Friday News And Views

Iowa Wrestles With E-Moto/E-Bike Regulation:

Another ban (effectively) on all bicycles on city streets was defeated for the short term recently as the city of Waukee. Iowa had a proposal in front of the city council to consider a new ordinance unfriendly to cyclists. 

It's just one example of many scenes in city government buildings across the nation which exemplify the issues with electrified bicycles and scooters which are proliferating in numbers and are popular with under age kids. 

While solutions remain in debate, and fairness to those who need assisted bicycles or are using bicycles from the "3 Class" system are considerations, my concern is how any of this will be enforced. 

Yes, putting laws on the books more clearly defining e-moto from assisted bikes is an admirable and actionable thing to do, my sense is there are no more means to enforce any ordinances or laws making effectiveness of such measures questionable. Resources for law enforcement, ways to monitor trails, and ways to enforce the uses of electric bicycles on streets is not being addressed. A law on the books means nothing without enforcement and real consequences. Do any of these municipalities have the appetite to budget more labor and resources for backing up such laws? No one seems to be thinking about these things. 

If the backing, resources, and consequences are not real, neither will be any bill or ordinance providing for clarity on e-moto/e-bike usage. Signs mean nothing. Social media promotion is hot air. These cities and towns need to consider reality when looking at this problem. 

Spanish component maker seeks investments to avoid bankruptcy

Industry Turmoil Continues Into 2026:

The woes of the cycling industry which were predicted to have been overcome by now are still hanging on. In some cases, brands are folding up shop. Lynskey, a titanium frame manufacturer based in Tennessee, recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy according to recent media reporting.  

Rotor, the Spanish component manufacturer, is seeking out investors to avoid bankruptcy. Giant and Shimano recently reported declines in sales over the first part of 2026. It seems as though the economic footing for many companies is still tenuous. 

It's been too many years now to blame this on the pandemic oversaturation in terms of inventory as most of the glut has been worked through by now. One has to wonder about what other things are holding consumers back from spending on cycling as more time goes by.  

Image courtesy of Assisting Force (Yes, that is really the name!)

China Cycle Show Promises Influx Of Gravel Frames/Forks/Components To USA:

Over the past several years I have started to pay more attention to shows like the China Cycle Show which has been going on this week. 

The trends in cycling are now being set, in part, by what is going on with China's cycling scene. There are many brands there, who have been making stuff you've ridden or heard about, under brand names you know. Now these companies are eyeing the foreign markets, (foreign to China) as places to make their own name directly. 

Take for instance the "Assisting Force" brand. The name may sound goofy, but the company is a serious one, having made frames, forks, and other components for other brands for 20 years now. Instead of selling to a company who slaps a brand name on the down tube and has to hike the price to make a profit (to support Western lifestyles and Pro teams, influencers, marketing, etc.), they now are seeking to sell direct. And since the profit necessary to make this work is only going through one set of hands, so to speak, the retail prices are lower. In some cases, alarmingly so. 

Frame sets, wheel, and even group sets are becoming better, more well known here, and are making inroads which the traditional brands are going to find hard to compete with. The future will be interesting to watch as consumers look at Chinese brands versus traditional brands. Which way this goes will determine a lot of people's futures.  

Image courtesy of Singular Cycles

Singular Offers New Drop Bar 32"er Pterodactyl Model:

At the recent Cycle Show in the UK, Sam Alison brought a new model which is now on offer in Singular Cycles range to show. It is a 32"er called the Pterodactyl which will slot alongside the already notable 32"er offering Singular has in the Albatross. 

The Pterodactyl is a drop bar design in titanium. Singular is offering it now on pre-order through this month only, for now. It features a Super Boost 157mm wide rear hub spacing for the best in wheel stability. A Columbus Futura full-carbon fork handles the front wheel holding job. The hubs spec'ed for now ar from Hope. The rims are a Willow branded aluminum tubeless ready design. Tires will be the Maxxis Ardent 32 X 2.4" although the claimed max clearance is rated at 2.5".  

Rolling chassis pre-orders are due by the end of May and are priced at $4,619.00USD. See more on the Pterodactyl HERE.  

Image courtesy of Otso Cycles

Otso Cycles' Fenrir Now In Steel:

Otso Cycles' entry in the "Fargo-eque" bikepacking range is the Fenrir. This bike was traditionally only available in titanium or stainless steel. Both materials which are nice, but on the pricey side. 

Otso has helped this situation out a little by making the Fenrir available in steel now. The Fenrir Steel is available as a frame set for $1,950.00 or in a few complete build configurations. 

The Fenrir Steel can handle both 650B and 29"er wheels with 650B X 2.8" or 29" x 2.6" tires being the maximum allowable. You can check out all the builds and finer details on Otso Cycles' website for the Fenrir Steel HERE. 

That will be a warp for this week. Thanks for reading Guitar Ted Productions! Now get out there and ride those bicycles!

Friday News And Views

Image courtesy of Otso Cycles

 Window Dressing:

I mentioned this in last week's FN&V, and  I am still seeing a lot of stagnation in introductions of really new, redesigned or new designs for cycling. But what I am seeing a ton of  is new colors and new spec choices.

Take this Otso Cycles "Special Edition" Waheela C. This bike is not new, it's really just two new color choices and a special spec on their long-standing carbon gravel bike. 

Now, I will say the Rainbow Sparkle is pretty rad, but this is where we are at now. Companies need something to entice you to buy beyond discounting and they cannot afford to chuck up a new design or new idea for a component and sell those as the market has been in stagnation for the better part of three years now.

Part of what is going on is a complex, evolving change in retail. How we purchase things is changing and how things were/are offered to consumers is stagnant, or slow to catch up to these changes. I wrote about these things in a three part series which you can check out by going to this post which has links back to the two other articles in the series.

This cycle of refreshed paint and spec bolted to the same frames and forks may not end soon either. It's all window dressing, but again.....rainbow sparkle. C'mon! Even I can get jazzed by the window dressing from time to time, so I understand how it can work. 

Gravel Earth Series August Events:

A big month for a few USA based gravel events and the Gravel Earth Series. Three of the stalwarts of the gravel calendar now are taking place soon. You've got Rebecca's Private Idaho, the venerable Gravel Worlds, and the newcomer, but an important event now, CORE4 in Iowa.

I find it interesting that the Gravel Earth Series accepts events as they have evolved over time, (Rebecca's, Gravel Worlds), and accepts new events as envisioned, (CORE4). This is quite different to how the UCI structures events, which I have covered here to a fine degree of detail.

While I understand both theories of each entity's series, I find it rather curious when considering what will come out on top, in terms of what matters to the gravel scene overall. There is one key to the puzzle, and neither series - The UCI's or Gravel Earth's - have an opportunity to snag the premier jewel of gravel events because another entity owns it. Consider the magnitude of a decision to sell Unbound, as an event, upon the gravel racing world. 

Whichever entity grabbed that event would instantly become THE racing series worldwide.  Life Time doesn't quite seem to want to, or maybe cannot, separate MTB from gravel and grow a series which would become the premier gravel racing series in the World. Maybe they don't care about such things. I don't know. I just find the whole idea intriguing and whether or not it happens really doesn't natter to me except from a historical standpoint. 

Public Service Announcement:

Recently I've noted a few comments in the comment section which were "nice", but had a hyperlink in them. These may be AI generated spam, or.....? I'm not sure 100% because every one of these is from a "person" with a female name who I have never heard from here before. So, take that as you will. 

My point is that any comment waiting for moderation here which has an active hyperlink in it will be deleted summarily. I do not allow live hyperlinks in the comments. You can copy and paste a html link to a webpage in the comments which others can copy and paste into a browser, if they so choose, which  - know - might be a pain, but it is what I will allow in the comments.  

Again, it all may be much fuss about nothing to do with 'real people' here. Thanks for your attention to this message! 

Image courtesy of DT Swiss

DT Swiss Recalls Wheels In CRC, HEC, ERC Ranges:

Possibilities for rim/side wall delamination has caused a stop-ride and recall for DT Swiss wheels in their CRC, HRC, and ERC wheel ranges. A directive was sent out regarding the recall on Wednesday of this week.

On the DT Swiss site the reasons for the recall were detailed as such:

"We would like to inform you that DT Swiss is recalling affected wheel models of the ERC, CRC, and HEC series with rim heights of 35 and 45 mm and models of the ARC series with rim heights of 50, 55, and 65 mm. While the initial Stop-Use Notice applied to selected ERC, CRC, and HEC wheels, the recall includes ARC models manufactured at the same facility. Although no product defects have been reported for the ARC series, in-depth quality checks have revealed manufacturing concerns similar to those previously identified in the ERC/CRC/HEC models."

For more details see the recall page on DT Swiss' site HERE.

Got An Itch To Scratch:

The beginning of 2025 was all about looking forward to the Tree In The Road ride. That one was fun, but it wasn't quite what I was wanting in terms of distance.

I need a long ride. Trouble is, the weather, since the TITRR, hasn't been conducive to achieving this goal of mine. The extreme heat, humidity, and rains have thwarted any ideas for an all-day in the saddle ride.

And now that the heat and humidity have departed for a short time, we have wild fire smoke. Bah!

But August can't bad all bad, can it? So, hopefully very soon I will be able to carve out one day to ride most of that day and get this itch scratched. I am hopeful the weather will at least be tolerable and wildfire smoke goes away soon.

Fall will bring more opportunities and I am going to try to fit in the alley ride, plus the annual Turkey Burn ride. So, at least three or four more big days could happen, or none of them will. I am not hanging all my hopes on any of this because I know how things have gone the past three years and the rest of my life hasn't changed at all in other areas during this time period. If any of these rides happen it will be regarded as "unusual" and a huge blessing. 

Image credit: Google search

An Ode To Tubasti:

A comment was left on the blog the other day by a reader who goes by "scottg". It was a poem credited to an Aldo Ross about tubular glue.

Tubeless goop raises the ire of some riders, but they should be aware that tubular glue, which was used to set up tubular tires, was a thing for decades and we all should be thankful we don't have to deal with it much, if at all, anymore. I never did glue up tubulars, which may surprise some of you, but I caught on very early in my career as a bicycle mechanic that this procedure was not a lot of fun. 

So, I left the deed to others who were either ready to accept the hassles of tubulars or weren't aware of the consequences of using tubular glue.  

 Here's the poem as it was left in the comments for your enjoyment:

Tubasti 

 Tubasti on the sidewalls
Tubasti on the spokes
Tubasti on the workbench
And a bunch of cotter bolts

Tubasti on the visegrips
Tubasti on my arm
Tubasti on my chin and cheek
I hope it won't cause harm

Tubasti on the light switch
Tubasti on the cats
Tubasti on my shoes and socks
And on my car's floor mats

Tubasti on the carpet
Tubasti in my hair
I tried to glue just one damn tire
Now Tubasti's everywhere!

Credited to Aldo Ross. 

Thanks scottg for tipping us off to this gem!  

That's a wrap for this week. Get out and ride those bicycles! 

Friday News And Views

Image courtesy of Esker Cycles

 Hey! It's New Bike Day On The FN&V!

Esker Cycles Introduces The Smokey Ti:

Esker introduced a new bicycle on Monday called the Smokey Ti. It is a long travel, hard tail, titanium framed bicycle with signature Esker features. 

Designed around a 160mm travel fork, the Smokey Ti also features Esker's Portage drop outs which can be used to adjust your wheelbase or to set up the bike as a single speed. 

The Smokey Ti has a slack head angle of 64.5° and comes in four sizes. Frames are $2.500.00, and adding a fork to that brings you to $3,100.00. The single speed complete starts at $4.200.00 and geared completes start at $4,500.00. Contact Esker Cycles for more options. 

Image courtesy of Salsa Cycles

Salsa Cycles Updates Stormchaser Model:

Salsa Cycles announced yesterday that the new edition of the Stormchaser is now available. It comes in the traditional single speed issue with a new "Storm Grey" color. This version costs $1,799.00. 

The geared version has an Apex Eagle set up, a Rock Shox Rudy suspension device, and a dropper post, all in a Berry color for $3,199.00. 

The Stormchaser has copious tire clearance, (It will easily take a 700 X 50mm tire), and has the Class 5 VRS stays which give the rider some comfort in the rear end of the bike. The tension for the chain in single speed mode comes via the clever sliding drop outs Salsa developed for this model. 

The Storm Grey single speed. Image courtesy of Salsa Cycles

 There is a frame only option in black as well for $1,249.00. It includes a carbon fiber fork, head set, Stealth Dropper Post routing, abrasion plates, and rack and fender mounts. See your Salsa Cycles dealer for details. 

Image courtesy of Otso Cycles

Otso Cycles Announces Hoot Ti Trail Bike:

Otso Cycles announced on Tuesday of this week that they now have a hard tail, long travel, slacked out mountain bike of their own called the "Hoot Ti". As the name suggests, the frame is made out of titanium. 

The frame features 3D printed titanium drop outs and chain stay yoke. The 65° head tube angle on the Hoot Ti is optimized for 140mm travel fork, but Otso worked with Fox to get a 36mm stanchion version made to increase stiffness and lateral rigidity of this fork. The fork features Fox's new Grip X damper, 44mm offset, and bleeders on the lowers. Otso had Fox make the fork with black lowers and black anodized stanchions as well. 

Otso allows for a 150mm travel fork, but cautions against anything longer than that or shorter than 140mm. They claim the geometry will be altered too much affecting the intended handling of the design negatively.  

The Hoot Ti frame can be had for $3,300.00 with completes starting at $6,100.00. See Otso's website HERE for more details.

Image courtesy of Pilot Cycles

Pilot Cycles Debuts Completely 3D Printed Titanium Frame:

Pilot Cycles asks the question, "Have you ever seen a completely 3D printed road bike?" Well, there it is! Pilot, a Dutch company, have claimed to have made the first rideable, tested road bike made completely out of 3D printed titanium. 

The idea was driven by a desire to find a way to make a more sustainable frame for lightweight purposes than what carbon fiber is, but have it be competitive with carbon in performance. Pilot Cycles claims to have achieved this goal. 

You can read about the details HERE. 

The model is called the Seiren, and Pilot claims that by using titanium in this way, the bike can be tuned for ride quality and performance, just as with carbon fiber. Titanium can obviously be recycled into another titanium product, but recycling is very difficult with carbon fiber. 

Comments: One would suspect also that the titanium frame might be more durable, and in testing this has been the case so far. However; we don't know what "real world" lifespan for 3D titanium is just yet, as far as cycling goes. It's all too new to know this. But again, even if it isn't quite the "forever titanium frame" that your drawn tube titanium is, it can be recycled. 

Image courtesy of Ritchey Design/John Watson

Ritchey Design Announces New P-29 Hard Tail:

Ritchey Design announced yesterday that a newly designed P-29 hard tail frame is now available. Using proprietary triple-butted Logic steel tubing this new frame updates the old P-29 with Boost spacing and a capability to handle a 120mm travel suspension fork or a 500mm axle to crown Boost rigid fork. 

The frame can handle up to a 2.3" 29"er tires (depending upon rim choice) and has stealth dropper routing as well. The color is called "Dirt in Blood" and the frame retails for $999.00USD. 

Comments: This is an interesting 29"er frame and I love a few things about it. First is the color and the name of the color which is pretty cool. But practicality-wise I love that this bike is steel, and that it is so inexpensive. Furthermore; I love that Ritchey sent out a press release showing multiple builds of this frame and a couple used Ritchey drop bars. 

I don't like the tire clearance, but 2.3" is plenty for gravel and single track around here. That said, if I were looking to add a MTB to the Guitar Ted stable of bicycles I would strongly consider this one.

Victory Ride Tomorrow!.

Tomorrow will be the 50+ mile "Victory Ride" which was conceived of by Warren Weibe and facilitated by N.Y. Roll as a ride to celebrate 'something' and myself, I guess..... I'm not sure what this is about, really, other than Warren wanted to come up and spend some time with me on a bicycle ride. Maybe I'll get clarification on that and report back Monday. Oh! Yes, there will be a report here. 

I do "know" of about 10-11 of us that will be planning to show up. You may be coming too? If so, the route file from Ride With GPS is HERE. 

Otherwise I have not much more to say about this here. Of course, it is self-supported, YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOU!, and NO DROP rules are in effect. There likely will be a 'surprise visitor' rider, and maybe more than one. N.Y. Roll and I have our ideas on who that may be, but tomorrow will tell the tale.

Weather looks.....adventurous. Perhaps there will be some moisture. Hmm..... Stay tuned for the report to see how it all went on Monday. 

Until then, thanks for reading Guitar Ted Productions and have a safe and happy weekend. Ride those bicycles!

Friday News And Views

Image courtesy of Matt Gersib

Shimano 12spd GRX On Test:

Recently Shimano announced the 12 speed GRX groups. Well, back in August my good friend MG went to Bend, Oregon to get a preview of the group, and then Shimano set him up with a 12 speed GRX group with wheels as well. 

MG just posted his thoughts on the test of the group so far which you can check out HERE. 

Comments: It's interesting to note that MG mentions a few times that he likes just being able to hop on the bike and ride without any concerns or worries about battery life or having to carry spares "just in case". We both come from an era "pre-device" when things like "charging cords" meant you had to jump start your truck or trickle charge your 12 volt battery from your car. Everything else you just used, if it wasn't required to plug it into the wall.

Yeah.....cordless, rechargeable stuff is cool too. But when it comes to "the Freedom Machine", as Twin Six would call the bicycle, "freedom" is less free when you are tethered to electronics. I get that, MG gets that, but younger folks who have never known anything but USB cords? I wonder if they even understand the freeing feeling of being "device-free" these days. 

Maybe some do. 

Anyway, the point being here that some younger folks probably think mechanical group sets like the current GRX 12 speed stuff is from the dinosaur age. Maybe not, but if they do, I'd rather ride with the dinosaurs myself. Your mileage may vary.......

The Moots Express eBike (Image courtesy of Moots)

Moots Goes Carbon & Electric With The Express:

Speaking of devices.....

Moots just did two things maybe no one thought they would do. First, they made a bicycle out of something other than titanium. (To be fair, older, original Moots were steel, but most folks don't know that.) Secondly, and maybe a little less shocking, they made an electrified bike. 

Dubbed the "Express", the new Hybrid Powered Cycle (HPC - my term) is powered by an integrated battery and Shimano gear from the motor to the drive train. The battery life is said to be so good that riders can expect to squeeze out around 100 miles, maybe more, depending upon rider weight, wind, terrain, and amount of power assist selected. 

The controls are a bit unique in that the 1X drive train is operated by the right shift lever while the left lever controls the level of power assist. Total vehicle weight is listed at 33lbs for a medium sized Express model. Cost? If you have to ask what a Moots cost, well...... Okay, it's a penny less than 10K.

Comments: Surprising? Yes, coming from Moots. Not surprising? Yes also. Moots has to cater to its customer base, which are mostly well-heeled, older people that fit the assisted pedaling profile. Making a titanium bike look sleek with a battery pack? Probably not all that possible, and it would be heavy. Carbon was the correct choice here, despite the total dissonance with its brand identity.  

I'm not saying younger folks don't buy a Moots nor that younger folks don't want pedal assist bikes. But I also don't see a lot of Moots underneath the folks I ride with at events. So.... It is my opinion. Change my mind if you care to....

The Otso Voytek 2 (Image courtesy of Otso Bikes)

Otso Announces Voytek 2 - Highly Adjustable Geometry:

Otso Cycles features their patented "Tuning Chip" rear drop out which can allow a rider to adjust the wheel base and affect bottom bracket height and head tube angle a bit as well. They've taken that concept a bit further by offering a similar idea which they are implementing at the head tube. 

Called "GeoChip", it is a combination of aluminum inserts which are fitted at the positions you might normally associate with a top and bottom cup set for a head set. There three sets of "flip chips" which can be used to alter the head angle, reach for the cockpit, or both. 

The Voytek features multiple wheel size capabilities and still has that narrow "Q" factor bottom bracket. N.Y. Roll has an original V1 Voytek and seems pretty happy with it. This new version promises more to the owner with a true "one bike" off-road cycling solution for year-round riding. 

Comments: My my! What a versatile frame set. But, typically most folks are going to "set it and forget it" when it comes to this feature. But for those who like to tinker, well....there ya go! 

My only concern would be that here you are introducing two aluminum bits which sit in a carbon pocket in the frame at a high-stress area. Those bits are going to move ever so slightly while riding, and this may induce noise at some point. Maybe not, but it would not surprise me if that is something that crops up with this design. 

Also, at well over 3K for a frame and fork, I kind of cringe a bit. I'd maybe opt for something in metal at that point and forgo the versatility options available with the Voytek 2. But if you think of this as a mountain bike hard tail and a fat bike all in one? Then it makes a lot more sense. If that's you, then you can read more about the Voytek 2 HERE.

This image is from an old "Geezer Ride", by the way.

New Podcast Is Up:

N.Y. Roll went up and did the Colesburg event over the Labor Day weekend recently and his partner, Morgan, a new-to-gravel rider, was kind-of-sort-of talked into doing the 25 mile route.

Well, "things" happened and I thought it would be great if we could get Morgan's perspectives on, not only her event, but on gravel riding and gravel events in general. Coming from someone very fresh to the scene, I figured that I might get some new insights and learn from Morgan through he experiences. 

And I was rewarded with much to consider.

I know that enthusiasts from any genre of sport, recreation, or vocation tend to "gate keep" and be ignorant and insensitive to new folks coming in. That said, hearing it from a new rider to gravel is a bit more impactful and, I think, important to heed the message we hear from Morgan. 

Give it a listen HERE, or wherever you get you podcasts from. 

With that I will sign off for now. Thank you for reading Guitar Ted Productions and have a fantastic weekend!

Friday News And Views

Iowa Single Speed Gravel Championships: 

Where have I heard this before? Oh! Well...... Anyway. If you know, you know. (I mentioned this last Friday in the "FN&V") That said, this idea is taking shape again out of Cumming, Iowa. I understand that the field is getting pretty full and that the promoter is already getting lambasted with questions about what a single speed is. In any event promotion, you are going to get people that want you to bend your rules/definitions/suggestions to their way of thinking to make things easier for them in some way. This is happening here with this event, from what I can see on Facebook. 

It's a free event too. But that doesn't register on people's brains, I guess. They still are 'demanding' things, tongue in cheek or not. It doesn't matter, it's goofy. But that said, I am not at all surprised. 

Good luck to all involved.  I hope the event goes off well and becomes popular. I also am very happy I am not doing events/promotions anymore. Nuff said.....

Pinarello's new hardtail MTB. (Image courtesy of Pinarello)

Pinarello Debuts The Dogma XC:

Pinarello has to be commended. They do things outside of the box in terms of design often. Squiggly forks, electric gravel bikes, and now this asymmetrical hard tail mountain bike. 

This thing is designed to have the stiffest bottom bracket for energy transfer out there. Great for racers. Not so great for fun.  It reminds me of a painful experience I once had back in the 1990's.

Klein mountain bikes were racing inspired hard tails which were designed to have the stiffest bottom bracket area at the time for, you guessed it, efficient energy transfer to the rear wheels. I bought a 1992 Attitude model which "Velo News" had tested and found to be off the charts stiff compared to anything else out there at that time. 

That's good, right? Well......no. Not really. 

I remember that bike being so stiff that if you hit a small depression in a smooth trail at speed the bike would buck you off the saddle. Like you became airborne for a brief moment. Other MTB's did not do this. It was disconcerting, and it caused the rear wheel to loose grip when the bike unloaded that brief input as energy to the rider. That bike was a climbing beast, and it went GO when you stomped the pedals, but otherwise it was a chore to ride it, and other bikes were a LOT more fun to ride.  

I don't know about you, but I like "fun", so I don't think a modern-day version of what I had is a good idea for the average rider. But yeah....Pinarello is a cool company. 

Iowa's largest Competitive Bicycling Event?

Tomorrow CORE4 will happen near Iowa City, Iowa, an event in its second year. Last year it was easily the largest cycling event outside of RAGBRAI in Iowa, but this year it has grown to nearly 1000 riders. 

I hesitate to call CORE4 a "gravel event", due to its very nature, it is not that. CORE4 uses a healthy dose of single track and pavement in their course, along with gravel road sectors, so it wouldn't have passed my "sniff test" I used for gravel events back in 2008. Not by a long shot. 

But it certainly could be said to be "gravel adjacent", and I'd agree with that assessment of this event. Regardless of how anyone wants to classify CORE4, it is a huge event and a surprise from the standpoint of its relative newness on the scene. It would appear that "adventure' cycling in a competitive format is touching a nerve here in Iowa. 

I'm interested in how things go mostly from the standpoint of a certain person being in the event. N.Y. Roll is set to take on the challenge of riding his fat bike on the 100 mile version of the course. We will see how things go when he gets back and tells his tales. 

It's a pretty big day in gravel racing tomorrow with several events taking place, most notably SBT GRVL in Colorado. Good luck to anyone who will be pinning on a number this weekend!

Lithic Carbon Gravel Fork:

Note: Image of the Lithic Carbon Gravel Fork courtesy of Wolf Tooth

You may not be aware that Wolf Tooth/Otso Bikes has a component arm called Lithic. they have some pretty cool carbon fiber forks that are available for your mountain, gravel, or fat bike needs. 

made for a replacement for more modern geometry gravel bikes, the claimed 505 gram fork will fit bikes with a suspension correction from 30mm - 50mm. the offset is 47mm and the axle to crown is 420mm. It jas the ubiquitous "Three Pack" bosses on each fork leg too. Tire clearance is a whopping 29" X 2.1". 

Flat mount only and tapered steer tube, of course. $549.95 USD

You can check it out here:  https://www.wolftoothcomponents.com/collections/forks/products/lithic-carbon-gravel-fork

Comments: I have ridden a Lithic Carbon fork before on an Otso Bikes Warakin. It wasn't very compliant, but there are not many carbon forks that are for a gravel bike. This all-new fork is likely pretty stiff in keeping with the genre.  

I have ridden a carbon fork I thought was pretty good at vibration damping, but you rarely ever see them. The TRP carbon gravel fork was really quite nice, but it isn't in production anymore, and old ones can be found but they are post mount for the brakes. I've complained about this before, but carbon gravel forks are just far to non-compliant. So, if there is a negative to this new Lithic fork, I would not be at all surprised to find out that it has to do with stiffness.

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

Friday News And Views

Iowa Single Speed Gravel Championships: 

Where have I heard this before? Oh! Well...... Anyway. If you know, you know. (I mentioned this last Friday in the "FN&V") That said, this idea is taking shape again out of Cumming, Iowa. I understand that the field is getting pretty full and that the promoter is already getting lambasted with questions about what a single speed is. In any event promotion, you are going to get people that want you to bend your rules/definitions/suggestions to their way of thinking to make things easier for them in some way. This is happening here with this event, from what I can see on Facebook. 

It's a free event too. But that doesn't register on people's brains, I guess. They still are 'demanding' things, tongue in cheek or not. It doesn't matter, it's goofy. But that said, I am not at all surprised. 

Good luck to all involved.  I hope the event goes off well and becomes popular. I also am very happy I am not doing events/promotions anymore. Nuff said.....

Pinarello's new hardtail MTB. (Image courtesy of Pinarello)

Pinarello Debuts The Dogma XC:

Pinarello has to be commended. They do things outside of the box in terms of design often. Squiggly forks, electric gravel bikes, and now this asymmetrical hard tail mountain bike. 

This thing is designed to have the stiffest bottom bracket for energy transfer out there. Great for racers. Not so great for fun.  It reminds me of a painful experience I once had back in the 1990's.

Klein mountain bikes were racing inspired hard tails which were designed to have the stiffest bottom bracket area at the time for, you guessed it, efficient energy transfer to the rear wheels. I bought a 1992 Attitude model which "Velo News" had tested and found to be off the charts stiff compared to anything else out there at that time. 

That's good, right? Well......no. Not really. 

I remember that bike being so stiff that if you hit a small depression in a smooth trail at speed the bike would buck you off the saddle. Like you became airborne for a brief moment. Other MTB's did not do this. It was disconcerting, and it caused the rear wheel to loose grip when the bike unloaded that brief input as energy to the rider. That bike was a climbing beast, and it went GO when you stomped the pedals, but otherwise it was a chore to ride it, and other bikes were a LOT more fun to ride.  

I don't know about you, but I like "fun", so I don't think a modern-day version of what I had is a good idea for the average rider. But yeah....Pinarello is a cool company. 

Iowa's largest Competitive Bicycling Event?

Tomorrow CORE4 will happen near Iowa City, Iowa, an event in its second year. Last year it was easily the largest cycling event outside of RAGBRAI in Iowa, but this year it has grown to nearly 1000 riders. 

I hesitate to call CORE4 a "gravel event", due to its very nature, it is not that. CORE4 uses a healthy dose of single track and pavement in their course, along with gravel road sectors, so it wouldn't have passed my "sniff test" I used for gravel events back in 2008. Not by a long shot. 

But it certainly could be said to be "gravel adjacent", and I'd agree with that assessment of this event. Regardless of how anyone wants to classify CORE4, it is a huge event and a surprise from the standpoint of its relative newness on the scene. It would appear that "adventure' cycling in a competitive format is touching a nerve here in Iowa. 

I'm interested in how things go mostly from the standpoint of a certain person being in the event. N.Y. Roll is set to take on the challenge of riding his fat bike on the 100 mile version of the course. We will see how things go when he gets back and tells his tales. 

It's a pretty big day in gravel racing tomorrow with several events taking place, most notably SBT GRVL in Colorado. Good luck to anyone who will be pinning on a number this weekend!

Lithic Carbon Gravel Fork:

Note: Image of the Lithic Carbon Gravel Fork courtesy of Wolf Tooth

You may not be aware that Wolf Tooth/Otso Bikes has a component arm called Lithic. they have some pretty cool carbon fiber forks that are available for your mountain, gravel, or fat bike needs. 

made for a replacement for more modern geometry gravel bikes, the claimed 505 gram fork will fit bikes with a suspension correction from 30mm - 50mm. the offset is 47mm and the axle to crown is 420mm. It jas the ubiquitous "Three Pack" bosses on each fork leg too. Tire clearance is a whopping 29" X 2.1". 

Flat mount only and tapered steer tube, of course. $549.95 USD

You can check it out here:  https://www.wolftoothcomponents.com/collections/forks/products/lithic-carbon-gravel-fork

Comments: I have ridden a Lithic Carbon fork before on an Otso Bikes Warakin. It wasn't very compliant, but there are not many carbon forks that are for a gravel bike. This all-new fork is likely pretty stiff in keeping with the genre.  

I have ridden a carbon fork I thought was pretty good at vibration damping, but you rarely ever see them. The TRP carbon gravel fork was really quite nice, but it isn't in production anymore, and old ones can be found but they are post mount for the brakes. I've complained about this before, but carbon gravel forks are just far to non-compliant. So, if there is a negative to this new Lithic fork, I would not be at all surprised to find out that it has to do with stiffness.

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

Friday News And Views

Cervelo's new MTB: Image courtesy of Cervelo

Cervelo Debuts New MTB:

I saw where Cervelo entered the mountain bike market this past week with the unveiling of their newest bicycles, the ZHT-5 series MTB's. I honestly was a bit surprised that Cervelo did not already have a mountain bike in their history of manufacturing bicycles, but there you go. A new frontier for the company and I wish them well in this endeavor.

Comments: Umm....did you see the price for the top of the range? Nearly 10K?!! For a hardtail MTB? That's insane money. I get that it has electronic shifting and all, but wow! That's crazy in my opinion. Now it should be noted that if you take a step down you can spend $4,200.00 less for the GX Eagle AXS model. 

$4,200.00 less. 

I don't know about you, but that leaves me scratching my head. The economics of that makes little sense to my mind. Maybe I'm way off......

Riding Gravel News:

I recently added an update to the Shimano GRX Carbon wheel set review on Riding Gravel. You can go read that if you are interested in that HERE. 

They are pretty good wheels, in my estimation. You can spend less, and you can get lighter wheels at about the same price, but these are Shimano wheels which means that you should be able to get them serviced about anywhere if they would ever need to be serviced. That's kind of an intangible point in terms of value there. 

Also, I have another Riding Gravel Radio Ranch podcast up with my co-host, N.Y. Roll. If you want to listen to that episode the link is HERE.I've had a few questions about availability on different platforms and I understand that the old feeds aren't working. That's because the podcast is distributed completely differently now due to issues with getting my work posted via the old platform and process I was using. 

Basically, the podcast is starting again from scratch, but at least I know the content will get posted in a timely manner now because I have control over that now. I apologize to anyone who has been disappointed in the change, but it was necessary for me to make some kind of change so that things could flow in a manner that made sense and that was in my hands to do something about.That has happened now, and I understand that the podcast will have to basically grow again from zero.

Tiny Turdette:

I got an email earlier this week from Jen Reed, the RD of "Turds of Misery", (which was actually a rock band's name from the 1970's- really!), and she informed me that there will be no long course event this year. 

But in its place she came up with a 44 mile, filled with Level B Road course. The event is called the "Tiny Turdette", and you can ride it at no charge. Riders are asked to show up at Maquoketa Caves State Park Saturday, October 15th at 10am. 

Jen says that there are no resupply points along the course. It is a fully self-supported ride, and YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOURSELF.  That said, Jen says that there are 5 sections of dirt to enjoy along the course. So, check that out if you want to have a fun day on the bike next week. Wish I could be there, but I have to put in my time at the Collective. 

Garmin Gravel Worlds Announces Diversity Future Initiative:

From the press release:

  The Pirate Cycling League, hosts of Garmin Gravel Worlds, have announced their Diversity Future Initiative that will help foster the next generation of cyclists in Lincoln, Nebraska.

In 2023, Garmin Gravel Worlds will donate $2 per rider to a scholarship fund that will support young athletes (Age 12-18) from diverse backgrounds including the BIPOC community, low-income families, and non-binary gender expansive communities.

According to Garmin Gravel Worlds Executive Director and event founder, Corey Godfrey, the initiative is simply to help foster the next generation of cyclists.

“Cycling can be an expensive sport which can create a financial barrier for some,” Godfrey said. “We acknowledge that there are so many kids and families who will never have the opportunity to enjoy cycling because of the that financial barrier to entry. This Diversity Future Initiative and scholarship fund will help support those athletes and eliminate or reduce the financial barrier.”

Garmin Gravel Worlds Director of Operations and Marketing, Jason Strohbehn, said the Diversity Future Initiative will support several local athletes through the local Lancaster Composite team, which competes under the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA).

“Our goal is to raise well over $5,000 that should support 5-8 young athletes and get everything they need to succeed,” Strohbehn said. “Working closely with our local NICA team, this scholarship will provide a bike, equipment, clothing, cycling team, coaching, community, and a supportive environment.

“We want Lincoln, Nebraska to be at the forefront of supporting athletes who are too often left behind, and this scholarship fund could be life changing for many.”

Riders registering for Garmin Gravel Worlds will also have an opportunity to match Gravel Worlds’ $2 donation when they register for any cycling distance for the 2023 event

Comments: I think at one point I suggested that if an event really wanted to make a dent in terms of getting disadvantaged and under-represented folks to their event, maybe they might want to think about paying their way, getting them bikes, and transporting them to their events. Well, I am not suggesting that anyone at Gravel Worlds listens to me, or reads my rants, but this is spot-on to what I was referring to. 

Question: Is the UCI Gravel "World Championships" doing anything like this? How about other U.S. based gravel events? Hmm...... I'm thinking the answer is mostly a big fat "no" on that. Correct me please if I am wrong. I'd like that if I were wrong about that, by the way.  

The Otso "Arctodus" frameset- Image courtesy of Otso Cycles.

Otso Cycles Announces New Arctodus Fat Bike:

There has not been much going on in the world of fat bikes for several years in terms of innovations. However; Otso Cycles has found a way to advance the genre' a bit with the introduction of the Arctodus.

The Arctodus is a CroMoly frame with a carbon fiber fork that has been "future-proofed" to accept tires on 100mm fat bike rims that do not exist yet. But if they did, you could slot in 26" X 5.25'ers, 27.5" X 4.5"ers, or the already available 29"er X 3.0" tires.  

Featuring Otso's "Tuning Chip" rear drop out, owners of the Arctodus will be able to tweak the geometry slightly. The frame is said to accept up to a 36T round chain ring and clear 12 cog cassettes with no tire to chain interference. Otso managed this by offsetting the 12mm X 197 rear end to the drive side by 5mm. Owners will also be able to use an "angle changing head set" from Wolf Tooth to further change the head angle which is a slack, for a fat bike, 68.5°. The fork offset is 51mm. 

Comments: A steel frame set? Interesting. A nod to backcountry type riding and bikepackers should really like this frame for that reason. It'll be interesting also to see if this signals a bigger fat bike tire since they are really making a big deal about the clearances. We'll see, but I'm keeping an eye out here. My old Blackborrow can handle a bigger tire than a 4.8"er too, but maybe not that big!

That's a wrap for this week! Have a safe and happy weekend. Watch out for those harvesters! Thank you for reading Guitar Ted Productions!

Friday News And Views

Cervelo's new MTB: Image courtesy of Cervelo

Cervelo Debuts New MTB:

I saw where Cervelo entered the mountain bike market this past week with the unveiling of their newest bicycles, the ZHT-5 series MTB's. I honestly was a bit surprised that Cervelo did not already have a mountain bike in their history of manufacturing bicycles, but there you go. A new frontier for the company and I wish them well in this endeavor.

Comments: Umm....did you see the price for the top of the range? Nearly 10K?!! For a hardtail MTB? That's insane money. I get that it has electronic shifting and all, but wow! That's crazy in my opinion. Now it should be noted that if you take a step down you can spend $4,200.00 less for the GX Eagle AXS model. 

$4,200.00 less. 

I don't know about you, but that leaves me scratching my head. The economics of that makes little sense to my mind. Maybe I'm way off......

Riding Gravel News:

I recently added an update to the Shimano GRX Carbon wheel set review on Riding Gravel. You can go read that if you are interested in that HERE. 

They are pretty good wheels, in my estimation. You can spend less, and you can get lighter wheels at about the same price, but these are Shimano wheels which means that you should be able to get them serviced about anywhere if they would ever need to be serviced. That's kind of an intangible point in terms of value there. 

Also, I have another Riding Gravel Radio Ranch podcast up with my co-host, N.Y. Roll. If you want to listen to that episode the link is HERE.I've had a few questions about availability on different platforms and I understand that the old feeds aren't working. That's because the podcast is distributed completely differently now due to issues with getting my work posted via the old platform and process I was using. 

Basically, the podcast is starting again from scratch, but at least I know the content will get posted in a timely manner now because I have control over that now. I apologize to anyone who has been disappointed in the change, but it was necessary for me to make some kind of change so that things could flow in a manner that made sense and that was in my hands to do something about.That has happened now, and I understand that the podcast will have to basically grow again from zero.

Tiny Turdette:

I got an email earlier this week from Jen Reed, the RD of "Turds of Misery", (which was actually a rock band's name from the 1970's- really!), and she informed me that there will be no long course event this year. 

But in its place she came up with a 44 mile, filled with Level B Road course. The event is called the "Tiny Turdette", and you can ride it at no charge. Riders are asked to show up at Maquoketa Caves State Park Saturday, October 15th at 10am. 

Jen says that there are no resupply points along the course. It is a fully self-supported ride, and YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOURSELF.  That said, Jen says that there are 5 sections of dirt to enjoy along the course. So, check that out if you want to have a fun day on the bike next week. Wish I could be there, but I have to put in my time at the Collective. 

Garmin Gravel Worlds Announces Diversity Future Initiative:

From the press release:

  The Pirate Cycling League, hosts of Garmin Gravel Worlds, have announced their Diversity Future Initiative that will help foster the next generation of cyclists in Lincoln, Nebraska.

In 2023, Garmin Gravel Worlds will donate $2 per rider to a scholarship fund that will support young athletes (Age 12-18) from diverse backgrounds including the BIPOC community, low-income families, and non-binary gender expansive communities.

According to Garmin Gravel Worlds Executive Director and event founder, Corey Godfrey, the initiative is simply to help foster the next generation of cyclists.

“Cycling can be an expensive sport which can create a financial barrier for some,” Godfrey said. “We acknowledge that there are so many kids and families who will never have the opportunity to enjoy cycling because of the that financial barrier to entry. This Diversity Future Initiative and scholarship fund will help support those athletes and eliminate or reduce the financial barrier.”

Garmin Gravel Worlds Director of Operations and Marketing, Jason Strohbehn, said the Diversity Future Initiative will support several local athletes through the local Lancaster Composite team, which competes under the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA).

“Our goal is to raise well over $5,000 that should support 5-8 young athletes and get everything they need to succeed,” Strohbehn said. “Working closely with our local NICA team, this scholarship will provide a bike, equipment, clothing, cycling team, coaching, community, and a supportive environment.

“We want Lincoln, Nebraska to be at the forefront of supporting athletes who are too often left behind, and this scholarship fund could be life changing for many.”

Riders registering for Garmin Gravel Worlds will also have an opportunity to match Gravel Worlds’ $2 donation when they register for any cycling distance for the 2023 event

Comments: I think at one point I suggested that if an event really wanted to make a dent in terms of getting disadvantaged and under-represented folks to their event, maybe they might want to think about paying their way, getting them bikes, and transporting them to their events. Well, I am not suggesting that anyone at Gravel Worlds listens to me, or reads my rants, but this is spot-on to what I was referring to. 

Question: Is the UCI Gravel "World Championships" doing anything like this? How about other U.S. based gravel events? Hmm...... I'm thinking the answer is mostly a big fat "no" on that. Correct me please if I am wrong. I'd like that if I were wrong about that, by the way.  

The Otso "Arctodus" frameset- Image courtesy of Otso Cycles.

Otso Cycles Announces New Arctodus Fat Bike:

There has not been much going on in the world of fat bikes for several years in terms of innovations. However; Otso Cycles has found a way to advance the genre' a bit with the introduction of the Arctodus.

The Arctodus is a CroMoly frame with a carbon fiber fork that has been "future-proofed" to accept tires on 100mm fat bike rims that do not exist yet. But if they did, you could slot in 26" X 5.25'ers, 27.5" X 4.5"ers, or the already available 29"er X 3.0" tires.  

Featuring Otso's "Tuning Chip" rear drop out, owners of the Arctodus will be able to tweak the geometry slightly. The frame is said to accept up to a 36T round chain ring and clear 12 cog cassettes with no tire to chain interference. Otso managed this by offsetting the 12mm X 197 rear end to the drive side by 5mm. Owners will also be able to use an "angle changing head set" from Wolf Tooth to further change the head angle which is a slack, for a fat bike, 68.5°. The fork offset is 51mm. 

Comments: A steel frame set? Interesting. A nod to backcountry type riding and bikepackers should really like this frame for that reason. It'll be interesting also to see if this signals a bigger fat bike tire since they are really making a big deal about the clearances. We'll see, but I'm keeping an eye out here. My old Blackborrow can handle a bigger tire than a 4.8"er too, but maybe not that big!

That's a wrap for this week! Have a safe and happy weekend. Watch out for those harvesters! Thank you for reading Guitar Ted Productions!