Wheel Decisions

About three months ago now I was riding the Tamland Two with the Irwin carbon wheel set and I experienced some free hub issues. You can check that post out HERE. Since then that Irwin wheel set has been sitting around and every once in a while while I see it in my shop I start to think about what I can do with the wheels. 

I go back and forth with ideas. I was pretty set on tearing them down to rims, spokes, and hubs on Tuesday but when I went down to take care of that I took one more look at the free hub. See, all along I haven't been able to see why the free hub was not engaging properly at random times. It made no sense. I could see no damage at all, no excessive wear, nothing.

And the end cap I removed to get the free hub body off to inspect things three months ago had been misplaced. gah! So, I dug through my stash of end caps and found some more Irwin compatible ones which got me sorted. I reassembled the free hub, put it back together, and it sounds and feels awesome. gah! x2.... 

I just hate to have to tear something apart if it isn't really necessary, and swapping these rims to new hubs probably will mean buying spokes and nipples and obviously more time and energy. gah! x3!

The Irwin wheels still have tires mounted tubeless to them, so what I think I am going to do is to relegate these wheels to my very local to me test loop. That way, if they fail I can walk back home with no real issues. If they prove to be reliable, well then the problem is solved. Anyway....

Never been used!

Then there is this other wheel set. I have a Velocity disc hub wheel set with Bontrager RXL rim brake rims laced to them. The hubs are disc. I know......weird! Let me explain....

Probably over ten years ago Velocity USA sent me a set of Major Tom disc wheels as payment for advertising on "Gravel Grinder News", the gravel site that morphed out of this blog starting in 2008. There was scuttlebutt going around that a bigger tubular tire for gravel was coming out, but...... I was ready with the wheels, and the tires were vaporware. Oh well....

Now I had this wheel set with no inclinations of running tubular tires ever. I ended up swapping the rims out with the current Bontrager RXL Scandium aluminum rims which I picked up on close-out from Trek. Then I figured I'd use them on my Black Mountain Cycles "Orange Crush", but right about that time I decided that the Orange Crush was going back to a single speed soon. So the wheels hung from the ceiling in the shop, and I have never used them. 

I had thought about using the hubs with the Irwin carbon rims, and maybe that is what will end up happening, but I don't know..... Decisions between choices. Never fear! I'll likely come up with more ideas of what to do which will freeze my situation for the foreseeable future. 

I'm good a6t doing that!

Friday News And Views

The new SOMA Gullwing Bar. Image courtesy of SOMA.

 New "Alt-Bar" From SOMA:

Ever since I have been writing this blog, (17 years, but who's counting!), I've been into the 'alt-bar' thing. So when I see a new one, I always check it out. The latest weirdo bar is from SOMA and is called the "Gullwing Bar". 

This one isn't weird because of its shape, which has been done pretty similarly by others. No, this one is different because of the shape AND that it is drop-bar control standard only. 

That means- don't try this with flat bar controls. So, as with many alt-bars, the question is always, "Why?!" Read the link above for SOMA's take on it. Basically it is an answer for those who don't like drops, have a bike with drops, and want to convert to a flat bar without having to buy new levers, shifters, and probably a derailluer or two. 

Comments: I see the reason why, and I get it, but my initial reaction is "mustache bar". I mean, essentially this is a mustache bar variant. That's fine, but functionally this bar only really varies the extension angle and otherwise it doesn't really do much for me. 

It does offer some unique hand positions and it probably would be great for some folks. So, a good alt bar here, just not one I see as being something I'd want for any bikes I have. I'd strongly recommend that if you think this looks interesting that a Whiskey Winston Bar might be even better from the standpoint of being able to use MTB or road controls and you can put MTB grips on that bar. Otherwise, the Gullwing Bar is another interesting choice. 

Wheelbased showed this image by VitalMTB on their Instagram.

SRAM To Debut New "Hangarless" Rear Derailleur:

This appeared in my Instagram feed last week from @wheelbased. (A link to the Wheelbased site is on the sidebar when that blog posts new material) 

The image, showing a new design by SRAM for a rear derailleur, features a new way to attach the rear derailleur to a frame by using a hollow bolt, a yoked upper derailleur body, and the wheel's through axle pierces the derailleur mount and frame. 

The design essentially makes a yoked hangar part of the rear derailleur itself which vastly increases rear derailleur stability leading to crisper shifting and less "ghost shifts". However; you might ask yourself, "Doesn't this put the frame and derailleur at risk of being destroyed in a crash or by trail obstacles? You would be correct if you think, "yes". 

But shifting stability and performance is critical now more than ever with the finicky nature and narrow performance window of 11, 12, and 13 speed drive trains. Consider also that rear derailleur hangars rarely break, they bend, and rear derailleurs which get the least amount out of shape are now for the bin.  

So, maybe you would trash a frame using this system, but more than likely you are going to destroy the derailleur. That's a sacrifice many are willing to make for better and more stable shifts on 11,12, and 13 speed drive trains. Plus, hangars are expensive anyway, weak, and don't really do what they were meant to do anymore. 

But the question no one is asking is "How did we get here?". Well, using really big cogs, wide range cassettes, and more gears on there- that's how. Really..... But go further. How did we get here? By accepting that front derailleurs weren't a good thing and that 1X is  "better". That's how this happened, really. 

Make of that what you will.

Controversy In Women's Elite Level Racing At Gravel Worlds:

Earlier this week I found a thread in the Riding Gravel site's forum dealing with an issue with the racing at the front of the Women's field at Gravel Worlds. To be honest, this is an issue, and will continue to be an issue, until we make elite level Men's and Women's events separate from all other gravel racing. 

I referred to this again in my post earlier in the week this week as well. No need to tread all that ground again, But, it is apparent that what Pro and Elite racers need and what the "95%" of the rest of us do not want is what is being described in this blog post from the second place Women's Pro finisher at Gravel Worlds. We don't want to see team cars, team support, team leaders deriding other riders, or heckling them, or causing doubt to gain advantage over racers. We don't need a "sanctioning body" to know that all that is wrong. 

We don't need a sanctioning body, but we do need strong leadership at the time of the events. We need immediate officiating, and yeah.....that's really a big ask when you have thousands of racers. But again- rules are nothing unless they are enforced, and if you cannot do that, then don't have that big of an event- or change your event to not have that sort of competitor, or find a way to make what you are doing work. My viewpoint is that there can be a way to figure this out. First off, much of the bickering is coming from mixing fast men with women's fields who are using those "wheels" to gain an advantage. So, separating them (different courses, different days for the events) is what needs to happen and would mitigate that issue. Secondly, supporting yourself means you carry it in- you carry it out. No hand-ups, and no team cars, (which- by the way- was explicitly mentioned in the run up to Gravel Worlds.) Officiating that with a separated Pro/Elite event would be a LOT easier than running several event distances concurrently with thousands of participants.

Tragedy At Vermont Overland Results In Kenyan Cyclist's Death:

 Saturday a high-speed crash resulted in the death of  Suleiman "Sule" Kangangi. He was a member of Team AMANI who were here in the USA on a swing of gravel events which the Vermont Overland was to be the last of before returning home to Kenya. Suleiman Kangangi was 33 years of age. 

He had participated in the SBT GRVL and Gravel Worlds before the Vermont Overland event. No further details were offered on the incident which caused Mr. Kangangi to succumb to his injuries. 

Comments: I am deeply saddened and I feel for all parties involved in this incident. Of course, my heartfelt condolences go out to Mr. Kangangi's family and friends. This is not a thing any of use want to think about happening to anyone in the gravel scene.

I've spoken of the fear I lived with that I would be presiding over an event where this sort of thing might happen, and my thoughts go out to those who run the Vermont Overland event. My hope is that everyone- the event organizers, the family and friends of Mr. Kangangi, and those close to this will find peace and comfort. 

An example of Velocity USA's "Oil Slick". Image courtesy of Velocity USA.

Velocity USA Announces Oil Slick Color Options:

Oil Slick color options were being offered quite a bit on some MTB components pre-pandemic. That sort of went away for a bit, but apparently Velocity USA is thinking that Oil Slick color is a thing again.

Only offered on complete wheel set builds, Oil Slick can be had on hubs, spokes, and brass or alloy nipples too. 

Of course, all that faux-petroleum light bending comes at a cost. You'll spend an extra 100 bucks for hubs, 28-38 bucks extra for spokes, and an extra 13-14 bucks for nipples. You can get nips, or spokes, or hubs only in Oil Slick, but again- only on custom wheel builds from Velocity. 

That's it for this week! Have a great weekend! Thanks for reading Guitar Ted Productions!

Friday News And Views

The new SOMA Gullwing Bar. Image courtesy of SOMA.

 New "Alt-Bar" From SOMA:

Ever since I have been writing this blog, (17 years, but who's counting!), I've been into the 'alt-bar' thing. So when I see a new one, I always check it out. The latest weirdo bar is from SOMA and is called the "Gullwing Bar". 

This one isn't weird because of its shape, which has been done pretty similarly by others. No, this one is different because of the shape AND that it is drop-bar control standard only. 

That means- don't try this with flat bar controls. So, as with many alt-bars, the question is always, "Why?!" Read the link above for SOMA's take on it. Basically it is an answer for those who don't like drops, have a bike with drops, and want to convert to a flat bar without having to buy new levers, shifters, and probably a derailluer or two. 

Comments: I see the reason why, and I get it, but my initial reaction is "mustache bar". I mean, essentially this is a mustache bar variant. That's fine, but functionally this bar only really varies the extension angle and otherwise it doesn't really do much for me. 

It does offer some unique hand positions and it probably would be great for some folks. So, a good alt bar here, just not one I see as being something I'd want for any bikes I have. I'd strongly recommend that if you think this looks interesting that a Whiskey Winston Bar might be even better from the standpoint of being able to use MTB or road controls and you can put MTB grips on that bar. Otherwise, the Gullwing Bar is another interesting choice. 

Wheelbased showed this image by VitalMTB on their Instagram.

SRAM To Debut New "Hangarless" Rear Derailleur:

This appeared in my Instagram feed last week from @wheelbased. (A link to the Wheelbased site is on the sidebar when that blog posts new material) 

The image, showing a new design by SRAM for a rear derailleur, features a new way to attach the rear derailleur to a frame by using a hollow bolt, a yoked upper derailleur body, and the wheel's through axle pierces the derailleur mount and frame. 

The design essentially makes a yoked hangar part of the rear derailleur itself which vastly increases rear derailleur stability leading to crisper shifting and less "ghost shifts". However; you might ask yourself, "Doesn't this put the frame and derailleur at risk of being destroyed in a crash or by trail obstacles? You would be correct if you think, "yes". 

But shifting stability and performance is critical now more than ever with the finicky nature and narrow performance window of 11, 12, and 13 speed drive trains. Consider also that rear derailleur hangars rarely break, they bend, and rear derailleurs which get the least amount out of shape are now for the bin.  

So, maybe you would trash a frame using this system, but more than likely you are going to destroy the derailleur. That's a sacrifice many are willing to make for better and more stable shifts on 11,12, and 13 speed drive trains. Plus, hangars are expensive anyway, weak, and don't really do what they were meant to do anymore. 

But the question no one is asking is "How did we get here?". Well, using really big cogs, wide range cassettes, and more gears on there- that's how. Really..... But go further. How did we get here? By accepting that front derailleurs weren't a good thing and that 1X is  "better". That's how this happened, really. 

Make of that what you will.

Controversy In Women's Elite Level Racing At Gravel Worlds:

Earlier this week I found a thread in the Riding Gravel site's forum dealing with an issue with the racing at the front of the Women's field at Gravel Worlds. To be honest, this is an issue, and will continue to be an issue, until we make elite level Men's and Women's events separate from all other gravel racing. 

I referred to this again in my post earlier in the week this week as well. No need to tread all that ground again, But, it is apparent that what Pro and Elite racers need and what the "95%" of the rest of us do not want is what is being described in this blog post from the second place Women's Pro finisher at Gravel Worlds. We don't want to see team cars, team support, team leaders deriding other riders, or heckling them, or causing doubt to gain advantage over racers. We don't need a "sanctioning body" to know that all that is wrong. 

We don't need a sanctioning body, but we do need strong leadership at the time of the events. We need immediate officiating, and yeah.....that's really a big ask when you have thousands of racers. But again- rules are nothing unless they are enforced, and if you cannot do that, then don't have that big of an event- or change your event to not have that sort of competitor, or find a way to make what you are doing work. My viewpoint is that there can be a way to figure this out. First off, much of the bickering is coming from mixing fast men with women's fields who are using those "wheels" to gain an advantage. So, separating them (different courses, different days for the events) is what needs to happen and would mitigate that issue. Secondly, supporting yourself means you carry it in- you carry it out. No hand-ups, and no team cars, (which- by the way- was explicitly mentioned in the run up to Gravel Worlds.) Officiating that with a separated Pro/Elite event would be a LOT easier than running several event distances concurrently with thousands of participants.

Tragedy At Vermont Overland Results In Kenyan Cyclist's Death:

 Saturday a high-speed crash resulted in the death of  Suleiman "Sule" Kangangi. He was a member of Team AMANI who were here in the USA on a swing of gravel events which the Vermont Overland was to be the last of before returning home to Kenya. Suleiman Kangangi was 33 years of age. 

He had participated in the SBT GRVL and Gravel Worlds before the Vermont Overland event. No further details were offered on the incident which caused Mr. Kangangi to succumb to his injuries. 

Comments: I am deeply saddened and I feel for all parties involved in this incident. Of course, my heartfelt condolences go out to Mr. Kangangi's family and friends. This is not a thing any of use want to think about happening to anyone in the gravel scene.

I've spoken of the fear I lived with that I would be presiding over an event where this sort of thing might happen, and my thoughts go out to those who run the Vermont Overland event. My hope is that everyone- the event organizers, the family and friends of Mr. Kangangi, and those close to this will find peace and comfort. 

An example of Velocity USA's "Oil Slick". Image courtesy of Velocity USA.

Velocity USA Announces Oil Slick Color Options:

Oil Slick color options were being offered quite a bit on some MTB components pre-pandemic. That sort of went away for a bit, but apparently Velocity USA is thinking that Oil Slick color is a thing again.

Only offered on complete wheel set builds, Oil Slick can be had on hubs, spokes, and brass or alloy nipples too. 

Of course, all that faux-petroleum light bending comes at a cost. You'll spend an extra 100 bucks for hubs, 28-38 bucks extra for spokes, and an extra 13-14 bucks for nipples. You can get nips, or spokes, or hubs only in Oil Slick, but again- only on custom wheel builds from Velocity. 

That's it for this week! Have a great weekend! Thanks for reading Guitar Ted Productions!

Paul Components WORD Disc Hub Review: Part 1

This arrived on Saturday.....

 Since mid-2021 I have been keen on getting the Twin Six Standard Rando v2 on a single speed specific rear wheel set up. That was after I swapped back to a drop bar set up and I realized that this bike makes a great purpose-built single speed. 

But as I have stated in another post, finding a 12mm through axle, single speed only hub is not an easy task. Ten, maybe fifteen years ago, when single speed was in its hey-day due to the popularity of single speed 29"ers, you could find a lot of single speed specific rear hubs. However; those were almost always just quick release, or a combination of that and bolted on options. Neither will work on a through-axle frame like the Standard Rando v2. 

I knew Paul Component Engineering made one, and it was a thread-on free wheel style hub, which actually is what I'd rather have than a truncated cassette style. That is because the thread-on style usually is made in such a way that the resulting wheel build has a zero dish set up. That is "stronger" and "stiffer". Both good things on a high-torque situation as with single speed bikes. Now, Paul Components are not cheap, in terms of dollars, so I was waiting to see if I could somehow score one via the old shop job. Well, that never happened. So, I ponied up my own funds via some income from RidingGravel.com, and I got a hold of that hub this past weekend. 

So, in this post I wanted to document my experience with ordering this hub, because it was pretty good for these times, and also Paul Components does a really great job with the process and experience in general. As most of you probably do these days, I order a lot of stuff online, so when I have a great experience and good service, I will tell you about it, as long as it is bicycle related. I should say that Paul Component Engineering doesn't have any idea at all that I am doing this and that I paid full retail for the hub. Okay, here we go in pictures.....

Scared of clowns? Don't look too closely at this box's graphic design! 

No plastic- everything sent to me besides a vinyl sticker was recyclable

It may seem silly to some of you, but a nice "thank you" and a treat of hard candies goes a long way.

And of course, the WORD Disc Hub itself was in there.

When I ordered this hub I saw warnings and received another when I placed the order that it may take a few weeks - or more- depending upon COVID and whatnot, to get this hub. Of course, I had been on a waiting list for months, since last Summer. (That's why I didn't get the shop discount) So, I was okay with that. But all along afterword Paul Components sent out regular updates to me and thanked me for my patience. That was greatly appreciated and I never felt at any point that my order had been neglected or that I had been forgotten about.

Tracking of the package once it was in the USPS system was flawless. This is generally NOT the case with USPS as I can attest to. I have parts coming for my amplifier repairs (guitar stuff) and that at the same time as the Paul order and USPS tracking is about as good as detecting ghosts in the attic. I'm not sure if Paul Components took cookies down to their local USPS office for the Holidays to 'grease the wheels', but that tracking experience was top notch. 

The manual with the hub has all the dimensions you need to build up a wheel

Another nice touch, besides the things shown above, was that the manual which came with the hub had all the hub dimensions necessary for me to calculate spoke lengths. All I required was the ERD measurement for the Velocity Blunt SS rim, which Velocity publishes on their site, and a short innergoogles trip to the United Bicycle Institute's spoke calculator page later and I was set. 

Then I visited my stash of Wheelsmith spokes and nipples and I found that I had all the things I needed to build up this wheel. So, I Spoke Prep'd the Wheelsmith spokes I pulled for this job on Sunday and laced this wheel up. But before I get into all of that....

Disc WORD Hub = 200 grams

Velocity USA Blunt SS 700c rim = 420 grams

Okay, so I decided to go with my "Guitar Ted Productions "Standard Build"" design which is all silver spokes on one side and all black spokes on the other side. This time I used all silver brass (natch) nipples. Being that there was no dish on the build to accommodate for a cassette or for the disc brake, the wheel was simple enough to build up and it looks as though it should tension up very well. 

So far- so good.

I'll likely have tensioned this up by the time that you are reading this on the post date. Next after that will be swapping over my White Industries freewheel. Then taping, valve stems, tires, sealant, a rotor, and I'm good to go. That will cover the rear wheel.

Then I'm going to take the Project Wide Gravel Wheels v2 and do a rim swap from the Spank 350's to my set of 28 hole Velocity Blunts. Then I will have a single speed rear which will stay with the Standard Rando, but the front could come off, be paired with the cassette rear, and set up on the BMC or the Noble bike, or whatever may come in the future. That will make the DT Swiss 350 hubs useful also instead of sitting around on rims too wide to use on my gravel bikes. 

Then, in the future, I will probably get some Boost spaced hubs, lace those Spank rims to those, and maybe build up a modern day MTB-ish bike. But we'll see. As for this hub/wheel here I will give a progress report on the final details on the set up. That will be coming soon. Then at some point I'll do a ride report on the hub. So, as for now, I can recommend the Paul Component Engineering ordering experience and the experience of receiving the box and contents was very nice. Stay tuned......

Paul Components WORD Disc Hub Review: Part 1

This arrived on Saturday.....

 Since mid-2021 I have been keen on getting the Twin Six Standard Rando v2 on a single speed specific rear wheel set up. That was after I swapped back to a drop bar set up and I realized that this bike makes a great purpose-built single speed. 

But as I have stated in another post, finding a 12mm through axle, single speed only hub is not an easy task. Ten, maybe fifteen years ago, when single speed was in its hey-day due to the popularity of single speed 29"ers, you could find a lot of single speed specific rear hubs. However; those were almost always just quick release, or a combination of that and bolted on options. Neither will work on a through-axle frame like the Standard Rando v2. 

I knew Paul Component Engineering made one, and it was a thread-on free wheel style hub, which actually is what I'd rather have than a truncated cassette style. That is because the thread-on style usually is made in such a way that the resulting wheel build has a zero dish set up. That is "stronger" and "stiffer". Both good things on a high-torque situation as with single speed bikes. Now, Paul Components are not cheap, in terms of dollars, so I was waiting to see if I could somehow score one via the old shop job. Well, that never happened. So, I ponied up my own funds via some income from RidingGravel.com, and I got a hold of that hub this past weekend. 

So, in this post I wanted to document my experience with ordering this hub, because it was pretty good for these times, and also Paul Components does a really great job with the process and experience in general. As most of you probably do these days, I order a lot of stuff online, so when I have a great experience and good service, I will tell you about it, as long as it is bicycle related. I should say that Paul Component Engineering doesn't have any idea at all that I am doing this and that I paid full retail for the hub. Okay, here we go in pictures.....

Scared of clowns? Don't look too closely at this box's graphic design! 

No plastic- everything sent to me besides a vinyl sticker was recyclable

It may seem silly to some of you, but a nice "thank you" and a treat of hard candies goes a long way.

And of course, the WORD Disc Hub itself was in there.

When I ordered this hub I saw warnings and received another when I placed the order that it may take a few weeks - or more- depending upon COVID and whatnot, to get this hub. Of course, I had been on a waiting list for months, since last Summer. (That's why I didn't get the shop discount) So, I was okay with that. But all along afterword Paul Components sent out regular updates to me and thanked me for my patience. That was greatly appreciated and I never felt at any point that my order had been neglected or that I had been forgotten about.

Tracking of the package once it was in the USPS system was flawless. This is generally NOT the case with USPS as I can attest to. I have parts coming for my amplifier repairs (guitar stuff) and that at the same time as the Paul order and USPS tracking is about as good as detecting ghosts in the attic. I'm not sure if Paul Components took cookies down to their local USPS office for the Holidays to 'grease the wheels', but that tracking experience was top notch. 

The manual with the hub has all the dimensions you need to build up a wheel

Another nice touch, besides the things shown above, was that the manual which came with the hub had all the hub dimensions necessary for me to calculate spoke lengths. All I required was the ERD measurement for the Velocity Blunt SS rim, which Velocity publishes on their site, and a short innergoogles trip to the United Bicycle Institute's spoke calculator page later and I was set. 

Then I visited my stash of Wheelsmith spokes and nipples and I found that I had all the things I needed to build up this wheel. So, I Spoke Prep'd the Wheelsmith spokes I pulled for this job on Sunday and laced this wheel up. But before I get into all of that....

Disc WORD Hub = 200 grams

Velocity USA Blunt SS 700c rim = 420 grams

Okay, so I decided to go with my "Guitar Ted Productions "Standard Build"" design which is all silver spokes on one side and all black spokes on the other side. This time I used all silver brass (natch) nipples. Being that there was no dish on the build to accommodate for a cassette or for the disc brake, the wheel was simple enough to build up and it looks as though it should tension up very well. 

So far- so good.

I'll likely have tensioned this up by the time that you are reading this on the post date. Next after that will be swapping over my White Industries freewheel. Then taping, valve stems, tires, sealant, a rotor, and I'm good to go. That will cover the rear wheel.

Then I'm going to take the Project Wide Gravel Wheels v2 and do a rim swap from the Spank 350's to my set of 28 hole Velocity Blunts. Then I will have a single speed rear which will stay with the Standard Rando, but the front could come off, be paired with the cassette rear, and set up on the BMC or the Noble bike, or whatever may come in the future. That will make the DT Swiss 350 hubs useful also instead of sitting around on rims too wide to use on my gravel bikes. 

Then, in the future, I will probably get some Boost spaced hubs, lace those Spank rims to those, and maybe build up a modern day MTB-ish bike. But we'll see. As for this hub/wheel here I will give a progress report on the final details on the set up. That will be coming soon. Then at some point I'll do a ride report on the hub. So, as for now, I can recommend the Paul Component Engineering ordering experience and the experience of receiving the box and contents was very nice. Stay tuned......

Project Wide Gravel Wheels v2: The Rims

The Spank 359 Rims

 I've been detailing my new wheel build and the obvious 'star' of this show is the Spank 359 rims. Yes.....these are really mountain bike rims. I get that, but as I have said, the whole 'wider is better' inner rim width thing is blurring the lines between road and mountain anyway. May as well go to the wide side, right? That's kind of the point here- to find out where the line is at. 

So, in this post I am going to take a closer look at these rims and what- if anything- would recommend them for riding on gravel roads. The big selling point with these rims is the 'radial compliance' which Spank claims smooths out the ride a bit more over standard rims out there. I thought I'd focus in on that claim a bit first, as it is the main one that would make sense in terms of usage for gravel riding.

First of all, Spank uses a shallow rim depth of 19mm. This is done to help induce some flex in the vertical plane. Kind of like how fat bike wheels in aluminum often are- wide but very thin- these rims would have a bit more of an aptitude towards flexing vertically. The width of 35mm (outer) helps keep the rims laterally stiff, at least that is what Spank claims. There is a version of this rim with Spank's "Vibrocore" which is a foam filled interior of the rim, but this rim I have does not feature this technology. 

To give you an idea of how ridiculous and stupid this idea is, the 359 is Spank's down hill mountain biking rim! But in comparison to many 'gravel rims', this rim is only about 100 grams per rim heavier. And this is not a rim for racing, or even for thoughts of 'going fast', but I am thinking this is the rim for adventure and maybe bike packing with a gravel bike. My intentions are to use a tire of 45mm or wider, so nothing crazy like a 700 X 38mm tire will see these rims. So, at first glance this seems like a really dumb idea, but...... Maybe it will work well. If not, I can always convert to use with a MTB at some point, or just blow apart the rims from the hubs and start from scratch.

The 359 rims feature a 'hump' in the profile where the spoke drillings are.

The 359 rims get some lateral rigidity from the way Spank had the extrusion made which features a mid-hump in the rim well. Instead of the traditional "U" shaped inner rim well this one looks more like a wave with the crest at the point where the spokes go through. There is also a unique ridging in the bead seat which Spank claims locks into the bead of the tire and allows lower pressure usage without tire burping. 

So, that's the deal here. I'll be awaiting spoke nipples and then these wheels will be getting built up. But there has been another recent development which will provide me with the opportunity to test my original hypothesis right along side of these ridiculously wide wheels. You may remember that this project was to be done with a set of Velocity Blunt SS rims? Well......they showed up the other day! 

I could have just swapped out rims and proceeded as planned, but I happen to have a wheel set languishing in the Lab which has rims I do not prefer, and they have 28 hole hubs with Center Lock disc mounts and 12mm through axle compatibility! So, I will be blowing that wheel set apart and utilizing the hubs which will be laced to the Velocity Blunt SS rims. It's a twofer! 

Stay tuned.....

Project Wide Gravel Wheels v2: The Rims

The Spank 359 Rims

 I've been detailing my new wheel build and the obvious 'star' of this show is the Spank 359 rims. Yes.....these are really mountain bike rims. I get that, but as I have said, the whole 'wider is better' inner rim width thing is blurring the lines between road and mountain anyway. May as well go to the wide side, right? That's kind of the point here- to find out where the line is at. 

So, in this post I am going to take a closer look at these rims and what- if anything- would recommend them for riding on gravel roads. The big selling point with these rims is the 'radial compliance' which Spank claims smooths out the ride a bit more over standard rims out there. I thought I'd focus in on that claim a bit first, as it is the main one that would make sense in terms of usage for gravel riding.

First of all, Spank uses a shallow rim depth of 19mm. This is done to help induce some flex in the vertical plane. Kind of like how fat bike wheels in aluminum often are- wide but very thin- these rims would have a bit more of an aptitude towards flexing vertically. The width of 35mm (outer) helps keep the rims laterally stiff, at least that is what Spank claims. There is a version of this rim with Spank's "Vibrocore" which is a foam filled interior of the rim, but this rim I have does not feature this technology. 

To give you an idea of how ridiculous and stupid this idea is, the 359 is Spank's down hill mountain biking rim! But in comparison to many 'gravel rims', this rim is only about 100 grams per rim heavier. And this is not a rim for racing, or even for thoughts of 'going fast', but I am thinking this is the rim for adventure and maybe bike packing with a gravel bike. My intentions are to use a tire of 45mm or wider, so nothing crazy like a 700 X 38mm tire will see these rims. So, at first glance this seems like a really dumb idea, but...... Maybe it will work well. If not, I can always convert to use with a MTB at some point, or just blow apart the rims from the hubs and start from scratch.

The 359 rims feature a 'hump' in the profile where the spoke drillings are.

The 359 rims get some lateral rigidity from the way Spank had the extrusion made which features a mid-hump in the rim well. Instead of the traditional "U" shaped inner rim well this one looks more like a wave with the crest at the point where the spokes go through. There is also a unique ridging in the bead seat which Spank claims locks into the bead of the tire and allows lower pressure usage without tire burping. 

So, that's the deal here. I'll be awaiting spoke nipples and then these wheels will be getting built up. But there has been another recent development which will provide me with the opportunity to test my original hypothesis right along side of these ridiculously wide wheels. You may remember that this project was to be done with a set of Velocity Blunt SS rims? Well......they showed up the other day! 

I could have just swapped out rims and proceeded as planned, but I happen to have a wheel set languishing in the Lab which has rims I do not prefer, and they have 28 hole hubs with Center Lock disc mounts and 12mm through axle compatibility! So, I will be blowing that wheel set apart and utilizing the hubs which will be laced to the Velocity Blunt SS rims. It's a twofer! 

Stay tuned.....

Is The Un-Dark Component Era Returning?

Zipp now offers Service course level parts in silver ano.

Silver anodized parts used to be "normal". Back when I first got into working at bicycle shops, only mountain bikes used black on components and that was frowned upon as being "uncouth" by many roadies and even by some mountain bikers themselves. Heck, silver and black were often seen as "boring" while, you know "ultraviolet stems, cranks and every other bit.....well THAT was where it was at!

Then the 90's came to a close and silver stuff was relegated to road bikes, while black overtook the look of mountain bikes. By the mid-00's, even road bikes with silver bits were rare. It was black anodization or nothing. At least it seemed that way. There were a few islands in the darkness though.

There were companies like Velo Orange and Rivendell Bicycle Works holding down the old guard silver components parts, amongst some other smaller brands. But for the most part, no- you were getting blackened everything! No silver for you! But then things started to turn. Slowly, but surely, silver started popping up. Ritchey Design brought out a line of "Classic" bits, which I jumped on to outfit my Black Mountain Cycles "Monster Cross" rig. Later Salsa Cycles announced that the Cowbell and Cowchipper were available in silver. And now we see roadie stalwarts Zipp offering silver bits. It makes me wonder, "Are we turning a page and going back to silver anodized componentry?"

The ol' Orange Crush rig with silver anodized Ritchey stem, seatpost, and a rare silver non-series Shimano crankset. 

Of course, wheels have been available in silver for a while, mostly thanks to Velocity USA who do a polished silver look or silver ano on their rims, and they offer silver hubs as well. Some other companies are doing silver hubs, but there are not many rim choices, really. But, it's getting to the point again where a guy or gal can switch for some bright-work instead of the same ol' boring dark matter all over their bicycles.

All this mining of silver ano makes me wonder if we aren't on the cusp of a change. I hope that we are going to see silver make a big comeback. And if we are, can we have that pearly, glowing anodization they used to put on old Campy parts, Sugino cranks, and first generation XTR? Because THAT was silver ano done right!

A guy can wish........

Is The Un-Dark Component Era Returning?

Zipp now offers Service course level parts in silver ano.

Silver anodized parts used to be "normal". Back when I first got into working at bicycle shops, only mountain bikes used black on components and that was frowned upon as being "uncouth" by many roadies and even by some mountain bikers themselves. Heck, silver and black were often seen as "boring" while, you know "ultraviolet stems, cranks and every other bit.....well THAT was where it was at!

Then the 90's came to a close and silver stuff was relegated to road bikes, while black overtook the look of mountain bikes. By the mid-00's, even road bikes with silver bits were rare. It was black anodization or nothing. At least it seemed that way. There were a few islands in the darkness though.

There were companies like Velo Orange and Rivendell Bicycle Works holding down the old guard silver components parts, amongst some other smaller brands. But for the most part, no- you were getting blackened everything! No silver for you! But then things started to turn. Slowly, but surely, silver started popping up. Ritchey Design brought out a line of "Classic" bits, which I jumped on to outfit my Black Mountain Cycles "Monster Cross" rig. Later Salsa Cycles announced that the Cowbell and Cowchipper were available in silver. And now we see roadie stalwarts Zipp offering silver bits. It makes me wonder, "Are we turning a page and going back to silver anodized componentry?"

The ol' Orange Crush rig with silver anodized Ritchey stem, seatpost, and a rare silver non-series Shimano crankset. 

Of course, wheels have been available in silver for a while, mostly thanks to Velocity USA who do a polished silver look or silver ano on their rims, and they offer silver hubs as well. Some other companies are doing silver hubs, but there are not many rim choices, really. But, it's getting to the point again where a guy or gal can switch for some bright-work instead of the same ol' boring dark matter all over their bicycles.

All this mining of silver ano makes me wonder if we aren't on the cusp of a change. I hope that we are going to see silver make a big comeback. And if we are, can we have that pearly, glowing anodization they used to put on old Campy parts, Sugino cranks, and first generation XTR? Because THAT was silver ano done right!

A guy can wish........

New Commute

The Surly 1X1 with the fat tires. Sort of a "fat bike-lite" thing.

So, I am getting stuck in at my new job at Andy's Bike shop now since the weather has turned. The recent change in conditions has affected my commute route a bit. So, since I've started there I have utilized several ways to get to downtown Cedar Falls from the midst of Waterloo.

For a while there I had to detour all the way around into downtown Waterloo to avoid some deep snow. Obviously that has melted, but between now and then ice patches were a big issue. Even up until last Friday this was something that forced me to use the fat bike just to have a better grip level and stay upright.

But now it isn't ice, it is mud. I have about two spots in about ten miles that need a fat bike. They are pretty soupy, soft areas. But the rest of the dirt and grass parts, and there is a lot, I could handle it with a wide MTB tire. A tire like an Extraterrestrial is even better. Less knobs on there, but BIG volume. I run about 20 psi or so, and that works with the Velocity Cliffhanger rims, (tubeless- natch), really well on the muddy parts.

The commute is pretty good. Longer by a factor of 2 than the old one, but more bicycle riding is always good. I can get there in about 40 minutes comfortably. On a single speed. So, that's good and I didn't have to adjust too much to the extra commute time. I like it because it strays from the busy roads, mostly, but I do have a couple places where I have to really be careful. However; I have more dirt, back streets, and shortcuts than ever. I like that. Plus I now have options for longer "dirt home from work" rides or to even get in a bit of gravel travel.

Work is kicking into gear now and I'll be doing this commute more often than I have been soon. My "vacation" looks to be over. It's been fun, relaxing, and a recharge that I definitely needed, but it is time to get back to work now. There's this pesky thing called "money" that needs to be taken care of........

New Commute

The Surly 1X1 with the fat tires. Sort of a "fat bike-lite" thing.

So, I am getting stuck in at my new job at Andy's Bike shop now since the weather has turned. The recent change in conditions has affected my commute route a bit. So, since I've started there I have utilized several ways to get to downtown Cedar Falls from the midst of Waterloo.

For a while there I had to detour all the way around into downtown Waterloo to avoid some deep snow. Obviously that has melted, but between now and then ice patches were a big issue. Even up until last Friday this was something that forced me to use the fat bike just to have a better grip level and stay upright.

But now it isn't ice, it is mud. I have about two spots in about ten miles that need a fat bike. They are pretty soupy, soft areas. But the rest of the dirt and grass parts, and there is a lot, I could handle it with a wide MTB tire. A tire like an Extraterrestrial is even better. Less knobs on there, but BIG volume. I run about 20 psi or so, and that works with the Velocity Cliffhanger rims, (tubeless- natch), really well on the muddy parts.

The commute is pretty good. Longer by a factor of 2 than the old one, but more bicycle riding is always good. I can get there in about 40 minutes comfortably. On a single speed. So, that's good and I didn't have to adjust too much to the extra commute time. I like it because it strays from the busy roads, mostly, but I do have a couple places where I have to really be careful. However; I have more dirt, back streets, and shortcuts than ever. I like that. Plus I now have options for longer "dirt home from work" rides or to even get in a bit of gravel travel.

Work is kicking into gear now and I'll be doing this commute more often than I have been soon. My "vacation" looks to be over. It's been fun, relaxing, and a recharge that I definitely needed, but it is time to get back to work now. There's this pesky thing called "money" that needs to be taken care of........

Minus Ten Review 2009-34

Check out this 2010 Raleigh XXIX Pro. Remember when head tube angles were steep?

Ten years ago on the blog I was yakking about a new rim. A really wide rim. It was called the P-35 and was going to be offered by Velocity. It was the precursor to all this wider rim stuff we all take for granted now days.

There was also a big announcement from Trans Iowa. Jeff Kerkove knocked out another of his humorous Trans Iowa headers. I enjoyed having Jeff do these and he genuinely seemed to not be bothered by my requests for his artistic talents. The header for v6 was a mostly white background with black lettering and a "spilled pill bottle" theme. It actually inspired one entrant to send me a prescription bottle filled with gravel as his "post card" for that year. Pretty crazy. (And yes- I still have that bottle filled with gravel)

Then another thing that happened annually for a few years was when Raleigh was headed up by Brian Fornes. They were arguably the coolest during his tenure at the helm of that company. The 29"ers Raleigh made, especially the XXIX Pro models, were to die for. They rode awesomely, the spec was unreal, and the frames were top notch steel.

By the time they were hitting their stride I had far too many bikes sitting around and I never could bring myself to getting one. I maybe should have, because I likely would still have it. The geometry wasn't so laid back, low, and stretched as it is today and those bikes would have been perfect for around here.

But, times changed, geometry went whacko, and now most hard tails are so slacked out and short in the rear end that they are like riding wheel barrows here. maybe someday it'll all pull back toward something that makes sense for slicing through Mid-West single track.

Oh, and you probably are yelling at the computer now wondering why I didn't post an image of that T.I.v6 header. Well, here ya go.....

Designed by Jeff Kerkove

Minus Ten Review 2009-34

Check out this 2010 Raleigh XXIX Pro. Remember when head tube angles were steep?

Ten years ago on the blog I was yakking about a new rim. A really wide rim. It was called the P-35 and was going to be offered by Velocity. It was the precursor to all this wider rim stuff we all take for granted now days.

There was also a big announcement from Trans Iowa. Jeff Kerkove knocked out another of his humorous Trans Iowa headers. I enjoyed having Jeff do these and he genuinely seemed to not be bothered by my requests for his artistic talents. The header for v6 was a mostly white background with black lettering and a "spilled pill bottle" theme. It actually inspired one entrant to send me a prescription bottle filled with gravel as his "post card" for that year. Pretty crazy. (And yes- I still have that bottle filled with gravel)

Then another thing that happened annually for a few years was when Raleigh was headed up by Brian Fornes. They were arguably the coolest during his tenure at the helm of that company. The 29"ers Raleigh made, especially the XXIX Pro models, were to die for. They rode awesomely, the spec was unreal, and the frames were top notch steel.

By the time they were hitting their stride I had far too many bikes sitting around and I never could bring myself to getting one. I maybe should have, because I likely would still have it. The geometry wasn't so laid back, low, and stretched as it is today and those bikes would have been perfect for around here.

But, times changed, geometry went whacko, and now most hard tails are so slacked out and short in the rear end that they are like riding wheel barrows here. maybe someday it'll all pull back toward something that makes sense for slicing through Mid-West single track.

Oh, and you probably are yelling at the computer now wondering why I didn't post an image of that T.I.v6 header. Well, here ya go.....

Designed by Jeff Kerkove

Friday News And Views

The Blackburn "Honest" digital air gauge

Keepin' The Air Honest:

When you ride in colder temperatures, and especially if you ride voluminous tires, you should be monitoring air pressure more vigilantly. Why? Because if you set your plus bike's tires at, say 18psi, and you do that indoors, your pressure will be different outside at 28°F on the trail. In fact, it will be lower, and as you may know, 1psi can be a huge difference in feel, grip, and makes the difference between "fun" and, well.......not fun. 

Digital air gauges are nothing new. In fact, I've had one before. It was a PRO (Shimano accesory brand) digital gauge that was awesome. It was small, read very accurately, and was easy to use. Unfortunately, when the small battery went dead and I opened up the unit with expectations of replacing it, I found out I couldn't. The geniuses that manufactured the gauge tack welded in the battery.

Brilliant!  

So, I got a mechanical gauge, and my son got a hold of it, dropped it, and broke the glass over the gauge face.

Doh!

I went without a gauge last year, but I knew I needed another, and the shop where I work just got in these Blackburn "Honest" digital air gauges. I figured I'd give it a try. It has a pivoting head, holds the reading until you dismiss it, and reads in Bar or PSI. It's light and is about the size of a slightly plump BIC lighter. (Does anyone even use those anymore?) You can get one for about $24.99. NOTE- I bought this with my own damn money.

Velocity USA- More than just rims and hubs.

Taped Up:

My old polished set of A-23's from Velocity USA were quite tarnished and soiled. It was time for a clean up. This included changing the tape, which had been on there since 2012, and through various tire changes. It was time to re-do the tape, clean up the rim well, and get the wheels ready for a tire test I have to do.

Now, I could use Stan's yellow tape, and that would be fine, but did you know that Velocity USA also makes a tubeless tape and valve kit for their various wheels and rims? Yes, and it is good stuff too. So, since they make stuff made to measure for their rims, I ordered up and purchased this tubeless tape and valve kit. The tape has just the right consistency. A great mix of stretch, toughness, and sticky adhesive. It isn't like Stan's, but it is similar. The valves come with nice plastic spacers which sit between the rim and the Presta valve nut which helps lock in the valve inside the rim well better.

My old A-23's are polished, as I said, and are laced to polished Velocity branded hubs too. Classic looking stuff, but re-polishing cruddy, neglected rims is a chore! Ha! No one to blame but myself there! It took quite a while, but I got them looking pretty spiffy again. Next will be the new tape, valves, and then on to mounting the tires I need to test. By the way, if you haven't replaced your tape and/or valves in several years, you should. It may help to avoid a failure. Valves corrode and tape adhesive degrades over time. Another thing you should be doing is to replace your removable valve cores about every other time you re-up on sealant.  

Anyway, these wheels will be going on the "Orange Crush" Black Mountain Cycles bike which is being converted to single speed. I found some killer 80's era Sugino AX cranks in 180mm length in my stash that are going on there with a UN-55 sealed cartridge bottom bracket. It's going to be awesome. Stay tuned........

Special (Undeserved) Delivery:

The "gravel family" continues to amaze me with their thoughtfulness and generosity. The latest example comes from the IC Gravel event, which occurred October 27th. Originally I was scheduled to take part in the event. However; something came up within the family, (my own), and I had to cancel. I regretted doing so, and sent my notice and apology in to the race director.

I figured that was that. I would try to rectify my absenteeism next year. Although, I still am serving a self-imposed ban from the Spotted Horse for bailing on them two years in a row. Maybe I should do that in this instance. If there was anything that stuck in my craw about Trans Iowa was drop outs for no reason. While I had my reasons, I still feel like a heel for not coming, but I digress.......

Anyway.... The day was like any other day yesterday, but when my son brought the mail in, he had a package. Hmmm......... What could this be? I opened it up and it was my race packet for the IC Gravel replete with my race number, t-shirt, patches, and stickers. Wow! I was blown away!

Look, I didn't expect any of this because I didn't deserve it. Why should I get something others got because they toed the line? But that's not how IC Gravel saw it, and I have to say I am humbled. Thank you! I will wear the event t-shirt proudly and tell everyone that sees it about this great gravel event.

That's it for this week. It may have snowed where you are, but don't let that stop you from riding!