Tag Archives: Reviews

EMS Thunderhead Rain Gear

Working on my bike means having rain gear is a necessity because riding in the rain for 7 hours sucks if I’m soaked straight though. I don’t highly recommend these specific items but they work well enough to bring along. A little worn but I’m not too invested. I spent about $150 for the set, tax included, at one of EMS’s Every Month Sales.

The jacket does not have a cycling cut at all but does have a good hood and long pit zippers. The pants are totally annoying at the waist and the cuffs act stupid around a drive train. The pocket is useless. The best thing is the material does hold up to hours of rain.

Made in China

 

Outlier Merino Hoodie

This is one fine hoodie.  Soft, comfortable, warm and breathable. Merino again, this thing is an essential for the cooler days. Or if I’m in the mountains or up north or still riding in the cooler months I’d be a fool to not have a hoodie.

If it’s really cool out I’ll wear my Outlier Packable Heat jacket over this and be set.

Mine is green. A good army green. Maybe not Army green but a green that would blend in if I was just off the roadside somewhere setting up camp for the night. A green that is not unlike the color of my tent.

I bought this directly from Outlier at a sample sale. Later I learned that they only made three green ones.

Made in New York of New Zealand Merino wool.

 

Shimano FC 5703

Shimano 105 FC 5703  30-39-50 tooth 172.5mm arm length

I have a good mix of Ultegra and Dura-ace group on my bike. That does not mean that I can’t dip a little lower in the Shimano line and run some 105. The price difference from 105 to Ultegra is $100 easy, for just this one part. That does buy a better set of chainrings, but those are what I’ll have to replace anyway and 105 is just fine. Very good for this purpose because the 105 has a 50 tooth big ring and the Ultegra triple has a 52. I know it’s not much of a difference but it means I’ll be in the big ring a little more often which means I’ll be in the middle ring a little less often. I’m doing the math in my head and it equals a more evenly utilized (worn) drivetrain vs. the more expensive crankset.

Maybe that doesn’t matter but I still saved $100 easy.

Made in Japan

 

Shimano Ultegra Derailleurs

Pretty simple.
I was thinking back to my first tour, I spent so much time picking out things to have and deciding on what was, or was not important to bring. I have no idea what that stuff was today. I forget it all. Half the reason I’m doing all these reviews is because I’ll be able to remember what I thought was important to bring, or things I didn’t have. Probably lame, I don’t care. This is one thing, two, that I can check off the list. When the list is all check marked I’ll have no excuse not to just go.

Here’s me in 10 years: yep, that’s what my rear derailleur looked like back then.

Made in Japan

 

Velo Orange Hammered Fenders 45mm

My friend talked me in to getting these. He helped me get a deal from his account with Velo Orange because he was already putting in an order.

It took me about two hours to install but they look good. They fit on my bike well, don’t make any real noise and have very good coverage. They say 45mm is good for up to 700×32 tires. That’s what I’ve got and don’t see myself going any larger in tire size so these fender should work fine.

I’ve been riding around with these on and they give the bike a good look. They draw complements.

Shinny.

Also, they call these hammered but they are more of a pressed-to-look-hammered. It’s not like some craftsman sat at a bench swinging a hammer at these over and over. If you have never seen these in person, they are clearly made by machine.

Not sure where they are made, my guess, not in the US.

Cost: $35

 

Velocity Dyad 700c


Velocity makes a good rim for a fair price. I’ve ridden the Deep-V’s on many bikes. I like the Fusion, too. I also have a set of B43’s that suit a more aesthetic purpose. For touring I wanted a wider rim good for 700×32 tires. Velocity Dyad is a great choice for loaded touring rim.

Not much of a specific review on the rim because there are many things involved in the wheel. Spoke count (48), tires, air pressure, weight, road surface, speed, it’s almost endless. I do know that Velocity USA has very good customer service. That’s enough right there.

I have already put over 4000 miles on the rear and it doesn’t show any reasons to not be happy so far.

Now I have a set and both were handbuilt in a 4 cross with DT Swiss Champion spokes.

Cost: if I remember correct, about $45 ea.

Made in Australia

velocityusa.com

 

Panaracer RiBMo 700×32

Panaracer RiBMo 700×32

I feel like a few of pol0 players like these tires. And these are new to me but knowing that a good number of people in New York chose these tires is testament enough. Its not like they all bought the same bike that happen to come with these. this is choosing a good tire that will hold up.

I looked at them and they are a bit pointy. meaning not a softly rounded contact area to the ground. sort of makes me think that these will roll with less resistance than your average 32 size tire.

I used to like the Ritchey Tom Slick. These seem much better.  Probably are but i really cant recall the price difference.

I’ve been riding them on my touring bike for a couple months now. Good so far.

Made in Japan

 

EBoost

EBoost gave a bunch of these to the promotional ride I was on a couple years ago. I liked them, mixed them in my water every day, sometimes a couple few times a day. Looking through some of the photos from that ride I found this.

I never see this product in stores, but on the other hand there are stores I don’t go into. If I find some I might buy more, til then I’ll just remember the good old days of Boosting E’s for free.

It’s been so long since I’ve had one in my hand I can’t remember where they are made.

eboost.com

Edit: Seems Eboost is another one of those companies who do not respond/answer emailed questions. Bums.

 

Paul Neo-Retro

I have the Neo-retro(seen above) on the front and the Touring canti on the rear. Seems to be a pretty popular touring bike set up. The idea is the on the front the Neo-retros will provide more leverage and more stopping power, and in the rear the Touring canti will still be a strong brake but also provide a slimmer profile and be less in the way of rear panniers.

Getting my hands dirty removing the old off the rack brakes i could see the low quality of them. Then unpacking these to install, big difference. Even compared to something like a Tektro, the Paul brakes are way better looking. And even though I dont know everything about brakes, these are not difficult to install and work very well.

These stick straight out and away from the frame. The Touring canti stick up and at an angle.

Made in USA

paulcomp.com

 

Bondhus L Wrench Set

I bought a 9 piece set but only need the 3mm, 4mm, 5mm, and 6mm for my bike.

I have a Park Tool 3 way 4,5,6 and a little mini 3mm jammy that came with my shifters. The reason I’m bringing these is because the 3 way, or “Y” tool, won’t fit in everything, such as the Paul rear brake spring adjusting bolt. The rear rack is in the way. And the bottle cages, “Y” tools on bottle cage bolts is worse than a punch in the head.

Lesson is, check all the tools you bring fit on all the things you need them.

Cost: about $10 for the set

Made in USA

bondhus.com

 

Mead Notebook 45-4872

Mead Notebook 45-4872 The Spiral

There were no images to be found so I asked a friend to scan it for me.

Mead, founded in 1846 by Colonel Daniel Mead, made good shit and probably still does. I have not looked into what they have been doing after they moved from Ohio to Connecticut. This notebook is just the thing for me, I don’t geek out about things like this but it says Dayton, Ohio right on it. This is from the 1960’s or earlier because it says Hulman Building. History can be interesting.

There are somethings not shared online. I wrote in a notebook every day on my past tours. Well, not everyday on the sponsored tour but that was a whole different world. On a solo tour my notebook is more valuable than my wallet. Camera, notebook.

I just talked with a friend who did a LA to NY tour with a buddy a couple years ago and he said something about scanning pages of a notebook and printing it as a little afterward project because there are people out there that really like that kind of thing. I always hope that if I write in my notebook it is pure. I think that having in my mind that I could scan it and publish it, one way or another, I might filter things out.

As I think about it more I know that I leave things out already, even in my personal notebooks, because in the back of my mind I know that someone could find it. I don’t want people reading my shit. But I still write. My defense is handwriting so bad only I can read it.

Bought at The Brooklyn Art Library

Cost: $7

Made in USA

 

Princeton Tec Fuel LED Headlamp

 

I had a Pretzl, or however that popular brand is spelled, LED headlamp but it would start to flicker like the guts of it were weak and it didn’t want to give a steady stream of light. To the point where I’d used it less often because I didn’t like the light it gave, high, low, twitching in the middle all depending on what mood it was in. That thing was junk really.

This one has a few differences the on/off is a button vs. a sliding switch, and the up/down adjustability is over a greater range. Real high to point up the road if I have my head down while biking or low like aiming right down my nose for reading or such.

Another thing is this is made in the US, the package reads “Made in USA with domestic and foreign components”. I was looking at the pretlzs on the next shelf and they were from all over, France, Bulgaria, and Madagascar from what I saw.

EMS in Manhattan for $24

Made in USA

princetontec.com

 

Manfrotto MTT2-P02

Manfrotto MTT2-P02 Table Tripod

Solid and easy to use. Alternately I have an Ultra-pod II (Made in USA) and have used it with both SLR and point and shoot on tours before. But from that experience I found that I needed something better. The plastic in the Ultra-pod does not keep a SLR stable. Just too much weight, but with a point and shoot it’s fine and the extra mounting options are great.

For shooting with a SLR the Manfrotto wins. 100% metal vs 100% plastic. This is just a bit smaller and marginally weightier. I’m OK with that because I want something that won’t sway in the wind.

I bought this from the B&H store in Manhattan.

Folded Length: 7″
Weight: 5.8oz (166g)
Load Capacity: 4.4 lbs
Cost: $25

Made in Italy