Friday News And Views

Ritchey Classic Bigfoot (Image provided courtesy of Ritchey Design)

Ritchey Design Shows New Bigfoot Alloy Flat Pedals. 

Ritchey Design has had a flat pedal in the range for a while now called the Comp Bigfoot. It is a composite Nylon pedal body flat pedal. Now Ritchey has added two models to the Bigfoot range in alloy. The WCS and Classic Bigfoot pedals are machined 6061 alloy bodied pedals with replaceable pins and a concave profile to better retain the foot on the pedal during riding. 

The pedal dimensions are 105mm x 108.5mm and the pedal body is 18.5mm thick. Ten replaceable pins per side are on each pedal.  CroMo spindles run on an inner bushing and an outer sealed bearing for smooth spinning performance. There are two models in the range. The Classic Bigfoot is silver finish. The WCS version is all black anodized. Both cost the same at $119.00 USD. 

WCS Bigfoot (Image courtesy of Ritchey Design)

• Machined extruded 6061 alloy body, 105 x 108.5mm platform, 18.5mm deep
• CroMo axle on a bushing inner bearing and sealed cartridge outer bearing
• Ten replaceable anti-slip steel pins per side
• 63mm crank-to-center, 8.75mm stack height
• 445g +/-5g per pair
• Concave profile for confident foot placement and control 

The pedals will be available now from Ritchey Design and Ritchey dealers.  Pricing is as follows: 

• WCS Bigfoot – €99.90 / $119.95 / £86.90

• Classic Bigfoot – €99.90 / $119.95 / £86.90 

Image courtesy of Life Time

UCI Criticized For Mishandling Women's Pro Field At Euro Gravel Championships:

In an article posted on cyclingnews.com it was reported that the field for the Women's Pro European Gravel Championships was hindered in their event. This was due to having to navigate through the slower men's age group riders who were released onto the course ahead of them. Many top women Pros were quoted in the piece saying it was dangerous, and unfair, with some calling for changes. 

Comments: In a continuing failure to understand how Pro racing does not integrate into the traditional standards of gravel events, the UCI has once again stubbed its toe.  The attempts at having gravel event culture intertwine with the business and rules of "professional racing" often result in conflicts such as the ones described by the article linked above. None of this is news. That the UCI has failed to understand this in 2026 is inexcusable. 

Of course, North American event promoters have already been walking through this quagmire as well. I've said it all along: Traditional gravel events were developed to avoid the types of racers and racing which mainstream media, brands, and pundits define as "real racing". The two elements were at odds on purpose from the beginning.  

Gravel in the Modern Era was set up as a rejection of the racing rules and culture which was primarily motivated by money and notoriety.  Today's top-tier gravel race culture is one where only a select few are seen, or chosen to be, at the 'top of sport'. Whereas gravel originally was set up to celebrate all riders. It was not motivated by money, prizing, or sponsorship, but by gaining a personal growth and an experience not capable of being purchased. 

Image courtesy of Hunt Wheels

Hunt Wheels Offers Frt/R Specific Enduro V3 Rims:

Alloy rims are not very fashionable or noteworthy it seems anymore. However; alloy can represent a value proposition which is hard to ignore. Carbon rims, while not as pricey as they once were, still are not budget friendly. 

Hunt Wheels has just announced a front and rear specific set of Enduro V3 alloy rims with a 30mm internal rim width. (Note: Link is for rear specific rim)

These rims are tested in real world usage by Hunt sponsored enduro and DH riders. Using a sensible 32 spoke design, these are rims for bashing your FS 29"er around and at a cost of $119.00 each, these represent a pretty great bang for the buck. 

Comments: It is great to see a company willing to invest into R&D for alloy rims. In my searching for alloy rims for my Fargo Gen I project, it became apparent rather quickly that alloy rims are a bit less common than you'd think. 

New WTB 7X Hub (Image courtesy of WTB)

WTB 7X Hubs Figure Heavily In MTB World Championship Results:

In a July FN&V I had some news concerning a new hub design being used by Wilderness Trail Bikes. These hubs were being used by the Cannondale Factory Racing Team in World Cup MTB events. 

The design and partnership with the racing team has paid off with the Cannondale factory Racing Team athletes collecting five medals at the recently held World Championships in Val de Sole.  

Comments: WTB claims the hub set weighs in at a paltry "less than 300 grams", which seems crazy. Sporting oversize Enduro bearings and a ratchet drive system, these hubs are promised to appear in future wheel set offerings from WTB. 

There has been no indication WTB plans on selling the hubs as a stand-alone product. The press release states that these hubs will be commercially available as "part of WTB Mountain and Gravel wheel sets."

Look for news on some developments coming soon from WTB.  

New lube to be revealed soon...

New Lube-Off Contender Coming Soon:

I discovered a new contender for the Lube-Off which has some pretty interesting claims. I went ahead and ordered a bottle.  This brings to mind a point I wanted to make about my running lube tests which I feel hasn't been stressed enough. 

I buy all the products I test in this series with very few exceptions.(UPDATE: I did receive Stan's lubes for testing from Stan's, so there is another example of product I did not purchase.) 

Sure, in the past I received a few free samples from events. But I have not tested any lubricants in the last five years or more which I haven't purchased outright with my own money. (With exception of two Stan's lubricants) It is important to me that I am beholden to no company or marketing department when it comes to these tests. 

I will let you know that this newest contender's company owner or marketing guy reached out to me and wanted to send me a sample. But that is not how this deal works. I ordered a bottle, paid for it, and the lube will be here next week. 

I will say also that although Stan's sent over product, I do not treat it any differently than I would had I purchased it. But then, you dear readers will have to judge me on this for yourselves. Either way I can sleep at night knowing I've done my best to be objective and non-biased.  

Stay tuned.... 
 

That's all for this week! Get out and ride those bicycles! 

Three Series: A Contrast & Comparison

2026 Gravel Earth Series Calendar: (Image courtesy of Gravel Earth Series)

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

 As we wind down 2025 many gravel events are ramping up marketing and registrations for 2026. I'll have a report on what trends in enetry fees I find and "value per mile" opinions coming up early next year. Right now I wanted to compare and contrast the three preeminent gravel racing series in the world now: The UCI World Championship Gravel Series, The Life Time Grand Prix, (Could be argued it isn't really a pure gravel series, but...), and the Gravel Earth Series of events. Let's start out with a look at what is in store for each series coming up. I'll kick it off with the Gravel Earth Series. 

Gravel Earth Series: 

This series is kind of the upstart of the three major world-wide series. Last year this organization, based out of Spain, had a confusing calendar with main series events and some events which were kind of satellite events, trial events, or something along those lines. These ancillary events weren't part of the main series, and this year some of those events do not appear on the calendar for 2026. Most notable of those is the Gravel Worlds event out of Lincoln, Nebraska. 

The streamlined calendar for 2026 does include three events on US soil. The Lost and Found, The Oregon Trail, and CORE4 here in Iowa. Gravel Earth organizers also have introduced age categories to "recognize performance across generations". Organizing company Klassmark, who are the event production company for the Gravel Earth Series, will kick things off in Spain and Italy with the first overseas venture being the Lost and Found in June. 

For more details see the Gravel Earth Series website.  

Comments: This series seems to be on the upswing with refinements and a streamlined calendar of events featuring mostly European and USA based events. There are two events outside this norm, with one in Iceland and the other in Kenya.  Last year this series covered more continents and featured a more international palette of choices than this year. I think this is a good thing from a focus standpoint. Obviously, having three US based events is outstanding. 

The pearl of this series is The Traka. Described by many as "Europe's Unbound Gravel", this event has quickly become a premier gravel event on the calendar. So much so that Klassmark is now marketing and producing events dubbed "By The Traka", to reflect how these other events are influenced by the way The Traka feels and is experienced by the riders. Five of the Gravel Earth Series events are now designated as "By The Traka" events.  

Life Time Grand Prix:

This event series is a six race series split evenly between MTN and gravel based courses. Some might argue this series really isn't a gravel or a mountain biking series, and while technically true, we have seen cross-over with regard to not only athletes, but equipment choices in this series in the past. This blurs the lines at times between MTB and gravel to make the Life Time Grand Prix a sort of hybrid event series which features some of gravel's top athletes in both the women's and men's fields. 

New for this season is a significant uptick in prize money. Now featuring $175,000.00 for Men and Women each across ten placings, this series has become the plumb racing series for top athletes in North America, if not world-wide, in gravel specifically. Each event will now have a prize purse in total for both men and women Pros in the series of $30,000.00 split evenly between genders and paid out to tenth place. Double the 30 grand to 60 grand total for Unbound and the Leadville 100. 

2026 will see four of the series six events have live, real-time coverage of the contest.  Most notable of these is Unbound, by far the World's most important gravel event. The series will also bring back the "Wild Card" entrants who are chosen based upon results up to and through Unbound Gravel in June. Those qualifying athletes are added to the limited roster of men and women in the series who are chosen via application/lottery by Life Time to participate. 

For more details see the Grand Prix website.  

Comments: There are two things which stand out to me concerning Life Time's Grand Prix series. One - This series would be background noise if it were not for (a) Unbound Gravel and (b) the amount of money set forth for prizing. Both these things are what bring the eyeballs to the Grand Prix. There is no question in my mind concerning the impact of the series if Unbound Gravel is taken out of the equation. Sure, Leadville has cache, and Chequamegon has tradition, but in terms of what makes cycling go 'round in 2026, it is gravel, and Unbound Gravel is king in terms of importance world-wide. 

Second, it is the exclusivity and discrimination exemplified by the selection of Life Time's organizers when the roster for the Grand Prix is considered. I'm not saying this is a bad thing, but it is not how gravel got its footing amongst cyclists. But then again, is the Grand Prix even a "gravel series"? This is a legitimate question, and again, without Unbound, who would even care? (Well, there is that money they are waving around, so....)

Image courtesy of the UCI Gravel Worlds Series

UCI Gravel World Series:

The UCI, (Union Cycliste Internationale) has had a gravel world series now for a few years with 2025 being their most ambitious effort to date with 33 events world-wide. 

2025 saw the first US-based UCI gravel events with the addition of California's Mammoth Tuff and the Highlands Classic in Arkansas.  The UCI has been criticized and kept at arm's length here in the USA due to its formulaic way of producing events with a disregard to how traditional gravel events have been produced here. 

Because of this, the UCI's gravel series hasn't been well covered or received here in the States. This is a series with much more import in Europe, where 23 of the 33 events are held. Of course, the UCI has promised more US-based gravel events will be coming online, and we've yet to see the 2026 calendar, so perhaps this stands to be changed in the near future. 

For details on the UCI Gravel World Series see their webpage.  

Comments: The UCI has been ambitiously chasing the gravel money-making machine for nearly ten years now. Slowly, the organization, which represents the pinnacle of sport in MTB and road racing, is gaining a foothold. However; even in 2025, it is difficult to name a top racer in their series here as a US citizen. The coverage and impact of the UCI's efforts is not all that great. With the lack of 'star power' (see Tadej Pogacar, et al) spectacle, or any real legacy/premier gravel event on the calendar, (see Unbound Gravel/The Traka), the UCI has quite an uphill battle on its hands to gain the sort of stranglehold it has currently on MTB and road racing.  

Image courtesy of Life Time Events

 Conclusions:

While gravel events have evolved in terms of professional participation and import on the industry and average cyclists, the foundational base of gravel in the USA remains strong and healthy going into 2026. How these three series actually affect anything regarding "gravel culture" is hard to gauge. It probably has more impact at the retail bicycle level than it does anywhere else. 

This is manifested in hardware which reflects the Pro. Wireless shifting, aerodynamics, and efficiencies which are really best for ultra-fit, high-end athletes seem to be getting all the attention inside the main brand's headquarter. Much like the bicycles and hardware from the heyday of the 'Lance Era ' did which affected road bikers to a high degree. This is not only unnecessary, but detrimental to people coming into gravel for the first time. 

Besides the way companies fall into thinking "F-1" type bicycles and gear are what everyone wants, (it isn't what we want), and need, I'm not sure any of these gravel series really matters. In other words, these series tend to have far too much influence than they should have over certain aspects of cycling.  

Perhaps the Gravel Earth Series comes closest to keeping something of what gravel cycling was meant to be in its productions.Their concern for how the culture and local impact of an event is received by riders is to be commended. The UCI doesn't care, in reality, as their cookie-cutter approach to events completely ignores what made gravel "gravel" in the first place. Essentially, their events are produced like a Pro road event with only the surface raced on being different. Finally, the Grand Prix is spectacle and largely forgettable all in one series with a big, fat wallet being waved in front of a select few athletes. besides Unbound, it really has no relevance to gravel at all.  

In a "what if" world, it is fun to consider what the gravel racing landscape might be like in 2026 if the UCI could have somehow pried the Dirty Kanza 200 (which became Unbound) from Jim Cummings' hands. This one possibility probably would have catapulted the UCI to heights unheard of in the world of cycling. But then again, had they completely overhauled the format, and made it a "UCI event" in practice, would this event even exist anymore? My bet is the UCI would have totally mismanaged this possibility. It is a fascinating exercise in thought, but obviously, (and thankfully), nothing to sweat over.  

So, there you go. My thoughts and comments on the three preeminent gravel series in 2026.  

Friday News And Views

YT Industries Enters Self-Administration, Cites Troubled Market:

Direct to consumer mountain bike brand, YT Industries, entered 'self-administration' in Germany to restructure its finances in order to survive as a company. According to a story recently in "Bicycle Retailer and Industry News", the company has "exciting new products" coming but financial troubles have forced the company to reorganize its finances to continue onward. 

Comments: As expected, I thought we'd be seeing news like this crop up this year. To be honest, I expected to read more news like this. Battling back from the post-COVID mistakes and having to battle deep discounting across the industry has to be taxing on any company's financials. One way we can note this would be the lack of new product introductions.

Hopefully news like this ceases and economic times are rosier in the near term, however; I'm not expecting this to be the case. 

New Guitar Ted Podcast Episode:

It has been a while since we have dropped a new Guitar Ted Podcast episode, but there is one out now which we posted this week. The Spotify link is HERE, but you should be able to find the podcast on your favorite platform as well. 

We went kind of long on this episode, (an hour and a half!), so you may want to listen on a trip, while doing some mundane task, or if you need to go to sleep. (Just kidding on the last suggestion, maybe.....)

We talked a lot about several different subjects this time including the two tire reviews, the Tree In The Road Ride, and about the recent relegation at Coast To Coast event in Michigan.

With Summer on the wane, we will be looking at getting back into some more "Where We Came From" episodes again. If you have anyone in mind who you would like to hear from, let me know in the comments. We typically are looking for an interview with someone who was prominent in gravel riding and racing previous to 2015. 

I figure we will be doing around 15 more episodes for 2025 and then we will take our normal holiday break over December and the first week or so of January. Thanks for checking out the podcast, if you do. If not, give this one a whirl and see if you might enjoy it.  

Team Cofidis Targeted By Thieves:

Disaster at the tour de France earlier this month for Team Cofidis was averted after 22 bikes were stolen out of their team trailer, but were quickly recovered the following day. However; news has come out telling of another robbery of Cofidis team bikes, this time from the women's team.

According to the story, the women's team bikes were not the time trial bikes which the Cofidis woman's team rode for the opening stage of the Baloise Ladies Tour. Which bikes were stolen and how many were taken was not information released to the public pending investigation by the authorities.

Comments: Kind of unbelievable that the Cofidis teams are suffering such bad luck with thievery. Hopefully the ladies bikes can be recovered quickly. One might think Team Cofidis LOOK bikes shouldn't be too hard to find out in public, but I wonder if these types of robberies are more about stripping valuable group sets off the frames along with wheels which would be harder to trace back to the thieves.

Courtesy of 'girlsgonegravel' social media.

Elite Woman Gravel Riders Have Concerns Over Rider Safety:

A trend has appeared recently within the women's field of Elite gravel racers contesting UCI gravel events. The discontent stems from the UCI's formatting of the Pro Women gravel event within male 'age-group' fields at UCI gravel events on the Gravel World Series calendar.

Apparently more Pro and Elite women are opting out of the fields for these UCI gravel events stating that crashes, poor riding skills, and just a general dissatisfaction with having to deal with riders not in their category has women deciding not to contest these events. This obviously is something of an issue since women's fields typically are not as deep as male fields in the Pro and Elite categories of gravel racing.

Comments: We've noted similar issues in the USA with Pro/Elite gravel racers on the women's side. Drafting issues, male fields being a way to create 'picks' for other women riders, and so on. Unbound finally separated women from men in the Elite category recently, and some other US based events have done things to help the woman's field have more equity and less mixing in  with other fields.

Image courtesy of Ritchey Design

 Ritchey Design Offers Team Issue P-29 Frame:

 The P-29 frame from Ritchey Design is not new, but the new Team Issue color is. This is a classic Ritchey color scheme. One the Team racing bikes has used since the late 1980's.

Ritchey P-29's are interesting in that they can be built up with a drop bar, flat bar, rigid fork, or with front suspension. I was attracted to the rigid, drop bar example shown here.

While this bike is an XC hard tail MTB, I think Ritchey is doing well to sell it as a platform to make of it what you will. I also will add that this is the sort of bicycle sorely missing from many brand's ranges now. A basic steel hard tail with options. A "Trek SingleTrack Series" bike for the modern off-roader, if you will. I say this because Ritchey resists the "long, slack. low" design which has taken over the hard tail MTB market.

The price is also pretty reasonable. Plus you get the classic Ritchey name and now, the signature paint job to go with it. While Red, White, and Blue may not be everyone's cup of tea, Ritchey also offers this in a blood red hue also. 

I always thought owning a Ritchey would be fun and their bikes were ones I thought were cool back in my earlier years. But I need another bike like I need another hole in my head, so.... 

 That's a wrap for this week. Have a great weekend and good luck to all the RAGBRAI riders! 

Friday News And Views

Flint Hills Gravel Ride/Run Registration Open:

Starting off this FN&V with a gravel event in Kansas called the Flint Hills Gravel Ride and Run. This event will happen on April 12th, 2025 out of Americus, Kansas. 

The event will feature a tweaked distance line-up of 20, 40, 80, and 120 miles. As event director Bobby Thompson says though, these distances are "ish", as in 20-ish, 40-ish, etc. Ha!

The event also holds the distinction of being the opening event of the Great Plains Gravel Cup series, which will be in its inaugural season next year. 

Find out more at: https://flinthillsgravelride.com/

Mammoth Tuff Now In UCI Gravel Worlds Series:

Recently a Velo.com story was published revealing that Mammoth Tuff, a gravel event in the Eastern Sierra, has agreed to become one of two events in North America slated to be in the 2025 UCI Gravel World Series. 

The event will host that race but will retain other distances and categories which will not require a license to participate in, according to the article on Velo. Also noted there was that Mammoth Tuff reached this decision to partner with the UCI, in part, due to falling participation numbers since the event's inception in 2020. 

Interestingly the fee the UCI is asking for putting their stamp of approval on an event in the Gravel World Series was revealed to be $10,000.00 which was reportedly cut in half for Mammoth Tuff. The Highlands Classic will be the other event in North America included in the series.
 

 Blog Schedule For November/December:

A friendly reminder to those loyal readers here and maybe news to those of you who are new here. The "end-of-year" blog schedule is about to begin! 

So, here is a brief round-up of what you can expect to see here soon:

• Bikes of 2024: A brief review of the bikes I used throughout 2024 with a list of any changes and future plans. Just a fun look at what I ride. 
• Rear View 2024: This is a quarterly review of all the highlights (and maybe some low ones!) from the year. Mostly focused on the blog here but I often pull in other life events as well. These are broken up into four parts and one will be seen each week in December. 
• Top Ten Posts of 2024: A list of the most viewed posts on the site for the year. I always am surprised by what gets looked at here the most, and I think you might be surprised as well!
• Top Images of 2024: I choose the best 12 images, one from each month, and post them in one post with some commentary where I deem necessary. 
• NEW! Top People of 2024: I decided after reviewing the year for these upcoming posts that I needed to fete those individuals who had a major impact on me and what happened during the year. So, these will be rolled out as single posts, some covering a single individual, some about groups. Stay tuned! I think this addition will be a good one! 
• A Look Ahead: The last post of 2024 will be dedicated to looking at what I see for myself and cycling in general for the upcoming year.  
• The Regular Stuff: There will be "FN&V's", the continuance of the celebration of 20 years of blogging, and the random current content posts. 
• NEW! The Best Podcasts of 2024: I'll do a single post concerning the most listened to podcasts of the past year with links in case you need to kill some time over the Holidays! 
  

So, as you can see, there is a LOT of content there! I'll start rolling some of this out next week because as things stand now, I have 47 posts accounted for and as of today there are 45 days left in the year! So, with anything current inserted into the mix, that will mean some days will be double post days. Make sure you scroll all the way through any upcoming posts because you might miss something if you don't! 

As always, THANK YOU for reading Guitar Ted Productions!

Don't Forget To Nominate The Next GCHoF Class!.

The Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame is still looking for good write-ups for their next class of inductees to be enshrined this coming May of 2025. 

The task is relatively easy: Ask the person you want to nominate if it is okay. Go to the GCHoF Nomination page. Then write a good, well written two paragraph article on why this person deserves to be feted. Send it to the GCHoF before November 30th. That's it!

Nominees will be named after voting by the electors. Thanks for considering this! 

From a recent patent filing by Lauf.

Is Lauf Going To Change Freehub Design Radically Soon?.

Mid-week news broke on a patent filing Lauf filed for a design using a radical new idea for how hubs are mated with a cassette and how those two components work as a freehub. 

There are two ideas which are very 'outside the box' going on here. first, as seen in the first image, Lauf proposes a set of "pawls", or more like springs, really, which would be attached to the carrier for a traditional cassette. These springs are drawn in a way which makes them look like serpents, but the squiggly looking bits are actually meant to give a bit by stretching those elements which have the serpentine look out a bit, giving a bit of a softer engagement when the rider returns to pedaling after coasting. In another drawing on THIS PAGE those serpentine spring elements are drawn straight, so it appears that Lauf has not yet decided which way to go there. 

Again, from Lauf's patent filing.

But if I am reading this next image correctly, these serpentine elements are part of a unit that extends across most of the length of the hub shell. This is a radical departure from standard freehub design. 

This would mean that the entire inner hub shell would be a machined drive ring, essentially, which the serpentine elements would engage with. Furthermore; if the serpentine elements are staggered, as it appears is proposed, the engagement points could well be in the hundreds, if not thousands! 

Lauf apparently proposes to 3D print this according to a report I read HERE. Will this come to pass? If it does, I would think it would have a major impact upon the market, if it should prove to be more efficient and lighter in weight than traditionally designed free hubs. 

Sometimes crazy looking ideas end up changing the world, and then again, sometimes you see something that looks wild and it disappears. Which this will be is anyone's guess, but kudos to whomever designed this, because it is a very different take on a freehub design, at least as far as I know, it is. 

That is a wrap on this week! Look for 'end-of-year' posts to crank up starting next week here!

Friday News And Views

Image courtesy of Ridley Bikes

Ridley Announces New Aero Gravel Racing Bike:

On Tuesday of this past week Ridley announced a new aero gravel bike model to compliment their current Kanzo Adventure and Kanzo Fast bicycles. The new bike will be offered in both carbon frame and fork (Astr RS) and a lower grade carbon frame/carbon fork (Astr) models.

The Astr (Is there a fear of vowels in marketing these days?) is a full-on racing bike for gravel which anticipates the expansion of sanctioned gravel events world-wide. (More on that next up) So the Astr models feature clearance for up to 52mm tires in 1X mode with a limitation of 47mm if set up in 2X configurations. Furthermore, head tube angle is 71.5° while the seat tube angle is a steep 74°. This along with a lower stack height puts the rider in a more forward, aerodynamic position on the bike, perfect for a fit athlete to race as fast as possible. (This is no adventure bike!)

As one might expect, all cables are internally routed starting at the handlebars and those bars are an integrated stem/bar in carbon featuring a narrower stance at the hoods. Again - a nod to aerodynamics. The chain stays were also kept as short as possible to give the rider the feeling of instant acceleration. 

The Astr, the lesser grade carbon counterpart to the Astr RS, is a less expensive option for riders that cannot afford the ultra-aero carbon model. The Astr RS frame, fork, seat post is approximately $5,550.00 USD currently. So, the bike is not inexpensive but the Astr model saves you about 3K from that for a frame/fork.  It's just a little heavier and the seat post is not an aero one. 

Notable: The Astr RS is UCI approved. 

Comments: So, with the UCI ramping its sanctioning of gravel events up (see next bit), we are seeing the ultra-race forms of gravel bicycles appearing which will have the influence of making gravel as much like road racing as possible. Expect to see a LOT of companies jumping onboard with high priced aero carbon gravel bikes with an aim to get those customers who believe that riding bikes "just like the Pros ride" is the pinnacle of cycling. Which it isn't, but belief is 9/10's of the truth in this matter, so whatever.... It's here and we are going to see more of it. 

Image courtesy of Union Cycliste Internatinale

Gravel World Championships & More Events Planned for 2025:

In an article published on the Cycling News website (HERE) concerning this year's Gravel World Championships, sanctioned by the UCI, Edwin Vervecken has foreshadowed what the plan is for Golazo/UCI and gravel racing worldwide. 

The plan is to increase the UCI sanctioned worldwide gravel calendar to 35 events under the auspices of Golazo. (For a primer on how Golazo and the UCI are working together, see my  article posted this past June HERE)

Vervecken goes on to say that there will be a limit to how many events a country can host, which is two, with the exception of the USA, Australia, and Canada, which may have up to three.  Vervecken claims that there will be three in the USA next year and possibly a fourth event. (Wait....isn't the limit three? )

Comments: The UCI is really pushing hard to get their grip on US gravel and making the case for it by dangling the carrot of the rest of the World's acceptance of their formatting for gravel events. Again, this flies in the face of what reality is currently for the small field of Pro gravel riders based in North America. But what about world-wide? Well, Gravel World Championships are this weekend and for a "world-wide" event, supposedly drawing from all over the world, the entire Elite Men's and Women's field is 429 riders. (I checked the official start list to get this number) So we're supposed to "do gravel" like this everywhere because less than 500 Pros worldwide want to, (or think they have to) ride the UCI sanctioned way?

As of now, Life Time Event's "Grand Prix" is the "big time" when it comes to gravel events in the USA. Life Time's purse for the events and overall winner is such that overseas travel to participate in a series which culminates in offering a jersey isn't seen as being worthwhile. (See Lauren De Crescenzo) There is no prestige or history behind the rainbow stripes for an unpaved roads World Champion like there is for the Road or MTB versions of the UCI's racing. 

Add in big prize purses for Gravel Worlds and a jersey that actually has history in gravel racing, (the Lincoln, Nebraska version), the Belgian Waffle rides, and a few other events, and you can see that by sticking to a USA based calendar the Pro athlete can make a privateer or marginally backed program work. (It is reported that the top athletes in North American gravel racing receive a six figure income from racing gravel) To get a "real" Pro roadie-like gravel series going it is going to take Pro road-like sponsored teams and that hasn't happened yet. Besides, the USA hasn't proven itself in being able to sustain a team in the Pro roadie ranks long-term, and I don't see that happening for gravel. Add in the Golazo/UCI formula for what they call a gravel event, (lame) and you can see that this is really not workable for the USA based Pro and semi-Pro gravel racer. 

Finally, the views of how Golazo/UCI see Women's racing versus Men's, in terms of distances, etc, would be brought over to gravel here. That's not going to sit well with many folks, (again, read my post from June for details). Not that the UCI won't get their way, but - This is just exchanging pavement for gravel, otherwise it is the same-ol'-same-ol' Pro roadie crap we already have seen here. If that's your bag, you do you, but it isn't "gravel racing" as it was formatted here from the get-go. 

Image courtesy of 45NRTH

45NRTH Offers New Oland Waterproof Boot:

Yeah, Winter is on the way and cold weather riding, either for commuting or sport, is going to be on the menu for many of us. 45NRTH offers their new Oland boot to tackle this problem and promises warm feet and all-day usage. 

Featuring 100 grams of Primaloft insulation and an environmentally conscientious manufacturing process for the leather uppers, this boot is rated down to 20°F and up to 45°F as far as temperature range goes.  

The Oland also features glass fiber bits embedded into the real rubber soles to enhance traction in slippery situations. The Oland has traditional lace closure and is compatible with two-bolt cleat interfaces for clipless pedal usage or leave the removable plate on and ride flat pedals. 

The Oland is available in whole sizes from 38 to 50 and costs $260.00 USD. 

Comments: This boot is going after the commuter and recreational rider, judging by the marketing and styling of the Oland. I think it is a smart move to "normalize" cycling apparel for everyone, and especially cyclists. I'd be more apt to wear this boot than some of the other cycling footwear I see for Winter on my bike and obviously, the Oland is set for off the bike usage as well. 

However; if this is what 45NRTH is thinking of style-wise and for usage type, then I think you can do a whole lot better with other non-cycling brands that do Winter footwear. As an example, I've been a user of Keen footwear on my Winter biking forays for many years and this boot they offer for quite a bit less than the Oland has similar features and twice the insulation. I'm sure other companies are doing similar hiker style boots at notable savings over the 45NRTH offering. Yes, they are not clipless compatible, but I would counter by saying flat pedals are a lot smarter Winter choice and especially composite pedals which will not transfer heat from your feet like a clipless or metal pedal does. Try them and let me know if I am wrong. I'll be here...... 

Camp Snap Camera Update:

Some of you might recall that I purchased a Camp Snap Camera last Spring and reviewed it on the site HERE. In the review I mentioned my poor experience with image quality, especially with the tendency of the sensor to "blow out" images if there was any intense light source, like the Sun, shining. 

Well, Velo Orange, who sell these (as well as other outlets) announced a v2 of the camera is now available which promises better jpeg processing and a "significantly faster shutter speed". This is probably in response to the problems I, and likely others, were having with v1 of the camera. It still is $65.00USD, so not a bad chance to take on a cheaply made camera for fun. 

Image courtesy of Boone Technologies

Boone Technologies Titanium Goodness: 

Somewhere in the depths of time I came into possession of a Boone Titanium single speed cog and matching spacer kit. I treasured those bits and one of my single speed bikes has that set up, (I think it is on my Pofahl Signature single speed gravel bike)

Anyway, the "big deal" was that Boone had gone back to making jewelry and had dropped the cycling products. But I found out via Mike Curiak's blog that they are back again making not only single speed cogs but chain rings, spiders, and titanium crank sets. 

The website is here if you want to check those out. 

What is cool is that now those cogs can be had in various anodized colors. I grabbed an image of a purple one here but there are a lot more colors available. These bits are not cheap. The cogs are nearly a hundred bucks alone, but they are well made, last a long time and are light. Check out this USA based and manufactured product line if you want to get something cool in titanium for your bike. 

Note: I get nothing for mentioning this, I just think these are good products worth checking in to.

Thanks for reading Guitar Ted Productions! get out there and ride those bicycles!

Some Musings From The Latest Podcast

The latest podcast from the "Guitar Ted Podcast" is up now and it is a pretty interesting show this time. My guest on the show was Kevin Lee of The Spinistry, the Texas based gravel event promotions company which has been doing gravel events since 2010. If you haven't heard this show you can listen by clicking THIS LINK which will take you to the Spotify home site for the podcast. 

If you don't listen to the episodes I have a few points to share today that I thought stoood out. It's interesting to see where the UCI is at with how they want to pursue the gravel scene in North America. 

I wrote a lot about this subject already HERE so I will try not to tread on the same ground again in this post. But the podcast is based upon a lot of what I wrote in the linked article. 

Okay, so with all the previous said, one of the more interesting tidbits for me was being told by Kevin that the UCI had actually pursued The Spinistry to have one of their events be a UCI sanctioned gravel event. I also know many other promoters had been asked to partner with the UCI and this was confirmed by Kevin as well as something which is true. I fully believe the UCI is still trying to convince event promoters to partner with them. In fact, the oft referenced "Marginal Gains" podcast with Erwin Vervecken as guest confirms this as well. 

Another interesting tidbit was the price to have a UCI sanctioned event, the fee for the UCI to even partner up with an event, was $40,000.00 in 2019. Forty thou?!! This doesn't include what you, as a promoter, would have to pony up to get your event up to UCI standards either. So, just from this point alone, it is pretty easy to see why there hasn't been a UCI sanctioned, large scale gravel event in the USA. And as Kevin Lee states in the podcast, the UCI isn't bringing anything to the table for the 40K licensing deal. Apparently prestige and legitimizing your event is what that does for you as an event promoter? Man! I can totally see why no event has accepted that offer! 

Then something Kevin was saying, (at about the 1hr mark of the podcast, by the way) struck me as one of the best descriptions about why the gravel scene is what it is and how the semi-Pro and Pro riders should regard that. I'm paraphrasing Kevin here, but essentially what he said was this gravel cycling scene isn't reliant on competition alone. It has an element of competition, but this is not what is most important. The sense that one can ride a bicycle on gravel - or anywhere, really - and have fun, is what is most important. This "fun" can be an adventure, social gathering, going fast, stopping often, and could include parts of some of this or all of these things. 

Actually, THIS is the latest podcast now!

As Kevin said, and I agree, the upper echelon of talent in today's gravel scene should never forget what they are privileged to be able to do at gravel events is built upon the foundation of those "12mph riders", as Kevin put it, making the events what they have become. It is this and the variety of events, which has always been a part of gravel, that makes "gravel" the sort of riding many are attracted to. 

Charging a lot of money to promoters to sanction an event is not going to work. Making events all similar in length and style, and forcing riders into a situation where it is all about top level competitors and "cat'ing up", as Kevin put it, is not going to foster growth in cycling here in the USA. It never really worked for road racing, MTB, or cyclo cross. How in the world does anyone think it would work in gravel cycling? It wouldn't. It would end up killing the gravel scene. 

Thanks again to Kevin Lee and The Spinistry for their support!

Looking At Gravel Racing With A UCI Viewpoint

Image courtesy of UCI Gravel World Championships Series.

Over the past decade and a half I have spilled a lot of digital ink here concerning the UCI and gravel events. Maybe you'd rather listen to me rant about this instead? The new podcast episode "UCI vs US Gravel" is for you then. Okay with my digital ink? Here is some more of that then...

I was recently pointed to a podcast by 'shiggy', who I interviewed recently for the "Guitar Ted Podcast" (episode is HERE) . He asked me to take a listen to this podcast and so I did.

 It was an episode of the "Marginal Gains" podcast by SILCA. (HERE) The episode was an interview with Erwin Vervecken, who was a three-time cyclo-cross World Champion and is working with a company called Golazo. This is a Belgium based corporation that does event activations and owns its own portfolio of events. Via the discourse on the podcast, I was able to learn a few things and make some important notes. My comments follow...

It is important to note that the UCI does not put on its own events, it merely charges a fee to sanction an event and have it licensed by the UCI as an "official event". Golazo helps the UCI connect with promoters and other entities to facilitate the production of these Pro and amateur road and gravel events. 

Image courtesy of Gravel Worlds. (The USA based one!)

This is an important distinction to make from how events are done in the USA. In Europe, a promoter will typically lean on a government entity, such as a tourism department, for the monies to pay the UCI, afford infrastructure, fees, and the like, to put on a successful event. In the USA, this is either afforded through entry fees or by association with a company like Life Time Fitness, or as in the case with Gravel Worlds now, by its association with Goodlife Brands. Sometimes events in the USA are getting sponsorship dollars from cycling companies to help facilitate events. Sometimes there is a long list of various backers for an event combining cycling and local businesses. 

The main point here is that because the money has a specific origin, in general, and due to how events are "legitimized" in Europe, (guaranteed to be "professional", executed at a certain baseline/high level) the UCI has found it difficult to crack the US gravel scene. That's because here, in the USA, independence and creativity, especially in the gravel event sector, has birthed a varied palette of events, and each director, or company that owns/facilitates these events has a vested interest and exerts its own controls over their events. This independence and individualism has stymied the UCI, who work in a much more standardized, rigidly set way, from gaining any inroads with US based gravel events. 

Not that they haven't tried. According to Vervecken, the UCI and Golazo team have been in contact with several high-profile events here in the USA since 2019 in hopes to convince the leaders of these varied US gravel events to come under the umbrella of the UCI's Gravel World Series. Obviously that has not been a successful endeavor. Vervecken claims that there have been meetings with all the big gravel events you would know about such as SBT GRVL, the Belgium Waffle Ride, and Unbound/Life Time. 

This would explain the obvious omission of North American based events on the UCI's Gravel World Series calendar of events and why there has not been a Gravel World Championships, (UCI version) on US soil. Firstly, because the UCI does not put on its own events, and secondly because no event worthy of a "worlds" will work with the UCI.

While the UCI's presence in the US gravel scene is lacking, that may change in the future.

Vervecken hinted at the possibility now that there will be UCI Gravel World Series events coming to the USA. He hinted that there are promoters, connected to "up and coming" events, that would be willing to leverage the UCI's capabilities to bring a high-profile status to their event by associating with the UCI. Thus bypassing established large and prestigious gravel events currently entrenched in the US gravel calendar. 

That is a pretty big deal, and if the Vervecken/Golazo/UCI team can actually pull that off, the media and cycling industry will get sucked right into the draft of that move. Keep in mind that this would not necessarily need any "grassroots" help to get off the ground because it would be focused on the Pro racers, primarily. That and ....... Yeah, the biggest question mark here is where does the money come from? In Europe they would leverage a governmental entity, but that is not happening in the USA. Not any time soon. So, there are hurdles yet for the UCI, but they are definitely going to try to make something happen here in the USA, because the legitimacy and authenticity of a "gravel series" or "gravel world championship" is pretty much contingent on the UCI holding at least one, or perhaps more, events here. 

The women's sprint to the finish at the recent UNBOUND 200. (Image courtesy of Life Time)

The way that the UCI sees gravel events being done is perhaps one big stumbling block for US based promoters and certainly will be a big hurdle for fans to jump if the UCI holds true to its values. Those values seem to be driven by tradition and perhaps by media to an extent. 

Mr. Vervecken made a few interesting comments on the podcast I listened to which made me do a double-take. Especially in light of recent events at Unbound in the Pro women's field. That event saw high praises for its level of competition and the unprecedented 9-up sprint finish which was, arguably, the highlight of the event weekend. The separation of the Women's field was something Vervecken could get behind and seems to be where the UCI would go with a gravel event here, even to the point of having women race on a different day. However; that's where the similarities end.

Vervecken said that, for one thing, women are not expected to race the same distances as men because the women's event, in his words, would start out being "an endurance event" until getting closer to the finish. Not the tactical, sophisticated style of racing seen on the men's side in Europe. Vervecken claims a shorter women's course would make the event for women be more like the men's racing. 

Then further regarding overall distances for gravel events, expect the UCI to not go as long as many gravel events here are. Vervecken mentioned that he would rather see a 3 - 4 hour time limitation on the event length, (spoken as a media person, it would seem), which would be a pretty short distance given that the Pro men were averaging well above 20mph at the most recent Unbound 200. Based upon Vervecken's comments, it would seem that a 100K-ish event is what he is speaking to here, and then shorter for the women. 

Image courtesy of Unbound

Vervecken claimed on the podcast that he is in touch with 4 - 5 organizers in the USA and would eventually like to have an East coast event, (he mentioned New York), a more centrally located event, and one in California. His goal was to end up with events that draw three to four thousand participants in the USA. Vervecken promised that these events would have a much more professional look and feel. 

Of course, we've thought that the UCI was coming into gravel for years. This was evident when the UCI sent the cease and desist order to the Gravel Worlds event directors nearly ten years ago for their use of the rainbow stripes on their winner's jerseys. The activities behind the scenes has been percolating and increasing in intensity and consistency ever since. 

Now will we see the UCI finally crack the barriers to the US gravel scene? Will new events pop up to rival the Unbound, SBT GRVL, and Belgium Waffle rides? Are thousands of people going to flock to events to ride the same courses as the UCI Pro racers? It could happen. Of course, the money to do this has to be a huge obstacle, and the peccadilloes of Euro gravel/road racing must be forgiven by US racers if that is going to happen as well. 

Are these barriers insurmountable? No. But keeping in mind that history has shown us that the Euro road racing model has had a difficult past here in the USA, There have been many tries at having Euro-style events here only to have them fade away.  Gravel, in particular, has always been built upon a renegade, independent platform here in the USA which is not conducive to oversight by a sanctioning body. In fact, it is one of the reasons for the creation of gravel events here in the USA - To escape that sort of oversight. 

Time will tell, but one thing is for certain, we have not heard the last from the UCI in gravel events yet.

Friday News And Views

Exploded view of a Classified rear hub (Image courtesy of Classified.)

 Classified/Ridley Announce New Gravel Team:

The upstart hub/wheel company, Classified, from Belgium, has just announced a new professional five person gravel racing team. Contesting mostly UCI and Gravel Earth Series events, this team is an expansion for Classified who sponsored a one-man team for 2023. Furthermore, Classified has announced new wheels that are lighter with wider internal rim widths. 

Comments: The press release states that this is the 'first professional factory team in the gravel scene' and
the company boasts former professional road racer Tom Boonen as an investor and team spokesperson. 

It's obvious that racing on the Professional, UCI, sponsored level is seeing a shift to gravel with the UCI Gravel World Series and now with the rival Gravel Earth Series seeing some attention as well. How successful these sorts of ventures are will determine Pro racing's future. Can a gravel based series and a pavement based series coexist on the highest levels of UCI/Pro cycling? Perhaps we are seeing the beginnings of that question being asked. 

And as far as the hub goes, if you are not familiar, I have covered Classified here on these pages before. But essentially it is a two-speed, electronically shifted rear hub that supports a cassette (proprietary) that does what a 2X system on a normal bike would do without a front derailleur or multiple front chain rings.

From "Cyclingnews.com's social media on 1/22/24

SRAM Red AXS Images Leaked:

If you were on social media over the past weekend cruising bicycle related content you may have run across images of a supposed new SRAM Red Axs group.  

Images appeared from a Chinese source showing the claimed new 12 speed SRAM follow up to its top of the range electronic Red group. 

Comments: While little is known at the moment it is entirely feasible that this is, indeed, the new group set. It is a group overdue for a refresh and with the big glut of inventory from last year it would make sense that SRAM are holding back until retailers and bicycle brands can push some of that excess inventory out into the marketplace. 

The obvious thing here is that it appears that SRAM is making a play to dump more grams in an attempt to become the lightest group for road racing. Also notable is the lack of any leaked imagery showing a crank set or a front derailleur, if there actually is a front derailleur. It is possible that this was intended to be a 1X group but Pro teams insisted on a 2X option and SRAM had to wait until it could make that happen. (Just spitballing there, but it is a possibility)

This group is interesting, if indeed the images here are a real look at things to come. Personally? I think what I see isn't all that attractive, but that SRAM aesthetic and design language never really has appealed to me either. Not to mention how it works, which while clever in some ways is kind of a turn-off in others for myself. 

The FOCO Fondo Scratch Lottery (Image courtesy of FOCO Fondo YouTube)

FOCO Fondo #fakelottery Promotion:

Throughout "gravel history" there have been swipes taken at Pro road, the UCI, and even other gravel events. When other gravel based events decide to poke some fun at another gravel event, it usually is directed at one event in particular now that takes place in Emporia, Kansas every early June. That being, of course,  the Unbound events. And previously to Unbound it was directed at the DK200. (Note: I hold the two events as being separate. Your mileage may vary)

Early on, when it was the DK200, there were events like "Kantdu Kanza" or "Sterile Iowan". Now it seems that the FOCO Fondo is taking its turn at poking fun at the Unbound's loterry process in its offering of scratch-type lottery tickets to all its registrants for its June 21'st running of its event this year. 

Comments: Clever. I'll give them that much. That said, this event isn't necessarily all that much different in terms of what it costs than Unbound. In fact, it costs exactly the same amount of money per mile ($1.48/mile)for the 118 mile course to enter the FOCO Fondo as it does to get a ticket to ride the 200 at Unbound. Obviously they are different events, but this hits different than the previous instances of smaller, more grassroots swipes at bigger events. You can watch the You Tue video on the lottery tickets here. 

The new Vamoots 33 (Image courtesy of Moots Cycles)

All-Road Bikes: A New Trend?

Recently I have noted how many companies are starting to make their road bike offerings more 'terrain-friendly' in that they are not bicycles that cannot ride down certain roads. 

It used to be that any road bike was a pretty limited machine due to geometry and tire clearance limitations. Riding a gravel road on 23mm-25mm tires was something you could do, but if you are honest, would you want to? Probably not. Not worth the potential issues and rattling of bones. 

Then "gravel bikes" came along, (Hey! Just ride a cross bike or a touring bike!), and many saw an opportunity to escape the dangerous paved roads filled with distracted drivers who are speeding. The category went nuts compared to what was happening in MTB and traditional road bikes. So, you should not be surprised that those who want to offer a road bike would start to make those road bikes "all-roads" bikes instead of pavement-bound racers. 

The newest Moots road bike, the Vamoots 33, is such a beast. With the capability to accept a 38mm tire, this is truly an "all-roads" capable machine. Reminiscent of road bikes of the mid-20th Century and before which could tackle anything that a vehicle could be driven on. Gravel, bituminous, cement, dirt, or any "road" surface. 

The designers of these bikes often market these bikes by saying that they are versatile, capable bikes that "still can keep up with a club ride", because, you know, we cannot have anyone thinking these are slow bikes. As if going slow or fast depends solely on a bicycle type or design. Pfft! As if going fast as all get out is really all that matters. 

So these bicycles typically stick to skinny-tired, go-fast bike geometry, missing the boat and causing these to not be as stable and, dare I say it- fast - as a bike designed for all-roads. Jumping tire clearances is one piece of the puzzle, but a true "all-roads" bike isn't a racing bike. Racing bike geometry is for pavement racing. 

Thank You!

I just wanted to make sure I thanked all of you readers and friends for the comments on the blog, Facebook posts, messages, and texts regarding my birthday on Tuesday of this week. 

I have been extremely blessed to find myself in the position in Life that I have found myself in. I don't forget that, and I am humbled to have the shout-outs and well wishes. 

The day wasn't anything to write home about, but it was good. We had some light rain and drizzle until around 3:00pm and so I did not go out for a ride in mid-30's temps and wet conditions. But I did get to spend time with my family which is great and more important than a bike ride. Plus Mrs. Guitar Ted got me a turntable to play records on which hasn't happened for me in about 35 years.

That's it for this week! Thank you for reading Guitar Ted Productions!