Gravel Mutt Project: The Front End

I started working over the fork for the Gravel Mutt. At one point, I was going to be getting a Surly Cross Check threadless fork and a new headset, but......that isn't the "mutt way" to be doing things, now is it? No. It is not the Mutt Way. The Mutt Way is using the binned parts and cheaply gotten bits to build a workhorse bicycle.

Using the original fork and headset would be fine, but this presented a bit of a problem. The "old way" of doing a stem, (quill style), generally doesn't use a face plate. When they do, they are ug-a-leeee! Plus, I may end up with a 31.8mm handle bar, so this made me go the route of a quill adapter.

The quill adapter is clean looking, and allows me several choices in stems which can suit any drop bar handle bar, and look pretty good doing it. Cheap too. Besides, it isn't a new idea at all. Early mountain bike builders would do a similar thing but would actually braze in a stub into the steer tube that extended above the threaded head set. A "clip on" stem would then be used, and the top cap? It usually was a coin! Modern adaptations are similar, but look more like a standard threadless steerer.

As I am sanding down the paint for priming and finishing, I note that the drop outs are Tange ones on the fork ends. Probably a Tange fork too, I am guessing. That's nice. The frame tubes are True Temper. All steel means a solid gravel grinder base. Abuse friendly, no worries about scratches, dings, or damage. If I like it so much when it, if ever, needs repair, it can be done at a reasonable cost.

Random thought: Paint frame and fork flat black and call the bike "Crow Molly". 

No? 

Quill adapter

 Hopefully I will be making some major progress on this over the three day weekend. I would like to throw on some paint, and if it goes well, I might be able to assemble the thing in a week or so, once the paint cures.

Then the build should pretty much go quickly. The plan is to go with a 1 X 9 drive train. One bar end shifter, a set of Tektro RL 520 levers is sitting around here somewhere, and I may need to score some better cantilevers.

I found a nice Ritchey seat post in the bin, and to top that off I want to get a B-17 or possibly a Flyer. The handle bars may be something I have laying around, or a new set of Cowbell 2's. I really like Cowbells! They are the bars I use on the BMC. Wheels will be the aforementioned XTR/Salsa Delgado hoops shod with whatever tire I need to be riding at the time. (The bike will be used for testing stuff for Gravel Grinder News when necessary.) Otherwise I plan on just using this one for the 3GRs and maybe some night time riding this summer. Bad weather will see this one on the roads as well. Hmm.......maybe it needs fenders too.....

The bike will then get outfitted with a frame bag, a top tube bag, and a couple of bottle cages so it'll be ready for long or short distances at the drop of a hat. That's about it, but before I get there, I have a lot of work ahead of me. Details to come. For now, it's sanding and painting time.

Friday News And Views

Candy Smokes & Processed Beef Products!

It's the big weekend holiday and everyone will be scrambling to recreate. Lots of barbeque, beer, and whatever else trips yer trigger. But just for a moment, let's not forget why we're getting to do all these crazy things in the U.S. of A. these days.

Our folks that served in uniform, giving the ultimate sacrifice in many cases, deserve our thanks and recognition. Say thanks to a Veteran, or at least make a special note of thanks in a way that seems significant to you at some point this weekend. It's the least we can do.....

More Stories Added: Just an update to a past Friday News And Views where I listed all the T.I.V9 stories and accounts I had at the time. There are more added now, in case you want to check it out. If anyone knows of accounts that are not listed there and want to suggest adding them, just comment here or hit me with an e-mail.

A Mule Kickin' In The Stall: As most of you cycling geeks are aware of, this is the midst of the Pro Cycling season and local criteriums are on at full tilt. It is with this in mind that I would like to point out the most recent "Bicycle Times", (edition #23), which just hit my mailbox today. (I know......a paper magazine! They still exist!) Anyway, the publisher, one Maurice Teirney, of "Dirt Rag" fame, writes a letter flaming Pro Cycling and its deleterious effects on riders of the more common cloth and on the cycling industry at large. The letter starts out with "To hell with pro cycling!" and rants on from there. Definitely worth reading, if you get a chance.

I would agree with much of Mr. Teirney's points, but I also see a couple things worth noting. One: Big Maurice is a mountain bike dude from way back. (In fact, he's in the MTB Hall of Fame, if you didn't know.) There has always been a bit of "anti-roadie" in the culture of mountain biking, and I'm certain Mr. Teirney is steeped in that culture. Secondly- pro racing has paid his rent, at least in part,  for many years, so I find it interesting, and a bit ironic, that he would so vehemently go after Pro Road Cycling.

That said- I get why he's peeved too. Well......go read it if you can. That's "Bicycle Times" issue #23, page 9.

3GR:

This week the ride is being moved again!  Due to high water this time, the 3GR will once again start from Gates Park swimming pool parking lot at 8:30am tomorrow. It sounds like there is a 50/50 chance there may be a thunder storm late in the morning, so I will be keeping an eye on the sky, but as of now, the ride is on.

I am not sure anyone will show up, because it is a Holiday weekend, but I will be there and likely on the BMC. I wanted to ride the Vaya, but I discovered that an odd sensation at the pedals turned out to be a slightly loose crank arm. I haven't taken it off to inspect it yet, but I fear the splines are wallowed out and that is not good.

So, I'll look into that later into the weekend, but for now it'll be the ol', reliable Black Mountain Cycles rig. Which needs a new bottom bracket, by the way. I should do something about that before it becomes "critical"! For some reason I want to put a Chris King in it and replace the head set with a King unit as well. Both silver, of course. That bike is worth that upgrade!

A Bit Wet In Spots

Check!

Okay, this is your notice that "Camp Ingawanis South Side Trails" is now going to be known as "Ingawanis Woods". Officially that happens on June 1st, but I am jumping the gun! The Scouts sold the parcel of land off to Bremer County last fall and the transfer takes effect on 6-1-13.

With that bit of business out of the way, I will continue with my little story of an unusual ride out there Wednesday. Unusual because of the heavy rains received up North on Sunday night that added up to 5-6 inches of rain fall and flooded the Cedar River. That moved downstream to us and the crest was early Wednesday morning, a few hours before I went up to ride.

There is a lower section of the trails up there that I knew would be unrideable, and has been unrideable for quite sometime now due to the higher water levels this Spring. I figured that was off the menu, but I hadn't gotten a half a mile in before my first check at a ravine crossing. There was a short work around, but then another 100 yards or so I was stopped dead in my tracks and had to turn tail and head back where I started. I wasn't about to give up on my riding opportunity just yet though.

Higher ground

I tried heading up towards the Eagle Lodge, but it was pretty muddy, and I got out of there as soon as I ever could. Heading up higher, I found that the trails were actually in really great shape. There are a few decent hills out there which rise above the river level far enough that I was finding some decent trail, albeit in an unconventional, (for me), order of experience. Basically, I was going what I would call "backwards" on the loop.

I had heard of a new loop cut in as well, and it wasn't long before I found the fresh cut-in trail. Fresh made trail, (at least in Iowa), is always a chore to ride. The ground, which generally hasn't seen any traffic whatsoever, is soft, loamy, and very irregular. This trail section had been cleared, but very few bicycles had been on it yet. Ooof! Gear down! Trundling along, I was happy just to be able to check it out, and find it all above water!

This new trail impressed me in two ways: First- it will be a flowy, fast trail once it gets "burned in". A great single speeder's section, if I do say so myself. Secondly, it is longer than I expected. This is a big section of trail and my hats off to Karmen who, (as far as I know), pretty much single handedly cut this in. Nice work!

And one other thing- it's clearly "jungle season" again. The underbrush is growing at a mad rate, and soon will be overtaking several spots on the trails. Crazy weather we're having here. Only three weeks ago it snowed!

The Elusive Promise Of Carbon Fiber: Wheels

Last week I wrote about this subject in relation to bicycle frames for 29"ers. Today I want to talk about another major component that carbon fiber is used for: wheels.

Does carbon make wheels "better"?

Several years ago, 29"ers were not getting the "best" engineering, tech, or features like the smaller 26"ers were. Back then, (I am talking like '07-'08), you could get on a 29"er, slam it into a corner, and most likely you would feel a lot of wheel flex. Aluminum extrusions for 29"ers were mostly scaled up 26 extrusions and not specifically designed for the stresses that bigger wheels cause when riders do that mountain biking thing. The answer back then was carbon.

At that time, a Utah based company named "Edge Composites", (Now Enve), rolled out a couple carbon 29"er hoops that radically changed how riders would perceive the 29"er handling traits. The Edge wheels were stiffer. Way stiffer than anything else out there at the time. Yes- they were, ( and still are), super expensive. But if you could afford them, they would radicalize your 29"er experience. In fact, it took frames a while to catch up to how far Edge had taken the possibilities for frame stiffness and wheel rigidity in concert with each other.

But since then, aluminum designs for wheels in the plus size have come a long way. The gulf between aluminum and carbon in terms of ride performance has narrowed dramatically. Is carbon fiber even worth it anymore for 29"er wheels?

Aluminum rims have come a long way for 29"ers

Case in point: SRAM introduced some new wheels recently- the Roam and Rail wheels, (see here), and you have a direct comparison between what you get and what you don't get, (at least on paper), with comparably designed and purposed aluminum and carbon rims.

The Roam 60, a carbon rimmed 29"er wheel weighs in at 1625g, has a 28mm outer/21mm inner rim dimension, and costs $2199.00. Now the similar Roam 50, with an aluminum rim, weighs 1610 gms, has a 25 outer/ 21mm inner rim dimension, and sells for $1072.00. You can see that weight, inner rim dimension, and the cost are the three specs that jump out here.

The aluminum Roam 50 actually weighs less, has the same inner rim dimension, and is over a grand cheaper. To be fair, SRAM says the carbon rim on the Roam 60 actually weighs 10 grams less than the aluminum Roam 50 rim, but so what? (You can not buy just rims here, right?) And what's 10 grams versus saving a grand? Again- SRAM has said the Roam 60 is stronger. (Interestingly, the word stiffer was not used to describe the Roam 60 rim versus the Roam 50 rim, but I don't know that it is not stiffer.)

Well, you can argue the minutiae all you want, but the difference in price is not minute. The difference in performance? Maybe not so much, eh? It will be interesting to see, but again- Carbon doesn't automatically call out "better" here. And even if it is, by a little bit, the costs are dramatically different which seems to point to less value in the carbon format. Thinking about some of the other details on those SRAM rims brings this out even more.

And not all carbon rims are appointed or perform similarly, I get that. However; there are not too many companies making such similar wheel models in carbon and aluminum. In this case, the promise of carbon fiber seems to have a flat taste in the mouth.  

GTDRI '13: An Introduction

From the 2012 GTDRI

What It Is: 

Okay, it is time to start thinking about the upcoming "Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational" again.  This year's event is happening on July 13-14th, 2013.

Okay- every year the name of this ride causes confusion. Here's the deal: The ride is FREE. ANYONE is invited that wants to ride a lot of challenging gravel. Maybe a 100 miles or more in one crack. Yep. Maybe less if the weather dictates. It is a NO DROP group ride. Everyone sticks together, and this IS NOT A RACE!!  Feel like having a good time in the hot sun on some hilly, challenging Iowa gravel with like-minded individuals? This might be a great ride for you to show up to.

Where It Is: This year I am doing something totally new and different for me. I am turning the reins over to the Slender Fungus Cycling Association, a tight knit bunch of cycling aficionados that have a strong love for Iowa and gravel roads. They have already scouted out roads in Jackson County, Iowa, and will be providing some clearer details on the route and what not soon. Stay tuned....

When It Is: The ride has been on Saturday in recent years, but since a couple of the guys on the Slender Fungus squad are bike shop rats, the ride will be on Sunday this year so they can attend and not miss work on Saturday. This was the way it used to be for a while when I would camp oout on Saturday night before the gig and go home afterward. So, on Saturday night....(place yet to be determined).... I will be camping out and anyone that wants to is welcomed to stop by and hang out for some conversations and maybe a few adult beverages. (But I am going to limit that since in years past we would drink too much and stay up too late......with the next day's ride being negatively affected. )

The ride typically starts at sun up, so that's the time we'll be taking off. Generally that's about 6am, but if the SFCA says we need to get a head start, that may be moved up. Generally we ride till sundown. It's an all day affair! Stay tuned for more details as I get them........

3GR Report: Withering Wind

The Lilacs in bloom were sweet smelling

The 3GR for Saturday was an odd ball one, for sure, since I knew that many regulars were out of town for the Almanzo events.  I also had to push back the start to 2:30pm due to my neighborhood clean-up, which happened on Saturday morning. So, I knew there was a good chance this ride would be a solo one.

Turns out I was right about that. At least it was warm and clear out, for the most part. However; there was a wind, and it wasn't what I would call a "favorable wind", what with it coming out of the South and me going North to start out with. Yes- a tail wind North, but that meant a head wind to finish it off. I usually prefer that to be in reverse order, but it was what it was.

So, I set out alone on the Vaya and headed through the bike paths which get me out North of town and out to gravel. I met a few riders that probably are training for RAGBRAI, judging by the loud music they were playing on their bike mounted music systems. I was glad I was headed in the other direction. The music of the wind, birds, and the crunch of gravel on my tires was what I wanted to hear.

Of course, headed mostly North should have felt great, but for whatever reason, I was out of sorts. I never could get into a comfortable rhythm and I knew it wasn't going well for me. The Vaya has a couple of bugs to be worked out yet: a pedal, (I think), that is going bad, the seat and stem positions are not right yet, and the saddle isn't good enough.

I got this!

Along about this time I note that my right side bar tape is unraveling. Okay.....if there is one thing that ticks me off on a drop bar bike- it is unraveling or loose bar tape. So, I make the decision to stop right then and there to rewrap it. I carefully undo the finishing tape so I can reuse it, and then I get to work. Within minutes I have the job done and I am back riding again. One less thing to bug me while I am out riding!

Then I notice the rear derailleur cable is too loose, and I try fixing that on the fly. After a few attempts, I get that taken care of. Another issue to deal with when I get back home though. The barrel adjuster is pretty far out, and that isn't a good thing either. At least I can shift the thing up into lower gears now! I understand at this point why customers of the bike shop that do not have the skills to do this sort of stuff get frustrated though. If this happened to me and I was clueless on what to do, I would be pretty mad! Fortunately, I do know what to do when mini-disasters strike out on the road. (Gotta remember to put a little tape in the kit next time though!)

Good as new!

I roll out to finish off the Northward march. I finally hit on a bit of rhythm here, but I still feel slightly out of sorts. I can not really put my finger on it either. Just not feeling it today. I was trying to decide if I should go for the big loop, or cut back on the original route and then over toward home. My decision was helped when I turned East just past C-50. Wind! I would be hitting a pretty significant headwind going back. Probably 20mph with higher gusts. Not as bad as the week before, but this would be at the tail end of the ride and not in the beginning of the ride, like it was last week.

I'd been looking for a likely place to stop and have a "nature break", when I crested a small hill and the road went back North again. Here was a little turn off into a farmer's field that put me out of the general view of anyone around, so that was perfect. I swung over, ditched the bike, and did my business quickly. Then after a few shots with the camera I remounted and headed back out on the gravel. The road was strewn with newer gravel, but it had been beaten in pretty well by the copious amounts of farm traffic of late.

That's Ingawanis Woods in the distance.

Finally I go by Ingawanis Woods and hit the big rollers by the rock quarry. The road is always super-fast through here. Better than smooth pavement. I like this bit and it doesn't disappoint on this day. Even the wind seemed to relent and let me enjoy the climb and descent down to my right hand turn and back into that wind.

The Wind: I can remember thinking to myself, "Well....here we go!", as I made the turn. After a few rollers I was out in the open and getting pummeled. The wind was actually getting stronger, and puffs of gravel dust were being driven along which would sweep by me and keep on rolling Northward. Not me. I was resigned to going slowly South and hopefully, eventually, back home.

Every pedal stroke was laborious, hard, and was starting to hurt my right knee. These are the times that, overall, probably pretty much suck in terms of cycling and why I do this, but there are other reasons to be. I was trying to focus on those things. Overall, I would say I was successful, because, ya know, I made it back home to write about it!

There was the young buck in the rusty Chevy with a load of seed corn. I would say, if I didn't know any better, that he was slowing down after he passed me to dust me in his wake. Unfortunately for him, the slight Southeastward origins of the withering blast were directing his limestone assault off the road rather quickly. He then turned around and with an impish grin, waved hello as he drove back the other way to douse me one more, albeit brief, time. Bah!

A field of Hopes and Possibilities

Then there were the several farmers out planting in the fields. Frantically working against the clock, these farmers were putting in seed with the fainting hopes that it wasn't too late to get a good corn crop. Last year, in comparison, the corn was already knee high.

Beans will be next, but this is the time to plant those, so the rush isn't as extreme as it is for the corn crop. I was wishing them well as I passed slowly by on my way South. An insect compared to the behemoths of the fields which crawled back and forth across the newly tilled earth.

All these things kept me from thinking about how much this ride was actually hurting. It was definitely not fun to deal with that nasty wind and the heat, which wasn't too extreme, but it was in the 80's. I was often reminded of how the Dirty Kanza 200 could feel like this. A brutal wind, no where to hide, and running out of water. Been there, not quite "done that", but I'd given it my best shot all three times I'd tried it.

Eventually I made it all the way back into town. One thing I discovered, and I am pretty convinced of this now, is that  the BioPace ring I am using makes a definite difference. I found I was able to power through hills with out getting those peak loads on every revolution that really take your momentum of pedaling away, and cause you to shift down, or to stop altogether. I was glad to have that discovery.

Back home I was wiped out! Good thing it was family home made pizza night!

Gravel Mutt Project: Working On It.....

 The used to be a front derailleur here.

I've been doing a lot of hand sanding lately. Chasing irregularities and finding new ones along the way. I probably could have taken the frame somewhere and had it bead blasted, but for me, there is something.... Well, there is something about hand work and metal that I like. I used to be a bench jeweler, and I got to polish  up a lot of gold and silver, but I also would polish up about anything metal in my down time. I once polished a prong file's back side to a chrome-like, mirror finish. It's kind of a mental clearing activity, and I suppose I have something wrong with me.....

But you all knew that! 

Anywho, I enjoy the hand sanding, and I find it rewarding when I can make something look better than it used to, if it is metal. Maybe I should have built custom cars or something, I don't know....

But the point here is that I have large areas of exposed metal that I needed to cover up, and all I have around to keep rust at bay right now is some Pepto Bismal Pink spray bomb paint. So, most of this  rig looks mighty bright pink at the moment. Might just incorporate that color with another really bright hue and do some masking and....well we'll see. I am getting ahead of myself here.

I sanded off the down tube decals, just because, and I think I am going to sand all of them off. May as well, and that will leave a cleaner looking frame to lay ones eyes on. Stay tuned, this could get real interesting....