Reviews
Reviewed: 2021 Specialized Diverge Carbon Expert
Riding ‘off road’ on a road bike is nothing new. I have seen lots of days-gone-by pics of Tour de France riders with a tubular slung around their shoulders riding dirt roads.
Aug 22, 2021
Reviews
VelociRAX Bike Rack Review
Last year I finally bought a truck, something I’ve never had. With a SUV, I’ve always used a Yakima HoldUp and optionally a HoldUp +2 when I need to carry 4 bikes. On the pickup, that set up seemed very long and I was quickly looking for a different solution.
Aug 3, 2021
Reviews
2021 Rocky Mountain Instinct C70 Ride Review
If you’re like me, 2021 left you scrambling for a bike this spring. Having sold off my 2020 Santa Cruz Megatower, feeling it was a bit too much bike for me, I had settled on getting a more trail oriented bike for 2021.
Jul 22, 2021
Reviews
Pearl Izumi Elevate Insulated Jacket
As you get older, you start to realize that what people were trying to tell you when you were younger actually makes a lot of sense.
May 7, 2021
Reviews
Specialized Women's Phenom Comp With MIMIC.
I’ve been riding bikes all my life. Hand-me-down bikes, road bikes, mountain bikes, commuter bikes, even BMX. My butt is acquainted with bike saddles, but it has been an awkward relationship and painful at times.
Mar 24, 2021
Reviews
Reviewed: Leatt DBX 6.5 Neck Brace.
I have been a strong proponent of neck braces since they came out. Reducing the chance of a high neck injury in the case of a crash makes so much sense, so I bought version 1 of the Leatt neck brace and have used it from everything from biking, to BMX racing, mx and snowmobiling.
Feb 8, 2021
Reviews
‘2020’ Santa Cruz Megatower.
a name-calling bully, but one you want in your corner when things get rowdy.
Nov 14, 2020
Reviews
Leatt Chest Protector 3.5
"So why aren't you wearing one? " Nothing like the wise words of a twelve year old to smack you in the face as you are getting ready to head out to the bike park.
Oct 20, 2020
Reviews
Bontrager Starvos WaveCel Cycling Helmet First Impression.
Who gets excited by helmets? Probably not most cyclists, unless they happen to find something matchy matchy to their bike or kit.
Jun 25, 2020
Reviews
Spank Wing 12 VibrocoreTM Drop Bar
As a follow up to a recent initial ride impressions that I have written on my new Trek Checkpoint gravel bike, here are some thought on a new gravel-specific drop bar, made by Spank Industries who is a well known player in the MTB world of cockpit parts and rims.
Jun 22, 2020
Reviews
Chase Bike Vest 50 oz
The first time I saw the Chase Bike Vest I thought it was a bit hokee. If you are going to wear something while riding, why would you choose a vest over a low volume backpack? I mean isn't it just a smaller version of a small backpack anyways?
May 26, 2020
Reviews
The Robert Axle Project.
I'm going to be honest. Axle's aren't something that crosses my mind all the time. They are more of a set and forget, maybe check every couple of rides to make sure they are still tight.
Apr 6, 2020
Reviews
2019 TREK Checkpoint SL6 Review
Full disclosure, this is my first gravel bike. When gravel bikes entered the scene a few years, I initially remarked to myself this was another bike industry push to create something new and drive sales.
Mar 29, 2020
Reviews
Bontrager Blaze WaveCel helmet
Bontrager released the Blaze WaveCel helmet half way through the season last year and it has a new take on the rotational injury protection.
Mar 28, 2020
Reviews
Bontrager Rally Shoes
Bontrager released a new pair of the clippless Rally shoes this summer, with clean lines and a smooth design, right out of the box they look super nice and have a good feeling of being durable and long lasting.
Jan 18, 2020
Reviews
SRAM G2 Ultimate Brakes
I would consider my choice in brakes to be somewhat of a broken record playing the same piece over and over again.
Dec 5, 2019
Reviews
Camelbak Podium® Flow™ Belt 21 oz
I can't say I have worn a fanny belt since the early 90's.
Sep 20, 2019
Reviews
Pearl Izumi Men's X-ALP FLOW
Pearl Izumi just released a new version of the X-Alp Flow shoe and we have had the chance to try them for the last two months.
Aug 5, 2019
Reviews
Pearl Izumi Vista Short & Boulevard Jersey.
Either one of these pieces are easily confused with casual wear, and could be worn out on the town without anyone batting an eye. In fact I wore them around the house for most of the day before my family even noticed that they were riding pieces.
Jun 21, 2019
Reviews
Pearl Izumi Versa Softshell
The Versa isn't just another hoodie. It can go seamlessly from the trail right into causal day at work or out on the town.
Mar 29, 2019
Reviews
2019 Trek Top Fuel 9.8 SL 1st Ride Impression
Let’s be clear - Trek’s Top Fuel is a XC race weapon. This is not your typical ‘Whistler XC’ bike, which the greater industry may characterize as a ‘trail’ or ‘all mountain’ bike. The Top Fuel is designed for World Cup XC race courses. It is meant to be precise, light and fast.
Feb 8, 2019
Reviews
Bontrager Cambion Mountain Shoe
Product detail specs on the Trek website whiff of hyperbole: “...optimized, Tachyon, asymmetrical, GnarGuard...” No question Trek puts much into its R&D and continually pumps out quality so I was anxious to give this eye popping shoe a try.
Feb 4, 2019
Reviews
Pearl Izumi Performance T.
The Performance T from Pearl Izumi is a bit of a sleeper. It doesn’t really come across as much, but recently it has become my go to shirt for riding in.
Nov 23, 2018
Reviews
Bontrager Troslo Liners Vs. Bibs.
As we know by now, Trek (and Bontrager) trends towards the side of awesome. Recently I got the change to do a side by side comparsion between the Bontrager Troslo Liners & Bib shorts.
Nov 12, 2018
Reviews
Pearl Izumi Elevate Shorts
Over and over again this summer, the Elevate short from Pearl Izumi kept creeping back to the top of my riding shorts pile.
Oct 26, 2018
Reviews
RideSaver Rim Insert Technology
Over the past couple of years, a number of niche products have entered the mountain bike market that modify the bike to ground interface beyond the simple rim/tire combination. These technologies are generally inserted into the tire airspace of tubeless rim/tire setups with reported claims including reduced tire burping, square edge hit protection, more tunable airspace, better grip with lower air pressure and so on.
Sep 13, 2018
Reviews
Bontrager Rally MIPS Helmet
The first thing that I noticed about the Bontrager Rally MIPS helmet was how cool it was.
Aug 8, 2018
Reviews
Kenda Helldiver Pro & HellKat Pro
I have just retired a set of Kenda Helldiver & HellKat Pro rubber from my bike, and I must say that they surprised me.
Jul 26, 2018
Reviews
Bontrager Rhythm and Lithos Mountain Bike Shorts
I am not a sponsored rider. I go fast when I can, I go slow when I want too.
Jul 4, 2018
Reviews
Pearl Izumi X-ALP Elevate shoes
It was a sad day. After years of perfect service, my Vans Warner riding shoes finally delaminated. Both soles just pulled right apart. No amount of shoe goo was able to save them, they have done their last spin, last ride, last trip. Godspeed Warner.
Jun 19, 2018
Reviews
Bontrager Velocis Softshell Gloves
The truth of the matter is that I got these glove last year, but last year turned out to be one of those years where it didn’t come together all that well and they ended up at the bottom of one of my bags, not to see the cold, brisk light of last weekend. But if we fast forward to this year, they have been in daily rotation.
Feb 23, 2018
Reviews
Reviewed: Leatt DBX 5.5 Neck Brace
My daughter started to ride in the bike park last year. Not her first time in the park, but she wanted to get better at downhilling, or she just wanted to avoid climbing up hills. Either way, she is out riding so that’s a win, right?
Feb 12, 2018
Reviews
Pearl Izumi Launch Thermal Jersey
Riding in the fall can suck sometimes. Especially when the temps start to drop towards single digits and the wind picks up. Trying to keep the riding season going for a couple more weeks until the snow arrives I picked up a Launch Thermal Jersey.
Nov 14, 2017
Reviews
Bontrager Foray Gloves
The Foray gloves might be the least assuming glove in my drawer, but currently, they are by far my favourite pair.
Nov 9, 2017
Reviews
Pearl Izumi Versa Short
When I first saw the Versa Short, I just thought it was another pair of shorts, I had no idea that they were riding shorts.
Nov 3, 2017
Reviews
Leatt Chest Protector 5.5 Pro HD Junior
Last summer after hearing from an emergency room nurse about all the internal injuries that she had seen i went right out and bought my son a Leatt chest protector 4.5. With hard plastic chest and back panels it gives a ton of protection against hard knocks to the body.
Oct 28, 2017
Reviews
Bontrager Quantum Shorts
I might be stuck in a rut. I was looking through all of my riding clothes and they all looked the same. Knee length short? Check. Two pockets? Check. Extra venting? Check.
Oct 20, 2017
Reviews
Leatt DBX 5.0 V.12
My son’s head grew this year. Nothing surprising there, it tends to happen.
Sep 22, 2017
Reviews
Bontrager Rhythm Shorts
The first thing that comes to mind when I think of the Rhythm shorts is how lightweight they are.
Aug 17, 2017
Reviews
Pearl Izumi X Project Pro
You know that feeling of joy you get from unwrapping a quality product from its box? Not the fleeting consumer joy feeling but the one where you realize you only cringe once with quality. That was the feeling I had when I opened a Peral Izumi shoe box loaded with the X-Project Pro, Pearl Izumi’s top of the line crossover shoe in the Project line.
Jun 2, 2017
Reviews
Your Irish EWS champs are Ravanel and Dailly.
It was a French slam dunk at round four of the Enduro World Series as Cecile Ravanel and Adrien Dailly took the honours at the Coillte Emerald Enduro in Ireland.
May 30, 2017
Reviews
Pearl Izumi Launch Short / Big Air Jersey
With winter refusing to go away this spring, i have been late getting the bikes out and working on my dirt tan. Slowly, but surely I have been getting the dust off and pumping up tires and even sneaking out for a quick rip around the close trails.
May 4, 2017
Reviews
Bontrager Thermal Leg Warmers
Off the shelf, the Bontrager Thermal Leg Warmer is a standout with a classy understated confidence. It features some standards in typical road attire but it is obvious that much thought went into this essential product.
Apr 21, 2017
Reviews
Bontrager Foray Jacket
With the colder months seemly taking up half the year north of the 49 parallel, getting some better riding gear for the fall and spring seemed very necessary this year.
Feb 16, 2017
Reviews
Bontrager OMW Softshell Pant.
Full disclosure – I don’t own a fat bike. But I was recently provided a pair of Bontrager OMW Softshell pants to review. But I do live in Whistler, BC and we do have some wintery weather here that’s still great for riding before we become buried in snow.
Jan 27, 2017
Reviews
Reviewed: Leatt DBX Shorts & Jersey.
Toward the end of the 2016 bike park season, I got myself a set of the new Leatt DBX shorts & jersey.
Dec 14, 2016
Reviews
Bontrager Flare R Tail Light
Over the summer on the way home from Loonie races I threw a Bontrager Flare R Tail Light onto my bag for the ride home.
Nov 14, 2016
Reviews
Reviewed: Bontrager Evoke Gloves
Gloves are like socks. You should have lots of pairs of them and change them often.
Aug 22, 2016
Reviews
Leatt DBX 6.0 Carbon Helmet
Leatt isn't a company that buys open molds and slaps their name on it. They take pride in designing products that carry a name associated with quality and technology. For the last several months we have been testing the Leatt DBX 6.0 Carbon helmet, and it just might be my favourite helmet to date.
Jul 27, 2016
Reviews
Bontrager Foray shorts & Jersey.
Spring in Whistler usually starts off with a bang. Right to the nice weather, suns out, guns out type of stuff. In fact the my were swimming in a lake on May 1st this year. But when the end of May draws near, the weather always seems to change to a cold June-uary, but late in June mother nature seems to remember to turn the heat back on and it picks right back up where it left off.
Jun 29, 2016
Reviews
Pearl Izumi Summit Short / Launch Jersey
Men’s Summit Short Review The Pearl Izumi Summit Short is a noticeably light piece with more technical features than I’d anticipated. Featuring DWR water resistant treatment, 4 way stretch rip-stop fabric, snap and Velcro closure and two simple mesh lined pockets (note: pockets do not allow room for storage).
Jun 3, 2016
Reviews
Pearl Izumi Bib Short.
Unlike any bib short I have worn, the Pearl Izumi Bib Short Liner is a no-nonsense easy rider. Coming from an MTB background, I scoffed at bibs but slowly warmed to their comfort as a sometimes road rider. Its true, nothing beats a bib for fit and comfort for long hours in the saddle.
Apr 11, 2016
Reviews
Reviewed: Bontrager Lithos Stormshell
In the Northwest there are 2 seasons, Raining & sunny with a chance of showers.When you drive further up into the mountains we end up with three season: snow, wet snow & sunny with a chance of showers. Those conditions lead most people I know to have a closet full of jackets. Winter jackets for playing in the snow, running jackets, softshells and the most important of them all, the waterproof jacket.
Mar 24, 2016
Reviews
Pearl Izumi X-Alp Launch II
I can't say I know much about Pearl Izumi shoes, other than they have been making them for a while and Lopes wears them. After my Vans died a horrible sole failure death, I thought I would give the X-Alp Launch II a go.
Mar 10, 2016
Reviews
Leatt DBX 4.0 Lite Gloves
The first thing that I noticed when I put on the Airflex DBX Lite gloves from Leatt was how thin they are. The difference in thickness between these and other gloves I have tried is instantly noticeable. In fact I have actually typed this out while wearing them.
Mar 1, 2016
Reviews
Bontrager Stormshell Gloves
Winter riding can be a nasty thing. Wet, cold, uncomfortable. Or it can be warm, wet and comfortable. The Stormshell gloves help keep your days more like the latter than the former.
Feb 22, 2016
Reviews
Bontrager Lithos Softshell Jacket
At the start of winter I picked up a Bontrager Lithos softshell jacket. It's not the first time I have had a softshell and it won't be the last. They are just a great addition in the closet. On their own, layered with another jacket on cold days. The Lithos jacket has been my daily go to jacket for cruising around town. The semi fitted cut of the jacket is wearable with a sweatshirt underneath without making you feel like a stuffed sausage, and down right roomy for riding in.
Jan 29, 2016
Reviews
Reviewed: Leatt 3DF Body Vest
Leatt is well known for designing the first commercial neck brace outside of auto racing, and over the last few years they have been slowly expanding their products in all directions of protection. Helmets, gloves, hydration systems are but just a few of the areas they have moved into. Another is body protection. Makes sense right? We got ourselves one of Leatt's 3DF Airfit Body Vest. Now I'm not one too wear a crap ton of protection when out riding, but i do believe in covering your chest...
Jan 20, 2016
Reviews
Bontrager Evoke Fall Riding Gear.
The fall can be a dismal time for riding, especially in the Pacific North West. Grey, relentlessly wet, mucky trails and the feeling that you might never get warm again. Then the clouds part, the snowcovered peaks sneak into view and it warms up ever so slightly, all signs that we still can sneak in one more ride.
Nov 13, 2015
Reviews
Bontrager Foray Kit
When I buy riding gear, i tend to move towards the freeride section of the store. Durability & function are the starting blocks that I use to search for new gear. It hasn't always been that way though. But back before kids, I had a pair of shorts that leaned more towards the xc end of the spectrum, but a lack of judgement of my ability caused those shorts to end up as shreds of fabric on the trailside on Captain Safety in the Garbonzo zone. Nothing like riding down to the village with your...
Sep 21, 2015
Reviews
Reviewed: Bontrager Lithos Short & Rhythm Shirt
Frankly I hadn't come across Bontrager clothing before a couple months ago. I had no idea that they were producing anything other than bits for bikes and have been doing it for over five years. So not being something that had been on my radar it was a sweet surprise to meet the Lithos short & Rhythm shirt.
Jul 17, 2015
Reviews
Reviewed: Specialized Demo Pro Short & Jersey
For the last couple of weeks we have been trying out the new Specialized Demo riding gear. Click through the jump to read our thoughts on them.
Jun 11, 2015
Reviews
2FO Shoes: reviewed.
I'm a bit skeptical when bike companies stray outside of frames and dabble in soft goods. Sometimes it feels like they are just trying to make an extra sale to someone that doesn't really know what they are buying and want something that matches their bike. Not to mention that there have been many companies that have tried to make the the transition and have failed. If you haven't noticed, Specialized has their hands in almost aspect of biking, and in all honesty, they aren't too shabby at...
May 25, 2015
Reviews
Reviewed: Specialized Boomslang Pedals.
The Boomslang pedals are a completely new pedal designed by Jason Chamberland at Specialized head office in Morgan Hill, CA. Immediately you can see that they are thinner than the average pedal and feature a unique design. At their thinest point they come in at 10mm, which makes it one of, if not the thinest flat pedal on the market.
Feb 17, 2015
Reviews
Reviewed: Norco Fluid 7.2
Neatly stashed away in the Norco line up is the Fluid series. With 120mm of travel, the Fluid falls right in the trail riding segment. Available in either 29" (9 series) or 27.5" (7 series) with geometry specific to each wheel size, the Fluid is meant to be ridden hard and put away wet.
Aug 20, 2014
Reviews
Reviewed: Axiom Annihilateair G200LE
Years ago I got my first floor pump. I hadn't gone into the store looking for one. But it was one of those things that I had been thinking about, but hadn't pulled the trigger on yet. It sat in my garage, squirrelled away in the corner cabinet, used occasionally, but more forgotten than used. In the age of tubeless tires, i had found it was way easier to seat the bead using a compressor and just blasting it with air.
Jun 6, 2014
Reviews
Bell Super Helmet
What weights 390 grams, has 25 vents and carries two certifications? The Super was designed to be a helmet that was cool and light enough to be worn on long XC rides, but tough enough to handle crashes at higher speeds. The design of the helmet has really been aimed at the Enduro crowd: extra vents, removable visor and the ability to fit goggles on the helmet. All of which are really pulling in that direction.
May 8, 2014
Reviews
Mio Alpha Heart Rate Monitor Watch
If you are serious about training, you already have a heart rate montior. Even if you aren't training for some event, chances are that you have at least heard about a heart rate monitor.
Jan 13, 2014
Reviews
Five Ten. Freerider Vxi Elements
Well now that we are in a fresh new year it might be time to shed some light on what was under the tree in the Armstrong household this year.
Jan 9, 2014
Reviews
Sun Ringlé Charger Pro SL wheelset.
Towards the end of the summer I got my hands on one of Sun Ringlé's newest wheel sets, the Charger Pro SL. Previously I have had the Charger Expert wheels and they lasted me a good length of time, so I was looking forward to the new Pro SL.
Oct 18, 2013
Reviews
Giro Chamber Shoes.
One look at the Giro website and you can see that they have had their hands full designing shoes for cyclists. With over 20 models just in road shoes, it seems that Giro has been busy building up the line over the last few years.
Sep 12, 2013
Reviews
Easton Havoc 35mm carbon bar & direct mount stem.
Last year Easton launched a new bar size, 35mm, that was designed as a wider bar that wouldn't fail due to the extreme forces downhill riders put on them.
Sep 5, 2013
Reviews
Reviewed: Specialized Dissident Helmet.
The Specialized Dissident helmet has a strong pedigree. The design was lead by Bob Lakes, who's work you have seen in previous designs for Easton Bell Sports (Giro) as the Bell Star & the Bell Moto 9. With over twenty years of experience in helmet design, you know that he put all of those years of experience into this new design for Specialized.
Jul 14, 2013
Reviews
Specialized Tactic 2 helmet.
Specialized released an updated Tactic helmet, fittingly called The Tactic 2 earlier this year. I wasn't familiar with the previous model, but the Tactic 2 has become my favourite open face helmet.
May 22, 2013
