Bikepacking/Endurance Seminar This Saturday!

The cycling phenomenon called "bikepacking" may be something you've heard about, but do not quite understand. Is it something for you? Well, this weekend at Ingawanis Woodlands at their Eagle Lodge, you can come for free and find out. There will be cyclists there with set ups on their bikes showing what the concept is and answering any questions you may have.

Bikepacking doesn't have to be all about some far flung adventure in some exotic place. You could use the concepts for going on a picnic, for example, and haul it all on your bicycle to George Wyth. Or you might even use some of these concepts to camp by bicycle, or even use the ideas for a RAGBRAI trip.

There will also be some talk about how to ride and use the extensive network of gravel roads in Iowa. The types of bicycles used, techniques for riding, and more will be discussed. The venue is at Ingawanis Woodland, a Bremer County park. To get there take County Road C-50 from Janesville toward Denver and turn Left/North on Hawthorne Avenue. (Gravel road) Proceed North until you reach the wooded area at the top of a hill. Look for a driveway to the left #2588. If you go downhill and to the right you went too far!

We'll be there from 4:00pm Saturday until 7:00pm with the bikes and experts talking about bikepacking and gravel road riding. There will be chili and a campfire. Feel free to bring a beverage and a lawn chair. Camping over night in tents is also optional. Keep in mind that Ingawanis Woodland is a primitive site and that there are no amenities.

Hope to see ya there!

It is easy to access this area by C50.  Take county road C50 from Janesville toward Denver and turn north on Hawthorne Ave.  You will find a hidden driveway (2588) that takes you in to Eagle Lodge. There is a second parking lot that is always open on 260th. - See more at: http://www.mycountyparks.com/County/Bremer/Park/Ingawanis-Woodland.aspx#sthash.Beb58NkV.dpuf

It is easy to access this area by C50.  Take county road C50 from Janesville toward Denver and turn north on Hawthorne Ave.  You will find a hidden driveway (2588) that takes you in to Eagle Lodge. There is a second parking lot that is always open on 260th. - See more at: http://www.mycountyparks.com/County/Bremer/Park/Ingawanis-Woodland.aspx#sthash.Beb58NkV.dpuf

It is easy to access this area by C50.  Take county road C50 from Janesville toward Denver and turn north on Hawthorne Ave.  You will find a hidden driveway (2588) that takes you in to Eagle Lodge. There is a second parking lot that is always open on 260th. - See more at: http://www.mycountyparks.com/County/Bremer/Park/Ingawanis-Woodland.aspx#sthash.Beb58NkV.dpuf

Time To Ride Gravel

Europa Cycle's own Lauren on the left riding with two of our customers.

here at Europa Cycle & Ski we like to explore all manner of fun and adventure on our bicycles. Paved trails in Waterloo and Cedar Falls, plus the surrounding area, add up to 100 miles or so. These are probably the most used and obvious of the ways one can do bicycling in the Cedar Valley. We also have our mountain biking opportunities. Places like George Wyth State Park and up at Ingawanis Woodlands, not to mention the Green Belt and some other areas where dirt ribbons can be ridden and explored. That's all really great stuff, but did you know that there is a cycling opportunity right at your fingertips that most rarely consider and that there are more miles of this than anything else in the Cedar Valley? Well, let me tell you about gravel roads then.

Gravel roads? Who'd want to bicycle on gravel roads? 

Fair enough question, but when you consider the opportunities to do gravel road cycling around here, and what the benefits are, you may end up thinking, "Why not bicycle on gravel roads!

Iowa has somewhere around 70,000 miles of gravel and dirt roads, at least one third more miles than we have of pavement. Of course, we all know how stressful and dangerous riding on even the secondary paved roads can be, and highways are usually out of the question. Really, how many miles we can safely use versus gravel and dirt roads is probably more like one half as many paved roads or less.  The cool thing is that out in the country, on gravel, there are barely any worries at all. On many a 40+ miler I have done over the years, it is rare to see over five automobiles during a single ride, and many times we never see any cars or trucks! Plus, these vehicles often are slower, make way for you, and the drivers actually wave hello!

I know! Amazing, right? 

You can enjoy the beauty of Iowa at bicycle speed in the country.

 The gravel roads can reveal Iowa's beauty and splendor like no paved road can. Check out the miles of wild flowers in the ditches during Spring, Summer, and Fall, or surprise a pheasant, quail, or grouse while cruising a gravel road. See quaint Iowa farms, homes, rural churches, and even a marina in the middle of nowhere! You'll never know what you can find out there in the country that you'd never see from your car.

Here at Europa Cycle and Ski, we're "gravel experts". Many of us enjoy riding gravel. Europa Cycle and Ski is also the birthplace of Trans Iowa, the 300+ mile long ultra-distance gravel road race now in its 13th year. In fact, the whole "gravel bike' scene can trace its existence in modern times back to Trans Iowa. Europa is also home to Guitar Ted,otherwise known as Mark Stevenson, who is part owner of RidingGravel.com, the first calendar of gravel road events in the nation, and a site where reviews, a forum, and more exist to support the gravel and back road scene in America and abroad.

So yeah......we know about riding gravel roads. 

Gravel road riding is fun, adventurous, and quite the experience and it is readily available to you in the Cedar Valley. You should check it out. For more on routes, gear, and bicycles good for your gravel road experience, look us up at the shop. And check out one of our latest rides in this report here. 

 

Raleigh Tamland 1- The Road Bike With No Limits

Raleigh Tamland 1: Image courtesy of Cyclo Cross Magazine.

Here at Europa Cycles, we are stoked to be able to offer the Raleigh Tamland 1 model. This is a very unique bike that hasn't been available before. It is a very versatile design.

But first, it has to be said that one of Europa's own employees, (yours truly), actually had a hand in helping to develop the geometry and some of the features of the Tamland. (<==Click the link to find out the story.)

The Tamland is billed as a "gravel bike", but that's selling the design a bit short. Here's why the Tamland matters and why you might find it to be the perfect "all around" bike for most of your road biking needs:

• The Tamland has a stable geometry: This means you have an easier time keeping the bike going forward over rougher roads, gravel, and even dirt!
• The Tamland is constructed from Reynolds 631 tubing: This means that the ride quality will be smooth, but not "dead" feeling. It is a certain quality of higher end steel that seasoned cyclists seek out in a bicycle. There is a reason why......it feels good!
• The Tamland has full rack and fender braze ons: This means it can be the perfect commuter, RAGBRAI rig, light touring bicycle, or perfect for your next, long adventure. In other words, it is versatile!
• The Tamland can fit a wider range of tire widths: The Tamland comes stock with Clement's excellent all around purposed MSO 40mm tires, but you can just as easily mount 28mm road tires all the way up to 42mm dirt road tires and anything in between. Did we mention the bike is versatile? 
• The Tamland has disc brakes: Disc brakes do several things for you- You can stop safely in any weather, you can use less hand force to stop more quickly and under control, the pads tend to last the average rider at least twice as long as ordinary road brake pads, and if you break a spoke, you don't have to compromise your brakes to keep rolling. The TRP Spyre disc calipers are also unique and powerful compared to the competition. 
• The Tamland has a Shimano 105 spec level: This means you get reliable shifting, smooth operating drivetrain parts with a reasonable lightweight yet durable cassette, chain, and chain rings. Oh yeah......and it is 10 speed. A compact crank and wide range cassette mean that any hills around here are toast when you attack them. You've got plenty of gear on tap here!

Essentially, you can think of the Tamland as "the road bike with no limits". It can be fitted with accessories, no problems, unlike most lightweight, road racing bikes that are not meant to have racks, fenders, etcetera. It can run on pavement, busted up chip seal, gravel, dirt roads, fire roads, and essentially anywhere there is a path that doesn't require a mountain bike. It may be the only bike you'll ever need.

We've got a full size run of Tamland 1's in now. Stop by and see this and our other 2014 models in stock now. We'll have the coffee ready for you.......

The "Thick" & The "Thin" Of It

Today I want to introduce you all to two new, and vastly different, bikes we just got in at Europa Cycle & Ski recently. The "thick" one is Origin 8's "Crawler" fat bike and the "thin" bike is Salsa Cycles new "Warbird" model. Let's take a look at the Crawler first...

Origin 8's Crawler fat bike

The Crawler is a bike I am somewhat familiar with having ridden the previous pre-production version two years ago at Interbike and the final version you see here last year at Interbike. The Crawler is in the"fat bike" class of bike, sporting 26" X 4" wide rubber, but it diverts from the Surly/Salsa type fat bikes you may be familiar with from that point on. This is a very unique bike, even without the ginormous tires and wheels. I'll detail ot all the nuances for you now..

Note the derailleur hangar

This bike's drivetrain is very unique for a fat bike. It has a NuVinci 360 hub that features Constantly Varying Transmission, (CVT), for a wide range of drive ratios. Notice that I didn't say the word "gears" here. That's because the NuVinci transmission doesn't have "gears" inside it. It also gives the rider a very different sensation at the pedals.

Without going into deep technical jargon, the deal here is that you have the ability to vary your ratio without "steps" that a traditional drive train would feature. Even internal geared hubs have "stepped ratios" and you feel this as a change to your cadence/pedal pressure as you change gears. With a CVT, you have no such "steps", only a smooth change from "easy" to "hard" and anywhere in between.

Massive tire clearances

The other distinguishing factor here is that the Crawler is not a "symmetrical" rear triangle frame, although it uses a 135OLD spacing, like a traditional MTB. It is also not as offset as a Pugsley by Surly is. It is offset very slightly to the drive side to optimize the chain line with the 100mm bottom bracket/crank set fitted to the bike. All this allows plenty of clearance by the tire.

The hydro-formed aluminum frame is also designed with plenty of rear tire clearances, so while I do not know that bigger than 4.0" tires would work, it looks like they may with the 80mm rims the bike comes with. Also, more versatility is offered with the provided rear derailleur hangar, which with a traditional geared set up and rear hub, may allow for a truncated drive train and therefore a slightly lighter set up. Obviously, single speed set ups are supported as well.

Clearances at the chain stay

The frame also has rack mounts on the rear and on the CroMoly steel fork up front for load bearing duties. Braking is handled by the ever reliable Avid BB-7 mechanical disc brakes, and the Origin 8 Devast8er fat tires are a good all-around snow/sand/mud/dirt tire for year round fat biking. Of course, Surly tires in the 3.8" range or Big Fat Larrys will be okay here. The larger Bud and Lou are unknown fits at this time.

Finally, the icing on this fat cake is that the retail price for owning this unique 20" framed monster is less than anything currently available in fat bikes. MSRP $1400.00 is over $300.00 cheaper than anything else out there. Check it out! These Crawler's are hard to get right now and we expect this one examnple will be all we'll see until Fall. Don't wait! Check this out now.

Salsa Cycles Warbird 2

I've talked a lot already about the next "thin" bike for this post. It is the racing gravel grinder bike by Salsa Cycles: The aluminum Warbird 2.

The Warbird 2 is a disc brake bike bred to deal with the rigors of rough gravel and go really fast doing it. It features a hydro-formed, lightweight aluminum frame that has been tweaked to allow maximum front triangle space so a frame bag and water bottles will all fit there with no problems.

Carbon fork

The Warbird 2 also features an Enve Composites carbon fork with tapered carbon steer tube. Yes- it is super-light! The tapered head tube hides an inset sealed bearing head set from the harsh elements. Braking duties on this bad bird are handled by Avid Road specific calipers and rotors are 160mm front, 140mm rear to help keep the weight in check.

You'll note that all cables run under the top tube in full run housings. This is done to beat inclement weather, mud, and dust while you enjoy perfect shifting and braking despite the conditions.

Frame fitments are sparse, as Salsa believes that a top tube type frame bag and a seat bag are how most garvel racers will carry the goods they need. There are three water bottle mounting points: One on the seat tube, down tube inner triangle, and one underneath the down tube.

Geometry is slightly relaxed for stability on loose surfaces like gravel and dirt. Tires are the excellent Clement USH, which features a smooth center tread strip allowing for fast pavement riding, yet has some aggressive "diamond file tread" on the sides for stability and purchase in dirt and loose gravel. These tires are 35mm wide, but the Warbird 2 can swallow up to 38mm rubber if necessary.

Nice orange ano appointments

The Warbird 2's drivetrain features a 2 X 10 set up with Tiagra "brifters mated to a rear derailleur from Shimano's excellent 105 group. Hubs are Formula for Salsa and anodized a nice orange hue to match the bike.

The tubing on this frame is shaped for some comfort to the rider and for maximum mud and tire clearances. The bottom bracket is a PF-30 type and it allows the FSA Gossamer 46T/36T crank set to spin freely. This sort of gearing is really great on gravel roads.

So- is this only for gravel grinding? Oh no! This is a lightweight, disc brake equipped rig that will go on any road, fast and efficiently, with nary a blink at bad weather, mud, dirt, dust, or whatever you can throw at it. Commute, use it as an "all road", all weather bike, or just as your hard core road rat rig. Whatever you want, really. I think of the Warbird 2 as the road bike that fears no road or weather.

This one is a 58cm, and we also have a 56cm on hand. Either will run you $2499.00 and are available now at Europa to scope out and take home. Hit the road on a Warbird 2......any road!

"3GR": A New Group Ride Idea

There are a few of us at Europa Cycle and Ski that are into riding on gravel roads. It is a lot of fun. I know......I know! You may be thinking that riding on gravel roads is nuts. We're crazy about it, that's for sure, but it may not be as nuts of an idea as you are thinking.

On gravel road rides you....

• Have the road to yourself
• It's peaceful, quiet, and beautiful
• Any traffic that does come along is seen long before it gets to you.
• Folks seem friendlier.

I could go on and on, but really, you have to try it out for yourself. So, to get that chance and do it with some experienced riders, Europa Cycle and Ski is going to start doing gravel road rides on a regular basis. The exact nature and timing of this has yet to be figured out, but I do have a name already. I'm calling it the "3GR". It stands for "Gravel Grinder Group Rides".

Stay tuned for details as I get them. The Gravel Grinder Group Rides are going to start out as easier routes to start with to get those that are curious out and not have them be overwhelmed. The routes will likely be 30 miles or less. I'm thinking once a week, and maybe once every two weeks to start out.

Then there will be bigger rides off and on throughout the summer. Also- there will be a fun demo of gravel friendly bikes in late June to go along with this. Stay tuned for more as it gets figured out.