Life In The Saddle

How can you have great coffee on every ride? How can you reduce plastic waste? How can you conform to social distancing guidelines? One simple solution, is a quality insulated coffee flask… The Hydro Flask Flex Stainless Steel Vacuum Insulated Coffee Flask is a superb example of a portable coffee solution; allowing you to take steaming hot coffee with you for those deep winter mid-ride breaks. I have always been a great fan of #coffeeoutside —it just tastes better. There is nothing like the feeling of sipping on a mug full of freshly brewed coffee sat on the side of a mountain or sheltered from the wind in a forest. Taking a hot drink with you on an outdoors adventure, particularly a bike ride, can be a little problematic though… you need a flask that is robust, leak-proof, and will keep your beverage warm for several hours. After much searching and testing, I came across the Hydro Flask Flex. This insulated bottle, when combined with the new Sip Lid, makes for the perfect cycl

I have a Victorinox Swiss Army Knife that has featured in my 'every day carry' for almost a decade; it still performs like new and is an invaluable asset. I recently discovered that the Swiss brand makes a bike tool, and I was keen to see if it lives up to the same exacting Swiss standard. The Victorinox Bike Tool is effectively a mini socket set: the magnetic 5mm hex key detaches from the tool holder and then you fit any bit piece to it: the range includes 2-6mm hex keys, a T25 Torx key, and flat and cross-head screwdriver bits. All the bit pieces are made from high tensile stainless steel and have a very good fit in bolt heads—promising not to round off fittings, if used correctly. The body of the tool also features two clip-in tyre levers that are made from strong plastic composite, and do a good job of levering stubborn tubeless tyres from wheel rims, as well as having a nice rounded profile to protect the tube. The whole bike tool weighs just 92 grams and is 100mm