When Shimano released their Di2 system I was interested. When I rode my mate's Ridley fitted out with Di2 I was reasonably impressed. But not enough to make me want to buy the system or even add it to my wish list. BUT... then SRAM released the eTap system and immediately I wanted it. Partly because I prefer SRAM anyway but mostly because it's wireless. No physical connections between the derailleurs and the shifters, no cable to route, no cable to snag, no unsightly cabling, just wireless. Add to that the ability to shift up with the right shifter and down with the left and even to allow the system to deal with sequential shifting of the front and
Long Term Review of my Vittoria Terreno Dry G2.0 TNT Tubeless Tyres
I'm going to make an early declaration that here in the UK the winter is now over! We've started April with nothing but blue skies and sunshine and had barely a drop of rain, there's been some cool mornings but nothing leading to proper frost. So now that I've said that we can expect the weather to change suddenly, storms to roll in and the BBQs to be well and truly packed away again! But anyway, there is a purpose to this opener; my winter tyres will soon be coming off the rims and a pair of fresh slicker summer tyres taking their place. A good time for a review of how they have performed then. Let's go back to
Park Rash and other Yorkshire Hills
A few weeks ago I went up to Scotland for work. Yes, back in the days of being able to leave the house! For anyone reading this in years to come - that's a reference to the restrictions currently in place for the CovID19 pandemic! And as I always try to do, I went for a ride as a break to the driving on my way up. On this occasion it saw me stopping in Grassington with the aim of riding up Park Rash - Hill #45. Park Rash is a hill climb north of Kettlewell. So I chose Grassington as the target for my start point in order to give myself a little bit of a warm up prior to
Review: My new Garmin Venu Smartwatch
Anyone who knows me will also know that I don't conform to the norm just because everyone else does. I also don't conform because it's the trendy option or it's written in 'the rules'. Hence why I've never chosen to invest in a Garmin computer for my bike. I've never understood why I'd want to spend more money for less functionality; so I bought an android smartphone instead. It does the same job only better. So, a Garmin smartwatch; have I had a change of heart? 1864
Giving the new gravel tyres a true test in the Yorkshire Dales
Anyone who's had their ear to the ground will know about my recent purchase of some gravel tyres. For me they are going to be my road bike winter tyres too. I have had them for a few weeks now and on my way up to Scotland for work I found a good opportunity to give them a good and proper testing! In the Yorkshire Dales riding out from Settle. I don't intend this to be a review of my tyres. That will be saved until another day/blog post but I may well mention them a few times all the same. Instead this is my remarks on riding in the Yorkshire Dales, on road, off road and up hills. Including a
Vittoria Bottle Cage Case/Bag Review
I was glancing through my blog pages the other day and I realised that my focus has been very tyre based. New tyres, tubeless tyres and so on. OK so I broke that pattern by including a new bike build but there's a definite tyre heavy balance on the blog! Well, I've just bought some more tyres, so expect a 'gravel tyre review and opinions' post soon but in the meantime enjoy something a little different! This is my first ever review of a bottle cage case! Bottle Cage Case? I hear you say. What's a bottle cage case! Well, it's not a case to pack away your bottle cages in when their not in use. You can't get them yet
Tubeless Tyre Update – repairs and top ups.
Some people seem to have an impression of infallibility when it comes to tubeless bike tyres. I guess it makes sense having seen some of the marketing hype. Unfortunately some of that marketing hype makes other cynical types call it all hype and set their stall out at the other extreme. But in some ways I think that's just indicative of the days that we're living in today. The extremes taking entrenched positions and backing up their own views with a narrow slice of internet 'evidence'. Enough of the philosophy though, let's get back to bikes! I like to give an even and reliable account, so here's an update of my recent tubeless tyre experiences. When I was out riding
Hardknott Pass, Wrynose Pass and other such Lakeland Hills
If you google Hardknott Pass you'll get plenty of pages about 'the hardest climb in Britain'. If you continue on into the forums you won't go far before you then reach discussions on which direction is harder; east or west? These latter discussions refer to Hardknott and Wrynose as a pair because you go up one side of them and there's kind of a plateau in between. Generally the discussions, as with so many internet arguments, come to no conclusion with plenty of support for both sides. So when I managed to get a few hours to ride in the Lake District I decided to plot a route that took in both directions of both climbs. To be honest I didn't
My Kinesis RTD Build
So in my last blog post I wrote about my new frameset and the fact that I had chosen a Kinesis RTD as my new bike. However what I didn't go on to talk about was the build - the parts chosen to complete the bike. So let's delve into the world of bike components and take a look at what I've put together. And I might even indulge you and give you the build weight too. As mentioned in my previous post (or at least I hope it was), the RTD is a frameset only option from Kinesis. If you see it available in your local bike shop, or online as a complete bike it's the bike shop's build, not
New Road Bike – Kinesis RTD Self Build
So it all began with a new pair of tyres. Seems a bit extreme to buy a new bike when all you need is tyres! But that of course is not the whole story. For a while I've been considering a new frameset, I bought cheap carbon originally and in general I've not been impressed with the quality. The geometry is good and the frame is a really decent weight, especially for the £650 I paid for the bike originally. It was the right choice at the time. But a couple of the cable routing covers no longer stay in place, I've taken to taping them in place with black electrical tape, fortunately the frame is black so the colour match