Country Views: Up Against It- Back With It

Escape Route: 2nd Avenue, Waterloo, Iowa.

Man! Tuesday was brutal! Humidity up the wazoo and hot to boot. One of those 'your sweating just standing still' kind of days. My son's graduation saw me get all gussied up in a suit and I tell ya....it wasn't comfortable! But regarding the occasion I wore it for, it was totally worth it. 

Overnight the air swapped out to a Canadian source and with that, a much lower humidity and temperature. Wednesday dawned bright, clear, and comfortable with a strong breeze from the Northwest. I knew I had an errand to run in the morning and I wanted to stay and eat lunch with my two children who weren't in school anymore. So, I did that and at 2:00pm I was finally ready to roll out from G-Ted Headquarters for a short ride up North first. Go into the wind, roll home with it. That was the plan. 

The breeze was coming at what the weather people claimed was a 22mph steady stream with higher gusts. Honestly, I felt no gusting. Just a blast from the Northwest that was loud in the ears. Oh well! At least it wasn't beastly humid and the temperature was in the upper 70's, so really nice.

Burton Avenue- Clean lines and fast, despite the headwind.

Rolling up Burton to the intersection with Mt Vernon Road here.

I decided to dust off the ol' Raleigh Tamland Two. It is a red, white, and blue scheme in terms of its looks, and with Memorial Day weekend coming, why not use it? Seemed like the proper thing to do. 

I had to re-up the sealant, since I have not used this bike since last Fall when I was still on 'The Quest'. Once that was done it was ready to go, and it worked flawlessly for my ride. I always forget how touchy and powerful those Tektro hydraulic brakes on this bike are. I mean, I can stop using my pinky off the hoods position, if I wanted to! It took a few stops before I adjusted my pulling power on my hands! 

The fields are slowly turning greener.

I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to hold a good pace up most of the climb up out of the Cedar Valley. There was a few downshifts, but considering the resistance put up by the wind, I was happy with how I was going. 

When I reached St. Paul's at the corner of Gresham Road and Burton Avenue, I'd had enough of going North!

I guess the 'new trend' is "big tires and drop bars". Hmm.... Meet my 2014 Raleigh Tamland!

By the time I had reached St. Paul's Church on Burton Avenue I had decided that I had had enough of headwinds. It was time for some relief and a right turn downhill on Gresham Road. Man! That white noise of the wind rushing by my ears was gone and I could finally hear the crunch of gravel underneath my poofy sized Vee Tire Rocketman tires. 

I must have just missed the dump truck! Freshies on Moline Road North of C-57 here.

Someone is erecting a ginormous machine shed on Moline Road and C-57 here.

I decided I only wanted to do a two to three hour ride, especially after working hard into that big wind. So, I turned back South on Moline Road and even with fresh gravel, I was flying. It was almost too easy! I was reminded of that time in Kansas when I did a ride up North into a stiff wind and came back on a mighty tailwind. I coasted a full country mile that day! I didn't quite pull that off Wednesday, but I was coasting far more than pedaling there for a bit until I got into the rollers South of Dunkerton Road. 

Back to clean tracks and loads of speed running with the wind.

Looking back the way I came at Moline Road's namesake- The Moline-Anderson Farm.

It didn't take long to roll out of the fresh gravel and I found myself on speedy, clean tracks which raised my speeds even more. The Vee Tire Rocketman tires were humming like bias ply truck tires! I made a short stop for a few images I needed to get but then it was back on the bike and my ride on gravel was soon over.

I still had to get back home, so I snaked my way through the North parts of Waterloo, crossed the Cedar River, and was back home shortly after 4:00pm. Not quite as long as I had hoped for, but later on, my legs were barking and I was tired. I knew that the heat, wind, and hills had given me a lot in those two hours of riding. I know it doesn't sound like much, but I was grateful for the time regardless.

Country Views: Up Against It- Back With It

Escape Route: 2nd Avenue, Waterloo, Iowa.

Man! Tuesday was brutal! Humidity up the wazoo and hot to boot. One of those 'your sweating just standing still' kind of days. My son's graduation saw me get all gussied up in a suit and I tell ya....it wasn't comfortable! But regarding the occasion I wore it for, it was totally worth it. 

Overnight the air swapped out to a Canadian source and with that, a much lower humidity and temperature. Wednesday dawned bright, clear, and comfortable with a strong breeze from the Northwest. I knew I had an errand to run in the morning and I wanted to stay and eat lunch with my two children who weren't in school anymore. So, I did that and at 2:00pm I was finally ready to roll out from G-Ted Headquarters for a short ride up North first. Go into the wind, roll home with it. That was the plan. 

The breeze was coming at what the weather people claimed was a 22mph steady stream with higher gusts. Honestly, I felt no gusting. Just a blast from the Northwest that was loud in the ears. Oh well! At least it wasn't beastly humid and the temperature was in the upper 70's, so really nice.

Burton Avenue- Clean lines and fast, despite the headwind.

Rolling up Burton to the intersection with Mt Vernon Road here.

I decided to dust off the ol' Raleigh Tamland Two. It is a red, white, and blue scheme in terms of its looks, and with Memorial Day weekend coming, why not use it? Seemed like the proper thing to do. 

I had to re-up the sealant, since I have not used this bike since last Fall when I was still on 'The Quest'. Once that was done it was ready to go, and it worked flawlessly for my ride. I always forget how touchy and powerful those Tektro hydraulic brakes on this bike are. I mean, I can stop using my pinky off the hoods position, if I wanted to! It took a few stops before I adjusted my pulling power on my hands! 

The fields are slowly turning greener.

I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to hold a good pace up most of the climb up out of the Cedar Valley. There was a few downshifts, but considering the resistance put up by the wind, I was happy with how I was going. 

When I reached St. Paul's at the corner of Gresham Road and Burton Avenue, I'd had enough of going North!

I guess the 'new trend' is "big tires and drop bars". Hmm.... Meet my 2014 Raleigh Tamland!

By the time I had reached St. Paul's Church on Burton Avenue I had decided that I had had enough of headwinds. It was time for some relief and a right turn downhill on Gresham Road. Man! That white noise of the wind rushing by my ears was gone and I could finally hear the crunch of gravel underneath my poofy sized Vee Tire Rocketman tires. 

I must have just missed the dump truck! Freshies on Moline Road North of C-57 here.

Someone is erecting a ginormous machine shed on Moline Road and C-57 here.

I decided I only wanted to do a two to three hour ride, especially after working hard into that big wind. So, I turned back South on Moline Road and even with fresh gravel, I was flying. It was almost too easy! I was reminded of that time in Kansas when I did a ride up North into a stiff wind and came back on a mighty tailwind. I coasted a full country mile that day! I didn't quite pull that off Wednesday, but I was coasting far more than pedaling there for a bit until I got into the rollers South of Dunkerton Road. 

Back to clean tracks and loads of speed running with the wind.

Looking back the way I came at Moline Road's namesake- The Moline-Anderson Farm.

It didn't take long to roll out of the fresh gravel and I found myself on speedy, clean tracks which raised my speeds even more. The Vee Tire Rocketman tires were humming like bias ply truck tires! I made a short stop for a few images I needed to get but then it was back on the bike and my ride on gravel was soon over.

I still had to get back home, so I snaked my way through the North parts of Waterloo, crossed the Cedar River, and was back home shortly after 4:00pm. Not quite as long as I had hoped for, but later on, my legs were barking and I was tired. I knew that the heat, wind, and hills had given me a lot in those two hours of riding. I know it doesn't sound like much, but I was grateful for the time regardless.

Friday News And Views

A map of the 2015 Gravel Worlds course

Ahoy! Gravel Mateys!

Today I'll be on my way to Lincoln, Nebraska to join my like minded gravel riding nut-jobs to take part in the Pirate Cycling League's 2015 version of Gravel Worlds . It's an almost 150 mile route through the hilly, (YES- Nebraska is HILLY), terrain circumnavigating Lincoln.

I will try to keep up on social media when I can, so if you do Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook, I will post a few updates throughout the day Saturday. Don't count on a blow-by-blow covering of Gravel Worlds though. I'll just be posting so some folks that care will know I'm still sailing around the gravelly seas of Nebraska and not in Davey Jone's Locker.

This event used to be known as "The Good Life Gravel Adventure" back in '08 and '09. I was convinced to check out the second GLGA event by David Pals, at that time my co-director of Trans Iowa. It was a shoestring adventure and on a single speed, no less. I was hooked then and came back another time to enjoy the scene there. The second time it was co-named the "GLGA-Gravel Worlds", and again, I rode a single speed. I thought I had made it down one other time on a geared bike, but I cannot find any evidence of that, and so I guess it was twice, and I haven't been back in....gulp!, five years! Well, things have changed a bit since those early days!

The first time I rode down there the GLGA had under 50 participants. I think the first Gravel Worlds had 110 or so. Well, this one will have nearly 300! That's a big, big difference right there. I expect there will be other, "big" differences as well, so stay tuned for my thoughts on the Gravel Worlds and a ride report beginning next week.

Lou on the Left, Vee Tire Snowshoe 2XL on right

King Of Fat:

It used to be that a Surly Bud or Lou on a 100mm rim was the fattest tire you could get. Not anymore....

The new "King Of Fat", (which is what this tire should have been called, I think), is the Vee Tire "Snowshoe 2XL". For all the gory details on this beast, see Fat-Bike.com's story here.  (The image to the left is from their story as well.)

My take is that this will be the ultimate flotation tire. In other words, if you find you are going to go out and bust your own trails, go where no one else is going, and you need to be "on top" of the terrain as much as possible, then this is your tire. Translation: If you run groomed trails, dry terrain that is the realm of mountain biking, or are running on loose, drier stuff that isn't sand, these tires won't do you one bit of good. They will just be heavier, harder to handle, and stroke your "I have the biggest tires" ego. Well......they also probably will not fit your current bike. At over 5" in width on 100 mm rims, there are only a few production bikes in existence that these will fit on. I'm not sure they would fit on my Blackborow, for instance, but I've heard these tires will "barely" clear the frame.

I won't say I would never get a pair of these, as they would slot into my usual Winter hi-jinx. I like bushwhacking powder and mud, and so flotation makes sense to me. However; I haven't reached the limits of the Lou/Clown Shoe set up I have, so I just don't see the need to jump on these right now. That said, it's a nice option to be able to go to if I do ever go beyond the limits of the set up I have now.

Blackborow and the Bluto

Looking Forward To Winter:

 Speaking of fat bikes, I haven't ever gotten my plan to convert the Blackborow to......well, you'll have to wait for that. Anyway, part of the plan was the Bluto fork, and I have been on it more since my first impressions of it a while back. I still really like having suspension on this bike for "Summer duties", but it does add weight. Weight is a bad deal in Winter, and so I'll be going back to the original equipment fork, and my Anything Cage HD racks along with that, for the colder months.

I still have my Titanium Mukluk, and for that rig I may be looking to a 1 X 11 group, which will allow bigger rear tires and no chain to tire rub in the lowest gears. With its antiquated 1 1/8th steer tube, I have stuck an On One Carbon Fatty fork on there which lightens up the bike and still gives a great ride feel. I think my direction with that bike will be to use it as a "fast" Winter set up. So, I will be getting it all set for "slop" conditions, groomed stuff, and general riding around.

I still have the Snow Dog as well, but currently it has been relegated to the back wall in the basement as I don't have wheels for it at present. That may change soon though, so I may have a new plan for this old girl soon.

There may be some parts tweakage on all three rigs coming along as the months crawl on by toward 2016. Stay tuned....

And that's a wrap for now. Have a great weekend and I'll be back Monday with the start of my Gravel Worlds report......

Friday News And Views

A map of the 2015 Gravel Worlds course

Ahoy! Gravel Mateys!

Today I'll be on my way to Lincoln, Nebraska to join my like minded gravel riding nut-jobs to take part in the Pirate Cycling League's 2015 version of Gravel Worlds . It's an almost 150 mile route through the hilly, (YES- Nebraska is HILLY), terrain circumnavigating Lincoln.

I will try to keep up on social media when I can, so if you do Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook, I will post a few updates throughout the day Saturday. Don't count on a blow-by-blow covering of Gravel Worlds though. I'll just be posting so some folks that care will know I'm still sailing around the gravelly seas of Nebraska and not in Davey Jone's Locker.

This event used to be known as "The Good Life Gravel Adventure" back in '08 and '09. I was convinced to check out the second GLGA event by David Pals, at that time my co-director of Trans Iowa. It was a shoestring adventure and on a single speed, no less. I was hooked then and came back another time to enjoy the scene there. The second time it was co-named the "GLGA-Gravel Worlds", and again, I rode a single speed. I thought I had made it down one other time on a geared bike, but I cannot find any evidence of that, and so I guess it was twice, and I haven't been back in....gulp!, five years! Well, things have changed a bit since those early days!

The first time I rode down there the GLGA had under 50 participants. I think the first Gravel Worlds had 110 or so. Well, this one will have nearly 300! That's a big, big difference right there. I expect there will be other, "big" differences as well, so stay tuned for my thoughts on the Gravel Worlds and a ride report beginning next week.

Lou on the Left, Vee Tire Snowshoe 2XL on right

King Of Fat:

It used to be that a Surly Bud or Lou on a 100mm rim was the fattest tire you could get. Not anymore....

The new "King Of Fat", (which is what this tire should have been called, I think), is the Vee Tire "Snowshoe 2XL". For all the gory details on this beast, see Fat-Bike.com's story here.  (The image to the left is from their story as well.)

My take is that this will be the ultimate flotation tire. In other words, if you find you are going to go out and bust your own trails, go where no one else is going, and you need to be "on top" of the terrain as much as possible, then this is your tire. Translation: If you run groomed trails, dry terrain that is the realm of mountain biking, or are running on loose, drier stuff that isn't sand, these tires won't do you one bit of good. They will just be heavier, harder to handle, and stroke your "I have the biggest tires" ego. Well......they also probably will not fit your current bike. At over 5" in width on 100 mm rims, there are only a few production bikes in existence that these will fit on. I'm not sure they would fit on my Blackborow, for instance, but I've heard these tires will "barely" clear the frame.

I won't say I would never get a pair of these, as they would slot into my usual Winter hi-jinx. I like bushwhacking powder and mud, and so flotation makes sense to me. However; I haven't reached the limits of the Lou/Clown Shoe set up I have, so I just don't see the need to jump on these right now. That said, it's a nice option to be able to go to if I do ever go beyond the limits of the set up I have now.

Blackborow and the Bluto

Looking Forward To Winter:

 Speaking of fat bikes, I haven't ever gotten my plan to convert the Blackborow to......well, you'll have to wait for that. Anyway, part of the plan was the Bluto fork, and I have been on it more since my first impressions of it a while back. I still really like having suspension on this bike for "Summer duties", but it does add weight. Weight is a bad deal in Winter, and so I'll be going back to the original equipment fork, and my Anything Cage HD racks along with that, for the colder months.

I still have my Titanium Mukluk, and for that rig I may be looking to a 1 X 11 group, which will allow bigger rear tires and no chain to tire rub in the lowest gears. With its antiquated 1 1/8th steer tube, I have stuck an On One Carbon Fatty fork on there which lightens up the bike and still gives a great ride feel. I think my direction with that bike will be to use it as a "fast" Winter set up. So, I will be getting it all set for "slop" conditions, groomed stuff, and general riding around.

I still have the Snow Dog as well, but currently it has been relegated to the back wall in the basement as I don't have wheels for it at present. That may change soon though, so I may have a new plan for this old girl soon.

There may be some parts tweakage on all three rigs coming along as the months crawl on by toward 2016. Stay tuned....

And that's a wrap for now. Have a great weekend and I'll be back Monday with the start of my Gravel Worlds report......

News Season Part 3: Tires V1

NOTE: Large doses of "my opinion" will be handed out in gloppy dollops today. You've been forewarned.....

There were some questions I got recently about tires and today's post covers some of that. Keep in mind that we will be seeing a lot of tire intros now through the Fall. Here's V1 on Tires.....

Bontrager Hodag fat bike tire

Bontrager Hodag Fat Bike Tire:

This is the tire due to come on many Trek Farley fat bikes. It will be a 60TPI tire with a tubeless ready bead and a 3.8" width with folding Aramid beads. This tire is made to work tubeless with the Jackalope rims which are 80mm wide from Bontrager. No word on when or if these will be sold separately, but all indications are that this will be the case. 

Retail price is set at $149.99 for the tire.

Comments: In a day and age when many fat bike enthusiasts are fed up with high tire prices and in combination with many brands offering similar fare at $50.00 less or more per tire, the Hodad will be a tough sell separately. While it boasts a tubeless set up with the Jackalope rim, I see this as only an advantage to those buying a Farley or upgrading one. Besides, isn't just about everyone looking for 4-4.5" tires now?

The Maxxis Chronicle 29+ as shown on Greg Matyas' new Corvus

Maxxis Chronicle 29+

More 29+ tires will be getting out there really soon and one of those will be the Maxxis Chronicle.  Maxxis makes some decent treads so I suspect that this one will be well liked. Another benefit of the Maxxis mtb tires are that they generally convert to tubeless well and don't seem to show any ill effects from sealant.

Commentary: One side note- Maxxis is a big OEM supplier, so you have to wonder what brand may have laid the foundation for this tire's production, as it is doubtful that Maxxis just decided to produce it of their own accord. Whatever the case may be there, it bodes well for 29+ that someone with the "horsepower" of Maxxis is getting behind it, even if only for a bit.

Mammoth indeed! A Maxxis fatty.

Maxxis Mammoth: 

I've posted this here before, but it maybe needs to be mentioned again that Maxxis is also doing a fat bike tire dubbed the Mammoth in a 26 X 4.0" size. The tread looks like a modification of a Crossmark 29"er tread with a bit of the old Endomorph's webbed barring in there as well.

Commentary: Once again, the existence of a Maxxis fat bike tire begs the question- Where will this show up and on which brand's fat bike? I just find it really difficult to believe that this wasn't made for an OEM customer, but again, I could be all wrong. The thing is, it is the right size and tread pattern for a stock, higher end fat bike from somebody. Then again, Maxxis has been known to put tire models out there fishing for OEM business, so the tire very well may have come first.

Vee Tire "Trax Fatty" 29 X 3.0

Vee Tire Trax Fatty 29+ & B+

This tire is a pretty well known entry by now, or at least it should be, but Vee Tire now has it on their site with details.

Available as a 29 X 3.0 in 72 TPI wire or folding bead at 1025 grams and 980 grams each at $100.00 , $110.00 respectively. There will also be a 120TPI version said to clock in at 920 grams with an Aramid folding bead for $120.00. The B+ version will mimic the bead selection, prices, and TPI selections with weights as follows starting from wire bead/72TPI: 895,820, and 800 grams. The width on this one is said to be at 3.25", so wider than the upcoming WTB model in B+.

Commentary: Vee Tire is pretty aggressive with tire introductions and the B+ and 29+ entries are really no surprise. I think the B+ model is too wide to be practical for swapping into current 29"er frames and with a current dearth of wide, 27.5"/ISO584 rims, it seems to be either a dead end tire, (for now), or it signals another OEM bike we don't know about yet. To be sure, wider 27.5 rims are coming, but they aren't quite here yet. (That said, by the time you read this a certain bike company may have made their announcement of a B+ sized rig, and that may change the landscape somewhat.) The Vee 29+ tire is another example of downward pressure in terms of price on a market that Surly has had to itself until now. It'll be interesting to see how that plays out in the future.

News Season Part 3: Tires V1

NOTE: Large doses of "my opinion" will be handed out in gloppy dollops today. You've been forewarned.....

There were some questions I got recently about tires and today's post covers some of that. Keep in mind that we will be seeing a lot of tire intros now through the Fall. Here's V1 on Tires.....

Bontrager Hodag fat bike tire

Bontrager Hodag Fat Bike Tire:

This is the tire due to come on many Trek Farley fat bikes. It will be a 60TPI tire with a tubeless ready bead and a 3.8" width with folding Aramid beads. This tire is made to work tubeless with the Jackalope rims which are 80mm wide from Bontrager. No word on when or if these will be sold separately, but all indications are that this will be the case. 

Retail price is set at $149.99 for the tire.

Comments: In a day and age when many fat bike enthusiasts are fed up with high tire prices and in combination with many brands offering similar fare at $50.00 less or more per tire, the Hodad will be a tough sell separately. While it boasts a tubeless set up with the Jackalope rim, I see this as only an advantage to those buying a Farley or upgrading one. Besides, isn't just about everyone looking for 4-4.5" tires now?

The Maxxis Chronicle 29+ as shown on Greg Matyas' new Corvus

Maxxis Chronicle 29+

More 29+ tires will be getting out there really soon and one of those will be the Maxxis Chronicle.  Maxxis makes some decent treads so I suspect that this one will be well liked. Another benefit of the Maxxis mtb tires are that they generally convert to tubeless well and don't seem to show any ill effects from sealant.

Commentary: One side note- Maxxis is a big OEM supplier, so you have to wonder what brand may have laid the foundation for this tire's production, as it is doubtful that Maxxis just decided to produce it of their own accord. Whatever the case may be there, it bodes well for 29+ that someone with the "horsepower" of Maxxis is getting behind it, even if only for a bit.

Mammoth indeed! A Maxxis fatty.

Maxxis Mammoth: 

I've posted this here before, but it maybe needs to be mentioned again that Maxxis is also doing a fat bike tire dubbed the Mammoth in a 26 X 4.0" size. The tread looks like a modification of a Crossmark 29"er tread with a bit of the old Endomorph's webbed barring in there as well.

Commentary: Once again, the existence of a Maxxis fat bike tire begs the question- Where will this show up and on which brand's fat bike? I just find it really difficult to believe that this wasn't made for an OEM customer, but again, I could be all wrong. The thing is, it is the right size and tread pattern for a stock, higher end fat bike from somebody. Then again, Maxxis has been known to put tire models out there fishing for OEM business, so the tire very well may have come first.

Vee Tire "Trax Fatty" 29 X 3.0

Vee Tire Trax Fatty 29+ & B+

This tire is a pretty well known entry by now, or at least it should be, but Vee Tire now has it on their site with details.

Available as a 29 X 3.0 in 72 TPI wire or folding bead at 1025 grams and 980 grams each at $100.00 , $110.00 respectively. There will also be a 120TPI version said to clock in at 920 grams with an Aramid folding bead for $120.00. The B+ version will mimic the bead selection, prices, and TPI selections with weights as follows starting from wire bead/72TPI: 895,820, and 800 grams. The width on this one is said to be at 3.25", so wider than the upcoming WTB model in B+.

Commentary: Vee Tire is pretty aggressive with tire introductions and the B+ and 29+ entries are really no surprise. I think the B+ model is too wide to be practical for swapping into current 29"er frames and with a current dearth of wide, 27.5"/ISO584 rims, it seems to be either a dead end tire, (for now), or it signals another OEM bike we don't know about yet. To be sure, wider 27.5 rims are coming, but they aren't quite here yet. (That said, by the time you read this a certain bike company may have made their announcement of a B+ sized rig, and that may change the landscape somewhat.) The Vee 29+ tire is another example of downward pressure in terms of price on a market that Surly has had to itself until now. It'll be interesting to see how that plays out in the future.