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The sun maybe gracing us with a day of two with its presence (depending where you are) but we still have a fresh breeze & varying amounts of snowfall to make it a bit nippy out there. This is the perfect time to break out the Baa Baa Base layer from Endura. The Baa Baa is made from Merino wool, a material which offers excellent warmth for how fine it is, even when wet. Its soft, silky feel, flat locked seams and athletic fit mean that it's comfortable beneath both winter and summer jerseys.
The great thing about Merino wool is that it has natural anti-bacterial properties, which means that it won't smell quite so bad after a couple of days riding. Trust me, most of my colleagues wear them.
The Baa Baa is such good value, it's a must have for any cyclists wardrobe.
For over almost seven years, my trusty Giro Xen helmet has put up with everything I could throw at it, shrugging off anything from a low-hanging branch to misjudged doubles at Glentress. But lately the pads started falling apart, the shell was faded, and the helmet was fast approaching the magic seven year age limit that most industry testers mark as the safe lifespan for a modern cycle helmet.
So I was on the hunt for something new, and fancied a change from the Xen. But it had served me well, and I wanted to stick with Giro, so after a quick flick through the 2013 catalogue I quickly settled on their Feature model.
California based Giro create some of the lightest and most advanced helmets on the market, catering to the bicycle and ski/snowboard industry. The Feature helmet slots into Giro's 'Dirt' range and is sold as an all-mountain helmet for aggressive trail use. But I've found that it's just as suitable for inner-city commuting and all-day rides as it is for shorter
I'm now one of those guys with the branded Hoody & hat that may not want to currently talk to you about any other bike brand.
So let me dispel a myth about it...
More travel does not make a bike better, or make you a better rider, it's just not true. So when people say "why didn't you get a 575" or "The SB66 is better" I'd say because I didn't want one or no it's not? This would usually be accompanied by a grunt & the assertion that this point of view was incontestable. It seems like a strange point to start a bike review with, but it's been bugging the hell out of me ever since I bought my own bike.
Well, I'm here to tell everyone that this is the reason that bike companies have a RANGE of bikes, a choice if you will, so that the consumer can choose a weapon for their own personal war of wheels. The facts are, I'm a fairly hard rider, well past the 5ft drop-off days & would like to carry the least weight possible for a hard wearing trail bike with a fairly
In the shop we've all been talking about for a couple of years this new 650b wheel size- "Not enough manufacturers are going for this.What wheels, tyres or forks will be available; let alone bikes? We then realise they are already here on our doorstep! Thanks to some Genius 730 and 740 models arriving.
Ignoring the 26" wheel for now the 29'er is still a new concept for many customers in the shop although the breed has been around for a while, a long while in the U.S. it seems.There's only 4 or 5 points to discuss really-more
Surly are a Minnesota-based manufacturer established in 1998. They offer a varied range of complete builds and frames, as well as a wide range of parts and accessories. Surly is the kind of brand that the average cyclist has never heard of, but the avid cyclist either loves or hates for their old-school approach and retro-grouch style designs. Most every bike they produce is both Spartan and utilitarian, designed with function, rather than form in mind. They also produce some wilder designs, from their ultra-fat tyred Pugsley which comes with 4" tyres, to their herculean Big Dummy, which can carry 300lbs of luggage!
The Surly Troll is a long-awaited model that takes steel-tubed mountain-bike geometry and matches it to some of the most versatile braze-ons and drop-outs seen in the history of bike building. It's a true do-anything model, and covers many genres, part MTB, part utility-hybrid and part tourer.
It's an alternative to Surly's venerable and traditional Long Haul Trucker