Cycling Equipment Reviews

Hope Vision 1 LED review

Sunday, December 11th, 2011

Hope Vision One LED This is a review of the Hope Vision 1 LED. It is not the most powerful front light available, it seems to be overpriced, it switches off without warning, its quick-release clamp has a number of detractors, and some have called the light ugly. So why should you have one?

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Garmin 800 Review

Sunday, September 25th, 2011

One of the first trip reports we read said that you can always count on your bicycle computer malfunctioning on a tour. Certainly ours have. Lady CoMo has her needs, one is a computer. We decided on a Garmin 800, mounted on the stoker's handlebar. If I think Mary's bored I can call out, "What's [...]

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Getting There: Yakima Sidewinder Cartop Carrier

Saturday, September 10th, 2011

We knew that as soon as we picked up Lady CoMo we would be faced with the challenge of transporting her. We had a bicycle car top carrier from Volkswagen, but there was no tandem carrier available for it. Also, although the Volkswagen carrier is made by Thule, it is a lower end product (more [...]

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DogCam Bullet HD WIDE review

Monday, June 13th, 2011

Mini camcorder for cyclists DogCam's Bullet HD WIDE mini camcorder is a wide angled version of their original mini bullet cam reviewed here in January. The lens resolution is the same high definition 1280 x 720 pixels but the camera's field of view is increased from 60° to a much wider 135°. The new bullet [...]

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Pinhead Skewer Review

Thursday, April 7th, 2011

On our last tour, locks and cables were the heaviest items we carried. Securing our bike frames is one thing; keeping our wheels from walking off is another matter. Pinhead skewers are a good, simple solution for keeping your wheels attached to your frame.

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DogCam Bullet HD review

Wednesday, January 26th, 2011

DogCam Bullet HD 720p Camera At 78mm long x 22mm in diameter and weighing 32 grams the DogCam Bullet HD 720p video camera is a convenient size to mount discreetly on bicycle handlebars or a cycling helmet. With a charge of its built-in battery and an 8GB MicroSD card this tiny cordless cam records up [...]

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Jetboil Flash

Friday, January 21st, 2011

The Jetboil Flash is one of the most striking looking stoves. Its undoubtedly the prettiest stove in my collection, but does it offer any significant increase in performance compared to other gas stoves?

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Kinesis Racelight T2 review

Thursday, December 23rd, 2010

It's almost a year since I was allowed to put a pair of pedals and Brooks B17 Standard saddle on to the Christmas present that was to become my winter trainer/commuter/club run/Audax bike. So, belatedly perhaps, here is a Kinesis Racelight T2 2010 review. Kinesis Racelight T2 2010: a winter training bike, amongst other things.

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Altura Orkney handlebar bag review

Saturday, October 30th, 2010

The Altura Orkney handlebar bag – minus its detachable front pocket and map case. The Altura Orkney handlebar bag is Altura's top of the range bar bag, but seems to have in-built faults, and these faults are frequently reported on cycling blogs and customer review web sites. Despite this, I rather like it. So here [...]

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Hope Vision 1-LED front light review

Wednesday, September 22nd, 2010

A couple of weeks ago my front light was accidentally left in the Leo Smit bike shop in Medemblik, Holland, when we'd got Mrs Taylor's touring bike repaired after her crash, so back in the UK, with the darker nights coming on, I needed a new one. Here it is: a Hope Vision 1-LED front [...]

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Gear Up Off-the-Wall 2-Bike Horizontal Bike Rack review

Monday, September 20th, 2010

In the place I store my bikes I am tight for space. I bought a cheap hoist from LiDL (a false economy as it turned out I couldn't use it in such a small place) and, via Amazon, a Gear Up Off-the-Wall 2-Bike Horizontal Bike Rack after doing some research on the most useful way [...]

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Dry legs, is it possible?

Friday, August 27th, 2010

The Isle of Wight has suffered from drought this summer but this week the rain has returned with a vengeance. We had two inches on Sunday and its continued in a similar vein all week which has come as rather a shock to we soft southerners! When I was a big tough northerner (or was [...]

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Markhill / Edelrid Gas Adaptor

Friday, July 2nd, 2010

I never venture out for more than half a day without taking a stove with me – I like to be very sure of my tea supply! On a short tour its no problem to take sufficient gas to last the trip but my recent longer visit to France and Spain created something of a [...]

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Blackburn EX1 expedition pannier rack (and Blackburn MTN1 pannier rack)

Thursday, February 18th, 2010

All of my bikes that have been fitted with pannier racks have Blackburn models. There is no particular reason other than that they were ‘in’ when I took up cycling seriously in the late 1970s. You will find no shortage of cyclists who will tell you they prefer the racks produced by other manufacturers. I [...]

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New cycling shoes

Monday, February 15th, 2010

For the first time in about six years, I've bought some new cycling shoes. My old Sidi shoes were starting to look decidedly tatty, so I shopped around for replacements. I found these: Dromarti Race expensive, but beautiful. So expensive, that they would be the most expensive footware I'd ever own.

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Life with a Garmin Edge 705

Thursday, January 28th, 2010

My first “Computer” on a bicycle was one of those little metal odometers that were actuated by a peg fitted on a spoke. The unit was mounted on the front RH dropout and the peg clicked away every wheel revolution. Cyclists of a certain age will remember them well. Mine eventually bit the dust by [...]

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