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Showing posts from April, 2017

Review - Bar Fly Air Lever

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Puncture essentials include a spare tube, tyre levers and an inflation device (pump or CO2). The Bar Fly Air Lever combines two of these into one lightweight and easy to use package. The Bar Fly Air Lever set contains two tyre levers, made of a strong composite material that won't damage your wheel rims. One of these levers then has an integrate CO2 inflator head; which fits to the valve on one interface, and allows you to screw a CO2 cartridge into the other interface to inflate your inner tube. The design is simple, yet logical. The inflator is actuated by the amount that you screw the CO2 cartridge into the head unit; and the head unit fits both Presta or Schrader valves. Weighing in at just 40 grams, yet built to last many tube changes; this is a great invention from Bar Fly Bike. View the Bar Fly Air Lever at barflybike.com (Link)

Review - Unior Tools BikeGator+ Workstand

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A good quality bike repair stand will make your bike washing and bike maintenance far easier. The Unior Tools BikeGator+ Workstand (this is the auto-adjust model) is one of the best that I've tested to date. High quality materials The Unior Tools BikeGator+ Bike Repair Stand is made of high quality aluminium and stainless steel parts, coated in chip-proof paint; to provide a durable, strong, yet lightweight product. Bike repair stands take a lot of abuse in the form of bike washing, frequent transportation, and heavy handling; so having quality components, which will stand the test of time, is a worthwhile investment. The jaws on the BikeGator+ clamp are made of a soft non-marking rubber, to avoid damage to your bike's tubes. Then, the lever on the clamp features the same soft-touch rubber that you find on the handles of all Unior mechanics tools. This is a product built to last. Ease of use A bicycle repair stand should function without fault, and make the tricky...

Riding the Dirty Reiver 2017

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5am. The sun glistens on the reservoir, and bounces off morning dew. Kielder Forest - the largest forest in the UK, sits silent; its paths and tracks ready to welcome the largest gravel event in the UK - The Dirty Reiver 200. A Reiver was a border knight - an armoured horseback rider, patrolling the border between Scotland and England. Today, 800 riders will take to the same trails and tracks that were ridden by the Reivers; except these riders will be on a plethora of cyclocross bikes, 'gravel' bikes and mountain bikes. 200 kilometres of flat-out dusty racing… The Dirty Reiver starts at Kielder Castle The Ride Massed in front of Kielder Castle, the pre-event kit chat continues; as it has done for the preceding months. What tyre width are those? How's that Lauf suspension fork? Have you double wrapped your bar tape? Personally, I'm more concerned about how many flapjacks I can wolf down at each feed station, and whether I have enough supplies in my ba...

Review - Thule Legend GoPro Advanced Case

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The camera cases, phone cases, rucksacks and bags from Thule have long been some of my favourite products to use. The superb build quality of the Thule kit never ceases to impress, and its durability makes it very good value for money. In this review, I'm looking at the smart Thule Legend GoPro Advanced case, which will house 2 GoPro cameras and many accessories, for easy and safe transportation. Safe and organised transportation I am making a conscious effort to work on my videography skills; using a GoPro or TomTom Bandit action camera to capture events and adventures. The only issue with this, is that it is even more valuable kit to safely transport between locations.  The Thule Legend GoPro Advanced case is designed to house two cameras and accessories, in die-cut foam padding, and a crushproof outer shell.  The rugged case keeps everything secure, whilst the foam padding helps to protect and organise your filming kit. In the lid of the hard case, there...

Review - Sundried Roteck Men's Running Leggings

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Those with a good memory will remember that I reviewed a hoodie , as well as a casual tee and sunglasses from UK brand Sundried, back in 2014. The kit proved to be great quality, and I'm pleased to say it is still going strong. In this review, I've turned to their active range of clothing, and a pair of running tights that I've been testing out on my 'Spring Break' cross-training trail run streak. The Roteck Leggings from Sundried are a simple, but well designed pair of running tights. They use a good quality medium weight wicking fabric, with flatlock seams, to provide comfort and durability. The fit is good, and the medium pair that I have are plenty generous, and not at all restrictive (my sizes are listed on the Reviews page ). The elasticated waistband and drawstring, help to personalise fit, and avoid any annoying slippage. Other noteworthy features include a zippered mesh valuables pocket on the rear; as well as reflective cuffs on the ankles, for ...

Review - BikeMap Mapping Service

Cycle Route 3951814 - via Bikemap.net The BikeMap mapping service is one of the largest online mapping platforms for bike routes in the world. Using crowd-sourced data and details on the road surface and gradient, it creates what it believes will be the most suitable route for a bike tour. Having used their service to plot my '9 Roads to Nowhere' ride, I thought I would feedback on the positive features, and drawbacks of the service. Positive features Simple to use  - The BikeMap service is very simple to use: you just select your starting point, then click the road along the rough route that you wish to take, and the BikeMap planning will create a suitable route, along suitable roads. Points of interest  - Another neat feature of the platform is that you can add points of interest along the route, such as cafe stops and breaks. See in the above example, where I have starred the two cafe stops along the '9 Roads to Nowhere' route. Route embedding  - Unl...

Review - Swrve Keiu Anorak

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April showers… a time when a super-protective, hard-wearing waterproof is a must, for those that want to go out and play in the elements. The new Swrve Keiu Anorak has fast become my go-to, always-packed waterproof, for this time of year. Simple, but incredibly effective - that sums up the design of the Swrve Keiu Anorak. It is a classic waterproof; designed to keep you dry both on and off the bike. As with other Swrve apparel that I've reviewed on the blog, it delivers. Shield+ waterproofing The Keiu anorak uses Teflon Shield+ waterproofing, with a fully taped seam construction. Seal out the elements, whilst allowing moisture to escape from within. I've worn this in wet but mild conditions - the most challenging for any waterproof fabric, and it has excelled. Superb fabric technology lies at the heart of Swrve products. The Keiu Anorak is no exception Clever cut Most waterproofs feature a full-length zip, but that can be uncomfortable when tucked down on a ...

New Season. New Kit. CEP Sports Run Kit Review

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Spring break - it's something that I've decided is a good idea in my training schedule. It entails leaving the bike alone for a week; then kitting up in some great run kit from CEP Sports, and pounding the trails on foot, rather than shredding them on my bike. My kit choice for a week of trail running comes from CEP Sports - a brand that I've previously featured a fair bit on the blog (see past reviews ). These products are some of the new season releases from the brand, and feature some great kit innovations. CEP Sports Performance Run Tights These are probably the most comfortable running tights that I've worn to date. The no-stitch seams on the CEP Compression Performance Run Tights mean that there is no chafing, no areas of restriction, and a lighter overall garment weight. These feel super flexible, and super fast (even if I'm not). They also have some really neat features: like an easy-access mesh pocket on the side that is perfect for gels or a key...