Friday News And Views

Image courtesy of Mavic

Mavic Introduces New AllRoad Wheelset In Carbon

The news about a carbon rimmed Mavic wheel set for gravel was released last Monday. Called the ALLROAD SL Carbon, this wheel set has a 25mm internal rim width and a 42mm deep rim profile. Featuring 24 aero, double butted spokes with a 2X lacing pattern on aluminum Mavic hubs, this wheel set weighs a claimed 1,550 grams. 

The rims feature a hookless design. They are built to Mavic's UST dimensions. Mavic claims these rims are compatible with tire widths from 30mm - 64mm in width. (64mm is approximately equivalent to a 2.5" wide tire)

The hubs are 100mm/142mm through axle front/rear.. The wheels can be ordered with a SRAM XDR or Shimano HG freehub. The wheel set retails for $1,889.00USD. 

Comments: This is a difficult wheel set to make sense out of for myself. I've no issues with much of the specifications, and Mavic makes a fine product. However; hookless design - as stated here before - seems like an unnecessary feature which has shown risks in usage. Then you have the price. It seems a bit dear when you can pick up similar wheels for less or spend about the same and get lighter wheels. (Based upon research done on offerings by Specialized/Roval and Trek/Bontrager)

Original image courtesy of Gary Fisher

So, What About This 32"er Nonsense?

I've been curious about all the 32" wheel news coming out and I've not seen any real, rational takes on this wheel size until recently. And I was not surprised to find the source for this clear-minded take. It was from Mike Curiak, of course. 

Mike is perhaps the quintessential "thinkerer" when it comes to bicycle tech and especially design and tech outside of current thinking. 32 inch wheels certainly qualifies as such a thing.  Mike, unsurprisingly, has been testing 32" wheels on a Lenz full suspension bike.   

If you have any curiosity for this subject, you might want to head on over to Mike's blog and check it out HERE.  

In other 32"er news, Zinn Cycles is showing a 32" full suspension mountain bike designed for taller folks. Zinn has been in the business of making bicycles and components for taller folks for quite some time, so this comes as no surprise. Many would probably guess that 32"ers would most likely work best for people over 6 foot in height. 

However; it is also interesting to note Mike Curiak is right around six feet, and he rides a Medium sized bike. So, reading what he had to say maybe will change your mind if you are one to think this 32 inch nonsense is only for taller riders. I know I am rethinking this a bit.  

Image courtesy of SILCA

SILCA Offers TPU Tubes:

News came out on Tuesday from SILCA on their newest product. They now offer TPU tubes which feature mechanically connected, threaded aluminum valve stems with a traditional Presta Valve nut to affix the stem to a rim more securely. (Or you can leave the nut off, it is an option.)

SILCA is sourcing these TPU tubes from Germany and they are made from dye-free TPU material. The site for the tubes on SILCA's page does not indicate whether or not the valve core is removable. 

SILCA offers two sizes in these TPU tubes with ranges of 24mm - 43mm. or 44mm - 64mm for tire width. The narrower tubes come in either a 50mm or 70mm length valve stem. The wider TPU tube only comes in a 50mm long valve. Each tube comes with an alcohol wipe and TPU patch. Tubes sell for $39.00 each USD. 

Comments: I like the valve stem design except for the core. SILCA doesn't say if it is removable or no, but looking at their image on the TPU page, I'd guess it is not removable. This isn't a deal-breaker, but as long as you are doing an aluminum valve there seems to be no reason not to offer a removable core. 

These are still kind of pricey, but as a reliable back-up for a tubeless set up, carrying around a tube which weighs far less than 100 grams seems pretty appealing. If you have bought into TPU tubes, this offering seems better than much of what the competition is offering mainly based upon the valve stem design. 

 Image courtesy of Wolf Tooth Components

Wolf Tooth Components Pedals:

Last week this news came out, but it was too late to make the FN&V.  But we did talk about these on the latest "Guitar Ted Podcast". Wolf Tooth has a three pedal range called "CTRL", "ALT", and "DEL", which represent computer keyboard keys. In Wolf Tooth's pedal line, "CTRL" is their trail pedal. "ALT" is their take on a standard SPD pedal. Finally, "DEL" is a stripped back clipless pedal with one side entry and the lightest weight of the range at just a bit over 200 grams a pair. 

All three are machined and assembled in Wolf Tooth's facility in Minnesota. The range also all cost the same at $219.00 USD each. The pedals all can be ordered in black or purple.  Wolf Tooth claims the range provides the rider with a better pedaling platform and a closer shoe-to-pedal interface than the competition.  Finally, the "Q" factor of these pedals is adjustable. 

Comments: N.Y. Roll ordered the ALT (Actually it is the DEL he ordered) model for his girlfriend, Morgan. Hopefully I can get a ride report once she has used them a bit. Of all the various SPD-clone type pedals in existence, the Wolf Tooth offerings do promise a little something different. Now it will all hinge upon whether or not these can have a reasonable lifespan in comparison to Shimano SPD pedals which are nearly bombproof.  

That is a wrap for this week! Thanks for reading Guitar Ted Productions and get out there and ride those bicycles! 

Friday News And Views

Image courtesy of Ergon

 Ergon Redesigns Flagship Grip:

Ergon announced yesterday that their iconic "winged" design grip has been refreshed and released for use. Using a manufacturing process that reduces waste to near-zero, and using refined rubber and natural cork (GP-1 BioKork Evo) , this grip represents a responsibly produced product that is 100% manufactured in Germany and is SGS certified. Using SGS certified, pollutant-free, medical grade rubber, the grip meets German toy and food standards. 

In the case of the BioKork GP-1 Evo, the grip contains 40% organically grown cork from Portugal and the rest is manufactured to SGS standards in Germany. 

The aluminum clamp is integrated into the GP-1 Evo and BioKork Evo grips and now features a hidden hex head clamping bolt. 

Prices are $39.95 for the GP-1 Evo and $49.95 for the BioKork GP-1 Evo. These are available now via Ergon's Amazon partners or from bike shops with a Quality Bicycle Products account. 

Comments: the much-copied, flagship grip from Ergon gets a long awaited refresh but it seems to have retained its basic features which made it a revolutionary grip in 2005 when it arrived on the scene here in the US. I know that I have personally gained much from having these grips installed on my bicycles since 2005, which has increased comfort and reduced hand numbness for me to a great degree. 

Interesting from my viewpoint is that Trans Iowa was Ergon's first sponsorship activation in the USA back in 2005. Ergon supplied each of the starting riders a set of the then unknown grips. It is safe to say that this sponsorship not only enhanced Trans Iowa as a concept for an event, but set Ergon off in an upward trajectory with endurance cyclists and mountain bikers immediately. Ergon also graciously allowed Jeff and I our own sets of GP-1 grips which was how I was introduced to the grip's benefits. 

Check out the Ergon GP-1 grips here. Thank you to Ergon for the information and image used in this post. 

Guitar Ted Podcast Episode #30:

Well, we've put up another episode of the "GTP" again, and we covered the discontinued  Cross Check model, plus a whole bunch of other stuff. You can listen HERE if you care to. I'd be honored if you decide to listen in on any of our episodes. 

This Cross Check thing kind of caught me by surprise. The discontinuation bit and the reaction from riders. Apparently, Surly doing this struck a nerve in many of you. Has Surly done a disservice to its original ethos? Has Surly "lost its way" lately? Seems that many of those who are lamenting the loss of the Cross Check, 1X1, and the Long Haul Trucker seem to think so. And what about the old Pugs? That's gone too. 

My feeling is that this all started back in the early twenty-teens. I spent time in the bowels of the QBP mother ship at different Frostbike gatherings and I could see the "foundation issues" within the organization. Any company worth its salt has a strong core of people. Humans that drive the thing and have passion for that mission are necessary for the end product's appeal to the customer base. Those "foundational" people all started to fall away in the twenty-teens. The mold had been cast for what has happened now, to a degree. 

Of course, a world-wide pandemic, economic upheavals, and other factors come into play here, but a lot of what we see now is the fall-out of stuff that had its beginnings over a decade ago now. That's my take. But the reasons why we are at where we are at with Surly's products have just served to lead us to the current state of affairs. That's all it is. That's something that cannot be undone. Things change, times end, and so I remember the Cross Check with fondness for where it took us.  

Image courtesy of Mavic USA.

Mavic Introduces All-Road Wheels & Shoes:

Mavic. Remember them? Well, they are back again and now have a USA office. They just introduced two sets of wheels and a couple of shoes for riders of gravel and dirt. 

What is interesting is that Mavic decided to enter the complete wheel market in the entry level. These are aluminum rimmed wheels with the patented Mavic FORE rim design which leaves no spoke hole drillings which would require rim tape. These rims don't need that as the rim well is solid aluminum. 

The hub for the rear wheel uses what Mavic calls "ID360" design, but basically what it is is a star ratchet system. DT Swiss used to have the exclusive patent on that design but it has run out now, so you will see that offered in several wheel designs in the future and this is one of them. 

The wheels are not what you'd call "impressively light weight". The All Road S weighs in at 1700 grams and the SL version weighs 45 grams less. However; there is some versatility in the axle standards as Mavic says that you can get 15mm end caps for front wheels and a QR end cap for rear wheels in this range. (Note: It wasn't clear if a QR end cap is available for front wheels.) The wheels ship with the now standard 12mm through axle compatible end caps. Prices set at $530.00 USD for the All Road S and $830.00 USD for the All Road SL wheels. 

Image courtesy of Mavic USA

The shoes I would be interested in are these Cosmic BOA SPD kicks with a faux leather upper and a fiberglass reinforced Nylon sole. The BOA dial is the one that you can micro-adjust on the fly, which is a nice feature. 

The perforations promise some air flow and the rubber walking tread areas on the bottom promise safe walking in convenience stores when you are looking for that savory slice of Casey's pizza! 

These come in a brown (shown) and black, but since Jeff Kerkove told me about dark shoes making your feet hotter I have been wishing for lighter colored footwear. So, that's a bummer here because you cannot get that with these shoes. 

Comments: I like the shoes, and the wheels are kind of a head scratcher. I mean, yeah.....if my stock wheels on - say a Journeyer - were up for replacement, these would be marginally better for not a whole lot of cash. However; wheels are so competitively priced now that you can get a nice set of carbon rimmed wheels for about the same price as the All Road SL's. So, it's a bit puzzling on that side as to why Mavic would choose to go into the high-end aluminum complete wheel market and not have something on offer that is lighter weight. 

LeMond All-Road Prolog - A Gravel eBike from LeMond?

So when Greg LeMond decided to start an independent bicycle company I assumed, as I am sure many of you all did, that there would be a drop bar bike of some type immediately. 

But there wasn't.

It was electrified flat bar bikes, then a Dutch inspired ebike, and after all that, I figured, well.....maybe LeMond isn't into drop bar bikes anymore. Weird thought, but ya know..... 

Well, then this All - Road bike debuts, and it is kind of impressive. Especially when I think about that Specialized bike I talked about last week. This LeMond bike costs significantly less, has better range, and weighs under 30lbs. Plus it comes with Panaracer Gravel Kings at 700 X 43mm size with room to spare. 

Adding in some proper geometry, and you know what? I'd ride this sans motor. I am not interested in electrified bikes, but a gravel bike from LeMond? That'd be pretty cool.

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

Friday News And Views

The "Ozark Trail" model in 27.5 wheels.Image courtesy of Walmart

Walmart Introduces "Ozark Trail" MTB Bikes:

A few industry sources have published this announcement of the Walmart "Ozark Trail" line of mountain bikes. Company officials say that, "Many of the bikes in this sport come with a high price point. We wanted to offer our customers a more affordable option while maintaining the quality and versatility that the sport requires, and I think we've done that with the Ozark Trail bike." This according to a "Bicycle Retailer and Industry News" article. 

The 27.5"er retails for $298.00 and the 29"er retails for $398.00. Both come with 1X drive trains and suspension forks. The frames are aluminum. The bikes come in Small, Medium, and Large sizes according to the webpage on the bikes. The 27.5 model, the "Vibe", clocks in at 37.5lbs, claimed weight, and the 29"er does not show up currently on the Walmart site at all. (?) 

Comments: Okay, so a lot of chatter on social media concerning these bikes was centered on how the Walmart family has promoted cycling, how the Walmart family has enhanced Northwest Arkansas, specifically Bentonville, and how these bikes will be a gateway to making cyclists out of non-cyclists. So, it's okay that these bikes exist. Ahh......no. I'm not buying any of this. 

Why? Because at this price-point, which if you have not noticed yet, is now what most "box store" mountain bikes are going for now, these bikes are nothing different than what you have seen proffered before in the aisles of places like Target, Costco, Walmart, etc. In other words, this is not the bike that gets more people to ride on a regular basis. It is that bike that most often ends up rusted, neglected, and in a landfill before long. It is that bike that the under-privileged, lower income folks have to buy because there is nothing at this price-point or cheaper that is better.

That the Walton's did 'this-or-that' in NW Arkansas has absolutely no bearing on what this product is all about. It is a poorly designed, low-spec "mountain-bike-shaped-object" that follows right in line with its MTB-BSO predecessors. With that said....back to your regularly scheduled program....

Revel Ranger FS 29"er. Image courtesy of Revel Bikes.

Revel Bikes Announces Revised Ranger FS Bike:

I see a lot of mountain bikes come and go in the press. I often think whether or not I might like them, but maybe 90% of the time these are bikes built for raging bike parks, going way fast downhill, or they have some goofy thing that turns me off.

Then every once in a while a bike comes along that makes sense to me. The Revel Ranger is that MTB right now. 

The geometry is reasonable. Not really slack and long travel. Heck, you can even fit three water bottles on the frame in size Large! A threaded bottom bracket? Yes. Internal cable guides so I don't have to fish cables through a frame? Yes. 29" wheels? Yes. 

That last point: It's really interesting to me now that to find out if this was a 29"er I had to go all the way down to the spec sheet for the tire size. No where else is that mentioned. Why? Because a 29"er is a mountain bike, of course. What else is there? (I kid, but only a little bit, you 27 fiver folks!) 

I didn't look at the price, because, well why? I cannot afford it, and also, I don't need it. But "if" I were to buy a MTB tomorrow? I'd be hard pressed not to want that Ranger. You can read more about it here.

Mavic's electric motor. Image courtesy of Bike Radar's social media feed

Mavic Working On New Motor For Lightweight Applications:

According to a "Bike Radar" article recently, Mavic have been quietly working on an electric motor with Swiss bicycle manufacturer BMC. The results so far would point to something rather impressive. A 21lb bicycle with on-demand power assist. While the article says there are still hurdles to overcome to make the system consumer ready, they are on-track to place this in rider's hands perhaps as early as 2025.

Comments: That's a light bike for having a motor, and with the on-demand feature, it is reasonable to think that this would be palatable for cyclists to have on-board for anything from group rides to competitions. Which, if the system can be made to be nearly undetectable while riding, is another problem for event promoters to deal with in terms of keeping the playing field level. 

Obviously, we have no idea what the price would be for such privilege, but one would assume this is going to be very expensive to purchase. That said, if you will be able to buy it, it will show up at start lines. Will this bring back the days of "motor doping" as we saw in the twenty-teens? Perhaps, but it is a fascinating development. 

Ritchey Announces Updated Ascent Model:

This week Ritchey Design quietly introduced a new update to their Acsent model. Now in a "Desert Sand" color, the new Ascent has "Three-Pack" bosses on the fork blades and underneath the downtube. 

The bike has a maximum tire clearance of 2.6" whether you run 29"ers or 650B tires. It also s a Boost spaced bike. You can see more details on the bike at the webpage here. 

Comments: This is about as close to a Gen I Fargo as you can get with modern through axles and Boost spacing. (The Tumbleweed Stargazer is another good example of this type of bicycle) I'm kind of flabbergasted that Ritchey would even bother to list a 27.5" tire size if it wasn't wider than what you could run with a 29 inch wheel. Seems odd to me.....

But yeah, this is a very Gen I Fargo type bike. Especially since Ritchey added the Three-Pack style mounts on the fork blades. Which, by the way, have a nice appealing curve to them. I like that. It makes the Ritchey have a bit of a throw-back flair to this design.

Thanks for reading Guitar Ted Productions! Have an excellent weekend.

Friday News And Views

The "Ozark Trail" model in 27.5 wheels.Image courtesy of Walmart

Walmart Introduces "Ozark Trail" MTB Bikes:

A few industry sources have published this announcement of the Walmart "Ozark Trail" line of mountain bikes. Company officials say that, "Many of the bikes in this sport come with a high price point. We wanted to offer our customers a more affordable option while maintaining the quality and versatility that the sport requires, and I think we've done that with the Ozark Trail bike." This according to a "Bicycle Retailer and Industry News" article. 

The 27.5"er retails for $298.00 and the 29"er retails for $398.00. Both come with 1X drive trains and suspension forks. The frames are aluminum. The bikes come in Small, Medium, and Large sizes according to the webpage on the bikes. The 27.5 model, the "Vibe", clocks in at 37.5lbs, claimed weight, and the 29"er does not show up currently on the Walmart site at all. (?) 

Comments: Okay, so a lot of chatter on social media concerning these bikes was centered on how the Walmart family has promoted cycling, how the Walmart family has enhanced Northwest Arkansas, specifically Bentonville, and how these bikes will be a gateway to making cyclists out of non-cyclists. So, it's okay that these bikes exist. Ahh......no. I'm not buying any of this. 

Why? Because at this price-point, which if you have not noticed yet, is now what most "box store" mountain bikes are going for now, these bikes are nothing different than what you have seen proffered before in the aisles of places like Target, Costco, Walmart, etc. In other words, this is not the bike that gets more people to ride on a regular basis. It is that bike that most often ends up rusted, neglected, and in a landfill before long. It is that bike that the under-privileged, lower income folks have to buy because there is nothing at this price-point or cheaper that is better.

That the Walton's did 'this-or-that' in NW Arkansas has absolutely no bearing on what this product is all about. It is a poorly designed, low-spec "mountain-bike-shaped-object" that follows right in line with its MTB-BSO predecessors. With that said....back to your regularly scheduled program....

Revel Ranger FS 29"er. Image courtesy of Revel Bikes.

Revel Bikes Announces Revised Ranger FS Bike:

I see a lot of mountain bikes come and go in the press. I often think whether or not I might like them, but maybe 90% of the time these are bikes built for raging bike parks, going way fast downhill, or they have some goofy thing that turns me off.

Then every once in a while a bike comes along that makes sense to me. The Revel Ranger is that MTB right now. 

The geometry is reasonable. Not really slack and long travel. Heck, you can even fit three water bottles on the frame in size Large! A threaded bottom bracket? Yes. Internal cable guides so I don't have to fish cables through a frame? Yes. 29" wheels? Yes. 

That last point: It's really interesting to me now that to find out if this was a 29"er I had to go all the way down to the spec sheet for the tire size. No where else is that mentioned. Why? Because a 29"er is a mountain bike, of course. What else is there? (I kid, but only a little bit, you 27 fiver folks!) 

I didn't look at the price, because, well why? I cannot afford it, and also, I don't need it. But "if" I were to buy a MTB tomorrow? I'd be hard pressed not to want that Ranger. You can read more about it here.

Mavic's electric motor. Image courtesy of Bike Radar's social media feed

Mavic Working On New Motor For Lightweight Applications:

According to a "Bike Radar" article recently, Mavic have been quietly working on an electric motor with Swiss bicycle manufacturer BMC. The results so far would point to something rather impressive. A 21lb bicycle with on-demand power assist. While the article says there are still hurdles to overcome to make the system consumer ready, they are on-track to place this in rider's hands perhaps as early as 2025.

Comments: That's a light bike for having a motor, and with the on-demand feature, it is reasonable to think that this would be palatable for cyclists to have on-board for anything from group rides to competitions. Which, if the system can be made to be nearly undetectable while riding, is another problem for event promoters to deal with in terms of keeping the playing field level. 

Obviously, we have no idea what the price would be for such privilege, but one would assume this is going to be very expensive to purchase. That said, if you will be able to buy it, it will show up at start lines. Will this bring back the days of "motor doping" as we saw in the twenty-teens? Perhaps, but it is a fascinating development. 

Ritchey Announces Updated Ascent Model:

This week Ritchey Design quietly introduced a new update to their Acsent model. Now in a "Desert Sand" color, the new Ascent has "Three-Pack" bosses on the fork blades and underneath the downtube. 

The bike has a maximum tire clearance of 2.6" whether you run 29"ers or 650B tires. It also s a Boost spaced bike. You can see more details on the bike at the webpage here. 

Comments: This is about as close to a Gen I Fargo as you can get with modern through axles and Boost spacing. (The Tumbleweed Stargazer is another good example of this type of bicycle) I'm kind of flabbergasted that Ritchey would even bother to list a 27.5" tire size if it wasn't wider than what you could run with a 29 inch wheel. Seems odd to me.....

But yeah, this is a very Gen I Fargo type bike. Especially since Ritchey added the Three-Pack style mounts on the fork blades. Which, by the way, have a nice appealing curve to them. I like that. It makes the Ritchey have a bit of a throw-back flair to this design.

Thanks for reading Guitar Ted Productions! Have an excellent weekend.

Saturday News And Views

Shimano drops Deore 12 speed this last week. You know what that means?

NOTE: Back in the day I used to run a "News And Views" post whenever news arose. Well, some things dropped at the end of the week and I already had a full FN&V post done, so I am bringing back a G-Ted Productions tradition.....

12 Speed Drops To Deore Level:

 Twelve speed trickles down another step. This past week Shimano released news of its 12 speed Deore level group with all the features of the upper gruppos only a little heavier and not quite as smoothly finished as XTR, XT, or SLX.

Of course, this pushes 11 speed down as well, which is now going to be found at the Deore M5100 level. Wait! Don't I mean Alivio? Nope. Shimano is actually making three levels of Deore now. 12, 11, and 10 speed. Alivio is refreshed, but remains 9 speed. When Shimano does things like this, you'd better pay attention if you are running 10 speed and especially you 9 speed folks, because this stuff will be getting pushed out to the cheaper groups and premium level parts will all be 11 speed and 12 speed in the very near future. Oh....and there was no mention of anything 8 speed. Although I am sure it exists, it isn't getting a refresh, so, again, pay attention to that tidbit.


This also means that 12 speed makes Deore MicroSpline, further pushing the old style free hub design to the back of the room, quality-wise. Of course, the other result of this is that 2X is now only 11 speed and 10 speed. Essentially the lower end of Deore, and in the future? Probably this will remain in the lowest end groups only.

The Deore 11's group.

In terms of new bikes, this also means that Deore is pretty much going to be a very confusing sale in bike shops and especially online. With three levels of the group, you are going to get folks thinking one bike, say with the Deore 12's, is 'overpriced' when they 'can get the same bike' for less with Deore somewhere else. But will that be Deore 10's? Yeah...... Have fun with that retailers.

Finally, you gotta wonder when MicroSpline comes to GRX for gravel, or........wait for it........ROAD BIKES!!! Oh yeah! That will be a day of reckoning that I believe is coming VERY soon. Yes, that means all your old, fancy-pants wheel sets will instantly be obsolete. SRAM will have to decide where to go at that point because traditional free hub tech will be essentially a dodo bird waiting to go extinct. Shimano already has aftermarket wheel and hub folks doing MicroSpline for mtb, and they aren't going to want another proprietary hub deal from SRAM. Not that SRAM won't do it, but yeah.... Interesting times ahead.

Note: Images courtesy of Shimano.

Iconic wheel and component manufacturer, MAVIC, seems to be in trouble.

 Confusion At MAVIC:

An icon of the road scene, MAVIC, seems to be in some sort of financial trouble. According to this story on "Bicycle Retailer and Industry News", the wheel maker may not be owned by who we were led to believe. Furthermore, the French press is reporting the the company is in receivership.

I have noted that a mechanic's Facebook page has had several comments posted by many North American based mechanics saying that their e-mails and calls for service parts and technical help have not been returned by MAVIC. Clearly, something is amiss. I remember the last time I worked on a MAVIC wheel, in 2019, it was a real pain to get parts at that time. This is not good news for shop mechanics.

This is bad news for anyone with MAVIC wheels in the future as it would appear that much of their technology is not being supported now and if the brand is really in financial trouble, it could mean those with MAVIC hubs and wheels may have some instant antiques on their hands. Hopefully something comes out of this on the positive side, but as a veteran of 20 years in this industry, usually brands come out on the other side with a clear cut-off from their past, if they make it out at all.

The Sterile Iowan is one of a few events still planning on taking place this Summer.

 Gravel Event Promoters Back At It: 

With several states starting to lift restrictions on businesses and movement, I'm starting to see some event promoters push out there events again. Some are holding to their original dates, and of these, most are in July/August. But some, like the Sterile Iowan, never quit promoting and that particular event is scheduled for May 30th.

Many more events I am aware of are modifying their formats radically to accommodate social distancing suggestions. Things like solo course challenges, dates expanded to weeks or even months to complete courses, in some cases, and electronic challenges on trainers are happening now and throughout the Summer.

Of course, many events are postponed to Fall. The 'hot date' seems to be September 18th, with the week before, the 12th, being a close second. I'm still not real sure that this will work out for those events, but all the best to them the same. Once September passes, things seem to ease up, but postponed events are scheduled throughout October also. This is going to be a crazy Fall season, assuming things don't flare up again with this virus.

What do you think? Let me know in the comments.

That's it for today. Have a great weekend!

Saturday News And Views

Shimano drops Deore 12 speed this last week. You know what that means?

NOTE: Back in the day I used to run a "News And Views" post whenever news arose. Well, some things dropped at the end of the week and I already had a full FN&V post done, so I am bringing back a G-Ted Productions tradition.....

12 Speed Drops To Deore Level:

 Twelve speed trickles down another step. This past week Shimano released news of its 12 speed Deore level group with all the features of the upper gruppos only a little heavier and not quite as smoothly finished as XTR, XT, or SLX.

Of course, this pushes 11 speed down as well, which is now going to be found at the Deore M5100 level. Wait! Don't I mean Alivio? Nope. Shimano is actually making three levels of Deore now. 12, 11, and 10 speed. Alivio is refreshed, but remains 9 speed. When Shimano does things like this, you'd better pay attention if you are running 10 speed and especially you 9 speed folks, because this stuff will be getting pushed out to the cheaper groups and premium level parts will all be 11 speed and 12 speed in the very near future. Oh....and there was no mention of anything 8 speed. Although I am sure it exists, it isn't getting a refresh, so, again, pay attention to that tidbit.


This also means that 12 speed makes Deore MicroSpline, further pushing the old style free hub design to the back of the room, quality-wise. Of course, the other result of this is that 2X is now only 11 speed and 10 speed. Essentially the lower end of Deore, and in the future? Probably this will remain in the lowest end groups only.

The Deore 11's group.

In terms of new bikes, this also means that Deore is pretty much going to be a very confusing sale in bike shops and especially online. With three levels of the group, you are going to get folks thinking one bike, say with the Deore 12's, is 'overpriced' when they 'can get the same bike' for less with Deore somewhere else. But will that be Deore 10's? Yeah...... Have fun with that retailers.

Finally, you gotta wonder when MicroSpline comes to GRX for gravel, or........wait for it........ROAD BIKES!!! Oh yeah! That will be a day of reckoning that I believe is coming VERY soon. Yes, that means all your old, fancy-pants wheel sets will instantly be obsolete. SRAM will have to decide where to go at that point because traditional free hub tech will be essentially a dodo bird waiting to go extinct. Shimano already has aftermarket wheel and hub folks doing MicroSpline for mtb, and they aren't going to want another proprietary hub deal from SRAM. Not that SRAM won't do it, but yeah.... Interesting times ahead.

Note: Images courtesy of Shimano.

Iconic wheel and component manufacturer, MAVIC, seems to be in trouble.

 Confusion At MAVIC:

An icon of the road scene, MAVIC, seems to be in some sort of financial trouble. According to this story on "Bicycle Retailer and Industry News", the wheel maker may not be owned by who we were led to believe. Furthermore, the French press is reporting the the company is in receivership.

I have noted that a mechanic's Facebook page has had several comments posted by many North American based mechanics saying that their e-mails and calls for service parts and technical help have not been returned by MAVIC. Clearly, something is amiss. I remember the last time I worked on a MAVIC wheel, in 2019, it was a real pain to get parts at that time. This is not good news for shop mechanics.

This is bad news for anyone with MAVIC wheels in the future as it would appear that much of their technology is not being supported now and if the brand is really in financial trouble, it could mean those with MAVIC hubs and wheels may have some instant antiques on their hands. Hopefully something comes out of this on the positive side, but as a veteran of 20 years in this industry, usually brands come out on the other side with a clear cut-off from their past, if they make it out at all.

The Sterile Iowan is one of a few events still planning on taking place this Summer.

 Gravel Event Promoters Back At It: 

With several states starting to lift restrictions on businesses and movement, I'm starting to see some event promoters push out there events again. Some are holding to their original dates, and of these, most are in July/August. But some, like the Sterile Iowan, never quit promoting and that particular event is scheduled for May 30th.

Many more events I am aware of are modifying their formats radically to accommodate social distancing suggestions. Things like solo course challenges, dates expanded to weeks or even months to complete courses, in some cases, and electronic challenges on trainers are happening now and throughout the Summer.

Of course, many events are postponed to Fall. The 'hot date' seems to be September 18th, with the week before, the 12th, being a close second. I'm still not real sure that this will work out for those events, but all the best to them the same. Once September passes, things seem to ease up, but postponed events are scheduled throughout October also. This is going to be a crazy Fall season, assuming things don't flare up again with this virus.

What do you think? Let me know in the comments.

That's it for today. Have a great weekend!

State Of Tubelessness: Ten Years Down The Road- Part 1

Some wheels, like these Irwin Cycling wheels here, make going tubeless super easy.

The other day I noted a thread in the RidingGravel.com forum that was started by someone a bit befuddled by the terminologies and what they meant when it comes to gravel tires. What rims fit which tires? What is UST? and more.

This prompted me to read through the thread and I did stop and add some context to it. But that said, it appears that there are a lot of confused individuals out there yet in 2018 when it comes to tubeless tires for bicycles.

I have, on occasion here on this blog, written a "State Of Tubelessness" post. The first one I could dig up was from 2010, but I had been writing about my trials and tribulations with tubeless tires almost from the onset of the blog in 2005. But for all intents and purposes, my real pursuit of going tubeless started in 2007, so I figured why not detail briefly what has happened over the past ten years in terms of tubeless tires for bicycles.

Obviously somewhere this all started and the beginnings of tubeless tires in our era started in the late 90's with a guy by the name of Stan Koziak. You know his company by the name of "Stan's", but the full name of the company is "Stan's NoTubes", which should give you a clue as to what sort of tires his system are meant for. Stan's was, and still is, a system for converting non-tubeless tires to tubeless usage. That specifically means folding bead and wire bead performance tires that were never meant to be tubeless. Of course, you can run tubeless tires on Stan's rims, but not all will fit.

A set of ZTR Flow rims I still have were tried with many tires in the past.

Once tubeless ready tires came to market, Stan's didn't push the conversion thing too hard. In fact, they dabbled in their own tires for a bit, but even that went by the wayside. Stan's just kept being Stan's and they kept growing as a company, mainly because tire and rim manufacturers couldn't get together on a single standard for tubeless tires. Not that it wasn't tried, or successful, because there is a standard, but it requires a licensing fee. Not something many companies are willing to pay for.

Of course, that standard is UST, or Uniform System Tubeless, which Mavic, Hutchinson, and Michelin first developed in 1999. Later a few other companies would adopt the standard, most notably GEAX/Vittoria, but for the most part, the stringent dimensions and testing protocol of UST wasn't adopted by the industry universally. This caused UST to be pretty much pigeonholed to the XC racer set, and most average mountain bikers were not getting into UST in the early 00's. The fact that true, air-tight tubeless tires were a lot heavier than their folding bead counterparts was also a part of this.

 Meanwhile, 29"ers were becoming a thing, and the rim and tire manufacturers were standing off from adopting any single standard until things shook themselves out. This sort of played into the hands of Stan's who were the "average person's" tubeless "system" of choice. Obviously, Stan's made for a lighter weight set up, because you used a folding bead tire, which in some cases could be well over 200 grams lighter than a UST tire. The trouble with Stan's was that non-tubeless, folding bead tires were difficult to get sealed, didn't last long, and some were failing spectacularly due to the added stresses present without a tube to reinforce the bead and sidewall.

That all began to change in the late 00's as Trek/Bontrager/Fisher began to push for tubeless systems that they could use on their bikes. Since Bontrager sold tires, a system where tire, plastic "TLR" rim strip, and rim was developed which was very user friendly and worked tremendously well. But like UST before it, this was not an "open standard", so other companies were developing their own systems to compete. Specialized had "2Bliss", WTB developed "TCS", and rim manufacturers that did not make tires and tire manufacturers that did not make rims were left wondering what to do.

Rim companies, like Velocity, kind of shot for a :middle ground" in terms of design.

Many companies did not want to err so far toward the UST dimensions that other components would not fit and vice versa. Some of the systems, like WTB's TCS,were close to UST, but some were not. The companies whose tires were not right on the UST mark did so to fit Stan's rims, which were very slightly oversized. But these tires would still fit some other companies rims, which were somewhere in between the UST and the older. standard climcher/tube variances. Rims, like Velocity USA's, were made to fit a broader range of tires as well. Other companies adopted Stan's dimensions, while others erred closer to UST.

So, in 2018, you can probably see why it is that people get confused. Fit issues exist, and remember, tolerances don't need to vary much so that very small variances can mean that some components will not be compatible with others, despite the labels saying 700c, or 622ISO. This gives people fits, because if labels match up, components should as well, or so the thinking goes. However, saying 622ISO is the "fine measurement all should be at", is like thinking every square mile in the country is the same size. They are not, and neither is everyone's rims and tires. That may sound weird, but if you've ever tried mounting a Michelin tubeless tire on a Stan's rim, you know what I mean. You might get the two mounted to one another, but woe be to you if you have a catastrophic failure on a ride and you think you are getting a tube in there.

Stay tuned for Part 2 tomorrow....

State Of Tubelessness: Ten Years Down The Road- Part 1

Some wheels, like these Irwin Cycling wheels here, make going tubeless super easy.

The other day I noted a thread in the RidingGravel.com forum that was started by someone a bit befuddled by the terminologies and what they meant when it comes to gravel tires. What rims fit which tires? What is UST? and more.

This prompted me to read through the thread and I did stop and add some context to it. But that said, it appears that there are a lot of confused individuals out there yet in 2018 when it comes to tubeless tires for bicycles.

I have, on occasion here on this blog, written a "State Of Tubelessness" post. The first one I could dig up was from 2010, but I had been writing about my trials and tribulations with tubeless tires almost from the onset of the blog in 2005. But for all intents and purposes, my real pursuit of going tubeless started in 2007, so I figured why not detail briefly what has happened over the past ten years in terms of tubeless tires for bicycles.

Obviously somewhere this all started and the beginnings of tubeless tires in our era started in the late 90's with a guy by the name of Stan Koziak. You know his company by the name of "Stan's", but the full name of the company is "Stan's NoTubes", which should give you a clue as to what sort of tires his system are meant for. Stan's was, and still is, a system for converting non-tubeless tires to tubeless usage. That specifically means folding bead and wire bead performance tires that were never meant to be tubeless. Of course, you can run tubeless tires on Stan's rims, but not all will fit.

A set of ZTR Flow rims I still have were tried with many tires in the past.

Once tubeless ready tires came to market, Stan's didn't push the conversion thing too hard. In fact, they dabbled in their own tires for a bit, but even that went by the wayside. Stan's just kept being Stan's and they kept growing as a company, mainly because tire and rim manufacturers couldn't get together on a single standard for tubeless tires. Not that it wasn't tried, or successful, because there is a standard, but it requires a licensing fee. Not something many companies are willing to pay for.

Of course, that standard is UST, or Uniform System Tubeless, which Mavic, Hutchinson, and Michelin first developed in 1999. Later a few other companies would adopt the standard, most notably GEAX/Vittoria, but for the most part, the stringent dimensions and testing protocol of UST wasn't adopted by the industry universally. This caused UST to be pretty much pigeonholed to the XC racer set, and most average mountain bikers were not getting into UST in the early 00's. The fact that true, air-tight tubeless tires were a lot heavier than their folding bead counterparts was also a part of this.

 Meanwhile, 29"ers were becoming a thing, and the rim and tire manufacturers were standing off from adopting any single standard until things shook themselves out. This sort of played into the hands of Stan's who were the "average person's" tubeless "system" of choice. Obviously, Stan's made for a lighter weight set up, because you used a folding bead tire, which in some cases could be well over 200 grams lighter than a UST tire. The trouble with Stan's was that non-tubeless, folding bead tires were difficult to get sealed, didn't last long, and some were failing spectacularly due to the added stresses present without a tube to reinforce the bead and sidewall.

That all began to change in the late 00's as Trek/Bontrager/Fisher began to push for tubeless systems that they could use on their bikes. Since Bontrager sold tires, a system where tire, plastic "TLR" rim strip, and rim was developed which was very user friendly and worked tremendously well. But like UST before it, this was not an "open standard", so other companies were developing their own systems to compete. Specialized had "2Bliss", WTB developed "TCS", and rim manufacturers that did not make tires and tire manufacturers that did not make rims were left wondering what to do.

Rim companies, like Velocity, kind of shot for a :middle ground" in terms of design.

Many companies did not want to err so far toward the UST dimensions that other components would not fit and vice versa. Some of the systems, like WTB's TCS,were close to UST, but some were not. The companies whose tires were not right on the UST mark did so to fit Stan's rims, which were very slightly oversized. But these tires would still fit some other companies rims, which were somewhere in between the UST and the older. standard climcher/tube variances. Rims, like Velocity USA's, were made to fit a broader range of tires as well. Other companies adopted Stan's dimensions, while others erred closer to UST.

So, in 2018, you can probably see why it is that people get confused. Fit issues exist, and remember, tolerances don't need to vary much so that very small variances can mean that some components will not be compatible with others, despite the labels saying 700c, or 622ISO. This gives people fits, because if labels match up, components should as well, or so the thinking goes. However, saying 622ISO is the "fine measurement all should be at", is like thinking every square mile in the country is the same size. They are not, and neither is everyone's rims and tires. That may sound weird, but if you've ever tried mounting a Michelin tubeless tire on a Stan's rim, you know what I mean. You might get the two mounted to one another, but woe be to you if you have a catastrophic failure on a ride and you think you are getting a tube in there.

Stay tuned for Part 2 tomorrow....

Friday News And Views

Yo! Wheel change here!

Leadville 100 Announces Riders To Get More Support:

There's a newsy bit out the other day saying that Mavic will have its famously yellow vehicles out on course supporting Leadville 100 riders. So, if you win the lottery to get into that event, maybe you can lighten your load now and not have to carry stuff to fix a flat tire anymore.

However that might work out for riders in reality, it was a certain comment about the proposal that I found very interesting. It came from a well respected mountain bike magazine's Twitter feed, and stated that this would send up Leadville's status to "a real race" level. Okay, that's a comment from a mountain bike magazine. Really?

I remember when mountain biking and self-sufficiency went hand in hand. Heck.....I can remember when all mtb events were accomplished on one bike! Boy.....we've come a long way away from that ideal! I'm cool with the different tools to get the different jobs done, but all the creeping in of things to make racing easier is really sucking the spirit of the sport out, in my opinion. Especially when it comes to mountain biking. Yep, it would not at all surprise me to see Mavic getting the nod to do neutral support at a gravel road racing event sometime in the future either. Maybe they already do here in the US. (No.....Strada Bianca doesn't count.)

Well, there's that.......

The idea of a variable speed crank isn't a new one

Wave Transmission: A New Bicycle Drive Train For The Future?

Bicycle innovation has been ongoing for well over 100 years now, and since there are many old ideas that weren't possible to produce due to manufacturing and materials technology limitations, we sometimes see things resurface. The idea for a variable speed crank without using multiple, fixed chain rings, isn't new, but it wasn't really possible to manufacture back a century ago. 

As an example, I got this e-mail the other day concerning a "new" transmission for cycling. It's a "proof of concept" exercise at this stage, so you'll have to look past the crude, industrial, "works" nature of the component, but click the video here and watch what this does. It is pretty crazy.

Some of you might remember the Browning Automatic, or as it is known now, SmartShift. This isn't like that, although they both claim some similar benefits. The Wave Transmission does its thing by an expanding sprocket. I cannot comment on exactly how the system works, because the fellow behind this is trying to sell the idea to a bigger company to have it produced. He's guarding his secrets until that time.

I gotta say that it is pretty cool, but I am not sure it has an application for much of the cycling I do. I also have to say that my first inclination was that something maybe not quite as "wide ranging" could be used in tandem with an internal gear hub or gear box set up. Changing the initial drive ratio slightly in tandem with 14 to 18 internal gears might become something interesting for several applications, like cargo bikes, ultimate touring fat bikes, and the like. 

Chris Holloway, a student at London's Brunel University, developed this variable ratio crankset in 2010

 Again, the above is not anything new, not as far as the concept goes. A bit of  "innergoogle" searching turned up another prototype by a student engineer from the UK. How long will it be before we see a variable ratio crank set without multiple chain rings? Well, we already have. 

Think about the Hammerschmidt, the Patterson crank, or the Schlumpf Speed Drive. All attempts at putting a variable ratio on a crank/bottom bracket without multiple chain wheels. Then you could even throw in the Pinion gear box system into this conversation, although it doesn't necessarily have to be a bottom bracket/crank mounted system. 

Will anything like these examples supplant the traditional multiple chain wheel/front derailleur set ups prevalent today? Will materials technologies and manufacturing processes become advanced enough that these alternative ways of driving a bicycle will become competitive in terms of efficiencies and weight?  

Well, that's the thing, innit? The derailleur drive train surely has the fewest moving parts, lightest weight, and highest efficiency of any of the alternatives. Maybe someday we'll see a takeover, but there is a pretty solid reason we've seen the drive trains the way they have been for so many decades, and it has nothing at all to do with marketing.

Gizmo alert! A Bell Super with a 360° camera?

Bell Introduces A New Integrated Camera/Helmet Concept: 360 FLY

You can't get it until Fall of this year, and no one knows exactly what it will cost, ("Expensive" would be a good guess), but this new helmet/camera product should be the wave of the future for active sports video capture fans. No more funky looking "box on the head" craziness. Or so it is hoped.

Okay, as a concept, I like this idea. It's streamlined, looks great, and makes a lot more sense than what passes for helmets and cameras these days. But the technology that this set up promises is radical. By the way, Bell is doing this on a MX motorcycle helmet, a road motorcycle helmet, a snow sports helemet, and this mountain biking version. I can't imagine that at some point a road cycling helmet option wouldn't be offered, but that isn't in the cards for now. Anyway, check out the list of what it is claimed to do:

• 360° perspective video capture
• Shoots video at 2880 X 2880 @ 30FPS
• Also Shoots Conventional 16 X 9 Video
• Developed In Conjunction With 360fly
• Uses 360fly's Mobile Ap To Stream Live Video To Social Media
• Built In GPS Sensor, Barometer, Altimeter, Accelerometer  
• WiFi and Bluetooth Enabled
• 2hrs Battery Life
• AutoPilot action tracking – Allows users to track and follow the main subjects in their videos, making it easy to create dynamic edits with the rider at the center of it all.
•  Collision Avoidance Alert – Senses and automatically notifies the rider of potential oncoming dangers that are outside the rider’s natural field of vision
•  Live Streaming -- For professional, commercial or advanced users looking to live stream 360-degree video, the integrated camera pairs with its Micro-HDMI accessory base (sold separately) and is able to output a real-time full 360-degree HD video stream 

I, for one, welcome our new insect overlords. (<===HA!) No....I'll probably not be getting one of these, but I think you can expect to see the lowly bicycle helmet become a device sooner than later. In fact, just this week Garmin announced a HUD display unit that can be used with any eyewear you might have. Oh, and did you see that Nikon sports camera? Yeah......cyclists could end up looking like a rolling Robocop sooner than you think!

Now.......where did I leave that USB cord? I have to plug my helmet in for the night!

That's all for this week folks! Stay warm and roll those wheels when and where ya can!

Friday News And Views

Yo! Wheel change here!

Leadville 100 Announces Riders To Get More Support:

There's a newsy bit out the other day saying that Mavic will have its famously yellow vehicles out on course supporting Leadville 100 riders. So, if you win the lottery to get into that event, maybe you can lighten your load now and not have to carry stuff to fix a flat tire anymore.

However that might work out for riders in reality, it was a certain comment about the proposal that I found very interesting. It came from a well respected mountain bike magazine's Twitter feed, and stated that this would send up Leadville's status to "a real race" level. Okay, that's a comment from a mountain bike magazine. Really?

I remember when mountain biking and self-sufficiency went hand in hand. Heck.....I can remember when all mtb events were accomplished on one bike! Boy.....we've come a long way away from that ideal! I'm cool with the different tools to get the different jobs done, but all the creeping in of things to make racing easier is really sucking the spirit of the sport out, in my opinion. Especially when it comes to mountain biking. Yep, it would not at all surprise me to see Mavic getting the nod to do neutral support at a gravel road racing event sometime in the future either. Maybe they already do here in the US. (No.....Strada Bianca doesn't count.)

Well, there's that.......

The idea of a variable speed crank isn't a new one

Wave Transmission: A New Bicycle Drive Train For The Future?

Bicycle innovation has been ongoing for well over 100 years now, and since there are many old ideas that weren't possible to produce due to manufacturing and materials technology limitations, we sometimes see things resurface. The idea for a variable speed crank without using multiple, fixed chain rings, isn't new, but it wasn't really possible to manufacture back a century ago. 

As an example, I got this e-mail the other day concerning a "new" transmission for cycling. It's a "proof of concept" exercise at this stage, so you'll have to look past the crude, industrial, "works" nature of the component, but click the video here and watch what this does. It is pretty crazy.

Some of you might remember the Browning Automatic, or as it is known now, SmartShift. This isn't like that, although they both claim some similar benefits. The Wave Transmission does its thing by an expanding sprocket. I cannot comment on exactly how the system works, because the fellow behind this is trying to sell the idea to a bigger company to have it produced. He's guarding his secrets until that time.

I gotta say that it is pretty cool, but I am not sure it has an application for much of the cycling I do. I also have to say that my first inclination was that something maybe not quite as "wide ranging" could be used in tandem with an internal gear hub or gear box set up. Changing the initial drive ratio slightly in tandem with 14 to 18 internal gears might become something interesting for several applications, like cargo bikes, ultimate touring fat bikes, and the like. 

Chris Holloway, a student at London's Brunel University, developed this variable ratio crankset in 2010

 Again, the above is not anything new, not as far as the concept goes. A bit of  "innergoogle" searching turned up another prototype by a student engineer from the UK. How long will it be before we see a variable ratio crank set without multiple chain rings? Well, we already have. 

Think about the Hammerschmidt, the Patterson crank, or the Schlumpf Speed Drive. All attempts at putting a variable ratio on a crank/bottom bracket without multiple chain wheels. Then you could even throw in the Pinion gear box system into this conversation, although it doesn't necessarily have to be a bottom bracket/crank mounted system. 

Will anything like these examples supplant the traditional multiple chain wheel/front derailleur set ups prevalent today? Will materials technologies and manufacturing processes become advanced enough that these alternative ways of driving a bicycle will become competitive in terms of efficiencies and weight?  

Well, that's the thing, innit? The derailleur drive train surely has the fewest moving parts, lightest weight, and highest efficiency of any of the alternatives. Maybe someday we'll see a takeover, but there is a pretty solid reason we've seen the drive trains the way they have been for so many decades, and it has nothing at all to do with marketing.

Gizmo alert! A Bell Super with a 360° camera?

Bell Introduces A New Integrated Camera/Helmet Concept: 360 FLY

You can't get it until Fall of this year, and no one knows exactly what it will cost, ("Expensive" would be a good guess), but this new helmet/camera product should be the wave of the future for active sports video capture fans. No more funky looking "box on the head" craziness. Or so it is hoped.

Okay, as a concept, I like this idea. It's streamlined, looks great, and makes a lot more sense than what passes for helmets and cameras these days. But the technology that this set up promises is radical. By the way, Bell is doing this on a MX motorcycle helmet, a road motorcycle helmet, a snow sports helemet, and this mountain biking version. I can't imagine that at some point a road cycling helmet option wouldn't be offered, but that isn't in the cards for now. Anyway, check out the list of what it is claimed to do:

• 360° perspective video capture
• Shoots video at 2880 X 2880 @ 30FPS
• Also Shoots Conventional 16 X 9 Video
• Developed In Conjunction With 360fly
• Uses 360fly's Mobile Ap To Stream Live Video To Social Media
• Built In GPS Sensor, Barometer, Altimeter, Accelerometer  
• WiFi and Bluetooth Enabled
• 2hrs Battery Life
• AutoPilot action tracking – Allows users to track and follow the main subjects in their videos, making it easy to create dynamic edits with the rider at the center of it all.
•  Collision Avoidance Alert – Senses and automatically notifies the rider of potential oncoming dangers that are outside the rider’s natural field of vision
•  Live Streaming -- For professional, commercial or advanced users looking to live stream 360-degree video, the integrated camera pairs with its Micro-HDMI accessory base (sold separately) and is able to output a real-time full 360-degree HD video stream 

I, for one, welcome our new insect overlords. (<===HA!) No....I'll probably not be getting one of these, but I think you can expect to see the lowly bicycle helmet become a device sooner than later. In fact, just this week Garmin announced a HUD display unit that can be used with any eyewear you might have. Oh, and did you see that Nikon sports camera? Yeah......cyclists could end up looking like a rolling Robocop sooner than you think!

Now.......where did I leave that USB cord? I have to plug my helmet in for the night!

That's all for this week folks! Stay warm and roll those wheels when and where ya can!