Blog #8- Quick-fire reviews; niche, null or naff?
Originally written Dec 2021
Looking for some great presents for a cycling fanatic? Or just pondering that next purchase for yourself? Well this edition of the blog is the one for you!
Cycling kit can be great, but it can also be rubbish. Let’s review some bits and pieces as quickly and bluntly as possible. Do take with a hint of sarcasm and a pinch of salt(iness). Nothing here is sponsored, so every item is up for Hambini- level reaming.
Item #1- Castelli Gabba Jacket, ~£150
^Me wearing my Gabba after a long Autumn ride. Note the British Cycling membership stickers on the window.
If you want a jacket with a name that resembles the surname of the world time trial champion, then the Gabba will live up to expectations, if you replace the ‘n’s with ‘b’. It also lives up to expectations when it comes to rain and wind protection. Even though I thought short sleeved jackets were dumb, as they’re not really proper jackets and won’t warm up your wrists which are crucial towards keeping your hands warm, the Gabba eliminated these thoughts as it keeps rain out amazingly well, especially when coated with waterproofing spray that you can buy from outdoor shops. You won’t feel the harsh wind or cold rain when it’s on and the longer sleeves and collar are brilliant. It fits very tightly- even as a skinny hill climber, I wear a size medium with a jersey and base layer underneath. It’s very versatile, but for colder conditions I’d opt for the longer sleeved version, the Perfetto. I was given this jacket for free from my racing team at home, though I would have happily paid full price after having worn it.
University Degree Score- 1:1
Item #2- Wheel light thingy, probably quite cheap
^The light in question. It looks better in the dark, but still not great.
Given as a Christmas present from my Aunt. Cool in theory, but no way am I riding with one of these on my bikes. I’m not sure how it’s even meant to be secured on the spokes. It’s the thought that counts though and if I was a kid it would totally have gone on my little mountain bike that I dearly loved riding.
University Degree Score- 3:1
Item #3- Hutchinson Fusion 5 performance tubeless road tyres, £80 per set (and further tubeless kit)
^First spin on the tyres on Yorkshire roads. They looked great and rolled super smoothly, but certainly had their issues…
They look cool, right? Not so much when they were being fixed in my little bedroom in Halifax College, which was quite often. While they initially rode so smoothly and were relatively easy to set up, I later found road tubeless tyres to be a nightmare to maintain. My squirt sealant was equally rubbish as it failed to fill a 3mm puncture when I was really eager to get to my Grandma’s after a long and cold day in the saddle (see blog #1). Since then I tried repairing the hole using tapes, glues and tubeless plugs but no option could handle the tyre pressure, so I ran a tube in the tyre. All these fixes used up loads of wasted sealant too. For a tyre that was meant to be quite robust, they failed me big time. Lightweight butyl tubes are good enough for me and I don’t think road tubeless technology is ready for the mass market yet- more pressure testing, better sealants and finer manufacturing tolerances are needed.
University Degree Score- dropped out
Item #4- The official Kelton Welch waxed chain treatment; ultrasonic clean and then lubrication with Molten Speedwax, priceless
^Clean as anything and smooth as butter. Having a waxed chain to finish off my hill climb build (see blog #4 and interview 1 for more) was the icing on the cake.
Ok, now this one is also kinda sponsored as Kelton is a great guy who did this for free for my racing chains. But heck, I know him well enough that I can give him my honest opinion. Waxed chains are largely a thing of the past, right? Well, no. While you can buy extortionately expensive chains from Ceramicspeed, you can also do the whole process yourself with a bit of time and effort. After going through Kelton’s ultrasonic cleaner, I realised that my shiny gold racing chains were actually filthy on the inside, so I’m tempted to buy an ultrasonic cleaner myself. The Molten Speedwax chain coating felt neat, fast and slick on the bike. Even if the gains were minimal it’s quite a cool thing to have, especially when competing for the psychological edge. It didn’t seem to last very well after the rain at Winnats Pass, although it was biblical in proportion, and muddy training rides covered the chain in mud which was tricky to clean off the chain without ruining the wax coating. I’m not sure if my KMC chain with all its odd rivets and shapes helped the waxing process either; I imagine that it would work far better on a smooth Shimano chain. For summer rides and races though? Yeah, I’m tempted to buy my own rig. One small bag of Molten Speedwax pellets will last a long time too. The crock pot can also be used to cook up some waxy fondue following a long day of waxing chains. Yum.
University Degree Score- 2:1
Item #5- ‘Psyclepath’ Mug, also probably quite cheap
^A mugshot of the mug.
Another cycling gift from a friend. The term ‘psyclepath’ is very clearly defined on the mug. Has lasted me quite a while and hasn’t stained so I can’t complain. Great for pre-ride Colombian filter coffee. Amusingly Meg [see interview 2] was gifted one as well. A great semi-cringey present for the cyclist in your life or yourself.
University Degree Score- 2:2
Item #6- 3kg Tesco Fusilli Pasta, £3.30
^My word, it’s beautiful…
An absolute bargain and a genuinely funny but great gift. Won’t last long for me though. Suitable for vegans, which many indie cyclists seem to be nowadays. Good for weight training if you need 3kg dumbbells.
University Degree Score- will help me eat during my actual Degree, so a 1:1
Item #7- Speedplay Cro-Mo pedals and cleats, now known as ‘comp’ pedals, £135
[See photo of chain above. Yep, it's late and I'm lazy.]
A great upper mid-range pedal option. They look very cool, aerodynamic and minimalist. Clipping into them is almost impossible at first, so it’s best to just spend half an hour practicing against a wall before daring to use the pedals on the road. While clipless pedal beginners will struggle with this, this is a good thing for riders used to cleats as the stiffer spring will last longer and never unclip unnecessarily; though they have unclipped in every serious crash I’ve had. It’s nice being able to clip in on either side of the pedals and the level of bike fit adjustment they offer is superb. The cleats last ages and are pretty easy to fit and service on any pair of shoes with a basic screwdriver. Replacement cleats are expensive, like ink cartridges or razor blades; if you want another set of pedals you might as well buy the whole bundle. A grease gun and some grease will cost ~£30-40 which will help service the bearings in the pedals, keeping them running well forever. Shoe covers wear down quickly under repeated walking, but if you fix them on with some weak glue they’ll be fine and they’re easy to clean with some degreaser and a scourer. However, there’s nothing particularly wrong with lower end pedals and cleats, but if you have the money, buy once and buy well.
University Degree Score- 2:1.
Item #8- Carnac Notus helmet, £17 plus £4 delivery
^Saved my life once, saved it again. What more can I ask for? Well…
Yes, it looks like a bit of a copycat S-works Evade helmet, and it probably isn’t actually that aerodynamic, but the Carnac Notus is a phenomenal helmet for its price. It’s cheaper than entry level branded helmets but it looks quite the part. The 58cm size also fits my head without making me look like Toad from Super Mario Bros., which is a requirement in its own right for me. It’s CE certified and has been used by riders in pro-conti teams. The adjustment ratchets are excellent and the padding is comfy, but it becomes quite unclean and torn after a year or so. I have cracked two of these helmets in crashes; one where I flipped over the bars and handed on my head and shoulder, breaking my collarbone, and one where I had a seemingly minor slip on a greasy road. £21 is money well spent when your life is invaluable and it makes these helmets easy to replace. I own two carnac helmets so that I always have a backup if I crack one in a crash. I’m considering owning a helmet with MIPS, but one of those will be at least 3 times the price and I don’t know how much MIPS really helps. Having a little slip and cracking a brand new and expensive helmet would be a nightmare for me, so knowing a replacement helmet is only £21 and two of these helmets have saved my noggin’ already is reassuring.
University Degree Score- 2:1.
Item #9- 5kg Maltodextrin, ~£10
^Warning: bag is larger than it may appear. Ensure that cramped University accommodation has enough storage space before purchasing.
Tasteless powder which is basically just starchy carbohydrate. Also given to me by Kelton. Great for long rides or hard workouts, tasty when mixed with High-5 orange energy drink powder. Most big brand energy drinks consist of 80%+ maltodextrin anyway. Buy this and the Tesco pasta and you can make your own set of dumbbells for weight training. It will prevent bonking, so maybe we should buy loads for the University club. Hmm…
University Degree Score- 1:1.
Item #10- Alpecin Caffeine Shampoo, ~£6
^Former Pro Marcel Kittel advertising the shampoo- but is it all a scam-poo?
My Mum bought me this as a joke after seeing it advertised during the Tour de France, and actually bought me some for Christmas too! It smells damn nice but seems like any other shampoo, really. I don’t notice the caffeine effect and I’m not certain of its claims to reduce hair fatigue and ageing. As a student I can’t afford this stuff though. If it’s developed by German Engineers and supposedly used by Marcel Kittel and Matthieu Van der Poel with their dashing hairdos, then it can’t be too bad, right?
Universität Grad- 2:2.
Item #11- Wahoo ELEMNT bundle, now the ELEMNT Roam and Tickr V2, £360
^The climbing screen on this, when used with a pre-loaded route, is super helpful when it comes to seeing what lies ahead in unfamiliar territory. I couldn’t have paced my longest and hilliest ride without it.
I got this computer for Christmas in its last iteration for an absolute steal of a price. I’d still be willing to say that £360 is still a good deal for this though. It has a bigger screen than the ELEMNT Bolt, which even with decent eyesight is really useful for displaying data clearly and it’s only a few grams heavier and a tad less aerodynamic. It connects to power meters and other sensors very easily too. The app is great for showing your post-ride stats and connecting to strava. The Roam now uses a coloured screen, which is kinda funky, though Black and White is good enough for me.
The backlight of the computer is really good at night or on the turbo in the dark and the battery life is good enough for rides up to 10 hours in length depending on various factors. Anything longer than this and a battery pack can be attached to your bars and plugged into the computer on the go. It charges pretty quickly too. Maps come preinstalled for 5 continents and they are very detailed even in barren locations. Navigation is made very easy and you can easily upload routes or training plans to the device.
The heart rate monitor can be dodgy upwards of 190BPM, though this won’t be an issue for most riders and has probably been improved with the second version. I’d prefer a wrist strap as the chest strap seems to interfere with my breathing at very high intensity. It uses a standard coin cell battery and has a great battery life. The cadence and speed sensors are great but the speed sensor won’t fit onto very narrow hubs, though it could probably be taped on. I’ve ridden both sensors through massive floods and they work fine to this day. The heart rate monitor has endured some sweat too and the strap is hand washable. At the end of the day, this option is better than the Garmin equivalent in my opinion, although it’s up to personal preference. Finding odd mounts for Wahoo computers can be trickier though.
University Degree Score- 2:1.
Item #12- Veloflex Corsa Tyres, £66/set from Merlin with gold discount
^Lightning McQueen uses white wall tyres at the end of ‘Cars’ and looks like a badass. I think that my Trek looks great with them too. Ka-Chow.
The fact that these tyres are listed by Veloflex as ‘training tyres’ scares me a little, as they are so thin and supple. Combined with quality inner tubes and wheels and these tyres are stupidly fast and smooth. The tan walls look cool but they can come in all black, which suits some bikes better. They corner pretty well too, but probably not as well as Vittoria Corsas which are a very similar tyre and just as good in many ways. I’ve had no punctures with them after a few hundred miles, sometimes on yucky and gravelly roads. For an Italian tyre, the price is phenomenal and they really do scream ‘quality’. I now want to try their fastest tyres to understand what I’m missing!
University Degree Score- 1:1.
Item #13- Custom built alloy wheels from DCR Wheels, £360.
[See photo above. Still lazy, still late.]
Cheaper and lighter than Hunt’s racing alloy wheels, these are some phenomenal wheels I got built up from a local home wheelbuilder. They consist of Kinlin 200 rims, Sapim bladed spokes and basic alloy hubs, which run super smoothly. Paired with some great tyres and latex tubes and they are amazing. My set weighs 1350g, which is better than many carbon wheels out there and far, far cheaper. The alloy braking surface is good in all weather conditions. You can email David and order any wheelset to your own specification delivered straight to your door- rim brake, disc brake or no brake (yep, they make track wheelsets too). While it took 1.5 months for mine to be built up, you know that they are built with quality in mind when the company offers a free spoke replacement service if one breaks or goes out of true.
University Degree Score- 1:1.
Item #14- Clif bars, £20 for 12
^As both a keen cyclist and rock climber, the packaging does draw me into Clif bars. But how do they actually taste?
They aren’t bad, but come on… Digestive biscuits or Belvita bars are far cheaper. The packaging and range of flavours is great but if you buy them in bulk you’re restricted on what you can choose and they go out of date somewhat quickly. I did ride with them for a while but some flavours can feel stodgy and they don’t taste like they’re particularly natural or homemade. They’d make a great gift though. It’s surprising to see that all of them are vegan, too. ]
Warning- if you're allergic to peanuts, then don't eat the peanut butter ones because you might die. Duh.
University Degree Score- 3:1.
Item #15- Racing Through the Dark, autobiography of David Millar ~£8
^David pictured in the book looking glum and tired, probably in the process of writing his book or checking his training plan for the week. I sometimes feel the same when it comes to churning up witty annotations on my blogs.
A brilliant book documenting the rise and fall of the former pro-cyclist (who now commentates on ITV4), with his rise into the professional peloton, his descent into using EPO to win and his future successes after rejecting doping for good. He actually wrote the majority of the book and he is remarkably well spoken (or written), telling a captivating story with great depth and hints of humour throughout. The book is definitely dark and I never really remembered David Millar as a legend of cycling, but it is definitely one of my favourite books about cycling (even if Tim Krabbe’s The Rider is probably my absolute favourite).
University Degree Score- Fail (as David Millar quickly dropped out of Uni to pursue racing! Jokes aside, it’s great.)
Do you object to any of these reviews, or are there any items you’d like me to take a look at myself? What’s the most overrated cycling product you’ve tested? Are you tempted to cook 3kg of pasta in a waxy crockpot? Leave a comment on the blog or contact me via my social media/ email.
Thanks for reading, see you out on the road!
-F
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