News Season: Drivetrain Debuts

Another 1X option is set to be unleashed

News about drivetrain choices for bikes is up today. First off I noted a new offering being shown from a brand called TRW Active. This start up is based in New Mexico and they are going to produce an 11 speed, 1X system including a shifter and crank set. Their Indiegogo fundraiser is going to happen soon but they claim to have already produced 150 group sets to satisfy early demand.

There are three different wide ratio cassettes on offer along with the crank set, rear derailleur, and shifter. Curiously, the TRW Active website says the shifter is compatible with "other 11 speed systems", but does not specify which ones. The trigger shifter is notable for having a dual release trigger much like a Shimano Rapid Fire Plus does.

Comments: Is there room for another mtb component company? It's a hard market to break into, as Box Components has been finding out, along with SunRace, and others. I think this TRW Active stuff looks fine, but SRAM and Shimano components are so ubiquitous and shops generally carry spares that going off the grid with a component choice is a tough sell.

SRAM E Tap To Go To 12:

News came down via a "Cyclingtips" Tweet that SRAM will push out a new 12 speed E-Tap system coming up in January. Details are slim, but this good "Cyclingtips" article gives you all the lowdown on what might be coming in terms of features. 

The SRAM E-Tap front derailleur is criticized for limiting tire clearances

Comments: SRAM was loved for their cross compatibility between mountain and road parts once Shimano moved to 10 speed mtb DynaSys systems which stopped cross compatibility between Shimano road and mtb components. (Yes- there are gizmos to get around this that are third party applications) So, now that E-Tap has been around, gravel riders have been eagerly awaiting SRAM's entry into the electronic shifting mountain bike components with hopes that they could mix and match electronic road and mountain bike parts.

This news about 12 speed E-Tap lends more credence to a 12 speed Eagle mtb group introduction and a possibility that the cross-compatibility scheme might become reality. However; this news also points to a possibility that it would not be necessary to cross mtb and road bits. The text mentions the wide range rear cassette and 1X road possibilities. Still, you would have to think that since most gravel/all road bikes are using mtb rear wheel spacing that the XD driver and cassette would be the go-to set up for a gravel rig.

The only nit there is that a 2X E-Tap front derailleur gets in the way of bigger tires. The article linked above does not point to a modified derailleur to address this, so 2X Di2 seems to be the only good option for those wanting a closer ratio gearing set up, unless there is a surprise waiting in the wings from SRAM. 

The chain rings on the 12 speed E-Tap are said to be machined from one piece. This is good from a technical standpoint, but in real world, practical terms, you are going to have a much higher maintenance cost and people will be pissed when they wear out one of the two rings and need to replace both. (Well, technically speaking they will be "one ring" with two sets of teeth, but people are not going to care.) Plus, customization to rider preferences will be out the window. You'll have choices in a few ring combinations and that's it.

Finally, I am still not convinced that having to plug in another device, or carry CR 2032 batteries around is worth the small increase in shifting performance for the average gravel rider. Throw in the cost of components, and the high likelihood that rear derailleurs have for getting trashed in mud, and I think it becomes less attractive. Yes- you can shear off any derailleur, but I'd rather pay to replace a mechanical Ultegra or SRAM Force derailleur than I would a Di2 or E-Tap version. Plus, stories of electronic failures are not uncommon.

Stay tuned for more "News Season" posts in the future......

News Season: Drivetrain Debuts

Another 1X option is set to be unleashed

News about drivetrain choices for bikes is up today. First off I noted a new offering being shown from a brand called TRW Active. This start up is based in New Mexico and they are going to produce an 11 speed, 1X system including a shifter and crank set. Their Indiegogo fundraiser is going to happen soon but they claim to have already produced 150 group sets to satisfy early demand.

There are three different wide ratio cassettes on offer along with the crank set, rear derailleur, and shifter. Curiously, the TRW Active website says the shifter is compatible with "other 11 speed systems", but does not specify which ones. The trigger shifter is notable for having a dual release trigger much like a Shimano Rapid Fire Plus does.

Comments: Is there room for another mtb component company? It's a hard market to break into, as Box Components has been finding out, along with SunRace, and others. I think this TRW Active stuff looks fine, but SRAM and Shimano components are so ubiquitous and shops generally carry spares that going off the grid with a component choice is a tough sell.

SRAM E Tap To Go To 12:

News came down via a "Cyclingtips" Tweet that SRAM will push out a new 12 speed E-Tap system coming up in January. Details are slim, but this good "Cyclingtips" article gives you all the lowdown on what might be coming in terms of features. 

The SRAM E-Tap front derailleur is criticized for limiting tire clearances

Comments: SRAM was loved for their cross compatibility between mountain and road parts once Shimano moved to 10 speed mtb DynaSys systems which stopped cross compatibility between Shimano road and mtb components. (Yes- there are gizmos to get around this that are third party applications) So, now that E-Tap has been around, gravel riders have been eagerly awaiting SRAM's entry into the electronic shifting mountain bike components with hopes that they could mix and match electronic road and mountain bike parts.

This news about 12 speed E-Tap lends more credence to a 12 speed Eagle mtb group introduction and a possibility that the cross-compatibility scheme might become reality. However; this news also points to a possibility that it would not be necessary to cross mtb and road bits. The text mentions the wide range rear cassette and 1X road possibilities. Still, you would have to think that since most gravel/all road bikes are using mtb rear wheel spacing that the XD driver and cassette would be the go-to set up for a gravel rig.

The only nit there is that a 2X E-Tap front derailleur gets in the way of bigger tires. The article linked above does not point to a modified derailleur to address this, so 2X Di2 seems to be the only good option for those wanting a closer ratio gearing set up, unless there is a surprise waiting in the wings from SRAM. 

The chain rings on the 12 speed E-Tap are said to be machined from one piece. This is good from a technical standpoint, but in real world, practical terms, you are going to have a much higher maintenance cost and people will be pissed when they wear out one of the two rings and need to replace both. (Well, technically speaking they will be "one ring" with two sets of teeth, but people are not going to care.) Plus, customization to rider preferences will be out the window. You'll have choices in a few ring combinations and that's it.

Finally, I am still not convinced that having to plug in another device, or carry CR 2032 batteries around is worth the small increase in shifting performance for the average gravel rider. Throw in the cost of components, and the high likelihood that rear derailleurs have for getting trashed in mud, and I think it becomes less attractive. Yes- you can shear off any derailleur, but I'd rather pay to replace a mechanical Ultegra or SRAM Force derailleur than I would a Di2 or E-Tap version. Plus, stories of electronic failures are not uncommon.

Stay tuned for more "News Season" posts in the future......

Friday News And Views

Bar Yak Q-Pro cue sheet holders. Image by Joe Stiller.

Trans Iowa v14 : Updates

With a hair over a month to go till T.I.v14 (!!!) I have been pretty busy with things behind the scenes. Cues were formatted and sent to my secret checker who will be going around the course solo to see if the cues really make sense or if they are wrong in spots. Once any revisions necessary have been made, I will go have the cues printed and we will collate them into the batches they need to be in. Volunteer boxes will be set up for each checkpoint, and for this year, the start as well.

Numbers have been ordered and should be here in four days. I will be seeing about customizing these a bit and, of course, be writing everyone's name on their designated plate. Then I will need to print up waivers, a special T.I.v14 "Welcome" letter, and get that packed away.

Prizing is beginning to be shipped here. Bar Yak is sending three Q-Pro Cue Sheet Holders and my intention is to get those out to three lucky riders before T.I.v14 so they can be used for the event. Velo Press and Nick Legan have sent out five copies of "Gravel Cycling" to be raffled off at the Pre-Race Meat-Up. I also have been promised some goodies from Pedal of Littleton, and I have a plan to include WTB tires and some other baubles which will all go to the riders.

Communications will be sent out to riders about the first of the month and volunteers will hear from me shortly after that. Meeting notes will be drawn up and a schedule made to meet goals all through April. It's going to be a busy month!

Wireless Di2? You knew it would happen.....

Shimano Patent Hints At Wireless Di2:

The big cycling media companies have uncovered a patent application by Shimano which seems to indicate that the cycling component company is getting set to introduce a wireless Di2. Current Di2 electronic shifting requires that hard wires run from each component to "junction boxes" and then to a battery for power supply.

While not a lot of fine detail exists concerning just how the Di2 wireless set up might work, one can already guess at the implications of such components. Obviously some sort of protocol for the radio waves must exist. SRAM developed their own, independent wireless standard, but it is not clear at this time if Shimano will use a currently established network or develop their own.

Then there is the functionality. It is obvious from the patent application schematic that one could probably use this as they would a typical mechanical Shimano group, but other possibilities are endless. Remote triggers, assignable functions, and Shimano's own SyncroShift technologies will probably all figure in to the new designs. Obviously, flat bar applications will also be developed which will bring Shimano a leg up on SRAM as that would be second generation Di2 for off road while SRAM has yet to introduce any version of E-Tap for off road. Although I would bet Sea Otter will be where that finally happens this year.

Do you want to run a 42T rear cog with your drop bar shifters? Image couresy of Wolf Tooth

Wolf Tooth Introduces Road Link:

The obvious move by SRAM to eliminate front derailleurs continues on the road side, but what about really low gears? Well, you can thank Wolf Tooth for being a "johnny-on-the-spot" and for making this "Road Link" for the new Shimano Shadow style road rear derailleurs.

Now you can get one of those 11 speed cassettes with the "ridicu-low" rear cogs and then ditch your front derailleur, or be a mad scientist and run a double anyway with several sub-one-to-one gears. Wolf Tooth says the Road Link is,"Optimized for use with 11-36t, 11-40t, 11-42t 11-speed cassettes" and that with a 11-42 it will work, but not to "factory spec shifting quality".

Interestingly I have been running an 11-36T cassette on my Raleigh Tamland for two years with a standard Ultegra 11 speed rear derailleur and nothing else special at all. I also set up my Twin Six Standard Rando the same way. That gets me a one to one ratio gear in the low 36T coupled with my inner ring on the crank which is also a 36T.

I haven't tried that with the new Shadow rear road derailleurs, so maybe that wouldn't work and I would need a Road Link. Or maybe not..... Sometimes we bicycle mechanics pull off stunts that "should not be done" and get away with it where the average humanoid cannot. Hard to say.

Well, we are supposed to get 8" of heavy wet snow this weekend. Yay! The rest of you, go ride your bikes! Have a great weekend!

Friday News And Views

Bar Yak Q-Pro cue sheet holders. Image by Joe Stiller.

Trans Iowa v14 : Updates

With a hair over a month to go till T.I.v14 (!!!) I have been pretty busy with things behind the scenes. Cues were formatted and sent to my secret checker who will be going around the course solo to see if the cues really make sense or if they are wrong in spots. Once any revisions necessary have been made, I will go have the cues printed and we will collate them into the batches they need to be in. Volunteer boxes will be set up for each checkpoint, and for this year, the start as well.

Numbers have been ordered and should be here in four days. I will be seeing about customizing these a bit and, of course, be writing everyone's name on their designated plate. Then I will need to print up waivers, a special T.I.v14 "Welcome" letter, and get that packed away.

Prizing is beginning to be shipped here. Bar Yak is sending three Q-Pro Cue Sheet Holders and my intention is to get those out to three lucky riders before T.I.v14 so they can be used for the event. Velo Press and Nick Legan have sent out five copies of "Gravel Cycling" to be raffled off at the Pre-Race Meat-Up. I also have been promised some goodies from Pedal of Littleton, and I have a plan to include WTB tires and some other baubles which will all go to the riders.

Communications will be sent out to riders about the first of the month and volunteers will hear from me shortly after that. Meeting notes will be drawn up and a schedule made to meet goals all through April. It's going to be a busy month!

Wireless Di2? You knew it would happen.....

Shimano Patent Hints At Wireless Di2:

The big cycling media companies have uncovered a patent application by Shimano which seems to indicate that the cycling component company is getting set to introduce a wireless Di2. Current Di2 electronic shifting requires that hard wires run from each component to "junction boxes" and then to a battery for power supply.

While not a lot of fine detail exists concerning just how the Di2 wireless set up might work, one can already guess at the implications of such components. Obviously some sort of protocol for the radio waves must exist. SRAM developed their own, independent wireless standard, but it is not clear at this time if Shimano will use a currently established network or develop their own.

Then there is the functionality. It is obvious from the patent application schematic that one could probably use this as they would a typical mechanical Shimano group, but other possibilities are endless. Remote triggers, assignable functions, and Shimano's own SyncroShift technologies will probably all figure in to the new designs. Obviously, flat bar applications will also be developed which will bring Shimano a leg up on SRAM as that would be second generation Di2 for off road while SRAM has yet to introduce any version of E-Tap for off road. Although I would bet Sea Otter will be where that finally happens this year.

Do you want to run a 42T rear cog with your drop bar shifters? Image couresy of Wolf Tooth

Wolf Tooth Introduces Road Link:

The obvious move by SRAM to eliminate front derailleurs continues on the road side, but what about really low gears? Well, you can thank Wolf Tooth for being a "johnny-on-the-spot" and for making this "Road Link" for the new Shimano Shadow style road rear derailleurs.

Now you can get one of those 11 speed cassettes with the "ridicu-low" rear cogs and then ditch your front derailleur, or be a mad scientist and run a double anyway with several sub-one-to-one gears. Wolf Tooth says the Road Link is,"Optimized for use with 11-36t, 11-40t, 11-42t 11-speed cassettes" and that with a 11-42 it will work, but not to "factory spec shifting quality".

Interestingly I have been running an 11-36T cassette on my Raleigh Tamland for two years with a standard Ultegra 11 speed rear derailleur and nothing else special at all. I also set up my Twin Six Standard Rando the same way. That gets me a one to one ratio gear in the low 36T coupled with my inner ring on the crank which is also a 36T.

I haven't tried that with the new Shadow rear road derailleurs, so maybe that wouldn't work and I would need a Road Link. Or maybe not..... Sometimes we bicycle mechanics pull off stunts that "should not be done" and get away with it where the average humanoid cannot. Hard to say.

Well, we are supposed to get 8" of heavy wet snow this weekend. Yay! The rest of you, go ride your bikes! Have a great weekend!

Friday News And Views

Gettin' the Band back together again.

Confirmed Renegade:

The registration for the 7th annual Renegade Gents Race opened up March 1st and I wondered if we would be making our 7th straight appearance there. As many of you readers know, this event has been my favorite ride of the year for quite some time now.

March 1st went by without any chatter from my social networking teammates. I decided to throw out a Tweet which expressed my wondering about the status of Team Careless Whispers. (More on the name in a moment)

In the meantime between Wednesday and yesterday morning, I resigned myself to the understanding that someday the streak will be broken. Just like all those years I went to Frostbike and now I haven't gone in two years. I think it is healthy to have a sense of things ending at some point, because they will. We all like to romanticize things and think we will never see the end of.......fill in the blank. Relationships, jobs, luck, and that bottle of beer won't last forever. So it is with my streak of Renegade Gents races. Someday that won't happen anymore, and I was okay if the end was this year. Of course, I didn't want that, but I accepted that it could happen. 

That said, I am happy to report that the Careless Whispers will once again be lining up for the seventh consecutive time. Oh yeah, about that name...... Well, when this whole deal got started there was banter between the teammates that knew each other already about what the name of our squad should be. Something about the fact that almost all of us had had facial hair came up and then Sam, I believe it was, suggested we should name our team in honor of George Michael, who was famous for not only music, but that studly 5 o'clock shadow he sported in the 80's. Thus the "Careless Whispers" name, as that was a famous hit song by George. I think something born out of the look of ZZ Top would have fit better, but hey! It is what it is. 

 Clinic Time:

 Friday morning, SRAM rep extraordinaire, Dan Jennings, came by to give our shop employees a SRAM e-Tap demo. This is SRAM's wireless, electronic shifting group. I was pretty impressed with several aspects of the system.

Now before I go on I will say that I am not a big fan of SRAM mechanical road shifting action. The whole "Double Tap" thing is annoying and less efficient, in my opinion, than Shimano's mechanical groups. However; I reverse my preferences when it comes to electronic shifting based upon a few things I've experienced so far.

The SRAM e-Tap is completely wireless, so you do not have any wires between components at all. No fishing wires through frames, no junction boxes, or hideous , limp wires flopping around your stem and rear derailleur. It also is super easy to set up. A monkey could set up a SRAM e-Tap derailleur and shifter set up. Shimano is a lot more fuss and you have to plug it into a computer to finalize the set up. But the big deal in the end is the ergonomics and in that area I think the way you depress the SRAM e-Tap levers and the feedback you get is superior to Shimano's Di2.

Make no mistake- both are really awesome. Shimano Di2 may shift faster, but having never to have to tune up the shifting and always getting precise, consistent shifts despite the conditions and circumstances blows mechanical shifting out of the water. Both Shimano Di2 and SRAM e-Tap are really that much better. It is also that much more expensive. These choices will have to be a less expensive alternative before many cyclists ever see the benefits, but I believe that will happen someday.

A Little T.I.v13 Update:

Get ready folks, Trans Iowa is only two months away. You are going to hear a lot about this in the next eight to ten weeks. Just a heads up for y'all.

My world will get more and more consumed with this as time passes. I have some in the field recon of a reroute to do, I have to check on a couple of other route details while I am looking at the course, and then it is on to drafting cue sheets so they can be checked in the field in April.

I am crafting a few e-mails tailored to specific groups- Rookies, Veterans/Finishers, and Volunteers, so that I can communicate some important points concerning the upcoming event. Look for those to go out very soon. Then I have the Truck With No Name in for servicing so it will be in tip-top shape for the event. I have a "check engine" light and an oil leak to be looked in to.

Anyway, I have a lot on my plate and very little time to deal with it all. This has been an odd year for me and Trans Iowa. Every year is different, but this one has presented its own difficulties. I hope to rise to the challenge and overcome the obstacles and once again put on a good event for all to enjoy.

That's it for this week. Have a great weekend and get out and ride!

Friday News And Views

Gettin' the Band back together again.

Confirmed Renegade:

The registration for the 7th annual Renegade Gents Race opened up March 1st and I wondered if we would be making our 7th straight appearance there. As many of you readers know, this event has been my favorite ride of the year for quite some time now.

March 1st went by without any chatter from my social networking teammates. I decided to throw out a Tweet which expressed my wondering about the status of Team Careless Whispers. (More on the name in a moment)

In the meantime between Wednesday and yesterday morning, I resigned myself to the understanding that someday the streak will be broken. Just like all those years I went to Frostbike and now I haven't gone in two years. I think it is healthy to have a sense of things ending at some point, because they will. We all like to romanticize things and think we will never see the end of.......fill in the blank. Relationships, jobs, luck, and that bottle of beer won't last forever. So it is with my streak of Renegade Gents races. Someday that won't happen anymore, and I was okay if the end was this year. Of course, I didn't want that, but I accepted that it could happen. 

That said, I am happy to report that the Careless Whispers will once again be lining up for the seventh consecutive time. Oh yeah, about that name...... Well, when this whole deal got started there was banter between the teammates that knew each other already about what the name of our squad should be. Something about the fact that almost all of us had had facial hair came up and then Sam, I believe it was, suggested we should name our team in honor of George Michael, who was famous for not only music, but that studly 5 o'clock shadow he sported in the 80's. Thus the "Careless Whispers" name, as that was a famous hit song by George. I think something born out of the look of ZZ Top would have fit better, but hey! It is what it is. 

 Clinic Time:

 Friday morning, SRAM rep extraordinaire, Dan Jennings, came by to give our shop employees a SRAM e-Tap demo. This is SRAM's wireless, electronic shifting group. I was pretty impressed with several aspects of the system.

Now before I go on I will say that I am not a big fan of SRAM mechanical road shifting action. The whole "Double Tap" thing is annoying and less efficient, in my opinion, than Shimano's mechanical groups. However; I reverse my preferences when it comes to electronic shifting based upon a few things I've experienced so far.

The SRAM e-Tap is completely wireless, so you do not have any wires between components at all. No fishing wires through frames, no junction boxes, or hideous , limp wires flopping around your stem and rear derailleur. It also is super easy to set up. A monkey could set up a SRAM e-Tap derailleur and shifter set up. Shimano is a lot more fuss and you have to plug it into a computer to finalize the set up. But the big deal in the end is the ergonomics and in that area I think the way you depress the SRAM e-Tap levers and the feedback you get is superior to Shimano's Di2.

Make no mistake- both are really awesome. Shimano Di2 may shift faster, but having never to have to tune up the shifting and always getting precise, consistent shifts despite the conditions and circumstances blows mechanical shifting out of the water. Both Shimano Di2 and SRAM e-Tap are really that much better. It is also that much more expensive. These choices will have to be a less expensive alternative before many cyclists ever see the benefits, but I believe that will happen someday.

A Little T.I.v13 Update:

Get ready folks, Trans Iowa is only two months away. You are going to hear a lot about this in the next eight to ten weeks. Just a heads up for y'all.

My world will get more and more consumed with this as time passes. I have some in the field recon of a reroute to do, I have to check on a couple of other route details while I am looking at the course, and then it is on to drafting cue sheets so they can be checked in the field in April.

I am crafting a few e-mails tailored to specific groups- Rookies, Veterans/Finishers, and Volunteers, so that I can communicate some important points concerning the upcoming event. Look for those to go out very soon. Then I have the Truck With No Name in for servicing so it will be in tip-top shape for the event. I have a "check engine" light and an oil leak to be looked in to.

Anyway, I have a lot on my plate and very little time to deal with it all. This has been an odd year for me and Trans Iowa. Every year is different, but this one has presented its own difficulties. I hope to rise to the challenge and overcome the obstacles and once again put on a good event for all to enjoy.

That's it for this week. Have a great weekend and get out and ride!

Friday News And Views

Trek joins the fat bike full suspension bike category with the Farley EX line.

 FN&V- The Sea Weasel Edition

New Trek Fat Bikes:

Trek dropped a bunch of new fat bike info for dealers to chew on which will represent the bikes you will see this Fall in dealer showrooms. Don't go lookin' for these just yet!

The bikes, highlighted by a new, full suspension line up dubbed Farley EX, are pretty cool and heavily laden with 27.5" fat bike wheels. There will be new Barbegazzi 27.5 X 4.5" wheels on some, while many others will get the 27.5 X 3.8" wheels. Trek will also still do some hard tails in the 26 X 4.7" wheel format, but from what we are seeing, it sure looks like they are pushing the 27.5" stuff hard. My guess is that the 26"er stuff will go away at some point. Or maybe Trek will see that as the WSD version of a Farley's wheel size? Hard to say, but it is obvious that Trek is going big on the 27.5 format.

Come June, Trek will also offer a Bontrager branded dropper seat post in three travel lengths and, for now, only in a 31.6mm diameter size. The post is a cable actuated, hydraulic, infinitely adjustable post that can be internally routed.

The last tidbit I have is that we, (at the shop I work at), have it on good authority that a Manitou fat bike fork is coming that will "blow the Bluto out of the water", so look for news on that later in the year. There also should be some news on aftermarket availability of the tires, rims, and possibly the fork as well.

We were digging this version of the new Farley hardtails which will feature the Barbegazzi 27.5 X 4.5" tires.

Salsa Redpoint: You know, I don't think I saw the word "enduro" in the entire description!

Salsa Redpoint- Long Travel FS:

It's not a Pony Rustker, and it is not a Horsetheif. Nope- it's a Redpoint. It is a slack angled, long travel 27.5"er bike which can also fit 26Plus.  How much travel? Well, 150mm out back, and that's a heck of a lot. Salsa bills it as the " ...150mm travel trail bike for tackling the roughest and most remote all-mountain terrain." So, yeah.........probably not the bike to have in the Mid-West, but it is a cool option for sure. I may be mistaken, but it is the first dedicated "small wheel" sized full suspension bike since the demise of the El Kaboing about six or seven years ago. (The Pony Rustler doesn't count because it is not a 27.5 specific design.)

You have to hand it to Salsa Cycles. For a smaller brand, they have a really diverse full suspension line up. From the XC-ish Spearfish, the wheel morphing Pony Rustler and Horsethief models, to full suspension fat bikes, and now this long travel, back country brawler.

Electronic XT: Much, much more affordable.

  Shimano Deore XT Di2:

Of course, it was a no-brainer after we saw XTR, but the cost to gain entry to Di2 XTR a was a huge barrier. Not that the new Di2 XT is "cheap", by any means, but it is much less expensive. Definitely a "do-able" price for many folks. There are the eleven speeds, and the single or double front crank sets. This, in my opinion, is the group that kills SRAM Eagle. Unless you have issues with rear tire/front derailleur/chain clearances, (ie: Fat bikes, Plus bikes, and some FS 29"ers), then Di2 XT takes your front derailleur fears and kills them. Oh! But you say that SRAM only requires one shifter? So does Di2 mtb stuff. It can actually shift the front derailleur for you at the most appropriate moment. So, I just do not buy all of this, "I dropped a chain once so front derailleurs are bad." talk anymore. Unless it is a clearance issue, the smaller jumps between gears on XT Di2 and the front derailleur giving you a wide range of gears simply trumps the huge gearing jumps on the low end of the cassette on Eagle, or XX-1, for that matter.

Yes, it is great we have workable 1X stuff from SRAM, because many designs would not be possible on fat bikes, Plus Bikes, and FS 29"ers without that stuff, but for everything else, this new Shimano stuff pretty much does everything better.

2017 Raleigh Stuntman. Image pinched from Grannygear of Twenty Nine Inches

 Don't Call Them "Gravel Bikes" Anymore!

The blog here is littered with posts that I have written which say that "gravel grinder bike" or "gravel bikes" probably is not the best idea for a name for this newer genre of road-ish, fat tired, go anywhere machines. I even did a post which got 40-50 comments suggesting new names for this sort of bike several years ago.

Well, the industry finally figured out that, quite frankly, "gravel" as a term pisses people off. So, what to call these bikes? Well, the newest, (ahem! Salsa Cycles circa 2008 anyone?), buzzword is "adventure bikes" and I am noticing a lot of companies are pushing that term now. Raleigh, Breezer, and Marin were all pushing new concepts out at Sea Otter yesterday for 2017 releases that are being pigeon holed into this "new" category.

Probably the "poster child" for this sort of bike right now is Cannondale's Slate, but what I am seeing coming along now is more akin to Raleigh's preview of the '17 "Stuntman" bike. You could say "monster cross", and you wouldn't be wrong. Two inch wide tires, a 1X drive train, and a dropper post! This bike is, for all intents and purposes, also a look at the '17 Tamland, which will feature less width on the tires, but will also have this carbon fork, integrated head set, and will likely have the exact same frame. It's not a stretch to say that, because I can slot in 2" wide tires on my current, 2014 model Tamland, albeit just barely. It wouldn't take much to get to a place where there was a bit more clearance, Clarence.

Okay, that's a wrap for this week! Have a great weekend and stay safe!

Friday News And Views

Trek joins the fat bike full suspension bike category with the Farley EX line.

 FN&V- The Sea Weasel Edition

New Trek Fat Bikes:

Trek dropped a bunch of new fat bike info for dealers to chew on which will represent the bikes you will see this Fall in dealer showrooms. Don't go lookin' for these just yet!

The bikes, highlighted by a new, full suspension line up dubbed Farley EX, are pretty cool and heavily laden with 27.5" fat bike wheels. There will be new Barbegazzi 27.5 X 4.5" wheels on some, while many others will get the 27.5 X 3.8" wheels. Trek will also still do some hard tails in the 26 X 4.7" wheel format, but from what we are seeing, it sure looks like they are pushing the 27.5" stuff hard. My guess is that the 26"er stuff will go away at some point. Or maybe Trek will see that as the WSD version of a Farley's wheel size? Hard to say, but it is obvious that Trek is going big on the 27.5 format.

Come June, Trek will also offer a Bontrager branded dropper seat post in three travel lengths and, for now, only in a 31.6mm diameter size. The post is a cable actuated, hydraulic, infinitely adjustable post that can be internally routed.

The last tidbit I have is that we, (at the shop I work at), have it on good authority that a Manitou fat bike fork is coming that will "blow the Bluto out of the water", so look for news on that later in the year. There also should be some news on aftermarket availability of the tires, rims, and possibly the fork as well.

We were digging this version of the new Farley hardtails which will feature the Barbegazzi 27.5 X 4.5" tires.

Salsa Redpoint: You know, I don't think I saw the word "enduro" in the entire description!

Salsa Redpoint- Long Travel FS:

It's not a Pony Rustker, and it is not a Horsetheif. Nope- it's a Redpoint. It is a slack angled, long travel 27.5"er bike which can also fit 26Plus.  How much travel? Well, 150mm out back, and that's a heck of a lot. Salsa bills it as the " ...150mm travel trail bike for tackling the roughest and most remote all-mountain terrain." So, yeah.........probably not the bike to have in the Mid-West, but it is a cool option for sure. I may be mistaken, but it is the first dedicated "small wheel" sized full suspension bike since the demise of the El Kaboing about six or seven years ago. (The Pony Rustler doesn't count because it is not a 27.5 specific design.)

You have to hand it to Salsa Cycles. For a smaller brand, they have a really diverse full suspension line up. From the XC-ish Spearfish, the wheel morphing Pony Rustler and Horsethief models, to full suspension fat bikes, and now this long travel, back country brawler.

Electronic XT: Much, much more affordable.

  Shimano Deore XT Di2:

Of course, it was a no-brainer after we saw XTR, but the cost to gain entry to Di2 XTR a was a huge barrier. Not that the new Di2 XT is "cheap", by any means, but it is much less expensive. Definitely a "do-able" price for many folks. There are the eleven speeds, and the single or double front crank sets. This, in my opinion, is the group that kills SRAM Eagle. Unless you have issues with rear tire/front derailleur/chain clearances, (ie: Fat bikes, Plus bikes, and some FS 29"ers), then Di2 XT takes your front derailleur fears and kills them. Oh! But you say that SRAM only requires one shifter? So does Di2 mtb stuff. It can actually shift the front derailleur for you at the most appropriate moment. So, I just do not buy all of this, "I dropped a chain once so front derailleurs are bad." talk anymore. Unless it is a clearance issue, the smaller jumps between gears on XT Di2 and the front derailleur giving you a wide range of gears simply trumps the huge gearing jumps on the low end of the cassette on Eagle, or XX-1, for that matter.

Yes, it is great we have workable 1X stuff from SRAM, because many designs would not be possible on fat bikes, Plus Bikes, and FS 29"ers without that stuff, but for everything else, this new Shimano stuff pretty much does everything better.

2017 Raleigh Stuntman. Image pinched from Grannygear of Twenty Nine Inches

 Don't Call Them "Gravel Bikes" Anymore!

The blog here is littered with posts that I have written which say that "gravel grinder bike" or "gravel bikes" probably is not the best idea for a name for this newer genre of road-ish, fat tired, go anywhere machines. I even did a post which got 40-50 comments suggesting new names for this sort of bike several years ago.

Well, the industry finally figured out that, quite frankly, "gravel" as a term pisses people off. So, what to call these bikes? Well, the newest, (ahem! Salsa Cycles circa 2008 anyone?), buzzword is "adventure bikes" and I am noticing a lot of companies are pushing that term now. Raleigh, Breezer, and Marin were all pushing new concepts out at Sea Otter yesterday for 2017 releases that are being pigeon holed into this "new" category.

Probably the "poster child" for this sort of bike right now is Cannondale's Slate, but what I am seeing coming along now is more akin to Raleigh's preview of the '17 "Stuntman" bike. You could say "monster cross", and you wouldn't be wrong. Two inch wide tires, a 1X drive train, and a dropper post! This bike is, for all intents and purposes, also a look at the '17 Tamland, which will feature less width on the tires, but will also have this carbon fork, integrated head set, and will likely have the exact same frame. It's not a stretch to say that, because I can slot in 2" wide tires on my current, 2014 model Tamland, albeit just barely. It wouldn't take much to get to a place where there was a bit more clearance, Clarence.

Okay, that's a wrap for this week! Have a great weekend and stay safe!

Plastic Fantastic Magical Tire Musings

The Raleigh Roker LTD

Okay, so usually I don't get to check out the top-flight groups or frames in my years gigging as a reviewer of stuff. That's okay with me, as those "halo bikes" and bits of jewelry typically don't find their way into too many people's hands anyway. I'd rather chat and blather on about stuff that does make a dint in the "real lives" of the "average cyclist", however that might be defined.

Well, sometimes I have gotten a chance at a sweet, top-o-the range rig to test out, and oddly enough, the other one that comes immediately to mind is a Raleigh as well. Anyway, this Roker LTD has that carbon fiber thing going on, but that isn't a really earth shattering idea anymore these days. What is still fairly odd-ball about this bike is the electronic shifting, and that engenders far more conversation about this bike than anything else. So, how is that electronic shifting?

Well, I will say that it took some getting used to. Buttons are not like levers and the tactile feel of the buttons and the tactile feel of the pushing of them is somewhat ambiguous. Did I shift? Whoops! Wrong button! Those were two common thoughts during the first few rides. However; I started to come around. The fact that you can hold the button down to get several shifts was fun a couple of times. That isn't really going to be that big of a deal on most rides. The one thing I think was a big deal was that I could shift under power, whenever I wanted.

A champ a shifting......whenever you want to.

This is an important thing to stop and consider, because if you haven't used electronic shifting, your ingrained, habitual let ups and work-arounds to make your drive train work are something that is not noticed. You just have learned to shift this way. It's what you do before a hill, during a long climb, or coming out of a corner, that you just have lived with, but with electronic shifting, you don't have to anymore.

I found this to be a "light bulb" moment when I swung around a right hander into a climb, chose a gear, and stomped on the pedals. Whoops! Too high of a gear choice there, but- ya know- you just got to gut it out, because with this much pressure on the pedals, you probably won't get the shift. Unless.......zing! You have electronic shifting, which seems to be impervious to how hard you are cranking out the power. My shift made the climb more bearable. Interestingly, the chain actually did make a zing sound and the resulting vibrations could be felt through the carbon frame, the chain was so taught. I also was able to shift the front rings under power, standing up. It just doesn't seem to matter. All your preconceived notions, all your habitual shifting patterns and strategies are now completely useless with Di2. Those servos don't care. They shift no matter. It really makes things easier and.....better. 

I think electronic shifting bits are okay at this point, but I have to wonder how slippery a slope we are on. How, or even if, electronic shifting might take things out of our hands and start making decisions for us. Sound far fetched? I don't think so when you consider ANT+, Bluetooth, power meters, and electronic shifting and how that could all be integrated into an "automatic" shifting drive train.

It's an "official tire" for a certain event, but is it for you?

Then there are these tubeless tires from QBP's new brand, Teravail. They have poured a dump truck load of R&D, marketing, and promotion into this brand and in particular, the Cannonball 40mm tire. It's a tire that they have pinned a lot of hopes on, and it is the official tire of the Dirty Kanza 200, dontcha know. There is even a tire release party at Emporia this weekend. So.....yeah. It's a big deal.

Are these tires all that and a bag of chips? Well, there are over a 100 miles on the set I have here, and I can say that they are decent tires. I'm not all blown away by them, or at least, not yet. They may break in and ride better than they do now. Many gravel tires seem to be this way. Stiff, wooden feeling casings get more lively and cushy as the miles pile on. I was texting back and forth with my good friend, MG about this last night, and we recounted several tires we have both used that acted in this manner. That said, I'm not going to tell you these tires are so amazing they should have their own release party, because, well, that's just silly.  They do well tubeless though, and for that, I think they are definitely worth considering. I'll have more to say about these in the future.....

So, this bike as a whole, it is definitely interesting. It has a very unique ride quality that I have found that another guy at the shop, who I let ride it the other day, confirmed for me. In some ways it isn't very surprising, and in some ways the ride of the Roker is doing two things at once which is very unlike my steel bikes. Is it "bad" or is it "good"? I just don't quite know the answer to that just yet. I'll be moving the tires off this and slapping something I'm more attuned to to help me dissect this beast.

Until then, I'll be riding this plastic fantastic rig some more to get to the bottom of it all.

Plastic Fantastic Magical Tire Musings

The Raleigh Roker LTD

Okay, so usually I don't get to check out the top-flight groups or frames in my years gigging as a reviewer of stuff. That's okay with me, as those "halo bikes" and bits of jewelry typically don't find their way into too many people's hands anyway. I'd rather chat and blather on about stuff that does make a dint in the "real lives" of the "average cyclist", however that might be defined.

Well, sometimes I have gotten a chance at a sweet, top-o-the range rig to test out, and oddly enough, the other one that comes immediately to mind is a Raleigh as well. Anyway, this Roker LTD has that carbon fiber thing going on, but that isn't a really earth shattering idea anymore these days. What is still fairly odd-ball about this bike is the electronic shifting, and that engenders far more conversation about this bike than anything else. So, how is that electronic shifting?

Well, I will say that it took some getting used to. Buttons are not like levers and the tactile feel of the buttons and the tactile feel of the pushing of them is somewhat ambiguous. Did I shift? Whoops! Wrong button! Those were two common thoughts during the first few rides. However; I started to come around. The fact that you can hold the button down to get several shifts was fun a couple of times. That isn't really going to be that big of a deal on most rides. The one thing I think was a big deal was that I could shift under power, whenever I wanted.

A champ a shifting......whenever you want to.

This is an important thing to stop and consider, because if you haven't used electronic shifting, your ingrained, habitual let ups and work-arounds to make your drive train work are something that is not noticed. You just have learned to shift this way. It's what you do before a hill, during a long climb, or coming out of a corner, that you just have lived with, but with electronic shifting, you don't have to anymore.

I found this to be a "light bulb" moment when I swung around a right hander into a climb, chose a gear, and stomped on the pedals. Whoops! Too high of a gear choice there, but- ya know- you just got to gut it out, because with this much pressure on the pedals, you probably won't get the shift. Unless.......zing! You have electronic shifting, which seems to be impervious to how hard you are cranking out the power. My shift made the climb more bearable. Interestingly, the chain actually did make a zing sound and the resulting vibrations could be felt through the carbon frame, the chain was so taught. I also was able to shift the front rings under power, standing up. It just doesn't seem to matter. All your preconceived notions, all your habitual shifting patterns and strategies are now completely useless with Di2. Those servos don't care. They shift no matter. It really makes things easier and.....better. 

I think electronic shifting bits are okay at this point, but I have to wonder how slippery a slope we are on. How, or even if, electronic shifting might take things out of our hands and start making decisions for us. Sound far fetched? I don't think so when you consider ANT+, Bluetooth, power meters, and electronic shifting and how that could all be integrated into an "automatic" shifting drive train.

It's an "official tire" for a certain event, but is it for you?

Then there are these tubeless tires from QBP's new brand, Teravail. They have poured a dump truck load of R&D, marketing, and promotion into this brand and in particular, the Cannonball 40mm tire. It's a tire that they have pinned a lot of hopes on, and it is the official tire of the Dirty Kanza 200, dontcha know. There is even a tire release party at Emporia this weekend. So.....yeah. It's a big deal.

Are these tires all that and a bag of chips? Well, there are over a 100 miles on the set I have here, and I can say that they are decent tires. I'm not all blown away by them, or at least, not yet. They may break in and ride better than they do now. Many gravel tires seem to be this way. Stiff, wooden feeling casings get more lively and cushy as the miles pile on. I was texting back and forth with my good friend, MG about this last night, and we recounted several tires we have both used that acted in this manner. That said, I'm not going to tell you these tires are so amazing they should have their own release party, because, well, that's just silly.  They do well tubeless though, and for that, I think they are definitely worth considering. I'll have more to say about these in the future.....

So, this bike as a whole, it is definitely interesting. It has a very unique ride quality that I have found that another guy at the shop, who I let ride it the other day, confirmed for me. In some ways it isn't very surprising, and in some ways the ride of the Roker is doing two things at once which is very unlike my steel bikes. Is it "bad" or is it "good"? I just don't quite know the answer to that just yet. I'll be moving the tires off this and slapping something I'm more attuned to to help me dissect this beast.

Until then, I'll be riding this plastic fantastic rig some more to get to the bottom of it all.

Rainy Day Fiddlin'

Once I get this plugged in, then it's on!

With hurricane Patricia's remains about to drench us, I had no alternative but to high tail it home, even though I had a bit of spare time on my hands in the afternoon. So, I started fiddlin' with this new Raleigh Roker LTD that was sent over for test/review on RidingGravel.com.

I bought some Teravail Cannonball tires to check out, and the Roker LTD has tubeless ready American Classic Argent disc wheels on it, so......why not? I got the front one done quite easily, but the back one? That will have to wait until tomorrow. Why? Because I have to plug the bike in. 

Yep. This is a Di2 equipped rig, and the battery is completely dead. It came out of the box stuck in its lowest gear in the back, so until I can get that rear derailleur shifted out of the way, the back tire remains tubed. Yeah.......I could get the wheel out, but I figure I'll wait till I get the battery charged first. So......why don't I have it charged yet? Well, you see, I didn't get the charger, which is specific to this set up, with the bike. I mistakenly thought we had all we needed at the shop, but apparently this new stuff takes a different charger. Well........of course it does. No worries. A new charger should be here today and I'll get that battery charged up, ride the bike a bit, then swap out that tire tomorrow, most likely.

Batteries, chargers, and bicycles? I never thought I'd be saying those three words in the same sentence, but that's the way things have gone now. I hear great things about the Di2 stuff, so now I will get to try it and judge it for myself. Stay tuned......

Rainy Day Fiddlin'

Once I get this plugged in, then it's on!

With hurricane Patricia's remains about to drench us, I had no alternative but to high tail it home, even though I had a bit of spare time on my hands in the afternoon. So, I started fiddlin' with this new Raleigh Roker LTD that was sent over for test/review on RidingGravel.com.

I bought some Teravail Cannonball tires to check out, and the Roker LTD has tubeless ready American Classic Argent disc wheels on it, so......why not? I got the front one done quite easily, but the back one? That will have to wait until tomorrow. Why? Because I have to plug the bike in. 

Yep. This is a Di2 equipped rig, and the battery is completely dead. It came out of the box stuck in its lowest gear in the back, so until I can get that rear derailleur shifted out of the way, the back tire remains tubed. Yeah.......I could get the wheel out, but I figure I'll wait till I get the battery charged first. So......why don't I have it charged yet? Well, you see, I didn't get the charger, which is specific to this set up, with the bike. I mistakenly thought we had all we needed at the shop, but apparently this new stuff takes a different charger. Well........of course it does. No worries. A new charger should be here today and I'll get that battery charged up, ride the bike a bit, then swap out that tire tomorrow, most likely.

Batteries, chargers, and bicycles? I never thought I'd be saying those three words in the same sentence, but that's the way things have gone now. I hear great things about the Di2 stuff, so now I will get to try it and judge it for myself. Stay tuned......

Friday News And Views

Raleigh Roker Limited

Something Special:

So this just happened" I was offered the opportunity to test ride the Raleigh Roker Limited. This is kind of a big deal and an honor. Here's why....

Long time readers here know the story, but for those newer here, the Roker is based off the Tamland steel bike Raleigh does, and that bike was influenced by myself. Raleigh asked my opinion on geometry and features, and that got implemented into the Tamland, and subsequently all the gravel/back road bikes Raleigh does. So, to have this, top of the range, cutting edge bike be based off some crazy ideas I have, well...... Anyway, that's pretty humbling. The other thing is that this is currently the only rideable sample Raleigh has available. So I am quite honored they felt compelled to let me check it out now. Thank you Raleigh!!

I am pretty excited about getting a chance to throw a leg over this. While it isn't "revolutionary" in terms of what I am used to with regard to geometry on the Tamland, it does have the carbon frame, and the bottom bracket is a touch lower even than what I am riding now with my Raleigh. Lighter weight, carbon, Di2..... This will be a fun ride, I think. Stay tuned here and at RidingGravel.com for updates.

Trans Iowa v12 Updates:

Okay, this has been a big deal of a week from the standpoint of registration. The Rookies window to get cards in ends tomorrow. The Finishers/Winners window also ends tomorrow. The Vets window starts tomorrow. Lots going on!

That said, things should slow down once we get past Saturday. Then the Vets slots will likely fill up rather quickly, and I am betting the registration will be mostly over by Wednesday or Thursday at the latest. Then all eyes will be on the lottery for the 40 Rookie spots. I have to announce a specific time that will occur on Saturday October 31st, but there is one thing I do know. The lottery will be broadcast. I tried Periscope and it broadcasts to Twitter live. So, if you are interested in seeing the drawing live, it will be on my account which is @guitarted1961 on Twitter.

The way it seems to work with Periscope is that you can hop on at anytime during the broadcast, but if you miss something, you can watch the broadcast in its entirety afterward. I'm not an expert on Periscope, far from it, but this should prove to be fun stuff for those interested.

And before anyone hops to the next level..... No. There will be no live Periscope from the course of Trans Iowa v12. While that sounds like a good thing, I think it steps over the line in regards to the spirit of the event. Nuff said.......

The Teravail Cannonball 38mm tire

Teravail Cannonball Tires:

I just purchased some of these Teravail Cannonball tires with the tread design that is supposed to be good on "coarse gravel". That sounds like Iowa to me!

They are also supposed to be good as tubeless tires, which is what any new tire really should be these days. But what is really interesting to me is how these tires were designed. 

It used to be that tires were pretty much well thought out guesses at best, or just fashionably good looking at worst. What really worked was anybody's best guess, and typically a simple square knob, file tread, or slick turned out to be all one really needed depending upon the conditions and/or bike used. The "science" of tread was mostly not a prerequisite for coming up with something new. That isn't the case with these Teravail tires, as I understand it.

I was told by one of the product designers on the project that they studied tread design and how that interacted with gravel. The idea was to get to a tread design that caused the least amount of "squirm" on loose gravel and had the lowest rolling resistance. The tread design is definitely something unlike any other tire out there. The width at 38mm is a pretty good place to be at and I'll have to see what the tire's profile is once I get these things mounted tubeless.

Will they be the schiznit? Well, we'll find out. Stay tuned......

That's all for this week. Stay healthy, get outside, and ride those bicycles!

Friday News And Views

Raleigh Roker Limited

Something Special:

So this just happened" I was offered the opportunity to test ride the Raleigh Roker Limited. This is kind of a big deal and an honor. Here's why....

Long time readers here know the story, but for those newer here, the Roker is based off the Tamland steel bike Raleigh does, and that bike was influenced by myself. Raleigh asked my opinion on geometry and features, and that got implemented into the Tamland, and subsequently all the gravel/back road bikes Raleigh does. So, to have this, top of the range, cutting edge bike be based off some crazy ideas I have, well...... Anyway, that's pretty humbling. The other thing is that this is currently the only rideable sample Raleigh has available. So I am quite honored they felt compelled to let me check it out now. Thank you Raleigh!!

I am pretty excited about getting a chance to throw a leg over this. While it isn't "revolutionary" in terms of what I am used to with regard to geometry on the Tamland, it does have the carbon frame, and the bottom bracket is a touch lower even than what I am riding now with my Raleigh. Lighter weight, carbon, Di2..... This will be a fun ride, I think. Stay tuned here and at RidingGravel.com for updates.

Trans Iowa v12 Updates:

Okay, this has been a big deal of a week from the standpoint of registration. The Rookies window to get cards in ends tomorrow. The Finishers/Winners window also ends tomorrow. The Vets window starts tomorrow. Lots going on!

That said, things should slow down once we get past Saturday. Then the Vets slots will likely fill up rather quickly, and I am betting the registration will be mostly over by Wednesday or Thursday at the latest. Then all eyes will be on the lottery for the 40 Rookie spots. I have to announce a specific time that will occur on Saturday October 31st, but there is one thing I do know. The lottery will be broadcast. I tried Periscope and it broadcasts to Twitter live. So, if you are interested in seeing the drawing live, it will be on my account which is @guitarted1961 on Twitter.

The way it seems to work with Periscope is that you can hop on at anytime during the broadcast, but if you miss something, you can watch the broadcast in its entirety afterward. I'm not an expert on Periscope, far from it, but this should prove to be fun stuff for those interested.

And before anyone hops to the next level..... No. There will be no live Periscope from the course of Trans Iowa v12. While that sounds like a good thing, I think it steps over the line in regards to the spirit of the event. Nuff said.......

The Teravail Cannonball 38mm tire

Teravail Cannonball Tires:

I just purchased some of these Teravail Cannonball tires with the tread design that is supposed to be good on "coarse gravel". That sounds like Iowa to me!

They are also supposed to be good as tubeless tires, which is what any new tire really should be these days. But what is really interesting to me is how these tires were designed. 

It used to be that tires were pretty much well thought out guesses at best, or just fashionably good looking at worst. What really worked was anybody's best guess, and typically a simple square knob, file tread, or slick turned out to be all one really needed depending upon the conditions and/or bike used. The "science" of tread was mostly not a prerequisite for coming up with something new. That isn't the case with these Teravail tires, as I understand it.

I was told by one of the product designers on the project that they studied tread design and how that interacted with gravel. The idea was to get to a tread design that caused the least amount of "squirm" on loose gravel and had the lowest rolling resistance. The tread design is definitely something unlike any other tire out there. The width at 38mm is a pretty good place to be at and I'll have to see what the tire's profile is once I get these things mounted tubeless.

Will they be the schiznit? Well, we'll find out. Stay tuned......

That's all for this week. Stay healthy, get outside, and ride those bicycles!