Fall Views: Hazy Morning Ride

I didn't get out as early as I wanted to, but it was okay.

 These early morning rides on the weekends have been working out pretty well. I get done fairly early and have the rest of day with the family or to get other stuff done. Why haven't I been doing this all along? 

It just goes to show you- You are never too old to learn something new. 

Anyway, the spectacular weather continues on and shows no signs of letting up. I've seen it snow by this point into October, and generally it is getting pretty chilly at night, but this year? It seems like Summer just doesn't want to let go yet. Humid, hot air is still hanging around. Despite the fact that we have a lot less daylight now. Heck, it was in the low 60's when I started my ride. That's usually more indicative of the high temperatures for this time of the year. 

So, I thought I'd do a loop this time from the house. Starting South, hitting up Griffith Road, heading East, then end up coming in on Foulk Road from the South and maybe a little fiddling around before heading back on the CVNT toward Evansdale and bike paths home. That was the general idea anyway. 

The Sun arises in a sea of lava-like clouds

Oh yeah! It looked like a bit of haze was going to accompany the Sunrise on this day.

I decided to ride the Black Mountain Cycles MCD on this ride. I was testing some handle bar tape, and I was searching for an answer which had been evading me over the past few days. Specifically, where was that creak I had been hearing? It was gone. I swapped out the WTB CZR wheels from the Noble GX-5 which made the creak disappear on that bike. Would the creak follow the wheels? That's what I was after here, but so far......nuthin! 

There is nothing worse for a mechanic than to have an issue disappear without an understanding of how it went away and where it came from in the first place. It can be pretty frustrating. On the one hand- hooray! Right? The noise is gone. But on the other hand, I don't know the answer to the mystery. Unsolved mysteries are a thorn in a mechanic's side. Oh well......

Only the early risers get to see the show.

So, I pedaled onward and just enjoyed the show that the Sun and the mists were providing. It was pretty spectacular! There was zero wind. I mean it was calm! The gravel was in fantastic shape after all the harvest traffic had pounded it into nice lanes which made for fairly easy riding. The recent rains helped that along, no doubt. 

Another semi-tractor/trailer of grain heads off to be shipped out.

At times I felt as if I were cycling through a dream-world.

Washburn Road turned me into Ansborough and eventually I turned East again on Griffith. I was feeling okay, but something felt odd at times, then it would go away. I'm not sure but I think my tire pressures were set a bit too low. Of course, in my rush to get out the door, I did not check them. My bad. But whatever it was, tires, or just being distracted by the dream scape I seemed to find myself in, I don't know. I went back and forth between feeling great and feeling weird things. 

And even though I was making headway, and not going slow, the Sun seemed to be taking its time to rise. I would keep seeing these spectacular scenes and figured, "Well, this fog will burn off soon, the Sun will get up, and I can put away the camera and just ride.", but it kept going on and on, seemingly. 

I turned around for this shot.....

.....but I took this one over my shoulder as I went by.

I took Griffith Road East to the place where it "T's" out into Hammond Avenue and then headed South to Quarry Road which I then went back East on. Still there was no wind. It was just an amazing, beautiful, awesome morning!

You could see the fog layer here from a hill on Hammond Avenue looking South.

Headed back East on Quarry Road.

The Sun finally started gaining altitude and the mists were now lying in the valleys of the various streams and creeks in the area. I could finally see clearly through my Rudy Project glasses now. Earlier on the mists kept a slight fog on the lenses, which probably contributed to my issues with feeling oddly on the bike. Now things were sharper and I didn't have to second guess what it was I was looking at. 

There was a tiny bit of Fall color here, but we are about a good week away from 'peak' color peeping.

The bridge over Miller Creek on Quarry Road.

Now the Sun was up and the mists were gone. It was a blue-sky day and the temperatures were perfect. Just cool enough that I needed arm warmers, but otherwise I was in Summer riding gear. Still, no wind! Amazing day out there! 

Foulk Road looking North here.

A part of a small herd of cattle I saw. They gave me a rousing chorus of 'moos' as I rode by!

The harvest is still ongoing. I'd say about 60% is out of the fields now. There still are a lot of fields to be harvested yet, and I was a bit surprised by the lack of activity in the fields. Although, it had rained all night long in this area only a day or so ago. Perhaps it was just too wet to get the big machines out there? 

The gravel roads were pretty much dust-free. A rare treat in normal times, but especially so this year as it has been so dry and dusty all year long. It was odd seeing a layer of moist dust stuck to my tires all the ride long until I hit pavement. 

This ag sprayer machine is probably done for the year.

I finally ran across some harvesting action just West of Washburn, Iowa.

Well, eventually I did see some harvesting activity. Maybe up a little too closely! The machines these farmers use nowadays is so enormous that I considered bailing off into the ditch as one combine passed me by. Wagons are said to now hold more grain than a semi-tractor/trailer can tow away. The scale of these machines is kind of hard to convey, but that tracked wagon above? It was probably as high as a one story house. 

This combine did not leave me much room to pass by on the right. A truck wouldn't have had room to do it!

A little dirt road action on McKellar Road.

Some little traveled gravel near Washburn and South of Evansdale Iowa.

I ended up detouring off Foulk Road after crossing HWY 218 because, well, it is just a bunch of pavement. Not very interesting. A side trip down McKellar Road and then along a bit of Weidan Road was far more interesting than that! 

Then it was bike path all the way into Waterloo and eventually back to the house. About 2 3/4's hours of riding on one of the best mornings out so far. Glad that I made the effort to get out of bed!

Trans Iowa Stories: Let's Talk About The Lottery

 "Trans Iowa Stories" is an every Sunday post which helps tell the stories behind the event. You can check out other posts about this subject  by clicking on the "Trans Iowa Stories" link under the blog header. Thanks and enjoy!

 During the crazy final stage of the Trans Iowa v11 registration, I became aware that I needed to do something very different with how people were registered for Trans Iowa. The old free-for-all ways weren't going to work anymore, at least not for me. I was appalled by the lengths that people would go to get their name on the roster. I was disturbed by how people were angry with the way things went down because they could not get into a free-to-enter event with no real 'worldly' value to it. People were getting way too serious, and I needed a way to compensate for that. 

Perhaps it reflected the way things were changing in regard to gravel events overall. By this time the Dirty Kanza 200 had a crazy online registry for its 2017 event which caused a lot of grumbling. This resulted in their going to a lottery to determine who got in and who did not for 2018. Gravel Worlds was growing in numbers steadily. The Almanzo 100 would get over a thousand entrants at around this time, and the Barry-Roubaix gravel event was getting more than that. Gravel events were popping up like dandelions in a Spring lawn. People were wanting to get into the scene. The 'old guard' events were plums to have ridden, so one could say they had done the big ones. Trans Iowa was somewhat insulated by the fact that it was perceived to be 'sooo hard' and that the event was daunting. People to this day tell me that they wished that they could have had it in them to pull the trigger on entering the event, but that they just couldn't despite the attraction. 

But difficulty and reputation aside, there still were more people than I could handle wanting in. So, a lottery idea was attractive to me, but I saw some things that I had done previously that also needed addressing. I had been letting any veteran- a person that had actually started a Trans Iowa event - access to being on the roster. I used to automatically enter former winners. However; I understood that by the time that Trans Iowa v13 came around that there was a possibility that literally hundreds of veterans could swamp me with requests, via a lottery, to get in. I was piling up winners to the point that if they all showed up, as unlikely as that may seem, they could have taken up a significant portion of the 120 spots which was the hard limit. 

So, Trans Iowa v12 was done simply with only the Rookies having a lottery. The other classes were still done by having folks just send in a post card. But by T.I.v13, my thoughts concerning the numbers piling up, there were over 400 people who had done Trans Iowa by this point, forced me to make a decision. That was all based upon who was supporting Trans Iowa, and who had- seemingly- let that ship sail. I based this on participation. 

I set up a list of folks who had obviously made Trans Iowa an annual pilgrimage not to be missed. (Here is a post , and another here, explaining this from back in the day) There weren't many of those folks, but they deserved to have as little a barrier to participation as possible. I also granted this to current winners. However; any Veteran or winner who hadn't done a Trans Iowa in six years was placed on an Inactive List. Those coming off that list had to go back in as rookies. This made sense to me because Trans Iowa had been changed and tweaked several times up until Trans Iowa v7-v8, so there was enough 'new' that old riders of the event wouldn't have a 100% familiarity with how I did things. 

I guess in the end it really did not matter all that much, because for the last two Trans Iowa events I never had to instigate a lottery for veterans of the event. Only the Rookie class ever was in a lottery situation. The inactive list was only really effective in one, maybe two cases that I can remember. But the thing is, looking back, it is easy to say I never needed to go to all that trouble. At the time? Who knew? 

Finally, I guess I thought, or part of me thought anyway, that Trans Iowa was going to keep on going so this needed to be dealt with. I mean, had I really understood that I had three Trans Iowa events left, and that was it, back in 2015? I may have never had done so much thought and work for that roster stuff. I mean, had I known, why bother, right? 

Next: A Look At Sponsors

Trans Iowa Stories: Let's Talk About The Lottery

 "Trans Iowa Stories" is an every Sunday post which helps tell the stories behind the event. You can check out other posts about this subject  by clicking on the "Trans Iowa Stories" link under the blog header. Thanks and enjoy!

 During the crazy final stage of the Trans Iowa v11 registration, I became aware that I needed to do something very different with how people were registered for Trans Iowa. The old free-for-all ways weren't going to work anymore, at least not for me. I was appalled by the lengths that people would go to get their name on the roster. I was disturbed by how people were angry with the way things went down because they could not get into a free-to-enter event with no real 'worldly' value to it. People were getting way too serious, and I needed a way to compensate for that. 

Perhaps it reflected the way things were changing in regard to gravel events overall. By this time the Dirty Kanza 200 had a crazy online registry for its 2017 event which caused a lot of grumbling. This resulted in their going to a lottery to determine who got in and who did not for 2018. Gravel Worlds was growing in numbers steadily. The Almanzo 100 would get over a thousand entrants at around this time, and the Barry-Roubaix gravel event was getting more than that. Gravel events were popping up like dandelions in a Spring lawn. People were wanting to get into the scene. The 'old guard' events were plums to have ridden, so one could say they had done the big ones. Trans Iowa was somewhat insulated by the fact that it was perceived to be 'sooo hard' and that the event was daunting. People to this day tell me that they wished that they could have had it in them to pull the trigger on entering the event, but that they just couldn't despite the attraction. 

But difficulty and reputation aside, there still were more people than I could handle wanting in. So, a lottery idea was attractive to me, but I saw some things that I had done previously that also needed addressing. I had been letting any veteran- a person that had actually started a Trans Iowa event - access to being on the roster. I used to automatically enter former winners. However; I understood that by the time that Trans Iowa v13 came around that there was a possibility that literally hundreds of veterans could swamp me with requests, via a lottery, to get in. I was piling up winners to the point that if they all showed up, as unlikely as that may seem, they could have taken up a significant portion of the 120 spots which was the hard limit. 

So, Trans Iowa v12 was done simply with only the Rookies having a lottery. The other classes were still done by having folks just send in a post card. But by T.I.v13, my thoughts concerning the numbers piling up, there were over 400 people who had done Trans Iowa by this point, forced me to make a decision. That was all based upon who was supporting Trans Iowa, and who had- seemingly- let that ship sail. I based this on participation. 

I set up a list of folks who had obviously made Trans Iowa an annual pilgrimage not to be missed. (Here is a post , and another here, explaining this from back in the day) There weren't many of those folks, but they deserved to have as little a barrier to participation as possible. I also granted this to current winners. However; any Veteran or winner who hadn't done a Trans Iowa in six years was placed on an Inactive List. Those coming off that list had to go back in as rookies. This made sense to me because Trans Iowa had been changed and tweaked several times up until Trans Iowa v7-v8, so there was enough 'new' that old riders of the event wouldn't have a 100% familiarity with how I did things. 

I guess in the end it really did not matter all that much, because for the last two Trans Iowa events I never had to instigate a lottery for veterans of the event. Only the Rookie class ever was in a lottery situation. The inactive list was only really effective in one, maybe two cases that I can remember. But the thing is, looking back, it is easy to say I never needed to go to all that trouble. At the time? Who knew? 

Finally, I guess I thought, or part of me thought anyway, that Trans Iowa was going to keep on going so this needed to be dealt with. I mean, had I really understood that I had three Trans Iowa events left, and that was it, back in 2015? I may have never had done so much thought and work for that roster stuff. I mean, had I known, why bother, right? 

Next: A Look At Sponsors

A Word On The Classics

American Classic Wentworth 700 X 40mm* on the Standard Rando v2

 The reemergence of the American Classic name in cycling was a bit of a surprise this past September, as I stated in this "FN&V" post last month. The business model that the company chose was maybe even a bigger surprise. Going consumer direct, with distribution via Amazon, was a cheeky move in light of how traditional branding and marketing in the cycling space is handled. 

I had no idea if this meant that 'traditional marketing' was also being short-circuited. So, I took matters into my own hands and ordered a set up to test and review on RidingGravel.com. Of course, subsequently I ended up being contacted by a marketing company that works through traditional channels and ended up getting more American Classic tires to test. (See Standard Disclaimer page) In this post, I will only be talking about the tires I purchased with my own money, but I will tell you that my findings have been consistent with what was sent out to Riding Gravel as well. 

So, 35 dollar tires, eh? Yep. This in a day when - first of all - you are fortunate to even find tires. The shortages are real folks! Then you have prices, which are typically nearly twice that or more for what I would call 'name branded', well known gravel tires. The 'cheapest' tires previously being Panaracer Gravel King SK's which run about 12 bucks ,on average, more than these AmClassics, and then you get into WTB gravel tires for another ten more than that. But I am here to tell you that by next Spring those prices will be higher. But that's another story....

So, for thirty-five, what do you get?  Well, AmClassic says these are 40mm tires. Nope! Not even close. I mounted these on a pair of Irwin Cycling Aon Carbon 35 wheels and those have a 24mm inner rim width. Pretty 'average' width there and it happens to be what AmClassic recommends for their 700 X 40mm tires. So, at 40psi these measure out at 38.5-ish mm on my digital calipers. Exactly what I would have expected for a tire labeled as "700 X 38mm". But, these are 'supposedly' 700 X 40mm. Hmm.... 

I was impressed with how these were for air retention though. These tires don't leak down much, and that is kind of nice when you run tubeless. I had no issues setting them up tubeless either, other than that these tires were exceedingly tight on the wheels I chose to use with them. 

On smoother bits of gravel, the skinnier AmClassics were okay, but on pavement they felt 'draggy'.

Then the riding commenced. The casings, being undersized as they are, ride like skinny gravel tires. There is not a lot of room for bigger, sharper edged hits, like on broken pavement, to be absorbed. Higher volumes of air in a tire equals more of an ability to absorb impacts. These AmClassic tires in the 38mm width, (because that's really what they are), don't have the same ability to absorb impacts like a 700 X 40-43mm tire does, and it shows. 

On smoother gravel, these tires were 'okay'. I could likely live with them seeing as how they are so inexpensive. But on my roll-down test these tires were below average. I could maybe bump up pressures from my 'high-30's psi' but that would negatively affect their ride feel even more. And I don't think this is an issue with tread pattern. I cannot really fault the tread here. I don't think it is where the problem is with these tires in general. My take is that it is the quality of the casings which are at fault. 

When I got these tires, (and the ones I paid for came first, just so you know), the casings appeared as those I would generally associate with 'cheap' tires. The inner casings were ribbed, sort of, more so than you'd normally see. The materials over the textiles looked and felt thicker, which is another characteristic of cheaper rubber for bicycles. The inner casing's coloring was familiar in this way also. I've handled a LOT of bicycle tires going back to the mid-1990's and certain characteristics are associated with inexpensive tires and these AmClassics lean toward that end of the 'feel' and 'appearances' spectrum than not. 

Does any of that mean these tires are made cheaply? No. Not necessarily, but when matched up with the performance, observed characteristics (especially in width), and considering what you pay for, I am thinking that you are getting no more value for your dollar here than you should expect for 35 bucks. It isn't like these are on par with Gravel King SK's, or a WTB gravel tire, because clearly, this is not the case, in my opinion. I'll sum up my feelings so far with this maxim which comes to mind when I think about these AmClassic tires: "You get what you pay for".

And really, is that such a bad thing?

A Word On The Classics

American Classic Wentworth 700 X 40mm* on the Standard Rando v2

 The reemergence of the American Classic name in cycling was a bit of a surprise this past September, as I stated in this "FN&V" post last month. The business model that the company chose was maybe even a bigger surprise. Going consumer direct, with distribution via Amazon, was a cheeky move in light of how traditional branding and marketing in the cycling space is handled. 

I had no idea if this meant that 'traditional marketing' was also being short-circuited. So, I took matters into my own hands and ordered a set up to test and review on RidingGravel.com. Of course, subsequently I ended up being contacted by a marketing company that works through traditional channels and ended up getting more American Classic tires to test. (See Standard Disclaimer page) In this post, I will only be talking about the tires I purchased with my own money, but I will tell you that my findings have been consistent with what was sent out to Riding Gravel as well. 

So, 35 dollar tires, eh? Yep. This in a day when - first of all - you are fortunate to even find tires. The shortages are real folks! Then you have prices, which are typically nearly twice that or more for what I would call 'name branded', well known gravel tires. The 'cheapest' tires previously being Panaracer Gravel King SK's which run about 12 bucks ,on average, more than these AmClassics, and then you get into WTB gravel tires for another ten more than that. But I am here to tell you that by next Spring those prices will be higher. But that's another story....

So, for thirty-five, what do you get?  Well, AmClassic says these are 40mm tires. Nope! Not even close. I mounted these on a pair of Irwin Cycling Aon Carbon 35 wheels and those have a 24mm inner rim width. Pretty 'average' width there and it happens to be what AmClassic recommends for their 700 X 40mm tires. So, at 40psi these measure out at 38.5-ish mm on my digital calipers. Exactly what I would have expected for a tire labeled as "700 X 38mm". But, these are 'supposedly' 700 X 40mm. Hmm.... 

I was impressed with how these were for air retention though. These tires don't leak down much, and that is kind of nice when you run tubeless. I had no issues setting them up tubeless either, other than that these tires were exceedingly tight on the wheels I chose to use with them. 

On smoother bits of gravel, the skinnier AmClassics were okay, but on pavement they felt 'draggy'.

Then the riding commenced. The casings, being undersized as they are, ride like skinny gravel tires. There is not a lot of room for bigger, sharper edged hits, like on broken pavement, to be absorbed. Higher volumes of air in a tire equals more of an ability to absorb impacts. These AmClassic tires in the 38mm width, (because that's really what they are), don't have the same ability to absorb impacts like a 700 X 40-43mm tire does, and it shows. 

On smoother gravel, these tires were 'okay'. I could likely live with them seeing as how they are so inexpensive. But on my roll-down test these tires were below average. I could maybe bump up pressures from my 'high-30's psi' but that would negatively affect their ride feel even more. And I don't think this is an issue with tread pattern. I cannot really fault the tread here. I don't think it is where the problem is with these tires in general. My take is that it is the quality of the casings which are at fault. 

When I got these tires, (and the ones I paid for came first, just so you know), the casings appeared as those I would generally associate with 'cheap' tires. The inner casings were ribbed, sort of, more so than you'd normally see. The materials over the textiles looked and felt thicker, which is another characteristic of cheaper rubber for bicycles. The inner casing's coloring was familiar in this way also. I've handled a LOT of bicycle tires going back to the mid-1990's and certain characteristics are associated with inexpensive tires and these AmClassics lean toward that end of the 'feel' and 'appearances' spectrum than not. 

Does any of that mean these tires are made cheaply? No. Not necessarily, but when matched up with the performance, observed characteristics (especially in width), and considering what you pay for, I am thinking that you are getting no more value for your dollar here than you should expect for 35 bucks. It isn't like these are on par with Gravel King SK's, or a WTB gravel tire, because clearly, this is not the case, in my opinion. I'll sum up my feelings so far with this maxim which comes to mind when I think about these AmClassic tires: "You get what you pay for".

And really, is that such a bad thing?

Friday News And Views

Old School Gravel:

Cruising the "Book Of Faces" the other day and I came across a new addition to an existing event in Kansas. It is called the Flint Hills Gravel Race and it is put on by a guy named Bobby Thompson. The new distance, which is in addition to his 30 mile and 80 mile distances, will be 120 miles. 

Okay, so that's cool and all, but what caught my eye was in the comments about the event on that social media channel. The chatter indicated that the event's new distance would only be navigated by cue sheets (!) and that the distance would be divided into three parts. Once a rider started they would only get cues to the first 'checkpoint' (!!) and then they would receive cues to the next and so on. Event timing would be based upon a 10mph average (!!!). I went to the website for the event and learned more about it (!!!!)

Where have I seen something like this before? Right? 

This definitely made my day. I cannot say whether or not Bobby was influenced by some certain other event, but no matter. Yeah, so if you know, you know. Interested? The registration opens soon and Bobby is taking on only 50 riders for this. (Maybe up to 73, you'll have to read his reasons why) Go HERE for the details. 

A rendering of the Rogue by Alchemy Bikes from the press release.

Also In The "Where Have I Seen This Before?" Files:

This is Sea Otter week and news will be hot and heavy seeing that the event hasn't happened for a year and a half. One of the newsy bits that hit my inbox was about a bike that Alchemy Bikes is releasing called the Rogue. 

Alchemy claims that the new Rogue model was "designed with a more progressive/modern geometry". Okay, that is a very common claim amongst manufacturers pushing out new gravel bikes. Sometimes it is true, and sometimes it isn't. What would the geometry chart for the Rogue show me? 

I looked and smiled. "Where have I seen THIS before?!" 

The Raleigh Tamland, that's where. A bike that debuted in 2014, if you want to know, and the Rogue's numbers are dead-on to what the Raleigh numbers were seven years ago. In an industry where, at times, what happened five years ago can be so outdated it may as well be antique, a company basically copying the Raleigh Tamland's numbers really are not pushing any boundaries here. 

That all said, I love it. The Rogue's geometry, that is. This geometry works. It is what I requested in 2012 when Raleigh asked me about what I'd do for a gravel bike, so yeah.....I would like that, but the Tamland was a hit when it debuted back then so a lot of folks did get on with that bike's geometry. Anyway, welcome to the Club, Alchemy! 

Handmade Bicycle Show Returns In '22:

The North American Handmade Bicycle Show returns after a two year hiatus due to COVID-19. The show often reveals new trends in cycling and is popular with cycling nerds.

The show will be held in Denver, Colorado at the National Western Complex on Denver's North side. The dates are set at September 23rd-25th. People who bought tickets to the cancelled 2020 show will be rolled over to this 2022 show in Denver. Details will be released at a later date. 

Comments: I've never been to a NAHBS show and many years it is just too far away for me to even consider going. But Denver is a place I can get to by car and, well.....maybe. It's something to consider, for sure. 

I'll be honest though, much of that show would likely be about seeing other people and less about the bikes, (but the bikes are spectacular!), so I wouldn't likely get much of anything substantial from it in terms of Riding Gravel, on the one hand. It is hard to say, but the last several NAHBS shows really did not have the impact that the NAHBS shows in the 00's had. in my opinion. 

There is a lot of time to mull it over. I'll wait and see......

Refining Product:

More news from the Sea Otter press fall-out. Kinekt (Body Float) posts are pretty rad items for those who want to take the sting out of trail, gravel, or road riding. I've used various iterations of this post for years and I have tested and reviewed others for Riding Gravel. 

In all of that time Kinekt never sat still. They have continued to take criticisms and raves and they have refined the product all along. Gotta give them props for continuing to implement better and better ideas as the years go on. The latest version of this post, (which I have not seen or handled, by the way) is said to have been improved in the following ways:

-New Bushings
-New Branding
-Improved L/XL Unit

And they have their own saddle bag which is compatible with this post now, which is nice because it was difficult to  add a saddle bag on their posts in the past without some issues. So, I thought I'd mention all this here since many of you may remember me running a Body Float post, (the predecessor to the current Kinekt posts) on a couple of my bicycles in the past. 

The Mid South and Gravel Worlds Announce Double Double Championship:

 From the press release: "The Mid South and Gravel Worlds announced they will be partnering their 2022 events to do a multi event biathlon challenge unlike any other. New for 2022, Gravel Worlds will be adding a new event called Land Ho 50k Ultra Marathon sponsored by Fleet Feet.

Gravel Worlds Promoter, Jason Strohbehn, said there will be a Gravel Worlds Double Championship that combines the time of the 50k run and their 150-mile bike race.

“We will be adding the new event to our 2021 race line-up. The Mid South has had a run/bike double option since 2017.”

According to The Mid South Promoter, Bobby Wintle, the Double Double Championships will combine the finish time from the 4 events to create one of the most unique challenges in the world of gravel."

Comments: So, take away the novelty factor, (running on gravel and racing bikes on gravel to determine a champion), this is a de facto series. Basically, Gravel Worlds and Mid-South are drawing a line in the sand by joining their events, (it really doesn't matter if it isn't ALL their events, or that it includes running/cycling), and now the door has been cracked with regard to having the straight up gravel events in this series. This quote from the press release, "“Ultimately we want this to be a sign of unity in the gravel family”, by Jason Strohbehn, promoter of Gravel Worlds, says that this idea is on the table. What would say that more than having all the events in a series between these two big gravel events?

I've talked about the allure of the single big events to join together into a series which would bring together the energies of those events and propel them to even bigger things. The mere idea is a popular thing in our culture because - for whatever reasons - if it seems that you aren't growing you are failing. So, while there may be no substance to any of this, this announcement certainly opens the door to a way to bring this idea of a series about.

That's a wrap for this week! Have a fantastic weekend and thanks for reading Guitar Ted Productions

Friday News And Views

Old School Gravel:

Cruising the "Book Of Faces" the other day and I came across a new addition to an existing event in Kansas. It is called the Flint Hills Gravel Race and it is put on by a guy named Bobby Thompson. The new distance, which is in addition to his 30 mile and 80 mile distances, will be 120 miles. 

Okay, so that's cool and all, but what caught my eye was in the comments about the event on that social media channel. The chatter indicated that the event's new distance would only be navigated by cue sheets (!) and that the distance would be divided into three parts. Once a rider started they would only get cues to the first 'checkpoint' (!!) and then they would receive cues to the next and so on. Event timing would be based upon a 10mph average (!!!). I went to the website for the event and learned more about it (!!!!)

Where have I seen something like this before? Right? 

This definitely made my day. I cannot say whether or not Bobby was influenced by some certain other event, but no matter. Yeah, so if you know, you know. Interested? The registration opens soon and Bobby is taking on only 50 riders for this. (Maybe up to 73, you'll have to read his reasons why) Go HERE for the details. 

A rendering of the Rogue by Alchemy Bikes from the press release.

Also In The "Where Have I Seen This Before?" Files:

This is Sea Otter week and news will be hot and heavy seeing that the event hasn't happened for a year and a half. One of the newsy bits that hit my inbox was about a bike that Alchemy Bikes is releasing called the Rogue. 

Alchemy claims that the new Rogue model was "designed with a more progressive/modern geometry". Okay, that is a very common claim amongst manufacturers pushing out new gravel bikes. Sometimes it is true, and sometimes it isn't. What would the geometry chart for the Rogue show me? 

I looked and smiled. "Where have I seen THIS before?!" 

The Raleigh Tamland, that's where. A bike that debuted in 2014, if you want to know, and the Rogue's numbers are dead-on to what the Raleigh numbers were seven years ago. In an industry where, at times, what happened five years ago can be so outdated it may as well be antique, a company basically copying the Raleigh Tamland's numbers really are not pushing any boundaries here. 

That all said, I love it. The Rogue's geometry, that is. This geometry works. It is what I requested in 2012 when Raleigh asked me about what I'd do for a gravel bike, so yeah.....I would like that, but the Tamland was a hit when it debuted back then so a lot of folks did get on with that bike's geometry. Anyway, welcome to the Club, Alchemy! 

Handmade Bicycle Show Returns In '22:

The North American Handmade Bicycle Show returns after a two year hiatus due to COVID-19. The show often reveals new trends in cycling and is popular with cycling nerds.

The show will be held in Denver, Colorado at the National Western Complex on Denver's North side. The dates are set at September 23rd-25th. People who bought tickets to the cancelled 2020 show will be rolled over to this 2022 show in Denver. Details will be released at a later date. 

Comments: I've never been to a NAHBS show and many years it is just too far away for me to even consider going. But Denver is a place I can get to by car and, well.....maybe. It's something to consider, for sure. 

I'll be honest though, much of that show would likely be about seeing other people and less about the bikes, (but the bikes are spectacular!), so I wouldn't likely get much of anything substantial from it in terms of Riding Gravel, on the one hand. It is hard to say, but the last several NAHBS shows really did not have the impact that the NAHBS shows in the 00's had. in my opinion. 

There is a lot of time to mull it over. I'll wait and see......

Refining Product:

More news from the Sea Otter press fall-out. Kinekt (Body Float) posts are pretty rad items for those who want to take the sting out of trail, gravel, or road riding. I've used various iterations of this post for years and I have tested and reviewed others for Riding Gravel. 

In all of that time Kinekt never sat still. They have continued to take criticisms and raves and they have refined the product all along. Gotta give them props for continuing to implement better and better ideas as the years go on. The latest version of this post, (which I have not seen or handled, by the way) is said to have been improved in the following ways:

-New Bushings
-New Branding
-Improved L/XL Unit

And they have their own saddle bag which is compatible with this post now, which is nice because it was difficult to  add a saddle bag on their posts in the past without some issues. So, I thought I'd mention all this here since many of you may remember me running a Body Float post, (the predecessor to the current Kinekt posts) on a couple of my bicycles in the past. 

The Mid South and Gravel Worlds Announce Double Double Championship:

 From the press release: "The Mid South and Gravel Worlds announced they will be partnering their 2022 events to do a multi event biathlon challenge unlike any other. New for 2022, Gravel Worlds will be adding a new event called Land Ho 50k Ultra Marathon sponsored by Fleet Feet.

Gravel Worlds Promoter, Jason Strohbehn, said there will be a Gravel Worlds Double Championship that combines the time of the 50k run and their 150-mile bike race.

“We will be adding the new event to our 2021 race line-up. The Mid South has had a run/bike double option since 2017.”

According to The Mid South Promoter, Bobby Wintle, the Double Double Championships will combine the finish time from the 4 events to create one of the most unique challenges in the world of gravel."

Comments: So, take away the novelty factor, (running on gravel and racing bikes on gravel to determine a champion), this is a de facto series. Basically, Gravel Worlds and Mid-South are drawing a line in the sand by joining their events, (it really doesn't matter if it isn't ALL their events, or that it includes running/cycling), and now the door has been cracked with regard to having the straight up gravel events in this series. This quote from the press release, "“Ultimately we want this to be a sign of unity in the gravel family”, by Jason Strohbehn, promoter of Gravel Worlds, says that this idea is on the table. What would say that more than having all the events in a series between these two big gravel events?

I've talked about the allure of the single big events to join together into a series which would bring together the energies of those events and propel them to even bigger things. The mere idea is a popular thing in our culture because - for whatever reasons - if it seems that you aren't growing you are failing. So, while there may be no substance to any of this, this announcement certainly opens the door to a way to bring this idea of a series about.

That's a wrap for this week! Have a fantastic weekend and thanks for reading Guitar Ted Productions

Review: Tubolito Tubes Part 1.5

 Just this past Tuesday I posted my first review of the Tubolito tubes I received. (See post here) Since the beginning of this week I have noted an issue which has prompted me to make an early call on one of the two Tubolito tubes I have in hand.

As you may recall, one of the Tubolito tubes is the standard 'weight' one with 2X's the puncture resistance of a standard butyl tube. The other, which is supposedly about the same strength as a standard butyl tube, is the S-CX version which weighs about half as much as the standard Tubolito. That is to say it is not just light, but it is crazy light. So, the issue was with the lighter weight, S-CX Tubolito. 

I found that air retention is not very good. I went down to retrieve the bike I have that tube installed on to ride it Monday and the front tire was flat. Hmm..... I pumped it back up to 40psi and heard no immediate issues, nor noted a drastic drop in pressure within a few minutes. So, not a catastrophic leak. Then I did a 24hr leak down test. The result the next morning was another flat front tire. I did not have time to dig into this until Wednesday when I removed the Tubolito and did a dunk tank test to see if I could ascertain whether or not I had a puncture or failure so small it allowed the tube to leak down slowly. I found no evidence whatsoever of a slow leak or failure on the part of the Tubolito. 

The dunk test found no defects in the tube and no punctures either.

 So, my hypothesis is that the lighter, S-CX version of the Tubolito is much like a latex tube in terms of air retention. The Tubolito site does not seem to refer to any S-CX air retention data, not that I could find, so this may actually be intended. It would make sense here as Tubolito calls the S-CX the "ultimate spare tube" solution. So, I'm taking a cue here and pulling that Tubolito and packing it as a spare for now.

It is interesting to note the way the Tubolito tubes are joined together at one point as shown above.

Interestingly, the rear mounted Tubolito, the standard one, has retained air as stated by Tubolito. That is to say much like a standard butyl tube. Which, as you might recall from your experiences, is very good. So, as far as using a Tubolito for a 'daily use' situation, I already have decided that the standard version is the way to go here and that a S-CX, or any lightweight Tubolito, is best used as an emergency spare. A way to 'get you back to the start', and then to change that out as soon as can be done. 

A Kenda 700 X 35mm-42mm tube on the left, the Tubolito S-CX on the right. Note the size difference.

The Tubolito came out of the tire round, and somewhat thinner. Great care is necessary in handling the S-CX!

Also- the question of whether a Tubolito is a 'one-and-done' product seems to have been answered by one of G-Ted Productions' readers in the comments on Tuesday's post, (Thank You!), but I can now confirm that with careful handling, an S-CX Tubolito can be salvaged and re-used again. Big emphasis on the 'careful handling' bit though! This tube came out feeling very fragile and thin-walled. Like a stretched balloon for a child's birthday party, only maybe even a bit thinner! I imagine a slight tug on the valve stem, or even if one folded the Tubolito incorrectly, that this could permanently damage the S-CX Tubolito very easily. So, yeah.....be careful in how you handle this thing!

More soon....

NOTE: Please read the Standard Disclaimer page for an understanding of my relationship with products reviewed on G-Ted Productions. Thank you!

Review: Tubolito Tubes Part 1.5

 Just this past Tuesday I posted my first review of the Tubolito tubes I received. (See post here) Since the beginning of this week I have noted an issue which has prompted me to make an early call on one of the two Tubolito tubes I have in hand.

As you may recall, one of the Tubolito tubes is the standard 'weight' one with 2X's the puncture resistance of a standard butyl tube. The other, which is supposedly about the same strength as a standard butyl tube, is the S-CX version which weighs about half as much as the standard Tubolito. That is to say it is not just light, but it is crazy light. So, the issue was with the lighter weight, S-CX Tubolito. 

I found that air retention is not very good. I went down to retrieve the bike I have that tube installed on to ride it Monday and the front tire was flat. Hmm..... I pumped it back up to 40psi and heard no immediate issues, nor noted a drastic drop in pressure within a few minutes. So, not a catastrophic leak. Then I did a 24hr leak down test. The result the next morning was another flat front tire. I did not have time to dig into this until Wednesday when I removed the Tubolito and did a dunk tank test to see if I could ascertain whether or not I had a puncture or failure so small it allowed the tube to leak down slowly. I found no evidence whatsoever of a slow leak or failure on the part of the Tubolito. 

The dunk test found no defects in the tube and no punctures either.

 So, my hypothesis is that the lighter, S-CX version of the Tubolito is much like a latex tube in terms of air retention. The Tubolito site does not seem to refer to any S-CX air retention data, not that I could find, so this may actually be intended. It would make sense here as Tubolito calls the S-CX the "ultimate spare tube" solution. So, I'm taking a cue here and pulling that Tubolito and packing it as a spare for now.

It is interesting to note the way the Tubolito tubes are joined together at one point as shown above.

Interestingly, the rear mounted Tubolito, the standard one, has retained air as stated by Tubolito. That is to say much like a standard butyl tube. Which, as you might recall from your experiences, is very good. So, as far as using a Tubolito for a 'daily use' situation, I already have decided that the standard version is the way to go here and that a S-CX, or any lightweight Tubolito, is best used as an emergency spare. A way to 'get you back to the start', and then to change that out as soon as can be done. 

A Kenda 700 X 35mm-42mm tube on the left, the Tubolito S-CX on the right. Note the size difference.

The Tubolito came out of the tire round, and somewhat thinner. Great care is necessary in handling the S-CX!

Also- the question of whether a Tubolito is a 'one-and-done' product seems to have been answered by one of G-Ted Productions' readers in the comments on Tuesday's post, (Thank You!), but I can now confirm that with careful handling, an S-CX Tubolito can be salvaged and re-used again. Big emphasis on the 'careful handling' bit though! This tube came out feeling very fragile and thin-walled. Like a stretched balloon for a child's birthday party, only maybe even a bit thinner! I imagine a slight tug on the valve stem, or even if one folded the Tubolito incorrectly, that this could permanently damage the S-CX Tubolito very easily. So, yeah.....be careful in how you handle this thing!

More soon....

NOTE: Please read the Standard Disclaimer page for an understanding of my relationship with products reviewed on G-Ted Productions. Thank you!

Robots Are The Future- Or Are They?

Diagram showing key components of Rock Shox's Flight Attendant. (Image courtesy of SRAM)

News hit the digital ether yesterday concerning a new technology advancement from Rock Shox/SRAM for mountain bikes. It is what they call "Flight Attendant". Essentially it is a computer algorithm which decides how to adjust your full suspension on the fly based upon inputs from key sensors at the bottom bracket and shocks. Of course, that is a very simplistic look at this. Go hit the link if you want to nerd-out on the specifics. 

I watched a decently long video concerning the new Flight Attendant, (again- what's with these weird names for components?), and it is pretty impressive. Impressive from a technological standpoint, from a novelty standpoint, and it is equally impressively expensive since it comes, for the time being, on only four range-topping bikes from four companies. 

So what? Who cares if these are only going to be seen on the racks of the rich and sponsored? Well, it is the way that the technology was derived for Flight Attendant that matters. It is based off AXS technology, and eTap AXS groups already use the same wireless technology and batteries that Flight Attendant uses. 

Trek's ISO Speed decoupler is passive....for now. (Image courtesy of Trek)

Many attempts are being made at trying to reduce vibrations to riders, and many companies are starting to push 'gravel bikes' into light MTB areas. Who is to say that an eTap AXS system wouldn't be developed which could take the complexity of suspension set up, make it 'automatic', and do the job? 

The fact that SRAM has chosen to milk as many applications for this AXS technology as it can shows me that this idea isn't as far-fetched as it might seem. However; there is one thing holding that back. Conformity. 

Unless SRAM can get some brands to buy into a fork, or a stem/seat post idea that could be affixed to any bike, I don't see it happening. Frame mounted suspension components for MTB bikes are a bit less of a crap shoot to organize a technology around. Almost everyone does telescopic, dual legged forks, and shocks are also telescopic units with standardized lengths and strokes, to some degree. The way those shocks are fitted to bikes is very similar, brand to brand. The gravel bike world doesn't have these restrictions so you get things like Canyon's dual plane handle bar and integrated stem, and Specialized's suspension stem which is integrated, and Trek's ISO Speed decouplers, which are proprietary. 

Rounding up a way to use this AXS/Flight Attendant idea for gravel would be like herding cats, at least for now. (I am sure of this because I have a cat!) But I don't think we've seen the last of suspension for gravel bikes. Robotically controlled or no, I bet something will surface in the next five years that will blow our minds and be really expensive!

Robots Are The Future- Or Are They?

Diagram showing key components of Rock Shox's Flight Attendant. (Image courtesy of SRAM)

News hit the digital ether yesterday concerning a new technology advancement from Rock Shox/SRAM for mountain bikes. It is what they call "Flight Attendant". Essentially it is a computer algorithm which decides how to adjust your full suspension on the fly based upon inputs from key sensors at the bottom bracket and shocks. Of course, that is a very simplistic look at this. Go hit the link if you want to nerd-out on the specifics. 

I watched a decently long video concerning the new Flight Attendant, (again- what's with these weird names for components?), and it is pretty impressive. Impressive from a technological standpoint, from a novelty standpoint, and it is equally impressively expensive since it comes, for the time being, on only four range-topping bikes from four companies. 

So what? Who cares if these are only going to be seen on the racks of the rich and sponsored? Well, it is the way that the technology was derived for Flight Attendant that matters. It is based off AXS technology, and eTap AXS groups already use the same wireless technology and batteries that Flight Attendant uses. 

Trek's ISO Speed decoupler is passive....for now. (Image courtesy of Trek)

Many attempts are being made at trying to reduce vibrations to riders, and many companies are starting to push 'gravel bikes' into light MTB areas. Who is to say that an eTap AXS system wouldn't be developed which could take the complexity of suspension set up, make it 'automatic', and do the job? 

The fact that SRAM has chosen to milk as many applications for this AXS technology as it can shows me that this idea isn't as far-fetched as it might seem. However; there is one thing holding that back. Conformity. 

Unless SRAM can get some brands to buy into a fork, or a stem/seat post idea that could be affixed to any bike, I don't see it happening. Frame mounted suspension components for MTB bikes are a bit less of a crap shoot to organize a technology around. Almost everyone does telescopic, dual legged forks, and shocks are also telescopic units with standardized lengths and strokes, to some degree. The way those shocks are fitted to bikes is very similar, brand to brand. The gravel bike world doesn't have these restrictions so you get things like Canyon's dual plane handle bar and integrated stem, and Specialized's suspension stem which is integrated, and Trek's ISO Speed decouplers, which are proprietary. 

Rounding up a way to use this AXS/Flight Attendant idea for gravel would be like herding cats, at least for now. (I am sure of this because I have a cat!) But I don't think we've seen the last of suspension for gravel bikes. Robotically controlled or no, I bet something will surface in the next five years that will blow our minds and be really expensive!