Category: Components

Basically, I likely would have moved on to another tire by now. But I have not. And that has actually been just fine with me, because although the heat and the smoke from multiple fires around California kept my miles low overall, the times I did ride the Touregs have been just really good to live with.

Using the D1x is simple. To start, you depress the button on the side of the shifter box for about a second. The LED indicator will turn green, and then you depress either button on the remote until the LED flashes and you are good to go. Shifts are what you would expect from a well tuned cable operated system.

Recently I was tipped off to a couple of carbon fiber handle bars that Whiskey Parts was about to unleash upon the world. Whiskey Parts kindly sent them over for evaluation and review, and since now the curtain has been lifted on these, I can freely talk about them now.

The Rocketman is a bit of a mystery tire from Vee Tire Company which we hope to clear up soon. Not just in terms of specs but also in terms of on-road performance. Gravel roads, that is. Andy T will be handling the 650B side of things while I (Guitar Ted) will be testing the 700c versions.

The Atomik/Berd Ultimate wheel set is a lightweight, configurable component that can reduce vibrations to the rider which would otherwise hinder performance and handling on crushed rock roads.

So we have a set of wheels on the loading dock in SoCal fresh off the assembly line from Boyd Wheels. The Trailblazer line of carbon wheels is listed as both a gravel wheel and an MTB wheel. Interesting. It’s wide at 26mm internal, its hookless, which is the fashion of late, its adaptable, and it’s darn light.

So, let the ‘aero-wars’ rage on the forums, I don’t care a lick about the minutiae involved in those discussions. The FLO Cycling G700’s are worth every penny from a rider comfort standpoint and a bike handling standpoint alone.

WTB tire users on the mountain biking side may recognize the “SG” as being a reference to “Slash Guard”. That would be about the only similarity here though as “Slash Guard 2” is a new technology and is currently only offered on WTB’s gravel tire range.

Riding Gravel was privileged to be one of the few that were granted access to some SG2 tires for testing previous to the announcement today. This means we have some impressions to share about these tires.

From the first pedal stroke, it’s easy to feel the light weight of the Gulo wheels. At 1,296 grams for the set with tape and valves installed, the GRX-SL wheels are among the lightest wheels I’ve ridden, and they should be given their $2,625 asking price.