Friday News And Views

Jay Petervary showed this Esker prototype on Facebook recently.

"THIS is a "Bikepack" bike. ":

So says Jay Petervary on his Facebook page on Thursday where he posted the image shown here. JP has been showing views of this bike for the past week as he ramps up to do his latest ride on the Great Divide Route which he is calling "Great Divide Unearthed". 

 Comments; I'll be honest - I did not think this was anything "new" when I first laid eyes on it. That's because JP had been on the Iditarod several years ago on a Salsa Cycles Blackborow. The "long-tailed" version of that bike, which JP had special bags made for and modified slightly. I assumed at first glance that this was an unmarked Blackborow frame set up with 29"er wheels and tires. But if you look closely at the downtube, you can barely make out the "Esker" name. So, I assumed incorrectly. This appears to be a new Esker prototype. 

The idea may have its genesis in that old Blackborow, but I am sure JP and Esker have tweaked the idea out to be what they feel is the "ultimate" bikepacking bike. I know that the long wheel base may seem weird and undesirable at first, but a route like the Great Divide doesn't call out for a bike that has to have tight cornering traits.  Comfort is king, and longer frame tube members have more inherent "flex" and therefore can absorb and dissipate more vibration energy than a shorter, stiffer frame tube will be capable of absorbing. 

Plus, just look at all that frame bag real estate! And it is all in-line with the bike. Nothing sticking out into the wind, although quartering cross winds may be an issue at times. It will be interesting to see if the bike does what Esker and JP are hoping it will do.  

State Bicycle Co All-Road Disc Calipers (Image courtesy of State Bicycle Co)

State Bicycle Co. Announces New Components & More:

Wednesday State Bicycle Co. announced a round of component and apparel offerings. I won't get into the gist of all of the stuff announced, but two items did jump out at me. 

First up we have the State Bicycle Co. All-Road Disc Calipers. These are hydraulic at the caliper, but actuated by cable. So, your older mechanical group can be used with these for (assumed) greater breaking performance. There have been other offerings similar to this like the TRP HyRd, Yokozuna, and the very similar Juin Tech models. The amazing thing about the State offering is that the All-Road Disc calipers sell for a hundred bucks per set. That's a pretty good deal.
 

The State Cargo Cage (Image courtesy of State Bicycle Co)

State also announced an interesting cargo cage, similar in vein to an Anything Cage, it can mount to those Three-Pack bosses found on many forks these days, or under a down tube, or off a rack like the Old Man Mountain Elkhorn, or similar racks. 

The State Cargo Cage is made from aircraft grade aluminum and it features a desert design which reflects State Bicycle Co's Arizona home base. 

The cage weighs in at 168 grams and can carry up to 25lbs of cargo, according to State. The cage sells for $24.99 USD. 

State offers a titanium bolt kit in three colors at an up-charge along with optional rubber straps which can be purchased separately as well. 

It's pretty interesting how what was a fixed gear/urban cycling brand has managed to diversify and stay relevant in the 2020's. (Remember the fixie craze? Woo! That was a while ago now!) So, maybe I shouldn't be all that surprised that State Bicycle Co. has branched out into these accessory and component categories with aggressive price-points and clever designs. But I have to admit, those brake calipers came out of left field for me.  

New episode!

Guitar Ted Podcast Episode #24:

You've read all about the Gravel Worlds history and the UCI vs Gravel Worlds thing this week. If you want more, or if you would rather listen than go back and read it all, hit THIS LINK. 

We also have the Gravel Amplifier which features the Limestone 66.6, Iowa Single Speed Gravel Championships. N.Y. Roll has another event as well. 

We also get into that Jay Petervary rig above, so if you want to know more of our thoughts on that, listen to the latest episode. 

We're hoping to get a post-Gravel Worlds interview with one of their principals when they are ready, maybe Jason Strobehn, who let me know he'd like to be on the podcast at some point. But we'll see who we can rustle up in a few weeks. Stay tuned on that one. Another episode is going to cover CORE4 and N.Y. Roll's experience there at Iowa's largest cycling race. 

Detail Image of a Gorilla Monsoon (Image courtesy of All City Bicycles)

All City Cycles To Be Shuttered By QBP:

Last evening news broke on social media that All City Bicycles, a Quality Bicycle Products brand, is to be phased out over the next few years. The news, apparently rumored for months amongst shop owners, was made official by "The Radavist", who published a dealer email they got a hold of from someone in the cycling industry. 

Comments: I recall first seeing the brand "All City" at Frostbike in the mid-2000's. At that time all the brand amounted to was a few chain rings and accessories for fixed gear riding, which was a phase cycling was going through at the time. (See State Bicycle Co. above)

I didn't think it would last, but to Jeff Frane's credit, the brand rose above merely being a fixed gear bike brand and it made a name for itself amongst the cycling's various niche brands. Bicycles like the Nature Boy, the Macho Man, and the Mr. Pink set the brand apart from a crowded marketplace and were always made from steel. 

They innovated as well, maybe most memorably by developing an elegant disc brake drop out which was designed by Anna Schwinn. 

The brand could be seen as an "upscale Surly" offering, but it had a personality and style which was immediately evident. Mr. Frane eventually left the company several years ago and stated Wilde Bikes, which has carried on some of the flair which marked the AC brand while he was at the helm there. 

Why the brand is being phased out is not entirely clear, but it is no secret that parent company QBP has been laying off employees and contracting its business in response to the over-stock issues within the industry and the lack of consumer demand. QBP claims that no new AC product will be developed after the 2024 model run and that it will be "several years" before the brand is completely phased out. What this means to consumers is that All City is essentially gone, effective immediately. Support for current models will be maintained for a time. 

I've thought that we'd see some contraction of brands in the marketplace and I am confident we will be seeing more before the end of the year. Time will tell if I am correct, but this development with All City will not be unique.

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

Friday News And Views

Jay Petervary showed this Esker prototype on Facebook recently.

"THIS is a "Bikepack" bike. ":

So says Jay Petervary on his Facebook page on Thursday where he posted the image shown here. JP has been showing views of this bike for the past week as he ramps up to do his latest ride on the Great Divide Route which he is calling "Great Divide Unearthed". 

 Comments; I'll be honest - I did not think this was anything "new" when I first laid eyes on it. That's because JP had been on the Iditarod several years ago on a Salsa Cycles Blackborow. The "long-tailed" version of that bike, which JP had special bags made for and modified slightly. I assumed at first glance that this was an unmarked Blackborow frame set up with 29"er wheels and tires. But if you look closely at the downtube, you can barely make out the "Esker" name. So, I assumed incorrectly. This appears to be a new Esker prototype. 

The idea may have its genesis in that old Blackborow, but I am sure JP and Esker have tweaked the idea out to be what they feel is the "ultimate" bikepacking bike. I know that the long wheel base may seem weird and undesirable at first, but a route like the Great Divide doesn't call out for a bike that has to have tight cornering traits.  Comfort is king, and longer frame tube members have more inherent "flex" and therefore can absorb and dissipate more vibration energy than a shorter, stiffer frame tube will be capable of absorbing. 

Plus, just look at all that frame bag real estate! And it is all in-line with the bike. Nothing sticking out into the wind, although quartering cross winds may be an issue at times. It will be interesting to see if the bike does what Esker and JP are hoping it will do.  

State Bicycle Co All-Road Disc Calipers (Image courtesy of State Bicycle Co)

State Bicycle Co. Announces New Components & More:

Wednesday State Bicycle Co. announced a round of component and apparel offerings. I won't get into the gist of all of the stuff announced, but two items did jump out at me. 

First up we have the State Bicycle Co. All-Road Disc Calipers. These are hydraulic at the caliper, but actuated by cable. So, your older mechanical group can be used with these for (assumed) greater breaking performance. There have been other offerings similar to this like the TRP HyRd, Yokozuna, and the very similar Juin Tech models. The amazing thing about the State offering is that the All-Road Disc calipers sell for a hundred bucks per set. That's a pretty good deal.
 

The State Cargo Cage (Image courtesy of State Bicycle Co)

State also announced an interesting cargo cage, similar in vein to an Anything Cage, it can mount to those Three-Pack bosses found on many forks these days, or under a down tube, or off a rack like the Old Man Mountain Elkhorn, or similar racks. 

The State Cargo Cage is made from aircraft grade aluminum and it features a desert design which reflects State Bicycle Co's Arizona home base. 

The cage weighs in at 168 grams and can carry up to 25lbs of cargo, according to State. The cage sells for $24.99 USD. 

State offers a titanium bolt kit in three colors at an up-charge along with optional rubber straps which can be purchased separately as well. 

It's pretty interesting how what was a fixed gear/urban cycling brand has managed to diversify and stay relevant in the 2020's. (Remember the fixie craze? Woo! That was a while ago now!) So, maybe I shouldn't be all that surprised that State Bicycle Co. has branched out into these accessory and component categories with aggressive price-points and clever designs. But I have to admit, those brake calipers came out of left field for me.  

New episode!

Guitar Ted Podcast Episode #24:

You've read all about the Gravel Worlds history and the UCI vs Gravel Worlds thing this week. If you want more, or if you would rather listen than go back and read it all, hit THIS LINK. 

We also have the Gravel Amplifier which features the Limestone 66.6, Iowa Single Speed Gravel Championships. N.Y. Roll has another event as well. 

We also get into that Jay Petervary rig above, so if you want to know more of our thoughts on that, listen to the latest episode. 

We're hoping to get a post-Gravel Worlds interview with one of their principals when they are ready, maybe Jason Strobehn, who let me know he'd like to be on the podcast at some point. But we'll see who we can rustle up in a few weeks. Stay tuned on that one. Another episode is going to cover CORE4 and N.Y. Roll's experience there at Iowa's largest cycling race. 

Detail Image of a Gorilla Monsoon (Image courtesy of All City Bicycles)

All City Cycles To Be Shuttered By QBP:

Last evening news broke on social media that All City Bicycles, a Quality Bicycle Products brand, is to be phased out over the next few years. The news, apparently rumored for months amongst shop owners, was made official by "The Radavist", who published a dealer email they got a hold of from someone in the cycling industry. 

Comments: I recall first seeing the brand "All City" at Frostbike in the mid-2000's. At that time all the brand amounted to was a few chain rings and accessories for fixed gear riding, which was a phase cycling was going through at the time. (See State Bicycle Co. above)

I didn't think it would last, but to Jeff Frane's credit, the brand rose above merely being a fixed gear bike brand and it made a name for itself amongst the cycling's various niche brands. Bicycles like the Nature Boy, the Macho Man, and the Mr. Pink set the brand apart from a crowded marketplace and were always made from steel. 

They innovated as well, maybe most memorably by developing an elegant disc brake drop out which was designed by Anna Schwinn. 

The brand could be seen as an "upscale Surly" offering, but it had a personality and style which was immediately evident. Mr. Frane eventually left the company several years ago and stated Wilde Bikes, which has carried on some of the flair which marked the AC brand while he was at the helm there. 

Why the brand is being phased out is not entirely clear, but it is no secret that parent company QBP has been laying off employees and contracting its business in response to the over-stock issues within the industry and the lack of consumer demand. QBP claims that no new AC product will be developed after the 2024 model run and that it will be "several years" before the brand is completely phased out. What this means to consumers is that All City is essentially gone, effective immediately. Support for current models will be maintained for a time. 

I've thought that we'd see some contraction of brands in the marketplace and I am confident we will be seeing more before the end of the year. Time will tell if I am correct, but this development with All City will not be unique.

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

Interbike '15: WTF

Is that a new Beargr....wait....what?!! (Image from the Heller site)

Interbike proper starts this morning in Las Vegas, Nevada, but surprises have already been sprung. The weird and the woeful have been witnessed already, and this might go down as one of the oddest I-bikes in many a year.

First, a bit of back story: Interbike has a "swag bag" for attendees. It is a plastic bag with various promtional materials, a schedule for the shuttle busses to Bootleg Canyon, information on the show, a water bottle, maybe, and some nutritional products, or some small trinket. It changed year to year, but one thing that was a fairly consistent item was a sock that had a tag attached to it. You could get the matching sock to it if you stopped by the vendor's booth when the indoor show opened, and showed the tag. Of course, this was going to guarantee  you a sales pitch, but for a free pair of socks!  After a year or two of that, I never bothered anymore. How many socks with weird Vegas motifs does one need?

Part two of this story is that Interbike, and the "Industry" as a whole, has been courting women cyclists and telling everyone that would listen how shops and companies needed to up their game in terms of reaching women buyers. So then this happens........

 This year's sock caused quite a ruckus.  It showed two bikini clad women laying side by side in an embrace. (See the sock, and a fantastic response to this incident here.) The image got tweeted, and social media went into hyper-mode, decrying the sexually charged promo-sock as being the antithesis of what the Industry was saying it stood for. Which, of course, is absolutely true. Interbike scrambled to de-sock the goody bags, but not before the end of the first day. For their part, Interbike had the following to say via Twitter:

"Interbike ‏@Interbike 10h10 hours ago

We are very sorry about the socks in the ODD bags. Socks were rec'd by third party & we didn't review. This is not how @Interbike rolls."

So, there ya have it. Big whoops, bad form, and an apology. Will this make it "all better"? No, and it shouldn't. This isn't a one timer. It's a pariah on this industry, and it also stinks of Las Vegas, where the show has been for far too long. I could go on and on, but I'll let this excellent post from Surly, (which I also linked above), stand as a response I can get behind 100%. Read it.  I'll maybe return to this theme again in a future post.

UPDATE: I got a peek at the Interbike "Show Daily" for the trade that is handed out at the show. It had an entire paragraph dedicated to the offending socks, glorifying them as being "naughty" marketing with a tongue in cheek tone. Nice. Tell me again how Interbike didn't know what was going on here. 

Typical Interbike extra-curricular activity announcement.

Then the other thing that happened, and will be fleshed out in a presser today, I am told, is that Quality Bicycle products has announced a new brand.

I know, I know...... big whoop. Quality does this all the time. They must have a  "Executive Brand Creator" position up there and a department full of fresh-outta-college business degree grads working overtime to come up with all the reasons to create a new bicycle brand or bicycle accessory brand. It's crazy, but a lot of the time, it makes sense, (Surly, Salsa, Problem Solvers), and sometimes it is weird, (Mechanical Threads, Cogburn, Civia), but usually I can find a reason that makes me think something they come up with is a worthwhile attempt to make it a brand.

Now we have a new bicycle brand, and to be quite honest, I don't get it......yet. Obviously, I don't have the whole story, as this is still breaking news, but Heller Bikes just debuted with a ........carbon fat bike? How this is something that compliments what Salsa Cycles already seems to have covered is beyond me at this point. Besides the fact that fat bikes are a saturated market, which makes yet another, trail geometry carbon hard tail kind of a ho-hum affair. This seems to be an odd debut bike to push out the brand with. Again, with more back story, this may all start to become a clearer picture than it is now.

All I can say now about Heller Bikes is that I once knew a girl back in high school whose last name was Heller and she filled my belly button with beer once. I know.......weird, huh?

Hey, that's no weirder than what is going down in Vegas with the cycling industry these days!

Interbike '15: WTF

Is that a new Beargr....wait....what?!! (Image from the Heller site)

Interbike proper starts this morning in Las Vegas, Nevada, but surprises have already been sprung. The weird and the woeful have been witnessed already, and this might go down as one of the oddest I-bikes in many a year.

First, a bit of back story: Interbike has a "swag bag" for attendees. It is a plastic bag with various promtional materials, a schedule for the shuttle busses to Bootleg Canyon, information on the show, a water bottle, maybe, and some nutritional products, or some small trinket. It changed year to year, but one thing that was a fairly consistent item was a sock that had a tag attached to it. You could get the matching sock to it if you stopped by the vendor's booth when the indoor show opened, and showed the tag. Of course, this was going to guarantee  you a sales pitch, but for a free pair of socks!  After a year or two of that, I never bothered anymore. How many socks with weird Vegas motifs does one need?

Part two of this story is that Interbike, and the "Industry" as a whole, has been courting women cyclists and telling everyone that would listen how shops and companies needed to up their game in terms of reaching women buyers. So then this happens........

 This year's sock caused quite a ruckus.  It showed two bikini clad women laying side by side in an embrace. (See the sock, and a fantastic response to this incident here.) The image got tweeted, and social media went into hyper-mode, decrying the sexually charged promo-sock as being the antithesis of what the Industry was saying it stood for. Which, of course, is absolutely true. Interbike scrambled to de-sock the goody bags, but not before the end of the first day. For their part, Interbike had the following to say via Twitter:

"Interbike ‏@Interbike 10h10 hours ago

We are very sorry about the socks in the ODD bags. Socks were rec'd by third party & we didn't review. This is not how @Interbike rolls."

So, there ya have it. Big whoops, bad form, and an apology. Will this make it "all better"? No, and it shouldn't. This isn't a one timer. It's a pariah on this industry, and it also stinks of Las Vegas, where the show has been for far too long. I could go on and on, but I'll let this excellent post from Surly, (which I also linked above), stand as a response I can get behind 100%. Read it.  I'll maybe return to this theme again in a future post.

UPDATE: I got a peek at the Interbike "Show Daily" for the trade that is handed out at the show. It had an entire paragraph dedicated to the offending socks, glorifying them as being "naughty" marketing with a tongue in cheek tone. Nice. Tell me again how Interbike didn't know what was going on here. 

Typical Interbike extra-curricular activity announcement.

Then the other thing that happened, and will be fleshed out in a presser today, I am told, is that Quality Bicycle products has announced a new brand.

I know, I know...... big whoop. Quality does this all the time. They must have a  "Executive Brand Creator" position up there and a department full of fresh-outta-college business degree grads working overtime to come up with all the reasons to create a new bicycle brand or bicycle accessory brand. It's crazy, but a lot of the time, it makes sense, (Surly, Salsa, Problem Solvers), and sometimes it is weird, (Mechanical Threads, Cogburn, Civia), but usually I can find a reason that makes me think something they come up with is a worthwhile attempt to make it a brand.

Now we have a new bicycle brand, and to be quite honest, I don't get it......yet. Obviously, I don't have the whole story, as this is still breaking news, but Heller Bikes just debuted with a ........carbon fat bike? How this is something that compliments what Salsa Cycles already seems to have covered is beyond me at this point. Besides the fact that fat bikes are a saturated market, which makes yet another, trail geometry carbon hard tail kind of a ho-hum affair. This seems to be an odd debut bike to push out the brand with. Again, with more back story, this may all start to become a clearer picture than it is now.

All I can say now about Heller Bikes is that I once knew a girl back in high school whose last name was Heller and she filled my belly button with beer once. I know.......weird, huh?

Hey, that's no weirder than what is going down in Vegas with the cycling industry these days!