Folks from the Upper Midwest lovingly refer to residents of Illinois as “Flatlanders,” because, well, Illinois is generally pretty flat. However, nestled into the northeast corner of the state along the Mississippi River is a unique region that is anything but vertically challenged.

That region, known as the Driftless Area, is home to the annual Ten Thousand Gravel Grinder. Hosted by the Freeport Bicycle Company, the event is not a race so much as a challenge of endurance and climbing, as riders face roughly—you guessed it—10,000 feet of climbing over the 120-mile course west of the city of Freeport. All-told, the route has at least 15 big climbs as riders go up and down over pretty much every hill in sight.

Hills? There were plenty at the Ten Thousand. Illinois’ 2018 Ten Thousand Gravel Ride. © DREIBELBIS + FAIRWEATHER

The Ten Thousand event takes place in a region called the Driftless Area that by a fluke of geologic history was not flattened by glaciers during the most recent Ice Age. In fact, you may have seen the “Ice Age” movies, which I am pretty sure are a 100% factual documentary about the period.

The Driftless is mostly located in southwest Wisconsin, but part of it extends down into Illinois. Instead of having flattened terrain with the occasional drumlin, the Driftless Area looks like what you might expect to see in Vermont or elsewhere, with deep valleys and steep, tree-covered hills. The resulting terrain is beautiful to look at from the saddle of the bike, but each beautiful vista has to be earned with a lung-busting climb up the steep hill slopes.

In Wisconsin, the Driftless Area has become synonymous with “really hard rides.” The 107-mile Dairy Roubaix gravel ride held every April has a similar amount of climbing as the Ten Thousand, and the Horribly Hilly Hundreds being held this Saturday inspires people to pay money to ride literally every hill in sight around Blue Mounds State Park west of Madison. Oh yeah, and if Chicago had won its Olympics bid, the road race was going to be held in the region as well.

The 2018 Ten Thousand

The Ten Thousand’s race director is Stu Garwick of the Freeport Bicycle Company. Garwick took over the event in 2016 after Axletree saw it through its early days. Despite more riders coming west to subject themselves to the climbing, the event has stayed true to its roots.

“I remember Cyclocross Magazine wrote about the first Ten Thousand that also started in Freeport and it’s still just as grass-roots as it was in 2014,” he said. “It’s still a free event, there is no pre-registration, timing chips, or number plates. Riders just show up, sign a waiver, grab a map and we have a mass start at 9 a.m.”

Kae Takeshita got her final DK200 prep in at the Ten Thousand. Illinois’ 2018 Ten Thousand Gravel Ride. © DREIBELBIS + FAIRWEATHER

One thing that has changed for the Ten Thousand is the race lengths available for participants. The Ten Thousand started with only a 120-mile option, but as we are seeing with events ranging all the way up to the Dirty Kanza, adding shorter lengths helps make gravel events more inclusive and not just limited to the hardest core athletes out there. Since we last covered it, the Ten Thousand has added lengths of 75 and 50 miles. As we will see, those new lengths came into play in 2018.

The Ten Thousand route begins and ends in the city of Freeport, which is located just east of the extent of the Driftless Area in the aforementioned Flatlands. Fun fact about Freeport: its high school mascot is the Pretzel. Yep, the Freeport Pretzels. I feel like I have failed the reader in a way by not asking Garwick if there was an ample supply of twisted salty treats awaiting riders at the finish.

Ten Thousand 120-mile route map. photo: Garmin Connect

The route then heads west into the hills of the Driftless, tacking northwest to the town of Elizabeth and then heading south toward Mt. Carroll before heading back east. Midway through the route, riders get a brief beauty respite as they head south for four miles through the majestic Mississippi River valley. Then, of course, it’s back to the climbing.

Like most gravel events, navigating the route is … challenging. “We have a friend of the shop make really nice maps and cues but many roads are not marked,” Garwick said. “Navigation plays a big part in getting through the event.”

The hills and the heat provided a challenge for riders. Illinois’ 2018 Ten Thousand Gravel Ride. © DREIBELBIS + FAIRWEATHER

As I wrote about in my recap of the Dirty Kanza, gravel events can be what you want them to be, whatever name organizers give it. The Ten Thousand does not record times or do podiums, but nothing stopped riders who wanted to hammer the 120-mile route from throwing down against fellow athletes who were game. Everyone else was free to enjoy the challenge and take advantage of any stops available to escape the heat. The event itself does give out a small award to everyone who finishes the ride, however.

Each finisher got a plaque to commemorate their accomplishment. Illinois’ 2018 Ten Thousand Gravel Ride. © DREIBELBIS + FAIRWEATHER

The story of this 2018 Ten Thousand was that it was really hot. Like even hotter than 2017 Trek CX Cup hot. The event was held on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend when temperatures soared into the 90s all across the Upper Midwest.

Garwick said the heat drastically changed plans for many of the riders. “About 125 riders took the start,” he said. “The temps were hot early in the day, out on the road Garmins were showing 100 plus degrees. A good majority of the riders changed plans as early as 20 miles into the ride. We had riders on the 50 miler trying to find shortcuts back. Many who set out for 120 changed plans at the point of no return and took the 75-mile route. And many of the 120-mile riders received rides in vans and pick-up trucks from good Samaritans. The finisher rate was very low.”

With temperatures nearing 120 degrees (or so it seemed), many riders took this as a sign to take the shorter route. Illinois’ 2018 Ten Thousand Gravel Ride. © DREIBELBIS + FAIRWEATHER

The extreme temperatures led to some creative pit stops. “A small bar in Loran, the Slurp and Burp, served as quite the oasis,” said Garwick. “It’s located 20 miles from the finish but in a deep valley with some tough climbing getting out. The cold AC and cold beers made it pretty easy to pull the plug and call for a ride.”

Then there were the impromptu rest stops that are a staple at gravel races. “My kids had a lemonade stand at mile 22, which turned out to be a savior for many. Comrade Cycles had a water and snack stop at mile 34, and a good friend of the shop set up a water stop at around mile 95. The route also passed through two towns with commerce where riders could get food and calories. Even with all that coddling we still had a low finisher rate[sic].”

When the sweat was poured and the gravel dust settled, all of eight riders had finished the 120-mile route with the eponymous 10,000 feet of climbing. The last finisher rolled in just before 9 p.m., not quite making the Race-the-Sun designation of finishing by 8:15 p.m.

This was one of the flatter sections of the course. Illinois’ 2018 Ten Thousand Gravel Ride. © DREIBELBIS + FAIRWEATHER

For gravel enthusiasts to whom the idea of 120 miles and 10,000 feet of climbing sounds appealing and those who bailed at the Slurp and Burp, Garwick said the Ten Thousand will be back for year six in 2019.

“We’re already planning for next year as many folks are talking about getting redemption,” Garwick said. “The plan is that it will always be the Sunday before Memorial Day.”

Photos provided by Dreibelbis and Fairweather.

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Then, there are the bikes. Since any bike is a gravel bike, gravel finishes are a parade of familiar and unique, interesting and … really interesting.

Last weekend, our Cyclocross Magazine team was at the Lost and Found Gravel Grinder in the Lost Sierra of Plumas County, California. After he conquered the grave grind, CXM tech reporter Cliff Lee spent some time at the finish line checking out the bikes that rolled through after 100 miles of Sierra gravel.

One of the bikes that caught his eye was a custom titanium cyclocross/gravel bike San Francisco frame builder Dan Nelson of Nelson Titanium Products (NTP) Bikes built for Rowie Jaron.

[caption id="attachment_120197" align="aligncenter" width="1140"] Rowie Jaron’s Custom Titanium Cyclocross/Gravel Bike Handbuilt by Dan Nelson. 2018 Lost and Found Gravel Grinder. © C. Lee / Cyclocross Magazine[/caption]

Read on for a closer look at the eye-catching titanium handmade bike built to tackle ’cross courses in the fall and gravel grinders the rest of the year.

Rowie Jaron’s Custom Titanium NTP Bikes Cyclocross/Gravel Bike

Located in the Bayview/Hunter’s Point area of San Francisco near the old Candlestick Park, NTP Bikes is the custom titanium framebuilding company of Dan Nelson. Nelson started his career building sets and special effects for movies but eventually left Tinseltown behind to make bikes built to last instead of movie sets that often get blown up. Nelson builds custom frames for pretty much every use. Road, mountain, commuting, full suspension, traveling, you name it.

[caption id="attachment_120204" align="aligncenter" width="686"] Nelson attached an NTP head badge to his titanium creation. A matchy-matchy Chris King headset also stands out on the front of the bike. Custom Titanium Cyclocross/Gravel Bike Handbuilt by Dan Nelson. 2018 Lost and Found Gravel Grinder. © C. Lee / Cyclocross Magazine[/caption]

The bike Lee spotted at the Lost and Found Gravel Grinder belonged to Rowie Jaron of San Carlos, CA. Jaron had Nelson build his bike to tackle ’cross courses in the fall, but still be capable to handle gravel grinds like Lost and Found the rest of the year.

The bike has a cyclocross geometry for smooth handling, and Nelson custom designed the front-end geometry to fit a Fox AX Adventure Cross fork for gravel events. The titanium frame has internal cable routing and a rear post mount for the hydraulic disc brakes.

[caption id="attachment_120199" align="aligncenter" width="1243"] Jaron had Nelson build the bike with a custom front-end geometry to fit a Fox AX Adventure Cross suspension fork. Custom Titanium Cyclocross/Gravel Bike Handbuilt by Dan Nelson. 2018 Lost and Found Gravel Grinder. © C. Lee / Cyclocross Magazine[/caption]

The frame is also unique because it was the 100th one Nelson has built.

[caption id="attachment_120200" align="aligncenter" width="1140"] A custom seatstay bridge commemorates Nelson’s 100th build. Custom Titanium Cyclocross/Gravel Bike Handbuilt by Dan Nelson. 2018 Lost and Found Gravel Grinder. © C. Lee / Cyclocross Magazine[/caption]

Jaron rolled on a set of 700c ENVE M50 tubeless-ready carbon wheels decaled to be matchy-matchy with the bike’s orange and blue hues. The 28mm-deep rims have an internal width of 21mm to help fit the wider gravel tires needed for Lost and Found’s rough terrain. Jaron outfitted the bike with a set of 40mm-wide, tan sidewall WTB Nano tires that we admittedly had not seen in the wild before last weekend.

[caption id="attachment_120205" align="aligncenter" width="1140"] Jaron mounted up the new tan wall tubeless WTB Nano 700c x 40mm tires for Lost and Found. Custom Titanium Cyclocross/Gravel Bike Handbuilt by Dan Nelson. 2018 Lost and Found Gravel Grinder. © C. Lee / Cyclocross Magazine[/caption]

As Tobin Ortenblad’s stem showed, the Lost and Found course had its fair share of climbs, and Jaron geared his bike accordingly. He ran a Race Face Next SL crankset up front with a 34t chain ring with a Shimano XTR RD-M9050-GS Di2 mountain bike derailleur in the rear. He took full advantage of the GS long cage with a SRAM XG-1175 10-42t rear cassette to help with the climbing. To keep things looking good, Jaron also added an orange KMC X11SL DLC chain to round out the drivetrain.

[caption id="attachment_120203" align="aligncenter" width="1242"] Jaron outfit the bike with a Shimano XTR R9050 Di2 rear derailleur with a long cage to fit the 10-42t cassette. He also ran a color-matching KMC X11SL DLC chain. Custom Titanium Cyclocross/Gravel Bike Handbuilt by Dan Nelson. 2018 Lost and Found Gravel Grinder. © C. Lee / Cyclocross Magazine[/caption]

Jaron outfitted for the gravel adventure with, again matching orange bidons and a small saddle bag affixed to a WTB saddle with titanium rails.

[caption id="attachment_120198" align="aligncenter" width="1140"] Jaron affixed a small saddle bag to his WTB saddle for the long day of riding. Custom Titanium Cyclocross/Gravel Bike Handbuilt by Dan Nelson. 2018 Lost and Found Gravel Grinder. © C. Lee / Cyclocross Magazine[/caption]

For more on Rowie Jaron’s Don Nelson titanium creation, check out the photo gallery and specs below.

For more Lost and Found and Dirty Kanza 200 bikes, see our profiles of Olivia Dillon’s S-Works Diverge, Kaitie Keough and Ted King’s DK200-winning Cannondale SuperXes, Sven Nys’ Trek Checkpoint and Tobin Ortenblad’s Santa Cruz Stigmata.

Photo Gallery: Rowie Jaron’s Custom NTP Bikes Titanium Cyclocross/Gravel Bike

Rowie Jaron’s Custom Titanium Cyclocross/Gravel Bike Handbuilt by Dan Nelson. 2018 Lost and Found Gravel Grinder. © C. Lee / Cyclocross Magazine

The post Gravel Bike: NTP Bikes Titanium Cyclocross/Gravel Bike Spotted at Lost and Found appeared first on Cyclocross Magazine - Cyclocross News, Races, Bikes, Photos, Videos.

[caption id="attachment_113383" align="alignright" width="230"] Our coverage of the 2018 Dirty Kanza 200 is brought to you in part by Panaracer. Check out its line of gravel tires for your next adventure.[/caption]

For those of us who haven’t made the trip to Emporia, KS for the Dirty Kanza, it can be hard to avoid wondering if the self-proclaimed “World’s Premier Gravel Grinder,” lives up to the hype. Can it really be that good? Am I really missing out?

As we wrote over the weekend, our assessment is yes, yes it does live up to the hype, and yes, it’s worth putting your name in the lottery and making the journey to Kansas in the future. We hope our coverage of the Dirty Kanza 200 race has helped provide some insight as to why.

[caption id="attachment_120252" align="aligncenter" width="1140"] Rebecca Rusch celebrates her DKXL win. 2018 Dirty Kanza 200. © Ian Matteson/ ENVE Composites[/caption]

Words, however, can only do so much. Gravel events are about the adventure and the journey, and at a certain point, images help tell that story much better. This photo gallery of images from Ian Matteson of ENVE Composites takes a look at the event and what riders had to endure in the Flint Hills of Kansas.

For more from the Dirty Kanza 200, see our archive of complete coverage from the 2018 gravel event. 

Ian Matteson Photo Gallery: 2018 Dirty Kanza 200

Rain that came after riders started to line up caused a bike rapture at the start line. 2018 Dirty Kanza 200. © Ian Matteson/ ENVE Composites

The post Photo Gallery: Grit and Gravel at the 2018 Dirty Kanza 200 appeared first on Cyclocross Magazine - Cyclocross News, Races, Bikes, Photos, Videos.

Jon Severson is the curator of the Monstercross News Facebook page that preserves the legacy of Matt Chester’s monster cross creation. Severson is contributing semi-regular columns to Cyclocross Magazine to provide readers with a deeper look into the monster cross platform. For more from Severson, see our interview with him from earlier this year and his first column on why you might be interested in building a monster cross bike.

Today’s column takes a look at the history of dirt drop bars, which are an essential part of a monster cross setup.

by Jon Severson

Before we delve further into the world of monster cross, I feel it’s necessary to give a bit of a background on the dirt drop handlebar.

Why? Yes, they are sometimes misunderstood and often poorly set up (hey, I did that a few times!), but at their core, dirt drops are a really neat handlebar with applications that aren’t constricted to just the dirt. Plus for monster cross, I feel it’s a simple—yet important—upgrade from a traditional drop bar or “gravel” bar.

If you are not familiar with a dirt drop, for this column I will define them as a drop bar designed specifically with off-road use in mind where the hooks, or drops, are the primary riding position. They come in different shapes and sizes, but the photo below provides a closer look at an example of a dirt drop bar.

Origin8’s dirt drop Gary bar line adds flare to your monster cross build. 2018 Sea Otter Classic cyclocross and gravel new products. © Cyclocross Magazine

Dirt drops have an interesting history of thriving, going away and then rebirth. The rebirth of the dirt drops in the early 2000s is an essential part of the history of monster cross, so in today’s column, I want to provide a brief history of the dirt drop, highlighting key players and visionaries, and then offer my thoughts on why I think they’re a great fit for do-it-all monster cross bikes and more. In a future column, I will look at some of my favorite dirt drops and share why I dig them.

The Heyday of Dirt Drop Bars

Dirt drops aren’t new, but they went dormant long enough then came back so to many they seem new. Let’s start with the early days of mountain biking. Like the early 1980s, the beginning.

Look up pics of the NorCal and Crested Butte/Salida/Colorado Springs mountain biking scenes when everyone was trying a bit of everything. In both areas, you’ll see evidence of early dirt drops, back when you had to make them on your own.

Yes, you read that right: hand bent.

How? Back when a standard road bar was significantly thicker than today’s aluminum bars, you could pack that puppy full of fine sand, clamp the bar in the vice, then use your leverage amplifying tool of choice on the ends of the bar to flare those puppies out as much as you safely dared too. Bars were set up higher than your average road bar, you rode in the hooks because it’s not like the old brake hoods were comfy for long periods of time anyway, and boom! a drop bar handlebar modified for off-road use was (re)born.

Charlie Cunningham was a notable fan of the dirt drop; it’s hard to find a picture of one of his bikes that didn’t have a set of one variation or another of a dirt drop. But he wasn’t alone. Ibis and Salsa also embraced dirt drops and made stems aimed at optimizing their use for riding in areas such as NorCal and Colorado.

Later even big brands like Specialized and Bridgestone offered stock bikes that came with bars made by Nitto of Japan, a company which used to make stems, posts and bars for Specialized, Ritchey and others in the 1980s and 90s as well as the famous mustache bar.

Even in the early 1990s it was still not uncommon to see someone racing with dirt drop handlebars. Heck, Jacquie Phelan was still racing them at the pro women’s level. I should note, as it’s often misunderstood, while John Tomac did race drop bars off-road for a season, they were standard road bars, without the flare, similar to his 7-Eleven road bike.

Eric Rumpf’s John Tomac replica 1991 Raleigh Signature ti/carbon drop bar mountain bike. © Eric Rumpf

Dirt drops worked better off-road than normal drops and allowed for use of some existing bits from the road world—bar-end shifters, for example—and multiple hand positions. However, the trend towards more Moto-inspired bikes led to the flat bar to become the dominant choice for riding off-road. WTB went from selling 100s of drop bars in the early 1990s to placing its last order around 1992-1993 for, I’m told, 500 dirt drop bars. The last of that order sold out around 1999 or 2000.

In the years that followed, the law of supply and demand made it tougher for enthusiasts who still wanted to run dirt drops. Bars that were about $50 new (or less in closeout bins) started going for $150-$200 *used* online.

Keeping the Legacy Alive

WTB’s last order and the shift toward flat bars for the dirt marked the end of an era. However, there was one important person who helped keep the legacy of the dirt drop alive.

If you were on the internet back in the 1990s looking at bike sites and forums, someone named Shiggy (aka Don Pearson) stood out as a notable proponent of the dirt drop. Pearson proudly hoarded WTB and his own hand-bent bars and was still spreading the good word of the dirt drop. Pearson had been on dirt drops since the early 1980s, so he had seen the rise and fall of their popularity.

Most commenters fought the idea, while a few of us followed with curiosity, but it was Brant Richards of On-One fame (and later Ragley Bikes) who had the vision to resurrect the dirt drop. Being the smart guy he was, he enlisted Shiggy to help him develop the first of the new wave of dirt drop handlebars: The On-One Midge.

From a monster cross standpoint, the era of the Midge is important as it came about right when Matt Chester started to really dig in on dirt drops and led to more offerings.

However, Brant wasn’t the only one with his eyes wide open. When a young Jason Boucher was at QBP, he landed the opportunity to head up Salsa a few years after QBP bought it, and he had big dreams for the brand. I knew Jason from my days at LEW and our time in the Minnesota scene, and at Interbike one year he messaged me to swing by the Salsa booth at the dirt demo; he had something to show me.

It was in the first or second year of the Monstercross News page on Facebook, and he knew I had become a dirt drop lover. I stopped by, he took me to the very back of the booth and showed me the Woodchipper on his personal bike. I was intrigued.

There were a number of other dirt drops in this second wave that helped bring the design back. Origin 8 quietly came out with the Gary bar dirt drop and has since expanded its line to three different models and now even offers dirt-drop-friendly stems.

See a dirt drop bar in your future? Origin8. has a new Everland stem with 25 and 45 degree rises in 60-120mm lengths for a proper dirt drop fit. 2018 Sea Otter Classic cyclocross and gravel new products. © Cyclocross Magazine

A small U.K. upstart called Singular Cycles owned by Sam Allison released the race-oriented Gryphon and short-lived—but highly sought after—Peregrine. Richards and Allison also teamed up to design a more aggressive, off-road-oriented dirt drop called the Luxy bar. The Luxy was sadly—I had a set and they were great off-road—discontinued and now fetches WTB-level prices on eBay.

Finally, Soma Fabrications recognized the growing niche and came out with the 31.8mm Junebug and 26.0mm Portola. The company also designed the Gator bar for those who want to run mountain levers—thus the long flat sections.

Soma now offers three dirt drops. The (front to back) Gator, Junebug and Portola. © Cyclocross Magazine

Dirt Drops Today

Thanks to these companies I’ve mentioned, there are quite a few brands now offering dirt drop handlebars. Nitto came out with the RM-3, which is a personal favorite. Salsa has added the Cowchipper and offers both that bar and the Woodchipper in carbon as well as two grades of alloy. More are surely on their way.

The popularity of such dirt drop bars in the gravel scene has without a doubt led to the new crop of flared gravel bars. These bars offer a slight amount of flare in the hooks that’s just enough to be advantageous while in the drops, yet maintains a more traditional road handlebar feel on the hoods and top of the handlebar. [Ed Note: We have covered examples of gravel flared bars by Easton, FSA, Nitto and Oval Concepts among others.]

Easton’s AX flared adventure bars are an example of a flared gravel bar. 2018 Sea Otter Classic cyclocross and gravel new products. © Cyclocross Magazine

These flared gravel bars are often mistaken for being dirt drops, because hey, gravel is dirt after all. But they are more like cousins to the dirt drop, and more like immediate family members to traditional road drop bars.

If we, for example, compare the Easton AX flared gravel bar with the Soma Gator dirt drop, we see a drop of 120mm and a flare of 14 degrees for the Easton AX bar, and it has traditional center-to-center widths of 40 to 46cm. These measurements are, save the flare, similar to many road bars. The Soma Gator, on the other hand, flares out 20 degrees and has a drop of 112mm at the front that increases to 160mm at the ends. The bar is 34cm wide at the top flats, 50.5cm wide at the front of the drops and 65.5cm wide at the ends.

The Soma Gator has more flare and more total drop than its gravel bar counterparts. © Cyclocross Magazine

Like monster cross in general, dirt drops aren’t for everyone, no doubt. At the same time, I would hope folks do not assume they are just for riding off-road either. Their upright position lends well to commuters, touring and adventure cyclists—a position similar to the one touted by popular touring bike Rivendell Bicycle Works. Their leverage makes them popular as a secret weapon for cyclocross.

For monster cross, they give you the leverage and control you want when riding off-road while offering a range of positions for road and long-distance rides. This again reinforces a monster cross bike as one that fits between a cyclocross and mountain bike.

To me, the history of the dirt drops is an interesting story of rebirth. A rebirth I know I am grateful for thanks to their perfect fit for the versatile monster cross platform. Drop a comment below or on Monstercross News and let folks know how you use yours.

Note: Charlie Cunningham, a godfather of the dirt drop, suffered a bad wreck and still needs help with expenses. His wife has set up a GoFund Me page, if you like this article or just want to help someone who’s done a lot for our sport, please consider a donation: gofundme.com.

The Cyclocross Magazine team has several modern dirt drops in our hands for review at the moment. Stay tuned for the drop on the bars. 

The post The Dirt Drop: A Brief History of Dirt Drops and Their Importance to Monster Cross appeared first on Cyclocross Magazine - Cyclocross News, Races, Bikes, Photos, Videos.

Cyclocross Magazine has covered gravel for a decade now, and in that time we’ve seen gravel grow from small grassroots events to, in some cases, major events pros and former pros target because of their challenge and prestige. Thanks in part to the attention it got, this year’s Dirty Kanza 200 produced some “controversies” related to rules written and unwritten that drew attention in the gravel and at-large cycling communities.

Does gravel racing need more rules? We offer some thoughts and ask some questions to see what folks think. As always, feel free to speak up in the comments.

For those of us who follow cycling in the online space, the attention the Dirty Kanza 200 gravel race has been hard to miss during the past two weeks. The event drew the attention of gravel-related outlets and this publication—as it does every year—but some of the other big name publications also chipped in to make the annual Kansas gravel event arguably the most talked about cycling event for several days. Not bad for an event that started with just 34 riders a little over 10 years ago.

Cyclocross Magazine has covered the growth of the Dirty Kanza since 2008. photo: imdesigngroup.com

With the increased attention came controversies that were also hard to avoid. Before the race, talk centered around aero bars in mass start gravel events, and after the Kanza dust settled, it focused on racing strategies in mass start races where women and men race side-by-side as peers.

We pose some questions to see where the Cyclocross Magazine readership is at on aero bars and rules in gravel racing.

Gravel Growing Pains

Gravel racing is at an interesting place in its existence. One could argue it is not much different than where cyclocross was about a decade ago.

What started as a grassroots way to push limits and seek adventure is now the fastest growing discipline of cycling in the U.S. More and more pros and former pros are targeting races such as the Dirty Kanza, and publications such as this one are covering the DK200 as if it were a stage of the Tour de France or cyclocross World Cup.

The Dirty Kanza 200 has grown in popularity and now many current and former pros target the event. 2018 Men’s Dirty Kanza 200. © Z. Schuster / Cyclocross Magazine

Gravel started as—and still largely is—unsanctioned racing with a loosely structured set of rules. Since only a small subset of a given field “races” for the win, and the prize at the end is usually a handshake or pat on the back, athletes have seemingly been able to regulate themselves and race against each other without a strict set of rules determining how they race. That said, the heart and soul of gravel racing is the amateurs who grab their closest bike and tackle gravel events for the challenge and not necessarily to win.

One argument we saw more than once last week is since gravel events are not sanctioned, we should not care so much who wins. However, winning a race like the Dirty Kanza carries a lot of prestige, and as 2017 winner Alison Tetrick noted in our interview before the race, creates new opportunities. “I would like to think it would be the same without winning, but by winning the race, I have been given some incredible opportunities that I am very thankful for,” she told us.

Alison Tetrick said winning the 2017 Dirty Kanza 200 has provided her with previously unavailable opportunities. © Christopher Nichols

All indications suggest gravel racing will continue to grow in the U.S. The question, as we see it, is if gravel races can remain unsanctioned and largely self-regulated, or if gravel organizers and racers need to arrive at a set of rules that may end up looking more like sanctioned disciplines such as cyclocross or road.

Before we get to the 2018 “controversies,” our first question is about why you participate in gravel events.

Aero Bars

If we are being honest, the great aero bar debate in the week leading up to the Dirty Kanza 200 amused us a bit. Last year, we profiled Mat Stephens’ winning bike that had aero bars and asked him about the aero bars in an interview, and then earlier this year we spoke with Jake Wells about his decision to use aero bars for the DK200 this year. In short, if you followed our coverage, you knew aero bars are becoming popular for gravel events.

Later, VeloNews did an interview with Mat Stephens and in its headline, focused on the aero bars and then Geoff Kabush stirred the pot as well. Not surprisingly, those stories got more people talking about the extensions that Greg Lemond made famous nearly 30 years ago.

Mat Stephens won with aero bars in 2017. This year, it was a topic that drew a lot of attention. 2017 Dirty Kanza 200. © Christopher Nichols

Up until now, gravel race organizers have addressed aero bars in one of two ways. Races such as the Lost and Found have banned them from the beginning, while others such as the Dirty Kanza have said nothing about what riders can and cannot put on their bike. Either way, the rules of a given event create an even playing field, allowing all riders to choose to use them or be forced not to use them.

Right now, the future of aero bars in gravel events appears to be up to individual race directors. Crusher in the Tushar has banned them. However, in our interview with Ted King on Friday before the DK200, he touched on another way that speaks to the current self-regulation of gravel racing. “I’m entertained by the whole aero bar situation. I won’t lie, I’d be pleased to see aero bars so fiercely frowned upon that they’re not allowed.”

We should note that King opted for aero bars during his winning DK200 ride and walking around Commercial Street on Friday, it was hard to miss that many amateur riders also used them, so even if they are not viewed favorably, riders are still choosing to use them for their perceived benefits during the 206-mile event.

Rules for Mass Start Events

Gravel events started as, and primarily remain, mass start events where women and men start together and race the same distance. Since events are mass start, women share work with men and men share work with women. However, with separate titles given to the top woman and man, in retrospect it seems inevitable that a gray area with this structure would arise.

Gravel events provide a chance for women and men to ride the same distance in one mass start field. 2018 Dirty Kanza 200. © Z. Schuster / Cyclocross Magazine

Before we continue, a couple things are true about the situation that caused this controversy at the 2018 Dirty Kanza 200. The first is that Kaitie Keough rode together with her husband Luke for the last 120 miles or so of the race after the group they were in broke apart. The second is that Keough broke zero written rules (which are available here) in winning the Women’s race.

Moving forward, we do not want to dwell on this specific case because if it was not a wife and husband riding together, it would have been something else that forced this conversation. In fact, in 2016, the issue of what the definition of “neutral support” is for the Dirty Kanza 200 came up after a rider was disqualified for what he viewed was a questionable infraction.

The Dirty Kanza Rider’s Bible has 25 written rules. However, what the discussion surrounding this year’s Women’s race suggests is that some believe there are other “unwritten rules” that Elite riders should abide by.

Unwritten rules are nothing new in cycling, especially on the road. In 2015, Vincenzo Nibali drew criticism when he attacked after Chris Froome suffered a mechanical during the Tour de France. Last year it happened again with Fabio Aru. Nibali and Aru did not break any actual rules, but they still faced a firestorm for violating the unwritten rule that you do not attack the yellow jersey when they suffer bad luck.

Other sports have unwritten rule as well. In baseball, it is considered taboo to bunt for a base hit in the last innings of a no-hitter. In soccer, a team is supposed to kick the ball out of bounds when an opposing player goes down. The list goes on.

What the 2018 Dirty Kanza controversy suggests is that maybe there are unwritten rules for gravel racing, but if anything is clear, it’s that no one agrees on what they are.

One issue we keep coming back to is if gravel races can retain their current semi-regulated, grassroots structure in the face of growing popularity, prestige and even payouts, or if “unwritten rules” need to be codified and a more rigid set of rules needs to be established to regulate gravel racing.

What do you think? Add your thoughts in the poll and comments below.

The post Poll: Does Gravel Racing Need More Rules? appeared first on Cyclocross Magazine - Cyclocross News, Races, Bikes, Photos, Videos.

The Garneau-sponsored duo rides the Garneau Steeple during cyclocross season, but they are both trying gravel-specific models during their gravel exploits. Richey’s bike of choice for his gravel racing has been the Hatchet gravel race bike made by Canadian company Devinci (although Richey may feel the bike is a masterpiece, it’s not to be confused with Leonardo Da Vinci or his Code).

“Easton has a good relationship with Devinci,” Richey said about why he rides the Hatchet. “[Easton] sponsors their enduro team on the mountain bike side, so there’s a good working relationship there. I like their bikes. I ride their mountain bikes too.”

[caption id="attachment_120288" align="aligncenter" width="1159"] Craig Richey’s 2018 Dirty Kanza 200 Devinci Hatchet. © Z. Schuster / Cyclocross Magazine[/caption]

A spring of gravel was just a prelude to the grand daddy of the gravel races: the Dirty Kanza 200 held last weekend in Emporia, KS. Richey brought his Hatchet to Kansas to take on the impressive field starting the Dirty Kanza 200 this year. Richey fared well against the tough field, finishing seventh after spending 11:32 out on the course.

During the notoriously hard ride, he also made a new directions-giving friend.

Aero bars got their fair share of attention before the race, and Richey decided to join the party with a set that he MacGyvered to fit his needs during the long day out on the course. “I initially didn’t want to run aero bars, but I could definitely see the benefits of being able to keep a more aerodynamic position and have a different hand position,” Richey said about his decision of Friday.

After the race, updated his aero bar thoughts, “I never touched them for the first 80 miles and was extremely grateful I had them when I cracked and was dropped from the leaders soon after the second checkpoint and was faced with the sad reality of potentially riding nearly 100 miles alone mostly into a headwind.”

[caption id="attachment_120280" align="aligncenter" width="1140"] Richey crafted his own aero bars using bar rails from BarYak. Craig Richey’s 2018 Dirty Kanza 200 Devinci Hatchet. © Z. Schuster / Cyclocross Magazine[/caption]

Read on for a profile of Richey’s bike and more about his DIY DK200 aero bars that helped him cut into the wind during the last leg of the course that went straight into a strong headwind.

Taking a Hatchet to the Wind at the DK200

Quebec-based Devinci has a long history of making race bikes. Founded in 1987 as a mountain bike company named Da Vinci, the company quickly added road to its repertoire when Felix Gauthier joined the company and convinced the team to change the name to Devinci.

Several years ago, Devinci jumped into the gravel game with the Hatchet, which we reviewed two years ago. The Hatchet comes in both carbon and aluminum builds, and not surprisingly, Richey was riding the carbon frame at the DK200.

[caption id="attachment_120293" align="aligncenter" width="1140"] The Hatchet is Devinci’s gravel race bike. The company makes the frame from its Dual Core Fusion carbon. Craig Richey’s 2018 Dirty Kanza 200 Devinci Hatchet. © Z. Schuster / Cyclocross Magazine[/caption]

Devinci builds the Hatchet frame with what it calls its Dual Core Fusion carbon. The layup is lighter and more compliant on top and stiffer for better impact resistance on the bottom. With the notorious Flint Hills gravel taking its toll on other riders, Richey was likely grateful for the extra frame protection as the gravel flew in the lead group he stuck with for the first half of the race.

Richey rode a 57cm Large frame at Dirty Kanza. Getting to that size took some trial and error. “I had the Hatchet when it launched, the size down, the medium,” Richey said. “When I bought it the guys at Devinci said to get the large, and I said no because the head tube was too big. I was wrong, it was too small.”

Devinci designed the Hatchet as a gravel race bike, and the geometry adopts the slacker front end, longer wheelbase approach to gravel bikes (as opposed to an “all-road” geometry that is similar to a road bike). Richey’s 57cm frame has a 71-degree head tube angle and 43.5cm chainstay that help produce a long 105.6cm wheelbase. The bottom bracket drop is 7cm, which is similar to many other gravel bikes. The geometry also includes a longer head tube and shorter stem, similar to what we saw with Kaitie Keough and Ted King’s winning Cannondale SuperX bikes.

“I like that the Hatchet has a less-steep head angle than some other bikes and a low bottom bracket, so it’s pretty stable” Richey said about his bike. “Long rear end, good tire clearance.”

[caption id="attachment_120281" align="aligncenter" width="1140"] As an Easton-sponsored rider, many of Richey’s components were Easton. Here, his Di2 junction box attached to an EC90SL stem. Craig Richey’s 2018 Dirty Kanza 200 Devinci Hatchet. © Z. Schuster / Cyclocross Magazine[/caption]

The fork and downtube have internal cable routing. The downtube features an “intake port” with swappable grommets to accommodate cables for mechanical and electronic shifting, hydro and mechanical brakes and even a dropper post. Richey had his bike equipped with Di2 shifting, hydraulic brakes and no dropper.

[caption id="attachment_120286" align="aligncenter" width="1140"] The “intake port” on the Hatchet has adjustable caps to fit different kinds of shifting and braking and even a dropper post. Craig Richey’s 2018 Dirty Kanza 200 Devinci Hatchet. © Z. Schuster / Cyclocross Magazine[/caption]

As a gravel bike, the Hatchet comes with clearance for wide tires. Richey ran 700c x 38mm Schwalbe G-One Speed TLE tires that feature a relatively smooth tread. The Microskin fabric layer is said by Schwalbe to offer extra protection, which also likely came in handy at the Dirty Kanza. The company claims a max tire clearance of 40mm, but after reviewing the bike, we felt it might be able to fit wider tires with low-profile treads.

Richey was strategic in his tire selection before the race. “They are supposed to be really puncture resistant and roll really fast,” he said about the G-Ones. “I am rolling the dice a little bit. I could run a more chunky, conservative tire, but I’m maybe not 100% confident in my fitness, so I am going to take this speed advantage and hope I don’t flat.” Richey not only did not flat, he also showed he had plenty of fitness with his seventh-place finish.

After surviving with the help of his stump friends, Richey talked about his tires during the race.

“The G-One Speed 38mm tires were a bit of a gamble considering the rain in the morning, and I was worried about traction in the mud but was able to tap my cyclocross background and rode everything including the very muddy section after checkpoint one. I was surprised how many tire risks people were taking during the race despite numerous riders flatting early on, I was generally careful on descents and picked lines to avoid loose rocks and potential punctures. I side wall sliced about 15 miles from checkpoint two, but my Orange Seal sealant sealed quickly and I lost less than 10 psi.”

Not surprisingly, Easton components adorned much of the rest of his bike. He ran a prototype Easton carbon tubeless gravel wheelset that has an internal width of 24mm. Richey said the wheelset is similar to Easton’s EA70 AX wheelset that is part of its gravel adventure line.

[caption id="attachment_120283" align="aligncenter" width="1140"] Richey ran Schwalbe G-One Speed tubeless tires with, not surprisingly, Easton wheels. His wheels were a 24mm internal width carbon tubeless gravel prototype. Craig Richey’s 2018 Dirty Kanza 200 Devinci Hatchet. © Z. Schuster / Cyclocross Magazine[/caption]

His crankset was an Easton EC90SL with Easton’s new 47/32t Gravel Shift Rings. His front derailleur was a Dura-Ace R9150 Di2 model, and he ran the matching R9150 Dura-Ace rear derailleur. Richey did not use the new Ultegra RX clutch-based derailleur that we saw on Sven Nys’ Checkpoint. His shift/brake levers were also Dura-Ace ST-R9170 and his calipers were Dura-Ace hydraulic disc.

[caption id="attachment_120289" align="aligncenter" width="1140"] Richey ran Easton’s new 47/32t Gravel Shift Rings with his EC90SL crankset. Craig Richey’s 2018 Dirty Kanza 200 Devinci Hatchet. © Z. Schuster / Cyclocross Magazine[/caption]

His other contact points were a SDG Falcon saddle, Crankbrothers Candy 7 pedals and an Easton E100 handlebar. The Hatchet comes stock with Easton’s flared AX adventure bar, but Richey opted for the old-school road-bar without the flare.

Getting Aero in Kansas

If you’ve read this far, it means you likely want to know more about Richey’s aero bars. After Geoff Kabush’s op-ed stating he wouldn’t do work for anyone using aero bars, the cycling commentariat was atwitter about the seemingly innocuous bar attachments before the race. Fortunately, as Richey’s fellow Canadian, Kabush was very friendly about his stance, even while riding with the man who made gravel aero bars famous in Mat Stephens.

Richey also ran aero bars, but whereas others ran stock bars, Richey did some MacGyvering to create his DK200 setup.

“I initially designed and 3D-printed a different face plate that bolted on that had a Garmin mount you could grab onto,” Richey said about his design process. “It ended up not working very well. I was worried about the bolts fatiguing and it was a bit sketchy.”

The base for Richey’s bars came from a company called BarYak, which makes bar packing systems for bikepacking setups. “Then I discovered BarYak,” Richey said. “This is kind of a bike bag carrying device for bikepacking on mountain bikes. I got that and then experimented with different hand positions on that and ended up with mountain bike bar ends on that.”

Richey started with BarYak’s Expedition Bar Rails, which are made from aluminum and attach to standard handlebars. He connected the two rails with a Carbon Cross Bar from BarYak and then attached a pair of mountain bike bar ends to the Cross Bars. (This is not the first time we’ve seen mountain bike bar ends on a gravel bike this year).

[caption id="attachment_120280" align="aligncenter" width="1140"] Richey made his aero bars by attaching mountain bike bar ends to BarYak’s Expedition Bar Rails. Craig Richey’s 2018 Dirty Kanza 200 Devinci Hatchet. © Z. Schuster / Cyclocross Magazine[/caption]

BarYak sells a Garmin mount extension, but Richey opted for a DIY approach. Richey 3D-printed his own Garmin mount that screws into the two ports on the bar rails and holds his head unit between the two for easy viewing while gravel grinding into the wind.

[caption id="attachment_120287" align="aligncenter" width="1140"] Richey fashioned his own mount to put his Garmin in good viewing position. Craig Richey’s 2018 Dirty Kanza 200 Devinci Hatchet. © Z. Schuster / Cyclocross Magazine[/caption]

The result was a unique, but effective platform for cutting into the brutal headwind that blew from the north during the last half of the 206-mile race. “This is a bit more minimalist,” he said about his DIY creation. “I don’t know if it’s lighter than clip-ons, but it looks better.”

After the race, Richey admitted looking better is relative. “Generally riders seemed careful when using aer obars in pack settings, and I saw fewer crashes than in any large mass start road event I have done, so I’m not sure if the safety argument is valid. Generally aero bars look lame in my opinion, and a rule banning them would simply end the debate and make it even for everyone.” [Offer your thoughts on aero bars in our poll on rules in gravel.]

For a full look at Richey’s aero bars and Devinci Hatchet gravel bike, see the photo gallery and specs below.

For more gravel bikes, see our profiles of Olivia Dillon’s Specialized Diverge, Kaitie Keough and Ted King’s Cannondale SuperXes, Sven Nys’ Trek Checkpoint, Tobin Ortenblad’s Santa Cruz Stigmata and Rowie Jaron’s custom titanium bike from NTP Bikes. Stay tuned for more bike profiles from the Dirty Kanza 200 and Lost and Found Gravel Grinder.

For more from Kansas, see our Dirty Kanza 200 archives.

Photo Gallery: Craig Richey’s Aero-Bar-Equipped Devinci Hatchet

Craig Richey’s 2018 Dirty Kanza 200 Devinci Hatchet. © Z. Schuster / Cyclocross Magazine

The post Gravel Bike: Craig Richey’s Dirty Kanza 200 DIY Aero Bar Devinci Hatchet appeared first on Cyclocross Magazine - Cyclocross News, Races, Bikes, Photos, Videos.

However, as they were in Kansas at the Dirty Kanza 200 race that same weekend, flats were difficult to avoid in California as well. Nash joined eventual winner Olivia Dillon in the flat tire club and went on the finish second. “It started off really well, I was in the lead on the first climb, and then I got a flat tire,” Nash told Cyclocross Magazine after the race.

[caption id="attachment_119768" align="aligncenter" width="1140"] Nash finished second at the 2018 Lost and Found gravel race. © Cyclocross Magazine[/caption]

Despite her impressive performance, Nash said she has only ridden her gravel bike a “couple times earlier this year,” with the Sagan Dirt Fondo near her Truckee home last month being one of those occasions. Lost and Found is also close to home for Nash, and she used the race as a training opportunity and a chance to support racing in her backyard.

[caption id="attachment_120318" align="aligncenter" width="1140"] Katerina Nash’s carbon Orbea Terra gravel bike. 2018 Lost and Found gravel race. © Cyclocross Magazine[/caption]

Nash and her Clif Pro Team teammates rode Ibis bikes during the past several seasons, but Nash hinted the team would have a new bike for 2018 when we spoke with her at the 2018 U.S. Cyclocross Nationals in Reno.

The new bike is the Orbea Terra, which is the same model in name as Nash rode prior to the 2014 season (see our profile of that bike here), albeit with cantilever brakes. Read on for a profile of Nash’s updated Orbea Terra from this year’s Lost and Found Gravel Grinder.

Back to the Future for Nash

Riding an Orbea bike is nothing new for Katerina Nash. Prior to the team’s switch to Ibis-branded bikes in 2014, the then Luna Pro Team rode the Orbea Terra frame during the cantilever brake era. As we noted in our profile of her rebranded Ibis Hakkalugi, the team switched in part because it wanted a cyclocross bike with disc brakes.

The Terra is still Basque-based Orbea’s cyclocross and gravel frame, but it has since modernized it with disc brakes and more. Orbea redesigned the platform in 2017 to include flat mount disc brakes, 12mm thru-axles, hidden fender mounts and clearance for tires up to 40mm wide. The frame also incorporates swappable cable stops to allow internal routing of both mechanical and electronic shifting cables.

The cyclocross/gravel Terra frame has a 70.5-degree head tube angle, and Nash’s Small frame has a chainstay length of 43cm and wheelbase of 103cm. “It’s a great bike for gravel,” Nash said. That’s consistent with Orbea’s positioning of the bike, with words like “explore,” “straying from the beaten path,” “all road,” and of course, “gravel.”

[caption id="attachment_120321" align="aligncenter" width="1140"] The Terra features increasingly common replaceable cable stops to run a variety of mechanical and electronic drivetrains. Katerina Nash’s carbon Orbea Terra gravel bike. 2018 Lost and Found gravel race. © Cyclocross Magazine[/caption]

Nash equipped the bike with a Shimano Dura-Ace R9150 Di2 transmission with ST-R9170 shift/brake levers. Her derailleurs were Dura-Ace R9150, and her hydraulic calipers were Dura-Ace BR-R9170 that bit onto Shimano RT-99 XTR Centerlock rotors, 160mm front, 140mm rear. We saw Sven Nys run the new clutch-based Ultegra RX805 rear derailleur at the DK200, but Nash stuck with the top-end Dura-Ace non-clutch model.

Keeping with the frame’s Spanish origins, Nash chose a Rotor 3D+ crankset and NOQ chain rings in a 50/34t combination. She applied power with Crankbrothers Candy 11 pedals.

[caption id="attachment_120320" align="aligncenter" width="1140"] Nash chose what appeared to be 50/34t compact chain rings, which are on the steeper side for gravel. Katerina Nash’s carbon Orbea Terra gravel bike. 2018 Lost and Found gravel race. © Cyclocross Magazine[/caption]

Easton provided Nash with her cockpit, supplying an EC90SL stem and matching handlebar as well as an EC90 carbon seat post which held her Astute Skylite VT carbon-railed saddle in place. She used a K-Edge Garmin mount integrated into her headset spacer stack to hold her computer.

Nash rolled on DT Swiss RC-38C DB carbon wheels, the tubeless clincher version of the wheels Gage Hecht rode to Pan-Ams glory in Louisville. For the conditions at hand in California, Nash chose Maxxis Rambler tires in 700c x 38mm with the company’s EXO casing that is the lighter of the two casings offered for the Rambler. Nash inflated her tires to the “upper 30s” in psi but was unable to provide an actual number due to a malfunctioning pressure gauge.

[caption id="attachment_120330" align="aligncenter" width="609"] DT Swiss RC 38 wheels are an older model but remain in use with cyclocross pros. They were available in tubular and tubeless clincher variants. Katerina Nash’s carbon Orbea Terra gravel bike. 2018 Lost and Found gravel race. © Cyclocross Magazine[/caption]

As mentioned above, Nash suffered a gashed tire during the race. She tried patching it and reinflating it with CO2 cartridges, but eventually had to settle for adding a tube and inflating it with a hand-pump to get home.

[caption id="attachment_120331" align="aligncenter" width="1140"] Katerina Nash attempted to plug her cut in the Maxxis Rambler tire but had to eventually resort to a tube. 2018 Lost and Found gravel race. © Cyclocross Magazine[/caption]

Nash’s confirmed she will not be riding an Ibis this cyclocross season, but was not certain what her new ride would be. We saw three of the four winners that Saturday at Lost and Found and Dirty Kanza 200 win on bikes aimed at cyclocross racing. Might Nash and the Clif Bar Pro Team go full circle by competing in cyclocross on bikes aimed at gravel and prove many bikes can do both really well?

With the cyclocross season less than three months away, we will find out soon enough.

See the photo gallery and specs below for a closer look at Nash’s Lost and Found Orbea Terra.

For more gravel bikes, see our profiles of Olivia Dillon’s Specialized Diverge, Kaitie Keough and Ted King’s Cannondale SuperXes, Sven Nys’ Trek Checkpoint, Tobin Ortenblad’s Santa Cruz Stigmata, Rowie Jaron’s custom titanium NTP Bikes gravel bike and Craig Richey’s Devinci Hatchet.

Katerina Nash’s Lost and Found Orbea Terra Gravel/Cyclocross Bike

Katerina Nash’s carbon Orbea Terra gravel bike. 2018 Lost and Found gravel race. © Cyclocross Magazine

The post Gravel Bike: Katerina Nash Finds an Old Friend in the Orbea Terra appeared first on Cyclocross Magazine - Cyclocross News, Races, Bikes, Photos, Videos.

Ted King, Josh Berry, Geoff Kabush, Mat Stephens and … Ian Tubbs?

With the growing prestige of the Dirty Kanza 200 and the 2018 field filled with heavy hitters, finishing in the top five in the 2018 Dirty Kanza 200 is an accomplishment of legend. To do so as an amateur is on another level.

At this year’s Dirty Kanza 200, Tubbs, an amateur racer from Washington, finished fourth to join an impressive top five that included the last two DK200 winners. Tubbs rode solo from just after Checkpoint 3 and caught Stephens in the finishing stretch of the 206-mile course to grab fourth place just behind Kabush.

Not surprisingly, Tubbs was excited about his finish. “I was stoked!” he said. “I was really just shooting for top five, and after [Stephens and Kabush] gapped me I thought that’s what I was working to preserve. So to actually get by Mat, who’d won so convincingly last year, I was very happy.”

Ian Tubbs finished fourth in the 2018 DK200. 2018 Dirty Kanza 200. © Z. Schuster / Cyclocross Magazine

On paper, Tubbs might be the working person’s hero of the 2018 Dirty Kanza 200, but success at the event is nothing new to him. The Bellevue, Washington resident made the trip to Kansas in 2017 and finished sixth in the race won by Stephens. Tubbs said he was excited about that result as well. “It was my first Dirty Kanza,” he said. “I was definitely surprised. I had high hopes of finishing top 15 or so since a local endurance bad ass I look up to, Brian Ecker, finished 8th in 2015.”

Tubbs one-upped his local hero and returned in 2018 to top his mark from the previous year. So how did Tubbs find himself sprinting for fourth at this year’s Dirty Kanza 200? It started with a mountain bike he got in high school and continued through one 50-mile stretch of pedaling and soul-searching aided by mini-Cokes, aero bars and pure gravel grit.

A Kid from Somewhere

Several of Tubbs’ fellow DK200 podium contenders cut their teeth on the UCI WorldTour and World Cups, but his big races have been local to his Washington home and maybe a Masters Nationals or two.

Tubbs grew up in Jackson, Wyoming, which did not have the biggest bike scene. “I started racing BMX when I was probably 10 or so,” he said. “I didn’t go too far with it though as we were pretty isolated in the small town of Jackson, and I was focused on my childhood passion, alpine ski racing.”

After his first try at BMX, a gift down the road helped him get hooked on cycling. “My next go at bike racing was a couple Norba Mountain bike races after getting a mountain bike as my high school graduation present,” he said. Toward the end of his college years, Tubbs jumped in some mountain bike races and when the dust settled, he was the 1997 Idaho mountain bike state champion in the Sport category.

After college, Tubbs switched to the road where he has raced consistently for the past two decades. He is now a Cat 1 road racer and races in the Elite category in cyclocross—we saw him take third this past season at one of the Seattle area’s MFG Cyclocross series races. Some of Tubbs’ best results include a second-place finish in the 2011 Masters 40-44 Nationals Criterium and top tens in the time trial and road race at the Sea Otter Classic a decade ago. He was, for the record, unclear on how those stacked up against his Idaho state championship on the dirt.

Tubbs (in red Audi kit) was with the leaders early in the race. 2018 Dirty Kanza 200. © Z. Schuster / Cyclocross Magazine

With his background with off-road riding and his Cat 1 road engine, the 47-year-old Tubbs has been a natural fit for gravel racing. In addition to his impressive showing at the 2017 Dirty Kanza, he also tackled Rebecca’s Private Idaho and Gravel Worlds last year. He finished fourth at Gravel Worlds in Nebraska but saw his run of success run into some very DK-like obstacles at Rebecca Rusch’s race.

“I’m headed back to Rebecca’s Private Idaho, where my flat luck ran out last year,” he said. “I was sitting when I should have been hovering on the first descent and bottomed out my rear wheel. After 2 more flats and a lot of chasing, I finished in 28th. I was very happy to have the aero bars on that day.”

With impressive performances at some of the top gravel events in the country, Tubbs said the gravel itch is getting tougher to scratch. “There are quite a few on the bucket list,” he said. “I’d love to do ones I’ve heard about for years like the Crusher in the Tushar and Lost and Found.”

He does have some favorites though. “I’m definitely more suited to the stuff in the Midwest though, being that I’m a bit gravity-impaired at nearly 200 pounds.”

A Second Go at the DK200

Gravel races have their own flow at the front, and for riders coming from other disciplines, figuring out how things work can take a try or two. During his sixth-place finish in 2017, Tubbs adapted quite well and figured out the best strategy for a mass start mêlée like the Dirty Kanza 200.

“The strategy isn’t hard in a race this long,” Tubbs said. “I think last year’s winner Mat Stephens said it best, ‘Stay with the leaders. See who cracks last.’ I’ve also heard it said—maybe by Stephens—that something this long is more of an eating and drinking competition. If you can keep the water, electrolytes and calories going in, you can keep going. So that was my strategy. Eat, drink, pedal. Stay with the leaders as long as possible.”

In an interview after his winning ride, Ted King said it was hard not to note the number of heavy hitters in the DK200 field, to the extent riders were somewhat tentative to attack early in the race. With even King taking note of the names on the starting line, Tubbs said he could not help but do the same, even if he proved he had podium potential in 2017.

“I had set the goal of getting on the overall podium,” Tubbs said about his goal. “However, when I saw who was coming, I was, like last year, thinking a top 15 would be a good finish. It was truly an honor to get to toe the line with the likes of Jens Voigt, Sven Nys, Geoff Kabush, Jordan Rapp, Jamey Driscoll and Ted King. I mean, I’ve spent a lot of time watching these guys on TV, reading about them online and in some cases, even magazines.”

Tubbs’ plan going into this year’s DK200 was to stay with the lead group as long as possible. 2018 Dirty Kanza 200. © Z. Schuster / Cyclocross Magazine

With his strategy of hanging on to the lead group in place, Tubbs was ready for this year’s challenge, even with the early morning inclement weather and 30-minute rain delay to start the day’s racing. Tubbs got in the lead group as it slowly dwindled from 50 to 20 and then to 10 shortly before Checkpoint 2, about 100 miles in.

Despite his impressive first-year success, Tubbs said he did learn some things he wanted to improve upon in 2018. “I learned that quicker transitions through the checkpoints and a more robust tire setup to avoid flatting—or maybe just better luck—would be key to saving as many matches as possible for later in the race,” he said about his lessons from 2017.

Coming out of Checkpoint 2 in Eureka, Tubbs still faced a bit of a gut check. “I was pretty much in the same place as last year after Checkpoint 2, chasing to close about a one-minute gap, despite bringing my own pit crew. That was a bit frustrating because I didn’t think I’d stopped for very long, and certainly not nearly as long as I had last year.”

Tubbs, however, did have a secret weapon for his chase this time around. “At least I had some aero bars this year!” he said.

Perhaps with Stephens’ words about how to succeed at gravel echoing in his ear, Tubbs grabbed his aero bars, dug deep and closed the gap up to a group that included Kabush, Stephens and a few others. A few miles down the road, the chase was down to three. “Once I caught the group I realized, like last year, how small it was compared to how many we rolled into Eureka with,” Tubbs said. “As for what I was thinking, it was, ‘Hey! I’m on the podium!’ Presuming, of course, I could hold off the guys chasing behind.”

Tubbs (rear) had to bridge up to the chase group coming out of Checkpoint 3. 2018 Dirty Kanza 200. © Z. Schuster / Cyclocross Magazine

Mini-Cokes, TT Mode and One Gutsy Finish

One thing that draws Elites and amateurs together during a gravel race is they all tackle the same course for the same distance. At the 2018 Dirty Kanza 200, they also faced the same 85 miles or so of headwind as they biked north from Eureka back to Emporia. The 206-mile Dirty Kanza course is hard enough on a good day, and with a brutal headwind, everyone was suffering together.

As the riders hit Checkpoint 3, Tubbs was where he wanted to be. Yes, Ted King and Josh Berry were gone up the road, but Tubbs was sitting in the top five with two strong riders to share the work with. However, a group of chasers lingered behind an unknown distance. It’s not like there’s race radio at the DK200 … yet.

Ian Tubbs was with Mat Stephens and Geoff Kabush at mile 130. 2018 Dirty Kanza 200. © Z. Schuster / Cyclocross Magazine

If Tubbs was in trouble after Checkpoint 2, he faced an even bigger challenge after Checkpoint 3. “Mat waited for Geoff and me [out of Checkpoint 3],” Tubbs said. “It was a few miles later on one of the steeper rollers that they gapped me. I tried chasing back to them for a bit, then I just settled into what I call ‘TT mode’.”

Tubbs had executed his plan perfectly thus far, but we have all seen races where riders close gaps in the waning miles to steal wins and podium spots from those in earlier breakaways. Tubbs knew he still had work to do. “From then on I tried to stay steady with the thought of who might be chasing from behind,” he said about his time in TT mode. “I knew it was likely Jordan Rapp considering his Ironman pedigree, and I will fully admit to sneaking some glances behind on the long straight stretches.”

Perhaps in an effort to prove that he was, in fact, the working person’s hero of the DK200, Tubbs had a more pressing need on his mind. After all, we’ve all been there at *checks notes* mile 160 of a ride and had a craving we needed satisfied, right?

“I’d forgotten to drink my Coke at Checkpoint 3 and was really jonesing for one having seen Geoff polish his off as we left the checkpoint,” Tubbs said about his mid-race craving. “So when I came upon a family farm who were handing out mini-Cokes, I caved and stopped to grab a couple.”  He continued, “I think they really helped, especially because I saved the second one for after one of the long three-mile dead straight headwind sections that were just soul-crushing.”

Armed with mini-Cokes and his aero bars for TT mode, Tubbs faced about 50 miles that would test even the toughest Kanza competitor. As he cranked along, he started passing riders on the last stretch of the DK100 and looked for Kabush and Stephens amid the increasing traffic on the dusty gravel roads leading to Emporia. He eventually spotted the duo, and his podium dream was not merely a mirage on the hot, dusty Kansas landscape. “I did notice that I closed back up on Geoff and Mat though,” Tubbs said. “I like to think they noticed too as the gap seemed to stay pretty consistent once I got within sight of them.”

After over 200 miles of gravel, the Dirty Kanza 200 course finishes with an approximately two-mile paved stretch through the east side of Emporia and the campus of Emporia State University. As Stephens and Kabush jockeyed for position before the finishing stretch of their battle for the third podium spot, Tubbs quickly closed the gap. As he approached the I-35 highway crossing, he was only about 20 seconds back. When he came out of the tunnel, the gap was down to 10 seconds.

Tubbs took the call of the finish from there.

“As I was coming out of campus and onto the finish stretch they were still only about six or seven seconds ahead, so I started sprinting as soon as the road straightened out. I got a few pedal strokes in before Geoff jumped Mat. He got a good jump on him, and Mat sat up. I was going full speed at this point so I was able to get by Mat, and I was closing on Geoff pretty quickly. With how small the finish corral is though we had to get off the gas well before the finish line. I’m not saying I would have caught him but it would have been closer!”

In his second go at the Dirty Kanza 200, Tubbs had to “settle” for a fourth-place finish. There is no question Tubbs will be back in 2019, but this time, other riders will likely take keener note of where he is at the front of the race.

The Working Man Hero?

Nearly 1,000 athletes started the Dirty Kanza 200 two Saturdays ago. Nearly all of those riders were amateurs who targeted the Dirty Kanza 200 because of its extreme endurance challenge.

Ian Tubbs was also one of the amateurs who took the line at the DK200. His challenge? It turned out to be battling Geoff Kabush and Mat Stephens for a coveted Dirty Kanza 200 podium spot.

Ian Tubbs crosses Rocky Ford 130 miles into the race. 2018 Dirty Kanza 200. © Z. Schuster / Cyclocross Magazine

So does he feel like a bit of a hero for all the other Masters racers who took on the DK200? “No, absolutely not,” he quickly replied. “There are some truly amazing Masters athletes out there who work way harder than I do and have to balance many more ‘life’ obligations with their training and racing.”

Tubbs also tipped his cap to all his peers who had the guts to take on the Dirty Kanza 200 challenge. “To me, the true Masters heroes out there are the folks who’ve just, or maybe in the last few years, been inspired by this whole gravel riding phenomena and come out and finish at 10 or 11 p.m. or later with huge smiles on their faces. I’m just in awe of that kind of fortitude. I mean I’m out there on course for 11 hours and at that point they’ve still got 5 or more hours to go! So amazing.”

For now, Tubbs is getting ready to enjoy a much-deserved trip to the Dolomites in Italy. When he returns, he will do what amateurs do best, wait until the last minute to sign up for events such as Gravel Worlds. Unlike many of us, however, if he does make the trip to Lincoln, NE in August, he has unfinished podium business against what will likely be yet another loaded gravel field.

As long as Tubbs can get his hands on some mini-Cokes and maybe his aero bars, he will be ready for the challenge.

For more gravel coverage, see our 2018 Dirty Kanza 200 archives.

The post Mini-Cokes, Aero Bars and Gravel Grit: Ian Tubbs’ Improbable DK200 4th-Place Finish appeared first on Cyclocross Magazine - Cyclocross News, Races, Bikes, Photos, Videos.

Stop us if you have heard this one before, but a gravel race started with a group of friends who got together to ride bikes together. That’s how Michigan’s Barry-Roubaix started and more or less how the Dirty Kanza began its journey to gravel preeminence.

Humble origins are not limited to U.S. gravel races. A decade ago, a Calgary-based club started a group ride every Easter that eventually grew into something much bigger. The ride was not an easy one, with the Deadgoat Racing Team members covering 220km of roads that headed up into the foothills of the Canadian Rockies west of Calgary. “The roads were so incredible that it was worth it,” said Shawn Bunnin about the former group ride.

In 2015, the team decided to ghoul to the next level, and the Ghost of the Gravel was born. “One day in 2015 we decided it had to be a race,” Bunnin said. “But only with the best gravel parts of the route around Water Valley, a cool old western-style town. My friend Erik scouted out a loop in the area, and the rest is history.”

2018 marked the fourth edition of the Ghost of the Gravel race in Alberta. photo: Ghost of the Gravel

Water Valley is a small town located about 80km northwest of Calgary that is west of the Ghost Public Land Use Zone that gives the race its name. The organizers have embraced the ghost theme, naming the longer 118km race the “Scary Ghost,” and the shorter 75km route the “Friendly Ghost.” Extending the theme further and taking the route all the way to Casper, WY certainly would have been even more interesting.

A race held near the Canadian Rockies sounds difficult, and according to Bunnin, that’s not false. “The course is hard AF,” he said. “But it’s also one of the most scenic, unique loops in Alberta. You transition between rolling valleys, mile-high forested climbs and beautiful terrain you wouldn’t see on a normal ride.”

The Ghost of the Gravel route is filled with beautiful vistas. photo: Ken Anderson

The 118km Scary Ghost route includes a scary 6,800 feet of climbing. The ride starts at an elevation of around 4,100 feet and tops out at more than a mile high near the halfway point of the route. “We start out in the front country with 30km of rolling and fast roads,” said Bunnin about the route. “The really long climbs start next and go over a mile high on three consecutive climbs that reward you with open, banked descents to the river valley. After 60km, the course takes a turn toward sharp, repetitive climbs in the back country that will test your anaerobic capacity and crush your legs as the road turns less-traveled.”

In true gravel fashion, one of the feed zones had beer and bacon. 2018 Ghost of the Gravel. photo: The Ghost of the Gravel has some beautiful vistas along its route. 2018 Ghost of the Gravel. photo: Kunio Tsuyuhara

This year’s event attracted the race’s biggest field yet, with 240 Ghost riders taking the start for the Scary and Friendly Ghost routes.

Among those at the event was road professional Sara Poidevin of Rally Cycling who resides near the race’s location. With the race held near her backyard, she wanted to take on the climby challenge as a final preparation for Canadian Road Nationals being held this weekend in Quebec. Poidevin, whose Rally teammates include Emma White, won the 2017 Colorado Classic and finished second in the GC at the 2018 Tour of the Gila. She also was the best young rider at the 2018 Tour of California.

Cannondale is one of the sponsors of the Ghost of the Gravel, so Poidevin was joined by Phil Gaimon of “Worst Retirement Ever” fame. Gaimon’s YouTube exploits have mostly taken him to paved climbs, but last weekend, he tried his hand at the ghoulish gravel roads outside Water Valley. Retired mountain bike professional Cory Wallace of Jasper, Alberta shook off his DK200 hangover and raced as well.

Poidevin’s Nationals training went as planned, as she won the Women’s race with a time of 3:57. Sarah Robbins finished second and Shantel Koenig third to round out the podium.

Women’s podium: Sara Poidevin, Sarah Robbins and Shantel Koenig. 2018 Ghost of the Gravel.

In the Men’s race, Gaimon won with a finishing time of 3:29. He beat out Andrew Davidson (second) and Wallace (third).

Men’s podium: Phil Gaimon, Andrew Davidson and Cory Wallace. 2018 Ghost of the Gravel. photo: Ghost of the Gravel

Full results for the Women’s and Men’s Scary Ghost races are below.

Bunnin joined others in the gravel scene in pointing out that the Ghost of the Gravel race was about more than the podium finishers. “People come out to this ride to challenge themselves,” he said. “It’s not about the race. Almost every entrant comes back with a smile on their face after a huge accomplishment and great experience.”

He added, “Word is starting to spread about our course. It’s so unique, riders and racers alike come to test their fitness or experience the route.”

Stay tuned for the 2019 Ghost of the Gravel to see if Poidevin can convince her Rally Cycling teammate Emma White to try her hand at gravel and if Gaimon can get his Cannondale mates Tim Johnson and Ted King to try their hands at the friendly endurance challenge.

Women's Results: 2018 Ghost of the Gravel

Men's Results: 2018 Ghost of the Gravel

The post Poidevin, Gaimon Ride Boo-tifully at Alberta’s Ghost of the Gravel – Results appeared first on Cyclocross Magazine - Cyclocross News, Races, Bikes, Photos, Videos.

One of those companies with something new to show off was Donnelly. Donnelly is best known for its lines of cyclocross and gravel tires, but this year, it moves into selling bikes after also offering wheels a few years ago. The company showed off its new C//C cyclocross and G//C gravel bikes at the outdoor expo this year.

[caption id="attachment_120488" align="aligncenter" width="1140"] Jamey Driscoll’s 2018 Dirty Kanza 200 Donnelly G//C Gravel Bike. © Z. Schuster / Cyclocross Magazine[/caption]

Donnelly owner Donn Kellogg said the company’s investment in cyclocross was one of its main motivations to start selling full bikes for both ’cross and gravel. “To do more, we literally needed to do more,” he told us. “We’re incredibly passionate about biking and what we do, and it seemed correct to us. It’s a big risk, but it’s already been rewarding and we’re only two days in.”

Donnelly sponsored rider Jamey Driscoll rode the new G//C during the Dirty Kanza 200 where he finished 10th against the field of gravel heavy hitters. Driscoll was well-supported by his Donnelly team, with Kellogg, Donnelly head mechanic and team manager James Sullivan, team photographer Meg McMahon and others serving as his pit crew at the three checkpoints.

[caption id="attachment_120461" align="aligncenter" width="1140"] Donnelly owner Donn Kellogg talks to Jamey Driscoll after his 206-mile race. 2018 Dirty Kanza 200. © Z. Schuster / Cyclocross Magazine[/caption]

We looked at Donnelly’s new gravel bike on Friday during the All Things Gravel Expo and spoke with Kellogg and Sullivan about the project. Read on for our first look at the company’s venture into the gravel bike market.

Donnelly will be sponsoring the Amy D Foundation cyclocross program this year—and went with “Amy D blue” for its cyclocross model color—so stay tuned for a look at the company’s new cyclocross bike.

Donnelly’s G//C Gravel Bike

Donnelly offers the G//C with a carbon frame sold as either a frameset or in two SRAM builds. The frame is fully modern, with 12mm thru-axles and flat mount disc brakes.

[caption id="attachment_120477" align="aligncenter" width="1140"] The G//C is Donnelly’s new gravel bike. The gravel frame comes in this sand color. Jamey Driscoll’s 2018 Dirty Kanza 200 Donnelly G//C Gravel Bike. © Z. Schuster / Cyclocross Magazine[/caption]

Kellogg said Donnelly was not alone in developing its new line of bikes. Long-time Swiss product manager Rolf Singenberger, who was BMC’s Head of Product Development and R&D director for Eddy Merckx Cycles during its recent rebirth, helped Donnelly develop the new frames. Kellogg also said Whit Johnson of Meriwether Cycles will also be involved with the project moving forward.

“The bikes are very dialed for their specific ride characteristics,” Kellogg said about Donnelly’s new bikes. Donnelly claims the G//C has a more endurance-focused build than the C//C frame built for race performance. Large frames for both have the same 72-degree head tube angle, but the G//C has a 103.2cm wheelbase that is 1.4cm longer than the cyclocross frame. This is due in part to the gravel bike’s 1cm longer 43.5cm chain stay. The bottom bracket drop on the gravel frame is 6.7cm, which compares to 6.4cm for the cyclocross frame. The reach on the Large is 38cm and the stack is 58.9cm.

Similar to other bikes we have seen recently, the Donnelly G//C has internal cable routing for the fork and frame. The all-carbon fork features flat mount brake and a 12mm thru-axle.

[caption id="attachment_120489" align="aligncenter" width="1140"] The fork and frame on the G//C have internal cable routing. Jamey Driscoll’s 2018 Dirty Kanza 200 Donnelly G//C Gravel Bike. © Z. Schuster / Cyclocross Magazine[/caption]

Donnelly specs complete builds with either SRAM Force 22 or SRAM Rival 22 groupsets. However, similar to his teammate Lance Haidet, Driscoll ran the new FSA K-Force WE electronic groupset. He ran an FSA SL-K crankset with 46/36t chain rings with the K-Force WE front and rear derailleurs. His rear cassette was an Ultegra 11-32t.

[caption id="attachment_120473" align="aligncenter" width="1136"] Driscoll used an FSA K-Force SL crankset with 46/36t chain rings. He put an extra Ascend Nutrition bottle underneath the down tube. Jamey Driscoll’s 2018 Dirty Kanza 200 Donnelly G//C Gravel Bike. © Z. Schuster / Cyclocross Magazine[/caption]

Driscoll ran the new FSA K-Force Light AGX carbon tubeless wheelset we saw at Sea Otter this year. The rims have a 21.5mm-wide internal profile for higher-volume tires and check in at a weight of 1,465g.

[caption id="attachment_120475" align="aligncenter" width="1140"] Driscoll’s wheels were FSA’s new K-Force Light AGX carbon tubeless clinchers. Jamey Driscoll’s 2018 Dirty Kanza 200 Donnelly G//C Gravel Bike. © Z. Schuster / Cyclocross Magazine[/caption]

The Donnelly G//C takes the approach of most new gravel bikes with geometry designed for both 700c and 650b wheels. It also has plenty of tire clearance for high-volume gravel grinders with room for up to 700c x 45mm and 650b x 50mm tires. Driscoll opted for 700c x 40mm Strada USH gravel tires to tackle the notorious Kanza gravel.

[caption id="attachment_120481" align="aligncenter" width="1140"] Driscoll ran Donnelly Strada USH 700c x 40mm gravel tires for the Dirty Kanza 200. Jamey Driscoll’s 2018 Dirty Kanza 200 Donnelly G//C Gravel Bike. © Z. Schuster / Cyclocross Magazine[/caption]

For his cockpit, Driscoll had a bit of an interesting setup. He ran an alloy FSA Energy Impact handlebar with Lizard Skins bar tape. His stem was a Zipp Service Course SL model semi-rebranded as an FSA. An FSA sticker covered the Zipp label on the body of the stem, but the front plate still brands it as a product of the Indiana-based company. We saw a similar thing done during cyclocross season when some riders unbranded their old Clement tires after Donnelly took over the brand.

[caption id="attachment_120478" align="aligncenter" width="1140"] Driscoll’s Zipp Service Course SL stem was rebranded with an FSA sticker. Jamey Driscoll’s 2018 Dirty Kanza 200 Donnelly G//C Gravel Bike. © Z. Schuster / Cyclocross Magazine[/caption]

Driscoll ran a Prologo Scratch Pro saddle with titanium rails held by an FSA SL-K seatpost for the long day in the Flint Hills and Shimano 105 PD-5800 SPD-SL road pedals. The course avoided the infamous mud pit from 2015 where riders had to trudge through on foot, but road cleats were a decided disadvantage on the slick rocks of the Rocky Ford creek crossing where Luke Keough and others slipped and took a trip to the drink.

[caption id="attachment_120458" align="aligncenter" width="1140"] Driscoll did not take a spill during his crossing of Rocky Ford. 2018 Dirty Kanza 200. © Z. Schuster / Cyclocross Magazine[/caption]

For his long day of riding, Driscoll equipped his bike with two water bottles in the usual spots and then put a third underneath the down tube using an extra mount Donnelly included. Sullivan said Driscoll filled the third bottle with ice water to douse himself with on the hot afternoon.

See the photo gallery and specifications below for more on Driscoll’s Donnelly G//C gravel bike from the Dirty Kanza 200. We are hoping to get our hands on Donnelly’s new cyclocross and gravel bikes to put them to the test, so stay tuned for more on the new C//C and G//C.

For more bikes from Dirty Kanza and Lost and Found, see our profiles of Olivia Dillon’s Specialized Diverge, Sven Nys’ Trek Checkpoint, Kaitie Keough and Ted King’s Cannondale SuperXes, Tobin Ortenblad’s Santa Cruz Stigmata, Katerina Nash’s Orbea Terra, Craig Richey’s Devinci Hatchet and Rowie Jaron’s NTP Bikes titanium cyclocross/gravel bike.

Photo Gallery: Jamey Driscoll’s Dirty Kanza 200 Donnelly G//C Gravel Bike

Jamey Driscoll’s 2018 Dirty Kanza 200 Donnelly G//C Gravel Bike. © Z. Schuster / Cyclocross Magazine

The post Gravel Bike: Jamey Driscoll’s Dirty Kanza 200 Donnelly G//C Gravel Bike appeared first on Cyclocross Magazine - Cyclocross News, Races, Bikes, Photos, Videos.

For several days earlier this month, the Dirty Kanza 200 gravel race seemingly captured the attention of the online cycling world. After the dust settled from the great day of racing in Kansas’ Flint Hills, discussions about aero bars and rules in gravel racing took over the discussion.

Last week, we offered readers the chance to weigh in on your motivations for racing gravel, aero bars and how rules for gravel should be made. In addition to over 1,000 poll responses, we also got well over 100 comments across our site and social media feeds. Today, we have the results from our poll and a look at some of the responses folks offered. (Yes, yes, we actually read the comments, despite all warnings not to).

Why Do You Race Gravel?

In theory, participating in a gravel event is kind of a choose-your-own-adventure proposition. Want to race? Head to the front and try not to get dropped from the lead group. Looking for a challenge? Start somewhere in the middle or back and take in the sites and all the bacon and whiskey hand-ups to get the most from the experience.

When it comes to results, we tend to focus on the front of the gravel races we cover, but as Ian Tubbs mentioned in our story about his fourth-place finish at the Dirty Kanza 200, the heart and soul of gravel events are the amateurs who are slogging it out to finish the challenging events. Without their energy and stories, gravel events would be … road races?

Amateur racers are the heart and soul of gravel events. © Z. Schuster / Cyclocross Magazine

To help frame our discussion of rules in gravel, we wanted to get a sense of why the Cyclocross Magazine gravel community does gravel events. Sixty-one percent of respondents said they are in it for the challenge and adventure. Add in the 4% who view gravel events as social rides, and that number adds to 65% of participants who are not there primarily to “race.”

On the other side, 27% of you said you head to the gravel start line hoping to win or place as well as you can. So in theory, based on these numbers, the front third or so of any gravel race is hoping to race and the second two-thirds are there for the challenge, scenery, friendships, Twizzler hand-ups and adventure.

Finally, 8% of respondents chimed in to say they don’t race gravel.

Why Do You Do Gravel Events?

What About Aero Bars?

Aero bars were in the news before the Dirty Kanza 200 race in part thanks to Geoff Kabush’s anti-aero-bar op-ed published as riders were making their way to Emporia. Last year Mat Stephens used them to win and this year, Ted King had them on his winning Cannondale SuperX. Many amateurs also followed the leaders in going with the extra bars on their drop bars.

The status quo right now is to leave the use of aero bars up to race organizers. Two weekends ago, the Dirty Kanza said nothing about their use, while Lost and Found outright banned them. The same is true of two of the bigger races left on the gravel schedule. Crusher in the Tushar says no aero bars, while Gravel Worlds says nothing.

In our profiles of their aero-bar-clad bikes, Ted King and Craig Richey provided their thoughts, and in our story on fourth-place finisher Ian Tubbs, he admitted they helped him grind into the brutal DK200 headwind.

Ted King had aero bars on his winning Cannondale SuperX. Ted King’s 2018 Dirty Kanza 200 Cannondale SuperX. © Z. Schuster / Cyclocross Magazine

So what did CXM readers say? Our poll found a relatively split electorate on the issue of aero bars for gravel. Well, first off, nearly a quarter of you (24%) asked the question: “Why are we talking about aero bars?” One of the commenters agreed.

punkinpants123: Run what ya brung. And seriously, why are we still talking about this?

The other options we provided were: allow them, ban them or keep the status quo where it is the organizer’s choice. Of those who chose one of these three options, 21% said to allow aero bars, 37% said to ban ’em and 42% said to keep the status quo.

Aero Bars in Gravel Events?

Responses from readers on the topic of aero bars varied quite a bit.

Brad C.: Aero bars should be up to the organizer, they know what is safe for their terrain and conditions, Lost and Found doesn’t allow them and for good reason. Other events do because they aren’t as risky for those.

James J.: Group riding on aero bars is unsafe. You don’t need rules-just common sense. Keep them on for long solo pulls but get on the hoods in the bunch. Or just leave them off. Crashing on the stony stuff is no fun at all.

Keith C.: Forget if aero bars are safe or not. Aero bars are the ugliest thing you could put on a bike!

Mark W.: Road racing has lots of crazy crashing, they don’t use aero bars do they?

Reg the Mole: I guess they will be allowed in some events until there’s a nasty incident involving a rider using them. My suggestion would be for a ban because at some time some Muppet is gonna try to ride something they shouldn’t whilst using them and it could get messy.

trvr_callaway: Charge $2000 in order to run aero bars and donate it to charity.

kobermeyer1: Aero bars on gravel? Poor etiquette yes, unsafe yes. There should be abundant heckling until it is an unspoken rule.

hollywood876:let natural selection take place, aero bars + gravel = disaster if ya wanna pace line in that you take your chances

cat6forlife: Couple thousand on course. maybe hundreds with aero bars. all this talk of disasters on gravel with them. how many “disasters” were there on course this year due to aero bars? get real people. this is too much minutia. go back to talking about tires and what Camel Bak size to wear.

Rules in Gravel Racing

Our third poll question was about how rules should be made for gravel racing. The status quo is small rule books—the Dirty Kanza, for example, has 25 rules right now while Gravel Worlds has 9—with many more “unwritten” rules about how riders should race and support themselves while out on the course.

A few commenters summarized the feelings of a portion of poll respondents.

cycling_cosmonaut: It frickin’ gravel. Stop over thinking it and have fun.

Bill M.: I think we all need to not take these gravel events so darn serious and just have fun with them. Lets not turn these into a snobby road fest!

Eight percent of those who responded to our poll question said they don’t care about how gravel rules are made. With only 8% choosing that option, it suggests a good number of gravel racers do care about the issue, even if two-thirds of them are there for the adventure and not the podium.

A plurality of respondents (45 percent) chose the status quo of short rule books and “unwritten” rules. Fifteen percent wanted an official rule book and 20 percent wanted fewer rules. Eleven percent said to get rid of rules, results and podiums all together at gravel events. Then again, since folks seem to like the way gravel works right now, maybe we are over thinking it a bit.

Rules for Gravel Races?

Geoff Kabush and Mat Stephens rode together after Kabush expressed his anti-aero-bar opinions in the week leading up to the race. 2018 Men’s Dirty Kanza 200. © Z. Schuster / Cyclocross Magazine

One response we saw more than once is related to the idea that gravel events were originally intended as unsupported adventures. Events such as the DK200 that require riders to have small “pit crews” have changed the nature of what “self-supported” means for those events.

Pat M.: The whole gravel thing started as a self-supported race from point A to B. As long as you didn’t have outside help you were ok. You want to ride with a friend no problems. However, if you had friend fix your bike for you, you self DQed and finished the race. I have ridden the DK and many other ‘self supported’ races when you got a course description and they said good luck. Th e original aid stations (if any) was a truck parked on the side of a road with whatever you wanted at that point, like water and food. If you broke down hopefully a family member or friend could pick you up. If you didn’t have a ride you end up like me riding 30 miles on a flat front tire filled with grass. So with the races today, with so much support across the race, there needs to be a return to the past and self regulate and take ‘unsupported’ ( no mechanics please) seriously.

Another approach suggested was to let the marketplace of ideas (or race registrations) sort things out.

Troy Z., Let the race promoter put rules , or no rules for each race. Attendance will dictate if your going the right direction. Don’t over complicate races with tire size rules, drafting, aero crap.

N S Biker: A possible alternative approach …. In Poker, the dealer calls the game. Any of a number of different deals, wild cards, high / low values …. all pretty open but specified ahead of the deal for each hand. Gravel racing is at this point with the organizers (aka the dealer) in a position to say what is allowed and what is not. Distance, start times, limits on equipment, outside assistance, team-work …. all open and waiting. It then becomes the responsibility of the participant to read the Race Tech Guide and Rules. Problem there is so few will actually do that.

And then there’s the future that may be inevitable.

mikegbianchi: It’s just amazing that the sport evolves constantly. next step – ebikes with aero bars on fixed gear 29er/26” full squish riding backwards dirt enduros. with a 2 to 5 person tandem division.

Alex F.: Yes, everyone should be required to have tassels and an oversized bell on their bike

Here is a roundup of some of the other responses from CXM readers.

Brian C.: I don’t think so… I think a lot of people switched over to gravel for exactly that reason of having no rules. You can kind of do what you want… It’s not like road racing where there’s a bunch of bureaucratic BS dictating what you can and can’t do who can race what categories and so on.

Thomas H.: The same discussion happened when MTB Enduro Racing became more popular. When it`s a race and you want to win for money, fame, sponsors etc, you should do everything that’s within the rules to achieve your goal. eg. in North America there was an “unwritten rule” that you have to stay on the trails whereas in Europe you had to stay within the marked course, makes a big difference. So, if you want to do a race, make rules and apply to them, if you want to stay “grassroots” don`t do races.

bloibl: Throw a bunch of rules at it. Watch everyone walk away from it.

alanwaitwhat: Ughhh make gravel dirt again

deucept: It’s like Outback Steakhouse #norulesjustright

Thank you to everyone who took the time to respond to our poll questions and offer your thoughts.

Responses suggest gravel riders are happy-ish with the way things are currently done in gravel racing (which probably partly explains its growing popularity!), but as we saw with this year’s DK200, there is not total agreement on what the unwritten rules of gravel actually are.

With the discipline’s current participants divided and more and more cyclists discovering gravel, it seems the nebulous nature of gravel’s “unwritten” rules will continue. Will we be having the same discussion again next year, or will we maybe just agree to level the playing field by forcing everyone to ride a penny farthing?

The post Poll Results: CXM Readers Weigh in on Aero Bars, Rules for Gravel Events appeared first on Cyclocross Magazine - Cyclocross News, Races, Bikes, Photos, Videos.

In a way, the ghost theme fits Spooky Cycles well. The company began in 1992 as a New England-based mountain bike company and continued building frames through 2000 when the owner sold the company and ceased production. Spooky returned in the mid-2000s as an aluminum road and mountain bike frame builder and then also moved into custom frames before going on hiatus again. Spooky’s latest re-birth was in 2016 when it came back as a custom aluminum frame builder.

Spooky Cycles is based out of Arizona, but Vermont’s Frank the Welder Wadelton, who has built bikes for over two decades, builds the aluminum frames in his New England shop.

Spooky’s aluminum cyclocross/gravel frame is the Gas Mask. At Lost and Found we spotted a rather lucky gold Gas Mask that belongs to Dylan Glatt. Our latest gravel bike profile takes a closer look at Glatt’s Lucky 13 Spooky Gas Mask.

[caption id="attachment_120420" align="aligncenter" width="1228"] Dylan Glatt’s Spooky Gas Mask Gravel/Cyclocross Bike. 2018 Lost and Found Gravel Grinder. © C. Lee / Cyclocross Magazine[/caption]

Dylan Blatt’s Lucky 13 Spooky Gas Mask

In the 2000s when carbon was growing in popularity, Spooky Cycles stuck with aluminum and still does after its latest rebirth. Spooky uses Italian-made Dedacciai aluminum tubing and U.S.-made head tubes, bottom brackets and dropouts. The frame has internal routing for shift control lines and external routing for brake cables.

[caption id="attachment_120422" align="aligncenter" width="1173"] Shift cables have internal routing, while brake cables are externally routed. Dylan Glatt’s Spooky Gas Mask Gravel/Cyclocross Bike. 2018 Lost and Found Gravel Grinder. © C. Lee / Cyclocross Magazine[/caption]

Spooky bills the Gas Mask as both a cyclocross and gravel bike. The head tube angle on a 54cm frame is 71.5 degrees and the wheelbase is 101.3cm. The bike also has a shorter 42.5cm chainstay length we see on a lot of cyclocross bikes. It is gravel (or high-volume cyclocross when “the UCI isn’t on your case”) ready thanks to clearance for 700c x 40mm and 650b x 47mm tires.

Spooky allows customers to customize the colors of their frames and decals. Glatt went with anodized gold with a “Lucky 13” headtube badge (with the 13 upside down, of course) shaped like a coffin that should have him ready for Spooky Cross this fall.

[caption id="attachment_120425" align="aligncenter" width="769"] Glatt personalized his bike with a Lucky 13 head tube badge. Dylan Glatt’s Spooky Gas Mask Gravel/Cyclocross Bike. 2018 Lost and Found Gravel Grinder. © C. Lee / Cyclocross Magazine[/caption]

The Gas Mask comes with a tapered 12mm thru-axle ENVE carbon fork and Chris King headset. The fork is post mount disc, while the aluminum frame has an IS mount with a post mount caliper attached using an adapter. Glatt used post mount TRP Spyre mechanical disc brakes with 140mm Shimano Ice Tech SM-RT900 rotors.

[caption id="attachment_120424" align="aligncenter" width="1140"] The Gas Mask frame is IS mount, with an adapter connecting the TRP post mount brakes. Dylan Glatt’s Spooky Gas Mask Gravel/Cyclocross Bike. 2018 Lost and Found Gravel Grinder. © C. Lee / Cyclocross Magazine[/caption]

Glatt ran a White Industries R30 crankset with double chain rings with a SRAM Force 22 Yaw front derailleur and Force 22 rear derailleur. He used Force 22 shift/brake levers to control his shifting and stopping.

Glatt opted for 700c x 40mm tan wall WTB Nano tubeless tires mounted on Hed. tubeless clincher wheels.

[caption id="attachment_120417" align="aligncenter" width="1140"] Glatt ran tan wall WTB Nano 700c x 40mm tires with Hed. tubeless clinchers. Dylan Glatt’s Spooky Gas Mask Gravel/Cyclocross Bike. 2018 Lost and Found Gravel Grinder. © C. Lee / Cyclocross Magazine[/caption]

See the photo gallery and specifications below for a closer look at Glatt’s aluminum Spooky Gas Mask.

Photo Gallery: Dylan Glatt’s Lost and Found Spooky Gas Mask

Dylan Glatt’s Spooky Gas Mask Gravel/Cyclocross Bike. 2018 Lost and Found Gravel Grinder. © C. Lee / Cyclocross Magazine

The post Gravel Bike: Dylan Blatt’s Ghoul-d Luck Spooky Cycles Gas Mask appeared first on Cyclocross Magazine - Cyclocross News, Races, Bikes, Photos, Videos.

Updated: June 26. One of the appealing aspects of the discipline for many gravel racers is the wide open definition of “gravel bike” the discipline embraces. Ted King rode aero bars on a cyclocross bike at Dirty Kanza, Olivia Dillon rode a gravel bike at Lost and Found and Minnesota’s Matt Allen rode an old steel road bike at the Almanzo 100. It is clear that gravel suffers/thrives from a lack of standardization.

Beyond just equipment, courses are variable as well. Some races are predominantly dirt roads and doubletrack, but others feature technical off-road riding that rivals a cross-country race. Choosing one bike that can be at home in any gravel event represents a challenge, to say the least.

Kona’s Barry Wicks decided to take gravel’s challenges head-on and build a do-everything gravel rig around a full suspension mountain bike frame to tackle the Lost Sierra Triple Crown of Lost and Found, Grinduro and the Downieville Classic Cross Country race. We saw Wicks racing at Lost and Found and caught up with him after the race.

Barry Wicks’ Full Suspension Kona Hei Hei DL Gravel Bike.

While some riders opt for a mountain bike only on the gnarliest of gravel courses, Wicks went all in on his crossover. He started with a Kona Hei Hei DL mountain bike frame and added a flared handlebar and Di2 road shifters to build a bike for any event. “Once I put the bike together and started riding it, I realized how awesome it was and decided to just ride it at all the events all year,” he said.

Learn more about Wicks’ full-suspension Kona Hei Hei DL mountain bike / gravel crossover in our profile of his bike.

Barry Wicks’ Full Suspension Kona Hei Hei Gravel Bike

Wicks started his bike with Kona’s 100mm full suspension cross country model, the Hei Hei DL, and an MRP Ribbon 120mm fork. Similar to some gravel bikes we have seen, the Hei Hei DL frame has a dropped drive-side chainstay. Wicks’ crossover creation stands in stark contrast to gravel bikes that are predominantly rigid—although a full suspension gavel bike is reportedly around the corner.

Even with a mountain chassis and trail-tuned suspension Wicks said the bike works in his favor. “I don’t think the suspension affected my performance in anything but a positive manner, but for sure I had about a five-pound penalty over a cyclocross race bike,” he said about his Lost and Found setup. “I was comfortable, confident and relaxed all day, which was nice. I do not have any reservations about riding it at Downieville. I raced the Grand Junction Off-Road on the same setup and was passing people on the descents without trouble.”

Wicks rode his full suspension Kona Hei Hei gravel bike at Lost and Found. © Cyclocross Magazine

With the bike designed for flat bars, he used a 45mm stem, 10mm shorter than he would choose for this bike with a flat bar, and a Kona-branded flared handlebar from the Sutra touring bike. Wicks did not say so, but perhaps he got his inspiration from the drop bar mountain bikes of Jackie Phelan and John Tomac from days past.

Wicks swapped in a flared drop bar in place of the flat bars the Hei Hei frame is used to. Barry Wicks’ Kona Hei Hei Gravel Bike.

The frame, like many full suspension bikes, is limited to one bottle cage, but Wicks says he is still experimenting with ways to mount a second bottle for longer events.

With flared drops and a KS 150mm dropper post that he modified to fit road bars, Wicks said he can descend almost as fast as he does on his mountain bike. “Even if it’s really rowdy I can still go nearly as fast as I can on my mountain bike,” Wicks told us.

Wicks ran a 150mm dropper post on his Hei Hei gravel bike. Barry Wicks’ Kona Hei Hei Gravel Bike.

Wicks’ Di2 setup allowed him to match road shifters to an otherwise mountain drivetrain. He chose a 1x system with an M9000 XTR crankset and 36t chain ring and an 11-40t cassette. He paired Dura-Ace R9170 hydraulic shift/brake levers to an XTR M9070 Di2 rear derailleur. Wicks stopped his bike using hydraulic calipers and XTR RT99 rotors in 180mm front and 160mm rear.

Like several gravel bikes we’ve seen, Wicks’ Hei Hei MTB chainstay is dropped. Wicks ran a 1x Di2 drivetrain on the bike. Barry Wicks’ Kona Hei Hei Gravel Bike.

Wicks rolled on custom wheels built with WTB Ci24 rims and XTR hubs. Wicks said he changes tires according to the course, but when we saw his bike, he had it outfitted with 700c x 45mm tan wall WTB Riddler gravel tires that he ran at 30psi front and 35psi rear. With flats often affecting the outcome of a race, Wicks keeps a Blackburn tire plug near the stem, just in case.

At Lost and Found Wicks ran 700c x 45mm WTB Riddler tires on WTB Ci24 rims. Barry Wicks’ Kona Hei Hei Gravel Bike.

When we spoke, Wicks said he probably is not done modifying his Hei Hei DL gravel creation. “My ideal scenario would be to be able to take four to five pounds off my bike and also have a wider range of gears,” he said. “But really my setup was not a barrier to success at Lost and Found, and it sure was fun making everyone else look like amateurs on the descents riding twice as fast as they were and having at least twice as much fun.”

For more details on Wicks’ full-squish gravel bike, see the specs below.

For more gravel bikes, see our profiles of Olivia Dillon’s Specialized Diverge, Kaitie Keough and Ted King’s Cannondale SuperXes, Sven Nys’ Trek Checkpoint, Tobin Ortenblad’s Santa Cruz Stigmata, Craig Richey’s Devinci Hatchet, Katerina Nash’s Orbea Terra, Rowie Jaron’s custom titanium NTP Bikes gravel bike and Dylan Glatt’s Spooky Gas Mask.

Barry Wicks’ Full Suspension Kona Hei Hei Gravel Bike Specifications

Frame: Kona Hei Hei DL, full suspension, 100mm travel, carbon
Fork: MRP Ribbon, 120mm travel
Shift/Brake Levers: Shimano ST-R9170 Di2 Hydraulic
Brake Caliper: Shimano
Rotors: Shimano RT99, 180mm front, 160mm rear, CenterLock
Rear Derailleur: Shimano RD-M9070 Di2 Rear Derailleur
Crankset: Shimano XTR M9000
Chain Ring: Shimano, 36t
Cassette: Shimano 11-40t
Handlebar: Kona flared handlebar, 48cm at hoods, 52cm at drops
Seatpost: KS 150mm dropper post, remote modified to fit road bar
Saddle: WTB
Pedals: Shimano
Rims: WTB Ci24, 700c, carbon
Hubs: Shimano XTR, Centerlock, TA
Tires: WTB Riddler, 700c x 45mm; changes based on course
More Info: konaworld.com

The post Gravel Bike: Barry Wicks’ Full-Suspension Kona Hei Hei DL appeared first on Cyclocross Magazine - Cyclocross News, Races, Bikes, Photos, Videos.

Ritchey Design also makes wheelsets to go with its steel bikes and as upgrades for other brands’ bikes. The Outback and Swiss Cross bikes both come with the alloy WCS Zeta tubeless wheelsets, and Ritchey also makes a higher-end wheelset in the tubeless-ready, carbon WCS Apex 38 Disc Clincher.

The 38-mm deep, 19mm-wide WCS Apex 38 is a road tubeless wheelset that can be used for cyclocross and gravel racing while also pulling doubly duty as an aero road option.

[caption id="attachment_120556" align="aligncenter" width="1260"] Ritchey’s $1,600, 1,710g WCS Apex 38 Tubeless Carbon Road Disc Wheelset. © Cyclocross Magazine[/caption]

Our team recently received sets of the WCS Apex 38 wheels for review. In this In Review spotlight, we take a first look at the carbon wheelset and give our initial impressions of the setup and ride quality. Stay tuned for a full review after further use.

Ritchey’s WCS Apex 38 Tubeless Disc Clincher Wheelset

The carbon WCS Apex 38 rims have 19mm internal and 26mm external widths and a 38mm deep profile. Ritchey states the carbon rim was built with a carbon and resin system specifically the demands placed on disc wheels.

Since many of us use our wheels for more than one discipline, the 19mm internal width places the WCS Apex 38 as a wheelset that might be appealing for both road and cyclocross/gravel riding. We have reviewed several tubeless gravel wheels with wider rims recently, but the 19mm rim width provides support for ’cross and gravel tires and is not too wide for narrow 23 or 25mm road tires.

[caption id="attachment_120551" align="aligncenter" width="1140"] The 19mm-wide rims have a deep center channel. When we put a narrower tape in the center channel, it left the shelves exposed for easier tubeless setup. Ritchey WCS Apex 38 Tubeless Carbon Road Disc Wheelset. © Cyclocross Magazine[/caption]

The hubs on the WCS Apex 38 feature offset flanges to increase the spoke bracing angle. The bearings are load-specific, with 28mm bearings on the drive side and 24mm bearings on the non-drive side.

The CenterLock disc hubs are two-piece WCS hubs, and the freehubs have Ritchey’s patented 6-pawl, 12-point engagement system. The freehubs are compatible with 10/11-speed Shimano/SRAM and 10/11/12-speed Campagnolo splines.

[caption id="attachment_120560" align="aligncenter" width="1140"] The 6-pawl, 12-point engagement freehubs are both Shimano/SRAM and Campagnolo compatible. Ritchey WCS Apex 38 Tubeless Carbon Road Disc Wheelset. © Cyclocross Magazine[/caption]

The WCS Apex 38 wheels have 24 DT Competition 2.0/1.8 DB J-bend spokes laced 2x both front and rear. Got those out for remote adventures, this should be good news, as J-bend spokes are typically easier to find in shops than straight-up stores.

When we received our two test wheelsets, Ritchey shipped them with quick release caps. We converted one to 12mm thru-axle using end caps. Ritchey said new WCS Apex 38 wheelsets will be shipped with 12mm thru-axles front and rear in the near future, and it will offer a quick release conversion kit for $50.

[caption id="attachment_120553" align="aligncenter" width="1140"] Our test wheels came with quick release axles. Ritchey said the wheels will be offered with 12mm thru-axles in the future.. Ritchey WCS Apex 38 Tubeless Carbon Road Disc Wheelset. © Cyclocross Magazine[/caption]

The Apex 38 may cheat wind and shed mud, but it won’t win over the most dedicated weight weenies. Our test set checks in at 800g front and 910g rear, for a total weight of 1,710g. This is a tad lower than spec, but closer to some of the alloy tubeless clincher wheelsets we have looked at recently and heavier than some other road carbon wheels such as the Bontrager Aeolus 3 and FSE EVO 35CD wheelsets.

Initial Setup and First Impressions

Tubeless tires and systems vary quite a bit, so when we receive a set of review wheels we like to try installing several different tires. We used a narrow rim tape that covered the center channel and left the rim surface exposed at the rim bed shelf, which helped facilitate easier setup.

Our Specialized Trigger 2Bliss 38mm tires snapped into place with some light lubrication on the tire and air from a floor pump. Schwalbe G-One tires also seated with a floor pump, but one of the tires fell off the bead shelf when we let air out to put sealant in the tire. This was initially a concern (an unseated tire us problematic in the field), but after letting the tire sit for a few days with sealant, the tire stayed locked on the bead shelf after deflation, even after riding while flat.

[caption id="attachment_120558" align="aligncenter" width="1140"] We mounted Specialized Tracer 2Bliss tires using a floor pump and some light lubrication. Ritchey WCS Apex 38 Tubeless Carbon Road Disc Wheelset. © Cyclocross Magazine[/caption]

With our tires set up, we have already gotten a few hundred miles of mixed terrain riding in on the WCS Apex 38 wheels. The tubeless tires have stayed sealed over the varying terrain, and the wheels have stayed round and true despite some navigating some rougher trails and gravel roads.

Some look to carbon hoops to shed grams over alloy options, while others may prioritize reliability and aerodynamics in the formation of a dual-purpose wheelset for both high-pressure road and low-pressure cyclocross use. The Apex 38 spins freely in the latter wheelhouse.

Stay tuned for a long-term review of Ritchey’s WCS Apex 38 wheels as we put them to the test on the road, gravel roads and maybe a cyclocross practice course or two as the ’cross season approaches.

For more on the wheels, see the photo gallery and specifications below.

Ritchey WCS Apex 38 Wheelset Specifications

Price: $1,600
Rim: carbon, disc-specific layup, 21mm internal/26mm external width, tubeless-ready, disc only
Hub: WCS two-piece hub, offset flanges, 6-pawl, 12-point engagement freehub, Shimano/SRAM and Campagnolo compatible
Axles: Front: quick release, 12mm/15mm thru-axle; Rear: quick release, 12mm thru-axle
Spokes: 24 DT Competition 2.0/1.8 DB front/rear; laced 2x
Weight: 1,710g (actual), 800g (actual) front, 910g (actual) rear
More Info: us.ritcheylogic.com

Photo Gallery: Ritchey WCS Apex 38 Wheelset

Ritchey’s $1,600, 1,710g WCS Apex 38 Tubeless Carbon Road Disc Wheelset. © Cyclocross Magazine

The post In Review: Ritchey Design’s WCS Apex 38 Carbon Tubeless Clinchers appeared first on Cyclocross Magazine - Cyclocross News, Races, Bikes, Photos, Videos.

West Virginia’s Hilly Billy Roubaix presented by Cannondale is a gravel event that was almost born out of necessity for local riders.

“Around here we have way more back roads than we do paved good roads,” said race director J.R. Petsko. The 74-mile gravel grinder starts and ends in Core, West Virginia, and takes riders south through West Virginia and then north up into southern Pennsylvania before finishing back across the border.

The race started, as many do, with a couple buddies tooling around on the region’s gravel back roads. “Around 2008 and 2009 mountain bike legend Gunnar Shogren and I spent a lot of time exploring some of these roads,” said Petsko. “We had such a blast riding on the unmaintained roads in the area, as it was a hell of a lot of fun. Riding this type of road, especially back in those days, was not for everyone, but we thought it was awesome.”

Petsko and Shogren eventually decided to share their version of “fun” with others. In 2010 they founded the Hilly Billy Roubaix, which, as riders quickly found out, lives up to its name. “The 70 or so folks who showed up had no clue what they were getting into,” Petsko said. “I got yelled at a lot after, as broken people laid all over the ground at the finish.”

Riders faced all kinds of challenges at the Hilly Billy Roubaix. 2018 Hilly Billy Roubaix. © Cassie Fetzer

This year the Hilly Billy Roubaix and its 33-mile cousin the Hilly Billy Lite brought out 434 riders. Petsko said he would guess 80 riders would show up if the event was only local, so it has clearly built a name for itself as a destination event. Petsko said this year’s field had riders from 22 states, Canada and one who came over from Wales.

So what is it about the Hilly Billy Roubaix that brings folks out, including our Cyclocross Magazine team in past years? “How dumb it is and how fun it is,” said Petsko.

He continued, “Well, it may not fun during the whole race, it is called ‘Hilly’ Billy for a reason, but most leave with smiles that evening. After we break your soul on the 74-mile course we’ll feed you, offer you a good beer, and we all tell stories from the day. ”

According to Petsko, the Hilly Billy genus of “gravel spirit” is one of good times and, as we will see, not taking itself too seriously. “We also care more about fun and safety then PRs and podiums,” he said. “We do have some great fast guys like Patrick Blair, 2017 Overall Winner, who makes the trip here every year and talk us up on social media all year long cause they just have so much fun here.”

The course featured a muddy creek crossing. 2018 Hilly Billy Roubaix. © Mike Briggs

The fun and irreverence at the Hilly Billy finish is almost a necessity given how hard the course is. Petsko said that there is a reason they called it the “Hilly Billy Roubaix,” and he definitely was not joking. The 74-mile course packs almost 7,000 feet of climbing in and features no less than 12 climbs that stand out on the course profile.

When asked to describe the course, Petsko said he has tried before, sometimes with mixed results. “That is something I have been trying to do for years and still, some don’t listen!” he said. “The first year of the Hilly Billy back in 2010 had 70 riders. No one besides a select few knew what they were in store for. At the finish, riders were laying all over the ground blown.” He added, “The first four years of the race I got yelled at more times then I care to remember at the finish.”

In Petsko’s eyes, the 2018 race that took place last Saturday was gravel perfection. “Probably the best we have ever had. 78 degrees for a high, overcast and some off and on light showers.” The light showers proved just right for facilitating some extra gravel grit while not turning the route into a flood-ravaged mud slog. Which has happened in the past.

“For the past three years we have had heavy rains and even some flooding last year,” said Petsko. “While that makes for an epic event, it gives me grey hair. The unmaintained roads that the race is so well known for are always muddy, however. They may never dry up in our lifetime.”

Although the race is more about the scene and the vibe, there were race winners. The Women’s race went to Chicago’s Kae Takeshita (Panaracer / Stan’s NoTubes p/b Bicycle X-Change), who is fresh off a fourth-place finish at the Dirty Kanza 200. Takeshita finished fourth at the race in 2016 and missed it due to an injury last year, so it was a sweet day of climbing for her.

Kae Takeshita traveled to West Virginia from Chicago and came home with a win. 2018 Hilly Billy Roubaix. © Mike Briggs

The Men’s race was won by Bryon Lewis of Virginia. Petsko said he tried to get a post-race quote from Lewis and he responded “We rode bikes.” There you go. They rode bikes.

Part of the energy of the Hilly Billy Roubaix is from how it embraces its rural setting. Instead of your typical post-race photo booth, there was one with pigs and chickens. “The pigs and chickens were thanks to my sister Stephanie and her husband Gus,” Petsko said. “Lucy their pig has a long history with our event. She’s been the official starter for many years. My sister would walk around at past years event and be constantly asked by people for photos with Lucy, if they could feed her, etc, so this year we made it easy for folks with the pig photo booth.  Lucy stayed home this year but her sister and brother, Bella and Abel made the trip, along with their chickens.”

There was also the couch. A very Hilly Billy couch.

The post-race photo booth featured Abel and Bella the pigs and a discarded couch. 2018 Hilly Billy Roubaix. © Mike Briggs

Salsa has pulled off a stroke of marketing genius with its Chaise Lounge that has made appearances at Land Run, the Michigan Coast-to-Coast Gravel Grinder and the Dirty Kanza. With even the top riders embracing the chance to pose for a mid-race photo on the red velvet Chaise couch, the Hilly Billy organizers could not help but take notice.

The Hilly Billy couch was not out on the course, but it did provide a nice addition to the photo booth. “We found the couch dumped on the side of the road along the course about two weeks back, and it gave us the idea. People tend to drop unwanted things on our back roads around here. We most certainly disapprove of that, but it sure gave us a perfect couch for our photo booth area. I loved the couch so much we have put it in storage for next year. ”

The Hilly Billy Roubaix will be back for year 10 in 2019 on June 22. Much like we saw with the volunteers in the city of Emporia at the Dirty Kanza, it will be the crew of locals that help Petsko and his team make the event even more fun next year, even if it is a really really hard ride.

“People always tell me how good of a job I do with the event, but it is not me,” Petsko said. “The Hilly Billy is a great event because of the people who support it  I am talking about the 70 volunteers, sponsors, Local EMS, County and State police, my wonderful friends and family, my awesome wife who works her butt off and of course Abel and Bella. All of those folks are the reason the Hilly Billy is a special event, not me.”

For past coverage of the Hilly Billy Roubaix, see our archives.

The post Good Old Fashioned Gravel Fun at the 2018 Hilly Billy Roubaix in West Virigina appeared first on Cyclocross Magazine - Cyclocross News, Races, Bikes, Photos, Videos.

Ask your cycling friends about Spurcycle, and they will likely respond, “The bell company!” The California-based company started by Nick and Clint Slone is best known for its bike bell first launched in 2013. Since successfully ringing into the bike market, the two brothers have continued to add to the company’s product line.

Although its bell was inspired while navigating bike and pedestrian traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge, Spurcycle offers other products that are right at home on gravel roads. Two of those products are the $45 Saddle Bag and $69 titanium and steel Tool multi-tool.

I have taken both products along for the ride during several gravel rides as well as some road and mountain bike outings this year. Find out if Spurcycle’s Saddle Bag and Tool are ready to answer the call and join for your next gravel ride.

The Spurcycle Saddle Bag and Tool multi-tool are two products from the CA company that can help out on gravel roads. Spurcycle Saddle Bag and Multi-Tool. © Cyclocross Magazine

Spurcycle Saddle Bag

Growing up, the family garage always seemed to have a couple traditional saddle bags with two straps for the rails and one for the seat post sitting around ready for family rides. The Spurcycle Saddle Bag takes a different approach with a single strap and a large bag that rolls up to be fastened underneath the saddle. At first look, the Spurcycle Saddle Bag appears similar to the Silca Premio Seat Roll we reviewed last year, save the Boa closures.

A detachable velcro strap wraps up the Spurcycle saddle bag. Spurcycle Saddle Bag and Multi-Tool. © Cyclocross Magazine

The Saddle Bag itself is a 12.5 x 18 x 6cm bag made from X-PAC VX42 polyester that the company claims is waterproof. A velcro pad is sewn onto one side to provide an attachment point for the strap that is made from two-sided velcro.  The bag and strap weigh 53g.

The Saddle Bag has a wide opening and a healthy amount of storage space. Spurcycle Saddle Bag and Multi-Tool. © Cyclocross Magazine

Using the Saddle Bag is pretty straightforward. You pack your spare tubes, CO2 cartridges and gear into the bag, tightly fold it up and then wrap the velcro strap around the saddle rails once. You then feed the free end of the strap through the rails, tighten the strap around the bag and then secure the setup with two small velcro tabs that lock it in place.

The small velcro tabs help keep the bag secure. Spurcycle Saddle Bag and Multi-Tool. © Cyclocross Magazine

Over the last several months, I have used the Spurcycle Saddle Bag for gravel centuries, local group road rides and several weekend mountain bike trips.

After using the Spurcycle bag, I really like the bag/roll approach to saddle bags. The bag has a good amount of storage, and the contents are easy to access inside the bag. I also really liked the relative ease of swapping the Saddle Bag between bikes, which is helpful if you are like me and mix and match your riding disciplines in a given week.

A criticism with the “roll” approach that we noted in our review of the Silca Premio is you have to remove the roll every time you want to access it. That is the case for the Spurcycle bag as well, but I have found “traditional” saddle bags difficult to access while they are attached to my bike as well.

Storage-wise, the Spurcycle Saddle Bag is roomy and easy to pack up. For the Dairy Roubaix gravel ride in April, I fit two 700c x 38-45mm tubes, the Spurcycle Tool and two KMC tire levers into the bag and fit it under my saddle. It was a bit bulky, but it did the job of toting my emergency gear during the 107-mile ride.

Seen here with two tubes, two tire levers and a multi-tool, the Saddle Bag fits under the saddle. Spurcycle Saddle Bag and Multi-Tool. © Cyclocross Magazine

For regular road and mountain biking, the Saddle Bag securely holds an extra tube, multi-tool and tire levers with no problem.

The Saddle Bag fits under the saddle more securely with one tube versus two. Spurcycle Saddle Bag and Multi-Tool. © Cyclocross Magazine

The two biggest issues I had with the Spurcycle Saddle Bag are somewhat related. The instructions Spurcycle provides are written in black on a black card. “How hard can it be to attach a saddle bag?” you might ask. Good point, but if you do not use the two small velcro tabs to secure the strap, the chances of the bag falling off over rough terrain increase dramatically. (I may or may not be speaking from experience)

Even when using the small velcro tabs, the bag came loose on one road and one mountain bike ride. The issues may have been due to user error, but attaching the Saddle Bag does take some extra care and attention when riding on rough roads.

The instruction card that comes with the Saddle Bag has an elegant appearance but is a bit tough to read. Spurcycle Saddle Bag and Multi-Tool. © Cyclocross Magazine

Overall, the Spurcycle Saddle Bag provides an interesting alternative to “traditional” saddle bags. It provides plenty of room for storage during gravel rides and provides a swappability that fits my multi-discipline riding. However, the two times it slipped and unrolled during recent rides were rather frustrating.

Spurcycle Tool

Finding a multi-tool that is light and easy to use in tight spaces on the bike is an issue many cyclists seem to face. After several months of use, I can report that the Spurcycle Tool is one solution to this multi-tool problem.

The Spurcycle Tool comes with a titanium handle and chuck and 10 steel bits. Spurcycle Saddle Bag and Multi-Tool. © Cyclocross Magazine

The design of the Spurcycle Tool is rather elegant, with a Grade 5 titanium handle and chuck and ten steel bits of commonly used sizes. A plastic holder keeps the bits secure, and the unit comes with a small carrying pouch made from the same X-Pac material as the Saddle Bag. The small pouch easily fits in your saddle bag or jersey pocket, and at 93g, the titanium and steel Spurcycle Tool is pretty light.

The tool slides into the carrying pouch for easy transport. Spurcycle Saddle Bag and Multi-Tool. © Cyclocross Magazine

The chrome-coated steel bits come in 10 sizes: 2mm, 2.5mm, 3mm, 4mm, 5mm, 6mm, 8mm, T10, T25 and P2.

The multi-tool comes with 10 steel bits that can be easily swapped in and out. Spurcycle Saddle Bag and Multi-Tool. © Cyclocross Magazine

One complaint I have with many multi-tools is their lack of leverage. The handle on the Spurcycle Tool is long enough to provide plenty of torque, even in tight spots. The handle slides from one side to the other to help reduce the number of times you have to remove the bit and reposition the tool before turning another half or quarter turn. The design could be improved upon with a ratchet system similar to the one on the Prestacycle Prestaratchet to help reduce the number of times you have to remove and re-insert the bits.

The multi-tool chuck slides along the titanium handle for easier use. Spurcycle Saddle Bag and Multi-Tool. © Cyclocross Magazine

When I first showed the Spurcycle Tool to my friend, the first thing she said was, “You’re going to lose all those bits.” Perhaps surprising even myself, I have not yet lost any of the bits. The plastic holder tightly holds them, so as long as you properly return them, they should stay secure.

The Spurcycle Tool is made in the U.S. with U.S.-sourced titanium and costs $69. It is light, portable and works well, so if you are looking to invest a few extra dollars in a multi-tool that fits those needs, the Spurcycle Tool is worth a look.

For more on the Spurcycle Saddle Bag and Tool multi-tool, see the specifications below.

For more gravel gear, see our growing archives of gravel-ready products. 

Spurcycle Saddle Bag Specifications

Price: $45
Weight: 53g
Material: X-Pac VX42 polyester
Dimensions: 12.5 x 18 x 6cm
Contents: Bag, velcro strap

Spurcycle Multi-Tool Specifications

Price: $69
Weight: 93g
Material: Handle and chuck: Grade 5 titanium; Bits: Chrome-covered steel
Bits: 2mm, 2.5mm, 3mm, 4mm, 5mm, 6mm, 8mm, T10, T25 and P2
Contents: Handle and chuck, 10 bits, plastic storage tray, X-Pac carrying pouch
More Info: spurcycle.com

The post Gravel Gear: Spurcycle’s Saddle Bag and Minimalist Multi-Tool appeared first on Cyclocross Magazine - Cyclocross News, Races, Bikes, Photos, Videos.

When Kae Takeshita moved to the United States from Japan at age 19, she had big dreams of reaching for the sky in her new home.

Literally reaching for the sky.

“When I was 17, I came up with an idea that I wanted to be an airplane pilot, and came to the States alone when I was 19,” Takeshita said. Despite the challenge of living in a new country at a young age, Takeshita went on to graduate with a degree in Aviation Management and also obtained her pilot’s license.

Now that she resides in the Chicago suburb of Itasca, Takeshita does not get up in the air as much as she used to, but she has replaced flying through the air with flying over the Midwest’s gravel roads at about 18 to 20 miles per hour. Takeshita has fully embraced the American style of gravel racing and is one of the top women riders on the non-existent Elite gravel tour.

Kae Takeshita has traveled across the Midwest to race this year. Illinois’ 2018 Ten Thousand Gravel Ride. © DREIBELBIS + FAIRWEATHER

A budding sense of adventure brings an impressive schedule of gravel races across the middle part of the U.S. Just this year, she kicked off the season with a win at the Texas Chainring Massacre, took second at the Land Run 100 in Oklahoma, added a third at Barry-Roubaix in Michigan and last weekend, took home a win at the Hilly Billy Roubaix in West Virginia.

So why gravel? For Takeshita, it provides some of the freedom she experiences while flying. “Gravel can be so different and no two courses are alike. It’s truly full of adventure, with beautiful scenery and so many unexpected factors,” she said. “Did I tell you I encountered a full grown male moose in the middle of a forest in the Upper Peninsula Michigan when I was riding alone? After a long and hard day of gravel riding, the sense of accomplishment is overflowing. It’s all about the personal challenge and experience.”

Totally like flying … except for maybe the moose.

A Love Made in America

Kae Takeshita’s journey to gravel racing started in her home town of Sapporo, Japan. When she was 17, Takeshita made up her mind to pursue being a pilot. Perhaps foreshadowing her sense of gravel adventure, she decided to move to the United States to attend college. At times, it was tough. “Having no overseas experience, with very little English skills, no one to depend on, I encountered many challenges,” she said about her first years in the U.S.

She survived and emergred with a degree and more. “I graduated university with a Bachelors in Aviation Management and got the FAA’s airmen licenses and rating,” she said about her education. Although she had achieved her goal, Takeshita’s career path took her in a different direction. She moved to the Chicago suburbs where she currently works in logistics for a shipping company.

Although the Chicago-based United Airlines invites passengers to “come fly the friendly skies,” her adopted city’s air and road traffic eventually forced Takeshita to put her passion for soaring above the clouds on hold. “I have not been flying lately,” she said. “I enjoy flying for my own pleasure. It is so peaceful to be floating above the clouds. I’d like to go back to flying in the future, once I move out of the busy Chicago area and have extra time. O’Hare air traffic is not so friendly for private flying enthusiast.”

Fortunately for the grounded adventurer, she discovered bike racing.

After growing up in Japan, using a bike to get somewhere really fast was a foreign concept for Takeshita. “Being from Japan where people use bicycles mostly for transportation, I did not even consider cycling was a type of sport,” she said about her early days in the States.

As it did for her fellow 2018 Dirty Kanza podium finisher Ian Tubbs, all it took for Takeshita to get into cycling was getting a bike. Of course, it helped that the bike was made for going fast.

“When I came to the U.S., I did not have a driver’s license. In fact, I got my pilot license first!” Takeshita said. “I went to a local bike shop to get a commuter, and I also got myself an entry level road bike. I was shocked to learn that a regular person who was not a Keirin racer could buy a bike that was not a ‘mamachari’ bike.” (Mamachari bikes are more or less Japanese hybrids or commuters)

Kae Takeshita started riding in groups and eventually found herself at events like the Dirty Kanza 200. 2018 Dirty Kanza 200. © Z. Schuster / Cyclocross Magazine

Armed with a road bike, but still remembering the days of tooling around town on her mamachari bike, it was lycra-clad Chicagoans, of all things, that helped Takeshita realize her bike racing destiny. “[Chicago] was a new place for me and I had few friends, so whenever I had time I went to a local forest preserve and rode my bike,” she said. “I started seeing people in colorful spandex, and I learned that cycling was considered as a sport.”

She continued, “Then, a local rider asked me to join a training ride. And several years later, cycling has become part of my life.”

Gravel Roads Calling

Takeshita’s story in cycling is one many of us who discovered the sport as adults can relate to. It started with a commuter. Then a road bike to go faster. Then after riding a lot, there was the first group ride. We all know where the story goes next.

After joining that first group ride, Takeshita slowly started to expand her riding. “Starting with casual rides and century rides, I tried local crits, road and endurance road a little bit,” she said about getting deeper into cycling.

She also started racing cyclocross in the Chicago Cross Cup in 2014, where she quickly showed her affinity for dirt and rough terrain. Takeshita quickly moved up to the CCC’s Cat 1/2/3 field and finished as high as fourth before the end of her first year. In 2015, she was already a regular on Elite podiums in Chicago and Wisconsin.

Takeshita (left) has been a regular on Chicago Cross Cup podiums. photo: Kelly Clarke

As Takeshita has shown with her willingness to travel across the Midwest for gravel races and her close encounters with U.P. moose, adventure is something she wholeheartedly embraces. That sense of adventure took her to gravel racing, because hey, it sounds cool. “I learned about gravel by chance, when I was speaking with a cyclist I met during a trip in 2014,” she said. “Gravel? What’s that? But it sounds fun.”

She continued, “That year, I participated a few gravel events and I got hooked. It was not popular in our area yet since we don’t have local gravel roads, so I traveled out of state, pretty far to race in quite a few different areas. Each and every one of them was a really good experience.”

Takeshita’s bio on her team’s website shows some of her travels and the impressive results she has turned in thus far in her gravel career. She finished fifth at Barry-Roubaix in 2015, took fourth at the Hilly Billy Roubaix in 2016 and won Gravel Worlds in 2016. As they did in cyclocross, her results have only gotten better. She won Missouri’s The Epic in 2017 and then took second at Gravel Worlds behind Alison Tetrick later last year.

With the exception of the encounters with incredibly large mammals, Takeshita came to get hooked on gravel racing for many of the same reasons Amanda Nauman and others have echoed. The discipline combines adventure with a sense of community that brings all participants together, no matter where they finish on the results sheet—if there is one.

“What’s very different and really great about gravel compared to other disciplines is that anyone and everyone can participate and enjoy,” Takeshita said. “Gravel grinders, roadies, cyclocrossers, mountain bikers, pro riders to casual riders, young and old, and with any type of bikes and tires. Some are in to race, some are in to finish, but we all can share the same course and fun. The atmosphere is quite relaxed, too. I met so many people and made so many friends through gravel.”

Takeshita has fully embraced the fun and irreverent parts of gravel racing. 2018 Hilly Billy Roubaix. © Mike Briggs

Connecting with Panaracer / Stan’s NoTubes

With the discipline still trying to figure out what it is going to be and teams not necessarily playing a very big role in races at this point, gravel “teams” are largely absent on the fictional gravel Pro Tour.

Cannondale sent an impressive confederation of current and retired athletes to the Dirty Kanza, but one of the few Elite teams squarely focused on gravel racing is the Panaracer / Stan’s NoTubes p/b Bicycle X-Change team that boasts 2017 Dirty Kanza winner Mat Stephens, 2017 Land Run 100 winner Karen Pritchard, two-time DK200 runner-up Michael Sencenbaugh and team founder Bob Cummings as members.

The Panaracer / Stan’s NoTubes team had an impressive group at the Dirty Kanza 200.. 2018 Dirty Kanza 200. © Z. Schuster / Cyclocross Magazine

If you saw Takeshita racing in the Dirty Kanza 200 this year, you noticed she was wearing the black, red and blue kit of the Panaracer / Stan’s NoTubes p/b Bicycle X-Change team. Getting to be a member of the impressive gravel racing outfit was almost a missed connection for her.

“In early 2017, when I happened to log in to an SNS website which I had not touched for many years, I found that Bob Cummings, the captain of the Panaracer/Stan’s NoTubes team had messaged me. Many months ago,” Takeshita said.

She continued, “I responded back to him right away, and we were on the phone the same day. It was wonderful to speak with someone who organized the team that shared the passion of racing and gravel. I had not actually met him, but I felt the same high energy and we talked for hours. That was my first moment with our team.”

Takeshita’s results in 2018 are those of a rider who has benefitted from her team’s support, and as we will see, perhaps from the Panaracer tires she gets to ride as well. More importantly, her team has provided a group of like-minded folks who are passionate about racing gravel and use aero bars while doing so. We will get to that soon as well.

Dirty Kanza, a White Whale

Thus far, Takeshita’s gravel story has been one of triumph and impressive success. However, any student who passed high school english knows a good story needs a gripping conflict. Despite all her success prior to this year, Takeshita’s white whale, if you will, has been the grand daddy of gravel racing, the Dirty Kanza 200.

Kae Takeshita headed to Dirty Kanza in 2018 looking to turn around some bad luck. 2018 Dirty Kanza 200. © Cyclocross Magazine

Takeshita first raced the DK200 in 2015, where she fell victim to the infamous mud year, despite her best efforts. “After the rear derailleur broke, I removed the broken part and adjusted my chain to make it a singlespeed, but the chain was already twisted badly and wouldn’t track,” she said about the race that forced her into a DNF.

In 2016 she was back again and in great position after a strong start. Then, the unforgiving gravel gods of Kanza claimed another victim. “The second time was 2016,” Takeshita said. “I was in the lead at the first checkpoint, but I had bad luck with the tires I was running and went through six tubes before I could finish after the sunset.” She added, “This was before I met Panaracer tires.”

2017 brought her worst luck to date. “I got struck head-on by a careless driver in a large farm truck less than one week from the Dirty Kanza last year,” she said about her misfortune. “My forearm was broken in two places. It could have been worse, but fortunately, I was able to be back on the road bike in August, and then I raced a couple of gravel races.”

In 2018, Takeshita returned for her third try at the World’s Premier Gravel Grinder. With a healthy body, a new team and tires from her sponsor, she was ready to put the past behind her and have a good, albeit challenging, day in Kansas’ Flint Hills.

During her time out on the Kansas course, Takeshita avoided the mud, flats and bad drivers and turned in a successful fourth-place performance at the 2018 Dirty Kanza 200. She finished the 206-mile race in 12 hours, 39 minutes, just 8 minutes behind 2017 winner and third-place finisher Alison Tetrick.

“This year, my bike performed well without any mechanicals,” Takeshita said about her race. “I felt really good, and my spirits were high pretty much all day long despite of the mostly solo efforts into the relentless headwind of Legs 3 and 4. I was very happy.”

Takeshita had much better luck at the DK200 this year. 2018 Dirty Kanza 200. © Cyclocross Magazine

While plugging into the brutal headwinds from Eureka to Emporia, Takeshita had the much-talked-about aero bars at her disposal. The team’s top riders are proponents of the benefits of aero bars for gravel racing, and each racer has a set at their disposal if race rules allow. Ian Tubbs, Ted King and Craig Richey talked about the benefits of aero bars at Dirty Kanza, and not surprisingly, so did Kae Takeshita.

“The Dirty Kanza 200 is one of the toughest and longest races I’ve done so far, so it was nice to have them when I needed them,” she said. “There were some very long stretches of lonely time and into wind, and it was nice to give my back and shoulders another position to get through the race.”

Kae Takeshita ran aero bars on her 3T Exploro Flatmount at the Dirty Kanza 200.

The Journey Continues

Captain Ahab never caught his white whale, but with Dirty Kanza success done and dusted, Kae Takeshita is ready to continue on to the next adventure in her gravel career. If the writer were being lazy, he would say she is ready to soar in the gravel scene.

Takeshita’s 2018 gravel season still has some unfinished business to attend to. Foremost among these is Gravel Worlds in August, where she is looking to pick up her second win at the Nebraska race after finishing second in 2017.  And ever the adventurer, she is also headed back to Kansas in September for the 119-mile Hondo (Hondo, not Hundo) put on by her team captain Bob Cummings.

Whether she finishes first or barely beats the sun, Takeshita’s story is one that embodies what is appealing about the gravel discipline. It started with a bike and a sense of adventure and led to finding new friends and challenges along the way.

The only difference between Kae Takeshita and the rest of us is she is much much faster. As she flies by on gravel roads, one can only conclude it is what you would expect from an adventurous women who first came to the U.S. to pursue her love of flying.

The post Taking Flight: Kae Takeshita Finds a New Gravel Love in America appeared first on Cyclocross Magazine - Cyclocross News, Races, Bikes, Photos, Videos.

We’ve got gravel tires, gravel bikes, gravel wheels and even gravel garments. Why not gravel shoes?

While we’ve tested mountain bike shoes with minimal Michelin tread that we’ve found better suited for gravel than mountain biking or cyclocross, Shimano has spent some time at the Almanzo 100 for several years testing out gravel-specific products. This year, it was the RX-800 and RX-805 rear derailleurs, but before that, it was to test and develop the XC5 gravel-oriented shoe.

The XC5 is Shimano’s new gravel-oriented shoe. Shimano XC5 Gravel Shoes. © Cyclocross Magazine

We can hear some eyes rolling after reading the term “gravel shoes,” and we certainly can understand cynical readers thinking it’s just marketing. After all, when looking at bikes, a gravel model might be a more burly version of a road product or a slimmed down mountain bike product.

Add in the fact that we see plenty of gravel race winners riding road shoes and pedals and little running or hike-a-bike in gravel racing (with the exception of an occasional river crossing or a trudge through a rare deluge), and the broad selection of road, mountain bike and cyclocross shoes should offer the slipper that fits any gravel race in the kingdom.

However, numbers don’t lie, and gravel is growing in popularity, justifying companies with resources developing products tailored specifically for the discipline. We had our first look at the result, the Shimano XC5 shoe, at the 2017 Interbike Outdoor Demo:

Our team received a pair of Shimano XC5 shoes shortly before last cyclocross season and another special-edition blue and yellow camouflage pair before the Almanzo 100 gravel race in May. Find out if the XC5 shoes are the right fit for your next day of gravel adventure, creek crossings and the occasional hike-a-bike.

Gravel Dazzle

What makes the Shimano XC5 a gravel shoe? Shimano boasts its lace system offers the ultimate fit and adjustability for long days on the bike. The company’s “Mini Power Strap” breaks the laces into two different sections, allowing the rider to lock in independent tension adjustment near the toes and ankles.

The XC5 has Shimano’s Mini Power Strap for keeping the laces tied tightly. Shimano XC5 Gravel Shoes. © Cyclocross Magazine

The Michelin-rubber sole is less aggressive than your typical mountain bike shoe but fully armored to protect the carbon fiber-reinforced midsole against sharp Kansas flint and Sierra stones.

A carbon plate at the cleat helps provide some extra stiffness to the shoe. Shimano XC5 Gravel Shoes. © Cyclocross Magazine

Shimano rates shoe stiffness on a 1-12 scale, and the XC5 checks in at a 7, which is toward the flexible end compared to both its road (min. 6) and off-road (min. 5) shoes.

The Michelin rubber sole has a bottom similar to a mountain bike shoe. Shimano XC5 Gravel Shoes. © Cyclocross Magazine

The XC5 shoes come in black with magenta laces for women and either black or gray with orange laces for men. Shimano also recently released a special edition of the shoe with a yellow and blue camouflage scheme, although the number of pairs available is pretty low.

Find yourself finishing in the dark? Shimano added a reflective heel for added visibility.

Weight-wise, our size 45 test shoes checked in at 681g for the pair.

Shimano recently released a special edition blue and yellow model of the XC5 gravel shoe. Shimano’s XC5 Gravel Shoe. © Cyclocross Magazine

Fit with Flex

When we get a new pair of kicks just before cyclocross season you can be sure we’ll test them not just for gravel but also in the mud and ruts. In fact, we spent half of the cyclocross season in them, and rode with them at Almanzo, Lost and Found and on our fair share of singletrack.

First, regarding fit, the lace system is accommodating of a diversity of foot shapes. Most high arches, flat feet and narrow, low-volume and wide feet should find a home in the XC5. Both our testers have narrow feet, and with the laces pulled almost completely tight, they found a comfy home in the shoes.

The XC5 shoes have a narrower profile than some. We found they fit our narrow feet well. Shimano XC5 Gravel Shoes. © Cyclocross Magazine

We’ve been pleasantly surprised how laces have been problem-free during all types of riding and racing, with the Giro Empire VR90, ridden by a number of cyclocross pros, securing the comeback of laced shoes in 2014. Perhaps it’s no coincidence Shimano’s offering has copied the black with orange laces that Giro offers.

If you’re used to a stiff, full carbon soled mountain bike shoe, you’ll notice that the XC5 is not the stiffest shoe on the block. There’s notable flex near the toes, and under hard efforts and small pedal platforms, you can feel the give in the sole. Our experience reflects the 7 out of 12 stiffness score Shimano gives the XC5 shoes.

Whether or not that’s a great thing likely depends on your gravel ambitions. Looking for the most efficient shoe to power your aero-bar-equipped-rig to gravel glory? You’ll probably prefer an aero carbon-soled road shoe over the XC5. Out for a long day, with multiple strolls through the aid stations, or have some hike-a-bike in your backpacking future? The XC5 may offer a comfy option.

After six months of use, one test pair’s uppers have certainly softened up. It’s more comfortable than ever but doesn’t quite offer the support as it did on day one.

The inside of the XC5 features a diamond pattern designed to help with comfort and flexibility. Shimano XC5 Gravel Shoes. © Cyclocross Magazine

Gravel Only or ’Cross Worthy?

Since gravel is a versatile discipline, it makes sense that the XC5 shoes might have crossover appeal for other uses.

If you struggle in your stiff, carbon soles with steep run-ups, the XC5 is an awesome run-up shoe. Add in some toe spikes, dig in and run past your competition. Sure, your laces will never look the same after a muddy day, but the flex helps get scale the steepest hills, even if the Michelin sole’s minimal lugs do not.

Commuters also might find the XC5 to be an ideal shoe. The sole is durable and offers easy walking, while the laces (the grey ones) offer a stealth look around the office and café. The reflective heel should warn drivers to give you room after a late day at the office.

The Verdict

With the gravel continuing to grow in popularity, it is not really that surprising to see gravel shoes starting to come on the market. The challenge for companies is that no two gravel events are the same. Some are fast speed-fests that are not too far from road races, while others feature hike-a-bike sections, creek crossings and other sections that force riders to their feet.

With the XC5, Shimano designed a shoe geared toward more gravel riding that features a good amount of time off the bike. The shoe’s relatively soft sole makes walking and even run-ups comfortable, but it does not provide a stiff platform for putting down the watts. At the same time, with a mountain-style sole, the XC5 could also pull double duty as a cyclocross shoe, and the low-profile design and built-in reflective panels make it commuter-friendly as well.

As we saw when we attended the Almanzo 100 this year, Shimano has made a strong commitment to gravel as a company, and the XC5 shoe is one product of its design and testing. It is one of the first gravel shoes we have seen, but it almost certainly will not be the last. We will be keeping our eyes out to see how Shimano and others approach making a gravel shoe given the discipline’s many and broad definitions.

Specifications

Price: $150
Weight: 681g / pair (size 45)
Sizes: Women: 36-44; Men: 38-50
Colors: Women: Black with magenta laces; Men: Black and gray with orange laces
Stiffness Rating: 7 of 12
Sole: Michelin rubber with carbon plate for cleats
Other Features: Mini Power Strap, spike mounts
More Info: shimano-lifestylegear.com

The post Gravel Gear: Shimano’s Multi-Surface XC5 Gravel Shoes appeared first on Cyclocross Magazine - Cyclocross News, Races, Bikes, Photos, Videos.

In the last few years gravel has matured as a category and in response, bike manufacturers have gotten behind it in a big way with specialized platforms aimed at multi-surface riding. It only takes a look at our recent profiles from Dirty Kanza and Lost and Found to see how purpose-built the equipment has become for those hammering at the front of races.

At the same time, we have also seen that gravel bikes can take many shapes. We’ve seen repurposed steel road bikes, mountain bikes and cyclocross bikes answer the call as gravel bikes.

The singlespeed category is always a favorite as a bastion of the “run what you brung” ethos of gravel in the growing sea of carbon fiber.

At the Lost and Found Gravel Grinder last month, we spotted a Surly Cross Check singlespeed setup that belongs to California’s Jay Barre that, at first glance, seemed to embody the “gravel spirit.”

Jay Barre’s Surly Cross Check Gravel Bike. 2018 Lost and Found Gravel Grinder. © C. Lee / Cyclocross Magazine

After taking a closer look, Barre’s bike definitely fits the bill. Barre said the bike is his everyday workhorse, but for Lost and Found he took off the front rack and panniers, threw on some knobby tires and called it gravel ready.

We profile Barre’s classic Cross Check singlespeed setup that he pressed into gravel service at Lost and Found.

Jay Barre’s Lost and Found Surly Cross Check Singlespeed

The basis for Barre’s unique bike is the popular Surly Cross Check frame. This steel frame has been around for years and, like most Surlys, boasts an impressive tire capacity of 700c x 42mm. Surly designed the Cross Check to be versatile in many regards that include gearing. The Cross Check has horizontal dropouts that allow the bike to be run as a geared or singlespeed setup.

Thanks to the horizontal dropouts single speed is no problem for this Surly Cross Check. Surly Cross Check Gravel Bike. 2018 Lost and Found Gravel Grinder. © C. Lee / Cyclocross Magazine

The most interesting part of Barre’s Cross Check singlespeed is its drivetrain. Barre mounted two chain rings to the alloy crankset, and the rear wheel’s flip hub had two cogs mounted to the fixed side, implying the Barre adjusts his gearing based on the ride.

The flip hub was set up on the freewheel side. Note the multiple fixed cogs. Surly Cross Check Gravel Bike. 2018 Lost and Found Gravel Grinder. © C. Lee / Cyclocross Magazine

For Lost and Found, Barre set the bike up in the smaller front chain ring with the freewheel engaged, giving him a 34-18 gear combination. Barre said he has ridden the bike off-road with a fixed-gear setup before, but the descents at Lost and Found were a bit too gnarly for him to go full hipster for the California race. With his singlespeed setup, he was able to climb all the hills without walking, which is an impressive accomplishment given the climbing required.

Single speed? This bike was equipped with multiple chain rings even though it had no mechanism for accessing the second. The chain picked up its fair share of dirt and grit during the long race. Surly Cross Check Gravel Bike. 2018 Lost and Found Gravel Grinder. © C. Lee / Cyclocross Magazine

The front wheel included a Shimano dynamo hub which was not wired to anything, and both wheels featured a stout 32-spoke construction.

Dynamo hubs are somewhat common on utility bikes, where their increased drag is a worthwhile trade-off for battery-free lighting. This bike’s owner had no lights equipped but continued to run a Shimano dynamo. Surly Cross Check Gravel Bike. 2018 Lost and Found Gravel Grinder. © C. Lee / Cyclocross Magazine

The alloy rims had Bruce Gordon Rock ‘n Road tires mounted to them, which is one of the swaps Barre made to morph his commuter into a gravel bike. He ran his tires with tubes at 50psi.

No internal routing here. In fact, users are free to use any drivetrain they please thanks to these down tube shifter bosses. Surly Cross Check Gravel Bike. 2018 Lost and Found Gravel Grinder. © C. Lee / Cyclocross Magazine

Whereas Barry Wicks pulled a Tomac/Phelan and put drop bars on his Kona Hei Hei DL mountain bike frame, Barre kept his daily driver setup with swept-back flat bars. His cockpit includes a Thomson stem, mustache bars with Ergon cork grips and a Brooks Cambium saddle.

Brooks introduced the Cambium line a few years ago as a modern take on a classic design. It looks as though this one has been in use heavy since its launch. Surly Cross Check Gravel Bike. 2018 Lost and Found Gravel Grinder. © C. Lee / Cyclocross Magazine

New gravel bikes are almost exclusively disc brake, but Barre kept it retro with cantilevers on his Cross Check. He ran Avid levers and wide-profile cantilever brakes with Kool Stop Salmon pads. Barre said he was a bit envious of his disc brake brethren at Lost and Found. “This course you kind of want disc brakes,” he said. “I was kind of feathering the front and then going to the back. I made it work.”

Barre rounded out his gravel setup with two bidons, a saddle bag and a frame pump mounted under his top tube.

For more on Barre’s Cross Check singlespeed, see the specs below.

For more gravel bikes, see our profiles from Lost and Found and the Dirty Kanza 200.

Jay Barre’s Lost and Found Surly Cross Check Singlespeed Specifications

Frame: Surly Cross Check, 4130 Cro-Moly, cantilever brakes, threaded bottom bracket
Fork: Surly Cross Check, steel, cantilever brakes
Stem: Thomson X4
Handlebar: Alloy mustache, Ergon cork grip
Seatpost: Alloy, single bolt, setback
Saddle: Brooks Cambium
Wheels: Single Speed with flip hub rear, Shimano dynamo front, 32-spoke, alloy rim
Tires: Bruce Gordon Rock ‘n Road
Crank: Alloy, square taper, two (singlespeed) chain rings
Chain: Shimano
Pedals: Campus style SPD
Brakes: Wide profile cantilevers with Avid levers

The post Gravel Bike: Jay Barre’s Surly Cross Check Singlespeed Commuter Turned Gravel Bike appeared first on Cyclocross Magazine - Cyclocross News, Races, Bikes, Photos, Videos.

We have long maintained that gravel is a logical offseason counterpart of cyclocross. Organizers of the Battle in the Bowl Super CX race in Winchester, England decided to take the connection one further and combine cyclocross with gravel.

The race combined gravel roads with twisty cyclocross turns to create a four-mile (curious the English organizers used the dreaded imperial units) course that Elite riders rode for a not-quite cyclocross and not-quite gravel two hours.

Check out this highlight video for a look at the combination cyclocross / gravel race.

With cycling talk turning to Chris Froome, salbutamol and the Tour de France, it may be easy to forget that just like two weeks ago we were all talking about rules in gravel racing. Interestingly, the cyclocross/gravel race is facing its own issues figuring out what the “spirit” of cyclogravel racing is.

From the event website:

We’ve updated the bike rules for the Elite Super CX race at Battle in the Bowl 2017. Battle in the Bowl is a unique event, merging the ever evolving gravel bike scene with the more traditional ’cross racing format to bring you a full on venue based day of racing on a grand scale. We want Battle in the Bowl to always be an inclusive event, so you can also on MTBs, 29ers or any kind of bike you like – there’s a race for you.

Last year, we relaxed the bike rules in all categories, and allowed MTBs etc. to compete across the board. Talking to riders afterwards and in the months since, it became clear that not everyone agreed with this position with regard to the Elite Race, and that some riders felt it unbalanced the competition. After giving it a lot of thought, since  we have decided that as the headline event, the Elite Super CX should have a defined identity, and one that is relevant to the evolution of the riding style and new generation of bikes that inspired it. The Open category is still there for those who want to choose any bike, and we don’t want to go down a UCI style route of extreme bike regulation, but we will be enforcing bike rules as follows for this year.

Elite / Super CX Race: No suspension, 44mm tyre max on 700c or 29in (48mm max allowed on 650b). Maximum bar width 600mm.
Open Race (Open Warfare): Whatever bike you like. Knock yourself out. Make a statement.
Junior Races: All bikes welcome.

We hope you’ll agree with these decisions. Battle in the Bowl is part of a new and still developing movement, so we’ll review our rules year on year to try and keep it relevant, fair and fun.

Exceptions: These rules are applied to keep racing in the spirit of the event. As Gravel/CX is an evolving form, we have considered allowable exceptions to these rules for certain bikes. As the following have been developed with this form of riding in mind, they will be permitted in the race:

• Cannondale Slate (suspension allowed, bike must conform to other rules)
• Lauf fork equipped bikes (suspension allowed, bike must conform to other rules)

Stay tuned for more as we try to flesh out what the “spirit” of cyclogravel racing is and how it compares to the “spirit” of gravel racing here in the U.S.

The post Watch: English Race Combines Cyclocross and Gravel, Muses on “Spirit” of Cyclogravel Racing appeared first on Cyclocross Magazine - Cyclocross News, Races, Bikes, Photos, Videos.