Gifts for Bike Enhusiasts

Gifts for Bike Enthusiasts

The holidays are approaching fast and with that the great time of shopping for gifts for the bike enthusiasts in your circle of friends.  Shopping can be fun – when you have a clear idea of what you want to find – i.e. what your friends and family would like.  Sometimes, though it is pretty stressful to come up with the right ideas so I decided to attempt a quick help list – with ideas that may resonate with you.

The list I have in mind is comprised of tools, bike gloves, bike helmet, bike bottle and bottle cages, may be even some shoes and apparel…and if you really know the person you want to buy the gift for – may be even some bike suggestions.

How did I come up with the ideas – mostly through my personal experience of what I would like to get and use when on the bike trail…. Your desires may be different, hence ignore my list if it does not match your expectations.   Please give me some feedback via the comments page – I would like to hear what are your ideas…

Here we go with the list:

  1. Bottle cage:  This is always useful on those long bike rides.  I often ignore the water bottle and always feel that I made a mistake when I do that.  So having a good lightweight, easy to get the bottle in and out cage is a good addition to your bike.  Here are some links to products you can find easily on Amazon….  and here is a link to an interesting product from King Cage
  2. Tools for quick access to adjustments on your bike.   I always carry some patches for my inner tubes and it is good to have also some allen wrenches and quick bike tools.  Here are some options – again easy to purchase&nbsp and another one  The Fix It Sticks are a very versatile toolset that is both very helpful on the trail as well as one that stores and mounts easily on your bike.  The tool attaches in a mount that fits under the bottle cage on your bike so it is conveniently located and out of the way during your ride.  The tool is comprised of two lightweight sticks that combine into a T-handle Tool for ease of use and leverage. There are six variations of the Original Fix It Sticks: Standard Set A, Standard Set B, Roadie Set A, Roadie Set B, Mountain Set, and SRAM Set. Each set comes with four permanently installed bits.  Check out the FixItSticks Web site for more info
  3. Bike Helmet – Yes! you do need one.  Speaking from personal experience, having taken a spill multiple times over the years of riding, the helmet is absolutely important.  It could save you a lot of headaches – literally!   You could spend a lot or less but by all means you must have a helmet.  Here are some options to consider – starting with the tried and true Giro and then going into a platform –  Lazersport which actually offers a helmet that can be integrated with a bunch of different accessories:  

                                   Enjoy your shopping!

 

Bicycle Helmet – Resources for Learning How to Buy One

Bicycle Helmet

I have posted a number of articles about bicycle helmets.  Having taken a spill more than twice while riding, I have stated before and will repeat now, am a true believer in their utility.  You may not like how they feel, or how they fit, or their shape, or…(gasp) the fact that they may mess up your hair….but even after all that – they are truly useful.


Now, if your helmet does not feel good on your head, chances are you need a different, better fitting one.  Here are some key items to check out about your helmet and additional resources to use while selecting one:

  • Start with checking the box in the store.  Why?  It needs to clearly state that the helmet meets the requirements of the Consumer Products Safety Commision – the link here will bring you to the specific page with their guidance; Another valid certification is the Snell’s B-95
  • Size assessment – ask your local bike store or another sports or outdoors store with a good biking department for help on that.  They can measure you…The helmet needs to fit snugly or you have the danger of actually hurting yourself.
  • Personal preferences – here you can go wild; there are many bike helmet options…in terms of ventilation, shades, style and colors.  Up to you on this one.

The Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute has tons of additional information on the topic – check them out.   In the meantime, please remember – you need a bike helmet!

 

New Low-Cost Mountain Bikes – What $1000 Gets You

For those of you who are considering getting into mountain biking, please read this posting  as much as possible – I believe this is a good set of information for you.  Why, you may ask?  Because, it will be good to first try the sport and see if you would like it…At any rate, the bikes we are covering in this article, will get you to try things at a reasonable entry fee.

What are the $1000 bikes good for:

  • They have relatively entry level components – Shimano Alivio or Deore shifters and drivetrains; Those are shifting OK but they most likely won’t last the strain of continuous riding in the hills – but again, as a beginner you are probably going to have relatively easy rides…So the combination of these components and pricing should be OK
  • Less than challenging rides – especially climbs – as the frames of these bikes are most likely going to be made of aluminum with less rigidity, but hey, again, you are getting a low cost bike, right…
  • Finally, the rest of the components will be low end as well – pedals=flats; front shock = no, you are not getting air shock – in this price range, it will be a spring / coil based shock; seat = entry level WTB

So, let’s look at the list below

Specialized-Rockhopper

Specialized Rockhopper Comp 29 – $950 retail;   The bike is very good when it comes to agility and entry level components; The shock is coil spring 100mm travel custom made by Suntour for Specialized; The brakes are hydraulic Tektro Auriga (2 generations ago the Tektro brakes were really noisy – speaking when braking – check those out well before buying); The drivetrain is Shimano-Alivio and the deraillures are Shimano Alivio and SRAM X5;

Marin-Mountain-Bike

Marin Pine Mountain 1 – $989 retail;   This is a hardtail bike with 27.5″ wheels; Surprisingly (for this price range) it has a chromoly steel frame and further surprising the designers have managed to include an aggressive fork without a shock in this package.  Very interesting.  The drivetrain is 1×10 at the front with a SRAM X7 Type 2 rear derailleur;

 

Rocky-Mountain-Bike

Rocky Mountain Soul 730 – $899 retail;   As expected (in this price range) this is a hard tail bike with 27.5″ wheels; The frame is alloy (the designers at Rocky Mountain bikes claim they take special care in the design even of the aluminum alloy tubing – so may be a bit of an advantage here)  and the front fork includes a Suntour spring coil based 120mm travel shock – this is certainly a good shock given the travel even if it is not air one; The shifters as usual are Shimano Alivio, and the front and rear derailleur are Shimano Acera and Deore respectively; The brakes are hydraulic and are Shimano M355 as expected as well;

BMC-Bike

BMC Sportelite SE – $999 retail;  This is an interesting bike.  Why?  Because it actually offers some less than low-end components in this sub-$1000 price category.  While its frame is still aluminum alloy tubing, the front fork sports a RockShox XC30 TK Solo Air 100mm – yes, the first bike in this category with air shock;

 

Giant-mountain-bike

Giant Talon 29er – $850 retail; The frame of course is aluminum alloy tubing – no surprises there;  The drivetrain is Shimano 3×9-speed and the brakes are now Tektro hydraulic disc;  The front fork includes a Suntour coil based fork with 100mm travel and lockout.  Overall this bike is not a spectacular one, but then the price is very convincing

 

So all in all there are some good bikes in the listing above.  If you want to get in this sport – these are some good machines to test ride and enjoy and decide…

 

 

New Mountain Bikes to Consider

Mountain Bikes to consider

New model year – new mountain bikes…Well, it happens every year, so it does this Fall – the 2016 bikes are out (they have been for a while) and there are plenty of new machines that have great specks and certainly can be good for most amateur and enthusiast bikers alike.   In this posting I want to highlight the new models that I have seen browsing across the web sites of a number of manufacturers.  Some observations:

  • 29ers and 27.5″ wheel size rule!   I can attest judging by both the configuration of most good range bikes as well as the inputs of friends and family who ride
  • dropper posts are coming into the affordable bike range (i.e. in bikes with sub-$3K price tag);
  • SRAM-GX-LineNew drivetrain options are also entering the affordable bike models.  1×10, 1×11. 2×11 are being used on increasing number of bikes – I am still a bit standoffish on this one.  Yes, the 1x frees up real estate on the front handlebars as many of the articles report (and so do the sales associates in the pro-bike shops) but what are we giving up?   I think using these new drive train options are forcing you to give up useful low gears in your riding program… So this one you will have to judge for yourself

In this and may be one more posting I will cover the bikes I have come across and consider good options for you too

  1. Rocky-Mountain-ThuderboltRocky Mountain Thunderbolt 710 – Retails for $1999;    This is a mountain bike model family – the Thunderbolt – that includes 6 models and range from $11.5K to $1999 in pricing. This bike includes a large number of up-market components which you can usually find on higher price rigs.    The fork for the bike is Manitou Marvell with 120mm travel – I forgot to mention, the wheels are 27.5″ ones – I would have preferred a 29″ ones but the claims Rocky Mountain designers would make I am sure, is that they gave higher maneuverability to this model
  2. trekTrek Stache-7 — this is another excellent bike with surprising to me also one that uses the Manitou fork but a shorter 110mm travel.  The cassette is a single chainring setup which I am still not completely sold on – I continue to like my 3 chain rings with tons of variability  in my gear ratios.  The Stache-7 uses also the G2 geometry as in my Trek X-Caliber Gary Fisher model – I like it as it does appear to provide for increased maneuverability at low speeds.
  3. Specialized-Mountain-BikeSpecialized Camber 29er – Retail $1900 (you can jump to the Camber Comp 29er for $2500):  These are great bikes – I have owned 2 Specialized Rockhopper bikes, the later one being Specialized Rockhopper Comp SL 29 – which was my first 29-inch bike and I really liked it.  The Camber is its next version – and the $2500 version is adding some upgraded components – the front shock is with 120mm travel and much higher end design.   You will like both – the $1900 and the $2500 – which one you should buy depends entirely on how hard of riding you intend to do

Gravel Bikes – More on the Category

Earlier last week I posted on a new category of bicycle for us enthusiast – this time a bike that offers the best of two worlds – a mix of mountain, cross-country and road bikes.  Enter the Gravel Bike…..Now we have one more – custom made bike of that nature and while it is not being categorized as a gravel bike – its characteristics are very clearly in that bike realm.

The bike is built by De Salvo Cycles – and its characteristics are:

  • Frame: made out of titanium – therefore very lightweight and at the same time offering good ride quality and comfort.
  • Wider tire clearance – for more maneuverability
  • Disk brakes for better performance
  • Light-weight wheels from custom wheel maker Rolf Prima
  • Finally a carbon fiber fork – very light but stiff and providing for comfort on the ride

The bike is not cheap – the frame is the most expensive component and is at $2500 plus the carbon fork and other niceties will bring the price tag in the range of $5K – which is a LOT, but you also get a custom created bike with great characteristics.   Give it a look – I need to figure out how to test ride one of those….

Bold Cycles : Innovative Mountain Bike Company

Bold-CyclesBold Cycles

Just when you thought that the world of mountain bike designers, manufacturers and brands is getting saturated – here comes another, brand new, actually startup company – Bold Cycles.

The company offers a very innovative approach to building a fully suspended mountain bikes with frames that allow us to use both 29-inch and 27.5-inch wheels.  The main innovation though is that the rear shock has been entirely integrated in the frame / seat post tube.  I have rarely ridden on a bike with rear suspension – why?  I prefer the hardtail bikes as they provide a whole lot more control and less fish tailing on a trail.  The rear suspension in my opinion adds to the soft feel / mushy feel and less feel of control on most trails.  Now with the integrated rear shock and the more precise timing of how forces are distributed in the rear part of the bike – the company promises a better experience.

Bold-CyclesBold Cycles promises both stiffness and 5-inch / 130mm travel suspension which certainly should add to our comfort of going over obstacles.

Additionally, the enclosure of the shock should provide for protection against dirt and stones – with only one question from me — NOT SURE HOW YOU WOULD GET ACCESS TO THE SHOCK FOR MAINTENANCE AND CLEAN-UP.

Another aspect to highlight is that shift cables and the rear brake line are internally routed – a nice touch overall.

Bold-Cycles

 

 

Bicycles and City Living

I have been paying attention to bicycle infrastructure in cities ever since I started using a bike in Phoenix, AZ.  In reality I became convinced that bikes have a future in big and small cities alike in the late 1980s while living in Beijing and Shanghai, China.  The bicycles were indispensable and actually provided for a much faster mode of transportation than cars or buses during the day due to the sheer number of people on the streets and the resulting congestion.

Naturally, I was very curious when I saw the recent survey and rankings of the best / bicycle friendliest cities in the world, and was even more surprised to find for a first time a US city in the top 20!!!  Minneapolis is ranked #18 in the 2015 list, which is shown below – leveraging the link provided Copenhagenize Design

Bike Friendly Cities1. [2] COPENHAGEN
2. [1] AMSTERDAM
3. [3] UTRECHT
4. [NEW] STRASBOURG
5. [8] EINDHOVEN
6. [9] MALMÖ
7. [6] NANTES
8. [5] BORDEAUX
9. [7] ANTWERP: follow this link for more information…
10. [4] SEVILLE
11. [17] BARCELONA
12. [10] BERLIN: We have our own write ups for the new Berlin…
13. [NEW] LJUBLJANA
14. [NEW] BUENOS AIRES
15. [11] DUBLIN
16. [NEW] VIENNA
17. [19] PARIS
18. [NEW] MINNEAPOLIS
19. [20] HAMBURG
20. [14] MONTRÉAL

The ranking for 2015 and several previous years is here

Now, I am sure you can observe this in the list above – but isn’t it strikingly surprising that a large number of the best cities for bikes are also cities located in very cold climates. And “yes” -have observed in Finland, in Denmark, people continuing riding their bikes even in the cold months of the snow covered roads

Antwerp Bicycle

Mountain Bike Innovations That Matter

Lately, I have been wondering – when would some of the problems we as mountain bikers discover, make it into production units of the various manufacturers.  So, I decided to add some ideas and also identify what are the items that turns out have been developed as new capabilities on mountain bikes.  Here we go:

Mountain-Bike-Front-ShockShock Absorber and Bike Frame Stiffness: (image courtesy of REI.com)

  • The front fork and shock absorber can be actually too responsive and make climbing up a hill less efficient as some of the force the rider generates – especially if you stand up on the pedals, gets dampened by the front shock.
  • The solution:CUSTOM BRAIN FORKS (as labeled by Specialized) – the fork senses the difference between actual bumps and pedaling force, using an inertia valve and oil flow to regulate suspension. When you stand to accelerate, the fork immediately stiffens up, eliminating “bob” motion. But, when taking a hit from a rock or a root, the fork is allowed to compress accordingly

29-er-mountain-bike29er – Big Wheels and Great Performance on the Trail and on the Cross-Country Road:

  • Those 29-inch wheels just eat up the trails and the road.  You get a great performance, increase in comfort and stability and a very good way to go over those obstacles as you ride.  Additional benefit (at least per what I have observed) – you can use a hardtail bike with 29-inch wheels with similar comfort to fully suspended 26-inch one….I welcome your feedback on that one…

Tools-Support-Mountain-BikeStorage and Tools:

  • SWAT: An acronym for Storage, Water, Air and Tools – Specialized came up with the approach for getting all of us well prepared for all those eventualities – integrating a storage space on the mountain bike frame.  Simple but cool and very helpful!

 

Aluminum-FrameFrame Alloys:

  • I know that Carbon is all the rage as a way to make the frames stiff and the bike ride even more controlled – BUT the $$$ cost of those carbon frames is pretty high as well as you get the luxury of changing the frame once you hit that big boulder on the trail…
  • Enters the friendly and nice on the wallet Aluminum alloy – what a great option!  The Aluminum alloy frames have been around for a while but they continue to be important aspect of a great mountain bike.  Designers in all top gear mountain bike companies have figured out the precise approach to eliminating excess material from the points in the frames that do not contribute to stiffness and strength and applying new techniques to welding to increase the strength of the overall frames.  I have seen that described in the frame designs of most leading designs.
  • All that allows us the users to buy the bikes with Aluminum frames and expect a great performance overall.

Father’s Day Gifts for the Biking Crowd

Well folks – that is it – I have succumbed to commercial influence too 🙂  But on a more serious and practical side of things, if you are a Dad and your loved ones are planning to surprise you with a gift this Father’s Day — you may want to suggest to them some ideas to consider:

  • In the spirit of saving the environment, you may go buy a bottle of beer while riding you bike right?  Then there are the fancy new breweries that provide refills in your growler… So here is a gift that will provide you with that and more

    

  • Sunglasses:  Especially for those that live in the sunny Southwest – sunglasses can be very useful on your bike rides

    

  • Sports watch – I am partial to the Apple iWatch but of course there are others – e.g. the FitBit Surge

   
Here is a review of the FitBit Surge on-line

  • Waterproof under the seat bag:  This is something I find really useful on most of my bike rides.  The bag could be a nice protective space for electronics also if the big rain comes while you are on the trail.  Can carry also your wallet

  

Hopefully these ideas will be helpful for a good choice of a gift for your friend or Dad.

Drivetrain Options and Selection for a Mountain Bike

Drivetrain: Which one is for you…

Over the last couple of years I have been seeing more and more mountain bikes come with a range of options when it comes to the drivetrain.  As mountain biking has become more and more popular, innovation associated with the equipment has started to increase.

This posting is hopefully going to help you distinguish between the overwhelming options and guide you in the process of drivetrain selection.

OK, so what are the options?

  • Three chain rings crankset:  This is probably the configuration that has been the most widely used until a couple of years ago. It allows you the widest selection of gears and the ability to attack (successfully I may add) pretty much any terrain out there.  What are its benefits:
    1. You have the ability to reach great speeds when you leverage the outermost 3rd ring on the crank assembly and the smallest (right most) cog wheels on the cassette;   Riding my X-Caliber Gary Fisher G2 29er in the highest possible gear and of course downhill on asphalt road,  I have been able to reach speed of 43-miles/per hour !
    2. With the same equipment, you can leverage the low gears: small front cogwheel and large cog wheels of the cassette, you can now climb a steep road or mountain trail and be able to stay on the bike;

High-range-of-gears

 

 

For the cassette – I think the 10-speed Shimano HG62 offers close ratio gearing allowing for a more efficient use of energy through finer cadence control

 

  • Double Crankset also noted as 2×10 in the bike specs:  these are the cranksets that are based on two chain rings.  In the last 2 years I see increasing number of bikes with this configuration.  The claim from the manufacturers is that the 2×10 speed drivetrain offers noticeably reduced weight, simpler front shifting, and a small compromise on overall gear range.  Now that there are options at most price levels, a 2x drivetrain would be a great choice for anyone looking to shed some weight from their bike without giving up much in terms of versatility
  • Finally, enters the Single:  Also referred to as the 1×11:  This is supposed to give you super light-weight and shifting simplicity.  That combined still with a full range of gears.   That I am not so sure – how is it being accomplished – given the wheel… Initially the 1×11 had a problem with the ability to retain control over the chain.  That however changed recently with the higher precision machined chain ring teeth – which allow for better chain control (AND OF COURSE COST A WHOLE LOT MORE)

SRAM-XX1-1x11

 

I am able to give a view of this option as well as my spouse’s bike (which we purchased last summer came with a 2×10 drivetrain and was heavily advertised by the specialist who was helping us select the bike.  On a recent ride I swapped bikes with my wife and experienced riding hers with the 2×10 configuation – long story short – the three chain ring options is a hands down winner. Why?  Because of the wide range of gears it enables.   I am able to reach much higher speeds when using the largest of the three rings and climb much more efficiently and steeper inclines – when using the small chain ring.

Both of our bikes have a cassette with 10-speed 11-36 gearing.  Hence the difference is in the crankset.

My overall recommendation – if you can find the bike with the three chain rings on the crankset – go with it.  It will give you the widest range of control in your speed and biking.