Fat Bike Tubeless Conversion

While I have done a ton of tubeless conversions on 29"ers and even on some gravel grinder set ups, I had not considered doing a tubeless fat bike tire set up. I just did not see the benefit for the tires I had been running, which weren't puncturing on me, nor having issues with ride quality or traction.

The new tires I have, the Fatback Sterlings, they are a completely different feeling tire. No punctures as of yet, but they seemed harsh and not very damped. Not to mention the fact that they are undersized for their rated width. Tubeless conversion may help all of that, is what I was thinking, plus the Sterlings are tubeless ready tires.

So, I talked with my good buddy, MG, and he gave me the lowdown on how much sealant to use. I took another cue from fat biking aficionado, Adam Blake, and along with a discovery I made myself, I have a successful tubeless conversion on my Fatback Sterling tires. Note: These tires are tubeless rated and the rims I used are Fatback Uma II 70mm wide rims. Your mileage with other rims and tires may vary.

How To: The first thing you have to do is to get something to seal off the rim's drillings and spoke holes. I had already used a rim strip consisting of two wraps of Chrome colored duct tape backed with a single wrap of clear shipping tape to keep the adhesive of the duct tape from sticking to my tubes. When I pulled the tubes, I left this basic rim tape in there.

I had Mrs.Guitar Ted pick me up the widest roll of Gorilla tape she could find, and you know what? It measured exactly 70mm wide, just like my Uma rims! Gorilla tape has been used successfully in tubeless conversions for a couple years or more by a lot of folks in a lot of different combinations, so I felt confident in choosing it as a rim sealer/strip. Basically, Gorilla tape is ultra-strong duct tape. It is sticky where it needs to be and strong enough to withstand air pressure. 

Here (right) we see what my original rim strip looks like. It has been in there since I built the bike up in late 2011. Amazingly, my too long spokes did not eat their way through this strip and damage my toobs!

It is also worth noting that my Fatback Uma 70's have vent holes in the rim extrusion right in the bead seat. Obviously, whatever rim sealing tape one chooses must cover these little land mines of leakage, or you'll be unsuccessful in your tubeless attempt. Fortunately, as mentioned, the Gorilla tape was the same dimension as the outside rim width.

Once I stretched on the Gorilla tape carefully, making only one round, I had what you see to the left here. The keys to success here are to start with laying in the tape as squarely as possible, then concentrate on getting it pulled fairly tight while you use your free hand's fingers to press down the tape alongside each bead seat and just alongside the holes drilled in the rim. This gives the tape something to grip on to as you stretch the tape coming off the roll slightly with your other hand. Do not worry about getting the tape to lay completely down on the rim just yet.

After making one complete round, (I would go around twice if there were no underlying rim strip), I overlapped the tape by about two inches and cut it off the roll. Then I carefully pushed the tape down into the rim well, always focusing on using my thumbs and pushing slightly towards the outside of the rim as I worked my way around. I did not focus any pressure at all in the center where the rim cutouts and spoke nipples are.

After getting the inner rim well pressed down and looking smooth, I focused pressure on the tape in the rim bead area, pressing it down with the tip of my thumb nail. I worked both edges until they were laying flat. Then I cleaned up the residual talc powder left from the tubed set up, ran a clean rag over everything to make sure there was no dirt or talc powder left, and then I laid in a layer of Uncle Dick's Bead Slip right on the rim bead seat area to aid in tubeless set up.

Then I needed to puncture the tape at the valve hole with an awl to allow for the installation of my tubeless valve stem. I have several valve stems I could use, but in this case, I chose the durable, ultra reliable Bontrager stems. These fit well on the single wall rim's inner well and with the "O" ring seal, it keeps the air where it belongs here.

Note that the threading on the valve stem does not go all the way to the base of the valve stem. Due to the thin, single wall extrusion of the Uma 70mm rim, I could not thread a nut on the stem down far enough to secure it. Then I needed to come up with a solution. I used several Avid brake caliper convex and concave washers to make up for the unthreaded portion of the valve stem. I ended up needing three to account for that, and the presta valve nut on top of that to tighten everything up.

Once the valve stems were secured, I removed the cores to make airing up the tires to seat the beads easier. Do this before mounting up the tires, because if you haven't gotten the Presta valve nut tight enough, it is easier to rectify without a tire on there! Now you are ready to mix your sealant, (if you make your own, like I do), or get your favorite sealant handy, because now it is time to mount those tires!

This is a trick I had to invent!

In my case, the Sterling tires had been run with tubes for a bit, and this stretched out the tires enough that when I mounted them for this tubeless installation, they were very loose fitting. I was afraid I would not get them to seat up properly, since I have a very small capacity air compressor to aid in mounting up tubeless tires.

I knew that the Uma 70's have a pretty deep drop in the rim well for a single wall extrusion. This makes things quite difficult. So, I figured out that by inverting the casing of the tire in the center of the tread, it pushes the side wall and bead to the outer parts of the rim. Now a short blast of air and I had the beads set easy-peasy! By the way, I introduced my sealant before airing up. My good buddy, MG, advised me to use 8oz. per tire, or 237ml each. That's a lot of sealant, but these are pretty big volume tires, so, they need a lot of sealant!That part done, I screwed in the valve cores and aired the tires back up.

Now is the time to take the tire and rim to inspect how your bead seated. You may need to air up those tires to a slightly higher pressure to fully seat the beads. I ended up taking my set up to 20psi. I would be very careful not to go a whole lot higher with this combo since the tires fit so loosely. Again, your mileage may vary here. I would maybe think about what Stan's advises here as they do not recommend going above 40psi with mountain bike tires.

Next- Take the wheel in hand and lay it nearly sideways while holding it on one side. Now tap the tire on the floor while turning the wheel in your hands after every tap slightly. I learned this trick from MG. Go all the way around tapping on the floor with the wheel nearly flat to the floor about three revolutions, then flip the wheel and repeat. This has the effect of splashing your sealant up around the bead area and will help to seal up the bead to the rim in a quick and efficient way.

The next thing I would recommend doing is to ride the set up right away for 20-30 minutes at least. This will ensure that the casing seals up and should allow you to know whether or not you have any leakage issues. In my case, everything came out rock solid. After 12 hours, the pressures were still where I had originally set them. If you notice leak down, I would suggest spraying the tires down with a solution of dish soap and water to identify exactly where you are losing air and address the situation accordingly. In my past experience, if you do everything above, the issue is usually a poor seal around the valve stem.

Now for some numbers: 

Wheel Weight:

• Rear before conversion = 8.03lbs
• Rear after conversion = 8.01lbs
• Front before conversion = 7.15lbs
• Front after conversion = 7.00lbs
• Tube Weight: 210gm/240gm
• Surly Standard "Toob" weight for reference = 490 grams each. 
• Sealant used: "MG" formula. 16 ounces between two tires. (Probably lost a small amount during set up) 

I haven't tried measuring the width yet. That will happen today when I get my hands on the calipers at work. I will update that here after I get that done.UPDATE: I measured the tires at 97mm wide w/tubes, now at 101mm wide tubeless.

All set up to go, sans toobage!

Impressions: My initial feeling by way of observing the tire casings is that going tubeless, (which removes the support of a tube), allowed the sidewalls to "pooch" out some more and if anything, it slightly flattened out the casings a bit more. Otherwise I did not immediately note any stretch. Again- I will make measurements today to ascertain if the tires have stretched at all.

On my ride to check out the set up, I did not adjust the air pressure from the 20psi I used to seat up the tires. I did this to compare the ride feel I had with tubes at 20psi, which I was familiar with. In my opinion, the harshness of the ride with tubes was completely removed. These tires with tubes were really harsh on sharp impacts. No more! The ride feel was far more damped and comfortable. I did also note that the tread area was hitting the snowpack all the way across the casing, so I do not feel that lowering the pressures way down will benefit this set up. That said, I probably will drop these down to 15psi and see how that goes.

So, overall my initial impressions are that by going tubeless I saved a miniscule amount of weight. In that sense, it was not worth doing it. (If you are coming off Surly tubes though, you could potentially save a lot of weight!)  However; the ride feel is 100% better and I sense that the rolling resistance has been lowered somewhat. In this view, going tubeless was totally worth doing. It made the Sterling a completely different experience. Stay tuned for updates...

Note: Using components not designed to be used as tubeless is a risk to the rider and may result in severe injury or death. I do not condone, nor recommend that anyone do what I have done with the components they possess. If you decide to set up your fat bike tires tubeless, you do so at you own risk and assume all responsibilities for any consequences from doing so and using them as such.

Trans Iowa: Ten Years Of Tales #19

In mid-November, the idea of Trans Iowa was hatched. The year was 2004. In the ten years since then there have been many stories and memories. These posts will tell of the most prominent ones to my mind. Maybe I'll even spill the beans on some things you never knew....

T.I.v4 riders struggling against a mighty headwind

 Let's see....I've always said "the weather is the wildcard" for Trans Iowa, and in the case of v4, it was not only the wildcard for us and the riders, it was "the beast" David and I struggled with from way before I tooted that horn to lead out the riders from Decorah at 4am that cold, windy April morning.

We were dealt a bad hand in doing recon, and the effects that the weather had on the roads were tremendous, as will be pointed out in my next post on Trans Iowa Tales. But for the time of T.I.v4's start, all we knew was that it was snowing!

It is hard to convey just how miserably cold and windy it was that morning. I don't have a record of what the windchill was that morning, but it had to be way down into the low 20's/upper teens. It felt like Winter! I remember David and I huddled at the convenience store in Cresco, just a short distance down the T.I.v4 course, and watching snow swirl across Highway 9. The riders were headed in a general direction facing the wind, and it was becoming apparent that the checkpoint cutoff time at our first checkpoint in Wadena Iowa was going to bite a lot of folks.

In fact, when a slug of riders finally appeared- maybe about 20 in a tightly knit pack- it was obvious by our calculations that these were the only riders with any prayer of making the cutoff at CP#1. Riders were calling in to drop out already at an alarming rate. It was almost Trans Iowa v2 all over again, only with snow and wind this time! I remember standing on a hill south of Cresco with David and one of our photographers that year just struggling to stand upright in the gusts that would come every so often. We would later learn that riders were getting blown off their bikes into the ditches at this point of the event!

David Pals scrambling down the mudslide on the T.I.v4 course

Well, that snow went away, and the winds backed off a tick, maybe. However; we weren't done dealing with what the weather had done previous to T.I.v4's crazy start. One of the chief memories I have about this event is the mudslide we encountered. It was not far from the Wadena checkpoint, and I recall David and I were flat out amazed and freaked out about it.

We quickly surveyed our options and with a re-route going miles out of our way not very appealing, we decided to make the riders hike-a-bike over the clay and dirt mound. Not ten seconds from planting the last flags marking the safest way over the mound, here the leaders came. Several figured it out and a line of cyclo cross style riders running up and over the dirt soon formed. I remember Brian Hannon scrambling around the pile through a field lower down the hillside. It was pretty intense for a minute or two. Then they were gone.

A few more riders would go over this, but with so many just barely getting pipped by the cutoff time in Wadena, the event effectively was down to a dozen riders or less. I remember riders telling me they could see the valley and Wadena down below and being minutes from the cutoff with no hope of making it. Wind and missed turns were being given as the main reasons for the drop outs that year.

I remember we were having some difficulties with where folks were by early afternoon. What with the chaos of the Turkey River re-route and the mudslide. However; with only a few folks left going by around 1:30pm -2:00pm, we knew we would just need to get a few good reports and we'd be back on track. We had two guys doing photography work on this event, so it was hoped that this would allow for a better tracking of riders.

Finally, a rider story that I recall. It was Joe Meiser, who was riding a Salsa Cycles La Cruz  and had shifted his derailluer into his spokes. After several valiant attempts to revive his stricken steed, he succumbed to being too late to the Wadena checkpoint and was out. It was a widely repeated story back then, and folks were impressed by Joe's determination in the face of  adversity. Joe was already a Trans Iowa finisher, having completed the event the year before. However; it wouldn't be the last we'd hear from this Minnesota rider.

Next Week: Water, Wind, and Washouts......

Trans Iowa: Ten Years Of Tales #19

In mid-November, the idea of Trans Iowa was hatched. The year was 2004. In the ten years since then there have been many stories and memories. These posts will tell of the most prominent ones to my mind. Maybe I'll even spill the beans on some things you never knew....

T.I.v4 riders struggling against a mighty headwind

 Let's see....I've always said "the weather is the wildcard" for Trans Iowa, and in the case of v4, it was not only the wildcard for us and the riders, it was "the beast" David and I struggled with from way before I tooted that horn to lead out the riders from Decorah at 4am that cold, windy April morning.

We were dealt a bad hand in doing recon, and the effects that the weather had on the roads were tremendous, as will be pointed out in my next post on Trans Iowa Tales. But for the time of T.I.v4's start, all we knew was that it was snowing!

It is hard to convey just how miserably cold and windy it was that morning. I don't have a record of what the windchill was that morning, but it had to be way down into the low 20's/upper teens. It felt like Winter! I remember David and I huddled at the convenience store in Cresco, just a short distance down the T.I.v4 course, and watching snow swirl across Highway 9. The riders were headed in a general direction facing the wind, and it was becoming apparent that the checkpoint cutoff time at our first checkpoint in Wadena Iowa was going to bite a lot of folks.

In fact, when a slug of riders finally appeared- maybe about 20 in a tightly knit pack- it was obvious by our calculations that these were the only riders with any prayer of making the cutoff at CP#1. Riders were calling in to drop out already at an alarming rate. It was almost Trans Iowa v2 all over again, only with snow and wind this time! I remember standing on a hill south of Cresco with David and one of our photographers that year just struggling to stand upright in the gusts that would come every so often. We would later learn that riders were getting blown off their bikes into the ditches at this point of the event!

David Pals scrambling down the mudslide on the T.I.v4 course

Well, that snow went away, and the winds backed off a tick, maybe. However; we weren't done dealing with what the weather had done previous to T.I.v4's crazy start. One of the chief memories I have about this event is the mudslide we encountered. It was not far from the Wadena checkpoint, and I recall David and I were flat out amazed and freaked out about it.

We quickly surveyed our options and with a re-route going miles out of our way not very appealing, we decided to make the riders hike-a-bike over the clay and dirt mound. Not ten seconds from planting the last flags marking the safest way over the mound, here the leaders came. Several figured it out and a line of cyclo cross style riders running up and over the dirt soon formed. I remember Brian Hannon scrambling around the pile through a field lower down the hillside. It was pretty intense for a minute or two. Then they were gone.

A few more riders would go over this, but with so many just barely getting pipped by the cutoff time in Wadena, the event effectively was down to a dozen riders or less. I remember riders telling me they could see the valley and Wadena down below and being minutes from the cutoff with no hope of making it. Wind and missed turns were being given as the main reasons for the drop outs that year.

I remember we were having some difficulties with where folks were by early afternoon. What with the chaos of the Turkey River re-route and the mudslide. However; with only a few folks left going by around 1:30pm -2:00pm, we knew we would just need to get a few good reports and we'd be back on track. We had two guys doing photography work on this event, so it was hoped that this would allow for a better tracking of riders.

Finally, a rider story that I recall. It was Joe Meiser, who was riding a Salsa Cycles La Cruz  and had shifted his derailluer into his spokes. After several valiant attempts to revive his stricken steed, he succumbed to being too late to the Wadena checkpoint and was out. It was a widely repeated story back then, and folks were impressed by Joe's determination in the face of  adversity. Joe was already a Trans Iowa finisher, having completed the event the year before. However; it wouldn't be the last we'd hear from this Minnesota rider.

Next Week: Water, Wind, and Washouts......

Trans Iowa: Ten Years Of Tales #18

In mid-November, the idea of Trans Iowa was hatched. The year was 2004. In the ten years since then there have been many stories and memories. These posts will tell of the most prominent ones to my mind. Maybe I'll even spill the beans on some things you never knew....

The V4 website header

 With weather not cooperating, I was really anxious about T.I.v4 even happening at all, much less being super tough. The rains were torrential leading up to the event and coupled with saturated ground from a recently melted snow pack, it was looking like flooding would be our first concern. In fact, David Pals almost didn't come up for the event at all, since he had copious amounts of water in his basement the morning of the pre-race meeting. Oh well! I was wondering if I would be doing another solo run of Trans Iowa when I left town on Friday to head up to Decorah.

I was so concerned that I drove a major portion of the beginning of T.I.v4 backwards going to Decorah to verify that we could even put on the event. I did just over 100 miles of gravel recon and only the low water crossing of the Turkey River was impassable. I did a quick recon of a reroute and had a plan in place to re-route riders using ribbon and lathe sticks. This was learned from the Dirty Kanza 200, and I still use this same re-route procedure to this day for Trans Iowa.

A stray calf from the last recon of the v4 course.

My memories of that morning are of being extremely stressed out and worried about the event not being run. I recall being more relaxed that the roads I was on were looking okay, and that maybe we were going to be fine. Sure- the Turkey River crossing looked bad, but that was minor.

I was very close to getting to Decorah when I suddenly was stopped in my tracks by a calf standing in the road. It just stood there, gazing at me, so I took a picture of the little critter and then it finally decided to bound off the road and out of my way. Little did I know this would become an enduring image of Trans Iowa in the future.

I got to Decorah by mid-afternoon and I was told to make sure I saw the cook at T Bock's so I could "approve the sauce". Yeah......that was weird! I sat down as the cook was fetched and she came out with two pots of steaming tomato sauce for our spaghetti meal that night. I test tasted them, heard all her worrying about the sauces not being good enough for us, and gave her my hearty approval for both. She left, a little less stressed and relieved somewhat.  I was wondering who she thought I was and what Trans Iowa folks were like. Maybe someone had told her we were tough customers, I don't know, but all the fuss and attention was flattering and totally unnecessary, I thought.

Me standing, David Pals to my right, Steve Fuller to my left.

David and his brother Mark finally arrived, and with some others help, pre-race bags were stuffed. We didn't have an impressive amount of goodies either, but the participants were stoked none the less. They filed in and sat down to spaghetti and beers. The amount of beer consumed at this particular pre-race was pretty amazing, by the way. Even the T Bock's staff was surprised by this.

The main thing I recall about this particular meeting was that I met a lot of people that were to become dear friends and acquaintances of mine. The Slender Fungus guys, Steve Fuller, John Gorilla, Charlie Farrow, some more of the Lincoln Nebraska group I hadn't met before, and others. In a lot of ways, T.I.v4 was a starting point. Between this and T.I.v3, a lot of new people were added to my life, and I am a much better person for all of that.

A couple of things are brought to mind by this last image here. First, you might notice the limestone chunk on the table. That was David Pals' idea. He figured Trans Iowa should have a proper trophy and he carved out the letters on the block which would be presented to the winner. Secondly, Steve Fuller was a volunteer that year, and he showed up with a lap top and spread sheets with all sorts of digital organization. Trans Iowa was looking a bit more professional this go round for sure!

Well, as I recall the pre-race went really smoothly. The riders didn't question the re-route procedure, so I figured we were good to go. I went to the motel with a howling wind and temperatures that were dropping rapidly. I was okay with it though, hoping the wind would dry things off for us.

Tomorrow: The chilling start to T.I.v4

Trans Iowa: Ten Years Of Tales #18

In mid-November, the idea of Trans Iowa was hatched. The year was 2004. In the ten years since then there have been many stories and memories. These posts will tell of the most prominent ones to my mind. Maybe I'll even spill the beans on some things you never knew....

The V4 website header

 With weather not cooperating, I was really anxious about T.I.v4 even happening at all, much less being super tough. The rains were torrential leading up to the event and coupled with saturated ground from a recently melted snow pack, it was looking like flooding would be our first concern. In fact, David Pals almost didn't come up for the event at all, since he had copious amounts of water in his basement the morning of the pre-race meeting. Oh well! I was wondering if I would be doing another solo run of Trans Iowa when I left town on Friday to head up to Decorah.

I was so concerned that I drove a major portion of the beginning of T.I.v4 backwards going to Decorah to verify that we could even put on the event. I did just over 100 miles of gravel recon and only the low water crossing of the Turkey River was impassable. I did a quick recon of a reroute and had a plan in place to re-route riders using ribbon and lathe sticks. This was learned from the Dirty Kanza 200, and I still use this same re-route procedure to this day for Trans Iowa.

A stray calf from the last recon of the v4 course.

My memories of that morning are of being extremely stressed out and worried about the event not being run. I recall being more relaxed that the roads I was on were looking okay, and that maybe we were going to be fine. Sure- the Turkey River crossing looked bad, but that was minor.

I was very close to getting to Decorah when I suddenly was stopped in my tracks by a calf standing in the road. It just stood there, gazing at me, so I took a picture of the little critter and then it finally decided to bound off the road and out of my way. Little did I know this would become an enduring image of Trans Iowa in the future.

I got to Decorah by mid-afternoon and I was told to make sure I saw the cook at T Bock's so I could "approve the sauce". Yeah......that was weird! I sat down as the cook was fetched and she came out with two pots of steaming tomato sauce for our spaghetti meal that night. I test tasted them, heard all her worrying about the sauces not being good enough for us, and gave her my hearty approval for both. She left, a little less stressed and relieved somewhat.  I was wondering who she thought I was and what Trans Iowa folks were like. Maybe someone had told her we were tough customers, I don't know, but all the fuss and attention was flattering and totally unnecessary, I thought.

Me standing, David Pals to my right, Steve Fuller to my left.

David and his brother Mark finally arrived, and with some others help, pre-race bags were stuffed. We didn't have an impressive amount of goodies either, but the participants were stoked none the less. They filed in and sat down to spaghetti and beers. The amount of beer consumed at this particular pre-race was pretty amazing, by the way. Even the T Bock's staff was surprised by this.

The main thing I recall about this particular meeting was that I met a lot of people that were to become dear friends and acquaintances of mine. The Slender Fungus guys, Steve Fuller, John Gorilla, Charlie Farrow, some more of the Lincoln Nebraska group I hadn't met before, and others. In a lot of ways, T.I.v4 was a starting point. Between this and T.I.v3, a lot of new people were added to my life, and I am a much better person for all of that.

A couple of things are brought to mind by this last image here. First, you might notice the limestone chunk on the table. That was David Pals' idea. He figured Trans Iowa should have a proper trophy and he carved out the letters on the block which would be presented to the winner. Secondly, Steve Fuller was a volunteer that year, and he showed up with a lap top and spread sheets with all sorts of digital organization. Trans Iowa was looking a bit more professional this go round for sure!

Well, as I recall the pre-race went really smoothly. The riders didn't question the re-route procedure, so I figured we were good to go. I went to the motel with a howling wind and temperatures that were dropping rapidly. I was okay with it though, hoping the wind would dry things off for us.

Tomorrow: The chilling start to T.I.v4

Friday News And Views

Plotting the screen art

Schwag Update: 

Here's a look at how the artwork is coming along for the Trans Iowa v10 t-shirts. This is a graphic design I came up with myself. The idea was spawned from seeing a certain container company's logo a while back and how it fit my ideal for this design.

The wing motif is something that has meaning to me personally and is tied to Trans Iowa a bit. I won't be sharing anymore on that here, but if you are ever sitting around knocking back a few adult beverages with me someday and you remember to ask me, I may tell you why that is. Or not.

The "V" part is obviously for "version" but I did it in the style of an automotive hood badge which reflects a tiny slice of Trans Iowa history having to do with T.I.V8 and a "band aid" banner I used for a short period when the original design by Jeff Kerkove was found to be in poor taste by Campbell Food Inc. lawyers who didn't appreciate the "V8" juice reference in the design. Bah! Corporate culture! So I used a Ford "V8" badge for a very short time until the "Ploughboy" design was used to replace that.

The last time the "original" Trans Iowa logo was used on an event header for the site

The trucker hat will get a different logo. The "original" Trans Iowa "brand' logo developed by Jeff Kerkove, (as seen here on the old T.I.v6 header) will be printed in white on black on black hats. This was chosen to reflect on the origins of Trans Iowa and Jeff Kerkove in particular, because it is my opinion that without his vision and stature in the endurance community at the time of Trans Iowa's inception, this event would have never gotten to a "V10", much less a "V2".

It also will be good to bring back this logo which hasn't been used since T.I.v6. Versions 7-9 have used alternative logos and were used only for their particular event. In fact, every year's header was designed by Jeff until this year which I decided to do myself, and obviously, it isn't nearly as good!

Shirts and hats are paid for and on the way. Printing will commence shortly, and the next time I mention this I hope to be sharing the finished products with all of you.

The Age Before Fat Bikes: 

 I was considering today how easily I was bashing through a 3 foot high pile of snow and being able to continue to motor along on my fat bike. This brought to mind the days "BFB". (Before Fat Bikes) Maybe I should say "before I had a fat bike", but I think you all get the idea here.

While I can ride most any bicycle in the snow, the fat bike just raises the bar on what is possible for me to traverse. I know that when I finally spin out, wash the front wheel out, or lose traction, I've gone much, much further than I would have on any other bicycle. Now, I have been learning these last three years to handle these obese tired rigs with a steady hand and patience and I have been rewarded with even more territory cleaned without dabbing.

But really, do I need to have a fat bike? No, clearly I have cycled several years previous to this on 29"ers or skinnier tired fare with success. I even see other cyclists without 4 inch wide tires riding around just fine. However; I have found several times that I am riding instead of walking, getting frustrated, or freaking out that I may be going down at any second. The fat bike has brought another layer of capability and peace of mind that my other bicycles can not match on commutes in snowy weather. Is that worth having it for? I would say that the answer for me is yes. Definitely a "yes".

Off road it is a no brainer. A fat bike just does things you can not even begin to do with any other bicycle. Here it is at home, and when it comes to getting more fun, more activity in cold weather, and staying engaged with the outdoors, the fat bike rules. I used to do a lot of XC skiing, but I didn't touch them last season and I haven't gone looking for them this year yet either. Maybe I'll use the skis as a diversion to cycling. Maybe.....

Okay, that's a wrap for today. Stay warm and ride those bicycles if you can!

Friday News And Views

Plotting the screen art

Schwag Update: 

Here's a look at how the artwork is coming along for the Trans Iowa v10 t-shirts. This is a graphic design I came up with myself. The idea was spawned from seeing a certain container company's logo a while back and how it fit my ideal for this design.

The wing motif is something that has meaning to me personally and is tied to Trans Iowa a bit. I won't be sharing anymore on that here, but if you are ever sitting around knocking back a few adult beverages with me someday and you remember to ask me, I may tell you why that is. Or not.

The "V" part is obviously for "version" but I did it in the style of an automotive hood badge which reflects a tiny slice of Trans Iowa history having to do with T.I.V8 and a "band aid" banner I used for a short period when the original design by Jeff Kerkove was found to be in poor taste by Campbell Food Inc. lawyers who didn't appreciate the "V8" juice reference in the design. Bah! Corporate culture! So I used a Ford "V8" badge for a very short time until the "Ploughboy" design was used to replace that.

The last time the "original" Trans Iowa logo was used on an event header for the site

The trucker hat will get a different logo. The "original" Trans Iowa "brand' logo developed by Jeff Kerkove, (as seen here on the old T.I.v6 header) will be printed in white on black on black hats. This was chosen to reflect on the origins of Trans Iowa and Jeff Kerkove in particular, because it is my opinion that without his vision and stature in the endurance community at the time of Trans Iowa's inception, this event would have never gotten to a "V10", much less a "V2".

It also will be good to bring back this logo which hasn't been used since T.I.v6. Versions 7-9 have used alternative logos and were used only for their particular event. In fact, every year's header was designed by Jeff until this year which I decided to do myself, and obviously, it isn't nearly as good!

Shirts and hats are paid for and on the way. Printing will commence shortly, and the next time I mention this I hope to be sharing the finished products with all of you.

The Age Before Fat Bikes: 

 I was considering today how easily I was bashing through a 3 foot high pile of snow and being able to continue to motor along on my fat bike. This brought to mind the days "BFB". (Before Fat Bikes) Maybe I should say "before I had a fat bike", but I think you all get the idea here.

While I can ride most any bicycle in the snow, the fat bike just raises the bar on what is possible for me to traverse. I know that when I finally spin out, wash the front wheel out, or lose traction, I've gone much, much further than I would have on any other bicycle. Now, I have been learning these last three years to handle these obese tired rigs with a steady hand and patience and I have been rewarded with even more territory cleaned without dabbing.

But really, do I need to have a fat bike? No, clearly I have cycled several years previous to this on 29"ers or skinnier tired fare with success. I even see other cyclists without 4 inch wide tires riding around just fine. However; I have found several times that I am riding instead of walking, getting frustrated, or freaking out that I may be going down at any second. The fat bike has brought another layer of capability and peace of mind that my other bicycles can not match on commutes in snowy weather. Is that worth having it for? I would say that the answer for me is yes. Definitely a "yes".

Off road it is a no brainer. A fat bike just does things you can not even begin to do with any other bicycle. Here it is at home, and when it comes to getting more fun, more activity in cold weather, and staying engaged with the outdoors, the fat bike rules. I used to do a lot of XC skiing, but I didn't touch them last season and I haven't gone looking for them this year yet either. Maybe I'll use the skis as a diversion to cycling. Maybe.....

Okay, that's a wrap for today. Stay warm and ride those bicycles if you can!

New Shoes For By-Tor Part 3

Finally! Some snow testing!

In my last full on report on the Fatback Sterling tires, (seen here), I told you all about the on-dirt performance of the Sterling. Recently we have been thrust into mid-Winter, (despite what the calendar is telling us, this is mid-Winter!), and now I have had some decent trials in snowy conditions which has given me a good feel for what these tires are capable of in the snow.

One thing that I feel is true about anything branded "Fatback", and that is that whatever it is you are looking at from them, it has been optimized for use in Winter in Winter-like conditions. This really hit home with regard to the Sterling tires. Sure- they held their own on dirt, but when I hit the virgin snow....... The light turned on. Yep! The Sterling came alive in the snow. Even on slick, hard packed snow on the street, these tires could be trusted to grip quite well. Slightly better than Surly Larrys and BFL's? Yes, I think so. And they rolled well to boot.

Now a word about air pressures: I have gone down to something slightly above 10psi. Maybe 12-14psi, it's hard to say with these temps hovering around 0°F. But at any rate, the Sterlings do not need to go lower than this, in my opinion. I am on the brink of getting that front tire to not want to steer, which would happen for me with the Larry or BFL at about 4psi. The flatter crown of the Vee Rubber tire casing is why.

My nits? well, I still am peeved that these tires are way narrower than advertised. This is a 3.8" tire, period. That's fine, but it is not exactly what I was looking for when I bought these. In light of the actual width, the Sterling is a really good tire for fat bikes. I have great traction, but the tire rolls really fast, as long as you treat the tire with the air pressures it needs to do that with. To my mind, that is anything from 10-20psi, depending upon conditions. A Surly Larry or BFL, in contrast, is a tire I would never run over 10psi.

Secondly, due to the narrower than advertised width, you have to watch it when cornering or on off cambers. This tire grips until you tip the casing sideways, (or the ground falls away to one side or the other), and then the tire just goes away on you. Keep that tread contact patch fairly perpendicular to the ground though, and it does just fine. The line between holding its grip and losing it completely is a fine one though. This is particularly true with the front end, although I have had the back end come around on me a few times as well.

For a 3.8" tire, I think it is a keeper, but........I was expecting something wider and more forgiving in terms of float when I set out to buy tires. This tire fails at that. Look elsewhere if you need an "expedition worthy" tire. If you want lightweight, a tire that is capable in many conditions, and is fast rolling, look into this. Keep in mind that I feel the air pressures need to be higher than traditional, (read Surly tires), use.

Next step: Going tubeless. Stay tuned......

New Shoes For By-Tor Part 3

Finally! Some snow testing!

In my last full on report on the Fatback Sterling tires, (seen here), I told you all about the on-dirt performance of the Sterling. Recently we have been thrust into mid-Winter, (despite what the calendar is telling us, this is mid-Winter!), and now I have had some decent trials in snowy conditions which has given me a good feel for what these tires are capable of in the snow.

One thing that I feel is true about anything branded "Fatback", and that is that whatever it is you are looking at from them, it has been optimized for use in Winter in Winter-like conditions. This really hit home with regard to the Sterling tires. Sure- they held their own on dirt, but when I hit the virgin snow....... The light turned on. Yep! The Sterling came alive in the snow. Even on slick, hard packed snow on the street, these tires could be trusted to grip quite well. Slightly better than Surly Larrys and BFL's? Yes, I think so. And they rolled well to boot.

Now a word about air pressures: I have gone down to something slightly above 10psi. Maybe 12-14psi, it's hard to say with these temps hovering around 0°F. But at any rate, the Sterlings do not need to go lower than this, in my opinion. I am on the brink of getting that front tire to not want to steer, which would happen for me with the Larry or BFL at about 4psi. The flatter crown of the Vee Rubber tire casing is why.

My nits? well, I still am peeved that these tires are way narrower than advertised. This is a 3.8" tire, period. That's fine, but it is not exactly what I was looking for when I bought these. In light of the actual width, the Sterling is a really good tire for fat bikes. I have great traction, but the tire rolls really fast, as long as you treat the tire with the air pressures it needs to do that with. To my mind, that is anything from 10-20psi, depending upon conditions. A Surly Larry or BFL, in contrast, is a tire I would never run over 10psi.

Secondly, due to the narrower than advertised width, you have to watch it when cornering or on off cambers. This tire grips until you tip the casing sideways, (or the ground falls away to one side or the other), and then the tire just goes away on you. Keep that tread contact patch fairly perpendicular to the ground though, and it does just fine. The line between holding its grip and losing it completely is a fine one though. This is particularly true with the front end, although I have had the back end come around on me a few times as well.

For a 3.8" tire, I think it is a keeper, but........I was expecting something wider and more forgiving in terms of float when I set out to buy tires. This tire fails at that. Look elsewhere if you need an "expedition worthy" tire. If you want lightweight, a tire that is capable in many conditions, and is fast rolling, look into this. Keep in mind that I feel the air pressures need to be higher than traditional, (read Surly tires), use.

Next step: Going tubeless. Stay tuned......

So, What Rhymes With Carbon?

I just built this one up yesterday. Another Carbon Beargrease XX1

In my post last week about Chinese sourced carbon fat bike frames, I mentioned how some industry folk believe that carbon fiber is the "material of choice" for the average bike in the future. They say it will replace aluminum as the most common bicycle frame material for the recreational cycling market.

Well, in road bikes, I can see that, and maybe in terms of mountain bikes, sure- that might happen, but would people really go to the extent of buying into the carbon fiber fat bike idea? I mean, a fat bike is sort of an odd deal yet. Maybe a "play bike" for someone loaded with bikes and that needs a diversion. I guess I was thinking your carbon fat bike idea might sell a few units, but this season has blown me away as far as how the carbon fat bike idea has taken root so quickly.

As I recall, it took at least 2G to build a Pugsley back five years ago, and that kept fat bikes out of my hands, and I am sure it deterred others as well. Then in late 2010, Salsa Cycles came out with that Mukluk and Surly quickly followed suit with their fully built Pugs option and suddenly you could buy a fat bike for under $1600.00 ready to roll.

Now this made sense to me. Now you could somewhat afford to dive in and take the chance to see what it was all about. Then several other companies started in with their own cheap options, which now have brought prices down to Walmart levels for a fat bike, (quite literally, with the Mongoose "Beast" fat bike. $200.00! ) Conversely Salsa Cycles started to push upward with a titanium offering and higher spec aluminum models. Then suddenly it seemed that everyone was talking carbon fiber fat bikes with crazy drive train set ups like SRAM's new XX1 stuff. (The cassette alone costs what TWO Mongoose Beast fat bikes do!) So, like........who is going to buy into that? Yeah, maybe a few, as I thought, but really.......not that many, right?

The slightly less blingy Carbon Beargrease X-9

Wrong! I have been soooooo wrong about this. It's blowing my mind everyday. I can't really explain it either. Yes- these are lighter by a fair piece than the aluminum Mukluks. (About 8lbs lighter in the case of a XX1 vs Muk 2) Yes, carbon is the premier material for frames in the road world and is quickly, (or already has), becoming the same in the mountain biking world. I guess fat bikes are falling in on the coat tails of this.

Is it really all about the weight? Maybe it is. I do know that the massive, almost cartoonish scale of the frame dimensions is amusing, but so far, I haven't seen any customers laughing, like I did when I first laid eyes on a Beargrease at Frostbike last February. So I don't know if that has anything at all to do with it. Is it the subversive blackness of the carbon frame? Maybe. Maybe fat bike customers are rebels that manifest their disconnect with traditional cycling by buying these outlandish looking steeds. "Look at me! I will crush you with my uber-light, ultra-black wheels of Death!

Or maybe this is the anti-Lance-effect bike. The bike that manifests the backlash against pro roadie drugged performances that has gutted the romance and idealistic dreams of the common cyclist who once played make-believe roadie when Lance was King. But it is still carbon fiber!

Or maybe these are just freaking cool bicycles that blow peoples minds to the point that they have to get one. But I don't know about that. Why didn't the same basic rigs in aluminum fly out the door like these have here then? Maybe aluminum isn't cool anymore. We're going to have to find a catch phrase for carbon like steel frames have. You know- steel is real  and all.  But what rhymes with carbon?

Well, whatever it is that is making this blow up, I can not say. All I know is that big, humongous boxes containing plasticky fat goodness keep appearing at the shop and I keep building them up. What happens after that is anybodies guess, I guess!

So, What Rhymes With Carbon?

I just built this one up yesterday. Another Carbon Beargrease XX1

In my post last week about Chinese sourced carbon fat bike frames, I mentioned how some industry folk believe that carbon fiber is the "material of choice" for the average bike in the future. They say it will replace aluminum as the most common bicycle frame material for the recreational cycling market.

Well, in road bikes, I can see that, and maybe in terms of mountain bikes, sure- that might happen, but would people really go to the extent of buying into the carbon fiber fat bike idea? I mean, a fat bike is sort of an odd deal yet. Maybe a "play bike" for someone loaded with bikes and that needs a diversion. I guess I was thinking your carbon fat bike idea might sell a few units, but this season has blown me away as far as how the carbon fat bike idea has taken root so quickly.

As I recall, it took at least 2G to build a Pugsley back five years ago, and that kept fat bikes out of my hands, and I am sure it deterred others as well. Then in late 2010, Salsa Cycles came out with that Mukluk and Surly quickly followed suit with their fully built Pugs option and suddenly you could buy a fat bike for under $1600.00 ready to roll.

Now this made sense to me. Now you could somewhat afford to dive in and take the chance to see what it was all about. Then several other companies started in with their own cheap options, which now have brought prices down to Walmart levels for a fat bike, (quite literally, with the Mongoose "Beast" fat bike. $200.00! ) Conversely Salsa Cycles started to push upward with a titanium offering and higher spec aluminum models. Then suddenly it seemed that everyone was talking carbon fiber fat bikes with crazy drive train set ups like SRAM's new XX1 stuff. (The cassette alone costs what TWO Mongoose Beast fat bikes do!) So, like........who is going to buy into that? Yeah, maybe a few, as I thought, but really.......not that many, right?

The slightly less blingy Carbon Beargrease X-9

Wrong! I have been soooooo wrong about this. It's blowing my mind everyday. I can't really explain it either. Yes- these are lighter by a fair piece than the aluminum Mukluks. (About 8lbs lighter in the case of a XX1 vs Muk 2) Yes, carbon is the premier material for frames in the road world and is quickly, (or already has), becoming the same in the mountain biking world. I guess fat bikes are falling in on the coat tails of this.

Is it really all about the weight? Maybe it is. I do know that the massive, almost cartoonish scale of the frame dimensions is amusing, but so far, I haven't seen any customers laughing, like I did when I first laid eyes on a Beargrease at Frostbike last February. So I don't know if that has anything at all to do with it. Is it the subversive blackness of the carbon frame? Maybe. Maybe fat bike customers are rebels that manifest their disconnect with traditional cycling by buying these outlandish looking steeds. "Look at me! I will crush you with my uber-light, ultra-black wheels of Death!

Or maybe this is the anti-Lance-effect bike. The bike that manifests the backlash against pro roadie drugged performances that has gutted the romance and idealistic dreams of the common cyclist who once played make-believe roadie when Lance was King. But it is still carbon fiber!

Or maybe these are just freaking cool bicycles that blow peoples minds to the point that they have to get one. But I don't know about that. Why didn't the same basic rigs in aluminum fly out the door like these have here then? Maybe aluminum isn't cool anymore. We're going to have to find a catch phrase for carbon like steel frames have. You know- steel is real  and all.  But what rhymes with carbon?

Well, whatever it is that is making this blow up, I can not say. All I know is that big, humongous boxes containing plasticky fat goodness keep appearing at the shop and I keep building them up. What happens after that is anybodies guess, I guess!

One Hot, One Cold

Triple D: 

So, if you haven't noticed on their site, the Triple D is on again and I signed up once again.  That means I have already been digging into just what it is I am going to do this year. obviously, the bike will be the ol' titanium Mukluk. The Snow Dog is stripped and hanging, so it can't be a choice now. (But that may change soon. We'll see.....)

Anywho.... I have been experimenting more with the Fatback Sterling tires. Now with the weekend's snow and really cold temperatures, I can get a read on what the snow performance might be like with these tires. It was a balmy 1°F yesterday morning with a bitterly cold windchill, some fresh snow, and a bright, clear sky. Perfect!

I ran the Sterlings at about 20psi and keep in mind- that was indoors psi. Outside it was slightly less due to the cold air. I was pleased with the traction. That was far better than the Larrys from a snow standpoint. I was running through some loose, unpacked snow and some heavily packed snow. In both situations I found the tires felt stable and had decent grip. The surprise was how fast they were once you got on some deeper snow. The feeling was night and day versus running on hard pack snow or pavement.

Coming home I dumped the pressure to 15 psi, (again- set indoors), and the grip level was higher with better float. Probably equivalent to what my Larrys were like at 5-6psi. At the 15psi setting, (again, what they were at 2°F- the temperature coming home- is going to be slightly less), the Sterlings had a bit more self-steer, but nothing unbearable. Rutted trail would have likely been an issue, but I didn't have that feature on the way home to know for certain.

Conclusion: This tire should work for Triple D. More soon....

The GTDRI in 2010

The Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational:

Okay. A lot of folks are setting goals and making ride plans for 2014 already, so I wanted to talk about the GTDRI.  This is my hot, long, tough ride that I do every summer. I've got a plan, and I thought I'd put it out there for consideration.

So I want to do the same route we did back in '09-'10. A few of you know this route and know that it is a killer 118 mile ride with 10,000ft of elevation gain. There are many 12-15% grades, and it has stellar views. I don't think anyone will argue that this loop is worthy of GTDRI status. By the way, it's a loop that starts near West Union, Iowa and takes in the small villages of Elgin, Elkader, Garber, Strawberry Point, Volga, and Wadena.

Now here might be a controversial point. I am going to suggest that the ride take place July 19th. Yes....that is the day before the start of RAGBRAI. You know what? do not care about that. Folks in the past said it mattered to them, but from what I have seen over the last few years, the folks showing up to this ride are not saying they are doing RAGBRAI, so I am not making any considerations for that. If I hear and read a hue and cry to change my date, I will seriously consider it, but I bet that I do not. So......it's pretty sure at this point that it will be the 19th. 

The first time we did this loop, (during The Summer That Wasn't A Summer),  it took all day to complete this brutal beast of a ride. The last time I attempted it, I succumbed to the heat and only got in 80 miles. I want to go back and get this done and overcome the heat monster, if I can.

As long as I am at it.... Here's the tentative schedule for 2014:

• Triple D (January)
• Possibly a solo attempt at something in March
• Renegade Gents Race- (April)
• Put on T.I.v10 (April)
• Something in May (Thinking Almanzo)
• Odin's Revenge (June)
• GTDRI (July)
• Gravel Worlds (August)

That's enough to think about for now!

One Hot, One Cold

Triple D: 

So, if you haven't noticed on their site, the Triple D is on again and I signed up once again.  That means I have already been digging into just what it is I am going to do this year. obviously, the bike will be the ol' titanium Mukluk. The Snow Dog is stripped and hanging, so it can't be a choice now. (But that may change soon. We'll see.....)

Anywho.... I have been experimenting more with the Fatback Sterling tires. Now with the weekend's snow and really cold temperatures, I can get a read on what the snow performance might be like with these tires. It was a balmy 1°F yesterday morning with a bitterly cold windchill, some fresh snow, and a bright, clear sky. Perfect!

I ran the Sterlings at about 20psi and keep in mind- that was indoors psi. Outside it was slightly less due to the cold air. I was pleased with the traction. That was far better than the Larrys from a snow standpoint. I was running through some loose, unpacked snow and some heavily packed snow. In both situations I found the tires felt stable and had decent grip. The surprise was how fast they were once you got on some deeper snow. The feeling was night and day versus running on hard pack snow or pavement.

Coming home I dumped the pressure to 15 psi, (again- set indoors), and the grip level was higher with better float. Probably equivalent to what my Larrys were like at 5-6psi. At the 15psi setting, (again, what they were at 2°F- the temperature coming home- is going to be slightly less), the Sterlings had a bit more self-steer, but nothing unbearable. Rutted trail would have likely been an issue, but I didn't have that feature on the way home to know for certain.

Conclusion: This tire should work for Triple D. More soon....

The GTDRI in 2010

The Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational:

Okay. A lot of folks are setting goals and making ride plans for 2014 already, so I wanted to talk about the GTDRI.  This is my hot, long, tough ride that I do every summer. I've got a plan, and I thought I'd put it out there for consideration.

So I want to do the same route we did back in '09-'10. A few of you know this route and know that it is a killer 118 mile ride with 10,000ft of elevation gain. There are many 12-15% grades, and it has stellar views. I don't think anyone will argue that this loop is worthy of GTDRI status. By the way, it's a loop that starts near West Union, Iowa and takes in the small villages of Elgin, Elkader, Garber, Strawberry Point, Volga, and Wadena.

Now here might be a controversial point. I am going to suggest that the ride take place July 19th. Yes....that is the day before the start of RAGBRAI. You know what? do not care about that. Folks in the past said it mattered to them, but from what I have seen over the last few years, the folks showing up to this ride are not saying they are doing RAGBRAI, so I am not making any considerations for that. If I hear and read a hue and cry to change my date, I will seriously consider it, but I bet that I do not. So......it's pretty sure at this point that it will be the 19th. 

The first time we did this loop, (during The Summer That Wasn't A Summer),  it took all day to complete this brutal beast of a ride. The last time I attempted it, I succumbed to the heat and only got in 80 miles. I want to go back and get this done and overcome the heat monster, if I can.

As long as I am at it.... Here's the tentative schedule for 2014:

• Triple D (January)
• Possibly a solo attempt at something in March
• Renegade Gents Race- (April)
• Put on T.I.v10 (April)
• Something in May (Thinking Almanzo)
• Odin's Revenge (June)
• GTDRI (July)
• Gravel Worlds (August)

That's enough to think about for now!

Trans Iowa Clinic: Report

Saturday was the day for the Trans Iowa Clinic down in Des Moines, Iowa. We were expecting about 40 folks to show up and learn from some very experienced Trans Iowa finishers and veterans. The venue was an empty sliver of space between Tacopocalypse, (a restaurant run by Trans Iowa veteran, Sam Auen), and an art gallery. Years ago it was a milk truck garage. Back in the days when milk was delivered house to house by dairies instead of procured at grocery stores, trucks were loaded with milk for deliveries at such warehouses.

So the space was rustic and I felt fit the vibe of Trans Iowa perfectly. I couldn't have asked for a better place to do this clinic. Besides that, Sam saw to it that we had chairs, That the Christmas tree was decorated, and that the place was swept and in order, and also that he had staff on hand to run his restaurant so he could attend!

I left town before noon with Mrs. Guitar Ted loaded up with my Singular Gryphon set up for a long gravel ride and my materials I needed to put on the show. Likewise, Steve Fuller, who has ridden in a few Trans Iowas, photographed a few, and also finished T.I.v9, was there early to set up a ginormous screen, projector, lap top with power point presentation, and he brought a P.A along with his Salsa La Cruz steel bike set up for T.I.

Looking toward the entrance- R-L: Mrs Guitar Ted, Steve, and Mike

Mike Johnson, a multiple Trans Iowa finisher and Tour Divide finisher came down with his wife and he brought a slew of tire samples, materials for the riders to take notes, some chairs for us to sit on, some gear to show, and his own titanium Vaya set up for a Trans Iowa attempt.

Steve and Sam, along with his staff, had most of the work done by the time the rest of us had arrived, but we took our time getting things arranged correctly and talked a bit about how we were going to run the show. We all ate at various times from Sam's fantastic restaurant, Tacopocalypse throughout the day. Again- I highly recommend the place if you ever get to Des Moines!

So things were running smoothly and by 4:00pm we were pretty much set to go and receive our guests. There were three tables full of gear, Steve's, Mike's, and my bicycles along with the bicycles of Dan Buettner and last Trans Iowa winner, Dick Wince's bike.  All represented different ways to set up a Trans Iowa bike and I think these really were an influence on visitors to the Clinic.

Mid-set up: Tables with Trans Iowa type tires, gear, and later, some bags riders use. 

Two of the five bicycles we had on display, all set up, ready to ride a Trans Iowa. 

Mike and Steve during the Q&A session

At about 5:00pm, some folks started to wander in and take in what we had on display. Soon I found myself deep into conversations with some folks I have met through Trans Iowas and also with some new folks coming for their very first Trans Iowa. Mike and Steve were also available and talking with the various folks stopping in.

Then it was time to start the show. I made a few announcements and then we rolled the documentary "300 Miles of Gravel", which I think we found out everyone there had seen before, so obviously folks are researching Trans Iowa!

After this, I invited Steve and Mike up and we dove into the "meat" of what went on for the evening. I basically was the "moderator/MC", and kind of just helped flow things along while Steve and Mike began to share their experiences and thoughts on everything from bikes, to gear, to strategy, and more. While the audience didn't have a lot of questions, it was obvious that they were engaged in what was being shared. I saw a LOT of note taking going on!

Steve making a point on his bike set up while Mike assists with steadying his steed.

We started out with bicycle choice and why certain bicycles were chosen after starting with others. Steve and Mike are both great examples of how learning from experiences has taught them certain lessons and pushed them towards certain bicycle choices which are quite different from where they started.

The next section was mostly about gear: Tires, lights and bags were discussed and why things were chosen were shared by Mike and Steve. It was about this time when we enjoyed additional commentary coming from Trans Iowa V9 winner, Dick Wince, (aka "Mr. Charming") , Matt Maxwell, and Dan Buettner. With all of this vast Trans Iowa experience on hand, it really made for a well rounded showcase of what works and what doesn't to cover 300+ miles of gravel in one sitting.

We also appreciated the additional content provided by Matt Gersib via images of his T.I.v10 bike set up which we dissected and discussed, so all in all it was really information packed and I think it didn't really focus too much on any single aspect of set up, but showed that riders need to devise and "thinker through" their own set up and make changes based upon what works best for them. This also applied to lights, but I found it interesting that a very underscored point was to get a good light to see signage with mounted on your helmet for night riding navigational purposes. All were in agreement with that one!

Post event hanging out and questions abounded!

We started the event at 5:35pm and the Q&A session started at about 6:20pm. We didn't wrap thing up until 9:30pm, and it could have went far, far longer than that! I was conscious of time and tried to keep things moving along, but I could definitely see that there are a lot of curious minds and much to be shared about this gravel road riding and ultra-distance event riding on gravel. Afterward, everyone in attendance received a bag of Hammer Nutritional supplements as a thank you for attending.

Of course, eventually everything came to an end. So, how well did this go? All I can say is that we received many thank yous, many compliments, and no criticisms at all, (although even I know we could have tweaked it out to be better). I would say yes- it was a big success in my opinion. It came together seamlessly mostly due to the excellent quality of folks involved: Steve Fuller, Mike Johnson, Sam Auen, Dick Wince, Matt Maxwell, and Dan Beuttner were all instrumental in making this clinic a well rounded, information rich experience.

Afterward, we broke everything down, packed up our belongings, and went to Zombie Burger in Des Moines for a late supper. It was super fun to celebrate a great collaboration amongst friends. Well done and thank you to everyone involved!  After all of the festivities, Mrs. Guitar Ted and I had a two hour drive home, and we didn't get back until 3am! Let me tell you, my Sunday started at 6am, and it was a rough day! But that said, I had a ton of fun sharing with everyone our passion for gravel riding and what it takes to do that comfortably for a long distance.

Now, I have to address all of you who are going to "wish that you were there", and all of you who will wonder if all this knowledge and what not will be shared, repeated in another event, or what have you. Unfortunately I have to say without any reservations that "no- it won't", at least not by our crew. Not anytime soon, at any rate. We do encourage all who have the will to get up and take action to do so locally. I think it would be a great idea for this to happen with local knowledge on a small scale all over the country.

That said, without spilling the beans, I do know of a "major event promoter's" plans to do a multi-day gravel clinic. You'll hear about it soon and see it linked here. Stay tuned.....

As for the Trans Iowa Clinic, that;'s a wrap.

Trans Iowa Clinic: Report

Saturday was the day for the Trans Iowa Clinic down in Des Moines, Iowa. We were expecting about 40 folks to show up and learn from some very experienced Trans Iowa finishers and veterans. The venue was an empty sliver of space between Tacopocalypse, (a restaurant run by Trans Iowa veteran, Sam Auen), and an art gallery. Years ago it was a milk truck garage. Back in the days when milk was delivered house to house by dairies instead of procured at grocery stores, trucks were loaded with milk for deliveries at such warehouses.

So the space was rustic and I felt fit the vibe of Trans Iowa perfectly. I couldn't have asked for a better place to do this clinic. Besides that, Sam saw to it that we had chairs, That the Christmas tree was decorated, and that the place was swept and in order, and also that he had staff on hand to run his restaurant so he could attend!

I left town before noon with Mrs. Guitar Ted loaded up with my Singular Gryphon set up for a long gravel ride and my materials I needed to put on the show. Likewise, Steve Fuller, who has ridden in a few Trans Iowas, photographed a few, and also finished T.I.v9, was there early to set up a ginormous screen, projector, lap top with power point presentation, and he brought a P.A along with his Salsa La Cruz steel bike set up for T.I.

Looking toward the entrance- R-L: Mrs Guitar Ted, Steve, and Mike

Mike Johnson, a multiple Trans Iowa finisher and Tour Divide finisher came down with his wife and he brought a slew of tire samples, materials for the riders to take notes, some chairs for us to sit on, some gear to show, and his own titanium Vaya set up for a Trans Iowa attempt.

Steve and Sam, along with his staff, had most of the work done by the time the rest of us had arrived, but we took our time getting things arranged correctly and talked a bit about how we were going to run the show. We all ate at various times from Sam's fantastic restaurant, Tacopocalypse throughout the day. Again- I highly recommend the place if you ever get to Des Moines!

So things were running smoothly and by 4:00pm we were pretty much set to go and receive our guests. There were three tables full of gear, Steve's, Mike's, and my bicycles along with the bicycles of Dan Buettner and last Trans Iowa winner, Dick Wince's bike.  All represented different ways to set up a Trans Iowa bike and I think these really were an influence on visitors to the Clinic.

Mid-set up: Tables with Trans Iowa type tires, gear, and later, some bags riders use. 

Two of the five bicycles we had on display, all set up, ready to ride a Trans Iowa. 

Mike and Steve during the Q&A session

At about 5:00pm, some folks started to wander in and take in what we had on display. Soon I found myself deep into conversations with some folks I have met through Trans Iowas and also with some new folks coming for their very first Trans Iowa. Mike and Steve were also available and talking with the various folks stopping in.

Then it was time to start the show. I made a few announcements and then we rolled the documentary "300 Miles of Gravel", which I think we found out everyone there had seen before, so obviously folks are researching Trans Iowa!

After this, I invited Steve and Mike up and we dove into the "meat" of what went on for the evening. I basically was the "moderator/MC", and kind of just helped flow things along while Steve and Mike began to share their experiences and thoughts on everything from bikes, to gear, to strategy, and more. While the audience didn't have a lot of questions, it was obvious that they were engaged in what was being shared. I saw a LOT of note taking going on!

Steve making a point on his bike set up while Mike assists with steadying his steed.

We started out with bicycle choice and why certain bicycles were chosen after starting with others. Steve and Mike are both great examples of how learning from experiences has taught them certain lessons and pushed them towards certain bicycle choices which are quite different from where they started.

The next section was mostly about gear: Tires, lights and bags were discussed and why things were chosen were shared by Mike and Steve. It was about this time when we enjoyed additional commentary coming from Trans Iowa V9 winner, Dick Wince, (aka "Mr. Charming") , Matt Maxwell, and Dan Buettner. With all of this vast Trans Iowa experience on hand, it really made for a well rounded showcase of what works and what doesn't to cover 300+ miles of gravel in one sitting.

We also appreciated the additional content provided by Matt Gersib via images of his T.I.v10 bike set up which we dissected and discussed, so all in all it was really information packed and I think it didn't really focus too much on any single aspect of set up, but showed that riders need to devise and "thinker through" their own set up and make changes based upon what works best for them. This also applied to lights, but I found it interesting that a very underscored point was to get a good light to see signage with mounted on your helmet for night riding navigational purposes. All were in agreement with that one!

Post event hanging out and questions abounded!

We started the event at 5:35pm and the Q&A session started at about 6:20pm. We didn't wrap thing up until 9:30pm, and it could have went far, far longer than that! I was conscious of time and tried to keep things moving along, but I could definitely see that there are a lot of curious minds and much to be shared about this gravel road riding and ultra-distance event riding on gravel. Afterward, everyone in attendance received a bag of Hammer Nutritional supplements as a thank you for attending.

Of course, eventually everything came to an end. So, how well did this go? All I can say is that we received many thank yous, many compliments, and no criticisms at all, (although even I know we could have tweaked it out to be better). I would say yes- it was a big success in my opinion. It came together seamlessly mostly due to the excellent quality of folks involved: Steve Fuller, Mike Johnson, Sam Auen, Dick Wince, Matt Maxwell, and Dan Beuttner were all instrumental in making this clinic a well rounded, information rich experience.

Afterward, we broke everything down, packed up our belongings, and went to Zombie Burger in Des Moines for a late supper. It was super fun to celebrate a great collaboration amongst friends. Well done and thank you to everyone involved!  After all of the festivities, Mrs. Guitar Ted and I had a two hour drive home, and we didn't get back until 3am! Let me tell you, my Sunday started at 6am, and it was a rough day! But that said, I had a ton of fun sharing with everyone our passion for gravel riding and what it takes to do that comfortably for a long distance.

Now, I have to address all of you who are going to "wish that you were there", and all of you who will wonder if all this knowledge and what not will be shared, repeated in another event, or what have you. Unfortunately I have to say without any reservations that "no- it won't", at least not by our crew. Not anytime soon, at any rate. We do encourage all who have the will to get up and take action to do so locally. I think it would be a great idea for this to happen with local knowledge on a small scale all over the country.

That said, without spilling the beans, I do know of a "major event promoter's" plans to do a multi-day gravel clinic. You'll hear about it soon and see it linked here. Stay tuned.....

As for the Trans Iowa Clinic, that;'s a wrap.