Gunnar Roadie - Project Bike - 2nd ride on a windy day

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Gunnar Roadie

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.

Gunnar Roadie - Project Bike - First Test Ride on a Beautiful Day

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The Gunnar Roadie Project Bike is built up and ready to ride. It turned out great looking! This bike is meant to be a fast and reliable road bike. It is built with a full Shimano 6700 Ultegra groupo. The handlebar, stem and seatpost are all Pro Vibe 7 items. The saddle is a Pro Turnix. Pro is Shimano's handlebar, stem, etc. line of bike parts. The wheels are handbuilt using Velocity hubs and rims. Click here to learn more about the wheels on the Gunnar Roadie.

The complete bike ready to ride weighed in at 18 pounds and 13 ounces. That's a great weight for a steel frame, made with over sized tubing and a steel fork. Also the parts used to build this bike lean more towards durable than light weight. Click here to see the bare frame and fork weight.

Pro Vibe 7 stem and handlebar.

Pro Vibe 7 seatpost and a Pro Turnix Saddle.

Shimano 6700 Ultegra Crankset with 53 and 39 tooth chainrings.

Shimano 6700 Ultegra rear derailleur, chain and cassette (11-23).

For a first test ride I took the Gunnar Roadie for a 40 mile loop I have been doing on a regular basis for a number of years. The only thing this bike doesn't have right now is a computer. It took me approximately 2 hours and 20 minutes today to complete the loop. I stopped at least 3 times to make quick adjustments to the fit on the bike. I took a multi-tool with me to make adjustments during the ride. This is the hard way to get a bike dialed in. A bike fitting session is a real value compared to trying to do it this way.

It was an unbelievably beautiful day to go for a bike ride. The skies were clear  and the temperature was right around 70 degrees. The Gunnar Roadie is a smooth riding bike. The thing I enjoyed most about riding this bike was the way it handled. The alignment of this frameset and the tube selection the folks at Gunnar do is to be given credit for the fantastic handling. Going into a turn fast was a lot of fun on this bike. Accelerations and sprints are a strong point on the Roadie. The Gunnar Roadie is a high performance bicycle that can be ridden for many years. Click here to learn more about Gunner Cycles.

Poor ole' Joe kept me company while I wiped down the Gunnar Roadie after I got back in.

Velocity Veloplugs - Gunnar Roadie Project Bike

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56 Velocity Veloplugs on the scale, 9 grams.

Before installing tubes into a clincher wheel it is necessary to cover the spoke holes to prevent the tube from pushing into the holes and being punctured. Cloth rim tape is traditionally used to do this. Plastic electrical tape works also. Some rims come with a hard plastic rim strip already installed. Velocity Veloplugs are another option. Veloplugs offer several advantages over tradition rim strips:

• Incredible blowout strength - takes well over 400psi. Tires start to fail long before the Veloplug.

• Tire mounting is easier with the Veloplug. Rim strips take up a lot of space making tires more difficult to mount. With the sleek and slippery Veloplug, a difficult to mount tire becomes easy.

• Spoke replacement is simplified as there is no need to remove a sticky strip. Just pop out the Veloplug over the offending spoke and pop it back in when repairs are complete. They can be used over and over.

• Veloplugs will not rot, slip around or retain water when moisture enters the rim.

In order to see how much weight would be saved, in a pair of wheels with 28 spokes, I weighed both a pair of cloth rim strips and 56 Velocity Veloplugs. I got a weight savings of 27 grams. Veloplugs sell for about $15.00 for 72.(enough for most wheelsets) Rim strips sale for about $5.00 a piece or $10.00 for a wheelset. So, $5.00 more for Veloplugs. Considering they are reusable, lower in weight and will last longer it is worth the difference in cost. The only downside I see is that it does take a little longer to push each Veloplug into the hole of a rim than it does to wrap a rim with a rim strip.

Two rolls of rim strips on the scale, 36 grams.

 Velocity Veloplugs installed in a rim.

I installed Velocity Veloplugs in the wheels for the Gunnar Roadie project bike. This wheelset was built with Velocity race hubs and Velocity A23 polished rims. Look for more on these wheels as they are test ridden on the Gunnar Roadie.

Click here to learn more about Velocity.

Gunnar Roadie Project Bike, Wheelsmith alloy spoke nipples

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Wheelsmith alloy spoke nipples built into a wheel.

I used Wheelsmith Alloy Spoke Nipples when building the wheels for the Gunnar Roadie Project Bike. These spoke nipples add approximately $25.00 to the cost of the wheel build. Traditional spoke nipples are made of brass. Is the cost worth it? Since this is a fairly light wheelset and the weight saving is on the outside edge of the wheel, I think it is worth it. 

To determine just how much weight was saved I weighed 56 brass spoke nipples and 56 Wheelsmith alloy spoke nipples. The wheels for the  Gunnar Roadie Project Bike have twenty eight spokes each. 2 x 28 = 56 spoke nipples in the wheel set. The brass spoke nipples weighed in at 57 grams. The alloy spoke nipples weighed in at only 19 grams. A total weight savings of 36 grams.

56 brass spoke nipples weighing 57 grams

56 alloy spoke nipples weighing 19 grams

Wheelsmith Aloy Spoke Nipples are made of 7000 series aluminum and are available in 9 different anodized colors. Wheelsmith products are manufactured in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. Click here to learn more about Wheelsmith products.

Velocity A23 Polished Rims, Velocity Race Hubs, Gunnar Roadie Project Bike

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These polished Velocity A23 rims and Velocity Race Hubs will become the wheels for the  Gunnar Roadie Project Bike.

 Velocity offers many great looking finishes on their rims. The A23 is a fairly new offering for them. This rim is slightly wider, 23mm width, than rims produced for road bikes in recent years. The wider width works with a 23 mm tire to decrease the aero-dynamic drag of the tire and wheel combination. Better support for the tire side wall is also a benefit of the wider width. The better side wall support lowers the rolling resistance of tires by reducing the deformation of the tire side wall while riding and also adds better grip while cornering. Velocity rims are manufactured in Florida, USA. They have teamed up with a local polisher to offer the polished finish on their A23 and Deep V rims. The finish on these rims looks like chrome. 

Velocity A23 information:

Size: 700c (622)

Colors: Black MSW or Black NONmsw (32h only)

Drillings: 20, 24, 28, 32, 36

Bead seat diameter: 622

Weight: 426g 

Velocity race hubs have sealed bearings and offset "hi-lo" flanges. The flanges are designed to help equal out the spoke tension on the drive and non drive side of bicycle wheels. They are available in a black or bright silver anodized finish. The Gunnar Roadie wheels are built with the silver finish. The front Race hub is available in 20,24 and 28 holes at a weight of 80 grams. The rear Race hub is available in 24, 28 and 32 holes at a weight of 255 grams.

Rear Velocity Race Hub dimensions

The finished wheels for the Gunnar Roadie Project Bike.

The Velocity Race Front Hub built into a wheel.

The Velocity Race Rear Hub built into a wheel.

The wheels for the Gunnar Roadie Project Bike built with Velocity A23 rims and Velocity Race hubs ended up weighing 1,590 grams. This is a good weight for this conservatively built wheelset. These wheels are laced up with 28 double butted stainless steel spokes in a 2 cross pattern in each wheel. They do feature Wheelsmith alloy spoke nipples in a anodized blue finish. 

Custom built wheels are just what the name says; custom. You can specify the build anyway you want. Build them yourself or have someone build them for you, a wheelset like this one is easy to repair or rebuild in the future. 

Building these wheels was fun. I am anxious to ride these great looking wheels and see how they perform!

Click here for more information on Velocity Products.
Click here to learn more about Gunnar Bikes.