Product Review: WTB Laser V Saddle

One of the most important parts of you bike, other than the frame, wheels, handle bars, drivetrain, suspension comes a very vital part, your saddle, or seat. You never realize how much time you spend on your seat, until you have a seat that is uncomfortable.  Once you have a uncomfortable seat, you have an uncomfortable ride, and if you are riding with your significant other, you both will have an uncomfortable ride or a miserable ride.

I've done a lot of riding over the last few years, and have tried a few different seats, on each bike, and the one I find is the best of the all is the WTB Laser V Saddle that is on my Santa Cruz Heckler.  WTB has a couple versions, the Team which has Titanium Rails, and the Pro which has Ni-Cro rails.  The only difference between the 2 is the weight, with is only 15grams difference.  If you are that concerned about weight, dont drink the extra beer the night before, or have an extra large bowel movement.  Pricing difference between the 2 is about 40$, but if you keep an eye out you can find the Team version for the same or cheaper than the Pro version.

I run WTB seats on all my bikes now, due to their design dual compound base, with leather or synthetic cover, and the Comfort Zone up the middle.  The saddles come with the standard dual rails that work on 99% of the seat posts out there.

These saddles are great if you want to ride a short 1 hour ride, or an 8hr event.  I haven't had an issue at all with the sensitive undercarriage areas.

If you are in the market for a new seat, take a hard serious look at this one, definately worth the money 100%!

Rating: 4.75 out of 5 (Just in case there is a better one that I haven't tried) (But I doubt it)

Positives: Comfort, Comfort, and more Comfort

Negatives: None, other than it doesn't cook meals.....

Product Review: ODI Rogue Lock-on Grips

Time for another product review.  This time a review for the one of biggest parts of contact with your bike, your handle bar grips.  These little rubber pieces can make or break your ride.  If you have a good set of grips, you will never even think or notice them, if you have a set of grips that are not comfortable, your be riding trying to adjust your hands on the bars, finding that comfortable spot, which in turn takes your focus off of your ride.

This review will focus on the ODI Rogue Lock on Grips.  These grips seem to be one of the best and most comfortable out there, for both male and female rides.  You can fully customize the grips to your liking, whether its different coloured locks, to having custom writing on the lock rings.

If you look online and check other peoples reviews, the main problem that people  have with the grips is the weight... which for most of us, the couple grams heavier they are compared to the race versions isn't a big issue..

For comfort, the rubber on the grips are soft yet still have some rigidity... if that makes sense... If you are at a ride with someone with these grips, take a grab hold of their grip... yup that sounds bad..

The wear and tear of the grips on my bike have been great.  I'm on my second year with them on the bike, and they haven't worn out that much at all.  Good for another season for sure.

Below is a link to the ODI website, you can buy them direct from the manufacturer which is always nice.  You can also get a hold of them from any bike shop too, only thing is you can't get the custom engraving on the lock rings.

http://www.odigrips.com/roguelock-ongrip130mm.aspx

Rating: 4.5 out of 5
I would recommend these grips to my enemies for sure... and friends..

Long Term Product Review: Clark Cycle Systems - Cables and Housing

Well, I havent done one of these before, but figured I should.  A while back I did a review on the Clark Cables and housing, which I installed on my Rocky Mountain.  During the 8hr race, my shifting started to go wonky, to the point where I could not shift out of granny gear.  The whole thing was jammed.  After pulling to the side of the trail, and using a screwdriver i was able to fix my shifter.

The cause of the jammed shifter was origionally thought to be cable stretch, and that I did not adjust it properly.  I was able to limp through the end of the race, thinking whether my shifter was going to destruct or hoping it to limp and finish the race.

On sunday after the race i took apart the shifter rebuilt it again, to notice the problem of tough shifting was still a problem.  I then started pulling apart the cables and housing to notice that the inner sheild was coming out, and jammed inside the shifter housing.  It was not only just the cable in the shifter but every cable housing on the bike was doing it...
I look at how I Installed them and how they were meant to be installed, and it was done correctly.

Not 100% sure why they failed, but will look into it for sure.  Based on this, I would have to recommend to people maybe avoid the cable housings for now....

Product Review: Clark Cycle Systems - Cables and Housing

It's been a while since there has been a review on a product, and while I had time to work on my bikes, I installed a new set of cables and housings on the Rocky Mountain.  The system I ended up getting were from Chain Reaction Cycles, and they were Clark's Cycle Systems.

You are probably thinking, Cables and Housing are the same, and you are partially right.  Most cables and housing are similar, whether it be stainless lines, galvanized, Teflon coated, etc.... The system from Clarks uses a stainless steel cable.  The major difference between Teflon coated and stainless cables is in their infancy on the bike.  The Teflon cables in past experience work well initially, well until the coating comes off.  This usually happens where the cables enter the cable housings.  One note for anyone currently running Teflon cables, do not apply lube to the cables, as they will gum up and cause extra friction.

The Clark system uses stainless steel cables, with a lubricated cable housing.  This offeres a nice smooth transition of the cable through the housing.  Beyond that, the cable housing look cool, with a silver option, and the appearance of a carbon fibre weave.  When you purchase the kit, it includes 2 inner cables, enough cable housing to run both front and rear derailleurs, as well as the end caps, and ferrules.

The pricing for the complete kit from Chain Reaction came in at 15$, so not a bad price for the complete setup.  In comparison, the Jagwire kit that I had on my bike previously ran just shy of 30$, and it only lasted 1/2 a year before I needed to swap the cable and housings out.  The shifting was to the point where it was near impossible to shift the front derailleur due to the housing being gummed up with dirt.

We will see how this new set of cables and housings go, but after a couple rides they have been smooth, and no issues as of yet... fingers crossed, knock on wood, etc....

Rating: 4 out of 5 - The cables installed easily, and they look cool!
Would you recommend this to a friend: For the people that didn't read the above, and want the Cole's Notes version, Yes I would recommend them to a friend.....
Pricing: 4 our of 5 - You can find cheaper cables, and you can find more expensive ones, but for the quality, these ones are really good!

Product Review: Shimano XT pedals

I haven't done a product review in a while, which is a good thing.  If it ain't broke I don't have to buy a new one, and hence don't need to do a product review.
But midas well do a review on an item that most people use on their bikes... Pedals.... and a seat, but pedals is the review....

The specific pedals are the Shimano XT race clipless pedals.  I've used these pedals the last 2 years, with no issues whatsoever with them.  I do need to knock on wood.....

Like most shimano pedals, it has a very easily adjustable tension screw, done by an allen key, to allow for easier or harder tension to release your foot when you are falling..

The typical application is trail riding, and the pedals have never failed.  Usually its the operator, either not having the tension hard enough to have a foot come out going over a rock or log, but other than that they have performed flawlessly. The pedals have been ridden in a variety of conditions, from Hot dry rides at Dufferin forest, to Snow riding through mono cliffs, to mud at kalopore.

If you are in the market for a new set of pedals. I would recommend the Shimano XT pedals.  They have 2 versions, the Race and the Trail version.  The trail version is identical to the Race, only with larger platforms.

Either way you cannot go wrong with these pedals.

Rating: 4.75 out of 5 (Need room if I come across a better set of pedals, but it is very unlikely)

Gear Review: 45NRTH WÖLVHAMMER Boot

This is the First Gear Review for the blog, so figured it would be good to review one of the newer items I've picked up for the winter riding season.  It really wouldn't make sense to review a summer item such as a speedo or riding shorts... 

I'll try and give the best information as possible so that if you do decide to pick up a pair of these boots that you would or wouldn't be disappointed.

These boots are specific to winter riding, with their design, fuzzy insides and wind resistant toe etc.  If you did decide to use these for summer riding your foot would be swimming in sweat that is for sure.

The boot has a high top, for those instances where you decide to do an impact angel and need to stand back up in the deep snow.  There is a nice ankle strap to tighten up and prevent any snow from going down inside your boot which is a really nice feature.  If you do ride with Gaiters, on the toe of the boot there is a Gaiter hook for those knee deep snow banks etc.

The boot is also SPD compatible which is a great feature.  I'm running these boots with Crank Brothers pedals, just to allow the snow to fall through the pedal a lot easier than a Shimano or Time pedal.  It is very nice to still be able to clip in on winter rides.


The inside of the boot is just as nice as the exterior of the boot.  Inside the boot is almost a second riding shoe.  The shoe is nicely lined with a soft fur lining which is very comfortable... To tighten the shoe is a cinch lace, so pretty much pull the laces and slide the cinch-lock down and bobs your uncle. Under the shoe is a thick insole to prevent any cold from coming up through the cleats.  On our last ride when the temperatures were -18C ish, my feet were fine, almost sweating, and just wearing smart wool socks.

At the end of the day, the boots are costly, MSRP 325$, but if you plan on doing some winter riding these are more than perfect. If you can find something cheaper than that and in your size pick them up for sure.  My Shimano shoe size (45) matched exactly the same as the boot, and I have a little room to spare if I did want to put a larger sock on.

Ratings:

Would you buy this Product again: Yes, hopefully I wont have to though, cause they are pricey.
Positives: Warm, comfy, SPD compatible, pretty much everything.
Negatives: Price.

Score: 4.95 out of 5