Trans Iowa V8: Recon Report

I have made some big inroads on recon for T.I.V8. One third done with physical recon, 75% sure on the rest, with only a short bit to do in country I've never been in before. It's coming together very nicely!

Barns For Jason!

It was an intensely sunny day, and where I was, it got so warm I ended up using the A/C in the "Truck With No Name" . Dust was kicking up to the heavens from my passage.

First of all, I apologize for the cheesy images. I was driving my rig at about 45mph, swanning all over the road, and trying to get photos while I read maps, mentally did calculations, and watched out for farm implements and dogs. So, yeah.......sorry about the reflections and ghost images! That said, feel free to click on an image to enlarge it and see if you can guess where in Iowa I was.

Goals: With this edition of Trans Iowa, I wanted to cover a lot of ground I hadn't been over before. I wanted to try something a little more daring, (from a course choice standpoint, not really affecting you riders), and because of these things, I had some major questions to answer during recon. It was going to be a kind of "winner takes all" deal, or I was going to come back home with my tail between my legs and have to start from scratch.

Look at the dust from the truck!

I had a course to Checkpoint #1 figured out a long time ago. It's about 55 miles in. Since that is country I've been in quite a bit, I don't have much worry about it. I'll recon that later, but what came after would be critical to making my loop for T.I.V8 work.

I started in the Checkpoint town, and what came immediately after, well......frankly it is pretty boring! Typical grid, flat, straight Iowa roads for several miles. Really. (I know lots of you Vets are thinking I'm playing you, but you'll see!) I was thinking this was going to be a long, uninspiring day, but things got a bit more interesting the further I went into the "big-assed loop"

I am purposely cutting back the number of B Maintenance roads this time, because, well......ya know, it's supposed to be a "bad year" this time around, right?

This may get the axe!

  The first B Maintenance road is a cake walk. Flat, high elevation, ditches, and a mile long. Won't be too bad unless it rains during the event. The next one; however, is a different story altogether.

Those who did T.I.V7 may remember the steep, gnarly B Road on 270th after Checkpoint #1. This next B Road is like that one. Well, the image here is from the second B Road, and if you click on the image to make it larger, you'll see where the road disappears going down, and you can see it again in the distance. That descent is steep!  Plus, and this is the deal killer, it goes over a low water crossing that will be too dangerous if we have any wet weather next spring. I'm pretty sure I'm going to cut it out, but man! It is pretty rad right now. Too bad....

The work-around is super easy, so I may wait on this to make a call in the spring. Stay tuned.....

Another barn for Jason!

So, I wended my way down, around, and through some territory I hadn't been through before. This was very enjoyable for me. It is what makes doing all this work fun.

There were two critical bridges that needed to be there and in great shape to make this section of the loop work. Fortunately, both were in excellent shape, and only if we have catastrophic flooding will these be in any danger of not being in use at the time of T.I.V8.

This sector went by pretty fast, but was more rolling, very scenic, and dead straight. You'll go miles before needing to make a turn, so don't fall asleep at the wheel and miss one! It's funny how that can happen- You're thinking you don't have to worry about looking for a turn for awhile, and the next thing ya know.....whoops!

Why I Have to Drive The Course

 Then it happened! The dreaded "Road Closed" sign reared its ugly little head. Drat!

But......this is why you have to physically lay eyes on every mile of the course. I/we have not always done that in the past, and almost every time, it'll bite ya come Trans Iowa time. I'm not taking any short cuts this time around folks. I am personally going to inspect every foot of my T.I.V8 course this time around.

Well, this was shown on the maps as "being open", but it obviously is going to be taken out, and I'm betting this bridge won't be replaced. So, I sat there with the map and plotted out a work-around. It didn't take too long, and with the help of some soaring hawks, I found the way around the closed road. It actually was a better way to go too.

So, two questions answered, one problem solved, and the next question was fast approaching.

Going (way) Down?

I was in a county township I'd never been in before, going to a town I'd never been in before. I had to ascertain the best way to get into this town using the least amount of pavement and keeping away from some heavily traveled highways.

With a bit of map perusing on a sunlit rural hill, I found the correct solution! Onward, I also discovered a nice convenience store which was just off-route. This would work great with the one I discovered earlier back up the road, that was a total surprise to me. Getting re-supplied should be no problem in the first half of T.I.V8.

Getting out of this city, I was headed to the "do-or-die" section of the course.

And the day is saved!

If the bridge isn't there, the course would have to be scrapped. This was a lynch pin to the whole loop. I had been looking at aerial photographs of the area on Google, but you never know. I saw the bridge, but..... Like I said, ya gotta drive the entire course.

If that bridge wasn't there, I'd have to go miles out of the way, and have to re-configure the linkage points, and well....fortunately it didn't have to go that way. I'll tell ya, I was pretty stoked to see this bridge when I saw it.

With that out of the way, I entered more strange, new, and scenic land that I was really having a good time checking out. The "grid" was abolished here. Yup. Hang on tight to that wheel and keep the truck on the road! Curves, and lots of em, were snaking up, down, and around the beautiful land. 

By now it was well past noon, and I didn't know how much more recon I was going to be able to squeeze in.

Cemetery On The Hill

I don't plan this, really, but somehow I always seem to drive by lots of cemeteries. They find me, I don't look for them!  I get a lot of ribbing from certain T.I. vets about this phenomenon, and to be honest, finishing T.I.V3 and starting T.I.V5 at cemeteries probably didn't help my cause any. Honestly though, Iowa must have a cemetery about every ten miles in any given direction. Heck, I found one on the first B Road! Weird.

So, yeah, give me a hard time about this all ya want to, but I can not help it. Iowa has lots of bodies planted in its black earth. What that will raise up in crop someday is anybodies guess....

At any rate, the course here in this neck of the woods is really hilly.  I know......you T.I. Vets are astonished to hear this as well.....

Going (way) Up?

So, in the end I had to cut things short and head back home. I promised Mrs. Guitar Ted I'd show up in time for the evening meal, and I had a loooong drive ahead of me to get back to town.

I am pretty stoked. Every sticky point was no big deal, and I only found the sketchy B Road and the road closed sign that gave me any pause. The course so far is pretty solid. The roads are, for the most part, not ones to be closed down, truncated, or have any sketchy bridges that may get closed before T.I.V8.

They are roads that are stunningly beautiful, (with exception of the opening miles after Checkpoint #1), and lots of this course, (lots of it), is on twisty-turning roads that will be a blast to ride on. Now- I only did about just shy of 120 miles of this course, but I know a large portion of the rest ahead of me that I haven't been on ever before promises to be just as interesting as what I've laid eyes on already. There is one, big sticking point to ferret out yet, but I have two options to choose from. I am certain a solution will present itself. I'll be doing more recon soon. Stay tuned......

Trans Iowa V8: Recon Report

I have made some big inroads on recon for T.I.V8. One third done with physical recon, 75% sure on the rest, with only a short bit to do in country I've never been in before. It's coming together very nicely!

Barns For Jason!

It was an intensely sunny day, and where I was, it got so warm I ended up using the A/C in the "Truck With No Name" . Dust was kicking up to the heavens from my passage.

First of all, I apologize for the cheesy images. I was driving my rig at about 45mph, swanning all over the road, and trying to get photos while I read maps, mentally did calculations, and watched out for farm implements and dogs. So, yeah.......sorry about the reflections and ghost images! That said, feel free to click on an image to enlarge it and see if you can guess where in Iowa I was.

Goals: With this edition of Trans Iowa, I wanted to cover a lot of ground I hadn't been over before. I wanted to try something a little more daring, (from a course choice standpoint, not really affecting you riders), and because of these things, I had some major questions to answer during recon. It was going to be a kind of "winner takes all" deal, or I was going to come back home with my tail between my legs and have to start from scratch.

Look at the dust from the truck!

I had a course to Checkpoint #1 figured out a long time ago. It's about 55 miles in. Since that is country I've been in quite a bit, I don't have much worry about it. I'll recon that later, but what came after would be critical to making my loop for T.I.V8 work.

I started in the Checkpoint town, and what came immediately after, well......frankly it is pretty boring! Typical grid, flat, straight Iowa roads for several miles. Really. (I know lots of you Vets are thinking I'm playing you, but you'll see!) I was thinking this was going to be a long, uninspiring day, but things got a bit more interesting the further I went into the "big-assed loop"

I am purposely cutting back the number of B Maintenance roads this time, because, well......ya know, it's supposed to be a "bad year" this time around, right?

This may get the axe!

  The first B Maintenance road is a cake walk. Flat, high elevation, ditches, and a mile long. Won't be too bad unless it rains during the event. The next one; however, is a different story altogether.

Those who did T.I.V7 may remember the steep, gnarly B Road on 270th after Checkpoint #1. This next B Road is like that one. Well, the image here is from the second B Road, and if you click on the image to make it larger, you'll see where the road disappears going down, and you can see it again in the distance. That descent is steep!  Plus, and this is the deal killer, it goes over a low water crossing that will be too dangerous if we have any wet weather next spring. I'm pretty sure I'm going to cut it out, but man! It is pretty rad right now. Too bad....

The work-around is super easy, so I may wait on this to make a call in the spring. Stay tuned.....

Another barn for Jason!

So, I wended my way down, around, and through some territory I hadn't been through before. This was very enjoyable for me. It is what makes doing all this work fun.

There were two critical bridges that needed to be there and in great shape to make this section of the loop work. Fortunately, both were in excellent shape, and only if we have catastrophic flooding will these be in any danger of not being in use at the time of T.I.V8.

This sector went by pretty fast, but was more rolling, very scenic, and dead straight. You'll go miles before needing to make a turn, so don't fall asleep at the wheel and miss one! It's funny how that can happen- You're thinking you don't have to worry about looking for a turn for awhile, and the next thing ya know.....whoops!

Why I Have to Drive The Course

 Then it happened! The dreaded "Road Closed" sign reared its ugly little head. Drat!

But......this is why you have to physically lay eyes on every mile of the course. I/we have not always done that in the past, and almost every time, it'll bite ya come Trans Iowa time. I'm not taking any short cuts this time around folks. I am personally going to inspect every foot of my T.I.V8 course this time around.

Well, this was shown on the maps as "being open", but it obviously is going to be taken out, and I'm betting this bridge won't be replaced. So, I sat there with the map and plotted out a work-around. It didn't take too long, and with the help of some soaring hawks, I found the way around the closed road. It actually was a better way to go too.

So, two questions answered, one problem solved, and the next question was fast approaching.

Going (way) Down?

I was in a county township I'd never been in before, going to a town I'd never been in before. I had to ascertain the best way to get into this town using the least amount of pavement and keeping away from some heavily traveled highways.

With a bit of map perusing on a sunlit rural hill, I found the correct solution! Onward, I also discovered a nice convenience store which was just off-route. This would work great with the one I discovered earlier back up the road, that was a total surprise to me. Getting re-supplied should be no problem in the first half of T.I.V8.

Getting out of this city, I was headed to the "do-or-die" section of the course.

And the day is saved!

If the bridge isn't there, the course would have to be scrapped. This was a lynch pin to the whole loop. I had been looking at aerial photographs of the area on Google, but you never know. I saw the bridge, but..... Like I said, ya gotta drive the entire course.

If that bridge wasn't there, I'd have to go miles out of the way, and have to re-configure the linkage points, and well....fortunately it didn't have to go that way. I'll tell ya, I was pretty stoked to see this bridge when I saw it.

With that out of the way, I entered more strange, new, and scenic land that I was really having a good time checking out. The "grid" was abolished here. Yup. Hang on tight to that wheel and keep the truck on the road! Curves, and lots of em, were snaking up, down, and around the beautiful land. 

By now it was well past noon, and I didn't know how much more recon I was going to be able to squeeze in.

Cemetery On The Hill

I don't plan this, really, but somehow I always seem to drive by lots of cemeteries. They find me, I don't look for them!  I get a lot of ribbing from certain T.I. vets about this phenomenon, and to be honest, finishing T.I.V3 and starting T.I.V5 at cemeteries probably didn't help my cause any. Honestly though, Iowa must have a cemetery about every ten miles in any given direction. Heck, I found one on the first B Road! Weird.

So, yeah, give me a hard time about this all ya want to, but I can not help it. Iowa has lots of bodies planted in its black earth. What that will raise up in crop someday is anybodies guess....

At any rate, the course here in this neck of the woods is really hilly.  I know......you T.I. Vets are astonished to hear this as well.....

Going (way) Up?

So, in the end I had to cut things short and head back home. I promised Mrs. Guitar Ted I'd show up in time for the evening meal, and I had a loooong drive ahead of me to get back to town.

I am pretty stoked. Every sticky point was no big deal, and I only found the sketchy B Road and the road closed sign that gave me any pause. The course so far is pretty solid. The roads are, for the most part, not ones to be closed down, truncated, or have any sketchy bridges that may get closed before T.I.V8.

They are roads that are stunningly beautiful, (with exception of the opening miles after Checkpoint #1), and lots of this course, (lots of it), is on twisty-turning roads that will be a blast to ride on. Now- I only did about just shy of 120 miles of this course, but I know a large portion of the rest ahead of me that I haven't been on ever before promises to be just as interesting as what I've laid eyes on already. There is one, big sticking point to ferret out yet, but I have two options to choose from. I am certain a solution will present itself. I'll be doing more recon soon. Stay tuned......

Post-Nano 29"er History: Gary Fisher Bikes and Niner Bikes

This new post is the beginning of a series that is going to cover the earlier days of the 29"er as we know it now- What I like to call the era of the "Modern day 29"er". If you want to read the history of the big wheels, here is a good place to start.

In that series, near the ending, I touch upon some of the earliest production 29"ers like the Supercaliber from Fisher and the Karate Monkey frame set from Surly which opened up 29'er bikes to those who wanted to tinker with the idea. This was all happening pre-2004. I'll pick up the story from that point....

The Internet Influence: The rise in the popularity of 29"ers is directly tied to the rise in the use of the Internet and specifically, forums, of which Mountain Bike Review.com is the foremost influencer from this time in 29"ers development. There were a couple of other fledgling sites; Bob Poor, who influenced the production of the first Nanoraptors, had a site, Jan "Cloxxki" Klok from the Netherlands also ran a site for a time. In 2005, a couple of fledgling 29"er sites started, twentyniner.net and Twenty Nine Inches.com. These sites and individual's blogs brought a lot of information that otherwise would have been cut and buried by magazine editors to the masses. The masses obviously responded.

2004 Gary Fisher Dual Sport

Near Death: 29"ers may not have made it much past 2004 had it not been for something significant which happened in late 2003. During this period, the only major manufacturer supporting the fledgling wheel size was Trek/Gary Fisher Bikes. Sales of 29"ers were poor. So poor that parent company Trek was going to pull the rug out from under the program.

At this early juncture, this action would undoubtedly have sent a very negative signal throughout the industry. The "nay sayers" would have had their day, and who knows what, if anything, would have become of 29"ers. As it was, internal pressure to give the wheel size another chance resulted in an unlikely "savior". This turned out to be a "hybrid' of a 29"er frame and 700c hybrid bike spec Gary Fisher called "Dual Sport"

29"ers were hard for the dealer network at Fisher to understand. Many dealers weren't even bringing them in, and most didn't stock accessories like tires and tubes for them. However; the Dual Sport concept was embraced by the dealerships and sales increased to the point that 29 inch wheeled hard tails were re-introduced into the line for 2005. (They had been missing entirely from the 2004 line, with only two full suspension bikes offered with big wheels that year.) Not only that, but another development behind the scenes turned out to be the spark that the entire 29"er movement benefited from.

Gary Fisher paid for the development of a new suspension fork by Rock Shox for 29 inch wheels. It was introduced for the 2005 model year, and its name was "Reba". Previous to the 2005 Reba, only sub-performing forks from White Brothers and Marzocchi were available. Now 29"er riders had a fork on par with decent 26"er forks for the first time, and of course, other companies took immediate notice of this and the increasing interest in 29"ers.

2005 Niner Bikes One 9

All In: Late in 2004, a strange banner appeared on the 29"er forum of mtbr.com. It proclaimed "Niner Bikes: The Big Revolution"

It was a company, (or was it?), that had a banner on a site where formerly there had been the banner for WaltWorks Bikes, a small, Colorado based custom builder who was really behind 29"ers. Forum members were curious, and some actually were offended. Who were these upstarts?

Well, they were a couple of bike industry guys that fell in love with big wheels and started their own company in 2004. Their first product was a Scandium aluminum single speed frame with a Reynolds steel fork called the "One 9", which debuted in mid-2005. They proclaimed to be a company only doing 29 inch wheeled product. By the following year, they even had prototyped a six inch rear travel full suspension bike as a "proof of concept" piece, which sparked a lot of conversations in the industry.

Niner went on to introduce a steel frame, the "SIR 9", then geared hard tails,  and full suspension rigs were soon to follow. Along the way, Niner Bikes influenced component makers and industry thought about 29"ers in a very positive way. The company has stayed true to its "29"er only" roots all the way to this very day. 

2005: Gary Fisher Bikes and Niner Bikes were immensely influential companies which forged a new category of bikes in a solid way that wasn't to be denied or ignored. In fact, several companies flew in on the coat tails of the two companies. I'll talk more about what happened in 2005 in my next visit to this series. Stay tuned.....

Post-Nano 29"er History: Gary Fisher Bikes and Niner Bikes

This new post is the beginning of a series that is going to cover the earlier days of the 29"er as we know it now- What I like to call the era of the "Modern day 29"er". If you want to read the history of the big wheels, here is a good place to start.

In that series, near the ending, I touch upon some of the earliest production 29"ers like the Supercaliber from Fisher and the Karate Monkey frame set from Surly which opened up 29'er bikes to those who wanted to tinker with the idea. This was all happening pre-2004. I'll pick up the story from that point....

The Internet Influence: The rise in the popularity of 29"ers is directly tied to the rise in the use of the Internet and specifically, forums, of which Mountain Bike Review.com is the foremost influencer from this time in 29"ers development. There were a couple of other fledgling sites; Bob Poor, who influenced the production of the first Nanoraptors, had a site, Jan "Cloxxki" Klok from the Netherlands also ran a site for a time. In 2005, a couple of fledgling 29"er sites started, twentyniner.net and Twenty Nine Inches.com. These sites and individual's blogs brought a lot of information that otherwise would have been cut and buried by magazine editors to the masses. The masses obviously responded.

2004 Gary Fisher Dual Sport

Near Death: 29"ers may not have made it much past 2004 had it not been for something significant which happened in late 2003. During this period, the only major manufacturer supporting the fledgling wheel size was Trek/Gary Fisher Bikes. Sales of 29"ers were poor. So poor that parent company Trek was going to pull the rug out from under the program.

At this early juncture, this action would undoubtedly have sent a very negative signal throughout the industry. The "nay sayers" would have had their day, and who knows what, if anything, would have become of 29"ers. As it was, internal pressure to give the wheel size another chance resulted in an unlikely "savior". This turned out to be a "hybrid' of a 29"er frame and 700c hybrid bike spec Gary Fisher called "Dual Sport"

29"ers were hard for the dealer network at Fisher to understand. Many dealers weren't even bringing them in, and most didn't stock accessories like tires and tubes for them. However; the Dual Sport concept was embraced by the dealerships and sales increased to the point that 29 inch wheeled hard tails were re-introduced into the line for 2005. (They had been missing entirely from the 2004 line, with only two full suspension bikes offered with big wheels that year.) Not only that, but another development behind the scenes turned out to be the spark that the entire 29"er movement benefited from.

Gary Fisher paid for the development of a new suspension fork by Rock Shox for 29 inch wheels. It was introduced for the 2005 model year, and its name was "Reba". Previous to the 2005 Reba, only sub-performing forks from White Brothers and Marzocchi were available. Now 29"er riders had a fork on par with decent 26"er forks for the first time, and of course, other companies took immediate notice of this and the increasing interest in 29"ers.

2005 Niner Bikes One 9

All In: Late in 2004, a strange banner appeared on the 29"er forum of mtbr.com. It proclaimed "Niner Bikes: The Big Revolution"

It was a company, (or was it?), that had a banner on a site where formerly there had been the banner for WaltWorks Bikes, a small, Colorado based custom builder who was really behind 29"ers. Forum members were curious, and some actually were offended. Who were these upstarts?

Well, they were a couple of bike industry guys that fell in love with big wheels and started their own company in 2004. Their first product was a Scandium aluminum single speed frame with a Reynolds steel fork called the "One 9", which debuted in mid-2005. They proclaimed to be a company only doing 29 inch wheeled product. By the following year, they even had prototyped a six inch rear travel full suspension bike as a "proof of concept" piece, which sparked a lot of conversations in the industry.

Niner went on to introduce a steel frame, the "SIR 9", then geared hard tails,  and full suspension rigs were soon to follow. Along the way, Niner Bikes influenced component makers and industry thought about 29"ers in a very positive way. The company has stayed true to its "29"er only" roots all the way to this very day. 

2005: Gary Fisher Bikes and Niner Bikes were immensely influential companies which forged a new category of bikes in a solid way that wasn't to be denied or ignored. In fact, several companies flew in on the coat tails of the two companies. I'll talk more about what happened in 2005 in my next visit to this series. Stay tuned.....

Friday News And Views

Well, it is that time again. The weekend looms, and my week ending "News and Views' post is on tap here. Check it out...

Yesterday I wrote about my friend's idea about the "EveryBike". (See that post here) Well, today you can go to Grannygear's blog and get his take on it.

It was pretty funny, since I had just started writing that post, and Grannygear called me, and asked what I thought about him writing a post about the same subject. (In fact- he'd already written it)

Great minds think alike? Maybe.....

So, anyway, here's another look at that new Lenz Mammoth rig with the 5" travel front and rear set up. I hear it comes in at 27lbs with a dropper post. Not too shabby, I'd say, for a reasonable build. Is it too much? Maybe for me, around here, it would be. However, you could easily have a lot of fun on it here, and go just about anywhere with that bike, not change a thing, and have a capable XC/Trail bike. One bike to rule them all? Almost..... I don't think any bike nerd could ever have just one bike.

Riding Buddy: My son didn't have school today, so when I got home from work, my riding buddy and I went out for a sidewalk cruise. He is a first year rider, and he's getting the hang of things pretty well, considering he can't just go ride his bike anywhere like I could when I was a kid.

At any rate, I get a kick out of his viewpoint. Like today, he says, "Hey Dad! Are we going uphill here?" (See image) Well, I didn't think we were going "up", but when I paid attention, he was right. It was an incline. He's super sensitive to that. I don't know if that is good or bad, but I find it interesting that he can tell so easily. Heck......I had to actually think about it to know!

The other thing he  does is that he chatters, or at least makes noises, the entire time he's on his bike. Never stops! I guess it's pretty exciting for him. That's good. The final thing I noticed on this particular ride was that he was stoked to ride in a church parking lot. I hadn't realized we hadn't done that yet. The big, wide open space was a sort of freeing feeling for him, I think. No boundaries! We do go down alleys and poke around where cars can't go whenever the situation offers itself up. I think part of riding fun is exploration. I hope my son gets that part about cycling.

Anyway, you all should ride with a youngin'. It is definitely a mind opening experience.

Trans Iowa Recon: Heading out super early on Saturday morning to start Trans Iowa recon. Should be a day of Red Bull, processed beef products, water, gravel, dust, scribbling down notes, takin' pics, and thinking.

I've got a few "trouble spots" the maps are indicating that will definitely be getting checked out. I may leave the "no-brainer" bits for another weekend, just to give myself some relief. I had thought about a full-on assault to get it done in one shot, but I'm going to roll the dice and hope I get one more decent weekend of weather in here before the snow flys.

Well, I hear some of you will be riding and having fun. Hope ya'all keep the rubber side down and have a good time. I'll be back with T.I.V8 recon pics later.....

Friday News And Views

Well, it is that time again. The weekend looms, and my week ending "News and Views' post is on tap here. Check it out...

Yesterday I wrote about my friend's idea about the "EveryBike". (See that post here) Well, today you can go to Grannygear's blog and get his take on it.

It was pretty funny, since I had just started writing that post, and Grannygear called me, and asked what I thought about him writing a post about the same subject. (In fact- he'd already written it)

Great minds think alike? Maybe.....

So, anyway, here's another look at that new Lenz Mammoth rig with the 5" travel front and rear set up. I hear it comes in at 27lbs with a dropper post. Not too shabby, I'd say, for a reasonable build. Is it too much? Maybe for me, around here, it would be. However, you could easily have a lot of fun on it here, and go just about anywhere with that bike, not change a thing, and have a capable XC/Trail bike. One bike to rule them all? Almost..... I don't think any bike nerd could ever have just one bike.

Riding Buddy: My son didn't have school today, so when I got home from work, my riding buddy and I went out for a sidewalk cruise. He is a first year rider, and he's getting the hang of things pretty well, considering he can't just go ride his bike anywhere like I could when I was a kid.

At any rate, I get a kick out of his viewpoint. Like today, he says, "Hey Dad! Are we going uphill here?" (See image) Well, I didn't think we were going "up", but when I paid attention, he was right. It was an incline. He's super sensitive to that. I don't know if that is good or bad, but I find it interesting that he can tell so easily. Heck......I had to actually think about it to know!

The other thing he  does is that he chatters, or at least makes noises, the entire time he's on his bike. Never stops! I guess it's pretty exciting for him. That's good. The final thing I noticed on this particular ride was that he was stoked to ride in a church parking lot. I hadn't realized we hadn't done that yet. The big, wide open space was a sort of freeing feeling for him, I think. No boundaries! We do go down alleys and poke around where cars can't go whenever the situation offers itself up. I think part of riding fun is exploration. I hope my son gets that part about cycling.

Anyway, you all should ride with a youngin'. It is definitely a mind opening experience.

Trans Iowa Recon: Heading out super early on Saturday morning to start Trans Iowa recon. Should be a day of Red Bull, processed beef products, water, gravel, dust, scribbling down notes, takin' pics, and thinking.

I've got a few "trouble spots" the maps are indicating that will definitely be getting checked out. I may leave the "no-brainer" bits for another weekend, just to give myself some relief. I had thought about a full-on assault to get it done in one shot, but I'm going to roll the dice and hope I get one more decent weekend of weather in here before the snow flys.

Well, I hear some of you will be riding and having fun. Hope ya'all keep the rubber side down and have a good time. I'll be back with T.I.V8 recon pics later.....

The "EveryBike" Theory

My friend in California, Grannygear, has a concept he has called "The EveryBike", which is basically his take on 29 inch wheeled bikes coming out now that are blurring the lines between XC/Trail, and in some cases, even a touch of All Mountain goodness thrown in there.

Of course, these bikes have existed in 26"er size for several years now. Usually 5" travel full suspension rigs like the Santa Cruz Nomad, or the Ibis Mojo.

Mojo- Sub-23lbs

These bikes are often in the 5-6" travel range and are lightweight for the long travel and toughness they bring. Light enough for XC duty with your friends, and burly enough to do a serious outback ride with serious drops and long climbs.

Truth be known, these were the class of bikes that caused their riders to laugh at the big wheels, because they never thought they'd see a day when the versatility and fun factor would be challenged by anything with 29 inch wheels. That is changing fast though.

Is that day here yet? Are big wheelers giving these bikes a run for their money? I think if we're honest, that day isn't quite here yet, but it sure is dawning. Bikes are coming for the model year 2012 that will begin to chip away at the hold 26 inch wheeled bikes have had on this category for years now.

Diamondback Sortie Black 29

29"er bikes are getting there, but many have a ways to go yet. Take for instance this Diamondback Sortie Black 29 I rode for Twenty Nine Inches recently.

This one has 120mm travel front and rear, so it's in the ball park travel-wise, but it is heavy. (27lbs plus as seen here) That weight will have to come down some to get it competitive with the 26"ers. I think it could definitely get there in carbon fiber. For an alloy frame, it's probably close, but not quite there.

The other thing that "isn't quite right" is the geometry. I think the Sortie's 70 degree head angle is likely a hair on the steep side, but it is okay. The real kicker is the 18 inch long chain stays. While I thought the Diamondback was a lot of fun, I bet it would be even more so with 17.75 inch chain stays.

Close, but not quite there.......yet!

New Lenz Sport Mammoth

But there are some bikes coming very soon that may make a bid for the "EveryBike" with 29 inch wheels.

These bikes will have slightly slacker head angles, longer travel suspension, and lighter weights overall. Some will be carbon fiber, of course, but even aluminum bikes will begin to appear that will stake out a claim as a "stable killer".

The bikes won't be all-out AM/Trail bikes like the Banshee Prime and their ilk. No, these will be capable, (perhaps), of some light AM duties, but these will primarily become the bikes that the 26"ers before them were: XC capable, with weight in the ball park of an XC bike, but having "longer legs" than an XC bike would, being capable of doing most trails really well.

My "poster child" for this genre of 29"er is the new Lenz Sport Mammoth. A five inch travel, decently light weight full suspension bike that has short-ish chain stays, big tire clearance, and geometry that will take it from the XC trails to back country epics with ease.

Of course, it isn't the only bike coming that will push this concept even further. You can add bikes like Salsa Cycles Horsethief to this mix, perhaps, and for sure, Specialized's Camber comes to mind. Ibis will even add their own bike to this genre in the Ripley, which will be coming out.......sometime!

Is an "EveryBike" right for you? I'm thinking it will be for a lot of folks.

Note: All rights to the name "EveryBike" are attributed to Grannygear and any references to "EveryBike" here or elsewhere must give credit to the source, or bad bike karma will find you!

The "EveryBike" Theory

My friend in California, Grannygear, has a concept he has called "The EveryBike", which is basically his take on 29 inch wheeled bikes coming out now that are blurring the lines between XC/Trail, and in some cases, even a touch of All Mountain goodness thrown in there.

Of course, these bikes have existed in 26"er size for several years now. Usually 5" travel full suspension rigs like the Santa Cruz Nomad, or the Ibis Mojo.

Mojo- Sub-23lbs

These bikes are often in the 5-6" travel range and are lightweight for the long travel and toughness they bring. Light enough for XC duty with your friends, and burly enough to do a serious outback ride with serious drops and long climbs.

Truth be known, these were the class of bikes that caused their riders to laugh at the big wheels, because they never thought they'd see a day when the versatility and fun factor would be challenged by anything with 29 inch wheels. That is changing fast though.

Is that day here yet? Are big wheelers giving these bikes a run for their money? I think if we're honest, that day isn't quite here yet, but it sure is dawning. Bikes are coming for the model year 2012 that will begin to chip away at the hold 26 inch wheeled bikes have had on this category for years now.

Diamondback Sortie Black 29

29"er bikes are getting there, but many have a ways to go yet. Take for instance this Diamondback Sortie Black 29 I rode for Twenty Nine Inches recently.

This one has 120mm travel front and rear, so it's in the ball park travel-wise, but it is heavy. (27lbs plus as seen here) That weight will have to come down some to get it competitive with the 26"ers. I think it could definitely get there in carbon fiber. For an alloy frame, it's probably close, but not quite there.

The other thing that "isn't quite right" is the geometry. I think the Sortie's 70 degree head angle is likely a hair on the steep side, but it is okay. The real kicker is the 18 inch long chain stays. While I thought the Diamondback was a lot of fun, I bet it would be even more so with 17.75 inch chain stays.

Close, but not quite there.......yet!

New Lenz Sport Mammoth

But there are some bikes coming very soon that may make a bid for the "EveryBike" with 29 inch wheels.

These bikes will have slightly slacker head angles, longer travel suspension, and lighter weights overall. Some will be carbon fiber, of course, but even aluminum bikes will begin to appear that will stake out a claim as a "stable killer".

The bikes won't be all-out AM/Trail bikes like the Banshee Prime and their ilk. No, these will be capable, (perhaps), of some light AM duties, but these will primarily become the bikes that the 26"ers before them were: XC capable, with weight in the ball park of an XC bike, but having "longer legs" than an XC bike would, being capable of doing most trails really well.

My "poster child" for this genre of 29"er is the new Lenz Sport Mammoth. A five inch travel, decently light weight full suspension bike that has short-ish chain stays, big tire clearance, and geometry that will take it from the XC trails to back country epics with ease.

Of course, it isn't the only bike coming that will push this concept even further. You can add bikes like Salsa Cycles Horsethief to this mix, perhaps, and for sure, Specialized's Camber comes to mind. Ibis will even add their own bike to this genre in the Ripley, which will be coming out.......sometime!

Is an "EveryBike" right for you? I'm thinking it will be for a lot of folks.

Note: All rights to the name "EveryBike" are attributed to Grannygear and any references to "EveryBike" here or elsewhere must give credit to the source, or bad bike karma will find you!

Did I Mention I Was Converted? Part II

Like this, only in Fun Guy Green

 A while ago, I mentioned I was converted to liking the Gen II version of the Fargo from Salsa Cycles. I hinted that I may be getting one in to possibly replace the Gen I Fargo I've had in the stable since, oh......what has it been now? Three....four years? Something like that...

Anyway, here is the deal: My friend, Ben Witt, has a size large Fun Guy Green Gen II Fargo frame he needs gone, so I am grabbing it from him, (at a price, of course), and then......well, I haven't yet decided! 

There is a really good chance that the newer Fargo will be replacing an older custom bike I have sitting in the Lab which hasn't been ridden since the snow flew last. That frame and fork will just go up on the wall, and Fargo Gen II will get the nod as the single track drop bar bike with options. The parts from the older custom rig will go right over to the newer Fargo. Maybe I'll track down a 80mm suspension fork, or do some fancy travel reducing to an older fork I have for this. We'll see....This does a couple things for me.

Too good to put out to pasture

As I said before, I really feel at home on this older Fargo. Yes- it is heavy, and it doesn't have the capability to do suspension forks, and it might steer weirdly at times, but this bike.....it fits me too well! 

I am going to get a proper 9 or 10 speed crankset for it, and at some point, I am going to build up a decently light weight set of tubeless wheels, (or press into service some older light weight wheels I already own), and I am going to dedicate the Fargo Gen I to be a fat tired gravel bike with options.

I'll likely get a Tangle Bag for it, and possibly one of those ginormous Revelate seat bags, and use it for my long gravel tours.

The Fargo Gen II will be "dirt-centric" and used mostly for anything with a lot of rougher going, regular mtb rides, and of course, the bags could be transferred over from Gen I Fargo for anything remotely looking like bike-packing.

So, that's the master plan. Two green-ish Fargos, two purposes. Stay tuned for more on this to come...

Did I Mention I Was Converted? Part II

Like this, only in Fun Guy Green

 A while ago, I mentioned I was converted to liking the Gen II version of the Fargo from Salsa Cycles. I hinted that I may be getting one in to possibly replace the Gen I Fargo I've had in the stable since, oh......what has it been now? Three....four years? Something like that...

Anyway, here is the deal: My friend, Ben Witt, has a size large Fun Guy Green Gen II Fargo frame he needs gone, so I am grabbing it from him, (at a price, of course), and then......well, I haven't yet decided! 

There is a really good chance that the newer Fargo will be replacing an older custom bike I have sitting in the Lab which hasn't been ridden since the snow flew last. That frame and fork will just go up on the wall, and Fargo Gen II will get the nod as the single track drop bar bike with options. The parts from the older custom rig will go right over to the newer Fargo. Maybe I'll track down a 80mm suspension fork, or do some fancy travel reducing to an older fork I have for this. We'll see....This does a couple things for me.

Too good to put out to pasture

As I said before, I really feel at home on this older Fargo. Yes- it is heavy, and it doesn't have the capability to do suspension forks, and it might steer weirdly at times, but this bike.....it fits me too well! 

I am going to get a proper 9 or 10 speed crankset for it, and at some point, I am going to build up a decently light weight set of tubeless wheels, (or press into service some older light weight wheels I already own), and I am going to dedicate the Fargo Gen I to be a fat tired gravel bike with options.

I'll likely get a Tangle Bag for it, and possibly one of those ginormous Revelate seat bags, and use it for my long gravel tours.

The Fargo Gen II will be "dirt-centric" and used mostly for anything with a lot of rougher going, regular mtb rides, and of course, the bags could be transferred over from Gen I Fargo for anything remotely looking like bike-packing.

So, that's the master plan. Two green-ish Fargos, two purposes. Stay tuned for more on this to come...

Fringe: A Look at 650B And Death Of The 69er

2012 Jamis Dragon 650B

Fringe: My wife, Mrs. Guitar Ted, likes this weird new T.V. series called "Fringe". It's a Sci-Fi deal where weird things are happening all the time, and the show's Chief Of Weirdness, a character named "Walter", is always rambling about some bizarre thing or concept, (that is if he isn't trying to give himself a self-inflicted lobotomy).

So, what has all this got to do with bicycles? Well, in the off-road world, we've had our own version of "Fringe" going on for the past 13 years or so now. Used to be 29"ers were that odd duck, but not anymore. After big wheels opened the door to new wheel concepts, we got "69ers" first, and then "650B" came along afterward. (Well, sort of. Let's just roll with that to keep things simplified for now, shall we?)

So, just what is, (or you could almost say "was"), a "69er"?Well, I wrote about Trek's ill-fated attempt at the concept here back in the summer of 2006. Basically, it was a 26"er out back, and a 29"er up front, and everything together was supposedly the "best of both worlds". (Keep that phrasing in mind for the 650B coming up...) How's that? Well, the proponents of the concept said that you got the "roll-over of the 29"er and the acceleration of the 26"er".

Carver 69er

 Actually, you got the worst of both worlds along with it, but nobody wanted to talk about that! The thing is, this concept didn't really work   for a lot of riders. Especially once you figured out how a 29"er rear  wheel was actually more important to have from the standpoint of traction and propulsion. Also, that smaller rear wheel just acted like what it was- a 26 inch rear wheel, and having a 29"er wheel up front really didn't change things much from the standpoint of a front suspension bike. 

The 69er guys didn't like the heavier weight of the big 29" rear wheel, but guess what? They don't have to weigh that much, and lightweight 29"er wheels are easily had these days. In the end, the marketplace just didn't really fire up for this idea. It's pretty much dead in the water.

To be fair, Carver Bikes still offers this concept, although you don't really hear too much about it anymore. Fringe indeed.

650B? Yes....the "tweener sized" wheels of mountain biking. Not as big as 29"ers, they are somewhat lighter, (potentially), and roll over stuff marginally better than the ever so slightly smaller 26"er sized wheels. Once again, the claims of "it is the best of both worlds" were heard but as before, there were not many real world benefits that I could sus out to back that up. I rode 650B bikes every chance I got from 2007 till 2010, and every time I just couldn't see where they were going to out do a 29"er at what it does best, or be anything but marginally better than a 26"er hard tail or full suspension bike.

That isn't to say I didn't ride some nice 650B bikes. I did. Some of them I liked just fine, but not more so than a good 29"er. They just weren't far enough removed in feel from 26"ers, and they just didn't quite get to the level of a 29"er. 

Travis Brown Signature Bike

Of course, I wrote plenty about 650B bikes in the past. The last time I said the following

"Pundits proclaimed that 650B would be where 29"ers were in 2007 by 2010. Then the economy went south, and so seemingly did any hopes for the 650B wheel to take root."

To be fair, the economy certainly took risky ventures like adding 650B bikes out of the picture for some companies, but in my mind, that isn't the only reason this fringe element of mountain biking hasn't gotten as far as the 650B fans had hoped.  Essentially, the very nature of the wheels being "in the middle" of two other very popular wheel sizes has marginalized the appeal of 650B mtb designs. I know I feel this way about them, and I think lots of other riders do as well.

Of course, that isn't to say that 650B is going away. It isn't. Jamis and KHS have really staked out a nice slice of their line ups for 2012 in the tweener wheels. However; it isn't looking to catch on in a big way. Fans of the wheels are saying that it will take one of the bigger companies to legitimize 650B to the masses. I'd disagree with that. It's going to be rider driven if anything, and I don't see that like I did with 29"ers happening for 650B. It's staying on the fringes as far as I can tell.