Country Views: It's All Downhill From Here.

Escape Route: Sergeant Road bike path.

 Another great day, another windy day! This time the wind was out of the Southwest at 20-25mph. Nice. So, that meant I was going South. Again.....

I don't know, but coming back with the tailwind seems better to my mind than the other way around. You might not agree. You do you. 

So, this was a test day. If you read the last post before this one, you know that I made some changes to the Pofahl Signature SS bike. That was what I tested. More on that in a minute....

I also slapped the Wahoo Elemnt ROAM GPS on to see if it would work on a bike without a speed sensor as well as it does with one. And if it didn't, what was the difference. I'll save the results of that test for another Wahoo update. 

I had a few hours to spare, so this wasn't some epic ride day, but it served the purposes I had and well, I had fun, so there is a bit of foreshadowing on how the changes to the bike went. It was pretty hot out, so I made sure I had plenty of water and I set out to find the gravel. 

I shot this over my shoulder. A horse checks me out as I ride away from it.

The Red Wing Blackbirds are teaching their offspring how to fly now. It won't be long before they are gone for the year.

Summer is on he wane now. You can tell by the shorter days, the crops are maturing, hay is being gathered. The Red Wing Blackbirds are teaching their young how to fly. Soon the country will become a much quieter place. When those birds leave the silence can be deafening out there. 

This brought a song to mind and I rolled it over and over in my mind as I rode Southward. Pink Floyd's "Learning To Fly". The lyrics that I could remember made my smile, as they seemed to be fitting at the time:

"Toungue-tied and twisted

Just an Earth-bound misfit I"

This freshly cut alfalfa field smelled strongly as I rode by.

 

The Pofahl was great.

The changes made to the Pofahl were good. The jury is still out on the saddle, but it isn't terrible. I won't be able to say anything definitive until after I've ridden on it for at least 3+ hours. But for the 25 miles I put in on this day, it was fine. 

The Redshift ShockStop Stem (provided to me at no charge by Redshift Sports, by the way), is a no-brainer. It was perfect on this bike and that's usually what I would think of that stem on any bike. Those stems just work. 

Some Queen Anne's Lace (Wild Carrot) in the ditch here.

My Grandma Stevenson used to tell me that when the wind blew the tree's leaves up so you could see the underside that it meant rain was coming. 

I finally made it around my loop to where the wind was at my back. Of course, things went a lot easier then. I had a chance to look at the elevation readout on the Wahoo. It was becoming apparent that I was going to end up having more descending than climbing. It truly was all ( well mostly) downhill from there! 

This road section was sprayed with soybean oil to reduce dust for the adjacent farm. It smelled bad!

 

The recent rains have revived the Day Lillies.

Just like we are on the backside of Summer, I was on the backside of my loop, and before you knew it, I was closing in on Waterloo again. I know I am privileged to have such access to these roads, but I wish I didn't have to ride so much in the city to get to and from the gravel. 

Spoiled, I am. I know it. But I don't like dealing with traffic. 

I don't find bicycle tubes very often, but I did on this ride.

So, I saw a bicycle tube and as I slowed to turn around to pick it up off the road, I spied a bit of a Velcro strip, the type of which you'd find a cyclist using. Maybe a tube jumped ship because the Velcro gave way? I wasn't sure. All I know is that the tube was for something like a 700c X 40mm tire and that it had been in a tire that had sealant in it. Perhaps it was an emergency spare tube someone was carrying and it slipped off the bike where it was Velcroed on? The tube seemed to hold air, so I've no idea what was going on, but I picked it up nonetheless. 

It was a good ride. Single speed is a different animal than geared riding and so I was a bit more tuckered out at the end of it all. It's good for me. I need to work a bit and I figured this ride did the trick. Plus, with a busy schedule for the week ahead, this might be my only chance to get out. 

Gotta grab these rides when I can. Summer will be over soon....

Two Things

My custom Pofahl Signature bike

 Friday it was rainy for most of the day so I decided to work on the old Pofahl Signature custom bike I have. If you've been around here awhile, you know this bike. But if you are fairly new here, I'll hazard a brief introduction.

In 2007 I showed Ben Witt, then owner of Milltown Cycles in Faribault, Minnesota, a sketch I had made in the early 2000's of an idea I had for a frame for a 29" wheeled bike. Ben got excited about this, tweaked out the idea based upon my love of my 2003 Karate Monkey, and came up with this design based off my sketch. 

Ben then sent the BikeCad drawings to Mike Pofahl who brazed up the ChroMoly tubing into what you see here. This was always a dedicated single speed idea, so there are no cable stops for gearing. The bike was intended to be a flat bar bike and Ben Witt designed a killer looking handle bar and sent it off to Black Sheep in Colorado to have the design made for this bike in titanium. Well, that never happened because Black Sheep basically "ghosted" Ben and despite multiple attempts to contact them, Ben finally had to give up on the idea. 

Not too surprisingly, about a few months after Ben gave up on getting his design made by Black Sheep, the custom builder there made a handle bar eerily similar to Ben's renderings. But.....whatever. That's the story no one knew about this bike, and since it's been, what? Sixteen years ago? I figure the statute of limitations has expired on keeping back that story. So, I don't mind telling it here now. 

The bike as it appeared a year ago.

No matter, and back to today... I had been running the Pofahl with drop bars for years now and over the last few years it has been set up with a short, 50mm stem. I also had an ancient Bontrager Inform saddle on it. Well, I retired those two items for a bit longer stem and a different Bontrager saddle. That older Inform design used to accommodate me okay, but now I'm older and things have changed. 

The stem seemed to me to be a bit too short. I could have lived with the 50mm stem, but I thought something that might stretch me out a bit would be better. I found the perfect candidate while going through the stem stash. It was a Redshift Sports ShockStop stem with their "out front" GPS mount. 

While digging through the saddle stash, I found a saddle that seemed very similarly shaped to the newer Ergon Allroad saddle. I compared them and they are so close in shape and length to be nearly identical. Only the way the top was formed by the cover and padding was really any different, and in that it was a cushier saddle than the Ergon one is. 

And wouldn't you know? It's a WSD Bontrager saddle. A woman's saddle. Cool with me. And what about the changes? Well, they are good. I plan to do a country ride on the bike soon to verify this. 

Oh yeah....I swapped out top tube bags. So there's that as well! 

The "Guitar Ted Podcast" is back with one of the more popular topics concerning gravel riding - Dogs. 

We talk about that in context of our (N.Y. Roll and my) experiences and other things, of course. But the dog thing is probably the big draw here. 

One thing I didn't mention, and I hope to when we talk about dogs again on the show, is that there is a bit of "privilege" as a bigger male when dealing with dogs versus when you are diminutive or female, or both. Dogs can and will size you up, so my experiences with dogs might be tempered by that a bit. 

Take for instance the image I chose for the podcast episode tile. That was from a solo ride I did in 2017 in Kansas. The image was taken at the point which I had talked to these two dogs long enough that they were giving up being concerned anymore. I think maybe up to ten minutes was spent here.These dogs finally realized that (a) I wasn't a threat, and (b) I was a pretty large human that wasn't afraid and was not going to be easy to take down. Despite the fact of one being a huge Great Pyrenees and the other a slightly smaller breed of unknown to me origins. 

The other thing I forgot to mention is that if you are in a group, it's best to stick together when dealing with dogs. They know when they are outnumbered and will look for a straggler to pester. Yes, the old saw about outrunning your riding partner and leaving them to deal with the dog is partially true. 

Anyway, if you haven't already listened to this episode, it is about an hour long. Click here or go to your favorite podcast provider and look up "The Guitar Ted Podcast". Thanks to CORE4 for sponsoring this episode.

Two Things

My custom Pofahl Signature bike

 Friday it was rainy for most of the day so I decided to work on the old Pofahl Signature custom bike I have. If you've been around here awhile, you know this bike. But if you are fairly new here, I'll hazard a brief introduction.

In 2007 I showed Ben Witt, then owner of Milltown Cycles in Faribault, Minnesota, a sketch I had made in the early 2000's of an idea I had for a frame for a 29" wheeled bike. Ben got excited about this, tweaked out the idea based upon my love of my 2003 Karate Monkey, and came up with this design based off my sketch. 

Ben then sent the BikeCad drawings to Mike Pofahl who brazed up the ChroMoly tubing into what you see here. This was always a dedicated single speed idea, so there are no cable stops for gearing. The bike was intended to be a flat bar bike and Ben Witt designed a killer looking handle bar and sent it off to Black Sheep in Colorado to have the design made for this bike in titanium. Well, that never happened because Black Sheep basically "ghosted" Ben and despite multiple attempts to contact them, Ben finally had to give up on the idea. 

Not too surprisingly, about a few months after Ben gave up on getting his design made by Black Sheep, the custom builder there made a handle bar eerily similar to Ben's renderings. But.....whatever. That's the story no one knew about this bike, and since it's been, what? Sixteen years ago? I figure the statute of limitations has expired on keeping back that story. So, I don't mind telling it here now. 

The bike as it appeared a year ago.

No matter, and back to today... I had been running the Pofahl with drop bars for years now and over the last few years it has been set up with a short, 50mm stem. I also had an ancient Bontrager Inform saddle on it. Well, I retired those two items for a bit longer stem and a different Bontrager saddle. That older Inform design used to accommodate me okay, but now I'm older and things have changed. 

The stem seemed to me to be a bit too short. I could have lived with the 50mm stem, but I thought something that might stretch me out a bit would be better. I found the perfect candidate while going through the stem stash. It was a Redshift Sports ShockStop stem with their "out front" GPS mount. 

While digging through the saddle stash, I found a saddle that seemed very similarly shaped to the newer Ergon Allroad saddle. I compared them and they are so close in shape and length to be nearly identical. Only the way the top was formed by the cover and padding was really any different, and in that it was a cushier saddle than the Ergon one is. 

And wouldn't you know? It's a WSD Bontrager saddle. A woman's saddle. Cool with me. And what about the changes? Well, they are good. I plan to do a country ride on the bike soon to verify this. 

Oh yeah....I swapped out top tube bags. So there's that as well! 

The "Guitar Ted Podcast" is back with one of the more popular topics concerning gravel riding - Dogs. 

We talk about that in context of our (N.Y. Roll and my) experiences and other things, of course. But the dog thing is probably the big draw here. 

One thing I didn't mention, and I hope to when we talk about dogs again on the show, is that there is a bit of "privilege" as a bigger male when dealing with dogs versus when you are diminutive or female, or both. Dogs can and will size you up, so my experiences with dogs might be tempered by that a bit. 

Take for instance the image I chose for the podcast episode tile. That was from a solo ride I did in 2017 in Kansas. The image was taken at the point which I had talked to these two dogs long enough that they were giving up being concerned anymore. I think maybe up to ten minutes was spent here.These dogs finally realized that (a) I wasn't a threat, and (b) I was a pretty large human that wasn't afraid and was not going to be easy to take down. Despite the fact of one being a huge Great Pyrenees and the other a slightly smaller breed of unknown to me origins. 

The other thing I forgot to mention is that if you are in a group, it's best to stick together when dealing with dogs. They know when they are outnumbered and will look for a straggler to pester. Yes, the old saw about outrunning your riding partner and leaving them to deal with the dog is partially true. 

Anyway, if you haven't already listened to this episode, it is about an hour long. Click here or go to your favorite podcast provider and look up "The Guitar Ted Podcast". Thanks to CORE4 for sponsoring this episode.

The GTDRI Stories; The 10th One - Part 1

 "The GTDRI Stories" is a series telling the history, untold tales, and showing the sights from the run of Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitationals. This series will run on Sundays. Thanks for reading!

The 2015 running of the Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational was a bit of a "revenge ride" for me. I was bound and determined to complete this one as the previous year ended with that bizarre crash. That's why this course was used yet again, for the fourth time! I think it was the most I ever used one route!

So, if you've been following along on this series you know I always talk about surprises when it comes to who shows up for this ride. I never really knew how many would show, and who might show up. The 2015 ride was no different, and in fact, it had many surprises for me. 

Other than Tony McGrane and Jeremy Fry, who had ridden the previous year, everyone else that showed up could be considered a "surprise" to me. But especially the Frey Brothers, who I had never met before, or had even heard of before. Sadly they both only did the beginning portion of the ride and I never did get to know them. And they disappeared from my life never to be heard from again. 

I arose at 3:30am to get to the start. Dumb. I should have left the night before and camped out, but I was too lazy, disorganized, and guilty that I'd be leaving my family. Anyway, looking back that lack of sleep the night before was not playing into my favor. For whatever reason, I ran my life like I was 19 years old and could do anything. Again.....not very smart. But hopefully I've finally learned my lesson after 60+ years on this planet!  

Jeremy Fry getting ready to go in the parking lot of Backbone State Park.

The day started out ultra-humid, and it got worse from there!

Going out of the State Park required a climb up a steep grade and by the time we had reached the pavement section just beyond there we all were completely soaked in sweat. Yes, it was going to be one of those days. A day where we were going to get cooked, and we all knew it. Fortunately, the worst of it held off until later in the morning. 

There were a couple of firsts on the ride and an appearance of two females. Lance Andre brought his wife, Traci, and his daughter, Josie along, and Lance and Josie were on a tandem. So, we had two females, and a first time for a tandem. Also, it was the first time an entire family had joined in on the GTDRI. 

That was pretty cool! And we had several first-timers to the ride, which was also fun. Even though hardly anyone knew each other, I was amazed as I sat off the back for a bit listening. The chatter amongst the riders was non-stop early on as everyone wanted to get to know each other. This was maybe my favorite thing about the series of GTDRI events. That I had invited people from all over the Mid-West to come and ride, and they did, but not only that, they got to know each other a little bit too. 

There was a thin haze, then some puffy clouds that kept the heat down for a bit.

But before we reached Wadena, the Sun was out in full force.

I really enjoyed the opening bits of this particular GTDRI. I was having fun, I was riding okay, and the group that had gathered was pretty fantastic. With the exception of the Frey Brothers, I think everyone was having a pretty good time. One of the Fry Brothers had an issue of some sort. I cannot really remember what it was but it had something to do with  heat regulation and it caused both of the brothers to call it early. That's my recollection of things, but I could be wrong there. 

But the main point was that things were pointing toward a good outcome for the ride overall, and I was confident that we would do well at that point. However, something would happen at Wadena, our first rest stop, that would confound things and cause me to stress out for a large part of the day. 

Next: The Riddle Of GT's Lost Stash

The GTDRI Stories; The 10th One - Part 1

 "The GTDRI Stories" is a series telling the history, untold tales, and showing the sights from the run of Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitationals. This series will run on Sundays. Thanks for reading!

The 2015 running of the Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational was a bit of a "revenge ride" for me. I was bound and determined to complete this one as the previous year ended with that bizarre crash. That's why this course was used yet again, for the fourth time! I think it was the most I ever used one route!

So, if you've been following along on this series you know I always talk about surprises when it comes to who shows up for this ride. I never really knew how many would show, and who might show up. The 2015 ride was no different, and in fact, it had many surprises for me. 

Other than Tony McGrane and Jeremy Fry, who had ridden the previous year, everyone else that showed up could be considered a "surprise" to me. But especially the Frey Brothers, who I had never met before, or had even heard of before. Sadly they both only did the beginning portion of the ride and I never did get to know them. And they disappeared from my life never to be heard from again. 

I arose at 3:30am to get to the start. Dumb. I should have left the night before and camped out, but I was too lazy, disorganized, and guilty that I'd be leaving my family. Anyway, looking back that lack of sleep the night before was not playing into my favor. For whatever reason, I ran my life like I was 19 years old and could do anything. Again.....not very smart. But hopefully I've finally learned my lesson after 60+ years on this planet!  

Jeremy Fry getting ready to go in the parking lot of Backbone State Park.

The day started out ultra-humid, and it got worse from there!

Going out of the State Park required a climb up a steep grade and by the time we had reached the pavement section just beyond there we all were completely soaked in sweat. Yes, it was going to be one of those days. A day where we were going to get cooked, and we all knew it. Fortunately, the worst of it held off until later in the morning. 

There were a couple of firsts on the ride and an appearance of two females. Lance Andre brought his wife, Traci, and his daughter, Josie along, and Lance and Josie were on a tandem. So, we had two females, and a first time for a tandem. Also, it was the first time an entire family had joined in on the GTDRI. 

That was pretty cool! And we had several first-timers to the ride, which was also fun. Even though hardly anyone knew each other, I was amazed as I sat off the back for a bit listening. The chatter amongst the riders was non-stop early on as everyone wanted to get to know each other. This was maybe my favorite thing about the series of GTDRI events. That I had invited people from all over the Mid-West to come and ride, and they did, but not only that, they got to know each other a little bit too. 

There was a thin haze, then some puffy clouds that kept the heat down for a bit.

But before we reached Wadena, the Sun was out in full force.

I really enjoyed the opening bits of this particular GTDRI. I was having fun, I was riding okay, and the group that had gathered was pretty fantastic. With the exception of the Frey Brothers, I think everyone was having a pretty good time. One of the Fry Brothers had an issue of some sort. I cannot really remember what it was but it had something to do with  heat regulation and it caused both of the brothers to call it early. That's my recollection of things, but I could be wrong there. 

But the main point was that things were pointing toward a good outcome for the ride overall, and I was confident that we would do well at that point. However, something would happen at Wadena, our first rest stop, that would confound things and cause me to stress out for a large part of the day. 

Next: The Riddle Of GT's Lost Stash

Fat Tires On Gravel: From Krampus To Gryphon (Intro)

This post will be the beginning of a series on 700c fat tires on gravel. I mean really fat tires, not 2.4's or 2.6's, but really fat tires. The so-called "29+" tires. Originally these were 29" X 3.0" wide tires and they were pretty much the brainchild of the nutbags at Surly Bikes. Originally seen on the Krampus model in 2012, this tire size revolutionized my thinking about what might work in certain situations on gravel roads and dirt roads. 

This will be a mini-series on the blog here. My intentions are to show my personal experiences and takes on 29+ sized wheels for gravel. this is not going to be a comprehensive look at 29+, nor is it going to encompass everything about 29+ and gravel riding. However; I think you might find it interesting to know why I think 29+ is a good choice for gravel and what my thought processes and experiences have been up to this point. 

My intentions are to show my revelations regarding 29+, my experiences with 29+, where that led to gravel riding on such big, heavy tires, and where I have traveled on my way to getting what I consider now to be a "proper" 29+ bike for gravel. It all started with Surly's Krampus model in 2012, and it ended up with my Singular Cycles Gryphon Mk3 in 2023, over a decade later. 

29+: Surly's Last Great Innovation: 

This all begins with Surly Bikes' surprise revelation during the Summer of 2012 that they would be introducing the Krampus which was a hard tail MTB with corpulent 29" tires. Actually, if we wanted to be really technical about things, the 29+, three inch wide Surly Knard tires ended up being a bit over 31" in diameter, so quite a bit larger than 29"ers in reality. But who's measuring that?
 

I got to ride a Krampus at the 2012 Interbike show. It was the highlight of the show for me.

I was able to test ride that bike with the new 29+ Knard tires at Interbike's Outdoor Demo at Bootleg Canyon that year. I was very impressed. I stated back then that, "I think the Krampus is the ideal platform for longer, really rough road/back road/fire road riding in a bike packing set up. The tires should exhibit lots of grip, and with the volume, lots of suspension. Plus, a bit lower angle of attack should smooth out bumps even more than a typical 29"er."

I was thinking in mountain biking terms at the time, but all of that applies to gravel as well. The attributes of the 29+ tire were all well suited to gravel travel with the exception, perhaps, of the weight. The first Knards were pretty light though, so initially, this seemed like a viable way to go for gravel at some point. 

And it did.

But first we need to go back a bit further to when fat bikes came out. It wasn't completely obvious then, but in 2011, fat bikes were found to be "okay" at gravel travel. their big footprint was a stabilizing force over what could be described as a surface of stony ball bearings. Skinnier tires plowed through this and hunted for a stable passage through the rocky bits. But a fat bike tire just cruised over the top of the rocky chaos and smoothed out the ride so well that many still choose a fat bike to this day for gravel travel. All that despite the heavy, ponderous wheels. 

An all fat bike gravel ride in 2012

 While fat, voluminous tires were found to be pretty good at some things concerning gravel, they were a pretty heavy wheel back in the early twenty-teens. You rarely saw anyone running tubeless because of the lack of tubeless options, and therefore the wheels were really heavy. It would then make sense that a middle ground, something between fat tires of 3" plus and mountain bike tires for 29"ers would be a nice thing to try. 

In steps the Krampus, and later, the Surly ECR, a purpose-built bikepacking bike for off-roading. These bikes featured Surly's Knard 3.0" X 29 inch diameter tires which were a revelation in terms of what might be possible. Early on, the wheels and tires Surly brought to bear on the MTB world were repurposed as "Summer Wheels" for fat bikes, turning those bikes into multi-purpose, all-terrain vehicles. 

Bikes like this Borealis were early fat bike conversions for 29+.

I had the chance to ride a Borealis fat bike outfitted with the 29+ wheel format and I was blown away by the bike's capabilities in varied terrain. However; I was still stuck on the thought that this format was more of a mountain biking thing. I wasn't focused on the possibilities for gravel riding at that point. 

29+ is fantastic for mountain biking, but the wheel size is limited to those who ride a medium on up, in practical terms, so the proliferation of 29+ wasn't as quick and all-encompassing as Surly and a few other brands who bought into the idea were hoping that it might be. Swapping out fat tires for 29+ in a fat bike was a thing for a hot minute too, but many were put off by having to deal with an extra wheel set and a pair of expensive tires. So, the idea never really caught fire like 29"ers, fat bikes, or gravel bikes which came later. 

The 29"er-ized Mukluk in 2012.

 I actually experimented with a 29"er wheel set in my 2011 Salsa Cycles Ti Mukluk back in 2012, but that idea fell off in importance to me because it was really "just another 29"er" at that point, and not an ideal one from a geometry standpoint at that. So, it lost interest with me fairly quickly.

However; there was one thing that happened at an Odin's Revenge which made me think that I needed to revisit that extra wheel set for the Ti Muk. That will be the next installment in this mini-series coming up in a week. Stay tuned!

Fat Tires On Gravel: From Krampus To Gryphon (Intro)

This post will be the beginning of a series on 700c fat tires on gravel. I mean really fat tires, not 2.4's or 2.6's, but really fat tires. The so-called "29+" tires. Originally these were 29" X 3.0" wide tires and they were pretty much the brainchild of the nutbags at Surly Bikes. Originally seen on the Krampus model in 2012, this tire size revolutionized my thinking about what might work in certain situations on gravel roads and dirt roads. 

This will be a mini-series on the blog here. My intentions are to show my personal experiences and takes on 29+ sized wheels for gravel. this is not going to be a comprehensive look at 29+, nor is it going to encompass everything about 29+ and gravel riding. However; I think you might find it interesting to know why I think 29+ is a good choice for gravel and what my thought processes and experiences have been up to this point. 

My intentions are to show my revelations regarding 29+, my experiences with 29+, where that led to gravel riding on such big, heavy tires, and where I have traveled on my way to getting what I consider now to be a "proper" 29+ bike for gravel. It all started with Surly's Krampus model in 2012, and it ended up with my Singular Cycles Gryphon Mk3 in 2023, over a decade later. 

29+: Surly's Last Great Innovation: 

This all begins with Surly Bikes' surprise revelation during the Summer of 2012 that they would be introducing the Krampus which was a hard tail MTB with corpulent 29" tires. Actually, if we wanted to be really technical about things, the 29+, three inch wide Surly Knard tires ended up being a bit over 31" in diameter, so quite a bit larger than 29"ers in reality. But who's measuring that?
 

I got to ride a Krampus at the 2012 Interbike show. It was the highlight of the show for me.

I was able to test ride that bike with the new 29+ Knard tires at Interbike's Outdoor Demo at Bootleg Canyon that year. I was very impressed. I stated back then that, "I think the Krampus is the ideal platform for longer, really rough road/back road/fire road riding in a bike packing set up. The tires should exhibit lots of grip, and with the volume, lots of suspension. Plus, a bit lower angle of attack should smooth out bumps even more than a typical 29"er."

I was thinking in mountain biking terms at the time, but all of that applies to gravel as well. The attributes of the 29+ tire were all well suited to gravel travel with the exception, perhaps, of the weight. The first Knards were pretty light though, so initially, this seemed like a viable way to go for gravel at some point. 

And it did.

But first we need to go back a bit further to when fat bikes came out. It wasn't completely obvious then, but in 2011, fat bikes were found to be "okay" at gravel travel. their big footprint was a stabilizing force over what could be described as a surface of stony ball bearings. Skinnier tires plowed through this and hunted for a stable passage through the rocky bits. But a fat bike tire just cruised over the top of the rocky chaos and smoothed out the ride so well that many still choose a fat bike to this day for gravel travel. All that despite the heavy, ponderous wheels. 

An all fat bike gravel ride in 2012

 While fat, voluminous tires were found to be pretty good at some things concerning gravel, they were a pretty heavy wheel back in the early twenty-teens. You rarely saw anyone running tubeless because of the lack of tubeless options, and therefore the wheels were really heavy. It would then make sense that a middle ground, something between fat tires of 3" plus and mountain bike tires for 29"ers would be a nice thing to try. 

In steps the Krampus, and later, the Surly ECR, a purpose-built bikepacking bike for off-roading. These bikes featured Surly's Knard 3.0" X 29 inch diameter tires which were a revelation in terms of what might be possible. Early on, the wheels and tires Surly brought to bear on the MTB world were repurposed as "Summer Wheels" for fat bikes, turning those bikes into multi-purpose, all-terrain vehicles. 

Bikes like this Borealis were early fat bike conversions for 29+.

I had the chance to ride a Borealis fat bike outfitted with the 29+ wheel format and I was blown away by the bike's capabilities in varied terrain. However; I was still stuck on the thought that this format was more of a mountain biking thing. I wasn't focused on the possibilities for gravel riding at that point. 

29+ is fantastic for mountain biking, but the wheel size is limited to those who ride a medium on up, in practical terms, so the proliferation of 29+ wasn't as quick and all-encompassing as Surly and a few other brands who bought into the idea were hoping that it might be. Swapping out fat tires for 29+ in a fat bike was a thing for a hot minute too, but many were put off by having to deal with an extra wheel set and a pair of expensive tires. So, the idea never really caught fire like 29"ers, fat bikes, or gravel bikes which came later. 

The 29"er-ized Mukluk in 2012.

 I actually experimented with a 29"er wheel set in my 2011 Salsa Cycles Ti Mukluk back in 2012, but that idea fell off in importance to me because it was really "just another 29"er" at that point, and not an ideal one from a geometry standpoint at that. So, it lost interest with me fairly quickly.

However; there was one thing that happened at an Odin's Revenge which made me think that I needed to revisit that extra wheel set for the Ti Muk. That will be the next installment in this mini-series coming up in a week. Stay tuned!

Friday News And Views

Pirelli's newest gravel tire. (Image courtesy of Pirelli.)

 Pirelli Announces Cinturato Gravel RC X Tires:

Pirelli announced a new gravel tire this week called the RC X. It's a better sidewall protected tire than the current RC version which has the same tread pattern as this new tire. 

Available in 700 X 35 and 700 X 45 in the "Classic" sidewall, which is a brownish-tan color, or 700 X 40mm in black. No prices were listed in the press release but I would expect them to be in line with other Pirelli offerings which run between 70 and 80 bucks each. 

Comments: I like Pirelli tires, but I did have a sidewall cut on the 700 X 45 Cinturato Gravel M that I tested so this maybe a better tire for me. That said, when do I ever have issues with side walls in Iowa? Never. So, besides that bizarre incident with the Gravel M tire, I really am not too worried about sidewall protected tires here. But maybe you'd like that? 

I like the tread pattern. It looks pretty fast and grippy where you need that. I'd worry about the RC X having a stiffer ride because the sidewall is where the tire gets its ride quality from and I have enjoyed how Pirelli tires ride so far. Maybe the RC X would be okay? Don't know. It's kind of an expensive gamble to try it out, so I doubt that I'll be finding out about these unless Pirelli's marketing decides to send a set over. 

PSA: Disclosure Policies:

So, recently the Federal Trade Commission announced more stringent policies concerning disclosures for bloggers, influencers, affiliates, etc, where prominent and easily understood disclosure policies and statements needed to be displayed. 

Out of an abundance of caution I started to push my relationship with products out front more in recent posts. Now my understanding is that unless I am, or someone else is, making money off the posts or links I post in articles here, then I need not be concerned.

That said, I am still going to disclose when you are seeing me post prominently about an item I was originally provided to review. Such as a tire, or a bike part, or whatever, if I am reviewing it long term, or advising for or against it. I won't be going nuts over this, because look, It's pretty clear to me that no one is making money here. At least, that's what my bank account tells me. 

The FTC says that you, as a reader, shouldn't have to take action to understand that there is a connection to a company when I post something here. (From a money-making perspective, that is) I guess reading isn't "taking an action"? But whatever.... The bottom line is that I will still link to the Standard Disclaimer page, (which the FTC says is no bueno), AND tell you how I got whatever it is I am talking about IF that part/bit/apparel item/bike is something being prominently featured here.

Gravel Jura Promises "Experience" Over Competition:

I received an interesting press release the other day for an event which will take place in 2024 in Switzerland. It's called "Gravel Trans Jura", and it boasts a "no competition" atmosphere where riders can experience bikepacking the Swiss Jura in the Summer.

Comments: First of all, the site for this event has no prominent dates, times, or place where you are to go. Big fail there, but that's not why I want to discuss this event. There are a couple of things being said here by this event which I find extremely interesting. 

Most obvious of these is the "no competition" element, which makes me think "tour", or "group ride", or in European parlance, "trekking". How this will be perceived by the intended audience will be interesting. 

Secondly, in the press release, the organization behind this speaks of a "gravelboom" in Europe. here's what they said:

"In Europe, at the latest during the Corona pandemic, a real gravel boom was triggered. The Gravel sector is enjoying enormous growth and this has created a great demand in the bicycle industry.
Gravel is very versatile and is booming in all areas: As an everyday bike, as a leisure activity, as a competitive sport or even as a bikepacking and adventure bike."

Truth? Marketing hype? I cannot say as I am not in touch with how the European market is going with regard to "gravel" bikes and that sort of riding. But something said here resonates with me. The part where they say "As an everyday bike...". An everyday "drop bar" bike, is what I would add here, but - YES! They get it. And now you might understand why "gravel" is completely the wrong name for THAT bike. 

Image courtesy of Singular's Instagram

Singular Cycles Swifts Ready To Order:

You probably have seen my Singular Cycles Gryphon Mk3 here before, and maybe you've thought it would be great if Sam from Singular offered something similar only for flat bars. Well, if that's you - here ya go! Sam just announced pre-orders for these.

The Swift is the "OG" of Singular's model line up. The bike has been tweaked out to accept modern standard components like through axles, dropper posts, and tapered steer tubes. 

It even fits 3" tires in 29"er diameter. A "Krampus Killer", you might say. Probably perfect for bikepacking, long days in the saddle, or just goofing off. I can say that if this is anything like my Gryphon Mk3, and why wouldn't it be, then it should ride really well. 

So, if you are so inclined, you can check out the pre-order page here. Sam doesn't bring in a ton of product, so there likely won't be many of these around. That means you shouldn't wait, and that you likely will have the only one in your area. (Unless there are a lot of Singular freaks where you live, that is.) 

Disclaimer: I have no affiliation with Singular or financial gain in posting this information. I just know that these bikes are smartly designed, unique in the marketplace, and that I really like my Gryphon Mk3. That is all.

Ritchey "Ultra" frame. (Image courtesy of Ritchey Design)

New "Mustard" Color For Ritchey Ultra:

I don't know exactly why I have this "thing" for Ritchey Design frames, but, well.....I do. There. I said it.

I don't own one, and I never have, so I guess maybe it is because I like steel frames and I remember the old Ritchey red, white, and blue racing bikes from the 1990's. 

Anyway, here we have a Ritchey Ultra. It's their hard tail adventure MTB frame. It is meant for a 120mm fork, it has 148 Boost rear spacing, and it can fit either 27.5 X 2.8" tires or it can accept 29" X 2.6" rubber. 

Oh! And it now comes in this lovely Mustard color. Well, I like it. You may not. These aren't ridiculously priced either at a thousand bucks, which is about what the going rate is now for steel frames. That and upward. But....I don't often mountain bike, so this would be a sort of extravagance for me. Nice, but not necessary.

That's it for this week! Have a fantastic weekend and ride some bikes!

Friday News And Views

Pirelli's newest gravel tire. (Image courtesy of Pirelli.)

 Pirelli Announces Cinturato Gravel RC X Tires:

Pirelli announced a new gravel tire this week called the RC X. It's a better sidewall protected tire than the current RC version which has the same tread pattern as this new tire. 

Available in 700 X 35 and 700 X 45 in the "Classic" sidewall, which is a brownish-tan color, or 700 X 40mm in black. No prices were listed in the press release but I would expect them to be in line with other Pirelli offerings which run between 70 and 80 bucks each. 

Comments: I like Pirelli tires, but I did have a sidewall cut on the 700 X 45 Cinturato Gravel M that I tested so this maybe a better tire for me. That said, when do I ever have issues with side walls in Iowa? Never. So, besides that bizarre incident with the Gravel M tire, I really am not too worried about sidewall protected tires here. But maybe you'd like that? 

I like the tread pattern. It looks pretty fast and grippy where you need that. I'd worry about the RC X having a stiffer ride because the sidewall is where the tire gets its ride quality from and I have enjoyed how Pirelli tires ride so far. Maybe the RC X would be okay? Don't know. It's kind of an expensive gamble to try it out, so I doubt that I'll be finding out about these unless Pirelli's marketing decides to send a set over. 

PSA: Disclosure Policies:

So, recently the Federal Trade Commission announced more stringent policies concerning disclosures for bloggers, influencers, affiliates, etc, where prominent and easily understood disclosure policies and statements needed to be displayed. 

Out of an abundance of caution I started to push my relationship with products out front more in recent posts. Now my understanding is that unless I am, or someone else is, making money off the posts or links I post in articles here, then I need not be concerned.

That said, I am still going to disclose when you are seeing me post prominently about an item I was originally provided to review. Such as a tire, or a bike part, or whatever, if I am reviewing it long term, or advising for or against it. I won't be going nuts over this, because look, It's pretty clear to me that no one is making money here. At least, that's what my bank account tells me. 

The FTC says that you, as a reader, shouldn't have to take action to understand that there is a connection to a company when I post something here. (From a money-making perspective, that is) I guess reading isn't "taking an action"? But whatever.... The bottom line is that I will still link to the Standard Disclaimer page, (which the FTC says is no bueno), AND tell you how I got whatever it is I am talking about IF that part/bit/apparel item/bike is something being prominently featured here.

Gravel Jura Promises "Experience" Over Competition:

I received an interesting press release the other day for an event which will take place in 2024 in Switzerland. It's called "Gravel Trans Jura", and it boasts a "no competition" atmosphere where riders can experience bikepacking the Swiss Jura in the Summer.

Comments: First of all, the site for this event has no prominent dates, times, or place where you are to go. Big fail there, but that's not why I want to discuss this event. There are a couple of things being said here by this event which I find extremely interesting. 

Most obvious of these is the "no competition" element, which makes me think "tour", or "group ride", or in European parlance, "trekking". How this will be perceived by the intended audience will be interesting. 

Secondly, in the press release, the organization behind this speaks of a "gravelboom" in Europe. here's what they said:

"In Europe, at the latest during the Corona pandemic, a real gravel boom was triggered. The Gravel sector is enjoying enormous growth and this has created a great demand in the bicycle industry.
Gravel is very versatile and is booming in all areas: As an everyday bike, as a leisure activity, as a competitive sport or even as a bikepacking and adventure bike."

Truth? Marketing hype? I cannot say as I am not in touch with how the European market is going with regard to "gravel" bikes and that sort of riding. But something said here resonates with me. The part where they say "As an everyday bike...". An everyday "drop bar" bike, is what I would add here, but - YES! They get it. And now you might understand why "gravel" is completely the wrong name for THAT bike. 

Image courtesy of Singular's Instagram

Singular Cycles Swifts Ready To Order:

You probably have seen my Singular Cycles Gryphon Mk3 here before, and maybe you've thought it would be great if Sam from Singular offered something similar only for flat bars. Well, if that's you - here ya go! Sam just announced pre-orders for these.

The Swift is the "OG" of Singular's model line up. The bike has been tweaked out to accept modern standard components like through axles, dropper posts, and tapered steer tubes. 

It even fits 3" tires in 29"er diameter. A "Krampus Killer", you might say. Probably perfect for bikepacking, long days in the saddle, or just goofing off. I can say that if this is anything like my Gryphon Mk3, and why wouldn't it be, then it should ride really well. 

So, if you are so inclined, you can check out the pre-order page here. Sam doesn't bring in a ton of product, so there likely won't be many of these around. That means you shouldn't wait, and that you likely will have the only one in your area. (Unless there are a lot of Singular freaks where you live, that is.) 

Disclaimer: I have no affiliation with Singular or financial gain in posting this information. I just know that these bikes are smartly designed, unique in the marketplace, and that I really like my Gryphon Mk3. That is all.

Ritchey "Ultra" frame. (Image courtesy of Ritchey Design)

New "Mustard" Color For Ritchey Ultra:

I don't know exactly why I have this "thing" for Ritchey Design frames, but, well.....I do. There. I said it.

I don't own one, and I never have, so I guess maybe it is because I like steel frames and I remember the old Ritchey red, white, and blue racing bikes from the 1990's. 

Anyway, here we have a Ritchey Ultra. It's their hard tail adventure MTB frame. It is meant for a 120mm fork, it has 148 Boost rear spacing, and it can fit either 27.5 X 2.8" tires or it can accept 29" X 2.6" rubber. 

Oh! And it now comes in this lovely Mustard color. Well, I like it. You may not. These aren't ridiculously priced either at a thousand bucks, which is about what the going rate is now for steel frames. That and upward. But....I don't often mountain bike, so this would be a sort of extravagance for me. Nice, but not necessary.

That's it for this week! Have a fantastic weekend and ride some bikes!