Friday News And Views

 Triple D 2025:

The long running Winter endurance race, Triple D, will happen again this coming January 18th in Dubuque, Iowa. The event has a running and fat biking component. Fat bike riders can choose from three distances. There is the full-course 70 mile, the half-distance 35, and the non-timed fun ride with a 17 mile distance which also is a "poker ride" adding to the fun factor. 

Runners can sign up for a 50K Ultra-Marathon, a full or half Marathon distances, and there is a fun "stroll", which is a walking distance of 5K. (You can run it as well)

Registration is open now HERE. 

Stan's Collab With Swiss Daysaver Tool Results In Incredible DART:

Stan's released their newest DART tubeless repair kit in collaboration with Swiss tool maker Daysaver. Called the "Incredible DART", this tool hides a DART plug readied to go at the twist of the black portion of the tool. This releases the DART like a switchblade knife and you can get to plugging that leak more quickly.

The Incredible DART also can be configured to reside inside your handle bar end with a kit offered by Stan's at an extra cost. The Incredible DART is made from aluminum and also houses three extra DART plugs which come with the purchase price of $72.00 USD. 

Comments: That's not cheap, but I can see this if you are a racer with seconds burning up as you pull over for a repair with this DART tool. You would be ready at a moments notice to use the DART and get back on the course with less downtime. But other than that, yeah... A standard DART tool is $25.00 for comparison. 

I have to admit to having several tubeless repair kits and never having had to use one. Not in the seventeen years I've been running bicycle tires tubeless all over the Mid-West, so maybe this is all lost on me. If you've had experiences with one of these tools, let me know in the comments.

Image courtesy of Lapierre Bikes

Does The New Lapierre Pulsium Show Gravel Bike Influence?

I received a press release this past week concerning Lapierre's new endurance/ultra-distance road bike, the Pulsium. It is a very interesting bike from the standpoint of a gravel cyclist. 

While it is a road bike, the Lapierre Pulsium is rated for 38mm tires with fenders, which indicates to me that this may as well be representative of what we were looking at for gravel bikes five to seven years ago. At least from a tire clearance perspective. 

But looking at other aspects of this design, it becomes apparent that cues from the gravel cycling world are being heeded in today's road cycling marketplace. Things like flared drop bars (10° on this bike) and the unique seat stay design that Lapierre calls "3D Tubular". The stays pass the seat tube, are not connected to it, but terminate at a point at the top tube ahead of the seat tube. These stays are arched slightly to allow for a spring-like movement which translates to better rider comfort over lower frequency bumps, according to Lapierre's press release.

Image courtesy of Lapierre Bikes

This sort of design idea (flexing seat stays) has been utilized by several gravel bikes, but none more famous, perhaps, than Salsa Cycles Class 5 VRS stays. So, wider tires, flex stays, and flared drop bars? Seems pretty "gravel-ish" to me. While this is only one bike, other companies have been bringing in classic design cues from gravel into their road lines also. It makes perfect sense since "gravel" is the category which has captivated the buying public now for several years. 

This also makes sense for how I, and others, envisioned this "all-road" idea to be back in the late 2000's. That was a time when you were lucky to get a road bike with 25mm tire clearances, and the geometry, even for entry level road bikes, was the same for those Pro level bikes meant for super-fit, athletic builds. While there is always a place for such a bicycle, most people could use more of an all-roads approach which would be versatile, utilitarian, and have lightweight, durable, long lasting design for frames, forks, and components. 

Just to be clear, I don't think we are seeing the ultimate vision for this sort of all-roads bicycle yet. But we are a lot closer than we were in 2008. 

Guitar Ted Podcast Episode #61:

In case you missed it, here is the link to last week's podcast, Episode #61.  But what I really need to have your help with is for our next episode. 

We are going to talk about tubeless tire sealants. What works, what does not work, failures and successes. We plan on having 'shiggy' back again who will have his perspective from a drier, warmer climate versus ours which comes from a wetter, and colder (in Winter) perspective. Obviously local conditions will help us out as well to give the listener more varied experiences and opinions. 

What I want to know is what you, the reader here, thinks is a good topic to cover regarding sealants for tubeless tires. What would you like to know? Do you have any experiences that are unique, frustrating, or noteworthy for their success? 

Let me know in the comments, or email me at g.ted.productions@gmail.com. 

Should This "Pipedream" Become Reality?

Trek showed this bike, dubbed the "Pipedream", on their social media on Wednesday. The text that went along with it read:

"Meet PipeDream: a Trek prototype by Kyle Neuser with a steel main frame and Top Fuel rear stays for classic strength and modern performance. Exposed cable routing, bolt-on shock mounts, and retro-inspired paint—built for today’s trails."

Comments: Asking readers, "Should we make this?", I think the answer may already be in play. Typically you don't see stuff like this unless there is a marketing plan in place to sell it. 

I also have to admit that when I saw this I had a double-take because, well.....Trek. This company doesn't typically float prototype ideas and, if I recall correctly, they really haven't done anything like that since the 2000's. But I like this, and if it were to be sold looking like this, or similarly, with minimal badging? I'd be a fan. Would I buy one? 

Well, "pipe dreams" sometimes do come true, but I would be willing to bet that this bike would be somewhere between 5k and 10k and that's simply far above a price I'd pay to have a part-time usage bike in my stable. Granted, I am not the core customer for a bicycle like this, but it is refreshing to see Trek have a take on the typically British idea of a full-suspension trail bike with a steel main frame.

Redshift Sports Arclight Pedals Back: 

Erik from Redshift recently let me know that Redshift Sports recently had restocked on Arclight Pedals. I guess that they had been out of stock for some time. 

I did a review of the Arclight Pro pedals which you can access HERE. Check that out if you want, but I will say now that if you ride in a city at night, these pedals will definitely increase your safety and make you more noticeable to other vehicle operators. 

Besides that, who doesn't like being part of a rolling light show? That's the fun part of these pedals and I always smile when I see people craning their necks to try and figure out "what I am" while riding with these pedals.

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

Friday News And Views

Image courtesy of Lapierre Bicycles.

 A "Fixed" FN&V!

Lapierre Debuts New Crosshill CF Gravel Bike:

Seen at last weekend's Gravel World Championships in Belgium, Lapierre's new gravel bike has stirred up some interest due to its design, specifically around the seat tube/seat stays area of its carbon fiber frame. 

The seat tube and seat stays are decoupled, with the seat stays making connection with the top tube just ahead of the seat tube. This is not a novel idea, but it is unusual looking, to be sure. Obviously the goal here is to provide more comfort to the rider with the longer seat stays and independent seat tube providing flex over small bumps and vibrations. 

Lapierre calls their seat tube design concept "Tubular Endurance" and the seat stays "Flexstays". Lapierre claims that at 40kph this design concept reduces vibrations by 12% over a traditional frame design. 

Image courtesy of Lapierre Bicycles

The Crosshill CF is designed to accept a 40mm gravel suspension fork and up to 45mm 700c tires. The geometry is said to be quite different from the current trends, (more on that in my comments), and several parameters of the geometry vary across the size range. 

The Crosshill CF comes in seven models with variants having 2X and 1X drive trains, both in mechanical and electronic groups. Prices range from approximately $3,075.00 to $7,685.00 USD (prices converted from Euros at the time of the press release) These bikes are also UCI approved, (If that matters to you, then there you go!)

Comments: Lapierre says this bike has a shorter top tube per size than you might be used to. (Note: As of this writing, Lapierre did not have the Crosshill CF on their site, so the following opinions are mine and the numbers came off their press release) I found the sizing to be strange with what would be my normal choice, a Large, being slightly small at a 52cm seat tube, a 601mm stack, and a 57cm top tube. The next size up, the XL, has a 55cm seat tube, 620mm stack, and a 58.5cm top tube. This leaves me in an in between state and I'd likely go for the XL, if I was dead set on the Crosshill CF. 

Other numbers weren't too inspired. "Normal", perhaps? The head angle is listed for my size at 71.5° and the bottom bracket has a 70mm drop. Kind of 2015-ish numbers there. So, with the all-internal routing, including the handle bar and stem, and along with the weird geometry, this doesn't strike me as a great option, but that's my opinion. 

Additionally, this effort has comfort/compliance built into the rear with no regard, (unless you get a front telescopic fork) for the front end vibration reduction. I rode a bike from a now defunct company that had a design much like this one that made a similar mistake. Again, this was like ten years ago. 

So, with this bike being strikingly different from "normal" designs, it may seem like an innovation, but in my opinion, this design is a bit dated. 

Ritchey Design Releases Limited Edition Garden City Fixed Gear Frameset:

A "true" track bike in design, (nothing like my 1930's inspired Honeman Flyer!), the Ritchey "Garden City" frame set is a fixed gear design with a bit of versatility mixed in. 

The bike is steel, of course, with the Ritchey standard 1 1/8th steer tube and steel fork to match. Typically steep geometry and high bottom bracket allow for super quick handling and the ability to lean into corners without clipping a pedal. 

The "versatility" comes in the form of two bottle cage mounts. Most "true" track frames don't have any bottle mounts. The frame and fork are rated for 30mm tires so you won't have to run skinny tires on this one if you don't want to. (Yes, a Surly Steamroller can take a bigger tire. ) The Garden City could be your "never die" commuter, a training bike, or your first try at fixed gear. The frame set is $1,199,00USD and is available now. Check it out on Ritchey's site HERE.

Update On The Shogun Fixed Gear Bike:

The "No Coast" experiment is off to a great start with a major change now to the handlebar set up. I mentioned in my last update on this bike that I was probably going to put a mustache bar on the bike to alleviate my distaste for classic drop bar geometry. Plus the brake hoods of those old Shimano 600 levers were like trying to hold a knife edge compared to modern day hoods and levers. 

Well, I just so happen to have a Whisky Winston Bar, a carbon fiber mustache style bar that can take road or MTB standard controls. That went on via a stem insert that allowed me to use a threadless stem. That in turn allowed me to utilize the Winston Bar with its 31.8mm clamp diameter for a stem interface. 

This has simply transformed this bike from something I was tolerating to being a fun bicycle. I may flip the Winston to its "riser" position verses what I have now in its "drop" position, but besides that, this is a winning combination. The brake lever is a Velo Orange Grand Cru lever which I have a pair of, but am only using the one here due to clearance issues on the fork which preclude my use of two brake calipers. The bag is also from Velo Orange and is the Burrito Supreme bag. I added an old Blackburn frame pump, a Lezyne light set, and boom! A fixed gear commuter! 

I've used it a few times now for commutes and for just bombing around the neighborhood because it is a ton of fun. I recommend everyone at least try a fixed gear bike once. If you are a cyclist, you owe it to yourself to have this experience. It is unlike riding anything else. Just remember: no coasting! 

Gravel Grinder News

News On Life Time's Grand Prix & SBT GRVL:

Next year's dates are starting to get announced now and first up we have news from Life Time Fitness concerning next year's Grand Prix. 

Life Time is tweaking their event schedule by turning the opener at Sea Otter into a gravel event which previously was one of three MTB events. To counter that Life Time has added a "Little Sugar" MTB event in Northwestern Arkansas as a compliment to the required Big Sugar gravel event which rounds out the season. The series will be a best five of six events to determine a Men's and Women's overall winner. 

The series is also cutting back on the field roster limit by 10 riders, reducing the field from a maximum of 35 allowed in 2024 to 25 in 2025. It was noted that this season Life Time only saw approximately 25 women and 30 men take multiple starts in the series so far, so this reduction may be a reflection of a lack of demand for spots in the series. 

SBT GRVL, the embattled event held in Routt County, Colorado, has made some major changes to comply with Routt County Commissioner's recommendations and demands stemming from complaints from the ranching community there. This coming year the event will move out of its traditional August date to a two-day June affair on June 28th and 29th. The first date will see a non-competitive "fondo" event for up to 1,800 riders. The following day a competitive event with a field limitation of 750 riders will be held on a 37-mile gravel circuit with a rolling enclosure for both Elite (3 laps) and Amateur riders (2 laps) South of Hayden, Colorado. The dates were moved to avoid overlapping with Routt County haying season. 

Comments: I've noted small fields in Pro level events the last two years in the USA and seeing a reduction in the roster limit for Grand Prix events is no surprise then. It will be interesting to see if SBT GRVL has anywhere near 750 elite athletes showing up. The June date also is an interesting choice coming only approximately three weeks after Unbound and during peak Sun period for a high elevation event. 

What all this portends will be watched as the cycling industry, rightly or wrongly, bases its "barometer" of how things are going off of Pro racing and because gravel is the hot category now, that is where the focus is. 

Have a great weekend! Ride those bikes and peep some leaves!