A Quick Catching Up Post

Paul Components WORD Fixed Disc hub

 Hey! I wanted to sneak in here amongst all the end-of-year madness going on this blog to give you readers an update on a project and a couple of other things going on around Guitar Ted Headquarters. 

First, I have decided to turn my old Twin Six Standard Rando v2 into a fixed gear bicycle, as I told a week ago or so in the last FN&V. The process has begun already with the main ingredient being a Paul Components WORD Fixed Disc rear hub. 

Oh, and it is a through-axle hub as well. A true "unicorn" in the bicycle component world. I am not aware of any other choices in something along these lines. Good thing it is a high-quality, reliable component! 

The rear hub is built up already on a Velocity USA Blunt SS rim. The front wheel will be a Stans hub with the same Velocity USA Blunt SS rim. What is fun about the fixed hub is it will be interchangeable with  the Honeman Flyer, so I can set up either bike fixed or free. 

The corresponding move here will be the elimination of the Shogun 100 from the stable. It will likely go back to the Cedar Valley Bicycle Collective as a donation. At this point, I need to start whittling down the fleet, not add to it. 

I'll have more on this bike after the New Year.

This snow is almost gone now with the warmer weather!

The 4Runner got a new end gate. When Jacob bought the vehicle I kind of let him be in charge of questions and looking everything over. So, it wasn't until afterward, when he lifted the end gate one day, that I heard a weird noise from inside the end gate and looked up to see a big hole in the bottom of the end gate where moisture had rusted through from the inside. 

I figured at some point Jacob would have to decide  to have this repaired, but then he died and when I got the vehicle the repair fell to be my responsibility. So, anyway, it has been done and now the vehicle is in excellent shape. 

Ironically the end gate was so rusted, and the rest of the vehicle wasn't, that the body shop guys were puzzled. Even the rear speakers had rusty voice coils and were inoperable. So, I got new rear speakers as well. But now it is all good to go, so I've got a vehicle now I can rely on.  

Besides those things I have just been doing a little bit of fat biking, dodging ice patches, and going to work at the Collective where I am catching up on closing up the books for 2025. Mid-January will mark my fourth year working there! 

Okay, there is a quick update. Expect the next update after the New Year once all the end-of-year stuff is out of the way. 

Thank you for reading Guitar ted Productions! 

Friday News And Views (Monster Year-End Edition)

Image from Innova Super Gravel webpage.

 Call It "Gravel™" And It Will Sell:

What happens when you take an XC racing chassis, slap a drop bar on it, and call it a "gravel bike"? Well, apparently you sell bicycles. That is what it looks like judging from a few bicycle brands out there now who are trying to figure out how to "innovate" the gravel bike into something the marketing departments hope you will see as a "must have bike". 

The recently released Trek Checkout, and a few other bicycles like this Innova Super Gravel (shown here) seem to have a very striking resemblance to 29"er XC racing bikes from five to ten years ago. 

I wrote up a comparison of the Trek Checkout with an old Gary Fisher XC Trail bike back at the end of September. If you missed the comparison, it may be enlightening to go back and read the article as it will shed some light on what it is that is going on here with these supposed "category defining" gravel bikes. 

I think this is happening due to a few things. One - Road bikes are encroaching on territory formerly covered by the gravel category. Many road bikes can now fit 35mm road tires, which were "gravel tire" widths in the 2010's. Some road bikes in the "road endurance/all-road" category fit even wider tires. No one wants to call these "gravel bikes", even though for a lot of people out there, this is all they would ever need to ride any road they come across. 

Two - "Gravel" is not everywhere. Many places have back roads, pavement, or dirt roads, but many "paths" cross over to single track/MTB type riding. Wider tires, more aggressive trail geometry, and suspension fit this terrain better. The marketing for the Innova Super Gravel shows it on rocky paths and more MTB/XC type terrain. Actual crushed rock roads (gravel) are no where to be seen.  Perhaps this reflects what seems more enticing to ride and this new style of 'Gravel Bike", which is really just XC MTB with drop bars, is what will motivate folks to pop the credit card number in for a charge. 

Three: "Adventure" was removed from XC MTB bikes when racing-focused products took over and gravity oriented machines became the guise entry level MTB bikes took on, if only in form. Part of this swing toward drop bar MTB is labeled as "adventure biking" because MTB has abandoned this adventure off-road category for years. Bike packing was, and is, a partial beneficiary to this as well. However; the lighter, more svelte "gravel bike" with a suspended front end seems to be filling this void where once the mainstay of MTB was residing. News about the 2026 Focus Atlas adventure bike brings to mind the original Fargo, a bicycle who's tagline was "Adventure by Bike" and which created this drop-bar, MTB based adventure category nearly 20 years ago now. 

All these things are being drenched in "gravel" because this is the magic word which conveys a sense of thrill, adventure, and does not carry the pretenses of road cycling or MTB racing/mountain riding. Even though much of what is being put out there as "new", "category defining" and "adventure" is derivative and old news. 

For more on this, see my take on another bike in this vein below....... 

Guitar Ted Podcast To Take Winter Break:

N.Y. Roll and I recorded the final episode of the Guitar Ted Podcast for this season recently. We will be taking our annual Holiday break and recharging the batteries for another season of the show being planned now. 

2025 was a year of growth, according to our end-of-year stats we received recently from a couple of our podcast platforms. We thank you for listening - if you did - over the past year. I have a review of the year on the podcast which will post the last week of this month, so do look for that. 

Season 4 (!!) will start in January with......well, I don't know just yet! We will come up with something, I am sure. We have received a few great suggestions for the podcast and future episodes, and if you would like to voice your opinions on the direction of the show, please do by leaving a comment here or by email @g.ted.productions@gmail.com. 

Image by A. Andonopoulos

Fixing The Bus

What is my friend Ari holding in his hand here? Well.....it is what I am going to "fix the Bus with." 

Yep! The old Twin Six Standard Rando, or what I called "The Gravel Bus", due to its yellow and black paint scheme, is going to become my new fixed gear bicycle. 

Since I stripped the bike down and used its parts to build up my new Singular Cycles Peregrine Mk4, I thought I was just going to sell this frame and fork off. However; I ended up contemplating how I could make a fatter tire fixed gear bicycle. Something akin to the Shogun, but with beefier tires which I could ride on gravel with. This led me to the Paul WORD Fixed Disc Hub and the possibility of converting the Gravel Bus to direct drive.  

Oh....and in case you are not familiar: Fixed gear means you have a cog on a hub which is locked together. You cannot coast. Every inch the wheel travels the cranks are spinning. It is how all bicycles once were in the late 19th Century. Track bikes are still this way. Just thought I'd throw this out there in case you were new to the concept. 

By the way, single speed free wheel bikes are NOT like fixed gear bikes.They are completely different animals. If you have never ridden fixed gear, you should try it out. It really is amazing and you'd get why it is so different straight away. I love riding this way, and so this new build will be getting used quite a bit,, I think. Stay tuned for more on this bike soon. 

Virtual Turkey Burn Ride Recap:

All the reports are in and published. This year we had ten reports and all from the USA. Most everyone had an issue with the big storm which rolled into the country just in time to affect rides for the challenge.

However; I was encouraged greatly because despite the fact many of the challenge takers did not log the mileage to reach a century, either metric or standard, they reported anyway and shared their rides here. I think this is perhaps even more inspiring, since these folks went out in the face of adversity to ride anyway. 

Feedback from the riders was positive and it looks as though many want to participate in this again next year. Whether you reported or not, if you took inspiration from this challenge and rode, ran, swam, or walked outdoors after Thanksgiving, I appreciate this very much. This is the entire motivation for me - To get folks outdoors and trying to stretch themselves a bit physically instead of sitting around, being sucked into the marketing machine, or whatever. Thanks everyone! We'll plan on doing this again next year then!

 

Image courtesy of Knolly Bikes

Knolly Bikes Releases Updated Cache "Gravel" Bike:

The new Cache drop bar bike in titanium is now available from Knolly Bikes, a predominantly mountain cycling oriented company.  

Their geometry isn't anything crazy with a 70.5° head tube angle, 75mm of bottom bracket drop, and 422mm chain stays. But with many companies going wider on tires, you might expect an increase in maximum tire size over the outgoing Cache, and you'd be correct. Now with clearance for a 29" X 2.3" front and a 29" x 2.1" rear tire (1X and 2X), and suspension fork compatibility, ("gravel travel" suspension only), 

Comments: Okay, I don't really care about big tires or not on gravel rides, you can decide on this idea for yourself. However; at the point where companies are going now with 29"er tires, I have to make a demarcation. 

For myself, and going forward, any "gravel bike" with suspension correction and wider than 2.1" rear tire clearance is technically a mountain bike with drop bars. I mean, call a spade a spade.  Personally, I would rather say a bike like the Cache is a "bad Fargo take", or a poor Cutthroat in the case of carbon frames, but this maybe just me being grumpy today. 

Legends Of Gravel (L.O.G. Ride) Update:

I have a few more details to share concerning the April 17th-18th Legends Of Gravel Ride event. Once again - I am not in charge of this ride. So, if you've got beef with anything concerning the ride, I am not the person to bother with those complaints. Just so we are clear.... 

I am being feted at this event, for further clarity, and I was asked to share this information here, since many of you readers of Guitar Ted Productions just might be interested in this subject. 

Finally, the information I was asked to share: An event site is now live and will be updated with specifics on how you can participate in this event if you want to do so. The site is on Facebook, full disclosure, and I know some of you don't travel in the 'metasphere', which is understandable. Have a friend keep tabs on things then. Don't ask me! 

Here is the link. 

Comments: There is a plan for a group lodging opportunity which would cost $100.00/night to stay which includes meals. The ride itself, if that is all you need, is going to be $50.00/person. This is to help defray costs and gets you an event t-shirt. I know, I thought the ride was free at the onset, but I was wrong, and again - I am not one of the organizers. Any event details, costs, or times are subject to change by the organizers. Be aware! 

I think there is a groundswell of interest in this thing, so if you are at all interested it probably would behoove you to pay attention to that Facebook event page. My part in this is to get there and show up ready to ride a couple of days. That is all I am going to do. So, from this point onward I may mention this event in passing, but do not expect timely updates from me. 

From Singular Cycles' social media

The 32 Watch: Singular Cycles Proto

Recently Singular Cycles posted an Instagram story/reel which showed the bike to the left here with the comment: "It's surprisingly normal looking." Reading into it, I assumed this meant "surprisingly normal" because it was a 32"er. I "liked" the post and Sam Alison replied back in a pm confirming my suspicions. I will stop right there. 

Comments: Sooooo...... One would assume this might just be an actual thing, coming from Singular, who are not in the position to just randomly see if something is going to work or not. It would be reasonable to assume this is in an effort to confirm suspicions the idea is marketable.  

I have to thank my brother, MG, for capturing this image. You know, Insta stories go dark after 24hrs. So, here is the evidence which was provided, but only for a short period of time, preserved now for your consideration. What do you think? Would you be interested in something like this? (I have no horse in this race, by the way.)

I think it bears watching. I would be a lot more interested in a drop bar, gravel crusher, but that is just me. I'd want to see wider spaced hubs than 29"ers have. Thinking out loud, I'd want 150mm front and rear spaced. I would think with the longer chain stays this wouldn't be an issue with cranks and it would build a way stronger wheel. The front matching would allow front to rear wheel swaps. You might want this if a cassette failed, or a derailleur failed, and your front, (actually a rear standard) set up with a single speed cog could swap in as a bail-out. Weird? Maybe, but why not? The stronger wheels would be worth the effort with such a big diameter rim. 

And I don't give a rip about telescopic front suspension forks, so there!  

Programming Note: There are two Friday's left in the year. Usually industry news tails off for the holidays, so unless there are compelling reasons to report news or opinions I will likely post end-of-year articles on the following December Fridays. The FN&V will return the first week of January, 2026. 

Have an awesome weekend! Get out and ride those bicycles! 

Well, It Looks Like THIS Is Going To Happen!

It will probably end up looking a lot like this.

 I have loved fixed gear riding ever since I first tried it out many years ago. However, I did not ever really have a dedicated fixed gear bike worth a hoot. That is, until a couple of years ago when I built up the Shogun I found at the Cedar Valley Bicycle Collective. 

Since I was able to build that bike up with a 'proper' fixed gear rear hub, I have ridden the Shogun consistently ever since. So much so that I was wishing for a fixed gear bike with bigger tires. 

I had such bikes fixed in the past. My Karate Monkey has been set up fixed gear a couple of times. The old Surly 1X1 I had was fixed gear most every Winter I rode the bike. Both bikes had proper wide tires in the 2.2" to 2.5" wide range. 

The Shogun has 28's on it and this is as wide a tire as I can squeeze into the frame and fork. In fact, the front tire is mere millimeters from rubbing the underside of the fork crown. Leaves get stuck under there all the time now, it is so close. 

I've dreamt of fat tires and fixed gears long enough now that I have finally found a solution. It sure looks like this is about to happen too, so I figured I may as well share it with all of you here. My old Standard Rando v2 is going to become my fixed gear sled in the near future. 

The Shogun will get donated, well most of it, to the Collective. So, it will be one bike in - one out. That is important to me. I do not need more bikes than I have already.  

Image courtesy of Paul Components

The key to it all will be the Paul Components Fixed Disc WORD rear hub. I was recently chatting with my friend Ari and was telling him my idea. He quickly pointed out this hub for its through-axle compatibility, which I was surprised by. Obviously, the Standard Rando v2 uses a 142mm through axle standard, and the hub here does also. Perfect!

I have two Velocity Blunt SS rims, brand new, sitting in the shop. Those will be laced up with an appropriate front hub and the wheels will be sussed. 

I have a black, 175mm TruVative single ring crank set which should work perfectly with my Wheels Manufacturing eccentric bottom bracket insert, which I used with my T-6 Standard Rando. I'll probably move the Whisky Parts Co. carbon mustache bars over from the Shogun. I may start out with only a front brake since I don't think I have a pair of mechanical flat mount brakes at the moment. 

A chain. seat post, saddle, and flat pedals. Boom! Done. Oh! And I will use some tires I already have. Probably some WTB Raddlers. So, what do you think? A fixed gear bike with a penchant for gravel travel? It all sounds good to me. 

Brown Season: End Of A Rough Week

Escape Route; Cedar River Bike Paths

Well, I am glad to have muddled through that week. Last week kind of hit me harder than I expected it to. You see, last week marked a year since my mother died and we had the "services" for her. (It's a loooong story, no need to drag y'all through it here.) 

The point is, I was not very motivated to ride, or do much of anything really, without a great force of will being exerted. I managed to get done what I needed to get done, so I'm counting it as a win. 

Sunday morning was coming and I felt as though it was a chance to crawl out from under the pile and go for a ride. Nothing spectacular, just a ramble on down to some little used gravel and dirt roads Southeast of Waterloo. The weather was cooperating, and so the ride was set for a Sunday morning. I left the house just after Sunrise and rode the Gravel Bus again. 

It was a grey, very still day. It was unusual that there was absolutely no wind at all. But that was fine with me. I just wanted to get out for a couple of hours and ride to get back on the horse again after a bad week. In that, I was successful.

The Cedar River at Evansdale.

McKellar Road

As I rode along the Cedar River, I was struck by how low the river's level was. I knew that September had been one of the driest on record, and I am betting October has been right in that conversation as well. We are headed for some bad drought weather in 2023 if things do not turn around in the next six months.

The gravel end of McKellar Road

The Gravel Bus kind of blends into this dried out corn, don't you think?

With no wind noise, it was amazingly quiet on Sunday morning. I could hear the four-lane highway 20 for blocks until I actually reached it and crossed the Cedar River. The countryside was still and peaceful. 

I found the dirt roads were mostly dry, but not fully dry. We'd had some rain last week, but for the most part, it was very dry out there on the gravel. They have laid down some chunk recently, but it wasn't too bad. 

Bin it!

The dirt end of Weiden Road

It was fun to try to navigate Weiden Road's slightly muddy, very rutted out dirt road sector. While this doesn't have the elevation of Petrie Road's dirt section, it is still a good run of dirt to ride on. 

It was good to shake off the blues for a while.

I ended up riding shy of two hours and a bit over 20 miles in total. That was a good start towards getting out of the rut I was in last week. Like I said, I wasn't expecting that to happen, but it did. I guess I should be a bit more wary come this time of year next year.

Brown Season: End Of A Rough Week

Escape Route; Cedar River Bike Paths

Well, I am glad to have muddled through that week. Last week kind of hit me harder than I expected it to. You see, last week marked a year since my mother died and we had the "services" for her. (It's a loooong story, no need to drag y'all through it here.) 

The point is, I was not very motivated to ride, or do much of anything really, without a great force of will being exerted. I managed to get done what I needed to get done, so I'm counting it as a win. 

Sunday morning was coming and I felt as though it was a chance to crawl out from under the pile and go for a ride. Nothing spectacular, just a ramble on down to some little used gravel and dirt roads Southeast of Waterloo. The weather was cooperating, and so the ride was set for a Sunday morning. I left the house just after Sunrise and rode the Gravel Bus again. 

It was a grey, very still day. It was unusual that there was absolutely no wind at all. But that was fine with me. I just wanted to get out for a couple of hours and ride to get back on the horse again after a bad week. In that, I was successful.

The Cedar River at Evansdale.

McKellar Road

As I rode along the Cedar River, I was struck by how low the river's level was. I knew that September had been one of the driest on record, and I am betting October has been right in that conversation as well. We are headed for some bad drought weather in 2023 if things do not turn around in the next six months.

The gravel end of McKellar Road

The Gravel Bus kind of blends into this dried out corn, don't you think?

With no wind noise, it was amazingly quiet on Sunday morning. I could hear the four-lane highway 20 for blocks until I actually reached it and crossed the Cedar River. The countryside was still and peaceful. 

I found the dirt roads were mostly dry, but not fully dry. We'd had some rain last week, but for the most part, it was very dry out there on the gravel. They have laid down some chunk recently, but it wasn't too bad. 

Bin it!

The dirt end of Weiden Road

It was fun to try to navigate Weiden Road's slightly muddy, very rutted out dirt road sector. While this doesn't have the elevation of Petrie Road's dirt section, it is still a good run of dirt to ride on. 

It was good to shake off the blues for a while.

I ended up riding shy of two hours and a bit over 20 miles in total. That was a good start towards getting out of the rut I was in last week. Like I said, I wasn't expecting that to happen, but it did. I guess I should be a bit more wary come this time of year next year.

Brown Season: Harvest Wrapping Up

Escape Route: Alley ways...

The Mid-West- A place where you can experience Winter weather and Summer Weather within the same week in Fall. 

I know, right? Weird......

But Friday it was nearly 80°F here and on Tuesday morning the temperature in the morning was in the low 20's. It snowed in Northern Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Some would point to climate change, but I can tell you its been like this during Fall for as long as I can remember. 

At any rate, a ride was in order on Friday, and I was ready for that. Amazingly, the wind wasn't insane, which when it gets this warm this late into October, it generally means you have high winds along with the high temperature. Count Friday as an oddball day then, because while it was windy, it wasn't anything out of the ordinary.

This image was taken at about 3:00pm. The light always gets pretty weird at this time of the year.

Note that grey haze along the horizon line? That's all dust.

So, one thing I struggle with is seasonal affective disorder. The way the light hits at this time of the year always triggers the slight depression I have every year at this time. I had a hard time getting out the door for this ride, as an example, but I was sure glad I did about halfway though it. Oddly enough, I kind of perk back up when the ground gets snow covered. Maybe Brown Season kind of adds to the issues I have. Could be......

The Gravel Bus at a stop on Aker Road.

Ironically I actually got passed by a school bus later on!

As I have said in previous posts, Iowa was especially dry in September and that has carried on through this month as well. It is really, really dusty out there! The air was thick with dust. You know it is dusty when the lining inside your nose gets thick and gritty! We sure could use some rain here. Sounds like that might happen Monday,

There still is some harvesting action going on.

Most everywhere it looks like this now though. Barren, brown, and you can see for miles. 

The gravel has been pounded into submission now South of town, no doubt due to all the harvesting activities. The harvest for 2022 is almost wrapped up around here. There are a few more corn fields to go, then that will be it for the rest of this year and the beginning of next year. 

Almost time to put away all the toys for this year.

My riding companion sure did a great job of keeping up with me!

So, this is such a weird feeling. Summer-like temperatures, almost a Winter solstice-like light in the sky, really dry air, and barely anything left in the fields. It just didn't add up to feeling "right". False Summer. It won't last long....

Like I said above though, it was very good that I did get out, despite the oddness of it all out there. The ride did me good. I'll be needing another dose of that medicine soon though.

Brown Season: Harvest Wrapping Up

Escape Route: Alley ways...

The Mid-West- A place where you can experience Winter weather and Summer Weather within the same week in Fall. 

I know, right? Weird......

But Friday it was nearly 80°F here and on Tuesday morning the temperature in the morning was in the low 20's. It snowed in Northern Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Some would point to climate change, but I can tell you its been like this during Fall for as long as I can remember. 

At any rate, a ride was in order on Friday, and I was ready for that. Amazingly, the wind wasn't insane, which when it gets this warm this late into October, it generally means you have high winds along with the high temperature. Count Friday as an oddball day then, because while it was windy, it wasn't anything out of the ordinary.

This image was taken at about 3:00pm. The light always gets pretty weird at this time of the year.

Note that grey haze along the horizon line? That's all dust.

So, one thing I struggle with is seasonal affective disorder. The way the light hits at this time of the year always triggers the slight depression I have every year at this time. I had a hard time getting out the door for this ride, as an example, but I was sure glad I did about halfway though it. Oddly enough, I kind of perk back up when the ground gets snow covered. Maybe Brown Season kind of adds to the issues I have. Could be......

The Gravel Bus at a stop on Aker Road.

Ironically I actually got passed by a school bus later on!

As I have said in previous posts, Iowa was especially dry in September and that has carried on through this month as well. It is really, really dusty out there! The air was thick with dust. You know it is dusty when the lining inside your nose gets thick and gritty! We sure could use some rain here. Sounds like that might happen Monday,

There still is some harvesting action going on.

Most everywhere it looks like this now though. Barren, brown, and you can see for miles. 

The gravel has been pounded into submission now South of town, no doubt due to all the harvesting activities. The harvest for 2022 is almost wrapped up around here. There are a few more corn fields to go, then that will be it for the rest of this year and the beginning of next year. 

Almost time to put away all the toys for this year.

My riding companion sure did a great job of keeping up with me!

So, this is such a weird feeling. Summer-like temperatures, almost a Winter solstice-like light in the sky, really dry air, and barely anything left in the fields. It just didn't add up to feeling "right". False Summer. It won't last long....

Like I said above though, it was very good that I did get out, despite the oddness of it all out there. The ride did me good. I'll be needing another dose of that medicine soon though.

The Gravel Bus Gets "Limited Editioned"

The Shimano GRX Limited rear derailleur. Image courtesy of Shimano

 Many of you readers already know that I received a GRX Limited Edition group* set from Shimano recently as a gift to celebrate my getting into the Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame back in June. I had given thought as to what to do with this group for many days and I only decided just last week what to do with it all. 

So, this past weekend was a roller coaster of weather with Saturday being all hot, humid, and inhospitable while Sunday was stormy, rainy, humid, and inhospitable. That meant that it was perfect weather for a group set installation. Now, I was not sure I would even have all the stuff I would need to get the job done. In fact, I was almost certain that I did not have everything necessary, but......well, you'll see. 

The single speed version of the Gravel Bus

 Obviously, the first order of business was to tear down the bike from its single speed status and rebuild it from that point. Originally, the Gravel Bus was to have been a geared bike, but in June of 2020, you weren't getting any GRX stuff. I was very fortunate to have found flat mount brakes back then to make it a single speed bike I could ride. So, that is why it came with the full cable stop set up. Because I was going to have a geared bike. But when plans changed, it was just one of those things I figured I would just live with. And I was glad that I did in the end.

So, with that out of the way- I knew I needed a new bottom bracket to fit the Press Fit shell on the frame. Now, it was something of a surprise to me, and even more so as to why I had this at all, but I actually had a Wheels Manufacturing PF-30 bottom bracket for a Shimano crank! So.....yeah. Weird! It had an Andy's Bike Shop tag on the box, so I must have picked one up to replace the one in my Noble Bikes GX5 at some point, but why I had it, I don't know, because the one in that bike is fine. Looking to the future maybe? Did I trade Andy for it? I may have, since I believe Andy was going to do a GRX crank in his Standard Rando and couldn't get it. I don't remember..... Point is, I had it. WooHoo! 

Then it was a question of would I have full-run housing for it? I knew that I had housing, but a full rear derailleur run's worth? And you know what? I had it! Crazy! Then it was finding the brake hardware for the rear brake attachment. The new calipers came in paper wrapping, not in their proper Shimano boxes, so I had calipers set up with pads and that was it. Add in the fact that the rear rotor was a 140mm diameter one and finding bolts in that small size that flat mounts use was going to be tough. Also- Why didn't they just use the same size bolts that brakes have used since, like- forever?!! Dang Shimano! 

But I found a pair! That was amazing to me. I mean, every time I thought I was going to run into a road block to getting the bike finished, I found a work-a-round or the actual part. It was as if this was meant to be. And, well- maybe it was. 

That got me a bit excited because I realized that maybe I could get the bike done and rideable by the end of the weekend. I did run into one slight bump in the road, so to speak, and that wasn't with the group, actually. No, it was with tools. Any bicycle mechanic can tell you that specific tools sometimes put an end to a repair session. But this wasn't even that. No- it was a basic tool set that I did not have that I should. 1/4" drive hex drivers. That's no big deal, right? 

So while Mrs. Guitar Ted and I were out to buy groceries, I suggested a stop at one of our big-box chain store supply outlets in town. Nope! No go. I was a bit surprised, to be honest. So, once I got back home, I looked for these on the internet and found that another big-box supply outlet did have what I wanted. They even told me what aisle and in which section to find it. Pretty neat! So on Sunday I got that and was able to use my fancy Unior torque wrench to tighten the crank arm bolts to the spindle interface.

The brakes on newer Shimano road levers are the No-Bleed type which allows you to cut the hoses, insert them into the lever after removing a yellow plug, and then tightening the compression nut in the lever. Pretty slick deal, but....I didn't get any extra barbs! Fortunately, the stock hoses come with barbs installed, so I had to salvage them by way of utilizing some old whittling skills and free them from the ends I cut off. Then I reinstalled them into my shorter hoses, and then I did the no-bleed attachment. 

Whew! Another hurdle crossed! Then it was on to re-using the old black handle bar tape, which I happened to like well enough and was in good shape yet. I think it is some basic stuff from Quality Bicycle Products from their "MSP" line. It isn't necessarily the easiest to wrap, and wrapping a Shimano hydraulic road lever is challenging as well. So that took a bit of wrangling, but I got it to work. 

Some final tuning, chain installation, and double checking bolts later and this came out of the basement Lab.....

The new, geared version of the Gravel Bus.

Other than the obvious new GRX Limited stuff, I also changed the bottom bracket, added a found front derailleur strap I had on an old Campy front derailleur, and used the WTB CZR wheels I recently reviewed for RidingGravel.com. *

I'm hoping that today I get out to test out this set up. I'm not a huge fan of a bigger front chain ring mated to a smaller inner front chain ring, but I'll give this a whirl and see what I think. I definitely will have a lower range gearing than I typically do! I tried out the granny on my test ride in the neighborhood and wow! Spinning like a hamster wheel! Not used to that, I'll say that much for now. 

Impressions: I was told not to "review" this group, and I won't. This is from an aesthetic point of view. I really, really like the silver. I am not 100% sold on the look here on the mostly black and yellow Gravel Bus. Honestly, I knew I would be a bit cool on this set up, and that is why I was looking for a different frame for a bit. I probably could get one of those Ritchey Classic seat posts, and maybe I could do a set of Velocity polished silver rims and some silver hubs from, well like from White Industries, let's say. But..... Yeah. I'm not complaining. This was a gift, and I am very humbled to receive it and I will put it to good use. Once it is dusty it probably won't matter anymore anyway! 

If the Raleigh Tamland Two would have had brake mounts compatible with the flat mount brakes that would have been a slam-dunk for this GRX Limited. That was my first choice, and while I did find that Wolf Tooth now makes an IS to Flat mount adapter, you have to bump up from the stock settings to the next larger rotor size. In my case, that would have been 180mm frt/160mm rear, and 160mm rotors are not compatible with the Tamland Two frame. So, bummer! 

So, this is the bike the GRX Limited will live on. I hope that I get on with the gearing! More on that soon.....

* Standard Disclaimer