Author: Grannygear

So here is the thing with drop bars. We have been used to riding bars that are basically round tubes bent into a shape and formed for their intended purpose. Now the reach and sweep and width and drop, etc, may vary, but what you are grabbing with your hands is basically a round tube. And that is both good and bad.

What do I expect from these new bits of rubber? WTB has a nice casing on their tires, or at least all I have been on. They ride well and have decent durability, running well tubeless. I expect the Byway to be a solid all-road tire, the Venture to be a grippy little thing on hard dirt and I have a 70 mile mixed surface loop in mind with tons of climbing that the 36c Exposure ought to be excellent for.

I just do not feel that they hook up exceptionally well on dirt paths, although as a mixed surface tire, and on smoother surfaces, they do OK. The strong points of the Overide are what seems to be a long life to the tread and a fast rolling nature.

Now then…the ride quality. It is smoother under sharp impacts than any alloy bar I have used. It is noticeable.

So far they have been what I remembered them to be…solid performing wheels. Pick up is not the snappiest thing I have felt, but I am comparing them to wheels 300g lighter and almost twice as much money. Compared to the stock wheel set, they are like pulling off logging boots and stepping into sneakers.

When I get back to riding, I will be moving this to my road bike to get longer miles on it, but so far, as a gravel bike bar, I think it is very, very good and could be a total winner for someone who struggles with hand or wrist issues.

It’s Castelli, and this is a race type jersey, so the cut is slim and I upped things to an XL just to make sure I could wear it with some of my pride intact. The fit for me was very good unless I zipped the jersey all the way up, then it felt odd and tugged across the front of the jersey. Even unzipping a little bit made that go away.

I began using Expresso Time road pedals with that ICLIC system and the unique carbon blade about three years ago. I had not much experience with other systems, coming from a set of Ritchey road pedals that I finally wore out. I enjoyed the ease of entry with the Time pedals and the way they stayed ‘open’ upon exit so you do not have to overcome spring tension to enter the pedal.

Bar tape has come a long way since the thin, fragile cork-type tapes of days past. Now it is even high tech. The colors and thicknesses are quite varied and you can pretty much have it your way. It is also a disposable item, so it is not unusual to go through a set of bar tape each season. And with the cost of premium tape at near 50 bucks a pop, its not a trifle.

The cut of the glove has been quite good with a size LG being right for me. There is no bunching or tension or pinching. The closure does not bother my wrist, as some are wont to do, and they wash fine and just do the job well.