Two Things

As seen August 22nd, 2012 at a Salsa Demo

Warbird Debut:A Missed Opportunity

The world found out something I was aware of for a while in the Summer of 2012. It was the fact that there was a bicycle specifically designed to race on gravel roads. Of course, I am speaking of the Salsa Cycles Warbird. The anniversary of my checking the bike out "officially" was this past week.

Trans Iowa was a proving ground for the model, as was the DK200 in Kansas. Both races were long, arduous, and tested man and machine to their limits. I was in the front seat to see the development of Salsa Cycles work in the gravel field going back to 2009 when I saw what became (briefly) the titanium La Cruz gravel/cyclo cross bike. That quickly gave way to another new prototype bike which saw duty in Trans Iowa v7 and v8. This bike I actually was able to get an up-close look at and ride briefly at T.I.v8. The bike became the Warbird and was shown at Quality Bicycles Summer "Saddledrive" show in 2012 to dealers and then to the public at several demo stops during that Summer. I saw and rode both the titanium model and the aluminum model in August up in the Twin Cities at a demo. 

The bike, at least the titanium version, was a fine introduction, despite its ridiculously narrow tire clearances, even for 2012. However; while the focus was on that fancy grey-silver metal frame, there was another Warbird that kind of flew under the radar. That was the aluminum version of the bike. Costing far less than the fancy titanium bike, the aluminum bike was not very well received. 

In my opinion, and in the opinion of many others at the time, Salsa Cycles made a mistake. While aluminum was a fine choice, it was not the popular one. Had Salsa Cycles decided upon a steel Warbird, I feel the sales would have been much more brisk out of the gate for the bike. The perception of that time was that a steel or a titanium bike was more well suited for gravel than a carbon or an aluminum alloy bike would be. 

Of course, we will never know if that was correct, as Salsa never did do a steel framed Warbird, at least not one for sale, and when they moved to the Class 5 VRS rear end, steel was not strong enough to handle the stresses the design imparted on the frame, so it became a moot point at that juncture.

Gravel Worlds Memories:

Also, the Gravel Worlds event happened yesterday. This was a time-marker for me for several years and my memories of attending the event run deep and strong yet today. I have not been to a Gravel Worlds since 2021, but that doesn't mean I didn't miss going there, at least a little bit. 

I have many friends and dearly loved people I miss because I cannot attend the event these days. These people, of course, are a big reason I feel left out here in Iowa. It would be a ton of fun to be around those folks again, at least for a little while. 

But another part of me misses Gravel Worlds from the times that I did the event. The event is not the way it used to be anymore, so perhaps I would feel a bit let down if I did attend the event now. I cannot say 100% that this would be the case, but for certain, a part of the nostalgia for "how things used to be" is part of what I feel. 

A few shots from my Gravel Worlds past...

That's me bombing a long downhill in 2015. Photographer unknown.

Back in the day, you could be assured of riding large chunks of the event all alone.

Tony McGrane (L) and myself. 2016 - The only time I ever finished the event.

My last go-round with Gravel Worlds in 2021. Image by M. McColgan

There are a lot more I could post, but I'll spare you the boredom of looking at wide expanses of Nebraskan rolling hills! Maybe I'll make it out there again someday, but some things will have to change here for me if I ever do get a chance  to go back to Gravel Worlds.

Analog Navigation

 In celebration of the twentieth year of this blog, I have a few tales to tell. This post is one of them. This series will occur off and on throughout this anniversary year, I hope to illuminate some behind-the-scenes stories and highlights from the blog during this time. Enjoy!

 In speaking with Ari a couple weeks ago (and featured in the podcast I did with him), the subject of cue sheet navigation was brought up. I was reminded how most riders do not understand the impact of cue sheets on events and what a different challenge that can be for the riders. Also, with this blog often serving as the "long-form" explainer for Trans Iowa related issues and topics, the cue sheet idea has bearing on the history of this blog. 

A typical Trans Iowa cue sheet

Now, maybe you are reading this and you don't know what a "cue sheet" is. Maybe you do know what they are, but have never ridden an event using them. Let me tell you, these things can really be a difference maker. 

We use to use cue sheets because when we started gravel events there were no GPS cycling computers. None. 

Imagine this if you can!

So, to send someone out on a course with no markings, (I know! Another nearly unfathomable thing for some folks), we had to give riders 'directions'. You can think of cue sheets as "riding directions" which you must follow to stay on course. 

Using cues meant that you had to do several things. One: You had to be able to read the cues. This may seem obvious, but think about it: How do you read a cue sheet while riding? You must consider several things. First, you have to have something to hold the cues with. Make sure the wind and the bumping around doesn't knock them off your bike! How do you move from one cue page to another? How can you see a cue sheet - either with poor vision or at night? Almost none of this is necessary for using GPS navigation these days. 

Next, you need to pay more attention to your mileage, sight cues, and the cue sheet! Again, with modern GPS you simply listen for the audible prompt and check the arrow to see which way to turn. You don't read signs, landmarks, or mileage on a computer or cue. Simple. Faster. Easier. 

Cues had their own "language" which varied from event to event. There was no real "standard" unless you were using "tulip" style cues which a lot of events were using back then. To my knowledge Trans Iowa was one of the only events to use strictly alphanumerical cues. You had to read them, as there were no symbols used besides the occasional "arrow". This put a premium on "paying attention" to not only the cues, but your surroundings. 

I could give a long dissertation here on why I think cue sheets are a good idea for events, but I'll just say here that the whole "paying attention" thing was the reason I made a  deliberate and intentional move to include as much "vagueness" in my cues as I could while still providing the clearest directions I could possibly give. 

For instance, I quit giving information as to where you were in a city, town, or village, as that should have been readily apparent to the rider if they were observant. Only in the case of crossing highways and County blacktops did I give any warning ahead of getting there.That was a safety concern. 

Anyway, getting back to the blog, I had to use "Guitar Ted Productions" as a means to give long-form explainers for cue sheets, and this became even more necessary as time went on as more and more I found new riders to be unfamiliar with the cue sheet navigation idea. As an example, you can read THIS POST from 2017 where I went into great detail about how the cues were to be used for Trans Iowa v`13.

I did this to not only inform the riders of Trans Iowa, but to keep the formatting of the Trans Iowa site in its mostly unmolested form which Jeff Kerkove set up in late 2004. I think, and have always thought this, that the OG Trans Iowa blog page is a treasure to be archived and curated so that anyone curious about how things got started could maybe get a feel for the event through that page. Especially the rules which were copied outright or borrowed heavily from by a LOT of following gravel events. 

So, in a way, I leveraged this blog to be what maybe should always have been on an event site, but now you know why I never considered that as an option.

Friday News And Views

Image courtesy of Wilde Bicycles

Wilde, Cane Creek Team Up On One Inch Head Sets:

With the sub-culture of restoration of late 1980's mountain and road bicycles being quite popular now, and with a certain special project from Wilde on the horizon, Wilde Bicycles and Cane Creek have teamed up to release a limited time option to get yourself a Cane Creek 110 quality threaded headset in one inch size. 

Why Wilde Bicycles? Well, they have a project called the Side Quest which will be using these head sets. To get the MOQ (Minimum Order Quantity) to green light the project, Wilde is offering the chance to purchase a one inch threaded headset from Cane Creek. 

The Wilde X Cane Creek 110ZN headsets will be offered in black or silver and the cost is projected to be $120.00 USD. The head sets will be a pre-book and should be delivered in October. 

Specs:

● Fork type: 1" English threaded
● Stack height: 41mm
● S.H.I.S. Upper: EC30 / 25.4-24tpi
● S.H.I.S. Lower: EC30
● Crown Race: ISO (26.4mm)
● Machined from 7075 series aluminum
● ZN40 Sealed Cartridge Bearings
● Weight: 91g 

Get in on the action at www.wildebikes.com

Image courtesy of Merit Bikes

Czechoslovakian Company Merit Goes 750D Gravel:

Now you can buy a 750D wheeled gravel bike from Merit Bikes which they call, appropriately, the "Merit Jumbo 750d Gravel Bike". Never heard about 750D wheels? I last wrote about them in a "Two Things" post in July which you can read HERE. There are further links back to other posts I have written about these bigger wheels to be found there as well. 

Merit is a Czech based company and has been making high-end titanium and carbon bikes for gravel for a while now. This time they are offering pre-orders for October delivery for this carbon frame and fork gravel bike with the bigger 750D wheels being provided by WTB. They are currently the only manufacturer doing these bigger wheels and tires. 

The Jumbo comes in three sizes: Large, XL, and XXL. Obviously Merit feels this wheel size caters to a taller rider. For reference I ride a 58cm bike at 6'1". The Merit Jumbo size Large would work for me, but the others are way too big! 

The approximately $4,350.00 bike (at current exchange rates) features the aforementioned carbon frame and fork, SRAM Rival drivetrain, and Ritchey Design cockpit parts. The geometry is interesting as the bike is said by Merit to be able to handle 50mm wide 700c tires and wheels along with the 750D X 45mm WTB tires. The numbers on the geometry all are pretty spot on though with a surprising low stack height for the bike that would fit me. 

This, in my opinion, is going to be a litmus test for 750D wheels and tires. If more companies jump on this idea, WTB will not be the only game in town for these tires and wheels for long. But that all remains to be seen. Stay tuned....

Image courtesy of Velocity USA

Velocity USA Refreshes AERO Model:

Velocity USA announced on Tuesday of this past week that they have a newly refreshed version of their original rim, the AERO, out now. Velocity partnered with Arizona based Profile Precision Extrusion to bring a Velocity USA exclusive alloy for this new design. 

Velocity says on the webpage for the AERO rims the following: "6069 alloy offers improved resistance to denting and fatigue damage. Riders who are tough on wheels will enjoy greater impact resistance; those who pile on miles can expect a longer service life compared to traditional 6061 or 6063 alloy."

Velocity states that, besides the traditional offerings, they will have 36 hole and 40 hole versions of the AERO also. They also said all their Deep Custom options can be applied to this model as well, which includes some wild anodized colors and schemes. Stock rims will be available in Silver, Black, or Polished. 

Velocity states that this rim is optimized for tire widths from 28mm - 50mm and will be available in 650B and 700c diameters. The AERO weighs a claimed 500 grams each and is priced at $198.00 USD each. 

Comments: I gotta admit, when I saw the price for this rim I was a bit surprised. Apparently it is this new tougher alloy that makes the price what it is. I like that Velocity is trying this because it makes a lot of sense for heavier riders or touring/bikepacking applications where wheel failure is not an option. I'd gladly pay the price for that peace of mind. My only wish is that Velocity would do a wider internal width in a similar rim. Heck, just looking over their "gravel" rim range makes me wish that Velocity would do this with the entire range. 

As it stands now I am really only interested in using Blunt SS rims from Velocity for gravel. The inner rim width is a bit wider at 26.6mm which is kind of a sweet spot for tires in the 43mm - 50mm range.

Salsa Shows Off 2025 Cutthroat C Force XO AXS Transmisson Bike:

Salsa Cycles showed its latest incarnation of its long-running Cutthroat bikepacking/adventure/gravel bike. The elongated named Cutthroat C Force XO AXS Transmission (whew!) is set up with - obviously - SRAM's new 12 speed Transmission rear drive train components and an Eagle Transmission crank with a 34T ring onboard. 

You get a UDH compatible frame, and the "Road Boost" set up which allows a maximum 50T/34T crank set up. All that and the typical Cutthroat amenities you've become accustomed to at a price of  $7,499.00 USD. 

Comments: Well, what the heck is "Road Boost" anyway? Yep! Get used to seeing that as this is where we will start to see a move in gravel bikes away from the old 100mm/142mm through axle standard. Frame makers will adopt this "new" 110mm/148mm "road" spacing as a way to better accommodate the trend for riders to gravitate toward fatter gravel tires in the 45mm+ range up to 2.2" 29"er rubber. 

This all started with Shimano offsetting GRX 2.5mm outboard and then SRAM doing a similar thing as well to get better clearances for bigger gravel tires, at that time in the 45mm - 47mm range. But with the big switch to top-tier gravel riders riding 2.2" wide XC rubber on gravel bikes this "Road Boost" thing has legs and whether the meat and potatoes of gravel riders wants it or not, this is how the bicycle industry has always operated - At the whim and fancy of the high-end competitive fields in any discipline. They call it "progress", but it is really just another marketing tool in the end. 

Whether or not anyone likes it, it will be the next trend in gravel bikes. At least the comments sections of social media will be interesting for the short term future. 

Okay, that's a wrap on this week! Get out and ride those bicycles!

Country Views: A Road With A Chameleon Personality

Escape Route: Traffic on the Sergeant Road Trail

We've had a switch from hot, humid weather to a few days of cooler, less humid air here in Iowa and I was able to get out to enjoy it a bit on Wednesday. Days like these in August don't come around often, so I was blessed to be able to take advantage of the day.

I also needed to ride the fat Resolute tires I have here to review and I had a special place I wanted to take those tires to. This place, curiously, is not well ridden or even well known to locals, as far as I can tell. One person, maybe two, ride it on occasion other than myself, and typically I never see any other bicycle tire tracks out there. Once you've seen this road you might wonder why this is such a rare treat for the locals to partake in. Don't as me for the answer. I have no idea why local gravel cyclists don't flock to ride down this spectacular road. 

I was riding the pink MCD Black Mountain Cycles bike this time and with the weather being what it was, normal cycling garb was all that I needed to be wearing. Since this particular road I was going to ride was South of town, I headed out on the Sergeant Road bike path. I had the unique experience of having to pass a mower doing trail maintenance which was a bit sketchy, but once I got by it was smooth sailing out to the gravel.

Washburn Road. That's Hudson, Iowa's water tower over on the left horizon line.

Real American Gravel

I decided to make the approach to this particular road from the West side, which I typically don't do. However; I wanted to make sure I could actually ride this road as the Western side gets wet and can flood out much easier than the hilly, more well drained Eastern side of that road. This took me just East of Hudson, Iowa and then South of there a bit further. 

Just a bit further....

Petrie Road's Level B section. Yes....this is a road!

Well, maybe you guessed it before you saw the image above, but it is indeed Petrie Road. I've said this before, and I fully expect this to happen, but this 7/8ths of a mile of awesomeness is probably not long for public consumption. I fully expect this road to be gated and turned into a C Level Maintenance road soon. So far though, it has escaped that fate. Not that the local farmer adjacent to this road hasn't been trying to get it closed off. 

This is the same section of Petrie Road as shown in the previous image from 2016.

The local farmer that lives just to the South of this road has wanted this closed up since I spoke with the wife of the couple that farms the land there back during T.I.v12 in 2016. Since then, that Level B sign has disappeared, and the green street sign indicating this is Petrie Road has also mysteriously disappeared. Only the street sign pole remains. Hmm... 

And as you can see, zero maintenance has been done on that road since we did T.I.v12. It is fairly obvious that someone is wanting this to be declassified, and I am betting I know who that someone is. 

But anyway....

This road changes personality at least three times in less than a mile.

The thing that I love about this road is how different it is in feel and terrain as you travel it from one end to the other. On the East side it starts out as a typical gravel road. Then about an eighth of a mile in, it goes to dirt two-track, and then it crosses a low water crossing which is typically only wet during Spring run-off. This is all big rock and dirt. Then it goes up, two-track, sandy, and with embedded rock. Then it goes on with a big mud hole up top that very rarely is ever dry, descends down a silty two-track, and then about a quarter mile of flat, grass-filled and severely rutted out two-track which skirts several mud-pits and water filled ruts. 

Now I did that in reverse and about 50 yards in my front tire self-steered up a rut unexpectedly, since I could not see anything for the four foot high weeds, and I was dumped unceremoniously off my bike with another ridge from a rut hitting me mid-back and across the bottom of my shoulder blades. Fun times!

Coming out on the East side.

 

Back to your regularly scheduled gravel program!

I was okay and rode the rest of the way out to the Eastern exit of the Level B Section and on down Petrie Road to its other terminus at Ansborough Avenue. The gravel had been refreshed down here and it had been done very close to when I rode these roads. There were no good lines and the Resolutes had to do for getting me through it, which they do quite well. 

I did not see a deer this time but I was ambushed by a dog. The dog appeared out of a ditch and was silent until the mutt took off after me.  Fortunately this mutt's angle of pursuit was off and I was out in front of the pooch enough that I was able to crack off a nice "dog sprint". This was enough to break the dog's engagement and I was dog free! I did see another couple of dogs in a farm yard but they gave me nothing but a few barks as I cruised on by them.

The Pink MCD

It turned out all to the good and I made it back home in one piece. All the while I was wondering why folks around here don't take advantage of Petrie Road's varying personalities along that section of Level B road. One day, sooner than later, it won't be an option. Too bad for those who don't get down that way now. They are missing out on some good fun!

Review: Delium Tires - Final Word

  Note: Delium Tire sent over two pairs of tires to Guitar Ted Productions at no cost. I am not being paid, nor bribed, for this review and I will always strive to give my honest thoughts and opinions throughout.

Delium Tire is a fairly unknown name in bicycle tires to most riders, and likely to you as well. The company is based in Indonesia and claims to be that country's largest tire producer. I am told that Delium Tire has made tires under other, more well known to cyclists brands, but I have no idea which brands that those might be. 

Does Delium have what it will take to move brands like Maxxis, WTB, Specialized, or Schwalbe off a bit to make room for sales for their gravel tires? 

Certainly the prices for their tires doesn't hurt in that cause. However; while there are certain good things about the Delium gravel tires I have tried here, there are some definite concerns as well. 

You can read a bit about those concerns HERE in my last update. There is a link in that post to the introduction with the specs and prices as well which you can check out. In this final post I am going to give you a bit more on the riding performance of the AllRounder and Speed-X tires. Then I will give my final verdict on the tires at the end.

Both sets of Delium Tires ended up feeling fast and well damped on gravel.

Okay, so out of the two sets of tires I received for this review I ended up liking the Speed-X the best. The AllRounder, the tire that looks so close to a Gravel King SK it is scary, was a bit too rounded in profile for my liking. I thought the rounded casing made the tire feel unstable and it had trouble in looser gravel and wet mud laterally, losing grip and sliding sideways, or getting kicked sideways by a bigger rock, for instance. I will say this tire felt fast and easy to spin up. I will give the AllRounder that much. 

The Speed-X was a more stable tire in the same conditions and it had a really nice ability to absorb rock and therefore it felt very smooth. I think the AllRounder has a similar casing, but the rounded profile the tire has sort of extinguishes its abilities in this regard. 

I probably could live with either tire in terms of ride quality though. Both exceed expectations for a tire costing as little as these do. However; one characteristic of both tires is a bit concerning to me. This would be the ability, or lack thereof, for these tires to retain air pressure. 

Initially both sets weren't good in this regard. However; as I tended to want to ride the Speed-X more, I thought I had ridden the tire enough that air retention was no issue. Then I parked that bike and got on the AllRounder which, as I expected, had almost zero air pressure in them after about a month. I rode the AllRounder a few times and checked on the Speed-X and.... The back tire was flat! Maddening. The front had air but was down significantly as well. 

The AllRounder copies the Gravel King right down to how it throws small stones.

I guess you are good to go if you ride the Deliums every day or nearly so, but let the bike sit for a week and the tires loose a significant amount of air. By the way, I'm using WTB sealant which has proven to work really well in every other application I have used the sealant in before. 

Final Word: I really like the Speed-X tires, and if they held air better I would highly recommend these. For the asking price these tires definitely ride and perform on gravel better than you would expect. The AllRounder is, as the name suggests, "round" in profile. Too much so for my tastes. This doesn't mean other folks might not like this tire, but given the poor air retention issues I am seeing, I find it hard to recommend these tires. And then again - why not just buy a Gravel King SK and be done with it?

So, from where I sit, Delium has work to do to crack the crowded market for gravel tires. I would suggest working on a better tubeless set up experience, better air retention, and maybe ditch the AllRounder for a design of their own. These tires are not bad tires. These tires do have some undesirable quirks and because of that, I think these are a pass for gravel riders as they are now. If Delium decides to pursue the issues I am seeing and address them in new models, I might then be of a mind to change my view on their tires. 

Note: I wrote this final take several days ago. Since then both sets of tires seem to be holding air better. Go figure! Well, at any rate, even if this seems to hold up, the tires are inconsistent and take far too long to settle in. I may come back with an update at some point.....

Review: Velo Orange Mojave Cage

Image courtesy of Velo Orange

 Note: The Velo Orange Mojave Cage was purchased by Guitar Ted for test and review on this site. Guitar Ted was not paid nor bribed for this review and all opinions are Guitar Ted's.

The Velo Orange Mojave Cage is a cage for oversized bottles, such as a Nalgene bottle, or any cylindrical canister/bag that comes close to the diameter described by the Mojave Cage's two sprung arms. 

I have used this cage on my Singular Gryphon Mk3 bike as a fork mounted accessory. The cage does have multiple mounting points on its back plate and could be positioned in many ways. Typical uses besides a fork mounted cage might include a down tube, either above or below, or off a rack of the type that Tumbleweed Bicycles makes, or the Old Man Mountain Elkhorn or Axle Pack racks. 

Initially I used a plastic food canister with the Mojave Cage, (seen HERE) and that worked quite well. Because the canister was pliable, the cage could actually make an impression into the plastic and eventually this almost molded the canister into the Mojave Cage! 

This made getting the plastic canister out a chore, but it was doable. I likely would go with a harder plastic canister for a longer tour to store dry food items in if I were planning a bike packing/tour. I don't have a Nalgene, or equivalent canister to try this with, but I do have an ancient Thermos bottle/canister which I tried as a carrier for some coffee on a recent outing. 

The Thermos would not fit all the way in, but the cage held it anyway!

The grip of the Mojave Cage is pretty stout if you have a larger diameter canister or bottle. The Thermos seemed to be on the larger side for the Mojave Cage, but that was not the limitation I thought it was at first. Actually one of my mounting bolts was protruding out enough that the steel edge of the Thermos was catching on it, which acted like a stop. However; the Mojave Cage's grip was so strong I figured I would give it a go and see how the cage would handle a Thermos filled with coffee on rougher trail with only half a grip on the bottle. 

Of course, I was risking destroying an antique Thermos jug, but hey! Someone has to test these things, and this looked like a good way to test the Mojave Cage's grip level. I am happy to report that coffee was enjoyed alongside a local lake and it was a very good morning. The Mojave Cage was not fazed by this test at all. 

The Mojave Cage delivered my coffee to this spot with no issues.

Final Word:

I think if I were to go on an extended trip by bicycle and needed a bigger cage for water, food, or other storage that the Mojave Cage would provide me with a safe, reliable way to do just that. As long as the canister you choose is large enough to spread the arms a bit on the cage I would think that the grip this cage exerts on things would be perfect for such a trip. 

One thing about this design which might be a concern is that if your canister is larger in diameter, those arms get really tough to spread apart far enough to release the canister. The hand strength required to push the arms apart (a pinching motion, by the way) is pretty high in such cases. Perhaps smaller hands or weaker hands would be prevented from moving the cage's arms enough to release a larger canister. It is something to think about, say if you are cold, wet, or really tired after a long day in the saddle. 

Other than that, I like and recommend this cage to anyone looking for something along these lines to carry oversized bottles on their bicycle. You can find a more detailed description of the Mojave Cage here. 

"More" Is Not Always A Good Idea

Courtesy of Marley Blonski's Threads acct.

Friday I came across a post on Marley Blonski's Threads account which showed the image here and stated that she was seeing many signs like this on the SBT GRVL course for this past weekend. 

This situation stems from a conflict with local ranchers and what happened last year at SBT GRVL. I wrote about this back in January HERE. 

SBT GRVL held its inaugural event in 2018 sending 1,500 riders down previously quiet ranch roads. Troubles with interference with rancher's normal daily activities and cyclists, public urination and defecation, and lack of any relationship between the locals and the event came to a head last year. 

The event boasts a reported worth of $4.5 million to the Boulder economy and now plays host to up to 3,000 athletes. These riders are not only out on these remote roads on the event day, but several days prior as well, since the riders want to become acclimated to the altitude and to scout out the course. A good primer on the current efforts to smooth things over by the event organizers and the locals concerns can be read HERE. 

The SBT GRVL is but one example of the undercurrents in several locales which points to a conflict between gravel events which have thousands of participants and locals who expect their rural way of life not to be interrupted by sometimes rude and ignorant cyclists. To be fair, most cyclists are probably not causing issues. However; it only takes a few to make the scene look bad and irritate locals whose home we are invading as gravel cyclists. 

Cyclists await the start at the 2017 Gravel Worlds event.

It was interesting reading the comments section on the thread started by Marley Blonski on Threads, a newer social media app which is similar to Twitter/X. People were commenting that the ranchers and other locals were just being stuck up and being typical "NIMBY's". (Not In My Back Yard) 

However; if the tables were turned, and you could not get out of your apartment or home because thousands of - let's say runners - were running by your home unexpectedly, how would you react? I'm guessing being late to work, or not making an appointment might cause an issue? Yeah.... Perhaps. 

In the realm of events, and gravel events in particular, it has been my observation that many events - certainly not all events - have decided that "growth" equals "more". More participants is what that usually entails. Then you have everything else to accommodate that. Somehow, the accolades and success for gravel events are tied to this thought of "growth" being "more" and without that, you are not successful. 

This skewed way of describing success in event production is where the problem is at. Let's take SBT GRVL as an example. They started with 1,500 folks and quickly doubled that amount of people. Reports from the 2019 event stated that a "steady stream of riders" was noted on a ranch road the day before the event. Things have only intensified in this regard, not only in Colorado, but at Unbound, and other "big" gravel events that release course routes and data via GPS ahead of their events. 

This issue is not at all "new" or unique to current marquee gravel events. Issues arose early on at events like the legendary Almanzo 100, early Gravel Worlds, and other even smaller events where littering, public urination, and other issues rankled some local residents. While some may think,  "you will always have a few complainers", these issues were simply forerunners to larger issues which are notable today. All have a common thread: Events that "grew" and became "successful" by the commonly held metrics which many use to define success. 

Image by Jon Duke

Perhaps unique to larger events, the DK200 was carefully curated into a much larger event than it was by its directors, particularly Jim Cummings, who was pro-actively reaching out to Kansan ranchers to get a read on what their concerns were. Also unique to this event were the efforts to clean the roads after the event took place which was an event called "Kleen Kanza". It was not unheard of for this effort to not only pick up all the discarded food/gel packets and jettisoned water bottles, but to clean pre-existing litter and junk from the ditches as well, which furthered the good will between the event and the locals. 

This stands in contrast to how many events do business now with an assumption that "open roads/public roads" gives an organizer carte blanche with regard to filling these spaces with cyclists who are not there to enhance the quality of life of the local farmers and ranchers. I would be surprised if many organizers sending 1,500+ riders into any rural area has done any sort of impact study/research on how that might affect the local populace, much less give any thought at all to mitigating possible conflicts. 

One notable event that is making a push to mitigate issues is Gravel Worlds. It is interesting that Gravel Worlds is using their social media and email to send a message to riders in that event ahead of their riding in that contest to be aware of several issues regarding traffic in rural areas. They have even gone as far as partnering with local law enforcement and State police to help in identifying offenders of Gravel Worlds policies. More gravel events should take note of this self-governance. 

But what might be the most revolutionary act an event might consider is this: Right-sizing their event to the local area. This may mean actual reductions in rider fields, a focus on rider experience for every rider, and a willingness to shrink field sizes to accommodate both the riders and the locals. Making pro-active efforts to consider the event's neighbors and what they might want or perceive as issues would be another good initiative. These sorts of ideas work a lot better than reacting to issues which have already caused harm, concerns, or grief for riders or the local residents. As I have said before, if gravel events do not self-police themselves, someone else will, and that is going to mark the decline of gravel as we know it today.

Country Views: Hints Of Fall

Escape Route: Leaves are falling

I finally got a break after about a week of being busy and had time to go out for a longer ride on Friday. It was nice out, but the wind was gusting upwards of about 30mph and steadily blowing around 20 - 25mph. This was a good time to use my "Northwest Passage" to get out to gravel. 

I typically go around downtown Cedar Falls on a bike path that skirts hard up against the Cedar River and then cross on the Main Street Bridge. But I wasn't using my head and I ended up crossing on the Center Street Bridge instead. That shunted me off in a different direction but in the end, it just added a bit more mileage. 

Crossing Center Street's bridge was interrupted by a freight train. I didn't have to wait too long, but I did note that all the cars were carrying stuff that I would not want near me if the train derailed. Things like Anhydrous Ammonia, Potash, and - get this - molten sulfur! What?! You mean like a tanker car full of Hellfire? Sheesh! 

Due to my unintended jaunt through the woods near the river I ended up coming up on another deer that just stood there. This is now two rides in a row that this has happened to me and it never has happened before. A sign? I don't know, but this time I was actually closer and the deer just stared me down again.

It has been a while since I've been stopped by a train

Say "Cheese!"

I eventually decided to just ride out to Lone Tree Road and make a right hand turn to get back on track. I briefly thought about going to Ford Road and riding that gravel, but that's kind of a dead end unless you continue on to Janesville and I didn't have all day. I didn't get started until 1:30pm so I had to make this a shorter ride. 

I feel like the Lone Tree Road bike path doesn't get enough love. How about that tall corn, by the way.

I never get tired of this view.

The recent rains have brought perfect road conditions again. The gravel was fast and smooth! West Mount Vernon Road is one of my favorite roads to ride and has perfect rollers. Not too steep and with great descents. Mount Vernon Road is actually pretty fun for the entirety of its length, to be honest. I have to get back out there on the Eastern half of its run again sometime soon. 

A potential spot of dog bother, but it never materialized.

There seemed to be a hint of Fall  in the air.

It is mid-August, and typically these are the "dog days" of Summer. Hot, humid, little to no wind, and very quiet in the country. The Red Winged Blackbirds have left, all the song birds are quiet, and things seem to be in a frozen state of perpetual maturity. But while we have had some days like that, this day was more like a Fall day with a strong, gusty West wind, hurrying clouds, and not much humidity, really. It almost felt cool at times in the wind. 

I had noted more animal activity than usual as well. The deer, of course, but I saw the two dogs, several birds, and a Red Tailed Hawk being harassed by some unknown smaller bird. That hawk might be a thing I'd see this time of the year, but not all the other stuff. Even dogs don't chase in August due to the heat and humidity. 

I hope to get out again soon. This weird weather is not making me mad at all, I'll tell ya that much!

The Summer That Changed Everything

  In celebration of the twentieth year of this blog, I have a few tales to tell. This post is one of them. This series will occur off and on throughout this anniversary year, I hope to illuminate some behind-the-scenes stories and highlights from the blog during this time. Enjoy!

 

 

One Summer that really was nuts and changed the trajectory of this blog and my life was the Summer of 2008. I was reminded of this by my recent visit with Ari Andonopoulos because 2008 was the year I met him in the Spring at Trans Iowa v4.  

That Summer was crazy. It rained, stormed, and all sorts of damage was done. The Parkersburg tornado destroyed that town and I was a part of the clean-up for the disaster. There was record flooding in the Mid-West and Iowa was at the epicenter. On top of all of those things I was deep into my reviewing tasks and this facet of my bicycling life had grown more intense. I won't mention my family and job at the bike shop, which were requiring a lot of attention and deservedly so. 

It never happened

One of my biggest regrets in cycling was getting pulled into the Big Wheeled Ballyhoo 29"er/MTB festival which was an idea of mine but was co-opted by the founder of the "Twentynine Inches" site and twisted into something I never would have agreed to be a part of had I known what he had in mind. 

It was a difficult situation since I had been promised a salary, (which never materialized) for my work on his site and since this was a part of my "employment", I felt obligated to follow the "boss's" lead. I was to be the "boots on the ground" organizer and this fellow I was associated with was supposed to be doing logistical work in the background. Things like getting sponsors, brands to show up, and basically promoting the event. 

Well, that all fell through because this guy flaked out and by 2009 he had nothing to do with the 29"er site or anything else he had created on the internet either, leaving myself and a group of others that had believed in his empty promises to flounder. Great! This all started to unravel in the Summer of 2008. 

So, I wasn't getting paid, I had no back-end support, and we had catastrophic flooding at the venue site in Decorah, Iowa just two weeks out from the planned festival. With 12 feet of water, or more, flowing over our planned expo and camping sites, I decided to pull the plug on the event. I was getting a LOT of inquiries from would-be vendors that wanted to make other plans if the flooding was going to put the festival in jeopardy. I had contacted the trail group in Decorah who weren't very helpful to me in making any decision, I think because they really wanted this, but weren't willing to, or incapable of understanding my end of the thing and what vendors were needing from this. 

It all was put on my shoulders and all that despite my trying to involve others in the decision. So, I made the call. I wasn't going to cotton to any bellyaching about it afterward because everyone had a chance to have input, but pretty much waffled on their chance to be heard one way or the other. 

The day the Ballyhoo was originally planned, I rode those trails in Decorah and found some concerns.

Even after I made the call, there was obviously some disappointment, but there were no complaints, and certainly no one had voiced concerns over not being consulted in the decision process. Also, after I had decided to go to Decorah on the very day we would have had the Ballyhoo and ride, I found several concerns over road and trail conditions. Not to mention the planned expo area and camping area were still a disaster area with flood silt and soft grounds. 

There was no question I had made the correct decision. However; after I had written a post about my ride up there I had one very pointed criticism of my take, how I was completely wrong about my assessments, and that I should not "...consider Decorah for any future events". This was voiced by a singular person in an email who was, (and may still be, I don't know), a very influential person in the MTB community in Decorah. 

Well, we had been putting on Trans Iowa out of Decorah for two years at that point and v5 was coming up. Since the emailer said that I should not consider Decorah for any future events, I granted that wish. That person doesn't need to be "outed", and that's all I have to say about this individual. But this is the reason Trans Iowa eventually ended up in Williamsburg, Iowa, and when that city pretty much shunned us, it became the eventual reason for Trans Iowa to be held out of Grinnell, Iowa. 

The Ballyhoo idea ended up becoming a big disappointment to me. I tried to revive the idea for the following year in Nebraska in a format I was more in tune with, but it all was for naught. I ended up having to miss the event due to an illness in the family and then it snowed on everyone that did go to the event. That sucked the wind out of my sails for that idea and I was consumed by other things heading into 2010 anyway. 

Had the weather been good and the Ballyhoo been a success, had my boss at the 29"er site not flaked out, had that certain individual hit "delete" instead of "send", who knows where I'd be today. I only know that the events of the Summer of 2008 were monumental in sending me down the path I ended up on.

Friday News And Views

 USAC Gravel Nationals Moves To Minnesota:

On Wednesday it was announced on USA Cycling's site that the USAC Gravel Nationals will be held in LaCrescent, Minnesota for 2025 and 2026. 

Quoted from the announcement:

“"We are excited to bring our Gravel National Championships to La Crescent/La Crosse for 2025-2026. The region’s diverse landscape offers multiple options for developing unique courses with challenging climbs, creating a new and different experience for riders out on the course. Combining our event with their renowned annual Apple Festival offers another unique experience that our riders and their families can enjoy off the course,” said Kyle Knott, USA Cycling’s Director of National Events."

Comments: Recently it was revealed that the Robidoux Rendezvous would be on "indefinite pause" and it is not understood at this time whether the USAC Gravel Nationals move was in response to this pause or if the pause was a reaction to USAC pulling out.  Reading the tea leaves I would guess it was the former. 

The Driftless Region of Southwestern Minnesota should provide some steep climbs and harrowing descents for those chasing a Stars and Stripes jersey. It will be interesting to see how USAC develops this event. 

The venue is straight across the Mississippi River from LaCrosse, Wisconsin, so there should be plenty of infrastructure and resources for putting the event on at a level USAC will expect. Heck, it is close enough to me that I might have to go and do some live reporting on it. We will see. 

Image courtesy of Canyon Bikes

Canyon Bikes Shows New Stingr CFR Helmet:

Canyon Bikes has a new helmet with an unusual retention system. The helmet, called the Stingr CFR, boasts watt-saving aerodynamics and great cooling as well for the wearer.

The retention system, which eschews the typical Nylon straps and buckles, is called the HighBar System. It uses two arms which articulate off the main chassis of the retention system near where the rider's ears would be. These arms are micro-adjustable with a dial at the chin area. 

Canyon claims this way of retention saves watts, is cooler, and causes less wind-generated noise by the rider's ears. The helmet also utilizes MIPS technology to help protect the rider in the event of a crash.

The helmet weighs 0.6lbs and costs $299.99 USD. 

Comments: A bold move, yet one wonders why helmet manufacturers have held on to the tried and true Nylon strap system all these years. Perhaps it "just works"? Maybe, but I credit Canyon's team for trying something different. 

My concern initially from looking at this would be how this retention system would work with small faces, wider faces, and other human anomalies that may not be compatible with a rigid arm take on helmet retention. I also would have to wonder how much noise really would be reduced by these arms versus straps. I'm thinking Iowa wind doesn't care. I could be wrong...

Podcast News & More:

The recent visit I made to see Ari Andonopoulous resulted in a podcast that I have gotten some good feedback from. Ari and I talked about gravel history, mostly as it pertained to how we did things back then. We also touched upon Trans Iowa a bit. Then we talked about how much things have changed, a bit about event production, and more. In case you missed this episode, you can find it HERE. 

My vision going forward  would be to try to find more participants in the early gravel scene, and specifically from Trans Iowa, but not necessarily from the event alone. I wanted to try to get as many takes on what that time was like to preserve those memories and have a place where those facts can live on. 

But if people don't find that to be an interesting thing to listen to, I may not pursue the idea. Or I might anyway in spite of that. Ari feels folks would dig it. And what about you? Would you find this to be an interesting thing to listen to, or have curated? Let me know in the comments. Or you can e-mail me at g.ted.productions@gmail.com. 

Image courtesy of BMC Bikes.

BMC Overhauls URS Gravel Range:

BMC announced on Thursday that they had revamped the entire URS gravel bike range. The top-line URS Two has an interesting take on geometry. By the way, there is an URS One. That is the frame with the "Micro-Travel" rear end, a feature BMC have had for a few years now. 

Comments: Here we have a great example of a gravel bike being made to appeal to mountain bikers. While I feel elements of MTB geometry are interesting in gravel bikes, (slack head tube, lower bottom bracket, longer top tubes), there is one element I do not think is a good thing in a gravel bike at all. Keeping in mind that a gravel bike is really an "All-Roads" bike, not a mountain bike with drop bars. 

What I don't like is the steep seat tube angles being borrowed from MTB. This doesn't really make a road bike "better". Well, unless you use a dropper post and are scrambling up short, steep climbs on dirt. But again, a gravel bike and a drop bar MTB are two very different things, and they should be. 

Added to that is the limited (47mm in this case) tire clearance and the URS Two becomes an oddball bike. It can neither be a true MTB, (not enough tire clearance), or a good gravel riding bike, (too steep a seat tube angle). I'm sure it is okay, but at the prices people pay for such bikes, you should be getting a bike that is dialed in for one or the other thing. Not an "underbike" that is trying to be something via its geometry that it cannot truly do well. 

That's my take.

Image courtesy of Trek Bikes

Trek Announces New Checkpoint v3 and Checkmate SLR:

Trek announced the version 3 of their venerable Checkpoint bike Thursday alongside a new racing gravel bike called the Checkmate SLR. 

The new Checkpoint features all kinds of accessory mounts, tire clearance for up to 50mm tires, and the ISO rear end compliance design. 

The new Checkmate SLR differes in that it isn't as fully featured in terms of accessory mounts, and it has a narrower maximum tire clearance of 45mm. Most notably this bike features a 4mm deeper bottom bracket drop at 80mm than the Checkpoint does.

The Checkmate SLR (Image courtesy of Trek Bikes.

Trek also tightened up the rear chain stay length and steepened the seat tube angle by about one degree over the Checkpoint v3. 

Comments: Here I see a more road-focused design, which makes sense since unpaved roads are still roads, not MTB trails. I like Trek's take on things, for the most part, but I would rather see a slacker, by one degree, head tube angle and the rear end of the Checkpoint v3 on the SLR with the SLR's lower BB. 

And the frame set is 4K? Ouch! Unbelievable. I'll get a custom frame for that price, thank you very much! (In fact, I could easily buy two steel custom frames for that much!) But I am sure that Trek will sell many of these bikes since a lot of people will think that this is what they have to have to be "competitive", or something!

Thanks for reading Guitar Ted Productions! Get out there and ride those bicycles people!

A Couple Of Changes

I promise this is THE seatpost now!

 There has been a couple of tweaks done recently on two of my bicycles that I thought bore mentioning. They aren't a big deal, necessarily, but I have my reasons that some might find interesting, or at least amusing. 

I will admit I may have a bit of the "Princess and the Pea" syndrome going on here, so please bear that in mind as I detail these changes. 

So I had a bunch of issues with the original seatposts I was trying to use with the Honeman Flyer and found out later that one, especially, was undersized. That slipping seat post thing drove me mad for a bit until I settled upon using a PRO Discover post I had when I realized that set-back seat posts weren't unusable with this new single speed bike. 

Then the Redshift ShockStop Endurance Pro post came along and next thing ya know I am swapping out seat posts with a "boing factor" left and right for a bit. I really thought I might have settled on the Redshift post, the PRO Race model, actually, but I just never really warm up to sus posts. I guess its the changing saddle height thing. It eventually gets on my nerves and I finally couldn't take it anymore with the Honemann Flyer. Especially because I do seated climbing on it more often than not, and you are mashing teh gear then, of course, which activates the post. Not good for me. (Remember - Princess and the Pea!)

So, I was scrounging around for something and came across my "extra" Salsa titanium Regulator post. Yes! It was an extra one because I have four of them! Anyway, I was appalled that it wasn't being used and as I had a search on for a post for the Honemann Flyer I was only too happy to swap the Redshift post out for this titanium one. Now seated climbing is great! 

It's titanium grey, and a bit out of place, maybe, but I don't care at this point. This is THE post now going forward. 

You cannot really see the stem, but it is different. Oh! And there is another Regulator post!

Then I had the case of the Singular Gryphon Mk3. Originally I had this bike set up with the Ragley Luxy Bar which determined the full-length housing runs for the brakes and derailleurs. Then I got that Tumbleweed handlebar, which was nice, really wide, and stressed the cable lengths badly. 

Eventually even a shorter stem wasn't going to help, and then I got the Redshift Short ShockStop Stem and while I was installing that I decided the Tumbleweed bar had to come off. I was not about to re-cable the entire bike for a wider bar. 

So, now I am back to that Luxy Bar and the cables and housings are all happy again. Plus I have the boinger stem on there which makes things extra-comfy. So, there is the Gryphon Mk3 as it stands now. 

Time to ride.