Category: Reviews
Posted: March 17, 2010 at 4:16 pm
As I mentioned in an earlier post, I picked up a Cateye EL220 for last weekends brevet. Price was an issue as I couldn’t afford much at the time, but I needed something that would produce enough light to safely ride at night. Knowing that the brevet could last as late as midnight, it was important to get something decent.
Now quality is a bit of a relative term here, the other two riders in the brevet are almost certainly mistaken for motorcycles from a distance with the amount of light they produce. This light does not come close to approaching that sort of output. That said, I’m happy with the EL220 for the price. It is powered by 4 AA-batteries and has 5 LEDs that provide good coverage exactly where needed.
All I cared about was being able to avoid hazards on the road in the dark. The long stretch of Old Hwy 51 in Louisiana was unlit and provided a good test which this headlight passed very well. I’ve used other budget lights which did not provide nearly enough illumination and anything more than the slowest speed. I’ve also used it in town for night commuting and running errands with no problems at all.
If you can afford it, I would definitely step up to a higher end light, if money is a constraint, this is a great light and performs well especially for it’s price point.
Posted: February 19, 2010 at 11:00 am
I’ve been using a set of Rivendell Wool Semi-Tights for cold weather rides for a couple months now and I feel I’ve had them long enough to write up a review. As I transition from purely recreational/commuting riding into randonneuring and serious training rides, I started to acquire real cycling clothes.
The one part I was lacking was something for my legs on cold days. Normally I would just wear jeans, but that can get uncomfortable after a certain distance and doesn’t do such a good job of keeping out the cold. I finally made the decision to buy some tights to wear over my newly acquired cycling shorts. I looked all over to find a good set but could not decide on what to get. After looking at all the lycra/spandex options out there, I decided to check out wool.
Wool has a reputation of insulating even when wet and being great at wicking away moisture from your skin. Rivendell had a set of what they call semi-tights, which are not as skin tight as a normal set, but still very snug. When they are on they don’t look much different than any other set of tights so they don’t look out of place in comparison to other clothing.
My first ride was a late December ride I made at 5:00am. It was 20F outside and I was skeptical I would stay warm. The ride started out a bit uncomfortable, but a couple miles in I felt fine. These did a great job of keeping out the cold. A couple hours later I was very impressed.
I’ve also worn them under my work pants several times on really cold commutes. They performed very well for that. The only issue I had was when worn under jeans, they picked up a lot of lint that no roller could remove. I spent a lot of time picking bits of fuzz off with my hand one-by-one. I suppose that’s just the nature of wool though.
Most recently I wore them on the entirety of the Mardi Gras 200k brevet. The temperature ranged from the low 30’s into the mid 50’s. They kept my legs nice and warm in the cold as expected. Mid-day they got very warm but because of how well it wicked away sweat, it was never uncomfortable.
The only bad thing I can say about them is that they do tend to ride up a little in the cuffs which leave your ankles exposed if your socks are not long enough. This happened on the brevet but never became an issue for me. Perhaps in colder weather this would be something to consider.
At $55 these tights are very reasonably priced. While I can’t compare with synthetic versions, I can say that I’m impressed with how well these have performed. I recommend these if you need something to keep the cold away from your lower half.
Posted: January 10, 2010 at 4:16 pm
Recently my main light died on me. It would flicker on and off on bumpy roads, and eventually reached a point where the switch no longer worked. It was an inexpensive light I purchased in May of 2008 for about $20. At that price, I can’t really complain.
I decided I wanted to step up quality a bit and would prefer something rechargeable instead of using batteries. While the battery life was good, you do have to change them somewhat frequently during the winter months when you are riding a lot after dark.
I stopped by the LBS, Hattiesburg Bicycle Center, to see what they had. They suggested the Light&Motion Vega 120. It seemed to match my critera well, very bright and rechargeable and on sale!
The mount is very easy to use. You pull the rubber strap around your handlebar, through a slot and secure it on a pin. The problem is that after a few miles I notice that the center of the beam is pointing a little lower than when I started. The light does slide forward slowly as you ride requiring you to pull it back a little. Even tightening the mount as much as possible did not resolve this. I’m considering putting a little electrical tape on my handlebars to see if this helps. It’s not a huge issue and might not occur with different types of bars, but it is slightly annoying.
As for actual usage, there is only 1 control: a single button. Unlike many lights it only has 1 mode. You don’t have different brightness settings or even a blink mode. This seems strange as it’s a standard feature on many lights. This was ok with me considering the price (on sale for $80 locally, Amazon has it for $75). If it had all the bells and whistles it would cost much more. The Vega 120 sacrifices features instead of quality to reach the price point it has, and I’m ok with that.
The light is very bright and more than ample for commuting. Potholes and other hazards are lit up just fine. The beam is wide enough to give decent visibility to the sides of your path as well as the center. Aside from a bright spot in the very center of the beam, the light is very even and illuminates everything in your path equally well. The beam is also strong far in front of you. I went on a fast ride at 5:00am recently and was not able to out-run the light as I have with others. I was able to ride confidently at higher speeds despite it being completely dark outside.
As I mentioned, it is rechargeable and includes a wall-charger. A major downside about this light is battery life: 2 hours. With this short life, you really need to charge it each day. A low-power or blinking mode would really help here, but as this light is targeting to commuters I can’t complain too much. If you have this light I would recommend getting a cheap white-light blinky to keep on your bike just in case you forget to recharge the Vega or get caught in the dark longer than expected.
All in all I’m happy with this light. It has made my commutes feel much safer and allows me to ride harder in the dark because of that. The battery life limits this to being a commuting light, but if that is your need, I can certainly recommend this to you. By keeping the feature-list low on this, Light&Motion has managed to produce a light with the quality of much more expensive units at a very reasonable price. I shopped around a good bit and could not find anything under $100 that came close to this.
Posted: December 31, 2009 at 8:00 am | Tags: books, lance
I recently picked up a copy of Comeback 2.0: Up Close and Personal by Lance Armstrong and wanted to share my thoughts on it.
Comeback 2.0 is a look at a year in the life of 7 time Tour De France Winner’s life. It starts with an introduction detailing his decision to come out of retirement. Lance gives a great description of the emotions surrounding this from both him and everyone around him. The book then chronicles both his personal life and his training leading up to the 2009 Tour.
The first thing you notice about this book is the absolutely stunning photography done by Elizabeth Kreutz. The race photos are among the most beautiful I’ve seen and the rest, which capture Lance doing everything from weight lifting, to driving his kids around, to meeting with foreign leaders really help to capture the energy that Armstrong puts into everything he does.
If you are hoping for deep reading, Comeback 2.0 is not the book for you. The photography is the focus here, with Lance adding his own commentary throughout. I managed to read it entirely in about an hour, but it’s that sort of book you find yourself thumbing through just for the photos. They’re really that great.
Lance gets fairly candid in what little text there is. He offers blunt but genuine opinions on topics such as the anti-doping controls and the Contandor rivalry. He also goes into a good bit of detail about the birth of his youngest son, his relationships with his ex-wife and his girlfriend. It’s interesting to take a look at his out-of-saddle life as well.
Even if you are not a big Armstrong fan, I think any cyclist can appreciate this book. Beware however, I don’t think it’s possible to read this without getting an overwhelming urge to ride. I recommend getting this book, but you may want to wait until spring!
Posted: December 30, 2009 at 1:58 pm
I received an email from Darren at Bicycle Touring Pro with some news that his eBook The Bicycle Travelers Blueprint is now almost 40% off and is selling for $12.95.
If you are interested in touring, this book is an excellent resource. Darren has been touring for 8 years now and he has been able to put all his knowledge on the subject into a very comprehensive guide.
The book covers pretty much everything including clothing, bike choice, clothing, even mental preparation. Most of what I know about touring I’ve picked up from (often painful) experience. This book would have saved me a lot of trouble early on.
I like the fact that it is written to cover many different types of tours. Whether you are planning to tour for a day, month, or longer, you can find great info here. In addition, it’s written in a ways which is very accessible to a beginner but is robust enough that even riders with a lot of experience will get something from it.
I highly recommend this. It comes in pdf format so you can read it on any computer or toss it on to most e-book readers or pda’s. You won’t find a better guide on touring for the money or otherwise.
If you want to get this special price on The Bicycle Travelers Blueprint, order soon as this price is only valid until January 5 2010!
Posted: November 17, 2009 at 8:52 am
This weekend Ryan and I took a trip to Hattiesburg Bicycle Center to pick up a couple things for his Trek. As I typically do in the LBS, I ended up wandering around and found a couple things I “needed”.
First up is a pair of Pearl Izumi seamless arm warmers. The weather is cooling off now, and I find that a jacket is often not what I need as it tends to overheat my core when all I want to warm are my arms. These arm warmers are perfect for that. I actually bought them in anticipation of a very cold marathon in December but intend to use them for riding as well. They have performed great on my morning commute. I was able to wear short sleeve shirt shirts and stay very comfortable with temperatures in the high 40s.
Unlike many arm warmers I’ve read about, these had no problem staying put. They stayed nice and snug no matter how I rode. The bicep end was tight, but not too much. It felt comfortable and didn’t constrict me in any way. Big thumbs up on these, highly recommended.
Next is the Cat Eye SL-LD100 red light. Ashamed as I am to admit it, I’ve been riding for some time now with no rear light. The last one fell off when my home-made mount failed (why do no lights seem to come with rack mounts anymore?!) and with the copious daylight of summer, I never thought to replace it. With 5pm now being quite dark, I knew I needed to find something. Most lights I disliked because of the mounting options. Sure I can attach it to my seat post, but what about when I carry cargo on the rear rack? It complete blocks the light. This offering from Cat eye is different in that it uses an elastic cord to allow it to be mounted in a variety of ways. Also neat is that the switch is magnetic. A small fob at the end of the attached cord turns the light on and off just by waving it near the body of the light. Anything magnetic seems to work, even my Blackberry!
I found that this mounting system is nice. I currently have it on my seat post where it sits quite secure. If I have cargo or need to move it to another bike, switching it is a breeze. It can also be wrapped around my hydration belt for running at night, another big plus for me.
Where this light doesn’t do well is overall performance. Compared to some red blinky lights I’ve used, this one just isn’t as bright. You certainly sacrifice some luminosity for size and convenience. That said, I think it performs well enough. It seems to be visible from a safe distance, just not blinding like others I’ve used. Get this if you are frustrated with current offerings in rear lights or if you have some non-biking activities you could use it for, otherwise, a more traditional light will suit you better.
Posted: October 26, 2009 at 11:24 am
I’ve been daily riding my new Schwinn for a week now. I’ve put nearly 100 miles on it, rode it to work, rode the local bike trail, crashed it, tinkered with it and have generally had a great time with it. I thought it would be useful to share my thoughts on riding such a radically different bike than my previous daily bike (08 Giant Sedona if you missed the the older post).
- I’m loving the steel vs aluminum frame. Even with a road fork instead of a mountain fork and high pressure tires, the vibrations of the road are much less harsh.
- Drop bars… Took getting used to, I like them now. Being able to get out of the headwind is very nice. I’m finding them just as versatile as the trekking bars I have on my Giant.
- Handling is different, I learned this taking a spill on a simple turn. Some things I cant do as well as with the old bike. Other things much better, It certainly corners faster and feels better at higher speeds.
- The gearing is different, it lacks a real granny gear compared to MTB gearing. I have to work a little harder, but that’s good, improved fitness is always good.
- The classic look and chrome frame stands out. A coworker commented that when he would see a bike parked in town, he would try and figure out if it was mine or not, now it’s no question, it just stands out from every other bike on the road. Hopefully this fact wont get the bike stolen!
All in all, I couldn’t be happier. The only major changes I’ve made have been swapping over my Brooks B17 and Shimano Clipless/Platform hybrid pedals. If you are interested in getting something simialar, you can get some great deals on older steel framed bikes from Schwinn, Trek, Miyata and more on eBay and Craigslist. For much less than you would pay for a new bike, and often times less than a new Wal-Mart bike, you can get an extremely high quality bike which will last for years.
Taking a rest during a late night ride
