It Has Been A While Since I've Done This

Big, beefy, and with some fancy new tech.

I've reviewed a lot of tires in the last thirteen years or so. My first set of tires that I ever reviewed were a pair of WTB Wolverines, 29"ers, of course. That was when I learned a lot about reviewing stuff from the guy that used to run the now defunct website called "The Biking Hub".

Anyway, I reviewed a LOT of 29"er tires  subsequently for "Twenty Nine Inches". Then when I got out of that gig and into RidingGravel.com, the 29"er tire reviews were over. Or at least I thought so.....

Of course, I still review a lot of tires, they are just gravel/all-road treads now. So, when WTB sent over their newest treads to be reviewed for "Riding Gravel", they sent a pair of mountain bike tires as well to see what I thought about them. It's been a while since I've paid any attention to what is going on in that corner of the tire world with anything other than a cursory look. I mean, I only have a few mtb rigs and their tires are fine for now.

I'll be honest- WTB mtb tires have been hit or miss in my experience. I love Nanoraptors, (don't they just call them "Nano" these days?) I really didn't like the Bronsons, they were scary to corner on! The Ninelines were fantastic for what they are designed to do. The Trailblazer 27.5+ tires were fantastic. The old Wolverines were dead and heavy feeling compared to newer stuff. And on..... However; since those days WTB has made some changes in tech. Big changes....

So, in the meantime, I have to find a bike to put these on and get to riding. While WTB isn't expecting a review of these, I probably will be chiming in on these here as I get along on them. I'll also be mentioning the Sendero 650B tires I'll be testing for RidingGravel.com as well.

More soon........

NOTE- WTB sent over the Sendero and Ranger 2.4" tires for test and review at no charge. I have not been paid nor bribed for this content and I strive to give my honest thoughts and opinions throughout.

It Has Been A While Since I've Done This

Big, beefy, and with some fancy new tech.

I've reviewed a lot of tires in the last thirteen years or so. My first set of tires that I ever reviewed were a pair of WTB Wolverines, 29"ers, of course. That was when I learned a lot about reviewing stuff from the guy that used to run the now defunct website called "The Biking Hub".

Anyway, I reviewed a LOT of 29"er tires  subsequently for "Twenty Nine Inches". Then when I got out of that gig and into RidingGravel.com, the 29"er tire reviews were over. Or at least I thought so.....

Of course, I still review a lot of tires, they are just gravel/all-road treads now. So, when WTB sent over their newest treads to be reviewed for "Riding Gravel", they sent a pair of mountain bike tires as well to see what I thought about them. It's been a while since I've paid any attention to what is going on in that corner of the tire world with anything other than a cursory look. I mean, I only have a few mtb rigs and their tires are fine for now.

I'll be honest- WTB mtb tires have been hit or miss in my experience. I love Nanoraptors, (don't they just call them "Nano" these days?) I really didn't like the Bronsons, they were scary to corner on! The Ninelines were fantastic for what they are designed to do. The Trailblazer 27.5+ tires were fantastic. The old Wolverines were dead and heavy feeling compared to newer stuff. And on..... However; since those days WTB has made some changes in tech. Big changes....

So, in the meantime, I have to find a bike to put these on and get to riding. While WTB isn't expecting a review of these, I probably will be chiming in on these here as I get along on them. I'll also be mentioning the Sendero 650B tires I'll be testing for RidingGravel.com as well.

More soon........

NOTE- WTB sent over the Sendero and Ranger 2.4" tires for test and review at no charge. I have not been paid nor bribed for this content and I strive to give my honest thoughts and opinions throughout.

My History With "Twenty Nine Inches"

Wes Williams, a 29"er pioneer, and myself at Interbike

First things first. Twenty Nine Inches, as a site, is done. On the passing of that site I thought I would share my history with it. The whole deal I had with Twenty Nine Inches began here and was an outgrowth of this, the Guitar Ted Productions blog. I was writing about 29"ers here and getting news and tips on gear before I ever wrote for another site. Lately I have been recapping the history of that and of this site in my sort of weekly "Minus Ten Review" posts. You can check those out if you care to. The following is a personal recollection and my personal opinions on the history I have with Twenty Nine Inches. This does not necessarily reflect the opinions or recollections of others. So, as always....

NOTE: Large doses of "my opinion" will be handed out in gloppy dollops today. You've been forewarned.....

The Twenty Nine Inches site, (here after referred to as "TNI"), was started by a guy named Tim Grahl. Tim had several cycling related sites, but first and foremost he was an opportunist. He had a rather successful blog/website called "Blue Collar Mountain Bike" which was documenting he and a friends first forays into the world of off road cycling. Basically, these guys were total noobs and they were stumbling through the learning process of mountain biking openly on-line. This brought them a ton of attention from opportunistic marketing wonks who saw an avenue to tell their product story via a "real" and "honest" pair of budding cyclists. Grahl saw an opportunity to get money and product via other cycling based ideas as well. So, he observed that 29"ers were a new and upcoming force in the cycling world. He also noted that I seemed to be a big fan of 29"ers and knew a lot about what was going on with them. Of course, being new to the scene, Grahl did not have the credibility or background knowledge necessary to speak to this new audience. That's where I came in.

As I have said here, I wasn't looking for more opportunities to write. I was already doing reviews and writing for a site called "The Biking Hub", where I learned basic principles of writing for an audience and gained a framework for doing reviews from a guy who had a journalism background. Basically, I was learning a craft and gaining experience, otherwise I wouldn't have engaged with the "Biking Hub" at all. I simply wasn't interested in becoming anything other than a blogger. I had two children, at that time they were 4 years and two years old. I wanted to be around to raise them, not gallivanting around chasing down stories in the bicycle industry. I had a decent job as a bike mechanic which I had arranged to work around my family's needs.

Riding a Lenz Sports Lunchbox at Bootleg Canyon during Demo Days for Interbike

So, when Grahl came a knockin' on my door to write for him I was not biting. I didn't want more on my plate, I wanted less. Then the "Biking Hub" began to become more difficult to communicate with. Eventually the site shut down. Meanwhile, Grahl paid for airfare to get me to Interbike where he offered to pay me for writing and reviewing for TNI. Eventually he promised me that I would make the same amount of money I did at the bike shop so I could quit my job and go full time into TNI. That would allow even more "home time" and free me up for travels.

Well, the travels happened. Between '06 and '09, I was gone a lot. But, the dollars never materialized. In fact, Grahl began to falter on promises to others in the "Crooked Cog Network", his collection of other cycling sites, and eventually he bailed out on them all. In the process, he botched up a picture hosting site contract where he had convinced me I should host images, resulting in the loss of many images. You can still see the "empty holes" on this blog from posts dating from '08 and '09. He bailed on advertisers, and eventually was going to shut down TNI and sell it.

Seeing as how I had responsibilities to companies and people concerning reviews and products still ongoing, I convinced Grahl to give me the site at no charge, since he never paid me in accordance with our '06 handshake agreement in Vegas. Reluctantly and with much resisstance on his end, I eventually got the reigns to TNI in 2010, I believe it was. However, basically since the beginning of 2009 I had been running the site. Free of charge. No pay. Nuthin.

Obviously, Grahl was the brains behind the computer end of the sites he ran, what him having a college trained background in computer sciences and all. Me? I was as bad at computers and websites as Grahl was about cycling. Only difference being that I didn't pretend to know anything about computers. I was getting a serious crash course in website operations, and stress levels in 2009-2010 were at an all-time high.

Meeting Gary Fisher in happier times with TNI. Grahl is on the left here.

That's where Grannygear came in. I met him at Interbike, via Jason Boucher, at the Salsa Cycles booth. Some things are pre-ordained, and not a chance happening. I believe meeting GG was just such a moment in my life.

I know that without GG's technical background that I would have shut down TNI at the end of 2010. In the meantime, we got a European contributor in "cg", a German based rider. His skill in reviewing and communication brought TNI a lot of respect. Grannygear, a natural  born communicator, made connections I never dreamed of making. Meanwhile, I took less and less opportunities for travel, passing all that off to GG and cg instead. I got to stay home, like I wanted to, and the TNI site quickly gained its feet back underneath it. Due to GG and cg's efforts and talents, TNI, regained its status as a well respected site. Or at least I'd like to think so.

Then 27.5"ers came along, fat bikes came along, and gravel bikes got to be a thing. TNI wasn't getting the review stuff it used to, and marketing turned away from smaller sites. The entrenched cycling media finally figured out 29"ers and other niche cycling growth areas were not to be ignored, as 29"ers had been for several years. This all conspired to make TNI less of a value to advertisers. While I, nor GG or cg, made anything off the site, at least the money we did get "kept the lights on",  paid for business trips for GG and cg, and sometimes for things necessary like tools and supplies at times that we needed them to put bicycles together and maintain them. But even that got to be thin by 2012.

Then I decided that full time editing after doing bicycle mechanic work by day was getting to be too much. I was translating articles from German, going over GG's submissions, doing my part for TNI, writing this blog, running Trans Iowa, and "Gravel Grinder News", all at the same time. It was too much. I decided that TNI was in good hands and I had done more than my fair share in getting it back to a respectable standing after the trashing Grahl put the site through in '09. It was time to bug out.

So, I did just that at the end of 2014. I joined Ben Welnak and we formed Riding Gravel. I gained a partner well versed in the IT side of sites and a trustworthy business partner that had a proven track record of success with making websites and podcasts make money. Not a lot of money, mind you, but enough to make life doing RidingGravel.com worth my attention. Something I never got from TNI, nor did Grannygear.

Twenty Nine Inches outlasted its lifespan that it should have had based on the passion and efforts of individuals that cared about the industry and the people that were involved in it, but mostly for the riders out there who read the site and relied on it. We knew it was a worthwhile effort for them. We spent a lot of our own blood, sweat, tears, and suffered a lot of mental anguish working on TNI to make it the best we knew how to. I am proud of my work there, and while it is no longer a thing, I count it a big blessing to have done it. Especially because of the people I connected to through TNI.

I'm not a businessman. I am a story teller, I guess. So, TNI was a big energy suck with little reward beyond the people part I mentioned. How TNI made it to 2017 is an amazing thing. I tip my hat to Grannygear and "cg". To Jeff J, Captain Bob, and anyone else that contributed to our time there at TNI. I am super thankful for every industry contact. You all are much more to me than an opportunity to "get stuff" or gather news. You are all fantastic folks that gave me so much of your precious time, energy, and knowledge. I could never repay any of you for that.

So long Twenty Nine Inches. It was a good ride while it lasted.

My History With "Twenty Nine Inches"

Wes Williams, a 29"er pioneer, and myself at Interbike

First things first. Twenty Nine Inches, as a site, is done. On the passing of that site I thought I would share my history with it. The whole deal I had with Twenty Nine Inches began here and was an outgrowth of this, the Guitar Ted Productions blog. I was writing about 29"ers here and getting news and tips on gear before I ever wrote for another site. Lately I have been recapping the history of that and of this site in my sort of weekly "Minus Ten Review" posts. You can check those out if you care to. The following is a personal recollection and my personal opinions on the history I have with Twenty Nine Inches. This does not necessarily reflect the opinions or recollections of others. So, as always....

NOTE: Large doses of "my opinion" will be handed out in gloppy dollops today. You've been forewarned.....

The Twenty Nine Inches site, (here after referred to as "TNI"), was started by a guy named Tim Grahl. Tim had several cycling related sites, but first and foremost he was an opportunist. He had a rather successful blog/website called "Blue Collar Mountain Bike" which was documenting he and a friends first forays into the world of off road cycling. Basically, these guys were total noobs and they were stumbling through the learning process of mountain biking openly on-line. This brought them a ton of attention from opportunistic marketing wonks who saw an avenue to tell their product story via a "real" and "honest" pair of budding cyclists. Grahl saw an opportunity to get money and product via other cycling based ideas as well. So, he observed that 29"ers were a new and upcoming force in the cycling world. He also noted that I seemed to be a big fan of 29"ers and knew a lot about what was going on with them. Of course, being new to the scene, Grahl did not have the credibility or background knowledge necessary to speak to this new audience. That's where I came in.

As I have said here, I wasn't looking for more opportunities to write. I was already doing reviews and writing for a site called "The Biking Hub", where I learned basic principles of writing for an audience and gained a framework for doing reviews from a guy who had a journalism background. Basically, I was learning a craft and gaining experience, otherwise I wouldn't have engaged with the "Biking Hub" at all. I simply wasn't interested in becoming anything other than a blogger. I had two children, at that time they were 4 years and two years old. I wanted to be around to raise them, not gallivanting around chasing down stories in the bicycle industry. I had a decent job as a bike mechanic which I had arranged to work around my family's needs.

Riding a Lenz Sports Lunchbox at Bootleg Canyon during Demo Days for Interbike

So, when Grahl came a knockin' on my door to write for him I was not biting. I didn't want more on my plate, I wanted less. Then the "Biking Hub" began to become more difficult to communicate with. Eventually the site shut down. Meanwhile, Grahl paid for airfare to get me to Interbike where he offered to pay me for writing and reviewing for TNI. Eventually he promised me that I would make the same amount of money I did at the bike shop so I could quit my job and go full time into TNI. That would allow even more "home time" and free me up for travels.

Well, the travels happened. Between '06 and '09, I was gone a lot. But, the dollars never materialized. In fact, Grahl began to falter on promises to others in the "Crooked Cog Network", his collection of other cycling sites, and eventually he bailed out on them all. In the process, he botched up a picture hosting site contract where he had convinced me I should host images, resulting in the loss of many images. You can still see the "empty holes" on this blog from posts dating from '08 and '09. He bailed on advertisers, and eventually was going to shut down TNI and sell it.

Seeing as how I had responsibilities to companies and people concerning reviews and products still ongoing, I convinced Grahl to give me the site at no charge, since he never paid me in accordance with our '06 handshake agreement in Vegas. Reluctantly and with much resisstance on his end, I eventually got the reigns to TNI in 2010, I believe it was. However, basically since the beginning of 2009 I had been running the site. Free of charge. No pay. Nuthin.

Obviously, Grahl was the brains behind the computer end of the sites he ran, what him having a college trained background in computer sciences and all. Me? I was as bad at computers and websites as Grahl was about cycling. Only difference being that I didn't pretend to know anything about computers. I was getting a serious crash course in website operations, and stress levels in 2009-2010 were at an all-time high.

Meeting Gary Fisher in happier times with TNI. Grahl is on the left here.

That's where Grannygear came in. I met him at Interbike, via Jason Boucher, at the Salsa Cycles booth. Some things are pre-ordained, and not a chance happening. I believe meeting GG was just such a moment in my life.

I know that without GG's technical background that I would have shut down TNI at the end of 2010. In the meantime, we got a European contributor in "cg", a German based rider. His skill in reviewing and communication brought TNI a lot of respect. Grannygear, a natural  born communicator, made connections I never dreamed of making. Meanwhile, I took less and less opportunities for travel, passing all that off to GG and cg instead. I got to stay home, like I wanted to, and the TNI site quickly gained its feet back underneath it. Due to GG and cg's efforts and talents, TNI, regained its status as a well respected site. Or at least I'd like to think so.

Then 27.5"ers came along, fat bikes came along, and gravel bikes got to be a thing. TNI wasn't getting the review stuff it used to, and marketing turned away from smaller sites. The entrenched cycling media finally figured out 29"ers and other niche cycling growth areas were not to be ignored, as 29"ers had been for several years. This all conspired to make TNI less of a value to advertisers. While I, nor GG or cg, made anything off the site, at least the money we did get "kept the lights on",  paid for business trips for GG and cg, and sometimes for things necessary like tools and supplies at times that we needed them to put bicycles together and maintain them. But even that got to be thin by 2012.

Then I decided that full time editing after doing bicycle mechanic work by day was getting to be too much. I was translating articles from German, going over GG's submissions, doing my part for TNI, writing this blog, running Trans Iowa, and "Gravel Grinder News", all at the same time. It was too much. I decided that TNI was in good hands and I had done more than my fair share in getting it back to a respectable standing after the trashing Grahl put the site through in '09. It was time to bug out.

So, I did just that at the end of 2014. I joined Ben Welnak and we formed Riding Gravel. I gained a partner well versed in the IT side of sites and a trustworthy business partner that had a proven track record of success with making websites and podcasts make money. Not a lot of money, mind you, but enough to make life doing RidingGravel.com worth my attention. Something I never got from TNI, nor did Grannygear.

Twenty Nine Inches outlasted its lifespan that it should have had based on the passion and efforts of individuals that cared about the industry and the people that were involved in it, but mostly for the riders out there who read the site and relied on it. We knew it was a worthwhile effort for them. We spent a lot of our own blood, sweat, tears, and suffered a lot of mental anguish working on TNI to make it the best we knew how to. I am proud of my work there, and while it is no longer a thing, I count it a big blessing to have done it. Especially because of the people I connected to through TNI.

I'm not a businessman. I am a story teller, I guess. So, TNI was a big energy suck with little reward beyond the people part I mentioned. How TNI made it to 2017 is an amazing thing. I tip my hat to Grannygear and "cg". To Jeff J, Captain Bob, and anyone else that contributed to our time there at TNI. I am super thankful for every industry contact. You all are much more to me than an opportunity to "get stuff" or gather news. You are all fantastic folks that gave me so much of your precious time, energy, and knowledge. I could never repay any of you for that.

So long Twenty Nine Inches. It was a good ride while it lasted.

Some Thoughts On Tires

What gravel looks like, for reference.

Many of you that have been reading the blog here know that I have been writing reviews on things for a long time for different sites. My very first review for a site was done in 2005 for the long defunct "The Biking Hub" on a set of tires from WTB. Exiwolfs, I believe they were. Since then, I've ridden so many different tires I could not possibly remember them all.

That is to say, I've ridden my fair share of tires, and there are a few things that make a tire "good" in general. You can guess the first thing- weight. No one wants to spin up a big, heavy tire, especially up a long grade. The other thing that is apparent to many riders is the way the tire's casing "works". In other words, is the tire supple, or does it ride like a solid rubber chunk of crap? (This affects more than just ride feel, by the way.) Then there are the finer things, like traction, cornering, and braking performance. Basic stuff that if it is good, makes or breaks a tire's reputation.

That seems simple enough, right? Get those three basic areas "right" and you can't lose. However; it isn't all that simple. Obviously. That's why we have a gazillion tire choices. If "one" thing worked for road, and another for "gravel", and another "one" thing for mountain biking, well, there would only be three tread patterns. That's laughable to think about, in light of reality, because we have a confusing array of tires for every different situation. Too many choices. Somewhere between "three" choices and a "gazillion" is where the truth lays.

There are a few things people get wrong when it comes to bicycle tires, and the most egregious thing, in my opinion, is when people try to tie the attributes of motorized vehicle tires to bicycle tires. While there are a few obvious parallels, the comparisons are like comparing a deep sea fishing rod to a Tenkara rod. Similar in some ways, yes, but the design intentions and performance parameters are so different that the only remaining similarities are in basic form and name.

They say you don't need tread on a gravel road going tire? Hmm.....

So, I'm not one to say that some form of tire usage outside of the cycling world is a parallel to what works on bicycles. It isn't a good analogy and what does actually work is more specific and specialized to cycling than what you'd find outside of this sport. To that end, I've discovered some traits of tires that seem to lend a helping hand to riders on dirt and gravel over the years. Some things are obvious, some not so much.

In the gravel going arena, I find that a tire totally devoid of tread isn't the very best idea, and neither is one that has all sorts of tread on the casing. Just like with the tread design choices, there is a middle ground somewhere that actually works well. However; it is something else that also needs to be there, which if not included, will make or break a tire's performance on gravel roads. That is the casing's shape, or the way the casing and the tread form a shape which hits the road.

In all of my gravel miles, the tires that perform best seem to all have a shape which isn't really "round" in cross section. Something "less C shaped" and more squared off or flattish seems to really tame loose stuff. You can get there several ways. Sometimes air pressure and rim width can do this. Sometimes tire design gets you this trait, and many times a clever use of smooth and treaded design in the right spots gets you there. Many times bits of all of the above come together to get a tire which rides wonderfully on gravel.

The thing is, a "standard", roundish shape tends to plow, like the bow of a boat, through looser gravel. This is most evident when tire pressures are too high. The resulting ride is not unlike a skinny tire on gravel. There is a lot of vibration, lateral movement, and the rider has to correct the front end much more than one should. I call it "herding" the bike instead of riding it. A tire with a flatter profile, maybe with lateral tread blocks on the sides, gives the tire an ability to float over gravel, and the flatter profile also cuts way down on the "bow effect". There is a lot less "herding" the bike and far more riding it.

So, maybe you have a different idea? Fine. That's why they make a gazillion different tire choices.

Some Thoughts On Tires

What gravel looks like, for reference.

Many of you that have been reading the blog here know that I have been writing reviews on things for a long time for different sites. My very first review for a site was done in 2005 for the long defunct "The Biking Hub" on a set of tires from WTB. Exiwolfs, I believe they were. Since then, I've ridden so many different tires I could not possibly remember them all.

That is to say, I've ridden my fair share of tires, and there are a few things that make a tire "good" in general. You can guess the first thing- weight. No one wants to spin up a big, heavy tire, especially up a long grade. The other thing that is apparent to many riders is the way the tire's casing "works". In other words, is the tire supple, or does it ride like a solid rubber chunk of crap? (This affects more than just ride feel, by the way.) Then there are the finer things, like traction, cornering, and braking performance. Basic stuff that if it is good, makes or breaks a tire's reputation.

That seems simple enough, right? Get those three basic areas "right" and you can't lose. However; it isn't all that simple. Obviously. That's why we have a gazillion tire choices. If "one" thing worked for road, and another for "gravel", and another "one" thing for mountain biking, well, there would only be three tread patterns. That's laughable to think about, in light of reality, because we have a confusing array of tires for every different situation. Too many choices. Somewhere between "three" choices and a "gazillion" is where the truth lays.

There are a few things people get wrong when it comes to bicycle tires, and the most egregious thing, in my opinion, is when people try to tie the attributes of motorized vehicle tires to bicycle tires. While there are a few obvious parallels, the comparisons are like comparing a deep sea fishing rod to a Tenkara rod. Similar in some ways, yes, but the design intentions and performance parameters are so different that the only remaining similarities are in basic form and name.

They say you don't need tread on a gravel road going tire? Hmm.....

So, I'm not one to say that some form of tire usage outside of the cycling world is a parallel to what works on bicycles. It isn't a good analogy and what does actually work is more specific and specialized to cycling than what you'd find outside of this sport. To that end, I've discovered some traits of tires that seem to lend a helping hand to riders on dirt and gravel over the years. Some things are obvious, some not so much.

In the gravel going arena, I find that a tire totally devoid of tread isn't the very best idea, and neither is one that has all sorts of tread on the casing. Just like with the tread design choices, there is a middle ground somewhere that actually works well. However; it is something else that also needs to be there, which if not included, will make or break a tire's performance on gravel roads. That is the casing's shape, or the way the casing and the tread form a shape which hits the road.

In all of my gravel miles, the tires that perform best seem to all have a shape which isn't really "round" in cross section. Something "less C shaped" and more squared off or flattish seems to really tame loose stuff. You can get there several ways. Sometimes air pressure and rim width can do this. Sometimes tire design gets you this trait, and many times a clever use of smooth and treaded design in the right spots gets you there. Many times bits of all of the above come together to get a tire which rides wonderfully on gravel.

The thing is, a "standard", roundish shape tends to plow, like the bow of a boat, through looser gravel. This is most evident when tire pressures are too high. The resulting ride is not unlike a skinny tire on gravel. There is a lot of vibration, lateral movement, and the rider has to correct the front end much more than one should. I call it "herding" the bike instead of riding it. A tire with a flatter profile, maybe with lateral tread blocks on the sides, gives the tire an ability to float over gravel, and the flatter profile also cuts way down on the "bow effect". There is a lot less "herding" the bike and far more riding it.

So, maybe you have a different idea? Fine. That's why they make a gazillion different tire choices.

A Decade Of Nonsense: Part 3

The stable of bikes expanded in a big way in '06!

2006 represents the year when things blew up with regard to this blog and with my "other" related activities. I cannot really say why that happened, even looking back on things now, it doesn't make any sense to me. All I know is that I worked hard to "get my voice" and write better. Then......holy cow! 2006 was a whirlwind of activity.

I started out with getting an On One Inbred frame and fork which I built up and was going to use as my Dirty Kanza 200 rig. I then did several comparisons to that and my '03 Karate Monkey, which turned out to be a very popular post series for several years, according to the stat meister machine I have on this site.  Then I "Ted-terviewed" a few Trans Iowa and local endurance nuts. That was quite well received. So much so that I actually got a Ted-terview with Steve and Chris of Niner Bikes. Apparently, they were stoked to the point that they gave me some exclusive news on their then brand new RIP-9 frame which debuted at Sea Otter that year. I also was getting some inside scoop from Ryan Atkinson of Fisher mtb fame on some new developments at Fisher with 29"ers. This sparked a redoubled interest on the part of Tim Grahl to get me on board with Twenty Nine Inches.com, which I was very reluctant to do for "free" or at all. I mean.....at that time, I didn't need TNI. I was busy enough doing what it was I had going on, and I was still affiliated with "The Biking Hub". Actually, the further 2006 went on the odder that affiliation got until I found out later that the site was going to be scuttled.

I got "published" in a Haro catalog in '06

 Earlier on in the blog, I was contacted by Mike Varley, who was then in charge of all things MTB at Haro Bicycles. He asked me to write a couple paragraphs on 29"ers. One specifically about the new Haro Mary bikes which were coming out, and another on 29"ers in general. He didn't know if either would make the cut. Maybe they'd just use one.

Well, I came to find out they used both of them! I was floored. This was my first "paying gig" in a sense that Haro decided to give me a frame and fork in turn for the write up. At any rate, here I was published on paper in a catalog. This was probably my most momentous accomplishment related to the blog in those early days. So......Thanks again, Mike! 

Well, that wasn't all. For whatever reason, it would seem that despite there being a site called Twenty Nine Inches.com, I was getting lots of news and product review chances as '06 cranked along. I got the first On One Carbon Superlight fork to test. I got a Raleigh XXIX as a warranty replacement for an old Diamomd Back V Link I had that broke. The write ups on this rig precipitated my getting the chance to demo and write up some stuff on Cannondale's first 29"er, the Caffeine.  Then a chance came up which has been probably one of the most rewarding things that has come out of this blog- the Badger Dorothy review.

The bike and subsequent model run planned was an utter disaster in the end, but the friendship I struck up with the then owner of Milltown Cycles, Ben Witt, was most rewarding and I still call him a friend to this very day. Like I always say- "It's all about the people you meet and the relationships you build." Nothing else matters. Not the bicycles, the travel, or anything else here. I am super grateful for having met Ben through these digital pages. 

Riding in the very first Dirty Kanza was another good deal in '06.

Another relationship was struck up when I met Salsa Cycles then GM, Jason Boucher. I was able to review a Dos Niner and actually got a sneak peek at the then new Mamasita carbon/aluminum hard tail 29"er when Jason and Kid Reimer came down on a snowy Fall day to ride at Camp Ingawanis on that new steed.

With the promise of a financial reward from Twenty Nine Inches and a free ticket to Interbike, I finally agreed to write for TNI.com in the fall of '06 on a regular basis instead of only occasionally. It was there that I met many folks in the industry, not the least of which was Gary Fisher himself. During Interbike I was shocked to have people I didn't even know coming up to me and telling me they were reading the site. It was all a bit much, going from zero to 100mph in a little more than a year of blogging, but it was real. Again- I have no idea why, but there ya go. By October I was full on writing for TNI.com, and review items were coming my way. I was going to be a very busy man for several years. In fact, I figured that if what I was told  while at the meeting in Vegas concerning TNI would happen, I might have to shut down the blog here, or curtail my postings severely. I didn't know if I could sustain this, Trans Iowa, and TNI.com all at the same time while holding down a job at a bike shop and being a father and a husband.

By the end of '06, the gig with the "Biking Hub" was done, but I had been integrated into Tim Grahl's "Crooked Cog Network", which included TNI.com, a site called "Blue Collar MTB", and another site dubbed "Commute By Bike". 2006 was a watershed year, but things maybe got even crazier in 2007......

A Decade Of Nonsense: Part 3

The stable of bikes expanded in a big way in '06!

2006 represents the year when things blew up with regard to this blog and with my "other" related activities. I cannot really say why that happened, even looking back on things now, it doesn't make any sense to me. All I know is that I worked hard to "get my voice" and write better. Then......holy cow! 2006 was a whirlwind of activity.

I started out with getting an On One Inbred frame and fork which I built up and was going to use as my Dirty Kanza 200 rig. I then did several comparisons to that and my '03 Karate Monkey, which turned out to be a very popular post series for several years, according to the stat meister machine I have on this site.  Then I "Ted-terviewed" a few Trans Iowa and local endurance nuts. That was quite well received. So much so that I actually got a Ted-terview with Steve and Chris of Niner Bikes. Apparently, they were stoked to the point that they gave me some exclusive news on their then brand new RIP-9 frame which debuted at Sea Otter that year. I also was getting some inside scoop from Ryan Atkinson of Fisher mtb fame on some new developments at Fisher with 29"ers. This sparked a redoubled interest on the part of Tim Grahl to get me on board with Twenty Nine Inches.com, which I was very reluctant to do for "free" or at all. I mean.....at that time, I didn't need TNI. I was busy enough doing what it was I had going on, and I was still affiliated with "The Biking Hub". Actually, the further 2006 went on the odder that affiliation got until I found out later that the site was going to be scuttled.

I got "published" in a Haro catalog in '06

 Earlier on in the blog, I was contacted by Mike Varley, who was then in charge of all things MTB at Haro Bicycles. He asked me to write a couple paragraphs on 29"ers. One specifically about the new Haro Mary bikes which were coming out, and another on 29"ers in general. He didn't know if either would make the cut. Maybe they'd just use one.

Well, I came to find out they used both of them! I was floored. This was my first "paying gig" in a sense that Haro decided to give me a frame and fork in turn for the write up. At any rate, here I was published on paper in a catalog. This was probably my most momentous accomplishment related to the blog in those early days. So......Thanks again, Mike! 

Well, that wasn't all. For whatever reason, it would seem that despite there being a site called Twenty Nine Inches.com, I was getting lots of news and product review chances as '06 cranked along. I got the first On One Carbon Superlight fork to test. I got a Raleigh XXIX as a warranty replacement for an old Diamomd Back V Link I had that broke. The write ups on this rig precipitated my getting the chance to demo and write up some stuff on Cannondale's first 29"er, the Caffeine.  Then a chance came up which has been probably one of the most rewarding things that has come out of this blog- the Badger Dorothy review.

The bike and subsequent model run planned was an utter disaster in the end, but the friendship I struck up with the then owner of Milltown Cycles, Ben Witt, was most rewarding and I still call him a friend to this very day. Like I always say- "It's all about the people you meet and the relationships you build." Nothing else matters. Not the bicycles, the travel, or anything else here. I am super grateful for having met Ben through these digital pages. 

Riding in the very first Dirty Kanza was another good deal in '06.

Another relationship was struck up when I met Salsa Cycles then GM, Jason Boucher. I was able to review a Dos Niner and actually got a sneak peek at the then new Mamasita carbon/aluminum hard tail 29"er when Jason and Kid Reimer came down on a snowy Fall day to ride at Camp Ingawanis on that new steed.

With the promise of a financial reward from Twenty Nine Inches and a free ticket to Interbike, I finally agreed to write for TNI.com in the fall of '06 on a regular basis instead of only occasionally. It was there that I met many folks in the industry, not the least of which was Gary Fisher himself. During Interbike I was shocked to have people I didn't even know coming up to me and telling me they were reading the site. It was all a bit much, going from zero to 100mph in a little more than a year of blogging, but it was real. Again- I have no idea why, but there ya go. By October I was full on writing for TNI.com, and review items were coming my way. I was going to be a very busy man for several years. In fact, I figured that if what I was told  while at the meeting in Vegas concerning TNI would happen, I might have to shut down the blog here, or curtail my postings severely. I didn't know if I could sustain this, Trans Iowa, and TNI.com all at the same time while holding down a job at a bike shop and being a father and a husband.

By the end of '06, the gig with the "Biking Hub" was done, but I had been integrated into Tim Grahl's "Crooked Cog Network", which included TNI.com, a site called "Blue Collar MTB", and another site dubbed "Commute By Bike". 2006 was a watershed year, but things maybe got even crazier in 2007......