Life In The Saddle

Pumping up big tyres when you are away travelling can seem like a never-ending workout; the volume of air required means you are looking at hundreds of pumps with a small hand pump. The solution is a mini floor pump, like this example from Pro Bike Tool. The Mini Floor Pump is made from high quality stainless steel, and features a good sized barrel; flip down foot stand, and a good length hose. The larger size and stability of the pump compared to a hand pump makes it a lot easier and quicker to use. Less blisters, more inflation. The hose clips into the pump handle for easy transportation and the pump itself comes with a plastic bracket that allows you to take it with you underneath a bottle cage; although it is worth nothing that it is quite a size to do this and the hose did rattle around a bit when I tried it on my touring bike. Overall, this is a well made, well designed pump that will allow a faster and easier inflation of your tyres than a normal bike hand pump. Disc...

Listening to music, the radio, audiobooks or podcasts when you are cycling, running or hiking can be a great distraction; even allowing you to multi-task with some educational listening while you do your workout or adventure. Using traditional headphones or earbuds can pose a danger if you reduce your hearing of the ambient surroundings though – sounds that could help warn you of approaching hazards or collisions. Open ear headphones are the solution for safe listening when you are cycling, running or walking; they let you listen to your music, whilst also listening for warning signs. The OpenRock Pro Open Ear Headphones are a great example of open ear headphone technology. OpenRock is part of the OneOdio group – a professional audio brand with 10 years of experience; OpenRock is a sub-brand that focuses on open-ear style earbuds. The OpenRock Pro is an open-ear style earbud, with great sound quality, bass tones, and depth of acoustics. The units use a 16.2mm driver with Tube...

Cyclists can be a difficult bunch to choose birthday and Christmas gifts for. I hope that this selection of products will offer some new and interesting options for stocking fillers or birthday gifts for the two-wheeled fanatic in your family or friend group. From bar tape to body lotion, and hip bags to hand torches; there is sure to be something in this gift list that would be a good present for the cyclist you know and love. Marvellous Maps Great Britain Adventure Map I love maps and I love adventure. This Great Britain Adventure Map provides incredibly detailed coverage of the best adventure possibilities that the UK has to offer. From ideas about hiking trips, to beaches, historic highlights, sea kayaking destinations, bicycle touring routes, and long-distance driving routes; there is sure to be something that tickles your fancy and inspires your next adventure. I have spent hours poring over it, and each time I find another highlight that I add to my bucket list of places to ex...

These are some insights into planning and executing a lightweight unsupported bikepacking or bicycle touring trip. How should you plan? What do you use for mapping? What kit do you take? Where do you camp? What are the pitfalls to avoid? This is my advice for bikepacking and cycle touring... 1 – Use Modern Mapping Technology I love maps. The contour lines, roads, paths, and rivers paint a picture on paper. When it comes to route planning for a bicycle tour though, make use of the incredible resources from online mapping tools. Komoot.com is my preferred service—it utilises crowd-sourced data of the most-ridden roads and trails to optimise a route between two pin points. It makes route planning dead easy, because you know that the roads and paths the software is taking you on are the best of the bunch in the area. Online software will also tell you the elevation profile, and Komoot will even give you a breakdown of the road / trail surfaces that you will encounter on...

PNW Components have developed a reputation for producing premium quality bike components, without the sky-high price tags. Their business model is based on years of experience in the bike trade; working directly with manufacturers to keep costs down, and constantly refining and developing their products to stay ahead of the game. The PEBBLE Tool from PNW is a pocket-sized multitool, which isn't much bigger than your pinky finger. The 50 gram package features the bare necessities to get you back riding when you need to do some trail-side repairs. The anodised smooth external plates house a Dynaplug® tubeless repair plug tool; 3mm, 4mm, 5mm, and 6mm Hex wrenches; and a T25 Torx (hidden under Dynaplug® accessory). The tool selection should cover most eventualities and loose bolts on a road or mountain bike repair.  Great to use, thanks to its smooth feel and lightweight nature; the Pebble's tool bits are perfectly machined for a good fit in bolt heads time after time. When a punct...