Jimbo’s 26″ Frankenbike
Jimbo's 26" Frankenbike This bicycle is living proof you don't need to spend a bunch of money, to have a fun and reliable machine to crush dirt, limerock and gravel.…
Abbey Bike Tools Crombie Dual Sided Tool & Whip-It Chain Whip Review
Abbey Bike Tools is a small company based in Bend, Oregon, producing innovative, well-designed tools for bike shop and home mechanics. It also helps that Abbey's tools are aesthetically pleasing…
On Test: IRC SERAC CX Tubeless CX Tires
Recently, Gravel Cyclist met with the fine fellows from IRC Tires (Tyres) of Japan at the Interbike show in Las Vegas, Nevada. After the show, IRC kindly sent Gravel Cyclist…
Justin Lowe’s Iron Cross XII Race Rig
If you haven't heard Justin's name before, take a gander at the results list for Iron Cross XII, 2014. Fourth fastest overall, 4:11:45 ride time, amazing stuff. Justin is 37yo,…
Hawk Racing Bottom Bracket – Long Term Product Review
If you're unfamiliar with Hawk Racing, the company was founded by Sven Folmer, a former professional triathlete about seven years ago (the timeframe may need correction). Hawk Racing is headquartered…
Retro Gravel Grinding & Drop Bars
Whilst browsing through a July 1987 copy of Bicycling Magazine in the reading room, I stumbled across an article about a new bike for the time, the Bridgestone MB-1.
“Fat Tires Meet Drop Bars”
Correct me if I’m wrong, this bicycle appeared before John Tomac was spotted running drop bars during the 1990 NORBA MTB season.
Gumby & Bikes of the Williston Peanut Farms Dirt Road Ride
Last Saturday, JOM and the lads enjoyed a sweet dirt roads ride, south of Williston, Florida around the Peanut Farms area. There were several interesting bikes on the ride, which are featured in the gallery at the bottom of the page.
K-Dogg’s Race Winning Motobecane Ti
The Dogg has been riding and racing this bike for about three years. He only recently made the leap to tubeless tires (tyres), and is currently running the Clement Explorer MSO in 40mm. The Titanium frame is complemented by a modest parts built, with a single Avid BB7 disc brake on the front.
Gumby
Gumby is likely the most important part of K-Dogg’s bike, and is usually found hanging around somewhere. Gumby imparts power, knowledge and wisdom upon K-Dogg, and strikes fear into those who don’t believe. Not a believer? Check the gallery of Pro Cyclists who have bowed down to Gumby!
King Titanium Bottle Cage Review
The humble bottle cage. Who in their right mind would place such importance upon a bicycle part so trivial? It's sole job in life to securely hold a water bottle,…
Bikes of Pisgah Monster Cross 2014
Andrew Pooser raced at Pisgah Monster Cross 2014, and took time to photograph some of the machines at the event's finish. Mouse over the gallery images below to see a…
Big Head Todd’s SS Monster Crosser
BHT, aka Todd, is an other limerock / gravel aficionado who resides in the current hometown of Gravel Cyclist. Today, a feature about the machine that BHT resurrected from the dead. Can you say, single speed sweetness?
Excerpt from BHT himself…
This is a different kind of monster cross: No titanium, no carbon, no electronics, no maintenance, no problem. While it is a mix of old and new parts, at the heart of this build is the frame I rode exclusively from 1991-2007 (bonus fun fact – I got that bike from a friend in Michigan who went to high school with John Tomac). Inspired by the competition rigs of Dr. Pain and JOM, this is a training machine for the flatland dirt roads west of Gainesville. Singlespeed on limerock is a blast!
Interbike 2014 Day 3 – More bikes & parts
One thousand most humble apologies for the delay in posting this entry. I sorted out these photos at the Charlotte, NC airport early this morning, during the last of my red eye flights from Las Vegas. I had the best intentions of posting the article as soon as I arrived home today, but a power nap, a longish bike ride, another power nap and errands, all took precedence. Excuses over, enjoy these photos. Now, it’s time to sleep, East Coast time.
Interbike 2014 – Shimano XTR Di2 Electronic Shifting
During day three of Interbike 2014, I had a few moments to play with the Shimano XTR Di2 system. The system is officially known as Shimano XTR Di2 M9050, and continues the trend of Shimano’s naming standards. Simply put, the system is mind blowing! The shifter buttons offer the same tactile feedback you expect with the equivalent mechanical shifter, but with zero delay from button push, to derailleur actuation.
I didn’t try out the synchro mode of the system. Rather, I pushed the rear derailleur through it’s regular incremental steps, one click of the shifter after the other. The derailleur shifted as fast as I could push the buttons, or at a determined speed (customizable multi-shift) if I held down a shifter button. The front derailleur functioned flawlessly as expected.