Filling canteens in the middle of a ride

It has been a bit too warm for road cycling here recently, so we’ve been bombing in the forests lately, but I have managed to get the first 500 kilometers on my new Merida and it has been a very pleasurable experience. The stiffness of the frame manages to surprise me every time and although I was warned by many riders that they are afraid with their carbon frames, I’ve noticed being more aggressive on my carbon bike than I ever have been on my steel frame.

The main thing I like in the bike is the feeling of reliability. I trust this bike. I don’t know why, but I noticed it from the first ride and I really, really feel like I will have this bike for a long time. I haven’t done first maintenance on it yet, since it hasn’t really needed it. Still, I usually take my bikes to the shop for the first check so I’ll have a second opinion on possible faults. The brakes and the gears need a bit of work, but that’s usual with a new bike. Definite increase in ride speeds and endurance, really digging the Merida!

Related Posts:

• Quick Preview: 2011 Merida Scultura Evo 905 road bike
• 2011 preview: Merida Reacto 907 road bike
• 2011 – Cyclocross or 29er?
• 2011 Sneak Preview: Helkama Helsinki city bike
• Project 29er: Losing that 29er virginity

After all these years of road cycling and mountain-biking you start to believe in “certainties” if it comes to bike equipment and components. Mavic wheels are the best price/quality buy, Formula disc brakes are always reliable and Schwalbe rubbers protect you against all obstacles on your journey.

However the world is constantly evolving and so are the components. I have a tendency to settle with 3 to 4 stars out of five, keeping an eye on the price/quality comparison when buying components and/or tires. I’m not a pro cyclist (otherwise I wouldn’t have to worry about buying my tires anyways) and I learned that slicing of grams doesn’t help if you don’t have the legs during that occasional yearly competition race.

My Cube Agree GTC roadbike has been in decent use during the last year and it came with 23C Schwalbe Ultremo R1 standard tires on the Fulcrum wheelset. After 350k I had to replace the rear tire as I got a rupture in the side wall and my tube was sticking out. Bad luck. In the meanwhile I had purchased a set of Schwalbe Ultremos at 35e/piece, widely advertised as one of the best tyres, so no worries. New rubber and of we go. I’ve used two wheelsets during the last year so until last week the rear tire had only rolled around for 600k. A bit of a surprise yesterday while checking the tires: 2 massive cracks, a strange mini-egg formed shape and a rupture in the sidewall of my tire. That means wearing out two tires in less than a 1000k. I switched to the other spare Ultremo I purchased so let’s see how long this one lasts.

In the meanwhile I rode over 2000k with my basic 20€/piece Michelin Lithiums and 700k with Schwalbe Duranos without – knocking on a big wooden table here – any punctures. And this, on a positive note, is the only good thing about the Ultremos: I never got a flat…

Related Posts:

• The Surly is back home!
• Winter commuting: Which studded winter tires?
• Bulletproof: Continental Travel Contact 700 x 37c tyres
• Wheel talk – Having a flat makes me Surly

Terry cloth for the sweat of your brow and neoprene.

There have been times when I have hoped to have more stuff to review, but it turns out I haven’t even reviewed the stuff I have. One of these things is a continuation to our winter clothing post, the windproof winter gloves from UK manufacturer Endura, and they call them the Dexter.

I have no idea where they come up with the names for their products, but I like them. We already reviewed the Full Monty gloves, which are for Summer and Autumn non-windproof gloves. When the weather started to get gloomy and the temperature hit single digits in October, it was time to go for more hardcore gloves.

The gel padding could be a bit bigger, but it suffices.

The Dexters are a pair of windproof softshell gloves. They are not waterproof, but I haven’t managed to get them wet yet during my 1000 kilometers of testing, even when riding in the rain. They have a silicon grip to make sure you can hold on to your handlebars, and they are quite soft in your hand. The problem with the padding is that you don’t really feel anything with them on – then again, neither would you with frozen fingers.

On the cuff side they have a slab of neoprene to keep your wrists warm and dry, but otherwise they’re good, basic gloves. They’re not too thick, and if you’re riding in temperatures between +10 to -10, you’re good to go. Under zero degrees Celsius you might have to get some warmth in your body for your fingers to warm, but they will stay that way as well. Colder than -10 Celsius and it will get cold after an hours riding.

Our verdict:

Still, for the price (around 25-30 euros) and the available sizing, Endura gets it correct and I have to say, I like their working man attitude with their products.

Related Posts:

• Dress up: Endura Full Monty gloves
• Cold wear: 2010 Endura Windchill jacket
• Autumn riding in the countryside
• Cold feet: Endura Neoprene road overshoes
• December wins November

It comes with two O-rings for easy attachment

Just look at the gargantuan name of the lamp. It’s amazing. Anyway, I finally got my “Chinese wonder” lamp from DealExtreme, which allows me to see during the dark night rides (and soon dark morning rides as well) here in Finland. This particular LED bike light has been in high regards in the Finnish bike scene, especially with the hardcore mountain bike riders loving those dark single tracks.

The light has five modes (High, Medium, Low, Epilepsy-inducing and Annoying-blinker). It comes in its own package, which is surprisingly high-quality with its foam inset and magnetic sealing. Within you will find the LED light itself, the battery pack, two o-rings, UK power adapter (100-240V, so it’ll work globally). No manual, although it’s quite simple to operate. The light will turn on as soon as you connect the battery pack so don’t point the light towards someone before connecting the battery. I managed to blind a colleague with mine.

I have a few friends that have the same unit, and I’ve been impressed about the battery life and brightness of the lamp. We’ll give you examples in our up-and-coming bike light test, where we show the power of different kinds of lamps. The P7-C is a small lamp, but is very powerful with its (supposedly) 900 lumen brightness. It’s powered by a lithium-ion battery pack giving the light a life of 3 (900 lumen max power) to 12 hours (25% power). It’s also good to know that the battery not permanently connected to the lamp so you can change it should it break or you want a backup.

Our verdict:

Usually LED bike lamps of this power cost over 300 euros, making this a bargain with its cheap price of $78 including shipping and handling. Customs fees and taxes might be added to the price, depending on where you are ordering. It’s still worth it.

Related Posts:

• Friday Video: The Aura bicycle safety light
• Blizzards, bike shops and photos
• Winter commuting: Bike light buying guide
• November sucks: Living on planet Hoth
• Commuting: Screw the shoulder, back on the road

They are not as bulky as they look in the product photos

Have you ever woken up in the morning just to realize it’s minus two degrees outside, the ground is frozen and you’ll have to layer up in order to stay warm on the way? Yeah. It’s been like that for the last month and let me tell you, overshoes are really nice when you put them on for a four-hour trip once a week. Not putting them on and taking them off twice per day, five days a week. Especially when they’re a bit too small.

Also the problem with overshoes is that they’re not very convenient in the woods, they get muddy and they don’t solve the biggest issue of cold cleats, that people speculate are a big reason why your feet get cold. So, after trying for two months, riding with cold feet, I opted to get winter cycling shoes. There’s also the reason that you can wear these more than you wear normal cycling shoes in Finland, so money well spent.

Replacable spikes, carbon soles and sexy looks!

I had two options to go with, either Shimano’s SH-MW80 or North Wave’s Celsius shoes. The Shimano’s used to be the cheapest of solid winter shoes, costing around 99 euros before they upped the price without changing the shoe and made it about the same as the North Waves. There are “winter shoes” from Specialized and Sidi as well, but they’re really not made for a real winter, more like if you live somewhere in California or the South of France. Not Finland, the land of Santa Claus and polar bears.

Winter shoes, as they require more padding are even smaller on the inside that normally snug cycling shoes. The rule of thumb is to get one size larger than your usual cycling shoe, which are a size larger from your normal shoes. Example: You wear size 45 shoes, get size 46 cycling shoes and size 47 winter shoes. Most companies make their shoes up to size 48, as is the case with both Shimano and North Wave. Guess what my shoe size is? Yep, 47.

I went with the North Wave Celsius shoes because of two reasons: It’s bigger than the Shimano MW80, has a wider sole and therefore their size 48 will actually fit me unlike Shimano’s. The other was the Arctic version of the Celsius boots (that obviously come in two versions both called Celsius). While the normal Celsius is very similar to the Shimano winter shoe, the North Wave is supposed to keep your feet warm up to -35 degrees Celsius. (They won’t though, don’t worry, but -15 is enough for me.)

The Velcro isn't perfect, but the neoprene is warm

I’ve had the shoes for a week now and the best thing is that they fit nicely. They also have a few nice things in them that make them even more useful: The shoes have laces – while this might sound really cumbersome, they come with these hoops to tighten them with a single pull and it feels solid and functional. On top of the laces there are neoprene flaps that close with a Velcro strap, which are a bit loose and sloppy, but do their job. Something I’d want to be better though in shoes that cost a 150 euros.

Our verdict:

Nonetheless, they feel good, solid and warm so far. I’ll report after the winter how they survived in the long run.

Related Posts:

• Cold feet: Endura Neoprene road overshoes
• Commuting: What to wear?
• Dress up: Montane Velocity DT weatherproof jacket
• Dress up: Helly Hansen LIFA base layers
• Dress up: Endura Full Monty gloves