New Addition!: FrankenBike 50

We've just learned that Chillicothe, Ohio will be the location for a new 50 mile long event called the "FrankenBike 50" It is an event described as having mixed terrain which should amount to 50% dirt/gravel/forest roads, 30% paved, and 20% single track. Which bike you use will determine where you will make compromises, thus the "franken bike" moniker, since an oddball set up may prove to be the best choice! See more on this September 5th, 2010 event at their website here.

New Addition! Night Nonsense 100

Iowa City, Iowa: October 23rd, 2010: Announcement has been made today that a new 100 mile gravel grinder event is going to take place in Iowa.....at night! This event is set to go down at 8pm in the evening and go on for 100miles, so lights will be necessary. Other dynamics will come into play due to the nature of the race time. From the Night Nonsense site:

"This race hopes to follow in the path of other great races like Almanzo 100, Dirty Kanza, and Gravel World Championships. With that being said, it is all about personal responsibility. Each rider is responsible for his or her self. We want this to be as fun of an event as others of its kind and will try to provide as much support as possible. Know that after a certain time gas stations and other amenities will be closed so you must be able to support yourself."

For more on this event, see the website, or the Facebook page here. 

Recommendo: XXC Mag Special Dirty Kanza Edition

XXC Magazine, which focuses on endurance and ultra endurance off road cycling for the most part, asked several participants in the Dirty Kanza 200  to submit stories and photos for a Dirty Kanza special edition. This is now available for purchase in a printed form or as a download from XXC Mag's website.

What I think is significant is that amongst the many choices deserving of "special edition" status, the XXC Mag chose the Dirty Kanza as its first special edition ever!

Check out the link and download a copy or order your own print copy and support gravel grinding and XXC Magazine.  (Disclaimer: I wrote the introduction to this special edition, but I receive no compensation from anyone's purchase of this magazine.)

Race Discussion: August Events

August Events: As we ride off into the end of summer, we take a look at the events we have here on GGN for August.

D2R2 - Deerfield Dirt Road Randonnee 2010: August 21st: This Western Massachusetts event is set to ride off August 21st. While the longer distances have had their rosters filled, there is still room for anyone wanting to do the shorter distance. Check it out here.

The Gravel World Championships/ Good Life Gravel Adventure, August 21st: This will be the "inaugural" running of the GWC, but this event has taken place a few times before. Check out the Pirate Cycling League's site for updates.

That's all for August. Keep in mind that if you have a date, or intend to run your event next year, please let me know here. Let's keep Gravel Grinder News going strong! Without your input, this goes no where! Thanks!

The Future Of Gravel Roads Is In Pavement: Part II

Earlier in the year I posted a link to a U.S.A. Today article in which the story of how counties suffering from low revenues and budget cuts have reverted old, run down paved roads to gravel. (See my post here) It seems that the problems persist as now the venerable Wall Street Journal has also picked up on the story with this online posting here.

In looking at the stories, several interesting points are made that show that this is not an easy issue for many people. Here at Gravel Grinder News, our perspective on gravel roads is that they provide a serene, back to nature, simpler approach to cycling. They are a respite from modern rush, chaos, and are perfectly suited to be courses for competition, challenges, or recreation on a bicycle. That's our view, but it isn't the only view on gravel roads. Here are some things that stood out for me in reading these stories.

• Paved roads deserve preservation and gravel roads are a cause for concerns over driver safety: Nostalgic feelings for roads are not new, but it did come as somewhat of a surprise to me that there is a "National Center for Pavement Preservation at Michigan State University, whose director, Larry Galehouse, is quoted as saying, in regards to the return to gravel, that "...we're leaving an awful legacy for future generations". Drivers are feared for by the AAA, as seen in this statement,"None of these decisions should be made overnight," said Chris Plaushin, director of federal relations at AAA. "I think that gravel brings some conditions that they may not be used to. The drivers are going to have to exert a little more caution."
• Residents along the formerly paved routes do not like the idea, understandably. Dust and dirt hang in the air and get on things which does cause concerns. 
• Even though converting a road to gravel can cost up to three times as less as it does to patch up asphalt in a year, some are not convinced the counties will actually save money. John Habermann, from Purdue University, who recently organized a seminar entitled, "Back To The Stone Age" in regards to the resurgence  of gravel roads, is quoted as saying, " A gravel road is not a free road." He states that continual grading, rock replacement, and other upkeep would outstrip the costs to consistently maintain an asphalt road.
• Others feel that letting paved roads go back to gravel roads is a "step backwards" and a reflection of a downfall in our society. 

Still, State and County governments are not seeing the sorts of revenues that are necessary to maintain the roads that we have. many of the less trafficked roads are under consideration for reversion to gravel roads. When it comes right down to it, it is all about the money available. People demand better, faster transportation in these times, which often means multiple lane super highways that bypass intersections and small towns and cities. That leaves a lot of old two lane highways and county black tops with little to no traffic, and multiplies the expenses for States and Counties to maintain them. Is the answer gravel? In some cases it is.

In other cases the roads maybe should be eliminated altogether. And it also bears mentioning that while some paved roads are adding to gravel mileage, some gravel roads are being completely eliminated as well. Counties are taking out mileage where there is no need to service farms anymore, or where natural disasters have washed out bridges in rural areas making it too expensive to fix what has been damaged. Budget constraints are affecting all roads, and gravel roads are not exempt from being truncated, or eliminated altogether.

It is an interesting time for those of us who love to travel gravel by two wheels!

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Gravel Grinder Gear: Salsa Cycles Vaya

Editor's Note: Gravel Grinder News would like to welcome Salsa Cycles sponsored rider, Matt Gersib to the site. Matt has been a top flite mountain bike racer for 20 plus years and has worked in the cycling industry as well for many of those years. Matt now is employed by Snitly Carr as a Public Relations Manager, but still finds plenty of time to ride and race his Salsa bicycles often. Matt makes his home in Lincoln, Nebraska with his wife, and if he's not at work, he's probably out riding gravel somewhere in and around Lincoln. Here's Matt's take on the Salsa Cycles Vaya..........

Salsa's Vaya blends the strength, smooth ride and classic appeal of chromoly steel with Avid disc brakes, integrated f/r rack and fender mounts and room for big, gravel road-eating 40-45c tires.

Six Months on the Salsa’s All-Road Adventurer, the Vaya: by Matt Gersib

The recent growth in the popularity of gravel grinder events and bikepacking trips has spurred an evolution in the bicycles and equipment cyclists have at their disposal for such adventures. Never before have so many great options existed for pedaling to remote places, whether on roads or trails. Today, it’s possible to find a drop bar long-haul adventure/touring bike that’s well-suited for whatever type of route you’re looking to conquer, whether roads or trails.

A number of companies offer such bicycles, but one company stands at the forefront of the genre — Salsa Cycles. It offers several models that are well suited to various touring duties, from touring on paved roads and paths (the Casseroll), to gravel and dirt road adventures (the Vaya), to full-on off-road adventure touring (the Fargo). And while each of Salsa’s touring bikes has its own unique virtues, the focus of this test is the Vaya, the company’s latest addition to the line.

The Vaya draws its lineage from a number of past and current Salsa models. It slots into Salsa’s line up in the spot formerly occupied by the highly acclaimed disc brake, steel La Cruz model (not to be confused with the current titanium version of the La Cruz). And in many ways the Vaya is more of the bike I was hoping the La Cruz would have been. For while I always loved my La Cruz, its ‘cross bike geometry was undeniable and its tire clearance more limited than what I wanted in my “ideal” gravel frame. In the Vaya, Salsa addressed both of these areas effectively.

The Vaya was a huge risk for Salsa. They already had a winning, in fact some would say, category defining, off-road adventure bike, in the Fargo. So why would they go back and re-jigger their (already great selling) disc brake 'crosser, the steel La Cruz to more directly compete with the Fargo on the sales floor? Because they ride, and they saw the opportunity to build a bike that more precisely fit the type of riding they and the riders they associated with were doing. I think it's brilliant and it works. And honestly, for me, while I didn't want to have both a steel La Cruz and a Fargo, I'm stoked to have both a Vaya and a Fargo, because they complement each other very well. So in my opinion, if you can swing it financially, they're the perfect pair. Otherwise, you have to choose your weapon and pull the trigger.

Even with 40c Schwalbe Marathon Extreme tires mounted, the Vaya has plenty of clearance. For riders primarily interested in running 35-40c tires, the Vaya offers a more compliant ride than Salsa's more off-road biased Fargo model due to a lighter gauge tubeset tuned for more road-based adventures, whether paved or gravel.

The Vaya can handle rough roads and an occasional singletrack foray. It has the fork/stay clearance to handle up to 45c Panaracer Fire ‘Cross or Bontrager XR1 Team 1.9 sneakers, but its sweet spot is running 40 to 45c semi-slick or low-knob tires and using the compliance of the sweet steel frame and robust tires to make quick work of whatever road you choose. That makes it the perfect choice for a long ride/race like the Dirty Kanza 200 mile gravel grinder or a multi-day loaded tour on mixed surfaces. It can also just as easily pull daily duty as a comfortable, reliable daily commuter bike that’ll deftly haul your gear to and from work. Plus, with threaded rack and fender mounts included front and rear, versatility is the name of the game with the Vaya. Thanks Salsa!

Since I own both a Vaya and a Fargo, I’ve had a lot of folks approach me asking which bike they should buy for themselves. In all honesty, this is a pretty simple question to answer, because for me it all boils down to where they’re primarily planning on riding the bike. You see, the Fargo is a 29er… a mountain bike. It’s meant to be ridden on trails. So if they’re interested in a drop bar mountain bike, I recommend they buy a Fargo. But if they’re interested in primarily riding gravel roads, especially if they want to ride with other people, and particularly if they want to do it going fast, the Vaya is definitely the bike to choose.

For the most part I’ve found this to hold true for most riders with just a few exceptions. A couple of folks that I thought would go with a Vaya ended up on the Fargo because they wanted the ability to run fatter tires at some point, even though they primarily wanted to ride gravel. Cool… A couple of other riders decided on the Vaya, even though they planned to run the fattest tires they could run in the frame most of the time, simply because they wanted the lighter, more compliant ride of the Vaya frame. Again, a good choice, especially if they didn’t intend to tour off-road extensively. But those riders had specific visions of what they wanted, and could only have one bike to fulfill their intended roles. When you buy, you’ll have to decide what kind of riding matters the most to you and make the call for yourself.

This image shows the Vaya's low bottom bracket well. A full 75mm of drop combines with generous 450mm long chainstays to give the Vaya great stability and ride quality over bumps and potholes, with awesome tracking in corners and great tire clearance too. Compared to Salsa's 'cross racing frames, the Vaya sports 25mm longer chainstays. Nice...



The great news is that the Vaya and Fargo are both two of my favorite bikes, so it’s tough to go wrong with either. The Vaya’s frame, built from Salsa’s proprietary “Classico” steel tubing, is an example of how well the company understands how to make a great riding steel frame. Smooth is the characteristic defines the Vaya’s ride over choppy roads and the frame and fork’s stability in challenging conditions inspires confidence at all times. The long fork offset, 71.5 degree headtube angle (on my 57cm frame) and low bottom bracket (75mm drop) all contribute to the stability and solid handling of the Vaya. This is a bike you can literally ride with no hands on choppy roads!

Kevin Wilson snapped this photo of me at the first checkpoint of this year's TransIowa v.6 event. Though completely covered in mud, my Vaya didn't skip a beat. The 2x9 Shimano drivetrain and Salsa chainrings shifted cleanly right up to the point when I pulled the plug, about 90 miles in.

Since I received my Vaya as a frameset and built it up from a mixture of new and old parts, my build has no reflection on the “stock” build available from Salsa, so I won’t go into the specifics of the performance of my groupset performance. However, I will call out a few notable new components that I used in my build. First is the new iteration of WTB’s venerable Ti-railed SST saddle. This is my first experience with the newly re-released classic, and it’s every bit as good as the original. For WTB saddle lovers, these are good days. Heck, I say buy two! Keep a spare new in the box, just in case WTB stops making them again.

The Salsa Delgado Cross rims are the perfect choice for the Vaya, and that’s what I laced up for mine. I’ve had the opportunity to try a few different tires on them now and have come to appreciate their strength, simplicity and consistency in build-up. These are good, nice looking rims and they don’t cost an arm and a leg. Very nice…

The Salsa Woodchipper handlebar is quickly becoming a classic among the gravel grinder crowd, and for good reason. Good reach/drop and a nice, wide flare give it great leverage in the drops — perfect for climbing and descending sketchy gravel roads. It’s strong enough for full-on off-road use too, so you can run it on the Fargo too with no worries. Game on!! I love it – especially the 46cm version.

So, in my “perfect world,” would I change anything on the Vaya? That’s a tough question, because I think any changes to improve the bike in one area or another would detract from the bike in a different area. So no, I really wouldn’t change a thing. And from the others I’ve spoken to who own Vayas, the consensus is that it’s a superb riding, excellent handling bicycle, and a great value too. It breaks free from the cyclocross racing bike geometry mold and charts its own course as a true all-road adventure bike. That’s an exciting development for a cyclist like me.

Salsa Country: 2010 Dirty Kanza 200 champion, Corey "Cornbread" Godfrey captures this image of the early lead pack of the race, which contains several riders on Salsa Vaya and La Cruz models. Salsa's experience on the front lines of long-haul gravel grinder events has helped their designers evolve the geometry and features to better meet the needs of riders, making it a highly sought after ride for 2010.

If you’re interested in buying a Vaya in 2010, my advice is to buy it quick. From what I’ve heard from a couple of local Salsa dealers, it doesn’t sound like the supply of 2010 models will hold up through the year, as it’s been a very popular model for Salsa Cycles. Given my experience with the bike, I can’t say I’m surprised.

I received my Vaya through my sponsorship as a 2010 Salsa sponsored rider, but I have not been compensated for my review and the opinions I’ve expressed are solely my own. You can reach me at dirtstories@gmail.com with any comments or follow-up questions.

Chris Skogen's "From The Ground Up"

This post is to direct you to go watch an excellent short film called "From The Ground Up". This video is a visual tour de force that takes the viewer from the beginnings of the planning stages for Chris' Almanzo 100 gravel grinder through to the post race festivities. It does so with some sparse narration by Chris, but mostly the images and some sights and sounds are all you are going to have to go by here. And it is pretty powerful in it's own way. Well, at least I think so.

From my vantage point, it dials up what it is like to be involved in a selfless, totally volunteer event attended by cyclists who show up for the love of cycling. Maybe you won't get that, but if you take away nothing else, take away the message to "Ride Bicycles".

This short film gets a recommendo from Gravel Grinder News. Check it out here.

Gravel Grinder Gear: Singular Cycles Gryphon

The Singular Cycles Gryphon was introduced here back in February, and I have many miles on it now. I will tip you off here at the beginning of this review: I bought the frame and fork after the review was complete!

Before I go any further, let's cover what this bike is, and what it isn't. First of all, this bike was conceived of as a drop bar specific bike. That isn't to say that you couldn't put some alt bar or a flat bar on it, but it isn't purposed for those handle bars. Secondly, this bike was designed with off roading in mind, so it might be a tad on the heavy side for all out gravel racing. That said, the Gryphon would certainly hold its own in a race on gravel and does make a great platform for gravel riding in general. Okay, let's dig into this rig!

Comparisons to Salsa Cycles Fargo are unavoidable, but for as many attributes as it shares with that bike, the Gryphon is distinguished by some pretty significant differences from the Fargo. Probably most notable is that the Gryphon can be set up as a true single speed by way of the pinch bolt eccentric shell that houses a shiny Phil Wood eccentric unit, which is supplied with the frame and fork upon purchase. The other being the lack of all the braze ons that the Fargo has. The Gryphon is set up with the traditional two water bottle mounts, and some cable mounts for the brake and braze ons to accommodate a geared set up. Finally, the Gryphon is built from lighter, smaller diameter tubing with  shorter chain stays than the Fargo has.

Similarities in the rest of the package are angles, offset of the fork, a non-suspension corrected set up, and of course, the drop bar-centric control idea both bikes share. The ride of the Gryphon is different though. It is definitely more smooth than a Fargo is, especially if your Fargo is unloaded. The Gryphon really isn't meant to carry a load, although frame bags could easily be utilized to do that. The Gryphon's main calling card is a sweet, smooth riding performance with a low, in between the wheels feel. It really borders on the feel of some higher end steel rigs I have ridden on.

The Gryphon could be set up with tires from 32mm to well over 50mm easily. I chose to stick to 2.1's and 2.2's with this review. I will be trying some 42's or slightly bigger in the future, but even with the bigger tires, the Gryphon has plenty of clearance. Mud, and peanut buttery gravel never really gave me fits on this bike, but then again, I didn't venture into the really bad B Road stuff!

I had zero issue with the set up for my preferred drop bars and saddle to handle bar drop. The Gryphon, like the Fargo, has an extended head tube, but a lot of that "extension" is taking up space where suspension correction would normally be. In other words, the head tube may be really long, but most of it is extended downwards. Still, I have about an inch and a half of spacers under my Thomson stem, which isn't really much. This allows about a two and a half inch drop to the grip area of my Woodchippers. That's a nice, comfortable drop, and of course, it could be more aggressive for racing purposes easily. By the way, I'm 6'1" and this is a Large size frame.

The Gryphon isn't necessarily light, so for those looking to build up a single speed weighing into carbon road bike territory can look elsewhere. This is a solid, durable, comfortable steel bike that can also double as your commuter or single track machine when the fit takes you. It will definitely perform well off road, and I have done plenty of single track with my Gryphon.The bike is stable, but steers really well. No issues with instability on gravel, nor none of that heavy, wheel barrow-ish feeling either. Just a great, neutral feel that shouldn't be an issue for most riders at all.

Conclusions: The Singular Cycles Gryphon is a great rig for back road and gravel road explorations and fun. It isn't a touring/load carrying mule, like the Fargo, so if you are looking at an expedition, the Fargo may work better here. What the Gryphon does do well is to ride sweetly like a decent steel frame should. It can be a single speed, or geared, which makes it versatile, and it can carry big tires, or skinnier tires well. The "drop bar mtb" thing might throw a few people for a loop, but it shouldn't. Think of it as a more capable cross bike, if you must. You'll be rewarded with a bike that can do the gravel century one week, and turn around and do an all day trail ride on single track the next. It isn't what I would term as an "all out race rig". No- cyclo-cross bikes are better at that, but it could do a race with no issues, and with the right rider, it could win. I would still put it into more of an "adventuring" category though, as far as gravel/back roads are concerned. And a darned good one at that!

For more information, see Singular Cycles website, or contact The Prairie Peddaler. 

Note: This frame and fork were provided at no cost for review by Singular Cycles. I did buy the frame and fork after the final review on Twenty Nine Inches was completed. I was not paid, nor bribed for this review. I always strive to give my honest opinions and thoughts throughout.