wheel build process I have ever been involved with. And no- I still am not desperate enough to use those old Bonty rims........yet!
 

Still Waiting

You probably forgot all about the plans for these hubs. Six months have gone by and I nearly had forgotten all about those hubs as well. This is a post that should illustrate what is going on for many folks out there in terms of getting parts. 

Back in January, I got a few ideas lined up and I decided I needed to wait a bit on ordering up anything, because, well......I like to be able to pay for what I ask for that is for personal use. But I know, that may be just me. Anyway.... 

By the time I had worked up enough cash, it was late Winter. And.......all my choices were back ordered or indefinitely out of stock. Andy, who I work for, asked if I wanted to let my order ride. It was really not a hard decision. I let it ride.....

Then later on we were checking in on a couple of other back ordered rims we had asked for and were told that my order was due in August. AUGUST! Those 28 hole silver Bontrager rims I have in the Lab are looking better all the time! This may be the longest wheel build process I have ever been involved with. And no- I still am not desperate enough to use those old Bonty rims........yet!
 

Friday News And Views

Note the red circled rider. This may give you some perspective on the hills.

 C.O.G. 100 Course v2 Attempted: 

Last weekend there was a 'virtual contest' in regard to the Mid-South event. We, (meaning myself and N.Y. Roll) tried to get the C.O.G. 100 v2 course on their radar as an 'official' route, and we even submitted it, but they must have deemed it not worthy since it was never put on as an 'officially recognized route' for their contest. Whatevs......

We tried at least. But maybe it is better off that it wasn't on their radar. Why? Because it is a really hard course. Just ask Tom and N.Y. Roll who attempted it last weekend. They made it 87 miles before throwing in the towel. Apparently, a soupy Level B Maintenance road was partially to blame there. (Note- There was only one of those adding up to about two miles of the entire course. )

Of course, being a route that I devised, the hills are in abundant supply. It isn't hard to find those in Jasper County, by the way, so don't go congratulating me on me route finding. Besides, I'd run Trans Iowa through here many years, not to mention a few Guitar Ted Death Rides and a Geezer Ride. So I know the area like the back of my hand. That said, you have to know how to string together the right roads to get a lot of elevation. In those 87 miles that N.Y. Roll and Tom accomplished they climbed 6700 feet, so there is not much relief there. Check out that image to the left. That's Tom circled in red at the bottom of a valley. You can refer to him and see how long and steep the hills get out there.That image is courtesy of N.Y. Roll, by the way.

The course was made public at one point so if you grabbed the route you now have a bit of reference material to guide you. (Note- Don't ask me for the route. I typically don't make my routes public. You missed it? Don't ask me for it now. It's out there......somewhere....) I'll be trying this course at some point (hopefully) this year as well. I've actually ridden a big chunk of it by bicycle at one point or another, so I know what to expect, but this report from N.Y. Roll and Tom should be noted if you have the route and are going to attempt this. 

What A Difference A Year Makes;

 One year ago about right now we were all descending into the unknown of COVID-19. I don't have to remind you all what that was like. But one thing was clear- no one knew how it was going to end at this time last year. And maybe the fear of the unknowns- the virus, how it was all going to unfold- was the worst part. 

Well, now it all looks a bit different a year later. Now we have a 'light' of sorts at the end of a tunnel. There seems to be a point where - yes - this will all pass. Vaccine roll-out is ongoing and very hopeful outlooks say that by mid-Summer we'll all be doing things much like we had been before the whole mess started a year ago. 

I'm not 100% sold on that rosy outlook, but I will say that I am feeling a lot more hopeful than I have been in a long while for an end of this thing to be happening. I also feel a lot better personally since Monday I was able to avail myself of an opportunity to get my first of two vaccination shots. My son did as well. This means that after the first week in April my whole immediate family will have been vaccinated. That's a relief, I'll tell ya that much. I am also very hopeful that you all reading this will be able to say the same, if you haven't already been vaccinated, soon. 

What an accomplishment by scientists and the health care system. In less than a year we went from fear and anxiety to having hope that things are ending for this pandemic. I suspect that this will have a big effect on events and social interactions going forward. 

I was talking with my neighbor the other day, who is single now after a divorce. He was hoping to get his vaccination soon so he could put out on social media that he was a good guy, had his 'shots' and was house trained. Ha ha! What weird time we live in! 

Oil slick- So popular, but why? Image courtesy of DT Swiss

DT Swiss Sells Out Oil Slick Hubs:

So, supposedly those sneaky Swiss guys made some 240 level hubs in that oh-so-popular 'oil slick' anodization that is all the rage amongst the MTB crowd now. They only made 1000 pieces worldwide and only official DT Swiss dealers were able to get them. According to at least one of those dealers, this was an unannounced opportunity and the hubs sold out in minutes. 

Comments: So oil slick ano is a big deal now. It's a fashion thing, of course, and nothing more. This too shall pass, just like all ano color phases have. Purple had its day, turquoise, pink, and on and on. "Oil slick" is just the latest to make a splash. I think we can kind of blame SRAM for this as they started manufacturing some oil slick looking bits when Eagle came out several years ago now. 

I find the concept odd. Especially the name- 'oil slick'. That was a bad thing at one time and the term represented the worst of our society's dependence upon petroleum based products. An 'oil slick' was, and still is, one of an environmentalist's worst nightmares. And here the supposedly 'green' bicycle industry is producing a product that riders are scrambling for the chance to buy-  A component anodized in a color with a name that somewhat celebrates the idea of pollution? 

Weird.

Apparently this oil slick thing is most popular with the mountain biking set since DT Swiss only did the hubs for Boost spaced bikes, which, at least for now, is within the realm of mountain biking. Which makes it even odder since mountain biking is traditionally tied to green, environmentally sound practices, in general. UPDATE: Okay, maybe not just MTB. State Bicycle just dropped a handlebar, seat post, stem, and water bottle cage in 'oil slick'. They are more of an urban/fixed gear company with a gravel option, so there's that.

Speedplay Pedals Available:

Speedplay pedals have been around for years. I first became aware of the brand in the mid-1990's when a coworker of mine bought a set for mountain biking. Since that time the brand, a family owned business, made a lot of inroads into the road biking market where they arguably carved out a niche and their users became loyal fans of the brand over the ensuing years. 

But hard times hit and Speedplay eventually was sold to Wahoo Fitness who have now revived the brand. Now you can get the pedals which are a sort of reverse orientation from every other design again. Speedplay uses the pedal as the 'cleat' and the spring mechanism goes on your shoes. so it is quite a bit different than most 'clipless' pedals on the market. 

Nothing shows up on the site in regard to a mountain bike specific design, or the pedal that Speedplay had made for gravel, the SYZR, although Speedplay had a design out which they had released shortly before the company was sold. Reports were that design was somewhat problematic and so perhaps it has been withdrawn within the Wahoo Fitness Speedplay range. Whether or not that type of pedal will surface again is not known at this point. 

Comments: I suppose you could use the Speedplay pedal for gravel, but that 'cleat' on the shoe, even with the walkable 'protector' thingie, ah....... I wouldn't recommend it. But I've seen folks using straight up roadie pedals on rough gravel before, so.... I just don't think it is good for the life of the cleat and it's undoubtedly harder to walk on gravel- if you have to- with roadie cleats and flat bottomed, stiff road shoes. But not everyone's idea of 'gravel' is the same, so I cannot speak for everyone there.

That's a wrap for this week! Get out and ride if you can!

Friday News And Views

Note the red circled rider. This may give you some perspective on the hills.

 C.O.G. 100 Course v2 Attempted: 

Last weekend there was a 'virtual contest' in regard to the Mid-South event. We, (meaning myself and N.Y. Roll) tried to get the C.O.G. 100 v2 course on their radar as an 'official' route, and we even submitted it, but they must have deemed it not worthy since it was never put on as an 'officially recognized route' for their contest. Whatevs......

We tried at least. But maybe it is better off that it wasn't on their radar. Why? Because it is a really hard course. Just ask Tom and N.Y. Roll who attempted it last weekend. They made it 87 miles before throwing in the towel. Apparently, a soupy Level B Maintenance road was partially to blame there. (Note- There was only one of those adding up to about two miles of the entire course. )

Of course, being a route that I devised, the hills are in abundant supply. It isn't hard to find those in Jasper County, by the way, so don't go congratulating me on me route finding. Besides, I'd run Trans Iowa through here many years, not to mention a few Guitar Ted Death Rides and a Geezer Ride. So I know the area like the back of my hand. That said, you have to know how to string together the right roads to get a lot of elevation. In those 87 miles that N.Y. Roll and Tom accomplished they climbed 6700 feet, so there is not much relief there. Check out that image to the left. That's Tom circled in red at the bottom of a valley. You can refer to him and see how long and steep the hills get out there.That image is courtesy of N.Y. Roll, by the way.

The course was made public at one point so if you grabbed the route you now have a bit of reference material to guide you. (Note- Don't ask me for the route. I typically don't make my routes public. You missed it? Don't ask me for it now. It's out there......somewhere....) I'll be trying this course at some point (hopefully) this year as well. I've actually ridden a big chunk of it by bicycle at one point or another, so I know what to expect, but this report from N.Y. Roll and Tom should be noted if you have the route and are going to attempt this. 

What A Difference A Year Makes;

 One year ago about right now we were all descending into the unknown of COVID-19. I don't have to remind you all what that was like. But one thing was clear- no one knew how it was going to end at this time last year. And maybe the fear of the unknowns- the virus, how it was all going to unfold- was the worst part. 

Well, now it all looks a bit different a year later. Now we have a 'light' of sorts at the end of a tunnel. There seems to be a point where - yes - this will all pass. Vaccine roll-out is ongoing and very hopeful outlooks say that by mid-Summer we'll all be doing things much like we had been before the whole mess started a year ago. 

I'm not 100% sold on that rosy outlook, but I will say that I am feeling a lot more hopeful than I have been in a long while for an end of this thing to be happening. I also feel a lot better personally since Monday I was able to avail myself of an opportunity to get my first of two vaccination shots. My son did as well. This means that after the first week in April my whole immediate family will have been vaccinated. That's a relief, I'll tell ya that much. I am also very hopeful that you all reading this will be able to say the same, if you haven't already been vaccinated, soon. 

What an accomplishment by scientists and the health care system. In less than a year we went from fear and anxiety to having hope that things are ending for this pandemic. I suspect that this will have a big effect on events and social interactions going forward. 

I was talking with my neighbor the other day, who is single now after a divorce. He was hoping to get his vaccination soon so he could put out on social media that he was a good guy, had his 'shots' and was house trained. Ha ha! What weird time we live in! 

Oil slick- So popular, but why? Image courtesy of DT Swiss

DT Swiss Sells Out Oil Slick Hubs:

So, supposedly those sneaky Swiss guys made some 240 level hubs in that oh-so-popular 'oil slick' anodization that is all the rage amongst the MTB crowd now. They only made 1000 pieces worldwide and only official DT Swiss dealers were able to get them. According to at least one of those dealers, this was an unannounced opportunity and the hubs sold out in minutes. 

Comments: So oil slick ano is a big deal now. It's a fashion thing, of course, and nothing more. This too shall pass, just like all ano color phases have. Purple had its day, turquoise, pink, and on and on. "Oil slick" is just the latest to make a splash. I think we can kind of blame SRAM for this as they started manufacturing some oil slick looking bits when Eagle came out several years ago now. 

I find the concept odd. Especially the name- 'oil slick'. That was a bad thing at one time and the term represented the worst of our society's dependence upon petroleum based products. An 'oil slick' was, and still is, one of an environmentalist's worst nightmares. And here the supposedly 'green' bicycle industry is producing a product that riders are scrambling for the chance to buy-  A component anodized in a color with a name that somewhat celebrates the idea of pollution? 

Weird.

Apparently this oil slick thing is most popular with the mountain biking set since DT Swiss only did the hubs for Boost spaced bikes, which, at least for now, is within the realm of mountain biking. Which makes it even odder since mountain biking is traditionally tied to green, environmentally sound practices, in general. UPDATE: Okay, maybe not just MTB. State Bicycle just dropped a handlebar, seat post, stem, and water bottle cage in 'oil slick'. They are more of an urban/fixed gear company with a gravel option, so there's that.

Speedplay Pedals Available:

Speedplay pedals have been around for years. I first became aware of the brand in the mid-1990's when a coworker of mine bought a set for mountain biking. Since that time the brand, a family owned business, made a lot of inroads into the road biking market where they arguably carved out a niche and their users became loyal fans of the brand over the ensuing years. 

But hard times hit and Speedplay eventually was sold to Wahoo Fitness who have now revived the brand. Now you can get the pedals which are a sort of reverse orientation from every other design again. Speedplay uses the pedal as the 'cleat' and the spring mechanism goes on your shoes. so it is quite a bit different than most 'clipless' pedals on the market. 

Nothing shows up on the site in regard to a mountain bike specific design, or the pedal that Speedplay had made for gravel, the SYZR, although Speedplay had a design out which they had released shortly before the company was sold. Reports were that design was somewhat problematic and so perhaps it has been withdrawn within the Wahoo Fitness Speedplay range. Whether or not that type of pedal will surface again is not known at this point. 

Comments: I suppose you could use the Speedplay pedal for gravel, but that 'cleat' on the shoe, even with the walkable 'protector' thingie, ah....... I wouldn't recommend it. But I've seen folks using straight up roadie pedals on rough gravel before, so.... I just don't think it is good for the life of the cleat and it's undoubtedly harder to walk on gravel- if you have to- with roadie cleats and flat bottomed, stiff road shoes. But not everyone's idea of 'gravel' is the same, so I cannot speak for everyone there.

That's a wrap for this week! Get out and ride if you can!

Wheel Build Parts Puzzle: Part 1

Yeah.....that'll work!

 Last week I wrote a post about getting around to building up a wheel set for myself. Something for testing RidingGravel.com stuff like tires, mostly. I can always use wheels for that activity. Anyway, I put the word out and maybe a day or so later I got a message from a friend who said he had these DT Swiss 350 hubs laying around. Would those do? Well, ah.....YES! Those would do just fine.

So, those are here now and will be getting laced to......something. That's the next problem. Rims..... All I know now is that the rims, whatever I end up getting, will have to be for disc brakes, be tubeless compatible, and will have to have 28 spoke holes each. Beyond that, I don't have any real stipulations. Well........I probably wouldn't go for white painted rims. That's sooooooo oughties, don't cha know? Seriously, they probably should be black anodized or carbon. That brings up my next point.....

Price- I could score carbon rims, I am sure, but I also could probably buy four aluminum rims for the price of one carbon one. Sooooo....... And these are not going to be show pieces. These are an everyman's wheel set I am building up. If I were doing a show-off build I'd get something a lot more flashy. I wouldn't turn down a carbon rim set, but I am not prepared to spend hundreds of dollars on a set of rims either. Like, not more than a couple of hundred or so for rims, that is what I am thinking here.

The other thing I think I am looking at here is that the inner rim width has to be, at a minimum, 25mm. I am looking at anything from 25mm - 28mm internal width. Why? because gravel tires are trending wider and I have wheels with narrower inner rim widths already. This way I could mount tires from 45mm-50mm and have an appropriately sized rim laced to a wheel that could go into the Black Mountain Cycles MCD, for instance. Or, if I pull the trigger.....a LaCabra from BMC. (available in March, according to Mike Varley)  

If I really wanted to go low-budget, I have some ten-plus year old Bontrager Rhythm wheels with 28 hole rims. I could cut out the hubs..... (The rear is QR and the front is 20mm through axle!) They would be decent rims, basically they are Duster rims, but they are silver, and old.........and silver. Too close to white, not a polished looking silver, and not all that wide internally, to be honest. So, that's a last ditch choice there.

Stay tuned.....

Wheel Build Parts Puzzle: Part 1

Yeah.....that'll work!

 Last week I wrote a post about getting around to building up a wheel set for myself. Something for testing RidingGravel.com stuff like tires, mostly. I can always use wheels for that activity. Anyway, I put the word out and maybe a day or so later I got a message from a friend who said he had these DT Swiss 350 hubs laying around. Would those do? Well, ah.....YES! Those would do just fine.

So, those are here now and will be getting laced to......something. That's the next problem. Rims..... All I know now is that the rims, whatever I end up getting, will have to be for disc brakes, be tubeless compatible, and will have to have 28 spoke holes each. Beyond that, I don't have any real stipulations. Well........I probably wouldn't go for white painted rims. That's sooooooo oughties, don't cha know? Seriously, they probably should be black anodized or carbon. That brings up my next point.....

Price- I could score carbon rims, I am sure, but I also could probably buy four aluminum rims for the price of one carbon one. Sooooo....... And these are not going to be show pieces. These are an everyman's wheel set I am building up. If I were doing a show-off build I'd get something a lot more flashy. I wouldn't turn down a carbon rim set, but I am not prepared to spend hundreds of dollars on a set of rims either. Like, not more than a couple of hundred or so for rims, that is what I am thinking here.

The other thing I think I am looking at here is that the inner rim width has to be, at a minimum, 25mm. I am looking at anything from 25mm - 28mm internal width. Why? because gravel tires are trending wider and I have wheels with narrower inner rim widths already. This way I could mount tires from 45mm-50mm and have an appropriately sized rim laced to a wheel that could go into the Black Mountain Cycles MCD, for instance. Or, if I pull the trigger.....a LaCabra from BMC. (available in March, according to Mike Varley)  

If I really wanted to go low-budget, I have some ten-plus year old Bontrager Rhythm wheels with 28 hole rims. I could cut out the hubs..... (The rear is QR and the front is 20mm through axle!) They would be decent rims, basically they are Duster rims, but they are silver, and old.........and silver. Too close to white, not a polished looking silver, and not all that wide internally, to be honest. So, that's a last ditch choice there.

Stay tuned.....

Friday News And Views

Recycling cycling.

Big Dummy-

I figured I'd share a few things about the Big Dummy here. It's been a great addition to the fleet. I usually use it for recycling duties, but I have also done the odd errand and hauled things back from the farmers market and whatnot.

I tried using it for commuting but my route is not "Big Dummy friendly". The thing doesn't like curbs and going over them, or even off them, is a jarringly unpleasant experience. I have to cross five or six curbs, (not sure, but at least that many), on my way to work. Loaded, the Big Dummy really sucks on curbs. That front wheel, due to the bike's geometry, is really pinned to the ground and the back end is waaaaaaaay out there, so getting the bike to rotate back on its haunches is nigh unto impossible. So, subsequently I decided to quit using it for commutes unless it was absolutely necessary.

So, I kind of panned the new Blackborow here a few weeks ago when it was announced, and while some of my criticisms were confirmed by a friend and others by Salsa's own "loading instructions" technical page. , I now have a new perspective on the rig. That was a result of speaking with a very good friend of mine, (aforementioned), who happens to be "on the inside" and was able to ride one of these for an extended period of time and has used it for lots of things and with lots of different loads. The main thing I took away was that it is possible to loft the front end of this bike, and that it could perhaps even be easier to do that depending on how it is loaded.

Therefore; I have taken a new interest in the new Blackborow. It would be something I think would fit in with how I use a bike like this, although Salsa is denying it is a "cargo bike", yet they allow for loads to be carried by bags on the rack. I guess it all depends upon your definition of "cargo".

Tubeless......again.......finally!

Pofahl Gets Tubeless......Again!

I was reminiscing about what it took to get a tubeless set up on a 29"er circa 2007. I was curious as to how I could make my 2006 Industry 9 wheel set tubeless with the DT Swiss TK series rims the wheels were spec'ed with. Of course, you had to do it "ghetto-tubeless" because other than the somewhat hard to get your hands on Stan's tape, there wasn't any other options and tires were hard to find that had a tight fit.

It wasn't impossible, but to get these rims to be tubeless with the original set up, with the "not for tubeless use" Vulpines, I had to go to extraordinary lengths. I started with two runs of strapping tape. That was covered by 3M mounting tape which I had to cut to width. Then over that went two runs of black electrical tape. Only then could I get the tires to set up. Of course, it wasn't easy even then. I remember it was quite the struggle. Anyway, things are, thankfully, much different ten years down the road.

After stripping out all the layers I put in ten years ago I added two runs of Velocity "blue" tubeless tape, added two Bontrager road TLR tubeless valve stems, added the "MG's Secret Sauce" (again- don't ask ) tubeless goop, and they aired up with a small compressor I have. Oh......and I used a brand new set of WTB TCS Nano's in the 2.1" size. 

There was one, minor disconcerting fact that I noted while doing this. The tires never made a peep setting up. I did not get that satisfying loud "snap!" of the bead setting in its seat on the rim. That's likely because the TK series of rims that DT Swiss used to make has a pretty aggressive hook bead whereas newer tubeless ready designs do not. The newer, tubeless ready rims generally have a squared off seat which has a slightly larger diameter for the tire bead to "lock" in to. Now, I am not going to be running low pressures or smashing into trail obstacles with this set up, but I have no doubt that if I did the tires would easily burp. So, while I am good to go for gravel, I still want to look into getting "real" tubeless ready rims.

Single Speed Century

So, the next deal I want to get going on is to try out the Pofahl on the planned century ride I have mapped out. I haven't done a century on a single speed in a long time, so I am overdue.

I kind of wanted to do this in September, but, obviously, I am running a bit short on time for this! Well, Saturday is my last chance and I think I am going for it unless I still feel like I am run down.

Yeah......I've been not feeling the best lately. I relapsed in terms of my cold right after the trip I was on last week. Feeling run down, congested, and well........crappy. We'll see how this whole single speed century thing goes.

But, I will give it my best. I have a pretty "single speed friendly" course designed so it isn't anything too radical in terms of elevation gain. I'm hoping that I can get up early on Saturday morning when it is still dark out and get going on that.

Then the next deal will be the second Fat Bike Century. That should happen in October sometime. We actually did that a year ago this weekend, myself and Tony, and Tony wants another go at that as well. So, if I can pull off those two century rides I'll have done five century rides and will need only one more for my own version of a cup o dirt.

Have a great weekend and I hope that you have a good bicycling time!