Friday News And Views

Image courtesy of the Polk County Health Department

E-Bike/Scooter/Moto Issues Reach Fever Peak In Iowa:

I realize this is a nationwide issue, but my focus here is on Iowa as it relates to the debate and concerns over electrified two and three wheeled devices. 

Reports of crashes, injuries, and damage are on the uptick. I saw a recent post by an ED professional (Emergency Department = ED) who was stating a case for helmet usage and proper education of children and adults concerning electrified vehicles. Stating a strong uptick in ED visits due to usage of these devices, the individual was pleading with parents, especially, to educate themselves and their children on the proper usage of these devices. 

Many municipalities in Iowa are also posting on social media concerning either education, laws currently on books, or about impending city ordinances which are being considered to regulate this surge of electric vehicle usage on streets and trails. 

Comments: The issues facing many cities are beyond the scope of control, in most cases, in my opinion. In view of how people are using these vehicles, it is my opinion that there are three basic user groups. One: Youth who are looking for easy transportation, thrills, and freedom from having to beg rides from parents or older siblings. Two: Low income people, either coming out of the legal system, or from other countries, who either cannot afford a car/truck, or cannot legally operate a car/truck, or both. Three: recreational cyclists who use e-bikes as a way to exercise and enjoy the outdoors who would not otherwise be doing so without an assisted bicycle or tricycle. 

Most concerns I see being voiced are over misuse or ignorance (or both) and point at the underage crowd on these vehicles as being a menace to society. I do not see much concern over low income/disadvantaged folks using even the vehicles which are prohibited by law to be ridden without a license and insurance. That said, there are probably a few instances where these folks are causing problems. Most assuredly most of this segment is on these electrified vehicles because they cannot get, or afford insurance and/or a license. The third crowd, the e-bikers with assisted pedaling platforms, are generally no big deal to anyone. 

What will likely happen? Smaller communities with limited resources will likely ban them all. Most of these cities and villages don't even have police. They just won't have any other way to enforce or apply any laws/ordinances. (Unless they lump the e-motor vehicles in with side-by-sides) At the very least, the laws and ordinances will keep the city/village governments out of liability in case of crashes, injuries, or deaths. Bigger cities may try separating the assisted vehicles from the non-assisted ones, but again, enforcement will be limited due to limited resources. Police are already spread thin, and asking them to separate goats from sheep is not going to be efficient. Maybe states will get involved, like New Jersey did, but I think this will be hit or miss based upon the specific cases each state is seeing rise through their judiciary systems. 

My gut tells me the issue will become solved, mostly, when either states, or the Federal government steps in at the behest of insurers to make all electric assist and e-motor equipped two and three wheeled vehicles illegal unless they are licensed and insured. Essentially following the New Jersey example, if it is a successfully implemented law there. 

Time will tell, but I think it will have to be solved sooner than later. 

Substack Story:

Some of you here may already have noted my Substack account, maybe you follow it, but if not, I just wanted to point it out. 

I don't post there a lot, but when I do it usually is something I don't publish anywhere else. Recently I wrote a bit more personal story about BRAN and why I went on the trip. If you want to check it out, Click Here.  

If this sort of thing intrigues you and you like my writing, please consider subscribing to my Substack. It's free, and there is no obligation.  

Update On Chris King Hub/Wheel Build:

A slow news week here folks! So, I am going through the archives and making sure nothing gets left behind. I did come across the Chris king hub story from back in April. (Here) 

The hang up is in regard to rims and what I want to spend. Carbon is nice, it builds a strong, lightweight wheel, and is my preference. However; they are expensive for anything with a reputation for quality and durability. 

For instance, I can buy two Velocity Blunt SS aluminum rims for a little bit more than I can buy one decent carbon rim in a few cases, and for less than many single carbon rims in the size and spoke count I need.  

So, seeing as how money has been tight, or allocated elsewhere of late (BRAN), I haven't made any decisions for those hubs yet. I probably will not make a decision on rims for quite some time yet. 

Update On Ergon Review:

Another thing I need to get back on is the review of the Ergon SR AllRoad Pro Saddle and the BT OrthoCell Handlebar Tape.  Those items are on the Honeman Flyer and I switched out to ride the bikes I was considering for BRAN shortly after the review kicked off. 

Now it is time to switch over to these products n the Honeman Flyer to conclude the review. I have another item coming in I cannot speak about yet which will help push these reviews up my "to do" list. 

Interestingly, I have used the Honeman Flyer as a training bike for BRAN and since I've returned several times. I just haven't done any longer rides out in the country. I do have a bit of feedback, even from ny shorter rides, so it hasn't been as though I don't have any time on these products. I just don't have the gravel time I like to get before I write up anything. 

So, stay tuned for updates on both products here from Ergon very soon.  

And That's A Wrap! 

I know.....The tour is on now. (May as well hand Pogačar the trophy now) But I have almost zero interest in Pro road racing these days, so you are not going to see much coverage of it here. With that, I want to thank you for checking out Guitar Ted Productions today. I hope you all get out for a ride this weekend.  

Fleet Review: Part 1

I get a lot of ideas for posts from the comments section of this blog. Such was the case last week when I received a comment asking to show all my bicycles. So, since I don't think I've done that - ever - I thought, why not? The thing is, there are a LOT of bicycles and parts of bicycles around here and one post won't cut it. So, this may be a recurring series of sorts spread across several posts. We will see how it all develops.  

My first batch will be my gravel bikes. Anything I primarily use for gravel riding will be included here. Future posts will cover mountain/fat bike, urban/commuter, and "Parts Bikes", which will be a category showing frames and partial bikes I have here. 

Okay, now on with the show.... 

Pofahl Signature Custom

 2007 Pofahl Signature Custom

A design I dreamed up and that Ben Witt refined and had Mike Pofahl braze up. There is guaranteed no other example like this anywhere. Modeled loosely on a first generation Karate Monkey this bike has a loooooong set of chain stays and a taller stack height than a Karate Monkey. It is single speed specific. 

I've ridden this bike at Gravel Worlds, and on several local gravel rides but it doesn't get used as much as I like to see. Some of the parts are special to me like the seat post, a Syncros 27.0 mm post I had on my 1992 Klein Attitude. The Race Face 180mm cranks were from my 1996 Diamond Back V-Link FS 26"er. It's got a Redshift ShockStop stem and a Luxy Bar, of course. 

Raleigh Tamland Two

2014 Raleigh Tamland Two

Long-time blog readers know this bike well. My "OG" gravel specific bike. Many folks forget this was one of the very first gravel specific bikes available and it was, if I dare say so myself, way ahead of its day when it comes to geometry, tire clearance, and overall handling. 

I'm probably going to ride this for the 4th this year as it is a red, white, and blue paint scheme. I've written reams about this bike, its history, and how I'm tied into that, many times, so I won't delve into that again here. But you may see a post again on this bike soon, so stay tuned. 

2008 Salsa Cycles Fargo

2008 Salsa Cycles Fargo 

One of the very first production samples of the Fargo Gen I model, I've had this bike since November 2008. You've likely seen this on the site if you've been around enough reading my posts. There isn't much to say about this bike which hasn't already been said. 

This Fargo has been on more adventures and in more events than any other bike I own. So, it is a very special bicycle to me and I still plan on riding in more events and on more adventures with this Fargo in the future. 

Singular Cycles Gryphon Mk3

2023 Singular Cycles Gryphon Mk3

The quest for a 29+ wheeled gravel bike finally was achieved when I got hold of this Gryphon Mk3 model from Singular Cycles. It is a unique bike with a unique set-up. 

I stuck not only a front derailleur on this supposed 1X only bike, but I used a triple crank set and 9 speed components as well. So, this bike has a weird, 1990's meets modern drop bar MTB look to it. I think it is perfect for chunky gravel, or dirt roads, where smooth riding is valued. The bike is heavy, no doubt, but it handles rough stuff really well. 

2018 Black Mountain Cycles Monster Cross Disc (MCD)

2018 Black Mountain Cycles MCD

This pink beast was the bike I took on my recent BRAN trip and has been a great gravel bike  for me for many years now. Black Mountain Cycles no longer offers this model, but the nearest equivalent is their Mod Zero, which has many of this bike's attributes and more. 

This bike is what I refer to as my "skinny Fargo". It isn't a Vaya, which some of you may think of in a similar vein, but it is set up and feels like my Gen I Fargo. Just lighter. And it is pink, so there is that as well. 

Noble Bikes GX5

 2019 Noble Bikes GX5

Another bike ahead of its time and another bike you cannot get anymore. This carbon fiber bike has been a lot of fun to ride and it reminds me a lot of the Tamland Two. It should since Noble Bikes was founded by a former Raleigh engineer who worked on the Tamland. 

Funny story behind this bike: The Noble Bikes founder was adamant that this bike had a 40mm tire clearance, maximum, which wasn't crazy in 2019. However, I've fitted 700 X 47's into the bike, and 45's are no big deal. So, it is a good thing the bike had this clearance when new or I'd have probably moved off of it by now.  

King Fabrications Custom Gravel Bike (Honeman Flyer)

 2024 King Fabrications Custom Gravel Bike (Honeman Flyer)

This is the bike that photographer/writer Erik Mathy made a reality by sheer force of his will to see me, this bike, and Mid-South come together as a story he could shoot and write up. The story never materialized, as far as I know, but the bicycle and Mid-South most certainly did. 

I had come across a 1936 geometry for a track bike and at the suggestion from Coconino Cycles' Steve Garro saying this was proto-gravel geometry, I decided he was right and wanted it made. It was a wish. I did not ever expect it to come true. 

But, as I said, Erik Mathy made sure it did, and I paid my money and had the bike done in time to ride the 2024 version of Mid-South bandit style. 

Love the bike, but I wish it had bigger tire clearances.  

 2025 Singular Cycles Peregrine Mk4:

And of course, the bike shown yesterday is in this category. Nothing to add here other than this has to be counted and so here it is! 

Okay, that's it for gravel bikes. Next will be a much smaller category, MTB/Fat. Stay tuned. It may be a while before I can get this next batch photographed.  

Country Views: A Quick One

 I did something I haven't done in a long time. I loaded my bike into a vehicle and drove to a starting point. This was a common thing back when I had "The Truck With No Name", but then my son Jacob started using the truck after he obtained his license and when we traded in the truck late in 2024 for a Toyota 4Runner for Jacob that put me out of a car for the first time in many a year. 

So, it's been a while since I've done the thing where I haul the bike out to Prairie Grove Park. But Tuesday was a very nice day. The weatherfolk were saying the winds would be mere puffs. So, I had some time after an appointment at noon to go ride. 

The bike was the Honeman Flyer. The kit was straight-up Summer kit as it was 80+ degrees. Speaking of warmth, the temperatures have been so warm here the soil temperatures rose to a level which was good for planting sooner than normal. This led to a surprising amount of fields which I saw that were planted already. 

A John Deere planting rig scuds along the horizon line. 

It was 'almost' perfect out. Almost. 

One thing I realized immediately after getting out of town. The weatherfolk missed it on the wind forecast. It was breezy out of the West, and it wasn't a light wind either. So, I was doubly burdened because I also wasn't feeling great either. 

I was working hard, my legs felt tired already, and my heart rate was elevated. I said to myself, "Well, this isn't your day". Sad, but true. 

More fields than not are already planted

Some other day I will be going that way. Soon, I hope....

It's hard to come to the realization that you are starting at a lower level of fitness than you thought. I read something the other day about endurance. It went something like, "Endurance fitness is rented, not owned."

I thought this was a very wise statement. I just have to invest in myself on a regular basis to get back what I had not been renting all Winter. I had grace for myself as well. Just a little over a month ago we had a blizzard, near sub-zero temperatures, and afterward it was so windy it was ridiculous. 

 I had a lot of life stuff to deal with. That has been an ongoing thing. But through it all I haven't quit. I was out there. I wasn't sitting at home wishing I was out there. So, it was good. Short, but good. 

I hope to start stringing together more consistent rides.  

Brown Season: Riding Into Spring

Escape Route: South Riverside Trail

 A little more than a week ago we were staring down a blizzard. High winds and snow battered us Sunday evening through until Monday evening. Then it got brutally cold with negative wind chills and air temperatures in the single digits on Tuesday. 

By Friday it was shirt-sleeve weather! 

What a crazy Winter, and I sure hope it is all over with. We were on a roller coaster of freezing, thawing, snow cover, no snow cover, all Winter long. But hopefully it is all done with, and this Spring can be a bit less up and down. 

Friday I took advantage of the nice weather and got out on my Honeman Flyer since it has all the Ergon stuff on it I am reviewing. It was 65°F and so I put on a wind vest, a short-sleeved jersey, my Twin Six bib knickers, and I wore normal cycling shoes. A bandana and Bontrager Circuit helmet rounded out the kit for the day. 

There were a lot of people enjoying Big Woods Lake on Friday

 

First gravel on Mt. Vernon Road. 

I saw the breeze was out of the Northwest before I left the house so I decided to use my "Northwest Passage" route out of town. It essentially follows the Cedar River along quiet city streets and bike paths, stays out of the wind, and allows me to get out of town without expending a lot of energy.Once I get away from Big Woods Lake I only have about two miles worth of headwind. 

The roads are nice! No fresh gravel......yet!

Not much snow in the ditches anymore here. Probably none now!

It's amazing how quickly the snow disappeared. Tuesday the ditches were full last week. Now on Friday, during my ride, snow was hard to come by, and most of it was stained black from dirt blowing into it during the storm. The winds scoured the snow off  during the blizzard and picked up the black dirt afterward. 

Angles in the Sky and angles on the ground. 

 

It felt like a Summer ride. I almost took the wind vest off a few times to stuff it into my jersey pocket, but I never did. I stuck it out. Because the heat was so unfamiliar to me at this point of the year for around these parts, I decided not to take a longer route. Later on, after I was at home for a while, I was happy I made that decision. 

 

One example of the rolling hills North of Waterloo.

Now we are back to what feels like Spring. This past weekend, well Friday and Saturday, at any rate, were straight out of Summer. It's too early for Summer! Hopefully Spring will be good. I need to get some miles in. 

Stay tuned.... 

Repairs

The life of a bicycle mechanic is one of constant diagnosis and figuring things out. There are simple repairs, which for a seasoned bicycle mechanic are like a school child repeating the addition of 2 + 2 and understanding the answer without a second thought. In fact, many repairs are done so quickly and with such instinct that many mechanics cannot tell you how to do what they just did where you'd understand. 

Then there are the really challenging jobs. The ones that make you cuss, but when you overcome and make a bicycle work again, you crow about it, sticking your chest out and strutting around like some greasy version of a rooster.

I was out riding around on the Honeman Flyer last week getting acquainted with these new Ergon bits I have in for review. As I pulled up to the house I heard a strange noise and I discovered a broken spoke. The sort of "everyday repair" a good mechanic can whip out done in a jiffy. 

When you work in a retail setting you must learn time saving tricks to get things done and out the door quickly. I was employing all of these as I went about trying to replace the rear spoke which had broken. 

Now one of the more important parts of this repair concerned the spoke nipple. It would be imperative to keep the nipple from backing into the rim cavity and falling inside the rim. 

And - of course - this is exactly what happened. 

Now this simple repair just became a big hassle. I would have to take the tire off, the rim tape off, and fish that nipple out of the rim cavity. And the tire is set up tubeless. So......sigh, I went to work on it. 

And when I peeled off the Ritchey SpeedMax tire, I discovered there was almost no sealant inside. So, actually, it was a good thing. But now I'd have to do the tubeless sealant injection dance later. Before that, I had to take the nipple I fished out, replace it where it belonged, thread it on the spoke, and tension it up. After truing I then fished around in my tape drawer for some tubeless tape. 

This DT Swiss tape is really nice.

I found a bit of this DT Swiss tubeless tape. I don't remember for certain how I got it. It wasn't a full roll and I know I've never used it before. I thought I'd use it up on this repair. 

It turns out it is excellent tape. Maybe the best I've used. It certainly was the easiest tape I've applied. Just stretchy enough and tacky enough. It laid down nicely with no weird folds or trapped air bubbles.  

It certainly is not cheap! But I may try some more of it since it was so impressive. I have some of the tape everyone was crowing about from U-Line which is similar to this DT Swiss tape, but it is not the same stuff at all. That tape is thicker, less pliable, and doesn't lay down as nicely. 

Anyway, after a bout of wrasslin' with my tubeless sealant injector, I was done with the job and the Honeman Flyer is ready just in time for a blizzard! Fantastic.... (Update - It wasn't a blizzard, but it did snow)

It'll be 1°F Tuesday morning here and swinging to a projected high of 50°F on Wednesday.  Welcome to Spring in Iowa. 

Two Things

PSA: Gravel Grinder News Today At 9:00am:

Just a short note for you early morning blog readers. There is an embargoed announcement being released at 9:00am CST this morning, so please check back for this. (Hint: Salsa Cycles related)

Embargoed information is a sore topic with some folks involved in cycling. Dealers get information with "Respect the Embargo" stamped all over it. They can face some stiff reprimands for showing stuff to the wrong people. Meanwhile internet sleuths dig up images all the time and post them on social sites like Reddit with source material sometimes alongside which may have been shown to someone in confidence. No one ever gets their hand slapped for it, and dealers get shafted by the process sometimes when it devalues current inventory. 

I used to see issues with this all the time when I worked retail. You had customers you could sell the new thing to on the side, but "embargo", so .....? Meanwhile they see it on some subversive's post and wonder why you didn't say anything to help them out and now you are the "bad guy". 

And, of course, you can immediately be blackballed out of sharing PR if you slip up and post something before the embargo, or get greedy to be "first" on a story. 

My stance is that - if the press release is relevant to my focus here - I will post the information when the marketers want me to post it. I'm here to help. I don't care about being first or whatever, and I make zero bucks either way. So.... I'm here to help. But some brands don't see it that way and so I do not hear from them, or I get "second tier" treatment. Whatever.... It doesn't do anything to me. It only hurts them.  

March False Spring > March Snow > March Winter > March Spring:

And the weather! Wow, what a roller coaster we've been on here in Iowa. One minute it's nearly 70°F and then a couple days later it is snowing. 

This makes it hard on me and my schedule is not lining up with the "good days" either. Riding has been limited. 

I know sooner or later this will straighten out, and to be honest, generally speaking we'd still normally be melting off Winter snow pack yet at around this time. So, the teasing of this warmer weather is what has gotten me all turned around. 

And then on a short test ride around the neighborhood the other day I came home and discovered an unpleasant surprise. I picked my Honeman Flyer up and reoriented it for entry into the portal for Guitar Ted Headquarters. I heard a strange noise, looked down and saw a rear spoke dangling in the breeze. 

Great!

Now I have to remove the tubeless tire, tubeless tape, and fish out a nipple banging around inside the rim. Fun times! Maybe I'll do this when it is forecast to be only 24°F this coming Monday. Hmm..... I wonder if the tulips will survive a day of that? 

Welcome to another Spring in Iowa.......

Review: Ergon SR Allroad Pro Saddle & BT Orthocell Road Tape: First Impressions

 Note: Ergon sent the SR Allroad saddle and the BT OrthoCell Road handle bar tape to Guitar Ted Productions at no cost for test and review. Ergon has not paid for, nor bribed Guitar Ted for these reviews. All opinions and images, unless noted, belong to Guitar Ted/Guitar Ted Productions.

The Ergon SR Allroad Pro saddle and BT Orthocell Road Tape have been installed on my single speed gravel bike, the Honeman Flyer. In this post I will give you my experience regarding the installation of the bar tape and some initial first impressions after a few test rides. 

For the introduction to these products, please see my article HERE. There you will get all the tech information and pricing for these two items.

Installing The BT OrthoCell Tape:

In the past, the Ergon handlebar tapes I have used from the Gravel range have been some of the nicest, longest lasting handlebar tapes I've ever used. Those tapes have also been some of the most difficult tapes to install as well. I've installed handlebar tape as a retail repair mechanic for around thirty years, so I have a lot of experience with many different types of handlebar tapes. Ergon is easily in my top three hardest tapes to install. 

So, it came as a very nice surprise to me when I cracked open the BT OrthoCell Road tape and started working with it and I found it to be......normal. It installs very nicely and quickly, at least from my perspective. It is far easier to install than the previously mentioned Ergon tapes.  So far so good!

The saddle I will mention briefly in terms of installation. It went like any other saddle. Issues regarding the installations of saddles are more predicated upon seat post designs than they are saddle designs. So, no issues at all with the Ergon saddle here. The Whisky Parts Co. seat post? That's another story..... At least the saddle is mounted. 

Initial Ride Impressions:

The subject of any touch-point on a bicycle is fraught with frustrations and multitudinous theories and opinions. You've heard how the reviews of such items are subjective and how "this worked/did not work for me and your mileage may vary. So, what is the point of even trying to review such items, especially saddles? 

First of all, a saddle choice is going to require on-the-bike research and it will be costly.  This is not what you want to hear, and you may balk at this, but I have seen no "easy button" to push to instantly find your perfect saddle. Yes, there are certain things you can do to narrow down your choices. However; the bottom line here is that you will have to ride a saddle for multiple rides (most likely) and for longer rides (over three hours is my baseline) to know a saddle works or does not work. Here are a few points to get you started if you are on a saddle search: 

• Get A Professional Bike Fitting Done: This is paramount if you are serious about cycling and want to be as comfortable, or fast, or both - as possible. This will take a lot of the guess-work out of saddle choice. 
• Find A Sit-Bone Calculator/Guide: If a professional fitting is out of the question, getting to know your sit-bone width is the next thing I'd recommend. You can use various calculators online from most major brand saddle sellers, or you might get this done at certain full-service bike shops. I've used the WTB Fit-Right System to great success in the past. Ergon offers their Saddle Selector as well. 
• Buy Used Saddles: There are a lot of people dissatisfied with their saddle choice selling saddles on the used marketplace. I find these a lot on Facebook Marketplace. I am sure other forums which focus on cycling have classifieds as well which may be mined for saddle research. This will cut down on costs and provide a way to get rid of unsatisfactory saddles as well.  

Whew..... Okay! Now what did I think of this SR Allroad Pro? Well, so far it seems just fine. I've been on several shorter rides and I've noted no glaring faults. I am fine tuning the positioning yet, but hopefully I can speak to how it feels on longer rides when I post a final review on the saddle in a month or so. 

I will say the SR Allroad is probably going to work out for me as long as the longer, three hour plus test comes out well. 

Again, with regard to the BT OrthoCell Tape, I need to put in longer rides on it, but so far I am impressed with how this thinner tape is working. Typically my better experiences have been on tape in the 2mm - 3mm thickness range. This tape is right at 2mm thick, but feels cushier than this thickness would imply. 

The grip is good to very good. I would like to see if it gets slimy-slippery when wet. But my impressions are it will be fine. The BT OrthoCell Tape has a bit of an open pore look and feel to it, so I think it will deal with moisture from water or sweat well. 

Until Next Time:

I will be doing those longer rides and hopefully sussing out what these two products can do for me on gravel and pavement. I would expect a final word in about a month or so. I may post separate reviews, as mentioned in the previous introduction. If I decide to do so, I will link back to each final review here and from each final review for easier reference. 

Thanks for reading Guitar Ted Productions!

The Honeman Flyer: Two Years With A Weirdo

The Honemann Flyer March 2026

 This marks the beginning of Year 3 with the bike I dubbed "The Honeman Flyer", a single speed bicycle built by King Fabrications in California. 

Regular blog readers will know this bike well. I thought I would give my impressions of the bike again in view of my previous comments. If this bike is new to you, I have an AI overview of the bike, which is pretty spot-on, concise, and will serve as a way to bring you up to date:

 "The Honeman Flyer is a custom, single-speed gravel bike built by King Fabrications for Guitar Ted Productions, designed based on the 1930s-era track bike geometry of national champion Willie Honeman. It is a unique, super-smooth riding, -framed bike featuring a slack seat tube and modern components, intended to test the relevance of classic geometry for modern gravel riding."

I'll only add that the geometry and the frame and fork Willie rode to three national championships on the track was built by John "Pop" Brennan.  

My last look at this bike was last December in my "Bikes of 2025" post.  You can check that one out if you'd like to. 

Ben Petty (L) and Guitar Ted riding the Honeman Flyer last October

 I have written a ton about this bike so I won't try to rewrite again things I've covered before. I will say this bike seems to be tied to seat post changes. I went with a carbon Whisky Parts Co. post on this, switching out the old post in early March. About a week ago, to be exact. Early returns are good with the original look being present once again, which I happen to like better. 

I re-wrapped the bars with Ergon AllRoad tape. I also installed the Ergon saddle I recently recieved in for review. Both parts were introduced HERE. The black handlebar tape really looks different. I'm so used to running pink hues for handlebar tape on this bicycle. With all the black additions I think it brings out the black crackle overcoat on the paint job. 

I'll be doing a lot of riding on this bike in 2026. Again, it is one of my better riding bicycles. Li King did a great job choosing tubing and fabricating the design. It's kind of funny, but Li hasn't ever shown or mentioned this bicycle since. I would imagine because it seems too weird for many folks to even contemplate. 

It is not in the latest geometry trends or feature trends for a gravel bike. It won't take anything wider than a 44mm tire. It really should be a 40mm tire. It is steel. It doesn't have gears. No down tube storage box. And that radical rear end of this bike. 

I mean, how does anyone ride a bike like this in 2026? 

Easy - One pedal stroke at a time!

And what about this experiment's relevance to modern day gravel geometry? I'd say everything from the bottom bracket forward is spot on. The back end? Weird. Not relevant at all.  

Anyway, the bike is surprisingly fun to ride, it handles very well for myself, and in the end, this is all that really matters. It suits me very well. I would not expect anyone else to like such a weird bike. To ride, at any rate. It does also look cool, which is good, but yeah - 1980's crackle finish paint is not everyone's cup of tea. 

Weird bike, weird paint job, weirdo rider. Seems like a match made in heaven.  

A Quick Catching Up Post

Paul Components WORD Fixed Disc hub

 Hey! I wanted to sneak in here amongst all the end-of-year madness going on this blog to give you readers an update on a project and a couple of other things going on around Guitar Ted Headquarters. 

First, I have decided to turn my old Twin Six Standard Rando v2 into a fixed gear bicycle, as I told a week ago or so in the last FN&V. The process has begun already with the main ingredient being a Paul Components WORD Fixed Disc rear hub. 

Oh, and it is a through-axle hub as well. A true "unicorn" in the bicycle component world. I am not aware of any other choices in something along these lines. Good thing it is a high-quality, reliable component! 

The rear hub is built up already on a Velocity USA Blunt SS rim. The front wheel will be a Stans hub with the same Velocity USA Blunt SS rim. What is fun about the fixed hub is it will be interchangeable with  the Honeman Flyer, so I can set up either bike fixed or free. 

The corresponding move here will be the elimination of the Shogun 100 from the stable. It will likely go back to the Cedar Valley Bicycle Collective as a donation. At this point, I need to start whittling down the fleet, not add to it. 

I'll have more on this bike after the New Year.

This snow is almost gone now with the warmer weather!

The 4Runner got a new end gate. When Jacob bought the vehicle I kind of let him be in charge of questions and looking everything over. So, it wasn't until afterward, when he lifted the end gate one day, that I heard a weird noise from inside the end gate and looked up to see a big hole in the bottom of the end gate where moisture had rusted through from the inside. 

I figured at some point Jacob would have to decide  to have this repaired, but then he died and when I got the vehicle the repair fell to be my responsibility. So, anyway, it has been done and now the vehicle is in excellent shape. 

Ironically the end gate was so rusted, and the rest of the vehicle wasn't, that the body shop guys were puzzled. Even the rear speakers had rusty voice coils and were inoperable. So, I got new rear speakers as well. But now it is all good to go, so I've got a vehicle now I can rely on.  

Besides those things I have just been doing a little bit of fat biking, dodging ice patches, and going to work at the Collective where I am catching up on closing up the books for 2025. Mid-January will mark my fourth year working there! 

Okay, there is a quick update. Expect the next update after the New Year once all the end-of-year stuff is out of the way. 

Thank you for reading Guitar ted Productions! 

Bikes of 2025: The King Fabrications "Honeman Flyer"

 It's another end-of-year period on the blog. You know what that means? Yep! Another round of my bikes I used in 2025. This round-up will not include some of the bikes I did not use this year much, or at all. I focus only on the bikes that played a big role in my riding during this year.  As always, any changes or future plans for any bike I feature will also be detailed. I hope that you enjoy this year's round-up.

 The Honeman Flyer has quickly risen to become one of my favorite bicycles I've ever ridden. This purely based upon my feelings when I ride it. It's so good, thanks in no small part to Li King of King Fabrications. Li had a lot of latitude in this bicycle's details. Sure, the geometry was a lock due to my demand the design reflect all the angles and degrees the original Pop Warner design for Willie Honeman had going on. But Li picked the tubing, decided how to miter the tubes and join them, and Li was the painter as well. I let Li do whatever Li wanted with the paint, and Li knocked it out of the park, in my opinion. I just wanted to make a point of Li's choices in the tubing which contribute heavily to how this bicycle rides.

Still, I find it hard to believe the Honeman Flyer rides as well as it does. It could have been a disaster even though Li did such a great job. This is due to how weird the rear half of this bicycle was designed originally. I have nothing which even comes close to how this bicycle is designed. It makes zero sense, when you think about it, as to why I would even get along with such a radically different bicycle. 

The seat tube is super-slack. The chain stays are really long. The bottom bracket drop is pretty deep. By all accounts, when considering geometry for gravel bicycles in 2025, this should not work for anyone. 

But it works great for me!

The combination of the weird stuff I already mentioned and a somewhat slack 71° head tube angle all combines to make a bike which feels super-stable and accelerates with immediacy when I stomp on the pedals. It handles well enough that during the 2024 Mid-South I was able to navigate the single track section with ease. 

I have only one beef with the bike and it has to do with tire clearances. I wish I would have asked for clearance for up to a 50mm tire. But as it is, I can fit around a 44mm wide tire and I have adequate clearance, so I can live with that. 

Changes? Well, this bicycle is kind of an inside joke regarding seat posts. I think I've gone through a half a dozen trying to find "the one" which will stay on the bike. Currently it sports a straight, no offset, Thompson in silver.  This works great, and I love the look, but eventually I think I'm going back to a carbon post or a titanium post with zero offset. 

I love Ritchey VentureMax bars, which is what the bike has, but I could see myself going with a carbon version for a bit more compliance. I could upgrade the brakes to Paul Klampers as well, since this bike is so custom, and I like it so well, it deserves this level of parts.  

The current state of the King Fabrications Honeman Flyer

Another consideration is a new crank set. I like those Paul cranks which came out recently. I can see upgrading to something like those and doing a nicer bottom bracket as well. 

But I do not need to do anything. These are all just wants/desires. The bike is serviceable and rides so well. So, I am in no hurry to change it up at any point in the near future. 

Rear View 2025: End Of Winter

 Hello! it's time again to review the year on Guitar Ted Productions. The "Rear View" has been a staple of the blog since almost the very beginning. This year will feature  five Rear View posts looking back on   End of Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall, and  Beginning of Winter. I'll also have a post looking ahead at 2026. Enjoy the look back and thanks for reading Guitar Ted Productions!

Winter was missing in action when the calendar flipped to 2025. Sure, it was cold, but we were pretty much snow-free, and there were regular times when the temperatures were more like November than January. 

I started a review of the blog including major story lines and images due to the blog reaching the start of its 20th year. The date was actually May 15th, 2005 when the lights turned on here, so technically I am still in Year 20 of this thing called "Guitar Ted Productions". 

This review was fun for me as I was digging through old posts. But the most fun part for me was looking at the old headers when I started using my own images. There were a lot of those which spurred old memories. 

A foggy January ride

I have found the reviewing duties to be more self-chosen and less 'offered' as it was in the past.  So, now I typically am buying things and then reviewing them. I'm okay with this because it means I am reviewing things I have keen interest in versus doing someone a solid by taking on a review of a product I'm skeptical of, or one I feel isn't all that interesting to myself. 

Besides, with the arrangement I have now I don't have to review anything, and while this may be hard for you, the reader, to understand, it is something of a relief to me. Reviews are an obligation I do not take lightly. Whether or not I am "into" a product or bicycle or not, I give it my all to do the thing justice. It is a responsibility and a duty to you, the reader. Now, if I don't feel up to it, I just don't have to do anything, which is freeing. I guess I'll leave it at that. 

Anyway, I started reviewing a couple of items in January. The Good Grief Bikes "Nice Bar" and Bike Tubes TPU fat bike tubes. Both are great and I use them to this day happily. The TPU tubes are fairly impressive and a big upgrade for any fat biker using butyl rubber tubes, in my opinion. The weight difference is astounding, and this makes them worthwhile alone, but air retention is also really good. 

We didn't ever really get much snow in 2025

The Snow Dog. I'll have more to say about this bike in my year end bike review soon.

We did end up getting one fairly decent drop of snow, but it did not last long. I think I actually rode more in January and February out in the country than I had in a while. I'd have to double check this, but the weather was outstanding for country rides from a Winter standpoint. 

It had been a long time since Guitar Ted Headquarters had upgraded its computer, so back in late February there was some changes in the works to upgrade the ol' 'puter'. 

I know, it looks all cool and whatnot, but I have to say Windows 11 isn't my favorite. The search function is terminally slow, and things are displayed in a way which is not conducive to my style. Well, I guess I've gotten used to it, but sometimes so-called "advancements" are really not. 

Moving on! March brought warmer weather again and with this I was able to get outside some more. Then later in the month I was busy writing up stories about three main things: Gravel cycling trends, the bicycle industry slump, and the upcoming Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame class for 2025. The reviews on the TPU fat bike tubes and the Good Grief bar were wrapped up. Then with the close of March I was looking forward to maybe getting more rides out in the country. 

From a March ride to check out Marky-Mark trail. 

Riding out East of Waterloo here on the Honeman Flyer

In March I wrote up a "one-year" review on the Honemann Flyer. I'll have more to say about this bike in my year-end bike reviews, but suffice it to say that I really enjoy riding this bike. It has quickly become one of my favorite bicycles of all-time. 

Hmm.... 

Maybe I should write THAT post! 

More year-end stuff coming soon. The next Rear View will be after Thanksgiving in the first week or so of December, depending upon what happens with Virtual Turkey Burn Ride reports.