Friday News And Views

pactbike Battlecat

The Evolution Of The Hardtail:

Just because I ride a lot of gravel roads these days doesn't mean I am not still watching what happens with mountain biking. One of the things I've noticed and that I cannot seem to get my mind off of is the move to longer, lower, and slacker mountain bikes with longer travel suspension forks.

The whole idea is intriguing to me. Most of these bikes are 27.5+/B+ bikes too, and I like that tire/rim combination a lot. Set up tubeless on wider rims, these wheels can give you loads of traction without the cumbersome acceleration a full on 29+ bike would have which keeps things fast, maneuverable, and over all, pretty fun. The over all diameter is slightly less than a 29"er, so you do lose certain nuances of a 29"er wheel. This is why I still think a 29"er with fat rims and fat rubber is also a good bike, just not a full on 29+ bike. 2.4"-2.5" tires is something I think is about right there. Trouble is that there are not a lot of tires in that size range. Anyway....

The point isn't about the tires, it is about the geometry. The long front/short, stubby stem set ups with sub 68° head angles. The shorter chain stays, low stand over height, and dropper posts. It is a different look and feel than where we have been with 29"er hard tail bikes, and those were so "XC-ish" for quite a while. I like this "trail-All Mountain" kind of hard tail, and so I find things like this, the pact bikes Battlecat, pictured above, and the Advocate Cycles Hayduke to be really interesting bikes. Then I wonder if you couldn't be in a similar ball park with the versatility of doing fat bike tires and wheels from time to time with a Surly Wednesday. Ah! It's all too much!

Besides, I have a nice Singular Cycles Buzzard already.......

The next project on my radar......

Standard Rolling Stock:

With the Project 1X1 bike up and rolling, it is time for another project to tackle. That has to be the wheels for my Twin Six Standard Rando. As I have mentioned before, I want to roll on some nicer, 11 speed compatible, disc brake hubs. I am aiming at obtaining some White Industries XMR hubs. I already have the WTB KOM i25 rims sitting there waiting to go.

As suggested by my cycling friend, Mr. Fuller, I am going with a "touch of color at the hub" and get the gold anodized versions to give the bike some pop off the base green powdercoat and black componentry. I'll likely go with black spokes and black nipples as well.

The WTB rims are tubeless compatible, so my plan is to wrap these wheels up with a nice set of tires, and the obvious choice will be the WTB Nano 40 TCS tires. Keeping it all in a system. I know it works and it will make the Standard Rando a great gravel road going rig.  I'll be posting about building those wheels when the hubs are procured.

Although the snow is all gone, it is still a day for the fatty.

Mud & Snow Tires:

The big snow we got last weekend is a memory washed away by warmer weather and rainy precipitation. The fat bike path I beat in last weekend was a worthy work that did what I needed it to do Monday, and maybe it was a mild benefit Tuesday, but I made it through on the 1X1, so it wasn't all that difficult. Of course, without snow, I shouldn't have to use a fat bike to get to work, right?

Wrong.....

There are a couple of places where I have some serious mud to deal with, and that is where the fat bike to work idea starts to come into its own. Yes....there are long stretches where it doesn't make sense. However; the stretches of my commute that are prone to mud would make many of my other bikes grind to a halt, at worst, or really mess them up, at best. The fat bike has flotation over these stretches and makes running through the mud, (almost), no big deal. The newly added Dave's Mud Shovel will make that even better.

Okay, that's it folks. Have a great weekend and ride off that turkey!

Friday News And Views

pactbike Battlecat

The Evolution Of The Hardtail:

Just because I ride a lot of gravel roads these days doesn't mean I am not still watching what happens with mountain biking. One of the things I've noticed and that I cannot seem to get my mind off of is the move to longer, lower, and slacker mountain bikes with longer travel suspension forks.

The whole idea is intriguing to me. Most of these bikes are 27.5+/B+ bikes too, and I like that tire/rim combination a lot. Set up tubeless on wider rims, these wheels can give you loads of traction without the cumbersome acceleration a full on 29+ bike would have which keeps things fast, maneuverable, and over all, pretty fun. The over all diameter is slightly less than a 29"er, so you do lose certain nuances of a 29"er wheel. This is why I still think a 29"er with fat rims and fat rubber is also a good bike, just not a full on 29+ bike. 2.4"-2.5" tires is something I think is about right there. Trouble is that there are not a lot of tires in that size range. Anyway....

The point isn't about the tires, it is about the geometry. The long front/short, stubby stem set ups with sub 68° head angles. The shorter chain stays, low stand over height, and dropper posts. It is a different look and feel than where we have been with 29"er hard tail bikes, and those were so "XC-ish" for quite a while. I like this "trail-All Mountain" kind of hard tail, and so I find things like this, the pact bikes Battlecat, pictured above, and the Advocate Cycles Hayduke to be really interesting bikes. Then I wonder if you couldn't be in a similar ball park with the versatility of doing fat bike tires and wheels from time to time with a Surly Wednesday. Ah! It's all too much!

Besides, I have a nice Singular Cycles Buzzard already.......

The next project on my radar......

Standard Rolling Stock:

With the Project 1X1 bike up and rolling, it is time for another project to tackle. That has to be the wheels for my Twin Six Standard Rando. As I have mentioned before, I want to roll on some nicer, 11 speed compatible, disc brake hubs. I am aiming at obtaining some White Industries XMR hubs. I already have the WTB KOM i25 rims sitting there waiting to go.

As suggested by my cycling friend, Mr. Fuller, I am going with a "touch of color at the hub" and get the gold anodized versions to give the bike some pop off the base green powdercoat and black componentry. I'll likely go with black spokes and black nipples as well.

The WTB rims are tubeless compatible, so my plan is to wrap these wheels up with a nice set of tires, and the obvious choice will be the WTB Nano 40 TCS tires. Keeping it all in a system. I know it works and it will make the Standard Rando a great gravel road going rig.  I'll be posting about building those wheels when the hubs are procured.

Although the snow is all gone, it is still a day for the fatty.

Mud & Snow Tires:

The big snow we got last weekend is a memory washed away by warmer weather and rainy precipitation. The fat bike path I beat in last weekend was a worthy work that did what I needed it to do Monday, and maybe it was a mild benefit Tuesday, but I made it through on the 1X1, so it wasn't all that difficult. Of course, without snow, I shouldn't have to use a fat bike to get to work, right?

Wrong.....

There are a couple of places where I have some serious mud to deal with, and that is where the fat bike to work idea starts to come into its own. Yes....there are long stretches where it doesn't make sense. However; the stretches of my commute that are prone to mud would make many of my other bikes grind to a halt, at worst, or really mess them up, at best. The fat bike has flotation over these stretches and makes running through the mud, (almost), no big deal. The newly added Dave's Mud Shovel will make that even better.

Okay, that's it folks. Have a great weekend and ride off that turkey!

A Vicious Cycle Of Washing

Awww! I just cleaned it yesterday!

You've heard it a million times, I am sure: "If you want it to rain, just go wash your car!" Somehow or another, I think something along these lines must work when you ride bicycles as well.

Case in point- My Singular Cycles Buzzard had been ridden in some pretty nasty stuff at one point or another back in the Spring, or maybe it was last Winter? Heck.....I can't remember, it's been that long ago. All I know is that there was this layer of grungy crap and dirt all over the frame. Not only that, the polished Velocity Dually rims were.....well they weren't very shiny anymore. If you own polished aluminum rims, it is sort of the point to have them be blindingly shiny all the time, right?

So, I finally got around to doing some much needed maintenance. Those rims! I had to break out the Never Dull and even then they were almost impossible to bring back to even a semi-shiny state. Elbow grease was applied in large doses, which finally resulted in a bit of luster. Acceptable for the time being, but I'd have to get after that again when my fingers returned to a state of having feelings. Of course, the rest of the frame was also polished up, but powdercoat has a lot lighter grip on grime than polished aluminum does, so that went a lot easier.

This all happened at work, by the way, because things have slowed down. Hey! It's the off-season, ya know, so I don't have quite near the workload I do in the Summertime. I rode my shiny, (almost) rig back home proudly. It's like my old coworker Jeff always said, "A clean bike is a happy bike." I suppose it was just glad its lazy ol' owner decide to finally do something about its state of disrespect. I was just happy to see the rims glow again!

Maybe it will take another six months.....

Wouldn't you know it, but I had to ride the Singular back from the repair shop where Mrs. Guitar Ted's car was getting serviced. While I was waiting it out at home, it rained, and things got pretty messy. Well, there ya go! Wash up the bike if you want it to rain, or something!

Anyway, I'm sure that if I don't let this dirt marinate on the bike for.....oh, six months or more, it just might come off a little bit easier. Probably will.

A Vicious Cycle Of Washing

Awww! I just cleaned it yesterday!

You've heard it a million times, I am sure: "If you want it to rain, just go wash your car!" Somehow or another, I think something along these lines must work when you ride bicycles as well.

Case in point- My Singular Cycles Buzzard had been ridden in some pretty nasty stuff at one point or another back in the Spring, or maybe it was last Winter? Heck.....I can't remember, it's been that long ago. All I know is that there was this layer of grungy crap and dirt all over the frame. Not only that, the polished Velocity Dually rims were.....well they weren't very shiny anymore. If you own polished aluminum rims, it is sort of the point to have them be blindingly shiny all the time, right?

So, I finally got around to doing some much needed maintenance. Those rims! I had to break out the Never Dull and even then they were almost impossible to bring back to even a semi-shiny state. Elbow grease was applied in large doses, which finally resulted in a bit of luster. Acceptable for the time being, but I'd have to get after that again when my fingers returned to a state of having feelings. Of course, the rest of the frame was also polished up, but powdercoat has a lot lighter grip on grime than polished aluminum does, so that went a lot easier.

This all happened at work, by the way, because things have slowed down. Hey! It's the off-season, ya know, so I don't have quite near the workload I do in the Summertime. I rode my shiny, (almost) rig back home proudly. It's like my old coworker Jeff always said, "A clean bike is a happy bike." I suppose it was just glad its lazy ol' owner decide to finally do something about its state of disrespect. I was just happy to see the rims glow again!

Maybe it will take another six months.....

Wouldn't you know it, but I had to ride the Singular back from the repair shop where Mrs. Guitar Ted's car was getting serviced. While I was waiting it out at home, it rained, and things got pretty messy. Well, there ya go! Wash up the bike if you want it to rain, or something!

Anyway, I'm sure that if I don't let this dirt marinate on the bike for.....oh, six months or more, it just might come off a little bit easier. Probably will.

News And Views

The best Fall colors tree I've seen is on my way to work in the mornings.

Fall presses onward and now whatever trees are turning will be at their peak in the next few days. We are expecting our first freeze this weekend, so that will likely drop a lot of leaves when that happens. Then it will be the downward spiral towards "brown" when Fall comes to its ends and everything is dormant until next Spring.

My plan is to get up early Saturday, brave the chill, and get in some riding, although I am not sure where it is yet that I will be going. I'll likely be out on the Grava Bikes Revenuer to get some miles piled on that rig for the review I am doing. This time I will be certain to fill the water bottles! Maybe I will see which way the wind is blowing first and then decide!

Otherwise I would dearly love to get out on my Singular Cycles Buzzard and hit some trails. I don't see that happening on Saturday though. Maybe on Sunday, then I might get out. The good news is that we are to remain high and dry, so wet weather cancellation seems highly unlikely at this point. I gotta say it again- what a spectacular Fall we are having for cycling! Could it be the oncoming of the "El Nino" weather pattern, or just a turn we have in drier conditions. I don't know, but I am trying to squeeze what I can get out of it before it all goes pear shaped in a cloud of freezing Northwest wind driven snow.

Hoopty! WTB KOM i25 rims for the Twin Six Standard Rando have arrived.

Wheel Dreams: 

Long time readers probably have figured out by now that I dream of wheels. Big, small, and medium wheels, it doesn't matter. I like to build wheels as well, and in the realm of doing that, I have something to look forward to. Actually, more than one set!

First I have to talk about what showed up yesterday. I received some i25 KOM rims from WTB. These rims are really meant for XC 29"er use, but as with road and mountain biking, all the trends point to wider rims. I think the same is true for the gravel bike rigs I like to ride. In fact, I did use some WTB Frequency i23 rims with WTB Nano40 TCS tires, and that was a spiffy set up. The tires take on a nice, wide stance, giving them nore volume, more support from the sidewalls, and a bit flatter profile which I find is good in looser gravel.

However; those rims aren't all that light weight. So, when I found out that WTB was doing the KOM in a inner width of 25mm, I jumped at the chance to get a set to ace up to some nice hubs for my Twin Six Standard Rando. Now I need to decide which hubs I want to get! The competition has been narrowed down to White Industries XMR hubs or Chris King R45 hubs. Which one! I have to try to decide that, then which color to get! 

Whatever it is I decide to do, I already know that I am putting on some Nano 40TCS tires and going tubeless, of course. Those tires just do a workmanlike job on most any gravel road and with the tubeless set up, I have a cushy ride with no chance of pinch flatting.  The other thing is that the Standard Rando has a bit tighter clearances than either of my other gravel rigs, so a 40mm is best and that still gives me ample room for mud and rocks to get through the stays without getting stuck.

 I did mention I have more than one set of wheels to build up, but I am waiting to talk about that next set for just a bit now. It shouldn't be long, and I will be able to reveal what that is all about. The good news there is that I already have a set of hubs waiting in the wings to lace up to these new hoops that are coming.

Okay, that's a warp for this week. Stay tuned for Trans Iowa v12 news tomorrow.

News And Views

The best Fall colors tree I've seen is on my way to work in the mornings.

Fall presses onward and now whatever trees are turning will be at their peak in the next few days. We are expecting our first freeze this weekend, so that will likely drop a lot of leaves when that happens. Then it will be the downward spiral towards "brown" when Fall comes to its ends and everything is dormant until next Spring.

My plan is to get up early Saturday, brave the chill, and get in some riding, although I am not sure where it is yet that I will be going. I'll likely be out on the Grava Bikes Revenuer to get some miles piled on that rig for the review I am doing. This time I will be certain to fill the water bottles! Maybe I will see which way the wind is blowing first and then decide!

Otherwise I would dearly love to get out on my Singular Cycles Buzzard and hit some trails. I don't see that happening on Saturday though. Maybe on Sunday, then I might get out. The good news is that we are to remain high and dry, so wet weather cancellation seems highly unlikely at this point. I gotta say it again- what a spectacular Fall we are having for cycling! Could it be the oncoming of the "El Nino" weather pattern, or just a turn we have in drier conditions. I don't know, but I am trying to squeeze what I can get out of it before it all goes pear shaped in a cloud of freezing Northwest wind driven snow.

Hoopty! WTB KOM i25 rims for the Twin Six Standard Rando have arrived.

Wheel Dreams: 

Long time readers probably have figured out by now that I dream of wheels. Big, small, and medium wheels, it doesn't matter. I like to build wheels as well, and in the realm of doing that, I have something to look forward to. Actually, more than one set!

First I have to talk about what showed up yesterday. I received some i25 KOM rims from WTB. These rims are really meant for XC 29"er use, but as with road and mountain biking, all the trends point to wider rims. I think the same is true for the gravel bike rigs I like to ride. In fact, I did use some WTB Frequency i23 rims with WTB Nano40 TCS tires, and that was a spiffy set up. The tires take on a nice, wide stance, giving them nore volume, more support from the sidewalls, and a bit flatter profile which I find is good in looser gravel.

However; those rims aren't all that light weight. So, when I found out that WTB was doing the KOM in a inner width of 25mm, I jumped at the chance to get a set to ace up to some nice hubs for my Twin Six Standard Rando. Now I need to decide which hubs I want to get! The competition has been narrowed down to White Industries XMR hubs or Chris King R45 hubs. Which one! I have to try to decide that, then which color to get! 

Whatever it is I decide to do, I already know that I am putting on some Nano 40TCS tires and going tubeless, of course. Those tires just do a workmanlike job on most any gravel road and with the tubeless set up, I have a cushy ride with no chance of pinch flatting.  The other thing is that the Standard Rando has a bit tighter clearances than either of my other gravel rigs, so a 40mm is best and that still gives me ample room for mud and rocks to get through the stays without getting stuck.

 I did mention I have more than one set of wheels to build up, but I am waiting to talk about that next set for just a bit now. It shouldn't be long, and I will be able to reveal what that is all about. The good news there is that I already have a set of hubs waiting in the wings to lace up to these new hoops that are coming.

Okay, that's a warp for this week. Stay tuned for Trans Iowa v12 news tomorrow.

Project LTHT: Flying With Buzzards

The MRP Stage Fork on the Buzzard

Last week I wrote about how the Buzzard's Reba fork just didn't have enough clearance around the big On One Chunky Monkey/Dually set up. (See here) Well, here came a new fork via UPS on Tuesday and yesterday I mounted it and took off for the woods north of town.

Loads of clearance to be had now with the new combination. I can probably put my thumb in between the brake arch at any point around the top of the tire now. No worries in terms of tire contact with the fork anymore.

The Stage is also a 34mm stanchion fork, which is stiffer than the old Reba too. I can feel this while cornering, and when pushing the front end hard. The whole package just lifts the fun factor of the Buzzard to another level. The Q-Taper axle works well, and I didn't need a brae adapter to run the 185mm Shimano rotor either. Nice.

Those big ol' tractor tires on the Duallys also make for a plush ride. I could tell I was erasing a lot of the trail chatter just with that part of the bike. In combination with the Stage fork, I felt like I had the best tracking wheels since I tested the Diamondback Sortie Black a few years ago. It was almost dual suspension like on the Buzzard, but then I'd get thwacked up the backside by the seat by a trail obstacle reminding me I was really on a hard tail.

So, I am riding along in the woods on a nearly perfect day with nearly perfect conditions and I see a rather large bird take flight ahead of me. It was obscured by a large tree, and for a brief moment, I thought it could be an owl, as I could see that its wingspan was rather long. However; the bird veered to the right and I saw it light on a branch. Looking at it I thought it may be a turkey, but suddenly I saw that it had several of its kind accompanying it. Turkey Vultures! Or in other words- buzzards! Here I was riding a bike dubbed the "Buzzard" and I was riding right underneath some trees full of real buzzards! I'd seen these birds a lot here in Iowa, but never in the woods. I surmised that they were enjoying the cooler air under the trees while the Sun rode high in the sky and had heated up the air well into the 80's.

Well, the Buzzard I was riding wasn't flying in the air, but it was flying down the single track, and it did a great job of that. I think it is a very capable design for single track and with time, I can see where this bike will lead me to learn a few new things. I'm pretty pumped about it now, and that latest piece to the puzzle is what has unlocked the door to the potential this bike has.

Project LTHT: Flying With Buzzards

The MRP Stage Fork on the Buzzard

Last week I wrote about how the Buzzard's Reba fork just didn't have enough clearance around the big On One Chunky Monkey/Dually set up. (See here) Well, here came a new fork via UPS on Tuesday and yesterday I mounted it and took off for the woods north of town.

Loads of clearance to be had now with the new combination. I can probably put my thumb in between the brake arch at any point around the top of the tire now. No worries in terms of tire contact with the fork anymore.

The Stage is also a 34mm stanchion fork, which is stiffer than the old Reba too. I can feel this while cornering, and when pushing the front end hard. The whole package just lifts the fun factor of the Buzzard to another level. The Q-Taper axle works well, and I didn't need a brae adapter to run the 185mm Shimano rotor either. Nice.

Those big ol' tractor tires on the Duallys also make for a plush ride. I could tell I was erasing a lot of the trail chatter just with that part of the bike. In combination with the Stage fork, I felt like I had the best tracking wheels since I tested the Diamondback Sortie Black a few years ago. It was almost dual suspension like on the Buzzard, but then I'd get thwacked up the backside by the seat by a trail obstacle reminding me I was really on a hard tail.

So, I am riding along in the woods on a nearly perfect day with nearly perfect conditions and I see a rather large bird take flight ahead of me. It was obscured by a large tree, and for a brief moment, I thought it could be an owl, as I could see that its wingspan was rather long. However; the bird veered to the right and I saw it light on a branch. Looking at it I thought it may be a turkey, but suddenly I saw that it had several of its kind accompanying it. Turkey Vultures! Or in other words- buzzards! Here I was riding a bike dubbed the "Buzzard" and I was riding right underneath some trees full of real buzzards! I'd seen these birds a lot here in Iowa, but never in the woods. I surmised that they were enjoying the cooler air under the trees while the Sun rode high in the sky and had heated up the air well into the 80's.

Well, the Buzzard I was riding wasn't flying in the air, but it was flying down the single track, and it did a great job of that. I think it is a very capable design for single track and with time, I can see where this bike will lead me to learn a few new things. I'm pretty pumped about it now, and that latest piece to the puzzle is what has unlocked the door to the potential this bike has.

Project LTHT: A Frozen Buzzard Takes Flight

The Buzzard @ Ingawanis Woods

After a long delay waiting on parts, I finally got the Singular Buzzard all together. This is my Project LTHT, which I've written about here before, but it has been a while, so a quick recap:

I had ridden a Diamondback Mason HT a while back and really was impressed by how it handled the local trails, with an extra capability to go on trips and tackle bigger terrain. That bike had to go back, since it was a test bike for TNI.com. That planted the seed to get a longer term rig in as a replacement, and hopefully take it with me on trips to El Paso, or elsewhere.

I liked the Singular Buzzard since it is a steel bike, and I already own a Singular Gryphon. I like the way Singulars look, and so I pursued getting this size Large frame in. Then I was going to build it up with a parts bin selection, but I decided to look into a more modern build, and I had to wait for the SLX group to show up, then put the bike together. This is the highlight list:

• Size large Singular Buzzard frame
• Rock Shox Reba 140mm travel fork
• Velocity "Dually" wheels featuring Velocity's new hubs.
• Shimano 2X10 drive train and brakes from the SLX level.
• Shimano PD-M530 pedals with the "cage" deal. In white, no less. 
• Shimano Tharsus riser bar.
• KORE B52 stem in white
• Ergon grips
• Specialized dropper post
• Bontrager saddle
• On One Smorgasbord rear/Chunky Monkey front tires tubeless. 
• Cane Creek 40 series head set for tapered steer tube/44mm head tube. 

Enough snow to make things interesting

The snow we got recently stuck around this time, instead of melting right away, but it wasn't enough to make me think about riding something else like a fat bike quite yet. This bike with the Duallys is almost a "fat-lite" rig anyway. The On One tires are really spread out and "flatter profiled" than the same tires are on a set of Charger Pro wheels I have, and that means all the tread is hitting the ground all the time. That means great traction.

I set the tires at 20psi indoors, which likely yielded a lower pressure outside in the cold by a tiny bit, but whatever it actually was really worked nicely out there. I wasn't pushing things too hard at first anyway, what with this being a new bike to me and for the fact that I was not tempting fate due to the new build. But both things faded rather quickly as I rode along the frozen snow and dirt. The tires felt fantastic. Smooth and with loads of traction. I climbed the steeps with no problems at all.

Climbing meant a slight forward shift, but unlike many bikes, the back tire still is tucked up underneath you, since the chain stays are shorter on this bike than most. (425mm) The front end wasn't hard to keep pinned down either. It also didn't seem to have much, if any flop or a tendency to wander. The wider bar/stubby stem combo helps here.

The Sun! She sets early!

I had one weird noise going up a steep, like a dry torque sound, but then nothing else. Gotta love clutch equipped derailleurs! No chain slap at all. But there was one small issue. A tire buzz on the front fork's brace. Just a slight rub, and when it happened, the snow would be scraped from the tire and spewed into the air like a puff of pixie dust. It was kind of cool, actually.

The Duallys are to blame. They spread the On One tires out to 61.5mm in the back and 63.1mm up front. The edge knobs on the front tire are pretty close on one side of the brake arch, and there is where the rub happens. Happily, I can report that the Singular page on the Buzzard reports tire clearance for "up to a 60mm wide tyres", but that is rather conservative, as it turns out. If these tires stretch a bit, I am going to be in trouble with the front. We'll see.

So, what do I think? Well, it's really hard to say how I will end up liking this, but things are pointed in the right direction for sure. The bike felt great yesterday, and climbing was maybe better than the Diamondback with just as good a cornering feel and of course, going down anything was really almost too easy. It's amazing what a little longer fork and big, fat cushy tires will do for that. One thing the Diamondback had going on was a tendency to never feel quite right while seated. I never could quite get comfortable with the seated arrangement on that rig, but the Singular, which has the same handle bar height and saddle height from the ground as my On One Inbred, doesn't strike me as that it will be that way. That's good!

So, there is Project LTHT up and running. I'm not sure how many more rides I can get in on this rig with Winter coming on, but maybe a few before the snow gets too deep!

Project LTHT: A Frozen Buzzard Takes Flight

The Buzzard @ Ingawanis Woods

After a long delay waiting on parts, I finally got the Singular Buzzard all together. This is my Project LTHT, which I've written about here before, but it has been a while, so a quick recap:

I had ridden a Diamondback Mason HT a while back and really was impressed by how it handled the local trails, with an extra capability to go on trips and tackle bigger terrain. That bike had to go back, since it was a test bike for TNI.com. That planted the seed to get a longer term rig in as a replacement, and hopefully take it with me on trips to El Paso, or elsewhere.

I liked the Singular Buzzard since it is a steel bike, and I already own a Singular Gryphon. I like the way Singulars look, and so I pursued getting this size Large frame in. Then I was going to build it up with a parts bin selection, but I decided to look into a more modern build, and I had to wait for the SLX group to show up, then put the bike together. This is the highlight list:

• Size large Singular Buzzard frame
• Rock Shox Reba 140mm travel fork
• Velocity "Dually" wheels featuring Velocity's new hubs.
• Shimano 2X10 drive train and brakes from the SLX level.
• Shimano PD-M530 pedals with the "cage" deal. In white, no less. 
• Shimano Tharsus riser bar.
• KORE B52 stem in white
• Ergon grips
• Specialized dropper post
• Bontrager saddle
• On One Smorgasbord rear/Chunky Monkey front tires tubeless. 
• Cane Creek 40 series head set for tapered steer tube/44mm head tube. 

Enough snow to make things interesting

The snow we got recently stuck around this time, instead of melting right away, but it wasn't enough to make me think about riding something else like a fat bike quite yet. This bike with the Duallys is almost a "fat-lite" rig anyway. The On One tires are really spread out and "flatter profiled" than the same tires are on a set of Charger Pro wheels I have, and that means all the tread is hitting the ground all the time. That means great traction.

I set the tires at 20psi indoors, which likely yielded a lower pressure outside in the cold by a tiny bit, but whatever it actually was really worked nicely out there. I wasn't pushing things too hard at first anyway, what with this being a new bike to me and for the fact that I was not tempting fate due to the new build. But both things faded rather quickly as I rode along the frozen snow and dirt. The tires felt fantastic. Smooth and with loads of traction. I climbed the steeps with no problems at all.

Climbing meant a slight forward shift, but unlike many bikes, the back tire still is tucked up underneath you, since the chain stays are shorter on this bike than most. (425mm) The front end wasn't hard to keep pinned down either. It also didn't seem to have much, if any flop or a tendency to wander. The wider bar/stubby stem combo helps here.

The Sun! She sets early!

I had one weird noise going up a steep, like a dry torque sound, but then nothing else. Gotta love clutch equipped derailleurs! No chain slap at all. But there was one small issue. A tire buzz on the front fork's brace. Just a slight rub, and when it happened, the snow would be scraped from the tire and spewed into the air like a puff of pixie dust. It was kind of cool, actually.

The Duallys are to blame. They spread the On One tires out to 61.5mm in the back and 63.1mm up front. The edge knobs on the front tire are pretty close on one side of the brake arch, and there is where the rub happens. Happily, I can report that the Singular page on the Buzzard reports tire clearance for "up to a 60mm wide tyres", but that is rather conservative, as it turns out. If these tires stretch a bit, I am going to be in trouble with the front. We'll see.

So, what do I think? Well, it's really hard to say how I will end up liking this, but things are pointed in the right direction for sure. The bike felt great yesterday, and climbing was maybe better than the Diamondback with just as good a cornering feel and of course, going down anything was really almost too easy. It's amazing what a little longer fork and big, fat cushy tires will do for that. One thing the Diamondback had going on was a tendency to never feel quite right while seated. I never could quite get comfortable with the seated arrangement on that rig, but the Singular, which has the same handle bar height and saddle height from the ground as my On One Inbred, doesn't strike me as that it will be that way. That's good!

So, there is Project LTHT up and running. I'm not sure how many more rides I can get in on this rig with Winter coming on, but maybe a few before the snow gets too deep!

Project LTHT: Update!

I bet a lot of folks forgot about this! Project LTHT is still alive, and now I finally have something to say about it!

I had a sort of mismatched parts spec I was going to put on this frame, but a conversation with Shimano resulted in their wanting to be a part of this review for Twenty Nine Inches, so I had them send a kit to build this up with.

That took a lot longer than I wanted it to, and now, with Winter knocking on the door, I have to scramble to get this thing done so I can get it out before it is snow up to our eyeballs out on the trails. But either way it goes, this should turn out to be a fun little rig and I will be looking forward to trying to push it and myself a little harder on the trails.

It's funny when you are building up a rig how the silliest little chunk of aluminum can stop you in your tracks. For instance, I forgot to mention that I needed an IS adapter for the rear brake. Doh! Easily taken care of, but a simple bit that you just have to have. I was so hoping just to assemble this and get going by the weekend, but until I can lay hands on an adapter, I'm going to be out of luck there!

In the meantime, I have a couple more things to get to anyway, so I always have something or another I can be working on. I've got more sealant and tubeless tire work, and a couple of swaps on components here and there to fine tune the fleet.

More on Project LTHT soon.......really!

Project LTHT: Update!

I bet a lot of folks forgot about this! Project LTHT is still alive, and now I finally have something to say about it!

I had a sort of mismatched parts spec I was going to put on this frame, but a conversation with Shimano resulted in their wanting to be a part of this review for Twenty Nine Inches, so I had them send a kit to build this up with.

That took a lot longer than I wanted it to, and now, with Winter knocking on the door, I have to scramble to get this thing done so I can get it out before it is snow up to our eyeballs out on the trails. But either way it goes, this should turn out to be a fun little rig and I will be looking forward to trying to push it and myself a little harder on the trails.

It's funny when you are building up a rig how the silliest little chunk of aluminum can stop you in your tracks. For instance, I forgot to mention that I needed an IS adapter for the rear brake. Doh! Easily taken care of, but a simple bit that you just have to have. I was so hoping just to assemble this and get going by the weekend, but until I can lay hands on an adapter, I'm going to be out of luck there!

In the meantime, I have a couple more things to get to anyway, so I always have something or another I can be working on. I've got more sealant and tubeless tire work, and a couple of swaps on components here and there to fine tune the fleet.

More on Project LTHT soon.......really!

Friday News And Views

Progress.....

Shop Projects: It is going to be a busy weekend here at the Guitar Ted Laboratories. Book-ended by bike building projects, for certain, and maybe a ride squeezed into the picture as well. 

I got a head start on things last evening as I was able to bring home one of the correct head sets and press it into the Singular Cycles  Buzzard Project LTHT. Slapped the bare wheels into that just to get an eyeball on where that set up will go, then set that aside. Next up- fat bike tear down!

I got most all of the parts removed from the Snow Dog and swapped out a rotor for the back wheel and completely removed the front. The brakes from this bike may go on the Buzzard, but we'll see in a bit here, I hope. There may be some new developments on that front.

The rest of the stuff will mostly get used up on the new fat bike for the boy. His head set is in and today is the big day for bringing that home. We'll do a bit of a joint build, as I'd like him to be part of that process, but being 10 years old...... Well, I don't expect he'll stay around for the entire process! Maybe I'll be wrong about that. He definitely is pretty stoked about this deal He's been asking about it everyday now for some time.

T.I.V10 Recon: Next up will be the super long day of Saturday when Jeremy and myself will be up at "o-dark-thirty" to hit the road in search of the Trans Iowa V10 course. All the mapping has been done and several revisions were made from the original draft. I am pretty sure this one, (discounting weather), will be much more difficult than last year's course was. Add in any hint of moisture and any wind?

One word: Devastating.

Why? Because this is the 10th Trans Iowa, and that's a big number for me. A decade of doing this. I wanted to "celebrate" by putting together my "most challenging" course that I could without it being stupidly unfinishable. Let me tell you, that's a fine balancing act! Let's hope I get that right!

So, look for a recon post coming soon with the usual load of images and some commentary from what Jeremy and I think about the course. Checkpoint locations will be researched and I may be able to give out some mileages to those as well. Yes......we're thinking about knocking this entire thing out in a day! I'm not sure we will, but last year, and the year previous, Jeremy and I were so efficient we were getting half a course ran in half a day's time. I am not going to promise anything, but we're going to try and go for it!

Trans Iowa Clinic: I've received a trickle of RSVP's for the December 7th clinic in Des Moines. Please consider it and let me know if you want to show up. The info can be found at the bottom of this post. Note: You do not have to be in T.I.V10 to attend, just interested and willing to learn.

Out Takes: It seems you readers out there like pictures. I can't explain why else my image heavy posts seem to get so many hits. So, here are some "out takes" from my Wednesday ride.....

Have a great weekend! Hope ya'all get out there and ride your bikes, be it cyclo cross, gravel, road, or mountain biking! Stay tuned for a recon report coming up by Monday for sure.

Friday News And Views

Progress.....

Shop Projects: It is going to be a busy weekend here at the Guitar Ted Laboratories. Book-ended by bike building projects, for certain, and maybe a ride squeezed into the picture as well. 

I got a head start on things last evening as I was able to bring home one of the correct head sets and press it into the Singular Cycles  Buzzard Project LTHT. Slapped the bare wheels into that just to get an eyeball on where that set up will go, then set that aside. Next up- fat bike tear down!

I got most all of the parts removed from the Snow Dog and swapped out a rotor for the back wheel and completely removed the front. The brakes from this bike may go on the Buzzard, but we'll see in a bit here, I hope. There may be some new developments on that front.

The rest of the stuff will mostly get used up on the new fat bike for the boy. His head set is in and today is the big day for bringing that home. We'll do a bit of a joint build, as I'd like him to be part of that process, but being 10 years old...... Well, I don't expect he'll stay around for the entire process! Maybe I'll be wrong about that. He definitely is pretty stoked about this deal He's been asking about it everyday now for some time.

T.I.V10 Recon: Next up will be the super long day of Saturday when Jeremy and myself will be up at "o-dark-thirty" to hit the road in search of the Trans Iowa V10 course. All the mapping has been done and several revisions were made from the original draft. I am pretty sure this one, (discounting weather), will be much more difficult than last year's course was. Add in any hint of moisture and any wind?

One word: Devastating.

Why? Because this is the 10th Trans Iowa, and that's a big number for me. A decade of doing this. I wanted to "celebrate" by putting together my "most challenging" course that I could without it being stupidly unfinishable. Let me tell you, that's a fine balancing act! Let's hope I get that right!

So, look for a recon post coming soon with the usual load of images and some commentary from what Jeremy and I think about the course. Checkpoint locations will be researched and I may be able to give out some mileages to those as well. Yes......we're thinking about knocking this entire thing out in a day! I'm not sure we will, but last year, and the year previous, Jeremy and I were so efficient we were getting half a course ran in half a day's time. I am not going to promise anything, but we're going to try and go for it!

Trans Iowa Clinic: I've received a trickle of RSVP's for the December 7th clinic in Des Moines. Please consider it and let me know if you want to show up. The info can be found at the bottom of this post. Note: You do not have to be in T.I.V10 to attend, just interested and willing to learn.

Out Takes: It seems you readers out there like pictures. I can't explain why else my image heavy posts seem to get so many hits. So, here are some "out takes" from my Wednesday ride.....

Have a great weekend! Hope ya'all get out there and ride your bikes, be it cyclo cross, gravel, road, or mountain biking! Stay tuned for a recon report coming up by Monday for sure.

Project LTHT: Wheels

Velocity Dually rims on Velocity hubs.

The Singular Buzzard frame is going to be graced by some shiny, wide tracking rims. Velocity USA has been working hard to get these rims out and now they are finally trickling out there to riders. I am pretty stoked to have a set built up on Velocity's new hubs.

The Duallys are nothing new from the standpoint of width. Surly has Rabbit Hole rims at 50mm and there are rims from Kris Holm, and several trials rims that are similar in width. What does set these rims apart is that they are dual wall rims, ("dually"- get it?), and they are made in the USA. The Dually rims are 45mm wide and are tubeless compatible as well. Average weight is 675gm, but several of the earlier rims were said to fall under this weight. That's pretty reasonable for what they are, I think.

The design of the Dually can be thought of as an overgrown Blunt- stretched sideways, and having a similar inner rim style. I have some Blunt 35's, and the Dually makes them look positively skinny. Velocity calls them "mid-fat" rims, and they do fall under the "minimum" of 65mm for "true" fat bikes and are quite a bit wider than a Stan's Flow, which is 28mm wide at the outside, and commonly used as a "wider" 29"er rim. The new American Classic "Wide Lightning" and now the Dually along with the veteran Blunt 35 are out to change this now.

So my plan is to set some On One tires up on these rims. I'm looking at a Smorgasbord out back and a Chunky Monkey up front. I am pretty sure by my test fitting of the wheel in the back it will work out well. The fork.....it is a Reba.....It might be close. I'll see. If it doesn't fit I may go to a 120mm Manitou Tower Pro I have here.

The hubs are velocity's newest hubs that are better sealed and have a more solid engaging free hub. The front hub is convertible from 9mm quick release to either 15mm or 20mm through axle styles. I have all the end caps, so I switched to 20mm, to fit the Reba 140mm fork, and the swap was "easy-peasy" to do. The rear is a quick release axle style, so no worries there.

The spokes and nipples are nice here as well. The spokes are Sapim CX-Ray and the nipples are purple alloy ones. Gotta get some purple in there somewhere! I know a lot of folks don't think alloy nipples belong on a hard core trail bike, but if the wheel is built up correctly, they are not a problem, and these probably will not be seeing a ton of wet, mud, or snow conditions.

The polished rims are but one of two options for the Dually right now. You can get these in black anodized finish as well. The spoke drillings are 32 hole only for the time being. Velocity expects that by next Spring or so you'll have a choice of more colors and spoke counts. The rims come in 700c, (what you see here), and 26" versions as well. MSRP is $133.99 each.

Okay, well that's the plan for the wheels for now. More on the Singular Cycles Buzzard project soon.....

Project LTHT: Wheels

Velocity Dually rims on Velocity hubs.

The Singular Buzzard frame is going to be graced by some shiny, wide tracking rims. Velocity USA has been working hard to get these rims out and now they are finally trickling out there to riders. I am pretty stoked to have a set built up on Velocity's new hubs.

The Duallys are nothing new from the standpoint of width. Surly has Rabbit Hole rims at 50mm and there are rims from Kris Holm, and several trials rims that are similar in width. What does set these rims apart is that they are dual wall rims, ("dually"- get it?), and they are made in the USA. The Dually rims are 45mm wide and are tubeless compatible as well. Average weight is 675gm, but several of the earlier rims were said to fall under this weight. That's pretty reasonable for what they are, I think.

The design of the Dually can be thought of as an overgrown Blunt- stretched sideways, and having a similar inner rim style. I have some Blunt 35's, and the Dually makes them look positively skinny. Velocity calls them "mid-fat" rims, and they do fall under the "minimum" of 65mm for "true" fat bikes and are quite a bit wider than a Stan's Flow, which is 28mm wide at the outside, and commonly used as a "wider" 29"er rim. The new American Classic "Wide Lightning" and now the Dually along with the veteran Blunt 35 are out to change this now.

So my plan is to set some On One tires up on these rims. I'm looking at a Smorgasbord out back and a Chunky Monkey up front. I am pretty sure by my test fitting of the wheel in the back it will work out well. The fork.....it is a Reba.....It might be close. I'll see. If it doesn't fit I may go to a 120mm Manitou Tower Pro I have here.

The hubs are velocity's newest hubs that are better sealed and have a more solid engaging free hub. The front hub is convertible from 9mm quick release to either 15mm or 20mm through axle styles. I have all the end caps, so I switched to 20mm, to fit the Reba 140mm fork, and the swap was "easy-peasy" to do. The rear is a quick release axle style, so no worries there.

The spokes and nipples are nice here as well. The spokes are Sapim CX-Ray and the nipples are purple alloy ones. Gotta get some purple in there somewhere! I know a lot of folks don't think alloy nipples belong on a hard core trail bike, but if the wheel is built up correctly, they are not a problem, and these probably will not be seeing a ton of wet, mud, or snow conditions.

The polished rims are but one of two options for the Dually right now. You can get these in black anodized finish as well. The spoke drillings are 32 hole only for the time being. Velocity expects that by next Spring or so you'll have a choice of more colors and spoke counts. The rims come in 700c, (what you see here), and 26" versions as well. MSRP is $133.99 each.

Okay, well that's the plan for the wheels for now. More on the Singular Cycles Buzzard project soon.....

Friday News And Views

Colorado Gravel Site: Here's an idea I am a bit surprised that hasn't happened before now. Colorado will have it's very own site on gravel grinding soon. Right now it is called "Front Range Gravel" and the response, I am told, has been very positive and big enough that the site is going to expand to a statewide gravel based site soon. (It's done! Called Riding Gravel.com)

They talk about gravel everywhere there though, so check out the forum here.

The forum covers all aspects of gravel riding from bikes to recreation, and events of all sorts. The site also serves as a place to disseminate information on three Colorado Front Range gravel events, so check that out if you hop over there. Just a note to make sure that if you go to the site in the next day or so, it may be glitched or down as the site owner  works out the new site


Again, I find it odd that this hasn't happened somewhere else before this, but this is pretty well done from what I have seen so far. Check it out.

The Trans Iowa Clinic: Okay, there has been some banter about this idea, so I want to set the story straight as far as what is being proposed so far and to gauge interest in the idea.


The premise is that there usually is a pretty big "rookie" field coming into Trans Iowa any given year. These new people have questions, comments, and concerns, but no good place to air them out. We thought it would be a good thing for these new folks to be able to "pick the brain" of a grizzled T.I. vet or two. So, here's what may be happening for sure, (as always, things are subject to change), but I'm pretty confident this is what will happen.


Des Moines will be the host for the first Trans Iowa Clinic. It will be hosted by Trans Iowa finishers Steve Fuller and Mike Johnson, (Mike also is a Tour Divide finisher), and of course, I'll be hanging around somewhere as well. The venue can not be publicly announced quite yet, but if what we're looking at gets approved, it will have easy access off I-235 in the downtown area of Des Moines. There would be eating, drinking, and the watching of "300 Miles of Gravel". Then there would be a Q&A session with Mike, Steve, and I. We'll have some still images to help illustrate points and our bicycles with gear to give ya'all visuals.

We're thinking early in December or in January for this. Let us know by leaving a comment here what you think of this idea. Worthwhile? Worthless? Either way, we want to hear from you. By the way, if this is a big deal for enough folks, we may consider taking the show elsewhere, but only Des Moines has been earmarked so far. Stay tuned for announcements on this.....

Buzzard!

Projects Update:

Well, my progress on my Son's Mukluk 2 and the Singular Cycles Buzzard- Project LTHT- have both been slowed by the same issue: Head sets! Both bikes take 44mm head tube compatible head sets and both bikes have tapered steer tube forks. You'd think it would be easy to decipher the head set code to get what I want. Nope.....missed it by one number, and that resulted in a foul. My bad!


Meanwhile, plans are being made and parts are being gathered. I switched up my plan for the Son's fat bike wheels. Those will now be coming off the Snow Dog. Why? Because I need to keep my purple front hub on my titanium bike, that's why! But really, it will make a lot more sense to break down the Snow Dog, pilfer parts, and then maybe do a slower rebuild on that frame or hang it up and get a newer, slicker frame at some point down the road. No hurry on that front.

The Buzzard will be getting a nice shiny set of wheels and an option to swap to a nice, black set of hoops. Black ones will go on first. Then there are some rumblings behind the scenes about some newer parts, but that will have to wait. If I need to get riding, the bike will start life as a 9spd rig and I'll go from there.


3GR: Yes- I will be riding next week. This will be the last 3GR this year too! I have to start doing Trans Iowa recon and I plan on starting that next weekend and every spare chance I have after that will be aimed at getting T.I. recon done before the snow flies. So, if you can join me, please do, and we'll say sayonara to another year of 3GR's. Thanks to all who came and joined me this year!


That's a wrap! Hope ya'all can get out and ride this weekend!

Friday News And Views

Colorado Gravel Site: Here's an idea I am a bit surprised that hasn't happened before now. Colorado will have it's very own site on gravel grinding soon. Right now it is called "Front Range Gravel" and the response, I am told, has been very positive and big enough that the site is going to expand to a statewide gravel based site soon. (It's done! Called Riding Gravel.com)

They talk about gravel everywhere there though, so check out the forum here.

The forum covers all aspects of gravel riding from bikes to recreation, and events of all sorts. The site also serves as a place to disseminate information on three Colorado Front Range gravel events, so check that out if you hop over there. Just a note to make sure that if you go to the site in the next day or so, it may be glitched or down as the site owner  works out the new site


Again, I find it odd that this hasn't happened somewhere else before this, but this is pretty well done from what I have seen so far. Check it out.

The Trans Iowa Clinic: Okay, there has been some banter about this idea, so I want to set the story straight as far as what is being proposed so far and to gauge interest in the idea.


The premise is that there usually is a pretty big "rookie" field coming into Trans Iowa any given year. These new people have questions, comments, and concerns, but no good place to air them out. We thought it would be a good thing for these new folks to be able to "pick the brain" of a grizzled T.I. vet or two. So, here's what may be happening for sure, (as always, things are subject to change), but I'm pretty confident this is what will happen.


Des Moines will be the host for the first Trans Iowa Clinic. It will be hosted by Trans Iowa finishers Steve Fuller and Mike Johnson, (Mike also is a Tour Divide finisher), and of course, I'll be hanging around somewhere as well. The venue can not be publicly announced quite yet, but if what we're looking at gets approved, it will have easy access off I-235 in the downtown area of Des Moines. There would be eating, drinking, and the watching of "300 Miles of Gravel". Then there would be a Q&A session with Mike, Steve, and I. We'll have some still images to help illustrate points and our bicycles with gear to give ya'all visuals.

We're thinking early in December or in January for this. Let us know by leaving a comment here what you think of this idea. Worthwhile? Worthless? Either way, we want to hear from you. By the way, if this is a big deal for enough folks, we may consider taking the show elsewhere, but only Des Moines has been earmarked so far. Stay tuned for announcements on this.....

Buzzard!

Projects Update:

Well, my progress on my Son's Mukluk 2 and the Singular Cycles Buzzard- Project LTHT- have both been slowed by the same issue: Head sets! Both bikes take 44mm head tube compatible head sets and both bikes have tapered steer tube forks. You'd think it would be easy to decipher the head set code to get what I want. Nope.....missed it by one number, and that resulted in a foul. My bad!


Meanwhile, plans are being made and parts are being gathered. I switched up my plan for the Son's fat bike wheels. Those will now be coming off the Snow Dog. Why? Because I need to keep my purple front hub on my titanium bike, that's why! But really, it will make a lot more sense to break down the Snow Dog, pilfer parts, and then maybe do a slower rebuild on that frame or hang it up and get a newer, slicker frame at some point down the road. No hurry on that front.

The Buzzard will be getting a nice shiny set of wheels and an option to swap to a nice, black set of hoops. Black ones will go on first. Then there are some rumblings behind the scenes about some newer parts, but that will have to wait. If I need to get riding, the bike will start life as a 9spd rig and I'll go from there.


3GR: Yes- I will be riding next week. This will be the last 3GR this year too! I have to start doing Trans Iowa recon and I plan on starting that next weekend and every spare chance I have after that will be aimed at getting T.I. recon done before the snow flies. So, if you can join me, please do, and we'll say sayonara to another year of 3GR's. Thanks to all who came and joined me this year!


That's a wrap! Hope ya'all can get out and ride this weekend!