Met up with Tim and David of River City Cycling Society fame for a little gravel training route that they had put together. I put Beast back into gravel form, reflipping the bars, removing fenders, rack and remounting the knobby clad wheelset.
We left out of New Castle, KY and headed East. Our first stretch of gravel came within a mile or so of starting lazily grinding past cow pasture and alongside a creek. This was good gravel, well packed, not washed out or potholed. That lasted for about 3 miles.
Then the road ended in the creek.
After exploring options and consulting GPSes, we made the decition to follow the course, remove shoes and wade across. This is followed by much bushwhacking and hike-a-biking.After about an hour of this we finally emerge at the bottom of a pretty steep and long gravel road. We pull the weeds out of our machines and start climbing....soon we're all walking again, as we either ran out of traction, gears or umph.
We ride along some of the rolling paved roads on our way to the next section of gravel, wondering if there's going to be more of the same, or if we'll get rideable sections.
Shortly we find out, as we hit section number 2 and it's chunky. embedded baby-head rocks, mud holes and more. I figure there are two ways to ride a road like this: balls out or slow. I go with the former and go for it. Beast is in its element, huge tires absorbing the terrain and floating over everything. Strong frame never for a second letting you know it was anything but willing and able to take whatever you're willing to. Sprung Brooks allowing for comfortable and smooth seated climbing. A paved watercrossing brings the chunky stuff to an end and it smooths out to fast and slightly soft gravel.
We emerge in Lockport and ride through, stopping to check out the old lock on the Kentucky River. We continue on and cross over to Gratz, hoping for some lunch. No such luck, we start climbing a steady 3-5% for the next 5 miles it seems until we hit Monterey and pausing to ask a local where we can find food, finally get to some lunch. Best chili cheese dogs I've had.
Coming back in we intend to hit a section of gravel, but it seems to have been rerouted, long ago. We see where the bridge is, but not were the road is. Figuring it's still there, as we can see a house on the other side of the creek, we circle around until we find it. This is a nice section of gravel, pretty flat, well tended, with only a few mud holes to move left or right or center to avoid. Somewhere along he I seem to have punctured. A pinhole it takes me several miles of having trouble keeping up to realize. I add some air hoping it won't leak out too fast, but stop to change the tube as we pass back through Lockport.
We then backtrack the smoother gravel section of the road we'd ridden to ride into Lockport, and then turn onto a section we'd not traveled yet. The first two miles of it was probably the most technical of our riding all day, with not many workable lines to get through, massive mud holes that couldn't be ridden around. Somewhere in here my chain swallowed a rock. I spent the next 3-4 miles with a bike that would skip or shift every 3rd pedal stroke.
When we arrive at the main road, and knowing that it was paved the whole way back, I stop to fix the chain, finding the busted link and removing it and replacing with a quicklink. I drink the last of my water as we roll out knowing that I have 8-10 miles left and not being thrilled about it. The extended distances of riding with mechanical difficulties have worn me out, as has the overly aggressive position I've been in for over 7 hours at this point.
This was by far the most epic ride I've done on Beast, and exactly the kind of riding it's been set up for. It's really too slow for more civilized gravel and a bit too aggressive for much longer rides. A different set of bars may correct the aggressiveness of the positioning, but not much can be done to get the gearing any higher or the ride more compliant. The new bike will be better for those rides.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Distilling
The ordering process has begun. Frameset, Headset, Crankset, Bars, Wheelset and Tires are on their way.
The process has not been quite as cheap as I'd hoped, as after looking into it, scavenging parts off my currently existing bikes would have rendered them useless and not have saved all that much money. So, other than bags, pedals and a Brooks Flyer, the whole thing will be new.
The wheelset I ordered is not ideal, but it is cheap and will get me riding until I can build (yes, myself...with supervision) a set that is more to my liking. They're gonna be heavy, as they are more all-mountain wheels than XC wheels. On the plus side, they should be sturdy. On the downside, they're centerlock hubs, meaning I'm spending money on adapters for the brake rotors...
Next up: Brifters, derailleurs, brakes, cassette, chain and odds and ends.
The process has not been quite as cheap as I'd hoped, as after looking into it, scavenging parts off my currently existing bikes would have rendered them useless and not have saved all that much money. So, other than bags, pedals and a Brooks Flyer, the whole thing will be new.
The wheelset I ordered is not ideal, but it is cheap and will get me riding until I can build (yes, myself...with supervision) a set that is more to my liking. They're gonna be heavy, as they are more all-mountain wheels than XC wheels. On the plus side, they should be sturdy. On the downside, they're centerlock hubs, meaning I'm spending money on adapters for the brake rotors...
Next up: Brifters, derailleurs, brakes, cassette, chain and odds and ends.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Perfectly affordable gravel bike
It's always fun to spend time dreaming about bikes you can't afford, combing over the details and thinking of the changes you'd make to the factory spec.
A bike like the new for 2012 Co-Motion Divide is a prime example. It nearly perfectly fits what I'd like as a gravel grinder bike. Cross/touring geometry, full brazeons, steel, discs, room for true 29er rubber. It's a true work of art, with all the custom paint options you could ask for. Looking at the stock build spec, I can't think of many changes I'd make. I'm undecided on the whole triple crank thing. If I was doing the Great Divide Race, I'd probably go for it, but as a gravel grinder, it seems a bit much. Bars would be switched out for Salsa Cowbells. Tires would be more like the Bontrager XR1. Build spec says bar ends, but the bike in the pic is briftered. I'd go with the brifters. The BB7 brakes, while well-respected and typically thought of the the better brake, are simply more adjustable, which all the extra movement actually degrades performance, so BB5s would be my choice.
Regardless, it's not in the budget.
But it turns out there is a frameset that is similar, if of lower quality materials and craftsmanship, and is well within my pricerange. Origin-8 CX700 Steel Cross! I don't recall exactly how I ran across this, but it seems to fit all my needs for a gravel bike. Sure lowrider mounts would be nice to have as an option, but I don't currently plan to use a front rack and panniers for the gravel events I hope to pursue. Retail on it is around $250! It has room for 2.1" tires, which is pretty awesome. Chainstay mounted discs mean no having to unbolt the calipers to fix a flat. (which I've heard is a problem with the Karate Monkey).
Problems? Well, I've heard the quality control and shipping practices leave a lot to be desired and frames can be kinda bent up upon arrival. Also, the 200g lighter, 2011, black model is out of stock.
If I don't find another route to go, I could reasonably justify getting this frame in short order.
A bike like the new for 2012 Co-Motion Divide is a prime example. It nearly perfectly fits what I'd like as a gravel grinder bike. Cross/touring geometry, full brazeons, steel, discs, room for true 29er rubber. It's a true work of art, with all the custom paint options you could ask for. Looking at the stock build spec, I can't think of many changes I'd make. I'm undecided on the whole triple crank thing. If I was doing the Great Divide Race, I'd probably go for it, but as a gravel grinder, it seems a bit much. Bars would be switched out for Salsa Cowbells. Tires would be more like the Bontrager XR1. Build spec says bar ends, but the bike in the pic is briftered. I'd go with the brifters. The BB7 brakes, while well-respected and typically thought of the the better brake, are simply more adjustable, which all the extra movement actually degrades performance, so BB5s would be my choice.
Regardless, it's not in the budget.
But it turns out there is a frameset that is similar, if of lower quality materials and craftsmanship, and is well within my pricerange. Origin-8 CX700 Steel Cross! I don't recall exactly how I ran across this, but it seems to fit all my needs for a gravel bike. Sure lowrider mounts would be nice to have as an option, but I don't currently plan to use a front rack and panniers for the gravel events I hope to pursue. Retail on it is around $250! It has room for 2.1" tires, which is pretty awesome. Chainstay mounted discs mean no having to unbolt the calipers to fix a flat. (which I've heard is a problem with the Karate Monkey).
Problems? Well, I've heard the quality control and shipping practices leave a lot to be desired and frames can be kinda bent up upon arrival. Also, the 200g lighter, 2011, black model is out of stock.
If I don't find another route to go, I could reasonably justify getting this frame in short order.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
New rides?
It's that time of the year, all the new 2012 bikes are getting introed and making me drool. Could this year be a new bike year?
I currently own three bikes: 2008 Jamis Coda 19.5", 1999 Trek 930 19.5" and 2009 Motobecane Fantom CX 58cm. All are really a bit small (if you follow Riv's sizing guidelines) and I'd like to correct that. Riv says I should be on a 60-62 for road bike sizing. I'd also like to have disc brakes on all of them. The main advantage of the Coda, is that it has full braze-ons for racks and fenders. If the Fantom CX had those I'd not need the Coda. So finding a CX or relaxed geometry road bike with discs and full braze-ons means I could replace two bikes with one. I've found a few bikes that would meet those requirement (and could be considered affordable)
Specialized Tricross Elite Disc Apex Compact. The priciest of the bunch, and Aluminum. Highest standover, shortest toptube and longest stays. Steeper headtube and more rake make it the lowest trail of the bunch, which combined with the long stays could make it the slowest steering as well. The rear caliper hanging back behind the seat stays could cause rack issues. It's probably a pass.
Raleigh Roper. Missing lowrider braze-ons. Shortest stays. Lowest standover and shortest headtube. Probably the sportiest of the group. Not impossible to consider.
Redline Metro Classic. The only triple in the group, which doesn't thrill me. But otherwise the best gearing for my riding style. and Avid BB5's are well respected. The color and styling are great. This is the new front runner.
Soma Double Cross DC. Only available as a frameset. Tange Prestige tubing is the best of the steelies. best known clearance for wider tires, but still only 38s, which just isn't enough for serious gravel grinding. No lowrider mounts on the DC fork. Building from a frameset is probably the most expensive option, unless I were to run cantis/v's and switch over everything from the Fantom CX.
As mentioned none of these has the kind of tire clearance required for serious gravel grinding. Which means I need another bike! I'd considered another 26er frame and switching everything over from the Trek, but if I want discs that means a new wheelset, brakes and levers and at that point it may just make sense to go 29er.
Bikes in the running:
Surly Karate Monkey. Pretty much a classic. Track ends aren't my favorite. Only available built as a SS, but frameset is reasonable and if I'm ditching the Fantom, I can scavenge the brifters from there.
On One Inbred. Lighter tubeset than the KM. Carbon fork. Switchable dropouts with many options available (including Alfine!) Built bike is pricey, but frameset reasonable, and similar scavenging can be done as the KM.
Origin 8 Paladin 29. In a dream world where I was light enough to think that carbon was a good idea, and I needed a light bike to win, this could become a serious option. Fully Rigid, carbon 29er. Could be built very light and should (if all I hear about carbon is true) be very comfy on gravel with big soft meaty tires.
Much to think about and numbers to be run, but as we get to the "off season" it means plenty of time to plan out the road map.
I currently own three bikes: 2008 Jamis Coda 19.5", 1999 Trek 930 19.5" and 2009 Motobecane Fantom CX 58cm. All are really a bit small (if you follow Riv's sizing guidelines) and I'd like to correct that. Riv says I should be on a 60-62 for road bike sizing. I'd also like to have disc brakes on all of them. The main advantage of the Coda, is that it has full braze-ons for racks and fenders. If the Fantom CX had those I'd not need the Coda. So finding a CX or relaxed geometry road bike with discs and full braze-ons means I could replace two bikes with one. I've found a few bikes that would meet those requirement (and could be considered affordable)
Specialized Tricross Elite Disc Apex Compact. The priciest of the bunch, and Aluminum. Highest standover, shortest toptube and longest stays. Steeper headtube and more rake make it the lowest trail of the bunch, which combined with the long stays could make it the slowest steering as well. The rear caliper hanging back behind the seat stays could cause rack issues. It's probably a pass.
Raleigh Roper. Missing lowrider braze-ons. Shortest stays. Lowest standover and shortest headtube. Probably the sportiest of the group. Not impossible to consider.
Redline Metro Classic. The only triple in the group, which doesn't thrill me. But otherwise the best gearing for my riding style. and Avid BB5's are well respected. The color and styling are great. This is the new front runner.
Soma Double Cross DC. Only available as a frameset. Tange Prestige tubing is the best of the steelies. best known clearance for wider tires, but still only 38s, which just isn't enough for serious gravel grinding. No lowrider mounts on the DC fork. Building from a frameset is probably the most expensive option, unless I were to run cantis/v's and switch over everything from the Fantom CX.
As mentioned none of these has the kind of tire clearance required for serious gravel grinding. Which means I need another bike! I'd considered another 26er frame and switching everything over from the Trek, but if I want discs that means a new wheelset, brakes and levers and at that point it may just make sense to go 29er.
Bikes in the running:
Surly Karate Monkey. Pretty much a classic. Track ends aren't my favorite. Only available built as a SS, but frameset is reasonable and if I'm ditching the Fantom, I can scavenge the brifters from there.
On One Inbred. Lighter tubeset than the KM. Carbon fork. Switchable dropouts with many options available (including Alfine!) Built bike is pricey, but frameset reasonable, and similar scavenging can be done as the KM.
Origin 8 Paladin 29. In a dream world where I was light enough to think that carbon was a good idea, and I needed a light bike to win, this could become a serious option. Fully Rigid, carbon 29er. Could be built very light and should (if all I hear about carbon is true) be very comfy on gravel with big soft meaty tires.
Much to think about and numbers to be run, but as we get to the "off season" it means plenty of time to plan out the road map.
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