Author Archives: admin

Specialized Alloy Bottle Cage

First, not my photo. I’d have moved the keyboard and mine are white.

I have these from my first tour, they have been used on all my tours. I thought about buying some King Cage bottle cages because they are made in USA. Chose not to because I wrote them an email and they never replied so, no I’m not going to call or go to your website and give you my credit card number if you can’t answer one simple question in an email.

King Cage is based in Colorado if that says anything.

I would like to support a US company producing goods in the US but in this case I’m reusing three cages I already had. And it looks like mine are 3g lighter/per than King Cage’s listed weight of their $17/each Stainless model.

Maybe I’ll try them again if one of my Specialized ever break.

I bought these years ago at a local bike shop.

Cost: $4 each x3

Made in Japan

 

NYC Tour Brass Bell

I guess in some cities, like NYC, it is a ticketable offense to ride without a bell on your bike. I mean safety’s great and all but I ring the bell for other reasons.

I think of bells on bikes like horns on autos. They communicate thoughts, they express ideas, they say something.

I have some other bell on my work bike but for my touring bike I went the brass bell route. I think what I like about the other bell is that I can ring it with a trigger and the back and forth is a ring with each movement. So it has a lot of control over the sound. 1 ring, 2 rings, 1 ring then 3 real fast, whatever.

I guess I bought this brass bell because it’s got some old style to it. And it’s louder. It comes in 50mm or 55mm versions, I think I have the 55mm. But this thing has a hammer strike so the tempo control is limited but it gets easier with practice.

I mounted it sideways to the quill section of my stem and the hammer lever sticks up above the flat part of the stem. It takes a pull/release motion to ring.

I bought this at a local bike shop.

Cost: $12

Made in Japan

 

Shimano BL-7402 Dura-Ace Brake Levers


I was once a bartender and one of the locals came in one day with an old DeRosa frame in my size. Just the chipped, dented frame, no fork, no parts. He said he found it by the dumpster at his storage unit facility. It was a 59cm and a few sizes too big for him but about right for me. I gladly bought his few rounds in trade. Told him I was going to build it into a single speed.

The next day he brought in these Dura-ace levers he had in his spare parts bin. That got him a few more beers on me.

After STI took over I guess there are some single speeds out there that got some lever upgrades.

These were on that DeRosa for a while until the frame broke, then they lived in my parts bin for a while.

Recently, I took the STI’s off my touring bike and added these levers and bar end shifters. Glad I did because new 10 speed STI’s are expensive. Thanks Brian.

In general these are everything you would expect. Works good, looks good. The tops are a little narrow compared to newer shifter/levers. I think a wider top would feel better but maybe my hands are too big, these were designed for tiny racer dudes.

Cost: free

Made in Japan

 

Brooks Proofide Leather Dressing 25g


I have just applied this to my newish Brooks saddle. I started with a rag from a t-shirt but gave up on that and used a small paint brush instead. Much easier on the under side with a brush.

Seems like I’ll have enough to do a couple complete covers and a couple more light covers on the top side before it’s gone.

I did use the rag to wipe the top after it set in.

I forgot how much this cost. And I’m going to assume it’s made in England.

 

Michelin Map 581

A far as multi-state maps go, this thing is the shit.

I could get better maps of each state and I will need to find another if I want to go to the eastern edge of Maine. It cuts off before the Canadian border. But besides that there is good detail. All of Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, and New Hampshire. Most of New York, a lot of Maine, North East PA and the top of NJ.

I bought this at a Barnes and Noble store in lower Manhattan.

Cost: $6

Made in France

 

Outlier Three Way Shorts

These are the most comfortable shorts I own. They stretch in all directions so riding in them does not constrict. They repel water and dirt. In a light rain water just rolls off, and most dust and dirt is easy to just brush off. They dry really fast and stay clean. The fabric is soft and comfortable but after months of riding there is nearly no wear in the areas that usually show wear after a few weeks.

I really like Outlier and this is not the only article I own. Good stuff.

Made in NYC with Swiss fabric.

 

Case 64090R SS

Case Jr scout knife #244

Case calls this the Jr. Scout #244. It’s a simple spear blade, can opener, bottle opener, screwdriver and leather punch.

Length closed: 3 ⅜”

I used the leather punch once on my belt, thing works like a charm.

This knife is something that was left behind in a bar I worked at years ago. We held it for 30 days and no one claimed it so I kept it.

Cost: Free

Weight: 1.9oz (55g)

Made in USA

wrcase.com

 

Kupilka Cutlery Set

This is a review of a fork spoon and knife. And tea spoon.

A vast majority of “outdoor” cutlery sets are either made in China or $40+ Ti, or both.

I didn’t want either of those things. I also did not want something that folds or is just plain small.

The knife is 8” and the tea spoon is 5 ¼” to give an idea.

Kupilka calls this a “natural fiber composite material” that basically means wood and plastic. But so far seems like a good deal.

I bought this at Tent & Trails in Manhattan.

Cost: $12

Made in Finland

kupilka.fi

Park Tool RW-1 (discontinued)

This is a review of Park Tools Road Wrench 1. It is a short 32mm/15mm to be used on a 1″ headset and pedals.

Two important tools in one. Three really because I need a 15mm to adjust the tension on my Paul canti brakes.

It’s nice that it’s shorter than a shop tool for weight reasons. It’s a hair over 6″.

The two small holes make it able to be mounted between the frame and water bottle cage but I doubt I’ll do that.

I bought this direct from Park Tool. Who, by the way, has great customer service.

Cost: $5

Made in USA

parktool.com