Concept Bike Revisited; Part 2

Last week I re-introduced my decade old idea and quest for the "perfect all roads" bike. (click here to see that post) Remembering that in 2010 there were no gravel bikes being marketed as such, (hard to believe now, innit?) we now have to adjust our viewpoint due to the current situation. So, let's see how far off I was from things which I spec'ed in 2010. This will be focused primarily on geometry.

A quick refresher for you non-clicker types that may not have seen, or remembered, last week's post then before we continue. This also will serve as a good quick reference anyway.

• Head angle 71.5° (I said 72° might be okay)
• 73° seat tube angle.
• Bottom bracket drop in the 75-80mm range.
• Moderate length chain stays.
• Room for 42mm tires.

I need to address the fourth point because I wasn't very specific. I can say that we were thinking around 430mm there. So that's "shorter than a touring bike's chain stays" and definitely not as short as a cyclo cross bike's. Also, as a note on the tire clearance, that assumes plenty of mud clearance as well. In dry conditions, this ideal frame could run 45mm tires too, but my ideal, all-around tire width was thought to be a 42mm tire at that time. Keep in mind that there were no gravel specific tires at this point in history either. Yes- A lot has changed in a decade!

Now let's take a close look at a "modern" gravel bike. My Noble Bikes GX5 will be our subject here. It has a carbon fiber frame, internal cable routing, disc brakes in the flat mount style, and basically could be thought of as a prototypical gravel bike circa 2020.

The current state of the Noble Bikes GX5

So, if we consider the geometry here, things are not far off from my list of desires. Here is the geometry of the Noble Bikes GX5 from their site. This is for the 58cm size, by the way.

• Head Tube Angle: 71.5°
• Fork Offset: 52mm
• Seat Tube Angle: 72.5°
• Bottom Bracket Drop: 72.5mm
• Chain Stay Length: 440mm
• Tire Clearance: 40mm recommended*

Okay, so I'll contrast and compare starting from the top of the list. So, first is the head tube angle which is dead on what I was wanting here. The fork offset actually is a tick longer, which leads to a slightly quicker handling bike. That's maybe counter-intuitive to you, but that's how offset works given other parameters stay the same. Longer offset = quicker handling. Shorter is the reverse.

The seat tube angle is a half a degree slacker on the GX5. Note that the rest of the size range has 73° seat tube angles. Pretty close here. But now we come to bottom bracket drop and something which we could not consider in 2010 affects this a bit. That being wide 650B tires for gravel travel.

Fatter 650B tires allow for a different ride characteristic and performance.

These tires allowed for a wider, more voluminous tire to be fitted to a bike that might otherwise not be able to handle a 47mm-50mm tire in 700c. The slightly smaller diameter meant that your bottom bracket would end up being closer to the ground though. This could be a problem. It all depends on your bike and its bottom bracket drop.

So, as an example, I had a Twin Six Standard Rando for a while. This bike has a 75mm bottom bracket drop. Right in the range I wanted for this "concept bike". The Standard Rando worked well with 650B tires and wheels, but I would clip a pedal now and again running the 47mm width tires. How close was it? With 172.5mm crank arms I could dip my heel in my size 46 shoes and drag my heel off the tops of the rocks on the road. Any lower in bottom bracket height and I'd be in trouble with 650B X 47mm tires.

So, I've modified my bottom bracket height requirements for a bike that would run dual wheel sizes. Now if you weren't ever going to run 650B wheels and tires, then dip that bottom bracket lower. It'll be fine. Same thing with bigger tires. If you'd never run anything smaller than a 700c X 45mm, then the bottom bracket could be made to be lower as well.

Note also that Noble Bikes GX5's in smaller than 58cm sizes are running 75mm bottom bracket drop. So, this bike would be a candidate for 650B wheels, but........ What about tire clearances? 

The Noble Bikes GX5 with 650B wheels and tires mounted.

 *Well, Noble listed the GX5 as being good for only a 700c X 40mm tire. That said, this is based upon a very conservative industry standard. Noble cannot recommend anything larger per this requirement, but that doesn't mean bigger tires won't fit. 700 X 42's will work fine, and you can even shoehorn in a 650B X 47mm wheel and tire. There is not a ton of clearance with 650B X 47 on this bike though, so no wetter or muddy gravel or dirt.

Finally, the chain stays on the GX5 are 440mm long, and 10mm longer than I figured necessary. Okay, I will admit that the GX5 is a really stable, really smooth riding bike, and no doubt, that extra chain stay length probably lends a bit to the tire clearances, but it is longer. Could this be done in a 430mm length? Probably, but perhaps at the expense of comfort. Maybe a compromise of 435mm? Maybe. I think a steel bike could be 430mm chain stay length, so I will allow that the carbon construction here perhaps is the main limitation. To get a shorter stay, you'd probably see that dropped drive side chain stay, like so many other carbon bikes have.

Now with that done, the next post will cover frame materials and things like water bottle bosses, fender mounts, and smaller details. Then I'll get on to my final vision for the concept bike. Stay tuned.......

Concept Bike Revisited; Part 2

Last week I re-introduced my decade old idea and quest for the "perfect all roads" bike. (click here to see that post) Remembering that in 2010 there were no gravel bikes being marketed as such, (hard to believe now, innit?) we now have to adjust our viewpoint due to the current situation. So, let's see how far off I was from things which I spec'ed in 2010. This will be focused primarily on geometry.

A quick refresher for you non-clicker types that may not have seen, or remembered, last week's post then before we continue. This also will serve as a good quick reference anyway.

• Head angle 71.5° (I said 72° might be okay)
• 73° seat tube angle.
• Bottom bracket drop in the 75-80mm range.
• Moderate length chain stays.
• Room for 42mm tires.

I need to address the fourth point because I wasn't very specific. I can say that we were thinking around 430mm there. So that's "shorter than a touring bike's chain stays" and definitely not as short as a cyclo cross bike's. Also, as a note on the tire clearance, that assumes plenty of mud clearance as well. In dry conditions, this ideal frame could run 45mm tires too, but my ideal, all-around tire width was thought to be a 42mm tire at that time. Keep in mind that there were no gravel specific tires at this point in history either. Yes- A lot has changed in a decade!

Now let's take a close look at a "modern" gravel bike. My Noble Bikes GX5 will be our subject here. It has a carbon fiber frame, internal cable routing, disc brakes in the flat mount style, and basically could be thought of as a prototypical gravel bike circa 2020.

The current state of the Noble Bikes GX5

So, if we consider the geometry here, things are not far off from my list of desires. Here is the geometry of the Noble Bikes GX5 from their site. This is for the 58cm size, by the way.

• Head Tube Angle: 71.5°
• Fork Offset: 52mm
• Seat Tube Angle: 72.5°
• Bottom Bracket Drop: 72.5mm
• Chain Stay Length: 440mm
• Tire Clearance: 40mm recommended*

Okay, so I'll contrast and compare starting from the top of the list. So, first is the head tube angle which is dead on what I was wanting here. The fork offset actually is a tick longer, which leads to a slightly quicker handling bike. That's maybe counter-intuitive to you, but that's how offset works given other parameters stay the same. Longer offset = quicker handling. Shorter is the reverse.

The seat tube angle is a half a degree slacker on the GX5. Note that the rest of the size range has 73° seat tube angles. Pretty close here. But now we come to bottom bracket drop and something which we could not consider in 2010 affects this a bit. That being wide 650B tires for gravel travel.

Fatter 650B tires allow for a different ride characteristic and performance.

These tires allowed for a wider, more voluminous tire to be fitted to a bike that might otherwise not be able to handle a 47mm-50mm tire in 700c. The slightly smaller diameter meant that your bottom bracket would end up being closer to the ground though. This could be a problem. It all depends on your bike and its bottom bracket drop.

So, as an example, I had a Twin Six Standard Rando for a while. This bike has a 75mm bottom bracket drop. Right in the range I wanted for this "concept bike". The Standard Rando worked well with 650B tires and wheels, but I would clip a pedal now and again running the 47mm width tires. How close was it? With 172.5mm crank arms I could dip my heel in my size 46 shoes and drag my heel off the tops of the rocks on the road. Any lower in bottom bracket height and I'd be in trouble with 650B X 47mm tires.

So, I've modified my bottom bracket height requirements for a bike that would run dual wheel sizes. Now if you weren't ever going to run 650B wheels and tires, then dip that bottom bracket lower. It'll be fine. Same thing with bigger tires. If you'd never run anything smaller than a 700c X 45mm, then the bottom bracket could be made to be lower as well.

Note also that Noble Bikes GX5's in smaller than 58cm sizes are running 75mm bottom bracket drop. So, this bike would be a candidate for 650B wheels, but........ What about tire clearances? 

The Noble Bikes GX5 with 650B wheels and tires mounted.

 *Well, Noble listed the GX5 as being good for only a 700c X 40mm tire. That said, this is based upon a very conservative industry standard. Noble cannot recommend anything larger per this requirement, but that doesn't mean bigger tires won't fit. 700 X 42's will work fine, and you can even shoehorn in a 650B X 47mm wheel and tire. There is not a ton of clearance with 650B X 47 on this bike though, so no wetter or muddy gravel or dirt.

Finally, the chain stays on the GX5 are 440mm long, and 10mm longer than I figured necessary. Okay, I will admit that the GX5 is a really stable, really smooth riding bike, and no doubt, that extra chain stay length probably lends a bit to the tire clearances, but it is longer. Could this be done in a 430mm length? Probably, but perhaps at the expense of comfort. Maybe a compromise of 435mm? Maybe. I think a steel bike could be 430mm chain stay length, so I will allow that the carbon construction here perhaps is the main limitation. To get a shorter stay, you'd probably see that dropped drive side chain stay, like so many other carbon bikes have.

Now with that done, the next post will cover frame materials and things like water bottle bosses, fender mounts, and smaller details. Then I'll get on to my final vision for the concept bike. Stay tuned.......

Not Quite Right

Preparing for Winter

Saturday morning rolled around and I tried rolling out of bed. unnnnh! oooh! OW! 

Something was not quite right. You know the feeling. When the joints ache, the head feels like someone is trying to crack it open from the inside, and are you dead tired, despite getting plenty of sleep. Yep! I was sick. Something.....whatever it was, was trying to bring me down. So, I knew I was out as far as riding a bicycle went.

I did get some work done that I'd been neglecting over the last few weeks. Can redemption, grocery shopping with Mrs. Guitar Ted, and some other little things. I took it pretty easy though, and I drank water throughout the day. I still felt "not quite right" when I went to bed though. It continued on into Sunday as well. So, the rain on Sunday was not a big deal to me.

Instead, I decided to get some Winter preparation work done. On bicycles, that is. I had thought about those studded tires, the 45NRTH Gravdals, and I found a spare set of wheels that weren't going anywhere soon, and slapped those together. These could go on the pink BMC MCD whenever I needed grip on ice. Of course, this level of preparation guarantees that I will not need them the rest of the Winter. (I hope) We'll see......

Then I decided to refresh the 650B Irwin Cycles wheels shod with the WTB Venture tires. This combination worked last March in a surprising way on some icy, snowy bike trails. I already know it works well on softer, wet gravel too. These are the sort of conditions we get in Winter on gravel roads, unless it goes all ice, or it gets so cold it becomes impossible to stay warm for longer than an hour. Then I will retreat into the woods and ride a fat bike.

Now, my body being not quite right isn't the only thing lately which hasn't been "quite right" and this has also been an issue for me. It has to do with my job at the bike shop. Things are in upheaval, and in the coming weeks, there could be some major changes. Well........there will be. Just what will happen has me, and the rest of my co-workers, in a state of stress which is not a lot of fun to be going through, as you might imagine. And I have to believe this has something to do with what happened with me this weekend as well.

I don't have a lot to complain about in life, and really, I have it pretty good. So, don't go and think my life is going down the toilet, or that things are super-bad here with me. There are folks with a LOT worse things going on than myself, and I realize that. But that said, I won't be looking back on 2019 with a ton of fondness. Especially on the professional side. Still, I am blessed, and that's what I'm focusing on.

Not Quite Right

Preparing for Winter

Saturday morning rolled around and I tried rolling out of bed. unnnnh! oooh! OW! 

Something was not quite right. You know the feeling. When the joints ache, the head feels like someone is trying to crack it open from the inside, and are you dead tired, despite getting plenty of sleep. Yep! I was sick. Something.....whatever it was, was trying to bring me down. So, I knew I was out as far as riding a bicycle went.

I did get some work done that I'd been neglecting over the last few weeks. Can redemption, grocery shopping with Mrs. Guitar Ted, and some other little things. I took it pretty easy though, and I drank water throughout the day. I still felt "not quite right" when I went to bed though. It continued on into Sunday as well. So, the rain on Sunday was not a big deal to me.

Instead, I decided to get some Winter preparation work done. On bicycles, that is. I had thought about those studded tires, the 45NRTH Gravdals, and I found a spare set of wheels that weren't going anywhere soon, and slapped those together. These could go on the pink BMC MCD whenever I needed grip on ice. Of course, this level of preparation guarantees that I will not need them the rest of the Winter. (I hope) We'll see......

Then I decided to refresh the 650B Irwin Cycles wheels shod with the WTB Venture tires. This combination worked last March in a surprising way on some icy, snowy bike trails. I already know it works well on softer, wet gravel too. These are the sort of conditions we get in Winter on gravel roads, unless it goes all ice, or it gets so cold it becomes impossible to stay warm for longer than an hour. Then I will retreat into the woods and ride a fat bike.

Now, my body being not quite right isn't the only thing lately which hasn't been "quite right" and this has also been an issue for me. It has to do with my job at the bike shop. Things are in upheaval, and in the coming weeks, there could be some major changes. Well........there will be. Just what will happen has me, and the rest of my co-workers, in a state of stress which is not a lot of fun to be going through, as you might imagine. And I have to believe this has something to do with what happened with me this weekend as well.

I don't have a lot to complain about in life, and really, I have it pretty good. So, don't go and think my life is going down the toilet, or that things are super-bad here with me. There are folks with a LOT worse things going on than myself, and I realize that. But that said, I won't be looking back on 2019 with a ton of fondness. Especially on the professional side. Still, I am blessed, and that's what I'm focusing on.

Friday News And Views

Nope- I didn't go after all.

Bonus Post Because I Didn't Go:

So, you may have missed this, but I did not make the trip down to see the "All Things Gravel Expo" this week at the Dirty Kanza 200 event. I had intended to, and plans were laid, but at the last minute, MG and I talked, and well.......I realized how crazy this idea was. Nothing to do with the event, by the way. This was all circumstances on our end. I'll let MG speak for himself, if he ever wants to do that, because he had great reasons for not going, but as for me, it wasn't a prudent idea.

See, I had my daughter's commencement on Tuesday evening to attend. Then, my daughter and Mrs. Guitar Ted were to fly out to El Paso, Texas the next morning to see relatives that couldn't make the trip up to see us. Well, and here is the thing- their flight left at 6:00am from Des Moines International Airport, a full 100 plus miles away from us. Maybe you can see how that might work, but if not, here are the details. Commencement ended at about 8:00pm, (we had to be there at 4:30pm!), and it took a full half of an hour just to get out of the parking lot. Then we had to eat. This and preparations to get into bed left us with a nice three hour window to sleep until 1:00am. That was when we had to get up, dress, check over baggage, and load the car. We left the house at 2:15am, stopped for coffee and gas, and left town at 2:22am to get the gals to the airport by 5:00am, so they would have time to check bags, get screened by TSA, and board the plane which was leaving AT 6:00am. We made it with a little less than a half an hour bonus time. So, that was good.

I got maybe two hours of decent sleep, (not nearly enough), and then I would have been driving a further 180+ miles to hook up with MG. It was hard enough driving the 100-ish miles back home. Then Saturday, I have to be back in Des Moines for the arrival of the gals back home, so yeah..... The time spent would not have been well spent in Kansas, and more to the point- the windshield time, which would have been a LOT. Heck I was so out of it Wednesday as it was, I wouldn't have enjoyed the trip, nor would I have been effective. Add in that I would have missed out on two pay days and it really made less sense, and right now, that is important. Then throw in what MG had going on. I wasn't willing to do the trip alone.

So, there is my end of the story. I figure some of you may be wondering why I wasn't down there. Now you know.

SLX 12 speed. Shimano hits back with new XT and SLX MTB parts.

New Shimano XT, SLX Parts:

Shimano has dropped a couple of new MTB parts groups on the market as you may have heard yesterday. Besides the expected XT update to 12 speeds, they also did the SLX group in 12 speed. I like what I see Shimano offering here and there are a few things that I found interesting about the new group sets.

MicroSpline hubs are featured in both groups and this wasn't made prominent in the press release I saw. It was there, but this is a sea change, folks. This is a big, big deal. The line was drawn, I felt, when the new XTR was introduced last year and if you thought it was just nonsense, well this underscores the point that the old, Hypeglide type free hub body is going to end up becoming the pedestrian choice and will maybe live on in entry level groups in the coming years. But your wheels you are riding now aren't going to be compatible with anything new in about five years time. MicroSpline is going to become ubiquitous across the board with high end wheel choices very soon. I know that ticks off a lot of people, but I really don't see any difference with what SRAM did with XD Driver free hub bodies.

HyperGlide + chain link plates. (The blue highlights the "extended inner plate" feature)

Another notable thing is what Shimano has done with chains and chain rings. Obviously, 12 speeds crammed into the same-ish spaces we have had for decades means things have to get slimmer to a degree. Shimano has developed a new Hyperglide + chain which uses a clever shaping of the inner chain plates which mates to the chain rings, effectively causing the two parts to have more contact area than traditionally made chains. This should decrease chain and chain ring wear, since it distributes forces over more material instead of less. Of course, the chains are developed with the chain rings to shift flawlessly, and I expect that they will do just this. No one is better at how chains shift over chain rings and cogs than Shimano. This new chain technology should be implemented over future 12 speed groups, and I bet the GRX group will benefit someday from this.

I also noted that Shimano has front derailleurs for 2 X 12 set ups. Again- not everyone wants a front derailleur, and not every design can use one, but I like that Shimano hasn't given over to the thinking that everything has to be 1X.

It's also noteworthy that Deore XT 12 will be available June 14th, not at some unspecified time six months from now, which was the way Shimano used to do things. That's a big improvement as well.

Finally! A WTB Road Plus tire in 700c sizes.

WTB Introduces 700c Sizes Of The Venture Tire: 

Early this year I had the opportunity to test out the WTB Venture Road Plus tires for the RidingGravel.com site. one of the rides I got in on them was a sketch-fest with N.Y. Roll one Saturday when the snow was still melting off stuff here in March.

During that ride it struck me how the Venture could do far above and beyond what it looked capable of in severe conditions like slick ice, snow, and even a bit in sloppy mud. This, I wagered, would make the Venture an ideal tire for a Fargo, but it would need to be in a 700c size and at least 50mm wide. And guess what? A lot of other folks were thinking similarly. So much so that WTB is now going to offer the Venture in a 700c X 40mm and 700c X 50mm size for those who want to give this versatile trad a go. Also, if you hate skin walls you are in luck, because each will be offered in a black wall version as well.

As luck would have it RidingGravel.com is getting both sizes of 700C Venture tires in for review any day now. So, stay tuned and I should have some feedback on them for you all on that channel. Until then, you can click the link up there and read about the 650B version.

That's a wrap for this week. GOOD LUCK DK200 RIDERS!

Friday News And Views

Nope- I didn't go after all.

Bonus Post Because I Didn't Go:

So, you may have missed this, but I did not make the trip down to see the "All Things Gravel Expo" this week at the Dirty Kanza 200 event. I had intended to, and plans were laid, but at the last minute, MG and I talked, and well.......I realized how crazy this idea was. Nothing to do with the event, by the way. This was all circumstances on our end. I'll let MG speak for himself, if he ever wants to do that, because he had great reasons for not going, but as for me, it wasn't a prudent idea.

See, I had my daughter's commencement on Tuesday evening to attend. Then, my daughter and Mrs. Guitar Ted were to fly out to El Paso, Texas the next morning to see relatives that couldn't make the trip up to see us. Well, and here is the thing- their flight left at 6:00am from Des Moines International Airport, a full 100 plus miles away from us. Maybe you can see how that might work, but if not, here are the details. Commencement ended at about 8:00pm, (we had to be there at 4:30pm!), and it took a full half of an hour just to get out of the parking lot. Then we had to eat. This and preparations to get into bed left us with a nice three hour window to sleep until 1:00am. That was when we had to get up, dress, check over baggage, and load the car. We left the house at 2:15am, stopped for coffee and gas, and left town at 2:22am to get the gals to the airport by 5:00am, so they would have time to check bags, get screened by TSA, and board the plane which was leaving AT 6:00am. We made it with a little less than a half an hour bonus time. So, that was good.

I got maybe two hours of decent sleep, (not nearly enough), and then I would have been driving a further 180+ miles to hook up with MG. It was hard enough driving the 100-ish miles back home. Then Saturday, I have to be back in Des Moines for the arrival of the gals back home, so yeah..... The time spent would not have been well spent in Kansas, and more to the point- the windshield time, which would have been a LOT. Heck I was so out of it Wednesday as it was, I wouldn't have enjoyed the trip, nor would I have been effective. Add in that I would have missed out on two pay days and it really made less sense, and right now, that is important. Then throw in what MG had going on. I wasn't willing to do the trip alone.

So, there is my end of the story. I figure some of you may be wondering why I wasn't down there. Now you know.

SLX 12 speed. Shimano hits back with new XT and SLX MTB parts.

New Shimano XT, SLX Parts:

Shimano has dropped a couple of new MTB parts groups on the market as you may have heard yesterday. Besides the expected XT update to 12 speeds, they also did the SLX group in 12 speed. I like what I see Shimano offering here and there are a few things that I found interesting about the new group sets.

MicroSpline hubs are featured in both groups and this wasn't made prominent in the press release I saw. It was there, but this is a sea change, folks. This is a big, big deal. The line was drawn, I felt, when the new XTR was introduced last year and if you thought it was just nonsense, well this underscores the point that the old, Hypeglide type free hub body is going to end up becoming the pedestrian choice and will maybe live on in entry level groups in the coming years. But your wheels you are riding now aren't going to be compatible with anything new in about five years time. MicroSpline is going to become ubiquitous across the board with high end wheel choices very soon. I know that ticks off a lot of people, but I really don't see any difference with what SRAM did with XD Driver free hub bodies.

HyperGlide + chain link plates. (The blue highlights the "extended inner plate" feature)

Another notable thing is what Shimano has done with chains and chain rings. Obviously, 12 speeds crammed into the same-ish spaces we have had for decades means things have to get slimmer to a degree. Shimano has developed a new Hyperglide + chain which uses a clever shaping of the inner chain plates which mates to the chain rings, effectively causing the two parts to have more contact area than traditionally made chains. This should decrease chain and chain ring wear, since it distributes forces over more material instead of less. Of course, the chains are developed with the chain rings to shift flawlessly, and I expect that they will do just this. No one is better at how chains shift over chain rings and cogs than Shimano. This new chain technology should be implemented over future 12 speed groups, and I bet the GRX group will benefit someday from this.

I also noted that Shimano has front derailleurs for 2 X 12 set ups. Again- not everyone wants a front derailleur, and not every design can use one, but I like that Shimano hasn't given over to the thinking that everything has to be 1X.

It's also noteworthy that Deore XT 12 will be available June 14th, not at some unspecified time six months from now, which was the way Shimano used to do things. That's a big improvement as well.

Finally! A WTB Road Plus tire in 700c sizes.

WTB Introduces 700c Sizes Of The Venture Tire: 

Early this year I had the opportunity to test out the WTB Venture Road Plus tires for the RidingGravel.com site. one of the rides I got in on them was a sketch-fest with N.Y. Roll one Saturday when the snow was still melting off stuff here in March.

During that ride it struck me how the Venture could do far above and beyond what it looked capable of in severe conditions like slick ice, snow, and even a bit in sloppy mud. This, I wagered, would make the Venture an ideal tire for a Fargo, but it would need to be in a 700c size and at least 50mm wide. And guess what? A lot of other folks were thinking similarly. So much so that WTB is now going to offer the Venture in a 700c X 40mm and 700c X 50mm size for those who want to give this versatile trad a go. Also, if you hate skin walls you are in luck, because each will be offered in a black wall version as well.

As luck would have it RidingGravel.com is getting both sizes of 700C Venture tires in for review any day now. So, stay tuned and I should have some feedback on them for you all on that channel. Until then, you can click the link up there and read about the 650B version.

That's a wrap for this week. GOOD LUCK DK200 RIDERS!

Adventure Ride: Frozen Version

The streets of Waterloo were quiet Saturday morning.

N.Y. Roll had proposed a ride to recon a "dive bar" ride he was planning and asked if I was interested in coming along. Now it was forecast to be in the 20's Saturday morning when we were to leave, but there was supposed to be little wind. I agreed to go, hoping against hope we would be warm enough to make the jaunt enjoyable. That added with the snow melt, which was sure to be hardened ice Saturday, made bike choice critical.

I thought about throwing on the 45NRTH Gravdal studded tires, or maybe taking the Fargo with a wider mtb tire mounted, but then I remembered that I had to get to riding those WTB Venture 650B X 47mm tires I am reviewing. That would probably work, so I looked over the Black Mountain Cycles MCD- otherwise known here as The Bubblegum Princess- and went to sleep Friday with the alarm set to be ready to ride by 8:00am.

Of course, I was up and ready roll by 7:00am! I was fiddling around and thought I should text N.Y. Roll when I heard my phone ping. Wow! Telepathy is a thing, apparently! Anyway, I told him I was ready anytime he was, so he moved up the start time to 7:30am and when he arrived at the house here, we took off.

Early navigational issues. Apparently GPS units don't like the cold.

As we slow rolled through downtown Waterloo, I felt the bite of the crisp air on my ears and cheeks. Good thing I decided to swap out to Winter gloves! It was 27° and when we were moving, it was chilly! At least the downtown streets were clear of run-off ice, so we had no problems moving along.

N.Y. Roll's route connected several "dive bars" in the area. Basically these are run down buildings which house neighborhood bars that have been in existence for years. The first was near a famous restaurant in Waterloo called the DK Hickory House. It is a rib joint, but if you ever saw the exterior, you'd not believe it was a restaurant, first off, and you'd likely have a harder time believing it was once a famous place where many celebrities of the past would come to eat. Anyway, the "Park Road Inn" was right across the street from this joint and once we got un-turned around with directions, we found it and we were off to find the next "dive bar".

The next section of riding basically was taking us East through the Northern edge of Waterloo. Apparently the next bar was in Raymond and it would be several miles before we got there on paved roads. These residential streets N.Y. Roll chose to get us there were sometimes a bit sketchy with run-off ice, especially in the corners, so I was taking great care so as not to go down hard and screw myself up.

Looking back at Waterloo, we saw this flooded field with hundreds of Canadian geese. 

Anywhere near the Cedar River was flooded. Recent run-off has swollen many Mid-West creeks and rivers beyond capacity.

Once we broke free from the city proper we were greeted with the rising Sun in our faces and warming air. Well.......slight warming of air, really. It was still pretty chill and my sock choice was not on point. My tootsies were frozen by this time into the ride, but I pedaled onward despite that. The road was lined with frozen flood waters from the run-off of snow melt. These are typical areas to see flooding happen, so we weren't getting the disastrous floods like they are in Nebraska. Still, it was impressive to see just how much water was covering the flood plains.

N.Y. Roll enjoys the morning Sun as we ride the frozen shoulder coming into Raymond.

Eventually we were obliged to turn onto a fairly well used County road. Fortunately the pea graveled shoulder was smooth and frozen. It was as easy to ride as pavement. This took us into Raymond eventually and our next "dive bar" location was identified. Then it was straight on to the South to Gilbertville and the next bar location.

We stayed on the shoulder, only here it was on a strip about a foot, maybe slightly wider, of paved road on the right side of the "white line". Cars were giving us a full lane as they passed and we did not experience any close calls except for one where three cars met going opposite directions right as they passed by us. So we were all within close proximity of each other there, but no harm- no foul.

The Cedar River bridge at Gilbertville.

The first stretch of the Cedar Valley Nature Trail we tried wasn't too bad.

We made it through Gilbertville okay, but then N.Y. Roll wanted to go "off-route" and recon the CVNT (Cedar Valley Nature Trail). I figured it would be a complete waste of our time, but hey! This was an adventure ride, so...... The trail didn't look awful after we passed the depot, where it was mostly iced up due to pedestrians. We started out and N.Y. Roll promised me that if it got too bad we'd bail out at a gravel road intersection ahead.

Out on gravel! (Well......mostly dirt!) The frozen ruts were......interesting.

The trail conditions quickly deteriorated into a hard coat of frozen snow and glare ice from snowmobile traffic. I hen-pecked my way along while N.Y. Roll walked away from me with his wider, more voluminous mtb tire set up. We finally reached the promised gravel road turn off and made our way Northwestward, more or less, keeping to the CVNT as much as possible. After a few miles of gravel we were obliged to hop back on the CVNT and it was wild! The snow was much deeper here and frozen with soaked in rain which we had fall on the area earlier in the week.

If you look closely you can make out the herd of deer we saw.

Hike-a-bike for me, but N.Y. Roll cleaned most of this on his 2.25"ers.

The snow was rideable at times for me. I was amazed at how I could claw my way through at times. But there just wasn't enough "float" with 47mm of tire and N.Y. Roll walked away from me on his 29 X 2.25"s. At one point my front tire punched through a drift up to the hub! That was funny. I ended up walking a fair amount of this section.

A guy then rolled up on me riding an ancient Honda three wheeled ATV. He was amiable, and smiled at me as he started up a conversation with me. Apparently he had tried to keep this part of the trail clear with a truck and plow, but the blizzard a few weeks ago was just too much for him and his truck. He also stated that he had been busy fighting flood waters on his property and was out this morning to check on the angry Cedar River, to see if there were any ice jams.

Eventually we ended up on the bridge over the Cedar. All three of us peered at the turbulent waters rushing by. Finally the nice man bid us farewell and we turned our eyes toward Evansdale and the next "dive bar". We didn't have far to go, and once we found it, the next came fairly soon after. That was our cue to hit the recreational trail out of Evansdale toward Waterloo.

It may look peaceful, but it was anything but. The Cedar was forcast to crest later in the day Saturday.

Headed out of Evansdale on the recreational bike trail to Waterloo.

N.Y. Roll made a suggestion to stop at Rockets Bakery in downtown Waterloo for coffee. I was excited to do that, and when we got there we were greeted by a young lady behind the counter that thought it was funny that I was riding a pink bike while N.Y. Roll was wearing a pink helmet. I suppose that did look odd. Anyway, the coffee was excellent, and my stool, which had been sitting in the Sunshine, felt like a heated car seat after all that chilly riding. That made me think- are there any heated bicycle saddles? 

Coffee slurped, we remounted and headed back home. An excellent morning on the bike! I hit pavement, gravel, dirt, snow, and ice, all on the same ride. That's what I call "multi-terrain" riding, right there!

Adventure Ride: Frozen Version

The streets of Waterloo were quiet Saturday morning.

N.Y. Roll had proposed a ride to recon a "dive bar" ride he was planning and asked if I was interested in coming along. Now it was forecast to be in the 20's Saturday morning when we were to leave, but there was supposed to be little wind. I agreed to go, hoping against hope we would be warm enough to make the jaunt enjoyable. That added with the snow melt, which was sure to be hardened ice Saturday, made bike choice critical.

I thought about throwing on the 45NRTH Gravdal studded tires, or maybe taking the Fargo with a wider mtb tire mounted, but then I remembered that I had to get to riding those WTB Venture 650B X 47mm tires I am reviewing. That would probably work, so I looked over the Black Mountain Cycles MCD- otherwise known here as The Bubblegum Princess- and went to sleep Friday with the alarm set to be ready to ride by 8:00am.

Of course, I was up and ready roll by 7:00am! I was fiddling around and thought I should text N.Y. Roll when I heard my phone ping. Wow! Telepathy is a thing, apparently! Anyway, I told him I was ready anytime he was, so he moved up the start time to 7:30am and when he arrived at the house here, we took off.

Early navigational issues. Apparently GPS units don't like the cold.

As we slow rolled through downtown Waterloo, I felt the bite of the crisp air on my ears and cheeks. Good thing I decided to swap out to Winter gloves! It was 27° and when we were moving, it was chilly! At least the downtown streets were clear of run-off ice, so we had no problems moving along.

N.Y. Roll's route connected several "dive bars" in the area. Basically these are run down buildings which house neighborhood bars that have been in existence for years. The first was near a famous restaurant in Waterloo called the DK Hickory House. It is a rib joint, but if you ever saw the exterior, you'd not believe it was a restaurant, first off, and you'd likely have a harder time believing it was once a famous place where many celebrities of the past would come to eat. Anyway, the "Park Road Inn" was right across the street from this joint and once we got un-turned around with directions, we found it and we were off to find the next "dive bar".

The next section of riding basically was taking us East through the Northern edge of Waterloo. Apparently the next bar was in Raymond and it would be several miles before we got there on paved roads. These residential streets N.Y. Roll chose to get us there were sometimes a bit sketchy with run-off ice, especially in the corners, so I was taking great care so as not to go down hard and screw myself up.

Looking back at Waterloo, we saw this flooded field with hundreds of Canadian geese. 

Anywhere near the Cedar River was flooded. Recent run-off has swollen many Mid-West creeks and rivers beyond capacity.

Once we broke free from the city proper we were greeted with the rising Sun in our faces and warming air. Well.......slight warming of air, really. It was still pretty chill and my sock choice was not on point. My tootsies were frozen by this time into the ride, but I pedaled onward despite that. The road was lined with frozen flood waters from the run-off of snow melt. These are typical areas to see flooding happen, so we weren't getting the disastrous floods like they are in Nebraska. Still, it was impressive to see just how much water was covering the flood plains.

N.Y. Roll enjoys the morning Sun as we ride the frozen shoulder coming into Raymond.

Eventually we were obliged to turn onto a fairly well used County road. Fortunately the pea graveled shoulder was smooth and frozen. It was as easy to ride as pavement. This took us into Raymond eventually and our next "dive bar" location was identified. Then it was straight on to the South to Gilbertville and the next bar location.

We stayed on the shoulder, only here it was on a strip about a foot, maybe slightly wider, of paved road on the right side of the "white line". Cars were giving us a full lane as they passed and we did not experience any close calls except for one where three cars met going opposite directions right as they passed by us. So we were all within close proximity of each other there, but no harm- no foul.

The Cedar River bridge at Gilbertville.

The first stretch of the Cedar Valley Nature Trail we tried wasn't too bad.

We made it through Gilbertville okay, but then N.Y. Roll wanted to go "off-route" and recon the CVNT (Cedar Valley Nature Trail). I figured it would be a complete waste of our time, but hey! This was an adventure ride, so...... The trail didn't look awful after we passed the depot, where it was mostly iced up due to pedestrians. We started out and N.Y. Roll promised me that if it got too bad we'd bail out at a gravel road intersection ahead.

Out on gravel! (Well......mostly dirt!) The frozen ruts were......interesting.

The trail conditions quickly deteriorated into a hard coat of frozen snow and glare ice from snowmobile traffic. I hen-pecked my way along while N.Y. Roll walked away from me with his wider, more voluminous mtb tire set up. We finally reached the promised gravel road turn off and made our way Northwestward, more or less, keeping to the CVNT as much as possible. After a few miles of gravel we were obliged to hop back on the CVNT and it was wild! The snow was much deeper here and frozen with soaked in rain which we had fall on the area earlier in the week.

If you look closely you can make out the herd of deer we saw.

Hike-a-bike for me, but N.Y. Roll cleaned most of this on his 2.25"ers.

The snow was rideable at times for me. I was amazed at how I could claw my way through at times. But there just wasn't enough "float" with 47mm of tire and N.Y. Roll walked away from me on his 29 X 2.25"s. At one point my front tire punched through a drift up to the hub! That was funny. I ended up walking a fair amount of this section.

A guy then rolled up on me riding an ancient Honda three wheeled ATV. He was amiable, and smiled at me as he started up a conversation with me. Apparently he had tried to keep this part of the trail clear with a truck and plow, but the blizzard a few weeks ago was just too much for him and his truck. He also stated that he had been busy fighting flood waters on his property and was out this morning to check on the angry Cedar River, to see if there were any ice jams.

Eventually we ended up on the bridge over the Cedar. All three of us peered at the turbulent waters rushing by. Finally the nice man bid us farewell and we turned our eyes toward Evansdale and the next "dive bar". We didn't have far to go, and once we found it, the next came fairly soon after. That was our cue to hit the recreational trail out of Evansdale toward Waterloo.

It may look peaceful, but it was anything but. The Cedar was forcast to crest later in the day Saturday.

Headed out of Evansdale on the recreational bike trail to Waterloo.

N.Y. Roll made a suggestion to stop at Rockets Bakery in downtown Waterloo for coffee. I was excited to do that, and when we got there we were greeted by a young lady behind the counter that thought it was funny that I was riding a pink bike while N.Y. Roll was wearing a pink helmet. I suppose that did look odd. Anyway, the coffee was excellent, and my stool, which had been sitting in the Sunshine, felt like a heated car seat after all that chilly riding. That made me think- are there any heated bicycle saddles? 

Coffee slurped, we remounted and headed back home. An excellent morning on the bike! I hit pavement, gravel, dirt, snow, and ice, all on the same ride. That's what I call "multi-terrain" riding, right there!