Gravel Bikes – A New Trend That Actually Makes Sense

GT-GRAVEL-BIKE

view of a Gravel Bike

Well, it has been a while since I added a new category of bike to my blog.  While I focus on mountain biking, this new category of a bicycle is actually a close relative of the mountain bike and certainly one each cross-country or mountain bike enthusiast should consider – or at least I believe – should evaluate.

What are Gravel Bikes?   In a summary – they are a combination of a road bike and a cross-country one with some elements ‘borrowed’ from the mountain bikes as well.  Turns out there are plenty of gravel roads out there – I certainly have come across them in pretty much every US National Park – just earlier yesterday I published a brief summary about two good bike friendly National parks – Acadia in Maine, and Zion in Utah – and surprise, both of them offer miles and miles of gravel roads to enjoy and explore.

What else is special about the Gravel Bikes?

  • Relaxed posture / frame geometry
  • Hydraulic disk brakes
  • Longer wheel base (to go with the relaxed geometry)
  • significantly increased tire clearance – to be able to navigate in a stable way obstacles you will encounter on the gravel roads

I am going to start building the database of manufacturers offering the Gravel Bikes and as usual structure that via the Bike Reviews option on this blog.  The Gravel Bike category is already live – you can follow the link to it.   Next will add the manufacturers like Salsa with their Warbird model, Raleigh, GT to name a few.   So check the blog out soon again.

Biking in USA: National Parks with Biking Trails

I have been posting listings of the new places for mountain biking I am discovering in my travels in our home state as well as across global locations.  In parallel with that I thought – well, what about the places we have visited and gone biking to over the years.  With the help of some research here is a listing of those in the US:

    • Acadia National Park, Maine:  Used to visit the place very often while living in New England.  There park has miles and miles of the so called “Carriage Roads” – which were developed for horse riding in the early 1900s and subsequently have become great biking trails.  Timeline: need to make sure you avoid the winter and late fall months – so probably late-May through early-October best to visit in my experience;
    • Zion National Park:  This is another really beautiful – I would say at sunset and sunrise, stunning park with great biking trails for all experience levels;  My recommendation – weather wise probably best between April and October – too cold and icy otherwise
    • I will continue to post some additional parks in this post – i.e. will update it later today;

 

 

Biking in Bulgaria: Bansko and Pirin

Biking in Bulgaria

In my previous posting I discussed (very briefly) the surprising lack of bicycles in Sofia.  Now lets continue with something more uplifting and interesting – going to Southwest Bulgaria – the town of Bansko, and the Pirin National Park.  Why go there – well in only a few words – beautiful scenery (as you will be able to tell from the photos below), great hiking, and of course the opportunity to actually do mountain biking.

Bansko is located approximately two and a half hour drive from the Sofia international airport.  You also have the option of taking a bus as well as a shuttle which could be organized by many of the hotels in town.  Here is a map of the region in Bulgaria – Sofia and Bansko – to give you a relative idea

;

I will skip all the intricacies of driving in Bulgaria – if you have not done it or do not want to gain that experience, your safe bet is the bus or shuttle services offered.   Not a bad idea overall…

Now, about the mountain biking in Bansko.   For that you have many options and things to consider.

  • Equipment:
    • Option 1: check with your hotel – do they offer bikes as part of the package and/or do they rent bikes.   In either way, you will need to find out also the options for helmets.   I have to assume you have planned ahead and brought your biking shorts :-), gloves, water bottle…
    • Yes !  Water bottle is important!  Why?   The climate in Bulgaria in the summer is hot and dry.   You will be in the mountains and having the water bottle will be very much essential – or you may have issues…
    • Option 2:  Rent the bike(s) from a local shop – there are plenty in the town.  I did not use that option — Option 1 above was our solution – so cannot recommend a rental place but I am sure your hotel can do that for you.
  • Places for biking:
    • There are certainly a lot of them in the area.  As a matter of fact – one option for those of you who may want to take it easy – is just to jump on the bike and explore Bansko – the town.  I will post on that in a separate article later.
    • Another simple option to consider is to use the gondola lift from the edge of town (southern tip of the town) to the area called Banderishki Poliani – that is the end of the Gondola Lift line and proceed from there on the asphalt road all the way back into Bansko.   A great and exhilarating trip!   All downhill, all at pretty fast speed…!
    • The one other option to consider is the trail from Banderishki Poliani to Banderica Challet.  Here is a collage of a map and some photos from that trail:

Mountain-Biking-Bulgaria-Pirin

This is the trail we took and enjoyed.  Here are some more photos, the beauty of the place is a driver enough to consider exploring – no matter whether on foot or on a bike.   Enjoy!

Bulgaria-Biking-Hiking-Pirin

Pirin Mountain, Bulgaria

Bulgaria-Pirin-Trail

Pirin Mountain, Bulgaria

Apple Watch – Incredible Postings Out on the Web

Exercising with Apple WatchOver the last month or so I have been paying attention to the various Web sites and postings related to the recently release Apple Watch.  It is interesting to observe, read and listen to the incredible level of noise out there – especially the large number of very loud voices thrashing the product.

I am surprised to notice that even the biking community – which I thought has traditionally been a whole lot more progressive and receptive of new ideas and technologies – is extremely polarized on the topic of the usefulness of the Apple Watch.  The opinions range from extremely negative to very positive….which really highlights several things:

  • Too many people – even those considering themselves progressive and innovative really resist change!  How else but by experimenting with new products will any new technology, product concept or idea, will survive and develop….?
  • For those of you who do not agree with the bullet above – think of the Apple Newton… It was 1992 (approximately) when the product came out and failed shortly after that.  Yes, it failed badly – but 10 years later the Palm Pilot was all the rage, and another 10- years later various smart connected devices rule the product space and have caused the demise of the PC industry…..
  • Back to the Apple Watch – if you are on your bike and exploring a new area of town or you are in a new place all together, turn on the Apple iPhone maps on and your Watch becomes a VERY handy navigation device – you have to experience to believe what I am saying – the Watch provides very intuitive navigation hints and turn by turn directions.   It is one of the best use cases so far !!! (in my opinion)

    

In a few words – we have to fail often in order to succeed !!!

Bicycles and City Living

I have been paying attention to bicycle infrastructure in cities ever since I started using a bike in Phoenix, AZ.  In reality I became convinced that bikes have a future in big and small cities alike in the late 1980s while living in Beijing and Shanghai, China.  The bicycles were indispensable and actually provided for a much faster mode of transportation than cars or buses during the day due to the sheer number of people on the streets and the resulting congestion.

Naturally, I was very curious when I saw the recent survey and rankings of the best / bicycle friendliest cities in the world, and was even more surprised to find for a first time a US city in the top 20!!!  Minneapolis is ranked #18 in the 2015 list, which is shown below – leveraging the link provided Copenhagenize Design

Bike Friendly Cities1. [2] COPENHAGEN
2. [1] AMSTERDAM
3. [3] UTRECHT
4. [NEW] STRASBOURG
5. [8] EINDHOVEN
6. [9] MALMÖ
7. [6] NANTES
8. [5] BORDEAUX
9. [7] ANTWERP: follow this link for more information…
10. [4] SEVILLE
11. [17] BARCELONA
12. [10] BERLIN: We have our own write ups for the new Berlin…
13. [NEW] LJUBLJANA
14. [NEW] BUENOS AIRES
15. [11] DUBLIN
16. [NEW] VIENNA
17. [19] PARIS
18. [NEW] MINNEAPOLIS
19. [20] HAMBURG
20. [14] MONTRÉAL

The ranking for 2015 and several previous years is here

Now, I am sure you can observe this in the list above – but isn’t it strikingly surprising that a large number of the best cities for bikes are also cities located in very cold climates. And “yes” -have observed in Finland, in Denmark, people continuing riding their bikes even in the cold months of the snow covered roads

Antwerp Bicycle

Mountain Bike Innovations That Matter

Lately, I have been wondering – when would some of the problems we as mountain bikers discover, make it into production units of the various manufacturers.  So, I decided to add some ideas and also identify what are the items that turns out have been developed as new capabilities on mountain bikes.  Here we go:

Mountain-Bike-Front-ShockShock Absorber and Bike Frame Stiffness: (image courtesy of REI.com)

  • The front fork and shock absorber can be actually too responsive and make climbing up a hill less efficient as some of the force the rider generates – especially if you stand up on the pedals, gets dampened by the front shock.
  • The solution:CUSTOM BRAIN FORKS (as labeled by Specialized) – the fork senses the difference between actual bumps and pedaling force, using an inertia valve and oil flow to regulate suspension. When you stand to accelerate, the fork immediately stiffens up, eliminating “bob” motion. But, when taking a hit from a rock or a root, the fork is allowed to compress accordingly

29-er-mountain-bike29er – Big Wheels and Great Performance on the Trail and on the Cross-Country Road:

  • Those 29-inch wheels just eat up the trails and the road.  You get a great performance, increase in comfort and stability and a very good way to go over those obstacles as you ride.  Additional benefit (at least per what I have observed) – you can use a hardtail bike with 29-inch wheels with similar comfort to fully suspended 26-inch one….I welcome your feedback on that one…

Tools-Support-Mountain-BikeStorage and Tools:

  • SWAT: An acronym for Storage, Water, Air and Tools – Specialized came up with the approach for getting all of us well prepared for all those eventualities – integrating a storage space on the mountain bike frame.  Simple but cool and very helpful!

 

Aluminum-FrameFrame Alloys:

  • I know that Carbon is all the rage as a way to make the frames stiff and the bike ride even more controlled – BUT the $$$ cost of those carbon frames is pretty high as well as you get the luxury of changing the frame once you hit that big boulder on the trail…
  • Enters the friendly and nice on the wallet Aluminum alloy – what a great option!  The Aluminum alloy frames have been around for a while but they continue to be important aspect of a great mountain bike.  Designers in all top gear mountain bike companies have figured out the precise approach to eliminating excess material from the points in the frames that do not contribute to stiffness and strength and applying new techniques to welding to increase the strength of the overall frames.  I have seen that described in the frame designs of most leading designs.
  • All that allows us the users to buy the bikes with Aluminum frames and expect a great performance overall.

Drivetrain Options and Selection for a Mountain Bike

Drivetrain: Which one is for you…

Over the last couple of years I have been seeing more and more mountain bikes come with a range of options when it comes to the drivetrain.  As mountain biking has become more and more popular, innovation associated with the equipment has started to increase.

This posting is hopefully going to help you distinguish between the overwhelming options and guide you in the process of drivetrain selection.

OK, so what are the options?

  • Three chain rings crankset:  This is probably the configuration that has been the most widely used until a couple of years ago. It allows you the widest selection of gears and the ability to attack (successfully I may add) pretty much any terrain out there.  What are its benefits:
    1. You have the ability to reach great speeds when you leverage the outermost 3rd ring on the crank assembly and the smallest (right most) cog wheels on the cassette;   Riding my X-Caliber Gary Fisher G2 29er in the highest possible gear and of course downhill on asphalt road,  I have been able to reach speed of 43-miles/per hour !
    2. With the same equipment, you can leverage the low gears: small front cogwheel and large cog wheels of the cassette, you can now climb a steep road or mountain trail and be able to stay on the bike;

High-range-of-gears

 

 

For the cassette – I think the 10-speed Shimano HG62 offers close ratio gearing allowing for a more efficient use of energy through finer cadence control

 

  • Double Crankset also noted as 2×10 in the bike specs:  these are the cranksets that are based on two chain rings.  In the last 2 years I see increasing number of bikes with this configuration.  The claim from the manufacturers is that the 2×10 speed drivetrain offers noticeably reduced weight, simpler front shifting, and a small compromise on overall gear range.  Now that there are options at most price levels, a 2x drivetrain would be a great choice for anyone looking to shed some weight from their bike without giving up much in terms of versatility
  • Finally, enters the Single:  Also referred to as the 1×11:  This is supposed to give you super light-weight and shifting simplicity.  That combined still with a full range of gears.   That I am not so sure – how is it being accomplished – given the wheel… Initially the 1×11 had a problem with the ability to retain control over the chain.  That however changed recently with the higher precision machined chain ring teeth – which allow for better chain control (AND OF COURSE COST A WHOLE LOT MORE)

SRAM-XX1-1x11

 

I am able to give a view of this option as well as my spouse’s bike (which we purchased last summer came with a 2×10 drivetrain and was heavily advertised by the specialist who was helping us select the bike.  On a recent ride I swapped bikes with my wife and experienced riding hers with the 2×10 configuation – long story short – the three chain ring options is a hands down winner. Why?  Because of the wide range of gears it enables.   I am able to reach much higher speeds when using the largest of the three rings and climb much more efficiently and steeper inclines – when using the small chain ring.

Both of our bikes have a cassette with 10-speed 11-36 gearing.  Hence the difference is in the crankset.

My overall recommendation – if you can find the bike with the three chain rings on the crankset – go with it.  It will give you the widest range of control in your speed and biking.

Torrential Rains in Austin – Biking on Flooded Trails

Torrential rains in Austin – what do you do?

Well folks, Austin and Texas in general are in the South West…and usually that means dry and hot and certainly very rare instances of heavy rain down pour.  This May things have been different.  According to plenty of sources this has been also the wettest May on history – Austin received over 20-inches of rain.  What do you do in this weather in Austin? Go see a movie?  Visit a museum?  How about go for a bike ride …?   We just waited for the rain to pause and decided to hit the trails.

So, what does this do to trail and mountain biking experiences?  The reality is – very little.  Why ?  Because mountain bike trails are by definition are very rustic and easily covered with mud and otherwise messy conditions.

Given that, we decided to be adventurous and experience the trails along Barton Creek in the heavily rain saturated ground.  Included below are multiple photos – hopefully they will give you an idea how different the trails look after the heavy down pours.

Austin-Barton-Creek

 

Flooded-Austin-Barton-Creek-TrailCrawfish-on-trailBike-on-flooded-trail Austin-Flooded-Trail  Need to remind you that the rain came back with a mighty force only a couple of hours after we initially got on the trail

Mountain Biking in Texas in May – Mud…mud…

Mountain biking post heavy rains

Rain is really needed and important for Texas!  The lakes are low, water is in limited supply….(I think in better shape than California, though…)

But, the rains have been heavy and causing really sticky mud on the trails in Texas.  If you are out to get exercise – there is nothing like biking on a muddy trail in the Hill Country.  Why?  Because the mud is REALLY sticky – and it causes you to exert quite a bit of both strength pedaling and skill navigating and staying on your bike in the slippery slopes.

Here are some photos from my Saturday ride – it was right after a Friday (and Thursday, and Wednesday…) heavy rains.  What was I thinking 🙂  Well, let me chalk it on the need to exercise….

Hill-Country-Bike-Trails

Hill-Country-Biking-TrailsBiking-TexasHill-country-biking-mud  Well you have seen it now.  The mud is pretty heavy even-though the trails look pretty compact and stony – in reality they are but there is also quite a bit of sticky dirt on the trail – and it gets everywhere including the derailleurs…making shifting gears more difficult.    And of course you need to be ready to spend time cleaning your bike post ride…

But as I said – it is all about the exercise…!

Tigra Sports BikeConsole – Follow up on Reviews

Tigra Sports BikeConsole In the Rain

Rainy DayEarlier this morning I had to go meet a friend at a local coffee shop – as usual I bike to the place.  Why?  It gives me a chance to exercise – round trip on the bike is 10-miles.  The weather though was not exactly cooperative – when I rolled my bike outside of the garage it was misty, foggy and not quite pleasant.  However, I decided that I need the exercise and after all my phone was in a weather proof case!

So off I went.  By the time I reached the coffee shop (about 5-miles later) I was wet and cold and so was the bike and phone console.  And the story repeated itself on the way back.   But the phone was fine… Here are a couple of links to earlier reviews of the phone case I am referring to – check them out

And the phone itself in the case after the ride…

Tigra Sports BikeConsole

Here is a link to a very extensive review of the phone case on Tech Reviewer.  Enjoy!