ub Outdoors

August 17, 2010 in Cycling by Greg Borchert

I obtained a set of Smith Pivlock V90 Bike Glasses this spring, and after wearing them for several thousand miles and almost a full season of riding, I have become a fan.

The first thing I noticed was comfort, even on longer 5 to 6 hour road rides. The Smith Pivlock frames have enough spring in the temple arms to hold snugly in place, but aren’t so tight that they dig into your head like some glasses do. The ends of the temple arms that rest behind your ears are covered with a pliable rubber material that both cushions and grips. Smith calls this material “Hydrophillic Megol”, but it’s basically rubber to me. The nosepiece is constructed of this same material, and is the most comfortable nosepiece I have ever worn. These glasses are so comfortable that you tend to forget you have them on. 

August 9, 2010 in Cycling, Featured by Carl H. Martens

Given that many of our readers have children we thought the following would make for a nice review. I asked a family friend to help out, Elizabeth Tate agreed to write the review and her son Gabriel was the tester. With the holidays right around the corner we thought this would be a fitting review.

What a pleasure it’s been to test ride the Strider Running Bike! Our little Gabriel loves it! Gabriel is 2 ½ but definitely feels like a “big boy” on his “big boy” bike! He has three older sisters and with his new Strider, has joined the ranks of capable bike riders in our family! 

April 5, 2010 in Cycling, Featured by Carl H. Martens

Singular Cycles is a small frame manufacturer from UK specializing in 29er bikes.  Although I’ve coveted one of these steel steeds for quite some time, they only recently became available here in the United States and are exclusively distributed by The Prairie Peddler in Prairie Du Chien, Wisconsin. 

March 7, 2010 in Cycling by Carl H. Martens

Looking for a quality bicycle repair stand at an affordable price?  The Pro-Elite Bicycle Repair Stand by Feedback Sports is the product for you!  We really like this stand…with good reason too. 

December 1, 2009 in Camping & Backpacking, Cycling by Carl H. Martens

I received an email from Dax with the following latest and greatest items from Hydrapak.  Check it out!

Hydrapak Morro

The Hydrapak Morro Pro-Series pack features the highest quality materials and construction coupled with a design philosophy that caters to the most discerning adventurers. While large enough to work as an all-day cycling pack at 800 cu. in., the lightweight rip-stop with new Pinnacle Ventilation System back panel technology makes this pack comfortable enough to be worn on every hike or ride. The Morro features the revolutionary 100oz Reversible II Reservoir with the new Surge Valve and Magnetic Quantum Clip. 

Price $109.99 

November 25, 2009 in Cycling, Featured by Bill Lobe

Weight as built: 2556 grams (full set, with tires, sealant, no cassette, no skewers, no rotors)

MSRP as built: $720.00

Wheel weight only (as quoted): 1420 grams

NoTubes products aren’t new on the mountain biking scene, but they sell one of those product lines that generate a lot of controversy in the cycling universe. Much like all other subjective controversies, you’ll get a different story from every mountain biker you speak to. Some love them unconditionally, talking about their tubeless setup like they witnessed its birth. Others will tell you it’s all hype and you’re wasting your time on a potentially dangerous product. Well, after polling my local group of dedicated bike geeks and digging through other popular (and generally misinformed–no names, not yet) mountain bike product review websites, I’ve concluded that most riders criticizing Stan’s products typically have their wheels set up incorrectly–be it for their weight or for their style of riding. It seems to be a weight saving issue–it’s always the 250-pound rider that wants to sport the Olympic lightweight racing rim, and then bitch when they get a blowout or can’t keep the tire seated to the rim in a tight corner. Does anyone else find it strange that the Clydesdales are always the weight weenies? I’m no scientist, despite holding dual PhDs in Sweet Lovin’ and Good Times, but there seems to be a correlation worth investigating. Also, let the record show that I float slightly above or below the Clydesdale high-water mark of 200 lbs., so I take my weight-to-durability ratio very seriously. 

October 9, 2009 in Cycling, Featured by Carl H. Martens

Ever since reading the article, First Ride On My Fully Rigid Singular Swift SS Mountain Bike on MTOBikes I have been fascinated with the Singular brand.  I love how the frames have a very classy, polished and vintage look.  Singular Cycles is based out of Herts in the United Kingdom so getting a frameset for review has been rather difficult. 

July 15, 2009 in Cycling by Bill Lobe

This review provided by:  MTOBikes.com

Gorgeous, Tough, and Pricey–Is it worth it?

OK, I’ve given this one a lot of thought. So many factors to consider: Performance, Weight, Stiffness, Price, Aesthetics, Reputation, Durability, etc., etc. Lets get some of the facts out of the way first: 

June 8, 2009 in Cycling, Featured by Bill Lobe

This review provided by:  MTOBikes.com

It’s pronounced “KOO-ATT”

I used to think a rack is a rack is a rack. I only cared about mobility, not caring if my bike got scratched or how easy the rack was to install, I just wanted to get to the trail. For years I’ve been tossing bikes in the back of my trusty Toyota, but as my bike wealth grew with my income (marginally), I started looking for ways to transport bikes without damaging them or scratching my truck. When my bikes started costing more than $1000 as so, so many of them do these days, I felt a nagging sense of neglect tossing them willy-nilly into the bed. I’ve tried most or all the tricks: the two-by-four with fork mounts, putting fork mounts on the side of the bed, disassembling the whole bike and squeezing it into the hatchback, roof racks, trunk racks, you name it, I gave it a shot.

May 7, 2009 in Apparel, Cycling by Bill Lobe

This review provided by:  MTOBikes.com

Big on Style and Durability.

First off, I rarely wear women’s clothes anymore, it’s been ages (don’t ask). And that was my first thought when I received a pair of Murray Shorts by Harlot Clothing Co, “but I don’t even cross-dress these days, why would I want to wear a pair of women’s mountain bike shorts? I don’t even like wearing men’s mountain bike shorts.” Admittedly, they looked badass and masculine, that’s when I realized that “H4M” stands for “Harlot for Men.”