Randomonium

 NOTE: Okay folks, if you haven't been around long enough here to know what a "Randomonium" post is, then here is the deal. I ramble, rant, and randomly moan about all things cycling in one, incohesive, bizarre post. "Randomonium", okay?

Andy's Bike Shop Fleece Beanie:

So, this happened the other day. Andy of Andy's Bike Shop ordered in some beanies, took his iron on logo patches, and voila'! Beanies for your warm headed goodness. 

These aren't even up on Andy's site yet, but if you call down to the shop, we can set one aside for you. They are a very warm, fleece style beanie. Not as deep as a Euro styled one, but more like a skull-cap fit, if your head is big, like mine is. 

Anyway, I think Andy said these are like $12.95 or something.......don't hold me to that, but that's very close if it isn't right. I know! Just tell Andy you saw it here and it is a twelve-ninety-fiver. Special "G-Ted Productions" price! Ha!  

We also have t-shirts and stickers and maybe some of those same iron-on patches you see here on the beanie. Just stop by, call, and ask. We're hoping to get some Riding Gravel stickers and whatnot down there at the shop sometime soon also. Stay tuned......

Basement Chemistry:

Sometimes I chuckle to myself when I am down in "The Lab" mixing up sealant using "MG's Secret Sauce" recipe. I feel like some mad scientist, mixing up some formula that ends up getting out of hand and causing some catastrophic 'blob' to come to life that swallows life as we know it on this planet. 

But that's probably just shreds of memories left over from seeing "Creature Feature" with my late Uncle Joe when I was young and impressionable. I'm not really doing anything diabolical, just doing something practical.

You see, I go through a lot of sealant for tubeless bicycle tires. My brother down in Lincoln, MG, told me about his special home brewed recipe for sealant that he came up with after years of toying around with stuff and it worked well. He shared this with me back in 2007 or so, and ever since then I've been doing sealant using this method. It's got good qualities, but the big thing from my standpoint is that it is cheaper than branded offerings you can get on the open market. 

So, it's the best of both worlds for me. Cheap, easy to make, easy access, and effective in use. I know there are some of you out there that will want to know what it is exactly. I've shared it here on the blog before, search for it. I'm not taking the time to reveal the recipe again. Besides, it's called "MG's Secret Sauce" for a reason. 

Lunch With N.Y.Roll:

Last Wednesday I had lunch with N.Y. Roll from a local Bosnian food truck. But that wasn't why I am bringing this up. We had a wide ranging conversation covering many subjects, but the point I wanted to bring up has to do with the C.O.G. 100. 

We have not made any definitive decisions, but all outcomes are on the table now. We may cancel the event entirely, offer refunds, or we may do a socially distanced type of deal, or we may do something else altogether. 

One big issue is that we won't have insurance due to the COVID postponement after February 28th, 2021. So, if we were to run the event, we'd have to foot an insurance bill out of pocket. That makes offering refunds a bit more appealing, but as of now, we don't know what that might look like. So, there you are. I'm not making any decisions just yet, but you can see that in financial terms, this doesn't make sense to have the event. 

And in any scenario, we're looking at probably losing money on this. But it is what it is. This situation would have been 100% different had our event not been scheduled right when the whole COVID thing broke. You'll remember that at mid-March we were being told that this virus was going to pretty much end the world. Had we been scheduled in Summer, we would have had a lot more information and, although the event would have been postponed- probably- we would have had more leeway with insurance. 

Anyway.....stay tuned.

No whiskey products were consumed during this podcast recording.

Special Guest:

Thursday we had a special guest in for the recording of the next "Riding Gravel Radio Ranch" podcast. His name is "Dangerous Dan" and his event is the Sterile Iowan. This wide ranging interview went on for over an hour, so this will be our longest podcast to date. 

It was fun and I learned a lot from Dan while we were chatting. I won't give away too much, but this has somewhat to do with the above C.O.G100 discussion. Dan, having the luxury of a couple of months perspective, had a view that we didn't have. He was able to put on his event in a way that was safe and took in the protocols necessary to appease locals and government officials in his area. He also, along with other event promoters, found a way to bring some small amount of joy to some folks who have been locked up due to this pandemic for several months earlier this year. 

There was a lot more, as I said, so make sure you look for this episode, which I think is going to be #61, coming out soon.  

That's a wrap for this edition of Randomonium. 

Randomonium

 NOTE: Okay folks, if you haven't been around long enough here to know what a "Randomonium" post is, then here is the deal. I ramble, rant, and randomly moan about all things cycling in one, incohesive, bizarre post. "Randomonium", okay?

Andy's Bike Shop Fleece Beanie:

So, this happened the other day. Andy of Andy's Bike Shop ordered in some beanies, took his iron on logo patches, and voila'! Beanies for your warm headed goodness. 

These aren't even up on Andy's site yet, but if you call down to the shop, we can set one aside for you. They are a very warm, fleece style beanie. Not as deep as a Euro styled one, but more like a skull-cap fit, if your head is big, like mine is. 

Anyway, I think Andy said these are like $12.95 or something.......don't hold me to that, but that's very close if it isn't right. I know! Just tell Andy you saw it here and it is a twelve-ninety-fiver. Special "G-Ted Productions" price! Ha!  

We also have t-shirts and stickers and maybe some of those same iron-on patches you see here on the beanie. Just stop by, call, and ask. We're hoping to get some Riding Gravel stickers and whatnot down there at the shop sometime soon also. Stay tuned......

Basement Chemistry:

Sometimes I chuckle to myself when I am down in "The Lab" mixing up sealant using "MG's Secret Sauce" recipe. I feel like some mad scientist, mixing up some formula that ends up getting out of hand and causing some catastrophic 'blob' to come to life that swallows life as we know it on this planet. 

But that's probably just shreds of memories left over from seeing "Creature Feature" with my late Uncle Joe when I was young and impressionable. I'm not really doing anything diabolical, just doing something practical.

You see, I go through a lot of sealant for tubeless bicycle tires. My brother down in Lincoln, MG, told me about his special home brewed recipe for sealant that he came up with after years of toying around with stuff and it worked well. He shared this with me back in 2007 or so, and ever since then I've been doing sealant using this method. It's got good qualities, but the big thing from my standpoint is that it is cheaper than branded offerings you can get on the open market. 

So, it's the best of both worlds for me. Cheap, easy to make, easy access, and effective in use. I know there are some of you out there that will want to know what it is exactly. I've shared it here on the blog before, search for it. I'm not taking the time to reveal the recipe again. Besides, it's called "MG's Secret Sauce" for a reason. 

Lunch With N.Y.Roll:

Last Wednesday I had lunch with N.Y. Roll from a local Bosnian food truck. But that wasn't why I am bringing this up. We had a wide ranging conversation covering many subjects, but the point I wanted to bring up has to do with the C.O.G. 100. 

We have not made any definitive decisions, but all outcomes are on the table now. We may cancel the event entirely, offer refunds, or we may do a socially distanced type of deal, or we may do something else altogether. 

One big issue is that we won't have insurance due to the COVID postponement after February 28th, 2021. So, if we were to run the event, we'd have to foot an insurance bill out of pocket. That makes offering refunds a bit more appealing, but as of now, we don't know what that might look like. So, there you are. I'm not making any decisions just yet, but you can see that in financial terms, this doesn't make sense to have the event. 

And in any scenario, we're looking at probably losing money on this. But it is what it is. This situation would have been 100% different had our event not been scheduled right when the whole COVID thing broke. You'll remember that at mid-March we were being told that this virus was going to pretty much end the world. Had we been scheduled in Summer, we would have had a lot more information and, although the event would have been postponed- probably- we would have had more leeway with insurance. 

Anyway.....stay tuned.

No whiskey products were consumed during this podcast recording.

Special Guest:

Thursday we had a special guest in for the recording of the next "Riding Gravel Radio Ranch" podcast. His name is "Dangerous Dan" and his event is the Sterile Iowan. This wide ranging interview went on for over an hour, so this will be our longest podcast to date. 

It was fun and I learned a lot from Dan while we were chatting. I won't give away too much, but this has somewhat to do with the above C.O.G100 discussion. Dan, having the luxury of a couple of months perspective, had a view that we didn't have. He was able to put on his event in a way that was safe and took in the protocols necessary to appease locals and government officials in his area. He also, along with other event promoters, found a way to bring some small amount of joy to some folks who have been locked up due to this pandemic for several months earlier this year. 

There was a lot more, as I said, so make sure you look for this episode, which I think is going to be #61, coming out soon.  

That's a wrap for this edition of Randomonium. 

Friday News And Views

THIS is gravel riding? From Cannondale marketing imagery.

Cannondale Says Your Gravel Bike Is Really A MTB Rig: (With Motorized Content)

By this time you've all heard the news about the new 2021 Topstone models. I won't get into too much about specifics other than a note about the continuance of that wonky geometry for the Carbon Topstone.

No, what really stood out above all the Neo this, connected app that, were these marketing images Cannondale distributed to the media. Out of the 12 or so "lifestyle" images, maybe four could be on actual gravel roads. The rest were all right out of a page from your typical MTB marketing plans.

So, besides the fact that the biggest tire you can put on any of these is a 650B X 47mm, (on non-HPC versions), and that the suspension travel is a 1992 inspired 30mm, aren't these really mountain bikes with drop bars? Again- I'll ask the question- Where are all the 70-sish degree head angle, rigid hard tail, flat bar MTB's? I mean, if you are going to go single tracking, ya know?

Man! Somebody has to make an El Mariachi-like hard tail again. It'd be five times the bike these Topstones are, especially at what these marketers are saying these bikes are supposedly for, at a third of the price of these Topstones. Cheapest non-motorized one is $3750.00 from what I saw on the release. Then there are the motorized ones. Going up....... Those are nearly 6G and up. And get this- they showed these as if they were MTB's as well. 

I don't know where to start. 28 hole rims on an electrified bike? How about a 59mm bottom bracket drop on an XL? (I get it- they have suspension, but really?) Limited tire clearances? (700 X 37 max or 650 B X 42 max on electrified Topstone Neo) Pffft! I just don't know......

It's an odd marketing campaign for a weird bike, in my opinion.

Throwin' it back to 2009. Best DK200 logo EVER.

Another Virtual Experience 

The DK events are postponed to the weekend of September 12th, 2020, but if you are jonesing for some DK action this week, 'cause this would have been the week, then you can get on yer virtual horse tomorrow and ride, or upload a GPS file of your ride which would have been your race distance, (socially distanced, natch!) and share in the virtual joy with others.

The DK team has been doing some virtual stuff since Wednesday and that was all sent out to the folks that are signed up, so if you are one of them, then y'all know what I am talkin' about already.

It's a good way to keep the DK spirit alive, but with things getting relaxed all over the place now, some smaller events are now filling the need of many who are itching for some dusty competition. The 'anti-DK 200' event, The Sterile Iowan, is going off unhindered, unmasked, and unashamed this weekend near Iowa Falls. I'm sure others are getting their gravelly goodness on very soon at some other smaller events.

These are weird times and weird things are going on all over. I'm not sure about any of it, to be honest. Time will suss out all, that I am sure of that much. As for me..... I'm still on the solo train. Virtual stuff? Not so much.

A US made Schwinn? It's coming....

 Detroit Bikes To Build New Schwinn Collegiate Bikes for 125th Anniversary of Marque. 

Back when I started in the bicycle biz and probably up through 2010, many people still thought Schwinn was made in the USA. Well, Walmart, et al, made sure folks got that nasty idea outta their heads. But now, a Walmart exclusive Collegiate model will be sold for Schwinn's 125th anniversary, and it will be built by Detroit Bikes in the USA. Just in time to confuse the whole situation once again.

While that sounds cool and all, take a really close look at this bike. 1 X 7 drive train, lower end rear derailleur, and side pull calipers? This cannot be much more than a $350.00 price range bike, in terms of what is available in a comparable type bicycle elsewhere. That is, unless they get you on the collectable/limited edition front. Assuming a CrMo frame too. If this is a mild steel alloy frame and fork, well then.... That's different. I'd take even more off that $350.00 figure.

I've no idea what sort of numbers production will be for this, nor what price this will be. I don't see anything in this article on it. There is some yearly production goal for all of Detroit Bikes customers, stated in the article, which is set at 20,000 mark for 2021. So, I'm betting these Collegiates will only amount to a very small number of that overall total production goal.

Note: Image of the Collegiate is a stock media image posted all around the internet. No idea on source, but I'm guessing it is Pacific Cycles. 

 Riding Gravel Radio Ranch Episode #45:

The episodes keep rolling out. Of all the goals I set for myself for 2020, this is one I can truthfully say now that I have accomplished. That goal would be to get more podcasts produced and on a more regular basis. Here's a link to the latest one.

With this episode we have now done as many podcasts in 2020 as we put out in 2018 and 2019 combined. And to think we didn't get started this year until March! We are getting episodes out more or less weekly and there are no signs of slowing down anytime soon. So, with almost a half of the year done, I think I can safely check that goal off the list.

Now my goal is to get you, the listeners, more engaged. Please send me ideas, questions, and comments to guitarted@ridinggravel.com and I will try to get those ideas, comments, and questions into circulation via the podcast. Hearing about things that riders want to hear about will help diversify the subject matter and help us keep content fresher and more interesting. As an example, we will be doing the "Single Speed Nerd-Out" podcast next, which was a suggestion for a topic that a rider e-mailed me about. It's going to happen. See how that works?


Have a great weekend! 

Friday News And Views

THIS is gravel riding? From Cannondale marketing imagery.

Cannondale Says Your Gravel Bike Is Really A MTB Rig: (With Motorized Content)

By this time you've all heard the news about the new 2021 Topstone models. I won't get into too much about specifics other than a note about the continuance of that wonky geometry for the Carbon Topstone.

No, what really stood out above all the Neo this, connected app that, were these marketing images Cannondale distributed to the media. Out of the 12 or so "lifestyle" images, maybe four could be on actual gravel roads. The rest were all right out of a page from your typical MTB marketing plans.

So, besides the fact that the biggest tire you can put on any of these is a 650B X 47mm, (on non-HPC versions), and that the suspension travel is a 1992 inspired 30mm, aren't these really mountain bikes with drop bars? Again- I'll ask the question- Where are all the 70-sish degree head angle, rigid hard tail, flat bar MTB's? I mean, if you are going to go single tracking, ya know?

Man! Somebody has to make an El Mariachi-like hard tail again. It'd be five times the bike these Topstones are, especially at what these marketers are saying these bikes are supposedly for, at a third of the price of these Topstones. Cheapest non-motorized one is $3750.00 from what I saw on the release. Then there are the motorized ones. Going up....... Those are nearly 6G and up. And get this- they showed these as if they were MTB's as well. 

I don't know where to start. 28 hole rims on an electrified bike? How about a 59mm bottom bracket drop on an XL? (I get it- they have suspension, but really?) Limited tire clearances? (700 X 37 max or 650 B X 42 max on electrified Topstone Neo) Pffft! I just don't know......

It's an odd marketing campaign for a weird bike, in my opinion.

Throwin' it back to 2009. Best DK200 logo EVER.

Another Virtual Experience 

The DK events are postponed to the weekend of September 12th, 2020, but if you are jonesing for some DK action this week, 'cause this would have been the week, then you can get on yer virtual horse tomorrow and ride, or upload a GPS file of your ride which would have been your race distance, (socially distanced, natch!) and share in the virtual joy with others.

The DK team has been doing some virtual stuff since Wednesday and that was all sent out to the folks that are signed up, so if you are one of them, then y'all know what I am talkin' about already.

It's a good way to keep the DK spirit alive, but with things getting relaxed all over the place now, some smaller events are now filling the need of many who are itching for some dusty competition. The 'anti-DK 200' event, The Sterile Iowan, is going off unhindered, unmasked, and unashamed this weekend near Iowa Falls. I'm sure others are getting their gravelly goodness on very soon at some other smaller events.

These are weird times and weird things are going on all over. I'm not sure about any of it, to be honest. Time will suss out all, that I am sure of that much. As for me..... I'm still on the solo train. Virtual stuff? Not so much.

A US made Schwinn? It's coming....

 Detroit Bikes To Build New Schwinn Collegiate Bikes for 125th Anniversary of Marque. 

Back when I started in the bicycle biz and probably up through 2010, many people still thought Schwinn was made in the USA. Well, Walmart, et al, made sure folks got that nasty idea outta their heads. But now, a Walmart exclusive Collegiate model will be sold for Schwinn's 125th anniversary, and it will be built by Detroit Bikes in the USA. Just in time to confuse the whole situation once again.

While that sounds cool and all, take a really close look at this bike. 1 X 7 drive train, lower end rear derailleur, and side pull calipers? This cannot be much more than a $350.00 price range bike, in terms of what is available in a comparable type bicycle elsewhere. That is, unless they get you on the collectable/limited edition front. Assuming a CrMo frame too. If this is a mild steel alloy frame and fork, well then.... That's different. I'd take even more off that $350.00 figure.

I've no idea what sort of numbers production will be for this, nor what price this will be. I don't see anything in this article on it. There is some yearly production goal for all of Detroit Bikes customers, stated in the article, which is set at 20,000 mark for 2021. So, I'm betting these Collegiates will only amount to a very small number of that overall total production goal.

Note: Image of the Collegiate is a stock media image posted all around the internet. No idea on source, but I'm guessing it is Pacific Cycles. 

 Riding Gravel Radio Ranch Episode #45:

The episodes keep rolling out. Of all the goals I set for myself for 2020, this is one I can truthfully say now that I have accomplished. That goal would be to get more podcasts produced and on a more regular basis. Here's a link to the latest one.

With this episode we have now done as many podcasts in 2020 as we put out in 2018 and 2019 combined. And to think we didn't get started this year until March! We are getting episodes out more or less weekly and there are no signs of slowing down anytime soon. So, with almost a half of the year done, I think I can safely check that goal off the list.

Now my goal is to get you, the listeners, more engaged. Please send me ideas, questions, and comments to guitarted@ridinggravel.com and I will try to get those ideas, comments, and questions into circulation via the podcast. Hearing about things that riders want to hear about will help diversify the subject matter and help us keep content fresher and more interesting. As an example, we will be doing the "Single Speed Nerd-Out" podcast next, which was a suggestion for a topic that a rider e-mailed me about. It's going to happen. See how that works?


Have a great weekend! 

Saturday News And Views

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

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

12 Speed Drops To Deore Level:

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

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


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

The Deore 11's group.

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

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

Note: Images courtesy of Shimano.

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

 Confusion At MAVIC:

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

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

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

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

 Gravel Event Promoters Back At It: 

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

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

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

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

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

Saturday News And Views

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

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

12 Speed Drops To Deore Level:

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

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


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

The Deore 11's group.

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

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

Note: Images courtesy of Shimano.

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

 Confusion At MAVIC:

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

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

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

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

 Gravel Event Promoters Back At It: 

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

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

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

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

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