Life In The Saddle

The Supacaz Super Kush Bar Tape was one of my favourite bar tapes, when I tried it back in 2015; it provided impressive comfort and durability. Supacaz have just released their new range of Grizips mountain bike handlebar grips, to provide comfort for the off-road market too; I was keen to see if they lived up to the same standard. I fitted a set of colour-coordinated orange Grizips to my Pivot Les 29 , and hit the trails. The Grizips immediately impress: from the colour, to the texture, width and grip level. They feel super tacky (grippy) and super kushy (comfortable), much like the Supacaz bar tape. After a few rides, they still look like new; just a quick spray with bike cleaner, and a scrub with a soft brush, and the colour seems to be restored and the dirt removed from the grip pattern. Secure, stylish, comfortable and durable. You can't ask much more from a pair of mountain bike grips. These Grizips deliver on all fronts. Shop for Supacaz Grizips Mountain Bike Gr...

Christmas is coming, and that means stockings! In this post, I thought I would feature fifteen of the best cycling products that I've tested over the last year. They are all ideal stocking fillers, which don't cost the earth and would be ideal gifts for anyone that is into cycling. From energy bars to tyre levers, there's a real mix... Bounce Balls Bounce Balls are tasty little energy snacks, which are packed full of natural goodness. They contain carbohydrate from rice bran and starch, and whey protein to keep your muscles in shape. As a Christmas themed option, the new Cacao Orange flavour is seriously tasty with a morning coffee! View the Bounce Balls range (Link) Tate Labs Bar Fly SLi Mounts Keep handlebars clutter-free with an out-front mount. These new SLi mounts from Tate Labs are the best that I've used; I have the Bar Fly Sli BAM to hold a GoPro and Garmin Edge on my road bike, as well as the SLi-D MTB mount on my 35mm mountain bike bars. There...

A good set of handlebar grips can transform how your mountain bike feels. Grips are a key contact point, and getting a good hold on your bars will not only aid comfort, but also control and feel. The Hope Technology SL Lock-On Grips are a great example... Hope Technology are renowned for producing high quality kit, and these grips are no exception. Produced by hand in their Barnoldswick factory, it is clear that Hope have paid every attention to detail. Starting from the inside out, the Hope SL grips have a high quality plastic core, which smoothly slides onto the bars. This core is an impact resistance tube that allows the grip to retain a solid shape and feel, while having minimal impact on the weight of the product. On each end of the high impact tube, are stainless steel locking collars; these minimal wraps are securely tighten up with hex bolts, and prevent any kind of slippage on the bars. On the lighter colour models, you can actually glimpse the hand-crafted machining on ...

There is going to be a fair bit more mountain bike content springing up on the blog over the coming months; as 2015 approaches and my dual season of XC racing and road racing evolves. In this post, I consider a question that has probably been encountered by most mountain bikers at some time: What kind of grips should I get? Your handlebar grips are one of the key contact points on a bike, and along with tyres, pedals and saddle, they are one of the most significant (an cheapest) upgrades you can make. However, start shopping for new grips and you'll find there is a wide market: there are lock-on grips and slide-on grips, chunky grips and thin grips, cheap grips and expensive grips. Which one do you choose? I've been testing three sets of grips from Lizard Skins, and so this seemed like a good time to comment on the difference in feel and performance of each of the varieties. Lizard Skin Slide-On DSP Grips First up on test, the Lizard Skins DSP grips. These slide-on...

Christmas is coming! To give you a few ideas of products that you might want to slip into the stocking of a loved one, here are some great products that you might choose. From bar tape to chamois cream, these are all products that any cyclist would be pleased with as a present. There are even some running laces in there for those doing some cross training this winter (like me!). #1 - Lizard Skin DSP Bar Tape Bar tape is a great way to customise your bike, for just a few pounds you can add a new splash of colour to your cockpit, whilst also aiding comfort and performance. The Lizard Skin DSP tape is some of the best I have tried. First there is the cushioning; unlike synthetic cork bar tape it doesn't seem to compress too much in well used areas of the bar, rather the Durasoft Polymer has continued to offer good cushioning, shock absorption and comfort with repeated use. Comfort is one benefit, but grip is the significant second. The DSP's textured grooves (see image...