When We Used To Get Snow

 In celebration of the twentieth year of this blog, I have a few tales to tell. This post is one of them. This series will occur off and on throughout this anniversary year, I hope to illuminate some behind-the-scenes stories and highlights from the blog during this time. Enjoy!

We missed that big snow storm last weekend and since then it has just been really cold. No snow to speak of, certainly not enough to do Winter sports, and too cold to just be outside riding in the country. It is kind of a "worst case scenario" type of thing. Give me 20 more degrees and I don't care. I could ride a lot in cooler weather. But having to bundle up to go out for an hour in sub-zero temperatures? With NO SNOW? It's really hard to handle mentally.

Black Hawk Creek, The Green Belt, 2009.

It wasn't always this way. We used to get "regular" Winters with months of snow that would be great for all sorts of activities. The Winter of 2000-2001 was spectacular. I recall snow shoeing in four to five feet of snow in Hickory Hills park then. 

We would normally get chased off the mountain biking trails after Thanksgiving by a snow storm. It then might have taken a few weeks to build up a base of snow deep enough to cross country ski on, but generally then it would last until March. 

I used to write about XC skiing here fairly often back then. I was never really very good at it, but I found it to be a great way to burn off some steam when Winter was driving me nuts and keeping me off the bicycle. 

There were no fat bikes, no groomers, nothing....

These also were the days before turnkey fat bikes were available. Sure, if you were an ultra-cycling nerd and knew of Winter cycling in Alaska, maybe you knew about fat bikes, but they were an anomaly, extremely expensive, and very difficult to get parts for. (That fat bike specific stuff, that is.) 

I usually had to break my own trail back then too.

A Soul Cycles Dillinger I used as a 'pseudo-fat bike' with 29" X 2.4" tires.

I recall thinking how great it would be to have a bike with those 3.8" Endomorph tires and a frame to fit them. Then Surly showed their fat bike, the Pugsley, and I was smitten. Then, as we all probably know here, Salsa Cycles came out with their Mukluk model and I was on my way. 

With a little help from a bunch of friends, of course. My birthday in 2011 was marked by a birthday present funded by several folks of that Mukluk fat bike. And that unleashed a completely new era in my cycling. 

Ironically the Winter of 2010 -2011 was one of the last good, long, snowy Winters we've had. Since then we've had a month, or even just a week or two, of 'fat bikeable' weather. It's been very strange indeed. And XC Skiing? Ha! I haven't had those boards out for well over ten years. 

Winter sure ain't what it used to be around these parts.

Friday News And Views

MicroShift "Sword" (Image courtesy of MicroShift)

MicroShift Appeals To Techno-Grouches Out There:

 MicroShift could be said to be that company that does the things that neither SRAM nor Shimano are interested in doing. For years now the company has been best known as the "alt" gear company that does those oddball bar end shifters, 8/9/10 speed derailleurs, cassettes, and now, a gravel group set. Of course they did a gravel group. 

But hold on! They did the "microshift" thing here as well and made the stuff ten speed in 1X or 2X which can be converted from 1X to 2X and back again, with a parts switch or two. Oh! And this is decidedly mechanical. No weird electronics or hydraulic fluids here!

Looking though their site, I find many of their features for this group, named "Sword", by the way, as being very "Shimano-esque". The textured hoods (GRX), the high-pivot brake levers (again - GRX), and the crank set bolt pattern, (very Shimano looking) Makes one wonder.... 

Even their front derailleur cable adjuster looks like a direct copy of Shimano's. Of course, we all know they are not copying SRAM here with anything front derailleur related! Ha ha! It's almost as if MicroShift is the secret "backwards Skunk Works" division of Shimano. But I have no clue what is really going on with the company. It's just that their stuff has a very heavy Shimano vibe. 

Ten speed...... Okay, other than tickling the retro-grouch's fancy, I am a bit in wonderment as to why they chose that format to go after. My inclination would have been that 11 speed is that level at which current riders are at where they are maybe saying, "Why do we need 12 speeds anyway?"The question about 11 speed was answered a decade ago, so going backward to 10 speeds? Okay then....

The Velo Vetta Monarch aero shoe. (Image courtesy of Velo Vetta)

Now Your Shoes Can Be Truly Aero:

It used to be that throwing on an aero-bootie cover on your shoes was enough for those times where you were time-trialing or doing a triathlon. Well, now there are areo-shoes so your bootie thingies are now out of fashion. (I guess)

Yep! These shoes are from a company called Velo Vetta and retail for about 400 bucks. The design moves the BOA type closure dial to the back end of the shoe and that bit is then fared into the shoe, kind of like a boat tail. The uppers then can be more sleek and smooth. 

I'll be waiting for the gravel version. (I'm only half joking)

California Proposes Law To License eBike Riders:

In an effort to reduce and prevent HPC/eBike deaths and injuries amongst minors, California law may soon prevent anyone under the age of 12 years to operate an electrically assisted bike and would put in place a licensing procedure for anyone using a HPC/eBike who already was not a licensed motor vehicle operator in the state. (Story here)

Comments: I've stated for years that electric motors and bicycles would eventually lead to a similar situation which moped operators found themselves in back in the 1980's. 

In those days there were no licensing requirements to operate a moped and they went about the same speeds as a Class 3 electric bicycle. Eventually enough of the youth, who were the primary users of said vehicles, were injured or killed that laws came into effect, essentially classing those motor pedelecs with motorcycles. They were subject to the same laws and licensing requirements, and then, well.....moped ceased to be a thing in the USA. 

We are on the same trajectory regarding electrically assisted bicycles and also with UTV's, which are drawing scrutiny for similar reasons in rural areas. Eventually both will be required to be licensed, insured, and classes will be required, just as with any motorized vehicle, to gain the privilege of using one of these things. 

Will that "kill" the market for those vehicles? Not likely. But it will prevent many from engaging in operations of those vehicles.

Fizik Debuts Shoe With Late 80's Vibe:

The new Vento Ferox Carbon shoe from fizik is probably the shoe Don Johnson would have worn had he ridden a bicycle on "Miami Vice" . This color scheme is totally 80's with the grid pattern, the pastel color palette, and grey soles. Honestly, I think I've worked on a few Huffys with this same color scheme and it makes me feel a bit annoyed! 

They paid attention to detail with this scheme though, I'll grant them that. Look at the toe cleat plugs. They are the same sickly-aqua/greenish-blue that the accents on the uppers are. Also - These are a perfect shoe for my pink BMC MCD bike. If they weren't 300+ bucks, and if I already didn't have like six pairs of really nice cycling shoes, I might get them just for that reason alone.

Salsa Cycles' Marketing Snafu Reveals New Name For Fat Bike:

Embargoes on information are commonplace in the bicycle business. I think I'm sitting on info for at least three embargoes right at the moment. It would have been four embargoes except for a mistake made by someone in Salsa Cycles marketing department.

Sometime mid-morning yesterday, I received an email from a reader here that was very strange. The email he forwarded me, that is, was strange. It was a typical embargoed information email I usually see from Salsa Cyles, except that the reader who sent it to me was a friend, not in the media. 

Whoops!

So, there was a bit of time which passed, as in a few hours, and then I got the email my friend got. THEN even more hours passed and another email lands in my inbox from an actual person, apologizing for the snafu, and still insisting the embargo be adhered to. Umm..... The cat's been outta the bag for half a day now. Right?

Anyway, another email went out to consumers explaining the mess and which told them briefly that there would be news about Beargrease and Heyday! (Yes, the exclamation point is part of the rebrand) Anyway, the whole thing is goofy now and well...... It's not as though these bikes are anything "new", it's paint changes, some spec news, and a new name for an old model. Which the original email consumers weren't supposed to get - but did - details specifically. (Hint: That bike in the image sent to consumers is not a Mukluk, even though it may look like one.) I'll have more details next week in this space.....

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

Friday News And Views

MicroShift "Sword" (Image courtesy of MicroShift)

MicroShift Appeals To Techno-Grouches Out There:

 MicroShift could be said to be that company that does the things that neither SRAM nor Shimano are interested in doing. For years now the company has been best known as the "alt" gear company that does those oddball bar end shifters, 8/9/10 speed derailleurs, cassettes, and now, a gravel group set. Of course they did a gravel group. 

But hold on! They did the "microshift" thing here as well and made the stuff ten speed in 1X or 2X which can be converted from 1X to 2X and back again, with a parts switch or two. Oh! And this is decidedly mechanical. No weird electronics or hydraulic fluids here!

Looking though their site, I find many of their features for this group, named "Sword", by the way, as being very "Shimano-esque". The textured hoods (GRX), the high-pivot brake levers (again - GRX), and the crank set bolt pattern, (very Shimano looking) Makes one wonder.... 

Even their front derailleur cable adjuster looks like a direct copy of Shimano's. Of course, we all know they are not copying SRAM here with anything front derailleur related! Ha ha! It's almost as if MicroShift is the secret "backwards Skunk Works" division of Shimano. But I have no clue what is really going on with the company. It's just that their stuff has a very heavy Shimano vibe. 

Ten speed...... Okay, other than tickling the retro-grouch's fancy, I am a bit in wonderment as to why they chose that format to go after. My inclination would have been that 11 speed is that level at which current riders are at where they are maybe saying, "Why do we need 12 speeds anyway?"The question about 11 speed was answered a decade ago, so going backward to 10 speeds? Okay then....

The Velo Vetta Monarch aero shoe. (Image courtesy of Velo Vetta)

Now Your Shoes Can Be Truly Aero:

It used to be that throwing on an aero-bootie cover on your shoes was enough for those times where you were time-trialing or doing a triathlon. Well, now there are areo-shoes so your bootie thingies are now out of fashion. (I guess)

Yep! These shoes are from a company called Velo Vetta and retail for about 400 bucks. The design moves the BOA type closure dial to the back end of the shoe and that bit is then fared into the shoe, kind of like a boat tail. The uppers then can be more sleek and smooth. 

I'll be waiting for the gravel version. (I'm only half joking)

California Proposes Law To License eBike Riders:

In an effort to reduce and prevent HPC/eBike deaths and injuries amongst minors, California law may soon prevent anyone under the age of 12 years to operate an electrically assisted bike and would put in place a licensing procedure for anyone using a HPC/eBike who already was not a licensed motor vehicle operator in the state. (Story here)

Comments: I've stated for years that electric motors and bicycles would eventually lead to a similar situation which moped operators found themselves in back in the 1980's. 

In those days there were no licensing requirements to operate a moped and they went about the same speeds as a Class 3 electric bicycle. Eventually enough of the youth, who were the primary users of said vehicles, were injured or killed that laws came into effect, essentially classing those motor pedelecs with motorcycles. They were subject to the same laws and licensing requirements, and then, well.....moped ceased to be a thing in the USA. 

We are on the same trajectory regarding electrically assisted bicycles and also with UTV's, which are drawing scrutiny for similar reasons in rural areas. Eventually both will be required to be licensed, insured, and classes will be required, just as with any motorized vehicle, to gain the privilege of using one of these things. 

Will that "kill" the market for those vehicles? Not likely. But it will prevent many from engaging in operations of those vehicles.

Fizik Debuts Shoe With Late 80's Vibe:

The new Vento Ferox Carbon shoe from fizik is probably the shoe Don Johnson would have worn had he ridden a bicycle on "Miami Vice" . This color scheme is totally 80's with the grid pattern, the pastel color palette, and grey soles. Honestly, I think I've worked on a few Huffys with this same color scheme and it makes me feel a bit annoyed! 

They paid attention to detail with this scheme though, I'll grant them that. Look at the toe cleat plugs. They are the same sickly-aqua/greenish-blue that the accents on the uppers are. Also - These are a perfect shoe for my pink BMC MCD bike. If they weren't 300+ bucks, and if I already didn't have like six pairs of really nice cycling shoes, I might get them just for that reason alone.

Salsa Cycles' Marketing Snafu Reveals New Name For Fat Bike:

Embargoes on information are commonplace in the bicycle business. I think I'm sitting on info for at least three embargoes right at the moment. It would have been four embargoes except for a mistake made by someone in Salsa Cycles marketing department.

Sometime mid-morning yesterday, I received an email from a reader here that was very strange. The email he forwarded me, that is, was strange. It was a typical embargoed information email I usually see from Salsa Cyles, except that the reader who sent it to me was a friend, not in the media. 

Whoops!

So, there was a bit of time which passed, as in a few hours, and then I got the email my friend got. THEN even more hours passed and another email lands in my inbox from an actual person, apologizing for the snafu, and still insisting the embargo be adhered to. Umm..... The cat's been outta the bag for half a day now. Right?

Anyway, another email went out to consumers explaining the mess and which told them briefly that there would be news about Beargrease and Heyday! (Yes, the exclamation point is part of the rebrand) Anyway, the whole thing is goofy now and well...... It's not as though these bikes are anything "new", it's paint changes, some spec news, and a new name for an old model. Which the original email consumers weren't supposed to get - but did - details specifically. (Hint: That bike in the image sent to consumers is not a Mukluk, even though it may look like one.) I'll have more details next week in this space.....

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

The GTDRI Stories: Fat Tires And Zebras

 "The GTDRI Stories" is a series telling the history, untold tales, and showing the sights from the run of Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitationals. This series will run on Sundays. Thanks for reading!

There are certain rides one does that always stick with you. Maybe you had such a fantastic time with friends that this ride represents a relational highlight for you. Maybe you overcame a personal barrier and went beyond anything you could do. Or, maybe it was a ride where you got lost and ended up having an unexpected adventure. The latter is why this ride I am going to talk about in this edition of "The GTDRI Stories" sticks out for me.

This particular ride was a recon of the upcoming Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational course. I had been eye-balling some roads North of Toledo, Iowa for quite some time. This was an area we went through for Trans Iowa v5 a few years earlier, but we had just skirted the roads I had a mind to check out. So, I made a run down to Toledo to check out a way to get ourselves out of town using the least amount of pavement possible. 

I decided also to make this a recon by bicycle. So I grabbed my new Mukluk, as it had rained the night before, and I knew I might be in for some Level B Action or soft roads. I also was curious at that time as to how a fat bike might work out for gravel riding. I don't think I was the only person on that wavelength! The new fat bikes from Salsa and Surly were causing quite a stir that year, as they were the first fat bikes you could buy as complete, turnkey bicycles with the 3.8" tires. 

My 2011 Salsa Cycles Mukluk as it appeared in 2011. A triple crank? You betcha!

I drove down a long bit of black top road to the Northwest of Toledo looking to find a connector road to gravel to the North, but I was thwarted by a truncated road and even more so by a few downed trees, maybe leftovers from the recent derecho, or newly fallen after being weakened by that event. I could not say, but the point was, I had to turn around and come back the way I had went out.

I went back and looked at the maps and decided to park on the gravel North of town, just off HWY 63, and ride out on a loop I had tried to memorize which would encompass a few roads I was interested in. These roads were not really "on the grid", so there were a few confusing turns that were out there waiting to bait me into making a wrong turn. You can guess what happened next!

I found some pretty spectacular roads on this recon!

The first bit was fairly flat, and then the road went up this really steep hill with a rural church at the summit. Then it went into this gnarly, rutted out Level B Road which was perfect for the fat bike. This was a unique road in that it had a dogleg in it and no other roads crossed its path for almost two miles. 

Love me some wild flowers!

After that fun, I headed back toward the truck, or at least, I thought I was! I made a turn that I thought was the correct road, but it kept on going on, and on, and on! I had no maps with me at the time, not even on my cell phone. So, I was kind of at the mercy of fate for a while and I just had to keep going. I mean, that road would dump me out somewhere, right?

Finally I decided to take a break where the road seemed to start to tip downward a bit. I figured it would be best to rest at the top of a hill than at the foot of some unseen climb. As I looked around, I noted several outbuildings of a farm. A small barn, some sheds, a corn crib. Wait..... Zebras?!! 

Yes, zebras. 

This farm raised zebras. Okay.....that was so random and cool that I had to figure out where I was and somehow put this on the route! But....where was I? That was the big problem that needed figuring out. So, back on the Mukluk and down the hill. It eventually dumped me out on a flat plain at an intersection. Good! I could memorize the street sign, but just in case, I took a photo of it. Alright! I see a highway! Off I went.

As I got to the pavement, I thought I was West of Toledo and intersecting old Highway 30. If that was the case, I needed to go left and I would be back in town in a jiffy and then I'd have to ride North to my truck. But I went about two miles and I came across the road I had originally parked on! Wow! Was I ever turned around! But that meant that the "zebra road" would work for the route. I was stoked! Now all I had to do was finalize the cues and do the ride the following week.

Next: The sixth GTDRI

The GTDRI Stories: Fat Tires And Zebras

 "The GTDRI Stories" is a series telling the history, untold tales, and showing the sights from the run of Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitationals. This series will run on Sundays. Thanks for reading!

There are certain rides one does that always stick with you. Maybe you had such a fantastic time with friends that this ride represents a relational highlight for you. Maybe you overcame a personal barrier and went beyond anything you could do. Or, maybe it was a ride where you got lost and ended up having an unexpected adventure. The latter is why this ride I am going to talk about in this edition of "The GTDRI Stories" sticks out for me.

This particular ride was a recon of the upcoming Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational course. I had been eye-balling some roads North of Toledo, Iowa for quite some time. This was an area we went through for Trans Iowa v5 a few years earlier, but we had just skirted the roads I had a mind to check out. So, I made a run down to Toledo to check out a way to get ourselves out of town using the least amount of pavement possible. 

I decided also to make this a recon by bicycle. So I grabbed my new Mukluk, as it had rained the night before, and I knew I might be in for some Level B Action or soft roads. I also was curious at that time as to how a fat bike might work out for gravel riding. I don't think I was the only person on that wavelength! The new fat bikes from Salsa and Surly were causing quite a stir that year, as they were the first fat bikes you could buy as complete, turnkey bicycles with the 3.8" tires. 

My 2011 Salsa Cycles Mukluk as it appeared in 2011. A triple crank? You betcha!

I drove down a long bit of black top road to the Northwest of Toledo looking to find a connector road to gravel to the North, but I was thwarted by a truncated road and even more so by a few downed trees, maybe leftovers from the recent derecho, or newly fallen after being weakened by that event. I could not say, but the point was, I had to turn around and come back the way I had went out.

I went back and looked at the maps and decided to park on the gravel North of town, just off HWY 63, and ride out on a loop I had tried to memorize which would encompass a few roads I was interested in. These roads were not really "on the grid", so there were a few confusing turns that were out there waiting to bait me into making a wrong turn. You can guess what happened next!

I found some pretty spectacular roads on this recon!

The first bit was fairly flat, and then the road went up this really steep hill with a rural church at the summit. Then it went into this gnarly, rutted out Level B Road which was perfect for the fat bike. This was a unique road in that it had a dogleg in it and no other roads crossed its path for almost two miles. 

Love me some wild flowers!

After that fun, I headed back toward the truck, or at least, I thought I was! I made a turn that I thought was the correct road, but it kept on going on, and on, and on! I had no maps with me at the time, not even on my cell phone. So, I was kind of at the mercy of fate for a while and I just had to keep going. I mean, that road would dump me out somewhere, right?

Finally I decided to take a break where the road seemed to start to tip downward a bit. I figured it would be best to rest at the top of a hill than at the foot of some unseen climb. As I looked around, I noted several outbuildings of a farm. A small barn, some sheds, a corn crib. Wait..... Zebras?!! 

Yes, zebras. 

This farm raised zebras. Okay.....that was so random and cool that I had to figure out where I was and somehow put this on the route! But....where was I? That was the big problem that needed figuring out. So, back on the Mukluk and down the hill. It eventually dumped me out on a flat plain at an intersection. Good! I could memorize the street sign, but just in case, I took a photo of it. Alright! I see a highway! Off I went.

As I got to the pavement, I thought I was West of Toledo and intersecting old Highway 30. If that was the case, I needed to go left and I would be back in town in a jiffy and then I'd have to ride North to my truck. But I went about two miles and I came across the road I had originally parked on! Wow! Was I ever turned around! But that meant that the "zebra road" would work for the route. I was stoked! Now all I had to do was finalize the cues and do the ride the following week.

Next: The sixth GTDRI

Robot Noises For (Almost) Any Bike - Part 3

The Archer Components D-1X unit on the Snow Dog

A while back I tried to ride the Snow Dog, my 2011 Salsa Cycles Mukluk, and I forgot something. I forgot that I had installed the Archer Components D-1X electronic shifting mod on it and the batteries were dead. No wonder! I had the stuff since 2020 and I had never charged the batteries! 

Well, as an update to the previous post I did back at the end of 2020, (HERE), and as a way to actually, you know, get to ride that bike again, I decided I had better learn how this recharging works. 

Frankly, I had no idea that it had been over a year since I last had written up anything on the system, but that is the case. So, here is your update- finally- and a few words about the charging aspect of the system. 

First off, these Archer D-1X's run off special batteries which are sized like AA and AAA batteries, but don't try those! The Archer batteries are a special voltage and your garden variety battery is not recommended. There are two of these batteries in the main "box" on the seat stay of my bike and one in the remote shifter. The battery hatch for the main 'box' is an easily removed - a screw off cap which is located at the front of the 'box', opposite of where the cable exits the unit. Hint: A telescoping, 'pencil' magnet tool will help you extract the batteries without trying to tip the bike oddly.

The Snow Dog set up with the Archer D-1X. You can see the main shifting 'box' on the seat stay

Okay, now to extract the single, smaller sized battery from that remote. It is behind a 'door' located on the bottom side of the remote and held on by two, small hex tool compatible bolts. No big deal, right? just remove those two bolts and grab the battery. Well, it is easy if you have a 1.5mm hex key! 

Who uses 1.5mm hex key head bolts? Archer Components, that's who!

This precipitated a search for said odd-ball tool. That led to a feng shui session in my shop. This felt great, and I was better organized than ever, but I still did not have a 1.5mm hex key! 

Who the heck uses 1.5mm hex socket bolts anyway! 2mm hex keys? I have them all day long. But 1.5mm? Really?!

Anyway, I finally found one on a Park Tool hex key set I had misplaced in another drawer. Hallelujah! Now on to getting these batteries recharged. I wondered how long that would take. 

Well, I never found out via the Archer Components website. It wasn't in the instruction manual that came with the unit. It wasn't with the instructions for the special charger either. Wow! You'd think that might be an important bit for a user of the system to know. Anyway......

The charger works great, but it is a little kludgy.

Only one way to find out how long the batteries take to charge, and that was to observe a charge cycle in real time. That's what I did, not knowing if this would be an hour or three. 

Good news was that the two larger batteries charged up in about one hour. The little battery? Wow! That battery took maybe 20 minutes to charge. And I am pretty sure all the batteries were drained. I am not sure if this adversely affects battery life, or not, but I was good to go in under two hours. 

Conclusions: I'm okay with this system but for a couple weird things that it has going on with it. One: You have to physically turn on and off the shift box or battery life is adversely affected. Two: Those dratted 1.5mm bolts on the remote shifter battery door. Why? There is no good reason for that. Give me some Phillips head screws, or 2mm bolts, but not this odd-ball size that most cyclist won't have a wrench for. 

Go read the link back for more about riding with the D-1X system. It works well, and it is easy to adjust, once you get used to it. I should note that Archer has a new, paddle shifter for flat bars now and the drop bar remote is available as well. This works with 5 speed freewheels all the way up to 11 speed cassettes. It doesn't care if you have a SRAM rear derailleur and a Campy cassette. Whatever. You can make it go, so I think it makes sense from the aspect that you can swap a single set up around to different bikes and enjoy crisp, electronic shifting with no worries about cables and housings. 

And then again, you can always just ride a single speed! 

 NOTE: Archer Components sent over the D1X shifting system to Riding Gravel for test and review at no charge. I am not being paid, nor bribed, to post this here. See the Standard Disclaimer Page.

Robot Noises For (Almost) Any Bike - Part 3

The Archer Components D-1X unit on the Snow Dog

A while back I tried to ride the Snow Dog, my 2011 Salsa Cycles Mukluk, and I forgot something. I forgot that I had installed the Archer Components D-1X electronic shifting mod on it and the batteries were dead. No wonder! I had the stuff since 2020 and I had never charged the batteries! 

Well, as an update to the previous post I did back at the end of 2020, (HERE), and as a way to actually, you know, get to ride that bike again, I decided I had better learn how this recharging works. 

Frankly, I had no idea that it had been over a year since I last had written up anything on the system, but that is the case. So, here is your update- finally- and a few words about the charging aspect of the system. 

First off, these Archer D-1X's run off special batteries which are sized like AA and AAA batteries, but don't try those! The Archer batteries are a special voltage and your garden variety battery is not recommended. There are two of these batteries in the main "box" on the seat stay of my bike and one in the remote shifter. The battery hatch for the main 'box' is an easily removed - a screw off cap which is located at the front of the 'box', opposite of where the cable exits the unit. Hint: A telescoping, 'pencil' magnet tool will help you extract the batteries without trying to tip the bike oddly.

The Snow Dog set up with the Archer D-1X. You can see the main shifting 'box' on the seat stay

Okay, now to extract the single, smaller sized battery from that remote. It is behind a 'door' located on the bottom side of the remote and held on by two, small hex tool compatible bolts. No big deal, right? just remove those two bolts and grab the battery. Well, it is easy if you have a 1.5mm hex key! 

Who uses 1.5mm hex key head bolts? Archer Components, that's who!

This precipitated a search for said odd-ball tool. That led to a feng shui session in my shop. This felt great, and I was better organized than ever, but I still did not have a 1.5mm hex key! 

Who the heck uses 1.5mm hex socket bolts anyway! 2mm hex keys? I have them all day long. But 1.5mm? Really?!

Anyway, I finally found one on a Park Tool hex key set I had misplaced in another drawer. Hallelujah! Now on to getting these batteries recharged. I wondered how long that would take. 

Well, I never found out via the Archer Components website. It wasn't in the instruction manual that came with the unit. It wasn't with the instructions for the special charger either. Wow! You'd think that might be an important bit for a user of the system to know. Anyway......

The charger works great, but it is a little kludgy.

Only one way to find out how long the batteries take to charge, and that was to observe a charge cycle in real time. That's what I did, not knowing if this would be an hour or three. 

Good news was that the two larger batteries charged up in about one hour. The little battery? Wow! That battery took maybe 20 minutes to charge. And I am pretty sure all the batteries were drained. I am not sure if this adversely affects battery life, or not, but I was good to go in under two hours. 

Conclusions: I'm okay with this system but for a couple weird things that it has going on with it. One: You have to physically turn on and off the shift box or battery life is adversely affected. Two: Those dratted 1.5mm bolts on the remote shifter battery door. Why? There is no good reason for that. Give me some Phillips head screws, or 2mm bolts, but not this odd-ball size that most cyclist won't have a wrench for. 

Go read the link back for more about riding with the D-1X system. It works well, and it is easy to adjust, once you get used to it. I should note that Archer has a new, paddle shifter for flat bars now and the drop bar remote is available as well. This works with 5 speed freewheels all the way up to 11 speed cassettes. It doesn't care if you have a SRAM rear derailleur and a Campy cassette. Whatever. You can make it go, so I think it makes sense from the aspect that you can swap a single set up around to different bikes and enjoy crisp, electronic shifting with no worries about cables and housings. 

And then again, you can always just ride a single speed! 

 NOTE: Archer Components sent over the D1X shifting system to Riding Gravel for test and review at no charge. I am not being paid, nor bribed, to post this here. See the Standard Disclaimer Page.

Friday News And Views

Gravel Worlds seeks to have at least 1000 women in '22

Gravel Worlds Launches Women's Initiative:

In an effort to balance out the participation of women in Gravel Worlds with the men, Gravel Worlds is offering a 1000 spots across its various distances exclusively for women ahead of the opening of regular registration next month. 

An incentive for doing this is that Gravel Worlds will be donating a certain amount per registrant and they have a matching grant lined up to double the impact. From the press release:

"Gravel Worlds will be donating $5 per rider to the Nebraska Interscholastic Cycling League (Nebraska NICA Chapter) to their GRiT (Girls Riding Together) campaign for the first 1000 woman who sign up for the 300-mile, 150-mile, 75-mile, or 50k cycling distances. In addition, Gravel Worlds sponsor, HMH Logistics will be matching this donation for a potential total of $10,000 donated to GRiT."

Gravel Worlds also announced a gender nuetral category for their main event as well. More details can be seen at Gravel Worlds website. 

Gravel Routes Approved By Women:

I saw on social media where there is a site exclusively for women that curates routes on gravel. This is kind of Colorado/inter-mountain West-centric, but there are some rides from all across the US. 

Interest in routes has always been high and this probably will be a popular resource for those out West. However; I could see where someone might try a nationwide data base of gravel routes with information and ratings like this site has. 

It is interesting and I've been asked to drop routes I've come up with in the past, but there are a few issues with regard to providing 'curated routes' which you may not have thought of. For instance, let's say you draw up a route and give information on it with points of interest and places where you can resupply, or places you'll pass through to see and get things at. Well, let's say a bridge goes out, or a place closes that was the linchpin for resupply. Now let's say someone gets bitten by that who had planned a big vacation around 'your route' and deems their money spent and time taken off a waste due to 'your incompetent information'. You can say "Hey! I am only telling you this could be a good route to ride", but you'd be wasting your time and now you've got a ticked off person emailing you their negativity. 

You can disclaim things till the cows come home, but that won't change the hassle and the energy drain of dealing with ignorant people. I'm not saying that these women shouldn't do what they are doing, but I am saying why I won't ever do that. I know others provide routes, and you might think it is "no big deal", but after putting a gravel calendar out, (which I quit doing for reasons like I have pointed out), I know what can happen. 

PON Holdings Purchases Dorel Sports: 

A big merger in the bicycle industry happened this week when it was announced that Pon Holdings bought Dorel Sports for $810 million. This may sound like gibberish to you, so let me break it down into 'bike nerd' language. 

Essentially what this means is that A bunch of Euro bike brands owned by Pon, including the US MTB brand Santa Cruz and the Euro racing brand Cervelo, are now joined together with Cannondale, GT Bikes, Schwinn, and Pacific Cycle. 

The sale should be completed by Spring 2022, according to several reports. It is thought that this will form the world's largest specialty bicycle group, eclipsing the former top company, Giant. 

Comments:  Typical of Pon Holdings, I would expect them to make minimal changes to the brands they acquired in this sale. Santa Cruz, when it was purchased by Pon several years ago, basically continued on unchanged, as an example. What I would expect is an injection of capital with this acquisition allowing these companies to advance and grow further. It would be congruent with Pon's past historical bicycle business ventures. 

With electrified bicycles being all the rage in Europe and now in the US, I would also expect a big change in how many models some of these brands Pon acquired carries in their ranges. Anything beyond that is a mystery to me at this point, but again, most folks probably won't see a difference now, or in the near future, with regard to this sale.

The 2022 Carbon Mukluk XT (Image courtesy of Salsa Cycles)

Color Changes Highlight Salsa Fat Bike Line For '22:

Yesterday Salsa dropped the news on its 2022 line of fat bikes. It is pared down from previous years, probably due to supply chain issues. But whatever the reasons, you get basically two levels of Beargrease and Mukluk. 

Comments: It is interesting to see Salsa stick with the skinwall fat tires on the Mukluk. I like the look as it hearkens back to the original Pugsley, but I am sure it is a polarizing spec choice. The other notable thing here is that both the Beargrease and the Mukluk in current versions are pretty long in the tooth. There really hasn't been any innovation for 5 years. 

And what about the Blackborow longtail fat bike? There was nothing in the press release about that bike. I would assume it fell victim to the shortages and Salsa is only offering what it can make which sells the best for now. Clearly that is the Beargrease and Mukluk platforms. 

Parting Shot: Is Trek planning on going to a D2C model soon? This article shows why that may be true. 

That's a wrap for this week. Have a great weekend and get out and ride!

Friday News And Views

Gravel Worlds seeks to have at least 1000 women in '22

Gravel Worlds Launches Women's Initiative:

In an effort to balance out the participation of women in Gravel Worlds with the men, Gravel Worlds is offering a 1000 spots across its various distances exclusively for women ahead of the opening of regular registration next month. 

An incentive for doing this is that Gravel Worlds will be donating a certain amount per registrant and they have a matching grant lined up to double the impact. From the press release:

"Gravel Worlds will be donating $5 per rider to the Nebraska Interscholastic Cycling League (Nebraska NICA Chapter) to their GRiT (Girls Riding Together) campaign for the first 1000 woman who sign up for the 300-mile, 150-mile, 75-mile, or 50k cycling distances. In addition, Gravel Worlds sponsor, HMH Logistics will be matching this donation for a potential total of $10,000 donated to GRiT."

Gravel Worlds also announced a gender nuetral category for their main event as well. More details can be seen at Gravel Worlds website. 

Gravel Routes Approved By Women:

I saw on social media where there is a site exclusively for women that curates routes on gravel. This is kind of Colorado/inter-mountain West-centric, but there are some rides from all across the US. 

Interest in routes has always been high and this probably will be a popular resource for those out West. However; I could see where someone might try a nationwide data base of gravel routes with information and ratings like this site has. 

It is interesting and I've been asked to drop routes I've come up with in the past, but there are a few issues with regard to providing 'curated routes' which you may not have thought of. For instance, let's say you draw up a route and give information on it with points of interest and places where you can resupply, or places you'll pass through to see and get things at. Well, let's say a bridge goes out, or a place closes that was the linchpin for resupply. Now let's say someone gets bitten by that who had planned a big vacation around 'your route' and deems their money spent and time taken off a waste due to 'your incompetent information'. You can say "Hey! I am only telling you this could be a good route to ride", but you'd be wasting your time and now you've got a ticked off person emailing you their negativity. 

You can disclaim things till the cows come home, but that won't change the hassle and the energy drain of dealing with ignorant people. I'm not saying that these women shouldn't do what they are doing, but I am saying why I won't ever do that. I know others provide routes, and you might think it is "no big deal", but after putting a gravel calendar out, (which I quit doing for reasons like I have pointed out), I know what can happen. 

PON Holdings Purchases Dorel Sports: 

A big merger in the bicycle industry happened this week when it was announced that Pon Holdings bought Dorel Sports for $810 million. This may sound like gibberish to you, so let me break it down into 'bike nerd' language. 

Essentially what this means is that A bunch of Euro bike brands owned by Pon, including the US MTB brand Santa Cruz and the Euro racing brand Cervelo, are now joined together with Cannondale, GT Bikes, Schwinn, and Pacific Cycle. 

The sale should be completed by Spring 2022, according to several reports. It is thought that this will form the world's largest specialty bicycle group, eclipsing the former top company, Giant. 

Comments:  Typical of Pon Holdings, I would expect them to make minimal changes to the brands they acquired in this sale. Santa Cruz, when it was purchased by Pon several years ago, basically continued on unchanged, as an example. What I would expect is an injection of capital with this acquisition allowing these companies to advance and grow further. It would be congruent with Pon's past historical bicycle business ventures. 

With electrified bicycles being all the rage in Europe and now in the US, I would also expect a big change in how many models some of these brands Pon acquired carries in their ranges. Anything beyond that is a mystery to me at this point, but again, most folks probably won't see a difference now, or in the near future, with regard to this sale.

The 2022 Carbon Mukluk XT (Image courtesy of Salsa Cycles)

Color Changes Highlight Salsa Fat Bike Line For '22:

Yesterday Salsa dropped the news on its 2022 line of fat bikes. It is pared down from previous years, probably due to supply chain issues. But whatever the reasons, you get basically two levels of Beargrease and Mukluk. 

Comments: It is interesting to see Salsa stick with the skinwall fat tires on the Mukluk. I like the look as it hearkens back to the original Pugsley, but I am sure it is a polarizing spec choice. The other notable thing here is that both the Beargrease and the Mukluk in current versions are pretty long in the tooth. There really hasn't been any innovation for 5 years. 

And what about the Blackborow longtail fat bike? There was nothing in the press release about that bike. I would assume it fell victim to the shortages and Salsa is only offering what it can make which sells the best for now. Clearly that is the Beargrease and Mukluk platforms. 

Parting Shot: Is Trek planning on going to a D2C model soon? This article shows why that may be true. 

That's a wrap for this week. Have a great weekend and get out and ride!

Bikes Of 2020: The Snow Dog

 It's THAT time of year again when I have my year-end reviews. This series will cover my bikes I used during 2020, any changes made, and why I still like each one- or don't! Thanks for reading!

This bike needs no introduction to anyone who has been reading this blog for the last decade. This is my original fat bike, the one I got as a frame and fork for my 50th birthday from several friends who secretly got together and purchased it for me. (You know who you are- Thanks Again!)

So, that was how it all got started in 2011 as I headed off into the snow with this Mukluk. It was a revelation, it was a lot of fun, and I quickly found the limits of what this platform was capable of. That only served to push me onward to getting the Ti Muk a year later. Then three years afterward I got the Blackborow DS, which has been pretty much the ultimate go anywhere through anything fat bike. 

Meanwhile, the Snow Dog fell into disuse. For several years it was just kind of taking up space in my bike corral. Then I thought about selling it. However; as this feeling came over me I noted that my son was outgrowing his bikes at an alarming pace. It might be that he could use the Snow Dog someday. So, I hung onto the bike with that in mind. 

Last year I set it up for him and he ended up riding it some, but his main need was for a bike he could lock to a rack and to just cruise around on without being hassled. The Snow Dog was not that bike. It drew too much attention when he was riding it from people that I didn't need paying him attention. Plus, it wasn't going to be around long if he locked it to a pole at football practice. My old 1987 Schwinn Sierra was a better bike for him in that regard, so back went the Snow Dog into the Lab.  

Then I decided that I just needed to make use of this bike as my 'gravel' travel fat bike and I set it up for myself again. Since that point I've stuck those Whisky Company Milhouse Bars on it and well, it has been fun to ride it again. What the future holds for this bike, I do not know. 

At one time I was thinking I just needed a fat bike for a bike packing role. One that could be an off-road tourer, and maybe have a rack on it, or what have you. I was considering the last Pugsley version for this, but then I realized, I already have that bike. It's the Snow Dog after all. So, we will see how it all goes.

Bikes Of 2020: The Snow Dog

 It's THAT time of year again when I have my year-end reviews. This series will cover my bikes I used during 2020, any changes made, and why I still like each one- or don't! Thanks for reading!

This bike needs no introduction to anyone who has been reading this blog for the last decade. This is my original fat bike, the one I got as a frame and fork for my 50th birthday from several friends who secretly got together and purchased it for me. (You know who you are- Thanks Again!)

So, that was how it all got started in 2011 as I headed off into the snow with this Mukluk. It was a revelation, it was a lot of fun, and I quickly found the limits of what this platform was capable of. That only served to push me onward to getting the Ti Muk a year later. Then three years afterward I got the Blackborow DS, which has been pretty much the ultimate go anywhere through anything fat bike. 

Meanwhile, the Snow Dog fell into disuse. For several years it was just kind of taking up space in my bike corral. Then I thought about selling it. However; as this feeling came over me I noted that my son was outgrowing his bikes at an alarming pace. It might be that he could use the Snow Dog someday. So, I hung onto the bike with that in mind. 

Last year I set it up for him and he ended up riding it some, but his main need was for a bike he could lock to a rack and to just cruise around on without being hassled. The Snow Dog was not that bike. It drew too much attention when he was riding it from people that I didn't need paying him attention. Plus, it wasn't going to be around long if he locked it to a pole at football practice. My old 1987 Schwinn Sierra was a better bike for him in that regard, so back went the Snow Dog into the Lab.  

Then I decided that I just needed to make use of this bike as my 'gravel' travel fat bike and I set it up for myself again. Since that point I've stuck those Whisky Company Milhouse Bars on it and well, it has been fun to ride it again. What the future holds for this bike, I do not know. 

At one time I was thinking I just needed a fat bike for a bike packing role. One that could be an off-road tourer, and maybe have a rack on it, or what have you. I was considering the last Pugsley version for this, but then I realized, I already have that bike. It's the Snow Dog after all. So, we will see how it all goes.

Hiding From The Wind

The Snow Dog rides again!

 Well, it was supposed to be really windy on Wednesday, so I postponed plans to go bagging more gravel roads and did something a little different instead. I decided to take a spin on the ol' Snow Dog, my 2011 Salsa Cycles Mukluk fat bike. The Snow Dog hasn't been ridden a whole lot until this year because I had other, more capable fat bikes that went further afield in worse conditions than that old Mukluk ever could. I think the first gen Mukluk is a cool bike, but it is a unicorn rig in the fat biking world now days. 

It was a shocking bike in late 2010 when it was introduced. Ten years ago you couldn't get a fat bike at a bike shop and ride it out the door. Well, not unless that shop put one together for you from scratch. That would have been a Pugsley, and it would have likely cost you about $2500.00 unless you had a lot of spare parts to put on it. Wheels would have had to have been built by hand, a special crank set and bottom bracket would have needed to be sourced, and your tires and tubes would have been Surly products. Nothing else was available. That old Endomorph tire was kind of an oddball too. Not everyone got on with it. 

But when Salsa Cycles announced the Mukluk in 2010, they also announced a new tire for it as well. The 3.8" Surly Larry was a welcomed addition to the fat bike world and made a lot more sense than the Endomorph for many riders. What is more, you didn't have to buy the tires separately. They came on the bike as it was a complete package. A turnkey fat bike out of the box was a completely new thing and at the price the OG Mukluk went for, approximately $1800.00 plus taxes, it was a huge value over building a Pugsley from scratch. So much so that a couple of months after the Mukluk announcement, Surly announced a complete Pugsley would also be offered. The frenzy to get in line to buy these rigs was crazy at the time. It was the start of about a three to four year run on fat bikes that has never been matched since. 

The Surly Endomorph. Remember that tire?

The thing about the Mukluk that made it pretty much the fore-bearer of the fat bikes you see today is that it had a symmetrical frame and fork, not the offset fork and frame that the original Pugsley featured. This appealed to people's sensibilities more, but the reality was it did not affect performance, really. It just looked 'right'. Otherwise, the two bikes at that time, the Pugs and Muk, were essentially the same deal with different frame materials.  

So, my 2011 Mukluk has a pretty 'mountain bike-ish' handling from the 90's era, much like a Pugsley would, with maybe a bit of a nod to a slacker head angle, but not by much. The top tube is maybe a bit stretched out compared to an old MTB, but again, not by a lot. In fact, I run a longer stem on my Mukluk than I do on almost any other bike I own. (It's the stock stem, by the way) They stuck a really long head tube on this bike, which is odd, and with the 70mm rise carbon Milhouse Bar I have on there now, this bike has a very upright riding position. I have had to re-learn how to ride this bike since putting that bar on it.

And re-learn I did on the Green Belt. The wind was just getting on with its blowing when I left and in the woods I was shielded from its fury. The Green Belt is actually in pretty good shape. However; the freeze-thaw cycles have kicked in and the top layers of dirt were greasy mud. You have to be very careful when cornering on that stuff. I know from years of experience. Especially with the minimally treaded Larry 3.8" tires, which are still the original treads I got with the Snow Dog. There isn't much for grip there! However; this makes the Larry a killer tire for gravel. I wish that it was still in production just for that reason alone. But alas! The Larry is no more and it never was made in a tubeless version either. Too bad!

The Marky-Mark trail is in pretty good shape for going into the Winter.

Anyway, with the more upright position I have now, I stuck the Redshift Sports ShockStop seat post on this bike and it is awesome! This makes riding this bike so smooth it is ridiculous. While the original set up here was 3X I have it 1X now with a 9 speed rear end. I may dig up something to make this a lower geared rig as I found that with a 32T drive ring I was maxed out in a couple situations on the low end. I know that this Winter that won't work in deeper snow. 

But for woods cruising this set up with the really wide bars and upright seated position is fun. I went on a loop that took me to the Marky-Mark trail and I rode it both ways. It's in really great shape, I am happy to report. I look forward to cruising through once we get a little snow to work with. I do have some burlier 45NRTH rubber I can use that came to me on the Ti Muk 2 when I got it, so I may swap over tires here when Winter comes......if it comes. 

I may commute some on this bike, and I may do some gravel travel on this bike, but it needs upgrades and I just don't know.... Quick release 170mm rear and 135 rear brake standard front wheels are so out of date now I almost cannot justify it. That was one odd concession to the Pugsley Salsa made when they designed this bike. They felt that maybe some Pugs owners would jump over and get the new Muk, but would want to swap parts. In order to keep things in the Pugs standard, which was predicated on a built in fail-safe using two rear wheels, one single speed put on the front and the standard cassette rear, both 135mm spaced quick release, Salsa made their Mukluk to work with that. So, if you had a Pugs wheel you wanted to use in the Mukluk's 170mm spaced rear, Salsa offered this left side rear drop out spacer which made your Pugs wheel work in a Mukluk. As it turned out, this was all over-thought and almost no one went this way. 

So, eventually everything went through axle. The way it should have been from the get-go and of course, almost any fat bike worth its salt has a 150mm spaced front end. So, upgrading this bike, which has a straight 1 1/8th steer tube, by the way, is kind of a tough thing. I'll probably just maintain what I have and not spend a lot of money trying to make this what it isn't. Anyway....

I had a good ride on it Wednesday and that is what matters....