Friday News And Views

Image courtesy of the UCI. From the 2024 Gravel World Championships

Gravel Season Ending On The Professional Level:

This weekend and next weekend mark the end of the Pro gravel season for the riders of Life Time Grand Prix and for the UCI Gravel World Series. 

Up this weekend we have the UCI event, held in the Netherlands. We will see the women and all age group riders set off on Saturday while the Men's Elite category will tackle 111 miles in 3,5 laps of a loop course. The women and age group riders will do less miles with only 2.5 laps. 

Meanwhile, next  weekend  in Bentonville, Arkansas, the Big Sugar Classic will end the Life Time Grand Prix series with a 100 mile course in the Ozarks. Of course, the Grand Prix isn't all gravel events, but it is seen as one of the bigger gravel series from a Pro perspective regardless, mostly due to the wealth of the prize purse for participation and getting good results.  

Trans Iowa v14 Image by Celeste Mathias

Pro Events Are "Watered Down Gravel":

As I peruse what the UCI, Life Time, and even events like the much vaunted Traka 560 have for courses, I am left wanting. Why? Because most of these events have less than 3/4's of the distances as "gravel" and several are barely over 50% "gravel". And I use the term "gravel" in quotes because what many of these events have to use for courses just do not measure up to the same level as what is on offer in the USA.  

This is why you'll notice several European riders who come to Unbound say it is an amazing, tough course, because it is mostly gravel. I know, for many of you dear readers this seems silly to even think about, but a gravel event, in my opinion, should be at least 80% gravel, or more, to be considered a "true gravel event". 

Maybe you think this is a harsh judgement? Well, what if we had a UCI XC MTB course which was 45% paved? Does this even make sense? Or how about a UCI DH MTB course which was 50% flat? You'd hear about this, and people would say it was a farce. 

Well, I'm pretty much saying the same about these "big time" gravel events which feature LOTS of pavement. You might counter with something like, "Well, they have to put a lot of pavement in to connect the gravel sectors.". Well, that is true. Maybe those places are not all that great for actual gravel events which would challenge Pro riders on courses which were 80% gravel or more. 

Good, Pro-level events deserve the best courses. Not a compromised version of gravel racing. There are places this could be done. You know.....like they do at Gravel Worlds in Nebraska? (And elsewhere) 

Image courtesy of Shimano

 Shimano Offers Limited Edition CUES 10/11 Speed Components:

Shimano released news earlier this week concerning a new hue for CUES components. Silver polish will now be offered for a limited time in their 11 speed and 10 speed  range for CUES. 

Previously Shimano had done a limited run of silver anodized GRX components. The CUES signals a less expensive way to get in on some silver components. 

The limited silver edition CUES includes a crank, levers, the rear derailleur, hydraulic flat mount calipers, a front derailleur, and a cassette. (Standard  CUES cassettes are black)

Comments: Is Shimano now going to start offering silver anodized/polished parts more often? This bears watching from a fashion standpoint. I can see older, aging cyclists digging it as it would remind them of bicycles of days gone by. 

But younger folks will drive the market, and from what I have been seeing, younger folks are not showing as much interest in cycling as they once had when silver was common for components. Maybe if Shimano made electric scooter parts in silver..... 

Image courtesy of Ari Bikes

Ari Bikes Shows Off Shafer V3 Gravel Bike:

Ari Bikes (Formerly Fezzari Bikes), the direct-to-consumer brand, has just released their version 3 of the Shafer gravel bike. Boasting revised geometry, room for 29" x 2.2" tires, and in-frame storage, the new Shafer is on-point with regard to today's gravel bike trends. 

The Shafer can be configured in several ways to suit most budgets. There are plenty of accessory mounts and Ari has also boosted the stack height on the Shafer per customer requests. 

The head tube angle is a slack - for garvel bikes - 69° and the bottom bracket drop is a healthy 78mm, which means the Shafer is not a good choice for skinny tires or 650B wheel sets.  Interestingly, the chain stays are size-specific on the Shafer, which you do not see normally, especially in carbon fiber. 

Starting with prices for complete bikes at $2,549.00 and topping out with the Shafer Pro at $8,499.00, there are several ways to get into this bike. You can also purchase a frame set for $ 1,999.00. 

Comments: This trend for fatter tires and slacker angles up front now is getting to the point where we are entering Fargo/Cutthroat territory. In fact, the new Shafer is very much like a Cutthroat. The main difference is the Cutthroat's 8mm higher bottom bracket, lack of in-frame storage, and larger, 2.4" tire clearance. 

And Just Because It Is Beautiful.....

Singular Kite Ti which will be at the Bespoked Dresden Show this weekend. (Image courtesy of Singular(

  Gotta give a shout-out to Sam Alison Singular Cycles for this special Kite Ti which will be at the Brooks booth for the Bespoked Dresden bicycle show this weekend. 

That is a wrap for this week! Thank you for reading Guitar Ted Productions! Get out and do some Fall bicycle rides! 

Friday News And Views

Image courtesy of Hope Tech

Hope Introduces New Carbon Crankset For Gravel Bikes:

Hope Technologies from Barnoldswick, UK, announced this past weekend their new crankset made from carbon fiber for gravel bikes. 

This new crankset features construction from "700 fiber" carbon with a foam core to help reduce vibrations induced by crushed rock roads and other irregularities. Featuring a 30mm spindle, the crank has the capability to have the spindle length swapped out to different lengths, the spiders are separate, and so Hope believes this should "future proof" the investment made into these cranksets by riders. 

These crank sets are available now in 165mm, 170mm, and 175mm lengths. Prices are set at  RRP £575.00 / €722.20 / $752.18 (ex tax) This includes no spider. That will be extra.

Comments: Carbon cranks that have adaptability are a nice thing and Hope is a reputable company, so I think these should be nice. However; why not price them with a spider? Seems odd. Then you have the lengths. It would seem that Hope did not get the short crank arm length memo and will not be offering these in anything shorter than 165mm. And it also seems odd not to offer a 172.5mm length, seeing as how that length is quite popular in road riding circles. 

Image courtesy of RTI Sports Group

Aeron/TPU Offers New TPU Tube With Aluminum Valve Stem:

One of the nits I have had with TPU tubes is the plastic/TPU material used for the valve stems. It is flimsy and easily damaged while trying to use a pump.  

RTI Sports Group, which also owns Ergon, says that the new Aeron/TPU brand will offer aluminum stems with removable valve cores in MTB, Road and Gravel sizes soon. 

These stems will only be found on the Superlight range of TPU tubes. These will appear in Spring for sale. A "more competitively priced" TPU stem variant will be available in May. Aeron/TPU says that these new tubes for gravel will weigh in at a paltry 30 grams! The TPU material valve stem range will weigh more.  

Comments: I hope to get a hold of a set to test out, but in the meantime, it is hard to imagine a 30 gram tube. The expense is not known yet, but I am a bit afraid to know seeing that normal TPU tubes are anywhere from $25.00 - $35.00 each. Stay tuned for more on these. 

The Salsa Cycles Tributary C GRX 820 (Image courtesy of Salsa Cycles)

Salsa Cycles Announces New Tributary Range:

Salsa Cycles announced on Tuesday of this week their new carbon fiber frame and fork Tributary eBikepacking bikes. 

The range consists of three spec levels with three different paint schemes.  The GRX 820, (pictured here) is made from a high-modulus carbon fiber and comes with the Bosch Performance Line Speed Mid-Drive electric motor. The motor has 85Nm maximum torque on tap with a 625WH internal battery. A battery extender is also available for extending the electric assist range. The other bikes in the range have suspension forks and otherwise similar electric motor and battery specs. 

The frame also has clearance for a 29" X 2.3" tire. The Tributary C has internal dropper post compatibility and is also UDH compatible. The other two models in the range are the Tributary C Rival AXS Sus, and Tributary C Force Sus, with the SRAM drive trains, obviously. 

Prices are as follows in the USA: Tributary C GRX 820 - $5,499.00. Tributary C Rival AXS Sus - $6,499.00. Finally, the Tributary C Force XO AXS Sus - $7,999.00. 

You can learn more about Salsa Cycles electrified bike range HERE. 

Image courtesy of UCI

UCI Loses Date For Gravel Worlds Championships:

In a somewhat shocking announcement on Tuesday the UCI announced that the date for the Gravel Cycling World Championships was taken off the calendar. 

In a story reported on several cycling websites it was said that the decision to take the date away from Nice, France was a mutually agreed upon decision and that several new venues were being considered. 

The original date for the championship event was to be in mid-October. No suggestions for where the championships will eventually be held was given at the time of this writing.

Comments: Well! I know where the UCI could bring this event (Iowa) and run it on "real gravel"! Ha! I'm sure that since the Nebraska version of Gravel Worlds has trade marked the name, "Gravel Worlds" in the USA, the UCI won't be too quick to visit us with this event. I also do not doubt for one second that if the UCI had its way that Unbound would happen in October and be the Gravel World Championships race. It would be a shortened version of the old DK200, probably somewhere around 120 miles, since the UCI likes their events to be around the 5 hour mark.  

This Gravel Worlds Championship Race would be televised and there would be follow cars, team cars and basically everything as it would be if the course was paved. It is what the UCI knows. A "real" gravel race? Not so much. It is not what I would do, but then again, every Pro rider would throw a fit and not come to an event as I would do it. Therein lies the point. 

Image courtesy of Singular Cycles

Singular Cycles Teases New Kookaburra Rim Brake Bike:

Did you get the Singular newsletter in your inbox yesterday? If you did, you saw the prototype for this new Singular model dubbed the Kookaburra. 

It is  a lugged steel, thin-tubed, one inch steer tube rim brake bike that reportedly will take a 700c X 55mm tire.  

There is no pricing or definitive delivery date on this model, but Sam Alison, of Singular, stated that he believes it will be in later this year. Sign up for the Singular newsletter and get updates on this model if you are interested as there probably will be a limited number of these made. 

Comments: Oh no....... This is right up my alley and would be a bike I would ride a lot. Especially if it were single speed compatible, which is usually a staple of Singular design, so I would suspect this model would conform to that pattern. 

At any rate, I was smitten by a Rivendell Atlantis at one point many years ago when I had to test ride a customers bike in for repair. The Atlantis was a unicorn bike for me and being a Riv, very expensive to boot. Needless to say I never ended up with one. However; that experience has haunted me and this Kookaburra could be the antidote to my missing out on an Atlantis. 

IF I were to bite on this I would immediately retire TWO bikes I have. This is a big "IF" though, as I have no idea what the Kookaburra will cost, and this will determine my decision. Needless to say, I am very interested.

Thank you for reading Guitar Ted Productions. Have a great weekend and ride those bicycles!

Two Things

Iowa gravel

 Bad Takes And The UCI Gravel World Championships:

I tried resisting doing any commentary on two articles published last week about the UCI Gravel World Championships. However; the takes were so poorly done that I have to say something about it or I feel I would be inherently supporting those who wrote such garbage takes on gravel cycling. As you might suspect, I do not support any of what was said. 

I'm not going to give the honor of linking to either article. That would be giving the authors of these two pieces way too much credit. But I may quote a couple of lines they wrote to illustrate how far off these takes were. 

Here's a zinger: "So now three years into gravel being a "sport" ", which was written that way because the author is trying to intimate that only the UCI makes gravel a "sport". Hogwash! Such a bogus statement. Then the same author tries to legitimize the World Championship course in Belgium by saying that Unbound in Kansas is a "boring road race on unfinished roads". By the way, the Belgium course is 50/50 pavement to gravel (claimed) and has forest paths and bike paths as part of the course because, in the author's words, "The forests near major cities are small and rarely connect without crossing highways, so planning a 187km race is pretty hard to do. So a 50/50 split of road/off-road is pretty good."

From FLO Racing YouTube: Women's decisive move on the "gravel course".

A 116 mile course, with half of it paved or not gravel is "pretty good" but Unbound's nearly 90% gravel course is "boring"?

I don't think we need to go any further with that. The other piece I read was  lamenting the fact that a North American probably won't win the World Championship UCI jersey and that this will "set back gravel as a sport" in the USA. There was more rubbish, but I won't get into anymore of that. 

Apparently mainstream cycling media feels that we all should fan in the way they want us to, because kowtowing to the supremacy of less than 500 Pro, Elite gravel riders worldwide is what we should be doing to legitimize gravel as a "sport". Of course, that should be happening for USA riders on USA courses, if you listen to some writers. 

Newsflash: Most riders don't care about the UCI, their form of "gravel", or an arbitrary jersey award that means nothing in reality. You do you. We built "gravel" to be what it is in most corners of this country long before the UCI came around and made their little mark in the "sport".  You "fan" your way, we'll do it our way. 

The Guitar Ted Podcast Goes Commuting:

The latest podcast episode is up and N.Y. Roll and I cover our experiences commuting by bicycle. We go all over the place covering bicycles, gear, how to plan routes, lights, and more. 

We also get into the State Bicycle Co. Monster Fork v2, but since that is tomorrow's post subject, I won't say more about that. We do get into the weeds a little bit concerning fork offset. So, be prepared to nerd out if you listen in!

I also have  a bit of a rant about internal cable routing on forks. 

But the most important messages come in the last eight minutes of the episode where N.Y. Roll gives a passionate message concerning who is a cyclist. You have to listen in for this, as I agree 100% and I give my own example concerning this message and its impact on me. 

If you don't listen to the podcast, know this: You should consider and support anyone that pedals as a cyclist. 

Nuff said. 

Well, What Did You Expect?

 In Case You Missed It: 

The UCI held its Men's and Women's Gravel World Championships over the weekend. The racing world was quite busy over the weekend as not only were these gravel races being contested, but various Pro road races and cyclo cross events, not to mention a MTB World Cup event, were all run as well. So, if you missed the gravel coverage, it wouldn't be very surprising. 

But if you caught any of the goings on, you already know that the UCI stubbed its toe - again - by not broadcasting the Women's event and by having full coverage of the Men's event the following day. But what you may have missed is that all the men's and women's age category events were run on the same course, on the same day, with slightly varying start times, as the women's event. That's very telling, and I have some thoughts about that as it concerns why the result made many people upset. 

From the UCI Gravel World Series social media.

So, there was no broadcast of the women's elite event, and maybe the reason why was because the field of elite women ended up getting mixed up with all the men's and women's age group categories during the event. The course was done in a loop fashion so that the riders came back through the start/finish area and went out into the country again. This allowed the fields to intermingle and so it would have been nigh unto impossible to properly showcase just the elite women's field. 

It is reminiscent of one of the hotly debated topics within the Life Time Grand Prix series of events. That being that the Women's Pro field was not separated from men's groups and that the Pro women found it difficult to know who they were actually racing. Furthermore; it was said that several women were using men as drafting partners, which was seemingly a big issue at Unbound in 2022. Unbound then tried to separate the women and men's fields by having staggered start times, but due to conditions on course this year that met with middling success. 

At the World Gravel Championships the clips shown of the women's elite field clearly show the top women racers mixed in with and drafting off of their larger male counterparts in the event, which according to many US women gravel racers is an unfair racing tactic. (Note: I am not interjecting my opinion on that issue) 

From the UCI social media. .

 While I am not going to weigh in on either side of that argument, I will say that I think that is why the UCI did not feature the Women's Elite race as they did the Elite Men's. The Men's event, which was run on a separate day and without intermingling with lower classes or women's fields, was much easier to broadcast. There wasn't all the confusion with the lower classes, which begs a question: "How does the UCI really see Women's Elite Gravel racing?" . 

I guess one could argue that running all the classes concurrently, (or nearly so) along with the Women's Elite field on Saturday was more "gravel" than not. However; it is my understanding that the female Pro's don't think that's the way things ought to be done, so take that as you may. 

 So, while it seemed like a big miss on the UCI's part, they would most likely claim it was due to a formatting issue. Which doesn't make it any better, and in that light, it maybe is a worse offense, since it puts Elite level Women's racing at the Pro level in a "undercard" position. 

But this is the UCI, after all. What did you expect?

Related post: "The Two Worlds of Gravel"

Friday News And Views

SRAM's new T Type derailleur attachment .

SRAM Announces Eagle T Type:

SRAM announced a radical new MTB drive train set up, (they claim it is now a "transmission, not a drive train), in a new "hangar-less" rear derailleur attachment arrangement that is 8 years in the making. 

They have refined other bits of the T Type Eagle system, but the only real "innovation" here is the way the rear derailleur attaches to the frame now. Instead of a hangar that attaches to one side with the derailleur attaching to that, the derailleur "sandwiches" the drop out and is skewered by the through axle, creating a much more stable platform. 

Comments: While this changes a long standing standard, this is actually something that makes a lot of sense. But first, let's clear up something in terms of what is going on here and what SRAM is calling it. 

Derailleurs used to attach directly to frames. Back then, a drop out had a provision for a derailleur to screw into to mount it. The "sandwich" idea utilized by SRAM was impossible due to the fact that a quick release axle had to be able to exit the drop out in some way, making a drop out have to have an "opening" to allow the axle to pass through. This prevented a "sandwich" style derailleur attachment scheme, which admittedly would be a lot more stable. 

So, SRAM saying this is a "hangar-less" design is nothing more than a bit of a marketing twist. What they have is a derailleur which mounts directly on the inside piece and has a "passive" part on the outside that only comes into play when a side-force is exerted on the derailleur. (See the image) The frame's through axle mounting hole supports the whole she-bang. Replaceable derailleur hangars were a part of the frame- a separate part, that is. You could say the "hangar" now is actually integrated into the derailleur with the T Type, and is no longer a part of the frame. That would be more of an accurate marketing angle. 

But whatever.... 

It's a great idea nonetheless. However; it is extremely expensive and completely proprietary. Even the chain, cassettes, and obviously the derailleur itself will not work with other Eagle drive train bits, or on many other frames. Although SRAM claims it is compatible now with over 200 different MTB frames and more are coming. 

But for now, you either have to buy a whole new bike, or shell out at least $1500.00+ bucks to have the privilege of having marginally better shifting. How it will affect MTB, road bikes, or gravel bikes in the future? Yet to be seen, but take my word for it- This will be spread across all SRAM bicycle groups at some point.   

The Cardinal Bar by Wilde (Image courtesy of Wilde Bikes)

Wilde Introduces The Cardinal Bar:

Wilde Bikes partnered up with BMX bike legends S&M Bikes to produce this new moto-inspired bar called the Cardinal Bar. 

The bar is offered in Transparent Black, Transparent Gold, or Clear. All three finishes are a powdercoat type finish. The bars will be 830mm wide, have a 7° upsweep, a 22mm clamp diameter, a 73mm rise, and a 15° backsweep. Bars will be handmade in California at a cost of $130.00 each. The bars weigh in at 793 grams. 

Comments: Another cruiser inspired bar for the fashion-conscious bike packer.  Not that there is anything wrong with that, but this bar is not really all that practical. It does look cool though. I imagine some will find its stout, all-steel construction to be a benefit in rough, rowdy MTB terrain, or for dirt jumping, but there are a lot of bars for that already, and I doubt that is who Wilde is marketing toward anyway. 

But, if this speaks to you, then who am I to say. At least there is an opportunity for prospective buyers of this bar to decorate it with a customized cross-bar protector. If you're going to be fashionable, you may as well go all-in. 

The Arclight PRO shown with no light modules.

Redshift Sports Announces Arclight PRO Pedals:

 This week Redshift Sports announced its new Arclight PRO pedals with their LED light modules that turn white or red depending upon their orientation on the bike. 

These pedals can also be clipless, or not, flats with or without traction pins,half clipless, half flat, or just clipless due to their modular design. 

I wrote up a post on all the features and technical details for Riding Gravel here. 

Comments:  I have these installed on my Gryphon Mk3 for now and will be doing the testing mostly with that bike. That said, these pedals seem to be a good "one-stop" solution for all your pedal needs. I'm not aware of any other pedal that does what this one will/can do. 

That said, maybe it is a "Jack of all trades, Master of none.." We'll see about that, but I like that it is night-time commuter friendly and that it can support clipless pedal usage as well as flat pedal usage. Now I don't have to choose a bike based on which pedals I have installed. With these, I could have flats with pins on one side and a clipless set up on the other. 

As always, The Standard Disclaimer applies. 

From the Brake Ace site.

Brake Ace Brings Data Acquisition To Your Bicycle's Brakes. 

Brake Ace, a new start-up which has just cleared their Kickstarter goal, is a company that wants to help you improve your bicycle's performance via data acquisition and analysis.

The system works with a little sensor that mounts on an adapter under your caliper and it measures how much you use your brakes and with the amount of force you apply. This data is then sent via a Bluetooth signal to an app on your smart phone. Data can be analyzed and the company offers coaching to help you improve your braking technique and therefore to go faster. 

Comments: It's expensive and really meant for racers on mountain bike courses for now, but this is the sort of thing that tends to show up on consumer products sooner or later. I thought that this is sort of the wave of the future, in a way. 

I mean, you can easily see how data concerning your biomechanics, breathing, heart rate, power output, and environmental data points could all be mashed up into some whiz-bang system that shifted your bike for you when it was most advantageous for you to do that. It could indicate when you should brake, on a known course, making adjustments for weather and road conditions.  

We hear about self-driving cars all the time. What makes you think bicycles won't fall under the cloud of techno-controls? 

UCI Adjusts Points Considerations For Start Positions At Gravel World Championships:

The UCI has been working on tweaks to points considerations for athletes which determine starting grid positions at their World Championship gravel event. Apparently, last year at the inaugural Gravel World Championships held by the UCI, points gathered in other disciplines of cycling counted fully. So, the leading athletes of the gravel series, who had dedicated their entire season to the gravel series, were in such a deficit in terms of points to riders from other disciplines that they were relegated to mid-pack starting grid positions. 

You can read the full details on what happened and how the UCI addressed this for the coming year in this Cyclingnews.com story.

Comments: Yikes!! This brings those rainbow jerseys won last year for gravel into question. The situation certainly was not at all fair to the athletes who dedicated a full season to the UCI gravel series. But the plum prizes went to those who swooped in and poached those jerseys based upon preferred starting positions - and obvious talent. It's a hard situation to judge, but giving someone a head start in a series championship that they had not participated in up to that point seems distasteful, at the least, and cheating at the worst.  

And what does this say about the UCI, who obviously gave their blessing to the way it was done last year and only changed up the points considerations after a hue and cry went up from those who were wronged? This and the seemingly blind eye most of the endemic media have concerning this story makes me think a whole lot less of the UCI's legitimacy in terms of gravel events. Now we have riders in the USA who will be vying for spots to go to this year's UCI version of a gravel worlds and the points system, even adjusted as it has been claimed, will end up biting them as well. Unless.... Unless those racers come to the 'dark side' and race a full UCI points season too. Same song, second verse.

Nice!  

This is one of the reasons we were all against sanctioning bodies for gravel racing back in the day. What a mess! Not to mention that the entire "preferred start" thing makes me want to vomit. Gah! 
 

That's a wrap for this week. Have a great weekend and thanks for reading Guitar Ted Productions!

Friday News And Views

SRAM's new T Type derailleur attachment .

SRAM Announces Eagle T Type:

SRAM announced a radical new MTB drive train set up, (they claim it is now a "transmission, not a drive train), in a new "hangar-less" rear derailleur attachment arrangement that is 8 years in the making. 

They have refined other bits of the T Type Eagle system, but the only real "innovation" here is the way the rear derailleur attaches to the frame now. Instead of a hangar that attaches to one side with the derailleur attaching to that, the derailleur "sandwiches" the drop out and is skewered by the through axle, creating a much more stable platform. 

Comments: While this changes a long standing standard, this is actually something that makes a lot of sense. But first, let's clear up something in terms of what is going on here and what SRAM is calling it. 

Derailleurs used to attach directly to frames. Back then, a drop out had a provision for a derailleur to screw into to mount it. The "sandwich" idea utilized by SRAM was impossible due to the fact that a quick release axle had to be able to exit the drop out in some way, making a drop out have to have an "opening" to allow the axle to pass through. This prevented a "sandwich" style derailleur attachment scheme, which admittedly would be a lot more stable. 

So, SRAM saying this is a "hangar-less" design is nothing more than a bit of a marketing twist. What they have is a derailleur which mounts directly on the inside piece and has a "passive" part on the outside that only comes into play when a side-force is exerted on the derailleur. (See the image) The frame's through axle mounting hole supports the whole she-bang. Replaceable derailleur hangars were a part of the frame- a separate part, that is. You could say the "hangar" now is actually integrated into the derailleur with the T Type, and is no longer a part of the frame. That would be more of an accurate marketing angle. 

But whatever.... 

It's a great idea nonetheless. However; it is extremely expensive and completely proprietary. Even the chain, cassettes, and obviously the derailleur itself will not work with other Eagle drive train bits, or on many other frames. Although SRAM claims it is compatible now with over 200 different MTB frames and more are coming. 

But for now, you either have to buy a whole new bike, or shell out at least $1500.00+ bucks to have the privilege of having marginally better shifting. How it will affect MTB, road bikes, or gravel bikes in the future? Yet to be seen, but take my word for it- This will be spread across all SRAM bicycle groups at some point.   

The Cardinal Bar by Wilde (Image courtesy of Wilde Bikes)

Wilde Introduces The Cardinal Bar:

Wilde Bikes partnered up with BMX bike legends S&M Bikes to produce this new moto-inspired bar called the Cardinal Bar. 

The bar is offered in Transparent Black, Transparent Gold, or Clear. All three finishes are a powdercoat type finish. The bars will be 830mm wide, have a 7° upsweep, a 22mm clamp diameter, a 73mm rise, and a 15° backsweep. Bars will be handmade in California at a cost of $130.00 each. The bars weigh in at 793 grams. 

Comments: Another cruiser inspired bar for the fashion-conscious bike packer.  Not that there is anything wrong with that, but this bar is not really all that practical. It does look cool though. I imagine some will find its stout, all-steel construction to be a benefit in rough, rowdy MTB terrain, or for dirt jumping, but there are a lot of bars for that already, and I doubt that is who Wilde is marketing toward anyway. 

But, if this speaks to you, then who am I to say. At least there is an opportunity for prospective buyers of this bar to decorate it with a customized cross-bar protector. If you're going to be fashionable, you may as well go all-in. 

The Arclight PRO shown with no light modules.

Redshift Sports Announces Arclight PRO Pedals:

 This week Redshift Sports announced its new Arclight PRO pedals with their LED light modules that turn white or red depending upon their orientation on the bike. 

These pedals can also be clipless, or not, flats with or without traction pins,half clipless, half flat, or just clipless due to their modular design. 

I wrote up a post on all the features and technical details for Riding Gravel here. 

Comments:  I have these installed on my Gryphon Mk3 for now and will be doing the testing mostly with that bike. That said, these pedals seem to be a good "one-stop" solution for all your pedal needs. I'm not aware of any other pedal that does what this one will/can do. 

That said, maybe it is a "Jack of all trades, Master of none.." We'll see about that, but I like that it is night-time commuter friendly and that it can support clipless pedal usage as well as flat pedal usage. Now I don't have to choose a bike based on which pedals I have installed. With these, I could have flats with pins on one side and a clipless set up on the other. 

As always, The Standard Disclaimer applies. 

From the Brake Ace site.

Brake Ace Brings Data Acquisition To Your Bicycle's Brakes. 

Brake Ace, a new start-up which has just cleared their Kickstarter goal, is a company that wants to help you improve your bicycle's performance via data acquisition and analysis.

The system works with a little sensor that mounts on an adapter under your caliper and it measures how much you use your brakes and with the amount of force you apply. This data is then sent via a Bluetooth signal to an app on your smart phone. Data can be analyzed and the company offers coaching to help you improve your braking technique and therefore to go faster. 

Comments: It's expensive and really meant for racers on mountain bike courses for now, but this is the sort of thing that tends to show up on consumer products sooner or later. I thought that this is sort of the wave of the future, in a way. 

I mean, you can easily see how data concerning your biomechanics, breathing, heart rate, power output, and environmental data points could all be mashed up into some whiz-bang system that shifted your bike for you when it was most advantageous for you to do that. It could indicate when you should brake, on a known course, making adjustments for weather and road conditions.  

We hear about self-driving cars all the time. What makes you think bicycles won't fall under the cloud of techno-controls? 

UCI Adjusts Points Considerations For Start Positions At Gravel World Championships:

The UCI has been working on tweaks to points considerations for athletes which determine starting grid positions at their World Championship gravel event. Apparently, last year at the inaugural Gravel World Championships held by the UCI, points gathered in other disciplines of cycling counted fully. So, the leading athletes of the gravel series, who had dedicated their entire season to the gravel series, were in such a deficit in terms of points to riders from other disciplines that they were relegated to mid-pack starting grid positions. 

You can read the full details on what happened and how the UCI addressed this for the coming year in this Cyclingnews.com story.

Comments: Yikes!! This brings those rainbow jerseys won last year for gravel into question. The situation certainly was not at all fair to the athletes who dedicated a full season to the UCI gravel series. But the plum prizes went to those who swooped in and poached those jerseys based upon preferred starting positions - and obvious talent. It's a hard situation to judge, but giving someone a head start in a series championship that they had not participated in up to that point seems distasteful, at the least, and cheating at the worst.  

And what does this say about the UCI, who obviously gave their blessing to the way it was done last year and only changed up the points considerations after a hue and cry went up from those who were wronged? This and the seemingly blind eye most of the endemic media have concerning this story makes me think a whole lot less of the UCI's legitimacy in terms of gravel events. Now we have riders in the USA who will be vying for spots to go to this year's UCI version of a gravel worlds and the points system, even adjusted as it has been claimed, will end up biting them as well. Unless.... Unless those racers come to the 'dark side' and race a full UCI points season too. Same song, second verse.

Nice!  

This is one of the reasons we were all against sanctioning bodies for gravel racing back in the day. What a mess! Not to mention that the entire "preferred start" thing makes me want to vomit. Gah! 
 

That's a wrap for this week. Have a great weekend and thanks for reading Guitar Ted Productions!

Friday News And Views

The Sigma ROX 4.0 GPS computer

Going "GPS-ing" Again:

Well, lookee here. I got a hold of this GPS computer in an offer to test and review it for RidingGravel.com. Of course, the Standard Disclaimer applies here. With that out of the way...

It's a Sigma product. They are a German based manufacturer of cycling computers that has been around for a long time. You generally don't hear a lot about the company here in the USA, but they've always been around. I've used a Sigma wireless computer recently on a bike here and it worked just fine for me. I know the company has had quality control issues in the past, but honestly, so have most of the cycling computer companies at one time or another. So, par for the course there. 

Anyway, I have this Sigma ROX 4.0 GPS computer to try out. It has a bit bigger screen and is a bit thinner than the old Lezyne Super GPS I used to use, and it is far smaller than that dreadful Karoo 2 I tried. Small is okay if you have big enough graphics and if it actually works. That may seem like a silly thing to have to specify, but - ya know..... (See that Karoo link) 

I'll have more on this one, but I'll tell you this straight away: I already am further down the road using this computer than I ever was with that Karoo.  It seems to be intuitive, simple to use, and guess what? It's got that elevation tracker I was interested in. Stay tuned..........

Douze Cycles partners with Toyota in France Image courtesy of Douze Cycles

Automotive Companies Make Inroads To Cycling Sector:

The news on HPC (Hybrid Powered Cycles) seems to be constantly flowing but a trend I've noted is how automotive companies are pivoting to get into the electrified/motorized cycling market. We've already noted here how Ford, Harley Davidson, and Yamaha are either partnering with electrified cycling companies or are doing their own thing outright. 

I read now that Toyota has an agreement in France to place Douze Cycles cargo bikes, which use mid-motor designs from Broze and Shimano, into Toyota dealerships. Furthermore, in the article I read, it states that automotive component companies are looking to pivot into manufacturing bits for electrified bicycles now since ICE vehicles are being outlawed in the EU. Makes perfect sense when you think about it. 

Comments: As if the "wild, wild West" nature of online HPC sales wasn't enough, now the cycling sector may see the automotive sector take over a big chunk of electrified bicycle sales. Think about how the automobile business has the budgets and the R&D horsepower to make that happen. Think about how traditional bicycle companies are more about impractical, extremely expensive, go-fast HPC's and not bikes for the average person. Add in that the very customer the cycling industry hopes to convert to pedaling already haunts the doorways of auto dealerships, and not bicycle shops, and perhaps we can see where this might be going here. 

Auto dealerships are already well on their way to electrified car and truck sales and servicing. Adding in a staff of trained specialist in electric motors and systems for bicycles would be an easy thing here compared to the resistance seen in the cycling service sectors. Plus, the image held by consumers already is that car mechanics have a leg up on electronic systems for cars whereas bicycle technicians are often seen as less than knowledgeable on more technical electronic systems. 

I've said it here before: If the auto industry turns to electrified two-wheeled transportation as a serious product for sales and production, the cycling industry will be left behind. 

First "Post-Pandemic" Gravel Season Winds Down:

I think a lot of us have already forgotten that 2022 was really the first year since March 2020 that we've seen anything "normal" in terms of gravel events. I wanted to take a moment to note this fact and to take stock of 2022's gravelly adventures in the USA and beyond.

Everything kind of kicked off this year as if nothing had happened. No "Protocols" , no special instructions to distance, wear masks, or the like were noted. I'd say, for the most part, it was an unsaid thing right out of the gate in 2022 that events were going to run as they had up to March 2020. Was that the right call? I guess it was. I mean, I didn't ever read or hear about any negative outcomes, although I'm sure an example or two exists.

The UCI got into the gravel game. I figured this to happen in 2021, but I am betting that this was the plan and the pandemic postponed the plan. However that went, what you saw in the news wasn't the entire story on that series and world championships. 

One event was cancelled due to low numbers. Another had a very poor showing. Then you had a participant in the final event, the so-called "worlds", say the following: " I think I would call this the Bike Path World Championships with some gravel". That was a quote from an interview of Nathan Peter-Haas, a rider in the event. So, you won't see this in the mainstream media, but the series and final event was quite a bit less than a smashing success. Meanwhile, US based events were slammed and did quite well with numbers and competitive fields. 

Anyway, now the gravel scene, and cycling in general is seemingly free to evolve naturally once again. It will be interesting to see how 2023 goes. 

Wolf Tooth Resolve dropper post. (Image courtesy of Wolf tooth)

Wolf Tooth Introduces Self-Bleeding Dropper Post:

One of the negatives to running a dropper post is that they can suck air into their systems which can result in unwanted sag when seated and poor performance. Wolf Tooth engineers have been developing an answer to this issue over the past four years and are ready to unveil the new Resolve post. 

Apparently, every time the post is activated during a ride, the internal cartridge system self-bleeds and keeps air out of the inner workings. 

This means less maintenance and less annoying sag. This won't come cheaply though, as the retail price is set at $349.95. The post is available now in 30.9mm and 31.6mm diameters and can handle round or ovalized saddle rails. Travel is at 125mm, 160mm, or 200mm and Wolf Tooth claims the stack height of the post is a minimal 32mm and the insertion depth is shorter which should make this fit more bikes. 

Comments: I don't have many bikes here that could run a dropper post, but this one sounds pretty good. Matched up with a Wolf Tooth dropper lever and I'd think it would make for a great set up. I'd probably use one on my fat bike, because a dropper makes getting going in deep snow a much easier task than with a rigid post. 

The whole "self-bleeding" thing? Well, I don't know about that. If it works, that's great, but that's a steep price to find out when a rigid post is what? Sub-100? Hmm....

That's a wrap for this week! Thanks for reading Guitar ted Productions and have a fantastic weekend.

Friday News And Views

The Sigma ROX 4.0 GPS computer

Going "GPS-ing" Again:

Well, lookee here. I got a hold of this GPS computer in an offer to test and review it for RidingGravel.com. Of course, the Standard Disclaimer applies here. With that out of the way...

It's a Sigma product. They are a German based manufacturer of cycling computers that has been around for a long time. You generally don't hear a lot about the company here in the USA, but they've always been around. I've used a Sigma wireless computer recently on a bike here and it worked just fine for me. I know the company has had quality control issues in the past, but honestly, so have most of the cycling computer companies at one time or another. So, par for the course there. 

Anyway, I have this Sigma ROX 4.0 GPS computer to try out. It has a bit bigger screen and is a bit thinner than the old Lezyne Super GPS I used to use, and it is far smaller than that dreadful Karoo 2 I tried. Small is okay if you have big enough graphics and if it actually works. That may seem like a silly thing to have to specify, but - ya know..... (See that Karoo link) 

I'll have more on this one, but I'll tell you this straight away: I already am further down the road using this computer than I ever was with that Karoo.  It seems to be intuitive, simple to use, and guess what? It's got that elevation tracker I was interested in. Stay tuned..........

Douze Cycles partners with Toyota in France Image courtesy of Douze Cycles

Automotive Companies Make Inroads To Cycling Sector:

The news on HPC (Hybrid Powered Cycles) seems to be constantly flowing but a trend I've noted is how automotive companies are pivoting to get into the electrified/motorized cycling market. We've already noted here how Ford, Harley Davidson, and Yamaha are either partnering with electrified cycling companies or are doing their own thing outright. 

I read now that Toyota has an agreement in France to place Douze Cycles cargo bikes, which use mid-motor designs from Broze and Shimano, into Toyota dealerships. Furthermore, in the article I read, it states that automotive component companies are looking to pivot into manufacturing bits for electrified bicycles now since ICE vehicles are being outlawed in the EU. Makes perfect sense when you think about it. 

Comments: As if the "wild, wild West" nature of online HPC sales wasn't enough, now the cycling sector may see the automotive sector take over a big chunk of electrified bicycle sales. Think about how the automobile business has the budgets and the R&D horsepower to make that happen. Think about how traditional bicycle companies are more about impractical, extremely expensive, go-fast HPC's and not bikes for the average person. Add in that the very customer the cycling industry hopes to convert to pedaling already haunts the doorways of auto dealerships, and not bicycle shops, and perhaps we can see where this might be going here. 

Auto dealerships are already well on their way to electrified car and truck sales and servicing. Adding in a staff of trained specialist in electric motors and systems for bicycles would be an easy thing here compared to the resistance seen in the cycling service sectors. Plus, the image held by consumers already is that car mechanics have a leg up on electronic systems for cars whereas bicycle technicians are often seen as less than knowledgeable on more technical electronic systems. 

I've said it here before: If the auto industry turns to electrified two-wheeled transportation as a serious product for sales and production, the cycling industry will be left behind. 

First "Post-Pandemic" Gravel Season Winds Down:

I think a lot of us have already forgotten that 2022 was really the first year since March 2020 that we've seen anything "normal" in terms of gravel events. I wanted to take a moment to note this fact and to take stock of 2022's gravelly adventures in the USA and beyond.

Everything kind of kicked off this year as if nothing had happened. No "Protocols" , no special instructions to distance, wear masks, or the like were noted. I'd say, for the most part, it was an unsaid thing right out of the gate in 2022 that events were going to run as they had up to March 2020. Was that the right call? I guess it was. I mean, I didn't ever read or hear about any negative outcomes, although I'm sure an example or two exists.

The UCI got into the gravel game. I figured this to happen in 2021, but I am betting that this was the plan and the pandemic postponed the plan. However that went, what you saw in the news wasn't the entire story on that series and world championships. 

One event was cancelled due to low numbers. Another had a very poor showing. Then you had a participant in the final event, the so-called "worlds", say the following: " I think I would call this the Bike Path World Championships with some gravel". That was a quote from an interview of Nathan Peter-Haas, a rider in the event. So, you won't see this in the mainstream media, but the series and final event was quite a bit less than a smashing success. Meanwhile, US based events were slammed and did quite well with numbers and competitive fields. 

Anyway, now the gravel scene, and cycling in general is seemingly free to evolve naturally once again. It will be interesting to see how 2023 goes. 

Wolf Tooth Resolve dropper post. (Image courtesy of Wolf tooth)

Wolf Tooth Introduces Self-Bleeding Dropper Post:

One of the negatives to running a dropper post is that they can suck air into their systems which can result in unwanted sag when seated and poor performance. Wolf Tooth engineers have been developing an answer to this issue over the past four years and are ready to unveil the new Resolve post. 

Apparently, every time the post is activated during a ride, the internal cartridge system self-bleeds and keeps air out of the inner workings. 

This means less maintenance and less annoying sag. This won't come cheaply though, as the retail price is set at $349.95. The post is available now in 30.9mm and 31.6mm diameters and can handle round or ovalized saddle rails. Travel is at 125mm, 160mm, or 200mm and Wolf Tooth claims the stack height of the post is a minimal 32mm and the insertion depth is shorter which should make this fit more bikes. 

Comments: I don't have many bikes here that could run a dropper post, but this one sounds pretty good. Matched up with a Wolf Tooth dropper lever and I'd think it would make for a great set up. I'd probably use one on my fat bike, because a dropper makes getting going in deep snow a much easier task than with a rigid post. 

The whole "self-bleeding" thing? Well, I don't know about that. If it works, that's great, but that's a steep price to find out when a rigid post is what? Sub-100? Hmm....

That's a wrap for this week! Thanks for reading Guitar ted Productions and have a fantastic weekend.

A Gritty Take: Take Two

The UCI's version of Gravel Worlds takes place this weekend in Italy.

 Okay, since I wrote that initial post which appears ahead of this one today, (scroll down if you are seeing this on the blog), there has been a big dust-up of discussion and feelings concerning this weekend's events. Let me just say this up front:

In two weeks none of this will matter.

It'll all blow over like the entire "Gravel Beef" thing did and like other dust-ups concerning the UCI and gravel cycling have before that. I just saw something though that reminded me of a meeting that took place several years ago now between a group of the big gravel event race directors and the UCI which I think occurred at the end of 2018, or maybe in early 2019. At any rate, that meeting was set up by the UCI and USAC to see what, if anything, the two organizations could do to get involved in the scene in the USA as it was at that point.

I was reminded of this meeting/event by a Tweet from a former MTB rider that now dabbles in gravel racing since he has "retired" as a Pro racer. At any rate, his name is not important here. It is what he intimated about that meeting that pricked up my ears and connected the dots.

I knew that the RD's of these various events had, in no uncertain terms, rejected any ploy or plan on the part of the UCI/USAC to become a part of their events. Think Life Time's events on gravel, (UNBOUND, et al) and Rebecca's Private Idaho event. The SBT GRVL, and the Belgian Waffle franchise. Those leaders of those events sent a message that, at that point in time, they wanted nothing to do with the UCI or USAC. 

There is a lot to say about the motivations on both sides here, but the point for this time to remember, and the point brought out by that Tweet I saw, is this: The UCI/USAC organizations were scorned and furthermore, with Gravel Worlds trademarking their brand in North America, they were feeling, perhaps, that the North American gravel community had spurned their overtures. 

Perhaps this is why the UCI events this weekend pretty much do not reflect any semblance of the gravel scene in North America. It would make sense. I, of course, am speculating, but if you have a better interpretation of events, or think I am absolutely wrong, let me know. I'm willing to have my mind changed, but so far, most people that have addressed this haven't been considering my points correctly, or at all. 

Some are deriding the critics of the UCI gravel event as being petty, or that somehow it is okay for the UCI to offer an event that is pretty lame in terms of the challenge and has not addressed the gulf the UCI always uses between men's and women's events. Gravel cycling has not been founded in North America in those ways, or in that manner. 

Some say that gravel cycling predates all the North American gravel culture and events of the past two decades. But this viewpoint is arguing a false equivalent. Gravel cycling in the early 20th Century was done on gravel because that was what the roads were. Gravel cycling in the last two decades in North America used gravel because we wanted to, not because we had to. Big difference, and the whole culture and ethos of modern day gravel cycling comes from an entirely different place than paved road cycling did, which grew out of that necessity of the use of gravel to an almost exclusive use of paved roads. The differences in origins are so glaring it almost is ridiculous to have to even defend where gravel cycling came from in the modern era. 

So, anyway, I thought that this debate was going in the wrong direction once I saw that reminder of the UCI/USAC offer to enjoin the North American gravel scene in race promotions. I think there is something to all of that when it comes to feelings of rejection and that the UCI cares little about how it is perceived by those in this still growing and burgeoning gravel scene.

A Gritty Take: Take Two

The UCI's version of Gravel Worlds takes place this weekend in Italy.

 Okay, since I wrote that initial post which appears ahead of this one today, (scroll down if you are seeing this on the blog), there has been a big dust-up of discussion and feelings concerning this weekend's events. Let me just say this up front:

In two weeks none of this will matter.

It'll all blow over like the entire "Gravel Beef" thing did and like other dust-ups concerning the UCI and gravel cycling have before that. I just saw something though that reminded me of a meeting that took place several years ago now between a group of the big gravel event race directors and the UCI which I think occurred at the end of 2018, or maybe in early 2019. At any rate, that meeting was set up by the UCI and USAC to see what, if anything, the two organizations could do to get involved in the scene in the USA as it was at that point.

I was reminded of this meeting/event by a Tweet from a former MTB rider that now dabbles in gravel racing since he has "retired" as a Pro racer. At any rate, his name is not important here. It is what he intimated about that meeting that pricked up my ears and connected the dots.

I knew that the RD's of these various events had, in no uncertain terms, rejected any ploy or plan on the part of the UCI/USAC to become a part of their events. Think Life Time's events on gravel, (UNBOUND, et al) and Rebecca's Private Idaho event. The SBT GRVL, and the Belgian Waffle franchise. Those leaders of those events sent a message that, at that point in time, they wanted nothing to do with the UCI or USAC. 

There is a lot to say about the motivations on both sides here, but the point for this time to remember, and the point brought out by that Tweet I saw, is this: The UCI/USAC organizations were scorned and furthermore, with Gravel Worlds trademarking their brand in North America, they were feeling, perhaps, that the North American gravel community had spurned their overtures. 

Perhaps this is why the UCI events this weekend pretty much do not reflect any semblance of the gravel scene in North America. It would make sense. I, of course, am speculating, but if you have a better interpretation of events, or think I am absolutely wrong, let me know. I'm willing to have my mind changed, but so far, most people that have addressed this haven't been considering my points correctly, or at all. 

Some are deriding the critics of the UCI gravel event as being petty, or that somehow it is okay for the UCI to offer an event that is pretty lame in terms of the challenge and has not addressed the gulf the UCI always uses between men's and women's events. Gravel cycling has not been founded in North America in those ways, or in that manner. 

Some say that gravel cycling predates all the North American gravel culture and events of the past two decades. But this viewpoint is arguing a false equivalent. Gravel cycling in the early 20th Century was done on gravel because that was what the roads were. Gravel cycling in the last two decades in North America used gravel because we wanted to, not because we had to. Big difference, and the whole culture and ethos of modern day gravel cycling comes from an entirely different place than paved road cycling did, which grew out of that necessity of the use of gravel to an almost exclusive use of paved roads. The differences in origins are so glaring it almost is ridiculous to have to even defend where gravel cycling came from in the modern era. 

So, anyway, I thought that this debate was going in the wrong direction once I saw that reminder of the UCI/USAC offer to enjoin the North American gravel scene in race promotions. I think there is something to all of that when it comes to feelings of rejection and that the UCI cares little about how it is perceived by those in this still growing and burgeoning gravel scene.