It's been two years since the build up of my Gunnar Roadie Project Bike. Thousands of miles and many component swaps have taken place on the Roadie in this time.
A quality steel frame and fork, such as the Gunnar Roadie frameset, make for a bike that can be ridden a lifetime. (with reasonable care and baring any major accidents)
Over the past two years I have changed many components on the bike:
Went from Shimano Ultegra 6700 10 speed group to an Ultegra 6800 11 speed group.
Swapped out the Pro Vibe 7 handlebars for FSA SL-K carbon handlebar
Still using a Pro Vibe 7 stem, but added one that is a centimeter longer.
Built up a set of Hed Belgium clincher rims with Powertap G3 hubs front and rear. These took the place of the original wheels that were built with Velocity hubs and A23 rims.
Added a NiteRider Solas rear light.
Added a Bar Fly mount for a Powertap Joule bike computer.
Since this bike is ridden on a CycleOps Virtual Reality Trainer, I added a CycleOps ANT+ cadence sensor.
I expected the bike to have picked up some weight, but was pleasantly surprised to find that it had actually lost one once from the original build. The original build had the bike weighing in at 18 pounds and 13 ounces, now the bike weighs 18 pounds and 12 ounces. Even though I added a few things to the bike the overall weight has gone down. I think part of the lighter weight can be contributed to the Shimano Ultegra 6800 crankset.
The Gunnar Roadie has been my go to bike for the past two years. It has a nice smooth ride, corners like it is on rails, is light enough and very reliable. This is just one great bike. Several bikes have come and gone from my stable while I have had the Gunnar Roadie. After putting several thousand miles on it, it is just my go to bike and will continue to be so. I highly recommend a Roadie to everyone. Buy one, you'll be glad you did!
NiteRider Solas light is rechargeable using a USB cord.
Bar Fly computer mount for a CycleOps Joule bike computer.
Powertap G3 rear hub.
CycleOps cadence sensor.
Gunnar Roadie by Mallard Lake in Tanglewood Park.
Gunnar Roadie with horses at Tanglewood Park.
This horse is curious about the Gunnar Roadie!
He enjoyed me rubbing his long nose. I hated to say goodbye!
Click here for more information on Gunnar Cycles.
Click here for more information on this Gunnar Roadie frameset before it was built up into a bicycle.
It was a nice "Sunny Afternoon" today. The time was around six o'clock in the evening when I headed out for my ride. The temperature was mild and the sun was still shining bright. Traffic was light also. Just a nice evening to go for a ride.
Often my ride are into Davidson County. Traffic is lighter this direction, when riding from my house. I've been riding out this way for over twenty five years now. This ride was a little over thirty miles in length.
I have several different routes I enjoy riding, when I head out on my bike in this direction. Most of my rides always include a few miles on Fraternity Church Road. My ride this evening took me to the Arcadia community of Davidson County, and then back into Forsyth County and Clemmons, NC on Hampton Road.
Poor ole' Joe was glad to see me, once I got back in. He had knee surgery three weeks ago today. Recovery is tough for him. He doesn't like to just lay around. A short visit to the backyard was welcome relief for Poor ole' Joe.
Today's ride was especially nice. Lately it seems to be raining when I have enough time to ride my bike. Thank goodness for a "Sunny Afternoon!"
The video above is riding out of town on Fraternity Church Road.
Music: "I rowed a little boat" by John Lee Hooker
Cattle grazing in a pasture along Hampton Road in Davidson County, NC.
I had to slip out for a short ride this evening. It's already the first day of spring! The weather forecast for the next few days is for colder, windy and rain on the weekend. It was just over 50 degrees this evening when I headed out. I had a little bit more than an hour of good daylight to ride.
Knowing it was going to be a few days before I would be able to get outside and ride, made me appreciate this ride that much more. My route took me just beyond the edge of the city limits.
I wanted to get in a little bit of a work out, so I did four or five short sprints. There is a stop ahead sign that I have used in years past as a marker for the end of a sprint. I figured out pretty quickly that my heart just wasn't in riding hard. I ended up just sight seeing for the rest of my ride.
A nice evening ride after a long day is just like a "remedy." Any ride is better than no ride at all!
Heading in at the end of my ride.
A good sign to use as a finish line for practice sprints.
The Black Crowes perform "Remedy" in the video above.
Poor Ole' Joe keeping me company while I check over my Gunnar Roadie before riding.
Sunday afternoon the weather made a pleasant change. After a cold week consisting of 4 days of heavy rain, 1 day of snow and 1 day of melting snow the temperatures was in the 50s and 60s. Finally a sunny afternoon to get out and go for a ride!
After checking over my Gunnar Roadie, I headed out. As soon as I got going I discovered the wind to be much stronger than I expected. As it always seems to be I was riding straight into the wind.
As I rode on Peace Heaven road, on my way toward Lewisville, NC, traffic just irritated me. It wasn't that there was a large volume of traffic, but that the drivers just seemed aggressive. I kept to the white line on the edge of the road to give passing motorists as much room as possible. At the intersection of Peace Haven and Lewisville-Clemmons Roads the driver in front of me was chatting on a cell phone and sipping coffee. He didn't notice when the red light had turned green and just sat there continuing his conversation. I just barely made it through the intersection before the traffic light changed to red. For some reason the Rolling Stones song "Street Fighting Man" popped into my head and was stuck there for much of my ride. I hoped this wasn't going to be the flavor of the rest of my ride.
I stopped at the town square in Lewisville to say hello and talk for a few minutes with a couple of cyclist friends that were unloading their bikes from the back of their cars. They had just arrived and I was already warmed up. I told them I was going to head on and they understood that.
As I left Lewisville I was still riding into a headwind. On days like this I keep reminding myself of what Mike Royal once told me. Mike said "you always have a headwind if you are going fast enough". He was right. So I continued to struggle into the wind and tried to enjoy the ride.
On tough days like this I am glad I am riding the Gunnar Roadie. Some bikes just have soul and the Roadie is one of them. It's classic paneled paint job and steel frame and fork all combine to make a wonderful bike. This steel frame reminds me of the bikes I rode in the late 1980s, but it is completely different. The Gunnar is made of much more advanced steel tubing than the tubing used in bikes years ago. The tubing is OS2, which is over-sized air hardened tubing.
What is air hardened tubing? It is explained in the FAQS section of the Gunnar web site as:
Air hardening steels are a class of steel alloys designed for high-performance applications like air-craft construction, automobile crash panels and bicycle frames. Of all these applications, the bicycle frame is the most demanding.
When they come from the factory, air hardening steels are about 10% stronger than chromoly steel and Reynolds' equivalent 531. Like chromoly and 531, air hardening steels can be heat treated. Heat treating can as much as double the strength of the tubing.
The big benefit for Gunnar of heat treated air-hardening steels is that when we TIG-weld them, the joints are much stronger than they would be if they were the older generation of alloy. The effect is a much more durable frame. It also allows us to lighten up the tubes while maintaining adequate strength.
Gunnar uses two types of heat treated air hardening alloys - True Temper OX Platinum and Reynolds 853. Gunnar has designed custom tubes to supplement these companies' standard offerings to achieve the highest overall performance.
I have ridden the Gunnar Roadie approximately 1500 miles now. The performance, durability and design features of this frameset combine to make a bike that I can easily see myself riding for another twenty years. And it's made in the USA!
A covered wagon pulled by two ponies on Forbush Road.
As I continued to struggle into a headwind, on Forbush Road in Yadkin County, I saw a covered wagon headed towards me. The driver stopped and we talked and I took a photo of his rig. His wagon was pulled by two eight year old ponies. He explained that they could easily cover 10 to 20 miles. The ponies were restless and I asked if they were tired? The wagon driver said "they aren't tired. They are ready to go because they know they are headed for the barn and some food and water".
As the wagon started on down the road I checked the distance on my bike computer and saw that I had ridden 27 miles so far. A few more miles up Forbush Road I saw a group of about 12 riders in a single file paceline headed the opposite direction. I knew the group and most of the riders. After they had passed I turned around and sped up to catch up to them. The group was on a slight downhill section of the road and were enjoy the benefit of a tailwind. When I latched onto the draft of the back of the pack I looked down at my computer to see we were holding a steady 28.50 miles per hour. The spirited nature of this group continued all the way back to the Lewisville Town Square where the group had started from. At the square I stopped to visit with a few friends and then rode on in. It was another fun ride on the Gunnar Roadie and I ended up with a little over 50 miles of riding. The tune "Street Fighting Man" continued to stick in my head as I rode. Fortunately, after the early part of my ride, the rest of my ride saw light traffic with friendly drivers.
Below is a video of The Rolling Stones performing "Street Fighting Man" in the year 1973:
Many of my favorite rides in years past have been through or near the Union Cross area. While trying to decide on my route for a bicycle ride this afternoon "The Old Radar Base" came to mind. It is actually a Forsyth County park that is best known for it's two nice softball fields. It was cold with an expected high temperature of 50 degrees today, so I waited until around 2:00 PM to head out on the Gunnar Roadie. Working out my route was a little tricky. Many of the roads, I used to ride on when going in this direction, have much heavier automobile traffic than they did 20 years ago. It wasn't a very direct route that I took, but I figured out a fairly safe way to get there. The ride there was surprisingly fast. I looked down at my computer to see that I was cruising along fairly effortless at around 20 mph much of the ride to "The Old Radar Base". The last stretch of road before reaching the park is flat and straight. I was flying along and thinking to myself that it doesn't seem as if the road is going down hill. At this point I started to look around for something that would indicate the direction of the wind. Sure enough, I passed by a flag in front of a building that was waving in the direction I was going. I hadn't noticed much wind when I first started out, but now it was blowing steady at my back. This meant my ride home would be straight into a headwind. When I arrived at the mostly empty park I wound my around on paved walking paths through the tennis courts, basketball courts and parking lots in the direction of the cement radar tower. I wanted to check out the park and also get an up-close look at the tower. It's a five story cement building. I read up on the history of the park before leaving on my ride. I found a little bit about "The Old Radar Base" on the parks web site. Below is the history of Union Cross Park taken directly form the park's site:
Union Cross Park was once a self-contained community. It was staffed and
operated by the United States Air Force. The Union Cross Radar Station was built
in the 1950's as a surveillance post. The site included a NCO Club, several
miscellaneous buildings, a lighted softball field, 1 tennis court and a 5-story
concrete radar tower, visible for several miles in all directions. The property was abandoned by the Air Force and Forsyth County petitioned the
Department of Interior to transfer ownership of the land to the County for
public recreation purposes. On April 5, 1974, Forsyth County Parks and
Recreation Department received its first public park. Because of its dilapidated condition from abandonment, the site underwent an
immediate clean up and face-lift. Unusable structures were removed and
salvageable recreation facilities were repaired. In the late 70's, the park
underwent extensive development of new facilities with the help of funding from
the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation. Today, Union Cross Park is a fully developed
park and well used by its patrons. There were just a couple of cars parked about when I arrived at the park. The skies were clear and the sun was shinning, but it was cold and windy. A couple of teenagers were bundled up and trying to play basketball and a fellow was walking a small dog. I rode the Gunnar Roadie around inside the park and checked it out some. After riding around the big cement radar tower and taking a couple of pictures. I ate a banana and found the restrooms before starting my ride back home. I suspected I would be battling a headwind most of the way back and that's the way the ride went. Traffic was heavier on the way back home also. I just keep plugging along and tried to enjoy the ride. Once again I made it in just before sunset. There are great roads to ride on around the Union Cross area of North Carolina. I hope to include them on a ride in the near future. Hopefully I will have a little more time to spend on the bike next time. My ride to the Union Cross Park and back ended up being a distance of approximately 41 miles. For more information on Union Cross Park click here.
I stopped to take a picture of this spotted horse and a donkey in a pasture beside Friendship Ledford Road in Davidson County. It's hard to see because of the sun, but the horse has spots that remind me of a dalmatian dog. There were also a couple of Lamas in the pasture.
The old Radar Tower at Union Cross Park
This picture of the tower was taken around 1967.
The sail on top is no longer there.
Gunnar Roadie leaning up against the radar tower
The picnic shelter at the park has a capacity of 90 people.
There are picnic tables and grills scattered around the park.
The park is a maze of athletic fields.
The park has clean heated restrooms that were open on Sunday afternoon!
The temperature was in the mid 60s Fahrenheit today and a little windy. Thank goodness it wasn't raining. The past couple of months we have had a lot of rainy Mondays. Monday is my day off from work. After lunch I jumped on the Gunnar Roadie planning on going for an easy ride for about an hour. The Roadie is such fun to ride that I just can't stop. I kept adding to my route until I had been on the bike for well over two hours. I would have just kept going, but ran out of time. A great riding bike like this one is real motivation for me to get out and ride. I just wish I had more day light hours during the work week to spend on the Gunnar.
The route I took today is one of my favorite ones. It goes out into the country side by way of Fraternity Church Road. I enjoyed passing by the land that was my grandfather's farm for many years. Despite being all grown up with trees I envisioned the way the farm used to be as I rode by. Leaving Forsyth County and going into Davidson County there are still reminders of the farm land this area used to be. My route took me through the communities of Arcadia and Welcome, NC. On the way in I rode through Tanglewood Park in Clemmons, NC to add a little extra to my ride. I look forward to my next cycling adventure on the Gunnar Roadie. I am sure it will be like today and I will feel like I can't stop ridding. Click here to learn more about Gunnar Cycles.
I saw this in the front yard of a house on Ebert St. during my ride today. Creative and funny!
The video below is of the Red Hot Chili Peppers performing the song "Can't Stop" in France.
The weather was nice enough to ride in shorts and short sleeve jerseys today. That makes for a nice Sunday afternoon in November to ride a bike.
I rode the Gunnar Roadie to Lewisville, NC to join in the 2:00 Sunday afternoon group ride. A few weeks ago I was late getting to a ride and ended up riding mostly by myself. So I gave myself plenty of time to get to the town square where the ride begins. It was nice to see lots of friends at the beginning of the ride and to visit with everyone.
The average temperature during the ride was just over 70 degrees. It was a little windy during the ride and it seemed we had a head wind most of the ride. On windy days like this I always remember what one of my old friends, Mike Royal, used to say. Mike said "you always have a head wind if you are going fast enough". I don't think that makes riding into a head wind any easier, but it helps my attitude.
This was a nice bunch of riders to ride with and I think everyone enjoyed the ride. Our route ended up being approximately 39 miles. I got in a little extra mileage by riding to and from the group ride.
The Gunnar Roadie performed flawlessly. Every time I ride this bike I enjoy it more and more. It rides like a dream in all situations. This has to be the perfect bike for riding over the hills and far away.
Some of the riders getting ready to ride
In the video below Led Zepplin performs the song "Over the hills and far away" in the year 1975.
With a cool front blowing in from the west and a major storm brewing off of the North Carolina coast these combined to make today a windy day to ride a bicycle. I headed out to try and make the group ride that was leaving from Lewisville. I was running a little late and when I got on the road and started battling into a head wind, I thought I probably wasn't going to make it there in time. Sure enough when I arrived at the Lewisville Town Square the group of riders had already left. I was feeling good and enjoying riding the Gunnar Roadie, so I didn't even slow down at the town square, and just headed on for the community of East Bend, NC. I'm still making adjustment to the fit of the Gunnar Roadie and as I rolled through East Bend I was deciding on where and what adjustments to make to the Roadie. I knew I wanted to roll the handlebar down some and was looking for a good spot to make the adjustment. I pulled off to the side of Smithtown Road and got out my multi-tool to make the adjustment. Just as I was loosening the stem bolts to roll the bar down a bit, a lone rider passed by hunched low over his handlebars and pedaling hard straight into the head wind. I rolled my bars down some and tighten the handlebars in a hurry. I wanted to catch up to the rider who had just passed so we could work together and make our progress easier into the headwind. Once I reeled him in I sat in his draft. He pulled for a while and then pulled off. I haven't gotten around to putting a computer on the Gunnar Roadie and didn't know how fast we were going. I was trying to hold a steady pace on the front while he was drafting and wanted to do my share of the work. As the road turned we really were headed directly into a headwind. I clicked to an easier gear on the back of the Gunnar and picked my cadence up a bit. After I felt I had pulled for a fair distance I pulled off of to the left. The other rider pulled along side and said "I don't mind pulling, but I'm not going to be holding a steady 24 mph the way you have been doing. I was pleasantly surprised at how well the Gunnar Roadie had been performing. I didn't feel like I was working very hard or going very fast. The Roadie is just such a smooth and stable riding bike that it surprises me. I had been enjoying the bike's great ride and handling from the first pedal stroke of today's ride. At this point I introduced myself to my riding partner and asked his name and destination. He told me his name is Joe and that he was turning left at the bottom of Richmond Hill and heading to his home in Booneville, NC. We chatted awhile and then he turned left just before we reached the Rockford Bridge. I turned right onto an unpaved road to try the Gunnar Roadie out on a surface other than pavement.
This is what the dirt road looks like that runs along the river as seen from the Gunnar Roadie.
The Gunnar Roadie performed as well as I could hope for on the dirt road. I always enjoy a little bit of adventure like this one. As I was riding back up towards the paved road and the Rockford Bridge when I saw three riders crossing the bridge. They were headed the way I was planning on going. Towards Rockford and the Rockford General Store. I picked up my pace to see if I could catch up with them at the store. I knew the rest of my ride would be much more enjoyable with company.
The bikes on the porch of the Rockford General Store.
When I arrived at the store I was glad to see three bikes parked along the store's front porch. I found a place where the Gunnar Roadie would not be likely to be knocked over and headed for a restroom break. The Rockford General Store has been a favorite cycling destination for me for over 20 years. Not to many years ago the owners did a fabulous job of renovating the restrooms. The store offers great food, a wonderful atmosphere and a perfect front porch to take a break on. What more could one look for while on a bike ride?
The Gunnar Roadie in good company on the front porch of the Rockford General Store.
This is the sink in the men's restroom. I know this is a strange thing to take a photo of but I always get a kick out of this sink. When you push down a button behind the wash tub, that serves as the sink, water flows out of the red pump into the wash tub. There is a drain in the bottom of the old wash tub.
Anytime I go into a store and they have an antique Coca-Cola drink box like this one I have to have a small bottle of coke like the ones picture on the front of the drink box.
My ice cold Coca-Cola. Just like the good ole days!
I visited with the three other riders that were already at the store when I arrived. I already knew Brian and he intoduced me to Chris and Chuck. They invited me to join them on the rest of their ride. I gladly accepted and we left on our way to Siloam, NC and on towards East Bend, NC. We chatted and they were interested in finding out more about the Gunnar Roadie and the polished Velocity A23 rims. I have to admit, in my opinon the Gunnar is an eye turner.
Half way between Rockford and Siloam was this view of Pilot Mountain. I stopped to take this photo then hurried to catch back up to the other three.
My three new riding partners: Chris, Brian and Chuck.
We rode well together and had a great time. We stopped very briefly at the store in East Bend and then rolled on towards the Flint Hill Road and Old Highway 421 intersection. At the 421 intersection we shook hands and I headed left and the other three went right. It was another 10 or so miles before I was done with my ride. I don't have a computer on my bike (next ride I hope to) but I have ridden this route numerous times over the years and know it to be approximately 65 miles round trip. This was the second ride on the Gunnar Roadie and both of them have been a pure delight. I look forward to my next cycling adventure on this wonderful bicycle! Today was a day full of winds from all directions. Thankfully the temperature was right around 60 degrees for most of the ride. In the video below Lynyrd Skynyrd performs a song titled "Call Me The Breeze" in 1976.
Once my ride was over Poor ole' Joe kept me company while I cleaned up the Gunnar Roadie. I will have to use some soap and water on it next time to clean it up if I take it on any more off road adventures. Click here to learn more about Gunnar Cycles. Click here to learn more about Velocity Rims and Hubs. Click here to learn more about The Rockford General Store.
The Gunnar Roadie project bike is almost ready to be built up. Gunnar Roadie is Gunnar Cycles' road racing frame. It is designed for efficient transfer of power and responsive handling.
The Gunnar Roadie project bike in the 2012 color of the year; English blue with white panels.
In size 52cm the Gunnar Roadie project bike frame weighs 3 pounds & 7 ounces. This is the weight of the frame as it should be weighed. Many companies publish frame weights that are misleading. They weigh many frames to find the lightest one they can find. They also weigh the frames without any paint, derailleur hanger, seat clamp, or water-bottle cage bolts. Paint alone can easily weigh 1/4th of a pound.
The Gunnar decal on the headtube is a sprocket with a dog paw print in the center.
In metric measurement the Gunnar Roadie frame weighs 1570 grams.
2 pounds 2 ounces for the Gunnar Roadie fork is not a true weight.
We'll see what the weight is when this ridiculously long steer tube is trimmed down some.
The Gunnar Roadie fork with a crazy long steer tube in metric measurements is 970 grams.
When building the Gunner Roadie this much of the steer tube of the fork was cut off. The cut off portion weighed 201 grams.
Steel bicycle frames and forks should be treated on the inside to prevent corrosion (rust) before being assembled. We used Boeshield T-9 to treat the Gunnar Roadie. Boeshield T-9 was developed by The Boeing Company to fill their need for a superior lubricant/protectorant. This also makes an excellent chain lube. Once the chain needs lubrication on the Gunnar Roadie I plan to try Boeshield on the chain. I'll let you know what I think of it. Click here for more information on Boeshield T-9.
Treating a steel bicycle frame for internal corrosion is always a messy job. The protectorant is sprayed inside all the tubes and then the frame must me moved in all directions to be sure it is uniformly coated on the inside. I like to let them sit over night before starting to assemble them. I rotate them around several times during the waiting period.
Gunnar Cycles are handcrafted in Waterford, Wisconsin, USA.
This is Gunnar the dog. The company is named after this chocolate Labrador retriever. The folks at Waterford decided Gunnar's attributes described what was desirable in a bicycle frame.
