The Gear in Review

[KayakCyndi]

@acl 39395 wrote:

Still deciding: Northwest Celsius winter cycling boots. They do give me comfort at about 10 degrees colder than my regular shoes with light weight neoprene shoe covers. And warm toes for 30 minutes or so even in colder weather. Not sure if heavier shoe covers would have done the same for less money, but not having to fuss with shoe covers is a plus for me anyway. They would be excellent for a short or medium length commute. But my toes still get cold and uncomfortable after about 30-45 minutes in colder weather. I’m sweating in them a bit I guess, my socks are just barely noticeably damp when I get in from a ride, so I keep hoping that if I find the right combination of socks to help keep my feet dry, they will do better. Are supposed to also be waterproof, but haven’t worn them in the rain yet, so I can’t report on that.

I have chronically cold feet and last year bought the Northwave Celsius boots too. My feet do best in them when I wear big, fluffy smartwool hiking socks (i.e. the expedition version) and no base layer. I’ve also tried them with a thin smartwool liner sock and then another wool pair over those but my feet just don’t stay as warm. With the fluffy smartwools and the boots I’m good for a few hours at 20-30 degrees. Oh, and just not having to deal with shoe covers all the time make the boots more than worth it for me!

[KayakCyndi]

@KayakCyndi 39396 wrote:

I have chronically cold feet and last year bought the Northwave Celsius boots too. My feet do best in them when I wear big, fluffy smartwool hiking socks (i.e. the expedition version) and no base layer. I’ve also tried them with a thin smartwool liner sock and then another wool pair over those but my feet just don’t stay as warm. With the fluffy smartwools and the boots I’m good for a few hours at 20-30 degrees. Oh, and just not having to deal with shoe covers all the time make the boots more than worth it for me!

And one other thing, start with WARM feet. If I walk around the house all morning on my cold floors in just socks my feet still freeze no mater what I have on them during my commute into the office. Now I wear socks and my Crocs in the house. I put the boots on just before walking out the door and my feet stay toasty warm the entire ride.

[jrenaut]

@KayakCyndi 39397 wrote:

And one other thing, start with WARM feet. If I walk around the house all morning on my cold floors in just socks my feet still freeze no mater what I have on them during my commute into the office. Now I wear socks and my Crocs in the house. I put the boots on just before walking out the door and my feet stay toasty warm the entire ride.

Seconded. My feet were cold this morning when I left the house, and they were cold the whole ride. I’ve been putting off getting shoe covers because I don’t know which ones to buy, and my commute is only 3.5 miles, so usually smartwool socks are enough to be at least somewhat comfortable. But not today.

[bluerider]

@Dirt 39391 wrote:

Let me know how you like it. I’ve got both of the BarFly models which I really like. I use the Time Trial version on my mountain bike and on the tri-bars on the Tweed. I use the regular BarFly on my other bikes. They work very well.

I saw that SRAM is coming out with one this winter that is half the price of the Barfly and K-Edge models. I have one on order, but it hasn’t arrived at my local bike shop yet.

I will let you know. I held the Barfly and it seemed ok. All plastic and not as solid as the K-Edge in my opinion. The Barfly was only $10 cheaper. For the extra $10 I would rather have the CNC milled aluminum mount. Its just solid as a rock and looks awesome. That being said, its crazy expensive. But I think the Barfly is crazy expensive for what you get as well.

[mstone]

So far so good with these: http://www.sugoi.com/usa/bike/accessories/shoe-covers/resistor-bootie.html After about 1 1/2 hours below freezing I could feel the cold creeping through the cleat, but could still feel my toes and couldn’t feel the wind chill at all.

[mstone]

@Dirt 39379 wrote:

Those are the right ones. They are competitively priced to other top end base layers. For folks who are thinking base layer = long underwear, the price is quite high. You can get underarmor, verge or no-name base layers for under $20… The products are worn in the same way, but do not really do the same things.

ok, I’ll bite. what is the difference between something sold as light weight wool long underwear and something sold as a light weight wool base layer?

[Bilsko]

@jrenaut 39398 wrote:

Seconded. My feet were cold this morning when I left the house, and they were cold the whole ride. I’ve been putting off getting shoe covers because I don’t know which ones to buy, and my commute is only 3.5 miles, so usually smartwool socks are enough to be at least somewhat comfortable. But not today.

I just bought my first pair – $25 from the Specialized Outlet store a couple weeks ago – and rode them for the HP100. They performed well and, with only one exception, I didn’t have any trouble clipping in. I wear a size 45 road shoe (11-11.5) and went with the size Large cover. When I got them I thought -OOPS- I messed up and got them too big, but once I had them on my shoe, I could see that size L was the right choice.

[Dirt]

@mstone 39421 wrote:

ok, I’ll bite. what is the difference between something sold as light weight wool long underwear and something sold as a light weight wool base layer?

The lower-priced stuff uses fabrics designed to keep you cool. The expensive stuff is designed to keep you warm. Both are designed to wick moisture away. The lower priced stuff has some value, but isn’t designed to wick moisture and keep you warm for long rides.

In practice, I find that with lower end base layers, I tend to get wet and then freeze. Much of it doesn’t work well for me for the summer too… I get wet and then boil. In the summer, I’ve found that the inexpensive VERGE base layer works quite well. I just don’t use it in the winter.

Hope that helps.

Pete

[krazygl00]

Another couple of additions:

HIT – Giro G10 Snowboard Helmet – I got this months ago before it got cold, and my first test was in 60 degree weather. I was prepared for this to be a MISS because in those temperatures, I was completely drenched due to lack of ventilation. However I had heard that this kind of helmet was for COLD weather, not COOL, so for today’s ride, I saw the G10 hanging there in the basement and thought I’d give it another shot. Today’s temperature is now listed as about 37 degrees but it really doesn’t feel that cold, so let’s call it high 30s/low 40s. I am happy to report this helmet was awesome. Super convenient without having to mess with earwarmers, hats, headbands etc. before even getting to the helmet. Ear coverage is complete and very toasty but with ventilation sufficient to keep dry. Inside the helmet, the same thing; I had the vents fully open and the bit of cool air coming in was very welcome in regulating the temperature. I sweat a lot and was surprised at how the helmet was pretty dry when I took it off. I stopped at Bikenetic along the way and took the helmet off, and didn’t get that horrible freezing wet helmet shock when I put it back on. It’s amazing how little protection you need on your face and neck when your head and ears are happy. I would say I’m easily good down into the twenties and teens with just this helmet plus maybe a neck warmer once I close the vents. Any lower than that and we’ll have to see.

HIT – Body Control ArmCOOLer – The warm months are such a distant memory now and I almost forgot about these gems. These are one of those little finds that changes your life, and makes you wonder why more people don’t use them. I burn pretty easily, and I also hate putting on sunscreen, but with these I am able to skip almost a complete step of my ride prep which makes life easier. You can put them on in seconds and they don’t need to be re-applied, and they are also very good at cooling. I used them throughout the summer in the hottest temperatures and don’t recall ever feeling like I needed to take them off.

[KelOnWheels]

@KelOnWheels 39356 wrote:

Originally Posted by KelOnWheels
Anybody have tips for getting the little rubber USB port cover on an ExpiliOn back in after it spontaneously ejects itself on day 2 of use?

For future reference, the answer to this question is “bamboo kitchen skewer”.

OK, the OFFICIAL answer to this question is “Vaseline”.

The cover ejected itself somewhere on my field trip to Bikenetic the other weekend, so I e-mailed Cygolite and they sent me 3 new covers and instructions for installation without the use of random pointy kitchen implements.

[vvill]

@Dirt 39379 wrote:

Those are the right ones. They are competitively priced to other top end base layers. For folks who are thinking base layer = long underwear, the price is quite high. You can get underarmor, verge or no-name base layers for under $20… The products are worn in the same way, but do not really do the same things.

I got a long sleeve one of these recently and wore it 3 times in the last week. I like it a lot, and it’s even softer and more comfortable than my Endura merino wool baselayer (which is already comfy enough).

[Dirt]

@vvill 40539 wrote:

I got a long sleeve one of these recently and wore it 3 times in the last week. I like it a lot, and it’s even softer and more comfortable than my Endura merino wool baselayer (which is already comfy enough).

Cool to hear…. or should I say warm to hear???

[vvill]

@Dirt 40541 wrote:

Cool to hear…. or should I say warm to hear???

It was a bit pricey but not too bad for merino. And I can easily wear a high neck sweater over the top of it in the office and no one would know I didn’t bother bringing in a work shirt. So it’s wearable for at least twice as long as a cycling jersey!

[TwoWheelsDC]

So this is my new thing:

Top tube bag/Bento box: For a variety of reasons, I wanted to find a way to ditch the wedgie bag on my R3, at least for commutes/shorter rides around the area…mainly just to hold keys/phone/wallet. I thought about buying a CageRocket to use for my flat kit, but instead I decided to improvise one using one of my water bottles. Because of the shape, I had to cut out the narrow neck portion, and reattached everything, but it seems to have worked pretty well. I think I definitely prefer using the top tube bag+bottle combo…looks a little better than a wedgie bag, I think, and is actually a little more functional. I’ll have to use the wedgie for longer rides when I need two water bottles, but I think for most of my riding this will work well.

Here’s how it looks now:

This is my improvised CageRocket:

[Dickie]

Was looking for a similar solution myself for my new cross bike. The seat wedgie interferes with my rear lights and is a pain to get to. Plus I want to be able to reach my phone easier for amusing picture opportunities. How do you like the Bento? Where did you get it?

[Author]

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