Great Cycling Equipment
Wednesday, 25. June 2008, 02:39:03
Okay, so I've been cycling a lot over the last year and a half. It's been really fun to learn how to cycle in a pack as well as improve in various skills (climbing, sprinting, spinning, etc.). I've also been commuting to work 2-4 times a week for bit over a month so far. As I've spent this time trying various pieces of equipment for both my road bike and my mountain/commuter bike here are the things that I've found most helpful:
Ride on!
C.
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Halo sweat band: this is both simple and ingenious. It's a dryfit sweat band that has a simple rubber strip on the front half of it that forms a solid seal against your forehead. That routes all sweat along the strip to where it ends on the sides of your head thereby keeping it from dripping into your eyes. I've tested it in my commute and on group rides and...it works perfectly! Now I don't have sweat dripping down my cycling sunglasses skewing my view. Excellent!
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TransIt Epic Dx Paniers: These things are huge and seem to be very well made. Love the storage space as well as the thoughtful & expandable top pockets. They even include rear pockets for extra storage (I keep an emergency rain jacket in one with room to spare and a tire/tool kit in the other...with lots of room to spare in that one). They hang on to my Blackburn rack solidly and don't move at all. I've carried shoes, socks, pants, dress shirt, undershirt/underwear, belt in one side and a laptop, lunch, extra cycling jacket in the other side. Still have room to spare. I also like the fact that they come with rain covers that are florescent yellow. I use them all the time just for visibility's sake as well as for keeping them clean. There are only two things that I would point out as needing improvement: 1) taking them off the rack is a test in finger dexterity and strength. When those things are on there...they're really on there. 2) it'd be nice to have a top carrying handle or strap. Once they're off, they are awkward to carry. It looks like there are spots to clip a strap to the top...but they didn't come with any.
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CamelBak water bottles: Both Jodi and I really like these new water bottles. It's nice because to drink from them, you just squeeze them and they automatically open and shut...kind of like a kid's sippy cup...but much cooler. The plastic is supposed to not impart any taste to your water/drink. Whatever. I've never really noticed that sort of thing from our other water bottles anyway. I also like how you can lock the nozzles shut when transporting them. It's nice not having to do the old chin- or hip-slap to shut the nozzle like on our other bottles. It's the little things that make the difference.
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Forte Bar Ends: I put a set of these on my mountain-bike-turned-commuter and they really help eliminate any wrist discomfort for me. The allow me to put my hands in a position that is very similar to riding on the hoods of my road bike. The only bummer is that this puts my hands away from my brake levers...but they're still close enough.
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Campus pedals on my commuter: I like these because one side is a clip for my mountain bike shoes and the other side is flat so I can use regular shoes/sandals. Very convenient.
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T-Mobile Dash with Motorola S9 bluetooth A2DP headphones: I really like listening to mp3 books or music wirelessly. The only complaint that I have...and it's kind of a big one... is that after I sweat a bunch on the S9's, it knocks out some of the buttons until they dry out. Actually, my Play/Pause button stopped working altogether months ago after a particularly sweaty spin session. I think this could have been avoided if I had my new Halo sweatband from the beginning. The bummer thing is that the S9's are supposed to be for active lifestyles and sweat resistant. Too bad they're not sweatPROOF. I might just switch back to the stock wired mini-usb headphones that came with my smartphone.
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CatEye cycling computers: it's great to automatically capture speed, duration, top speed & distance as well as cadence (on my road bike). I use the wired versions rather than wireless because I've heard that the battery life is better.
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Timex Heart Rate Monitor strap & watch: it's just good to keep an eye on the ticker to see just how hard I am or am not working. It's also handy for managing my zone training.
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Helmet mounted Rear View mirror: it's nice to not be surprised by a passing car while commuting or a passing rider when in a pack. In fact, in today's pack ride...it helped me fend off an attacking rider because I could see him coming and speed up hold on for the "win".
Admittedly, it's dorky looking...but it's functional!
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Performance Ultra Riding tights: the chamois is very comfortable and the 10 panel construction rocks. I don't know what the material is, but it's amazingly light, wicks moisture away instantly helping me keep dry, comfortable and cool.
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Pearl Izumi Vagabond cycling jacket: nice jacket overall with good pocket layout. The distinctor is that I can unzip the sleeves and use it as a cycling vest with a mesh back panel. Very functional, comfortable & stylish (if I do say so myself).
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MyCyclingLog.com: What a great site!
Ride on!
C.
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