BIKE ACCESSORIES
-
Water bottles and bottle cages are something nearly every cyclist owns but often doesn’t put much thought into. While there are a variety of options on the market for both from high end carbon fiber cages to insulated water bottle variations, they are often designed independent from one another. The Fabric Gripper water bottle cage and water bottles is an exception to that, as Fabric has developed the two products to complement one another. Although both the Gripper water bottle and bottle cage are designed around the standard 76mm bottle diameter, together the bottle and cage provide an exceptionally secure…
-
Magicshine has recently expanded their Seemee taillights to include a number of exciting new lights that pack some impressive features. In this review, we’ll be looking specifically at the Magicshine Seemee 200 which is the current flagship with the highest lumen output and number of design features. The Seemee 200 is well priced at $44.99 for the features, and also boasts a maximum of 200 lumens of output. With this latest generation of tail lights, Magicshine has incorporated both an ambient light sensor as well as a brake sensor. These two sensors allow the taillight to automatically adjust the output…
-
Although Fabric is best known for their innovative bike saddle range, they’ve applied many of the same design principles to their bike accessories. In this post, we’ll be looking at Lumasense V2, the latest version of Fabric’s Lumasense smart bike taillight. As with their saddles, the Lumasense V2 has a simple yet modern design and technical details that differentiate it from other tail lights on the market. When the Lumasense V2 senses deceleration, the light switches to the 100 lumen boost mode to ensure you remain visible. This is a smart feature that can improve riders visibility as they approach…
-
Fashion is cyclical which means what was once uncool tends to find its way back to popularity given enough time. In this review we’ll be looking at the CamelBak Flow Belt 21oz which is a modernized waist pack solution – aka the fanny pack. With an integrated 21oz bottle holder and 2L of storage capacity the Podium Flow Belt 21oz is a great lightweight solution to carry gear and hydration. Included with the belt is a Podium Dirt Series 21oz bottle, the latest generation of CamelBak’s most popular water bottles. The Dirt Series bottle has specific graphics, and a rubber…
-
With the number of bicycle accessories on the market from cycling computers, lights, to action cameras, it’s easy to end up with a cluttered handlebar. To reduce the clutter, one bicycle accessory that has become increasingly popular are out-in-front mounts which move your bike computer or lights off your handlebars and ahead of your stem. This frees up space so you have additional hand positions and gives your bike a cleaner appearance. Many of these mounts are dual sided to allow for a GoPro mount on the underside to accommodate a light or camera and a computer mount on the…
-
The Spok USB lights are the latest generation of Planet Bike’s popular Spok lights. Designed to be small and easy to mount, the lights have been modified to feature USB rechargeability to make them easier use. In this review we’ll be looking at the $40 light set which includes a headlight and taillight. This saves you a few bucks of the individual prices of $22 for each light and makes a good set of secondary lights to ensure you remain visible at night. Each light has a 270mAh Lithium Polymer battery and offers upto 20 hours of run-time or more…
-
Just as you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, you also shouldn’t judge a bike light by it’s lumen output. Even if a bike light has a high lumen output that is FL-1 certified, the beam optics are vital on how well those lumens are translated to the road. Beware of cheap lights that make big claims without testing! A majority of bike lights use simple lens designs that project a cone of light. This means much of the light is wasted on the trees or buildings above you instead of the road and can also blind oncoming traffic.…
-
Cycling computers have evolved from simple wired speed displays to touch screen GPS devices that not only can track your ride but also sync with your phone and give you turn-by-turn directions. As cycling computers have become increasingly complicated, they often come with retail prices that are expensive enough to require payment plans. This has left a void between cyclists who want affordable computers that offer real-time power data, heart rate and cadence without the need for GPS or additional features. The Bontrager RIDEtime Elite is a unique offering that fills that void, with a retail price of $69.99 and…
-
CamelBak’s Podium series of water bottles have been a favorite of many cyclists and one of their most popular bottles. What sets the Podium bottles apart from other water bottles on the market is Camebak’s patented jet valve nozzle. The self sealing, and high flow nozzle makes them easy to drink from and eliminates accidental spills. With the latest Podium 3.0 bottles, CamelBak has addressed the two major flaws the Podium bottles have had – bottle cage fit and clean-ability. The best gets better? The Podium 3.0 bottles promise a more optimized bottle cage fit and easier to clean design.…