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15 September »
Gear shots »
Dan
There comes a time in every rider’s life when they suffer what is known as traveler’s regret. It usually happens when a cyclist is on vacation somewhere without their bike and they realize they’re in a city that has either some spectacular singletrack or great road riding opportunities.
Traveling with a bike can be expensive, cumbersome and a huge headache, yet it can also be incredibly rewarding. Having ridden in cities all over the US, it seems like I’ve tried every option for traveling with a bicycle – from shipping it ahead of time to using a $500 hardshell case. But a new option has made it easier for more people to move about the world with their favourite rides, without spending $500 on a case.
American company Crate Works starting out producing bicycle travel cases that were slightly more permanent than a cardboard bike box. They were cheap in price and meant to be used a few times before being replaced. Then they came out with corrugated plastic versions of the box, and today they’re using corrugated high-density polyethylene.
The Crate Works Pro XL-C World Traveler is a $265 CDN bicycle carrying case made from CORR-X, a 6mm high-density polyethylene. It has five pieces of compression foam and lots of tie downs to secure any time of bike quickly and easily. Read the rest of this entry »
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Here is a quick look at some WTB Moto Tec clamp-on grips.
Specs and construction
I’ve been on gripshift for so long I’d forgotten how long normal grips are and these grips seemed to be on the long-ish side, even for regular grips.
The grips are constructed with a plastic skeleton that goes on the bottom of the grip and completely covered by the rubber grip.
Each grip and plug weighs 49g.
There are two clamp-ons at both ends of the grip that require two-allen head wrenches to tighten. Read the rest of this entry »
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Say what you will about bib shorts but until you try them, don’t knock them.
I know that right now we’re focusing more on the mountain biking side of things, but if you’re going to try anything new this year when it comes to your race-day clothing, give a pair of high-end bib shorts a try. At $199 usd, the Louis Garneau Airstream Bib shorts are definitely on the top-end of the market, but you will not find a higher quality bib. Read the rest of this entry »
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This past weekend, the Cannondale Demo tour made a stop in my backyard and I had the opportunity to hop on a 2006 bike for a couple of hours. Initially, my plan was to take three bikes out — the Rush, the Prophet, and the Gemini — but we received a dump of snow a few days before the event was scheduled to take place. The snow-covered ground meant that there wasn’t going to be a whole lot of pedalling on the day, and it also meant that I wasn’t going to make multiple trips up the mountain.
As I looked over the bikes that were available I quickly ruled out the Rush, since I wouldn’t have the chance to do it justice by climbing and it wouldn’t be as fun as the others for snowy descending. The Gemini was axed soon after that because I wasn’t particularly keen on pushing a big bike through 6 inches of crusty snow. In the end I settled onto the Prophet 4000, Cannondale’s high-end trail bike and headed up the hill. Read the rest of this entry »
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20 February »
Gear shots »
Cory
Mace Gear produces well-priced, quality biking gear that is targeted mostly at the freeride, downhill, and urban segment of the mountain bike market. And with a product line covering everything from helmets to protective padding to hoodies, the Norco-owned brand is a staple at many riding spots north of the 49th parallel (that’s in Canada for those of you who won’t look it up).
The Mace Ignition shorts are put together using 330D nylon, a long wearing and durable material that is meant to withstand the type of adverse conditions many riders ‘enjoy’ during the winter. The Ignition shorts also feature a ‘hydrophobic’ lining that is supposed to ‘wick’ water away from your skin and keep you a little more comfortable on those especially rainy days. Combine these core features with some well-placed zippered pockets and decent adjustments to snug the waist up properly and you’ve got a ride-ready short that should keep you going through wet winters and chilly spring mornings.
The good. The feature that I like the most about the Mace Ignition short is the material that makes up the outer shell — it’s durable and holds up well in the muck and the grime that is so common on the trails of the Pacific Northwest. And when the rain is really coming down and you know you’re going to get soaked, it’s nice to know that the lining of the shorts will keep the water away from your skin and keep you comfortable for much of your ride. Keep in mind that there are very few garments that keep you bone dry while you’re out riding in the rain — you’ll still get wet wearing these shorts.
The shorts fit pretty well and, for those of you who are in-between sizes, they have a fitting system that’s similar to a compression strap on a hydration bag or a backpack. My waist size is 32, and while I normally wear medium-sized bottoms, I chose a large pair of the Ignition shorts because they felt a little better when I was trying them on and because it’s so simple to cinch them up and keep them from sliding down. And this way, if I have an extra burger at the weekend BBQ, all I need to do is loosen off the compression strap and I’m on my way.
I also appreciated the two main zippered pockets on the front of the shorts. They’re waterproof and are easy to get into and out of while riding so you can quickly stash your gloves if you overheat on the climb up. I never really used the other pockets while riding, although the other two front pockets often held my keys when I was relaxing after a fun day in the saddle.
The bad. Overall, the Mace Ignition shorts provide good value for the suggested retail price of $89 cad, although there were a couple of things that bothered me. The stitching is decent, but there were a good number of loose ends and a couple of obviously botched stitches, something that had me a little concerned about the long-term durability of the product. In the end, the stitching wasn’t a big deal, even though I do get the occasional comment about orphaned threads.
More significant is the fact that the hydrophobic lining has a tendency to hook up on velcro-style attachments, which is a problem if you wear any type of knee protection when you ride. I found that the Mace Dirt Jump knee pads caused some significant abrasion on the liner after only a couple of rides, so I wouldn’t recommend using these two items together unless you’re looking for premature wear. The Roach Rally leg armour did a little better, but I did have to be careful about where I placed the straps when donning the armour.
Summary. The Mace Ignition short is a very good, wet and cold weather short for riders who are looking for a fairly-well made, durable short that will last for at least a couple of seasons. They look good, fit really well (although I’d consider a size larger if you normally fit into a medium), and, while they’re a little toasty when the temperatures rise, they’ll be comfortably at home on trails in the Pacific Northwest and the wet and muddy East Coast.
Manufacturer website: www.macegear.com
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13 February »
Gear shots »
Cory
When I started testing this pump, I wasn’t convinced that it was a necessary addition to the tool ‘kit’ packed away in the corner of my garage. Why? I’d survived for years without anything more than a $10 Planet Bike pump that I purchased during the late ’90s and it had done the job just fine. However, over the last few months, I’ve come to appreciate the usefulness of a floor pump, and I’ve used it to inflate my kid’s soccer ball, add air to a leaky car tire, and, most importantly, I’ve used it to keep a closer eye on the air pressure in the tires of my bike.
The Axiom Propel-Air DLX floor pump isn’t the cheapest pump on the market but it’s nowhere near the priciest out there and it provides decent value for the asking price. MSRP for the pump is around $35 cad and, for your money, you get a decent package that should cover the ‘inflation needs’ of most mountain bikers. Read the rest of this entry »
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There was a time not long ago when if you wanted a stand to work on your bike your only real option was a high quality and high priced piece of hardware from Park Tool USA. While Park Tool is still the choice of many shop mechanics around the world, other companies are starting to stand up and give Big Blue a run for its money with well designed, well built, and well-priced products for consumers and pro shop use.
One of these companies is Ultimate Support, a Colorado-based company that has been growing in popularity over the past 10 years. I have used a few of their stands over the years, and if there was one complaint I had of Ultimate’s equipment, it was that they just weren’t built as well as the Park stands.
However, over that past couple of years that reputation has been changing in a big way. Last year I had great success using the BRS-70B Consumer Repair stand, and then with the 2005 unveiling of the Pro Elite Bicycle Repair Stand Ultimate Support seems poised to take a big piece of Park Tool’s pie. Read the rest of this entry »
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Race Face was born and bred near Vancouver and the company made its name manufacturing components designed to survive the rugged trails on ‘The Shore’ and its environs. Over the years, the company continued to develop a solid product line while introducing new items every year, moving outside of the company’s primary market (freeride and downhill) and into other areas (like cross country and all mountain). Along the way, the company made some smart acquisitions and added a line of clothing for cyclists. Race Face has a full lineup of full-fingered biking gloves, and I’ve been spending some time testing the company’s Garda glove.
The good. Normally, my hands feel comfortable inside of large sized mitts and the Race Face Garda gloves were no exception. After I selected the proper sized glove, it was time to get out on the trail. I was impressed by the way they conformed to my hand without bunching up between thumb and index finger while on the handlebar and, while the gloves don’t have tonnes of heavy padding on the palms, they provided decent protection and support while riding. The adjustable wrist enclosure stayed firmly in place and is easy to undo when you’re ready to take them off. Initially, I was wary of the silicone coating on the trigger fingers (index and middle) since I’ve had lousy experiences with similar coatings when riding in wet conditions but, fortunately, the silicone on the Garda gloves didn’t suffer from the same problems and worked well in all conditions. To date, the gloves have just over 30 rides on them, and they’re holding up – no blown fingertips, no tears in the palms, and no unraveling threads.
The bad. While I was impressed with the overall performance of the Garda glove, I do have a number of criticisms that coloured my impressions of the product. First, these things are deceptively hot. My initial expectations, based primarily on the extensive use of a ‘high loft air mesh’ and the claims made on the Race Face website, were that the gloves would keep my hands stay cooler than other similar products that used more traditional materials. Second, the mesh material is prone to ‘fuzzing up’, meaning that small fibres start to stick out of heavily used areas (ie. the fingertips) shortly after being worn for the first time. While this doesn’t really affect the product’s performance, I didn’t think that they’d pill up like they did.
Summary. The Race Face Garda gloves are solid performers that fit well, are pretty comfortable, and hold up well in a broad range of conditions. At the same time, I wasn’t impressed by the gloves’ breathability or the tendency of the mesh fabric to pill up around the fingertips.
The gloves have a retail price somewhere in the neighbourhood of $50 (cad), which puts them in the middle of the price spectrum (below Marzocchi’s insanely expensive full-fingered glove and above the lower-priced Troy Lee Design’s XC glove) and, based on my experience, are worth the money.
Manufacturer’s website: www.raceface.com
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A while back, I mentioned that I was going to pick up a Rock Shox Pike and ride it during my next round of product testing. Unfortunately for me, the 2005 Pike Team was completely sold out in Canada by the time I placed my order.
Things being as busy as they are around here, I pushed the fork thing onto the backburner. A couple of things happened during this time that moved me away from the Rock Shox Pike and towards the Fox 36. The first was that I cancelled my Interbike plans; the second was the absolutely smoking deal Maple Ridge Cycle gave me on the Fox.
The fork arrived and today and, after spending a little bit of time getting the bike cleaned up, it was installed and is now ready to go (pic here).
All you readers can expect a thorough review of the Fox 36 TALAS RC2 in a couple of months, just in time for Christmas.
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The thing that first drew me to the Mace Gear dirt jump knees was the price – MSRP on the pads is about $30 cad. After finding a set at my local shop, I was impressed with the quality of construction – there were no loose seams, the ‘loop and hook’ (aka Velcro) fastening system looked good, and the pads looked versatile enough that I could take them out of their element (dirtjumping) and wear them while ripping down the trails.
I chose a size ‘large’ because that’s the size I’ve worn with leg armour for ages. Like many of the other knee-only pads out there, most riders will need to remove their shoes in order to slide the pads over your feet. Unless you’re in a hurry, it’s not a big deal and it’s not something that I feel takes away from the product’s ability to protect. The hard shell plastic knee cup fits well and, once the straps are tightened up, they don’t move around too much while riding.
The first time I wore the pads I was a little concerned because the pads felt uncomfortably tight on my legs. Granted, I could have picked up a set of pads in an extra large size but, after I’d worn the pads for a few rides and the strap material relaxed a bit, I was glad I didn’t opt for the larger size. I feel that the Velcro fastening material could be a bit wider on the pad proper and this adjustment likely would take care of the tightness I experienced while, at the same time, increasing the adjustability of the product.
On the trail, the pads offered decent protection from the minor injuries that can result from falls or crashes. During the test period I laid the bike down a couple of times and came away with nary a mark on my knees, although the plastic shells did gain a couple of scrapes and shallow gashes. In terms of fit, I did find that the Mace DJ knees would shift a little bit over the course of a trail. This movement wasn’t enough to limit the effectiveness of the pad but it is something that might be an issue for some riders.
While I had few problems with the fit of the pads on descents, I found that the armour was restrictive during climbs. Like most other types of leg armour that I’ve used, I preferred to remove (or release the top strap) when I was heading uphill for a long ascent.
To sum up, I feel that the Mace DJ Knees are a decent option for mountain bikers seeking affordable protection for their knees. While there are other products on the market that offer a better fit, they’re more expensive and the Mace DJ pads do fit fairly well and don’t shift too much while offering decent protection against bruising and cuts. I probably wouldn’t take them along for an all-day epic that has intermittent climbs and descents but I have no problem recommending them for trail riders whose descents are not broken up by a bunch of climbing.
Manufacturer’s website: Mace
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