Outdoor Gear Reviews | ub Outdoors

October 4, 2011 in Cycling by Carl H. Martens

“Welcome to rack love.”  Those are the words you will see when you go to Kuat Innovations website.  Those are the words, that once you own a Kuat Innovations bike rack you will understand and affiliate with.  Nothing could be more true.  Kuat Innovations (pronounced Koo-at) gets its name from it’s original two founders; Luke KUschmeader and Brian ATkinson.  No surprise that creativity and ingenuity started with the company’s name!  It didn’t stop there.  How do you make a bike rack more than a bike rack?  Kuat has and that’s why they’ve coined the phrase, “welcome to rack love”.  Let us formally introduce you. 

August 1, 2011 in Cycling by Carl H. Martens

The below is a trailer for the RAGBRAI documentary titled, “A Million Spokes”. It will air tonight on the Documentary Channel at 8/7C and again at 12/11C. This will give you a little insight as to what my past week riding RAGBRAI was like. Post in the comments if you would like to join me next year in RAGBRAI 2012!

July 19, 2011 in Cycling, Fitness & Nutrition by Carl H. Martens

Have you seen someone out running or cycling wearing compression sleeves?  Did you ask them about it?  If you did, you probably got a response that raved about how great they are.  Were you skeptical?  If you were, then you were no different than I was until I received a pair of Zensah compression leg sleeves and tried them out myself.  I was back home in Chicago visiting with my parents and let my mom try them on…she didn’t want to give them back.  I didn’t want to part with them.  She said if I was going to keep them that I had to tell her where she could buy some.  We made a compromise.  She kept the navy blue pair I received from Zensah and she agreed to order me a black pair from Zensah. 

June 22, 2011 in Cycling by Carl H. Martens

The following is an email that was forwarded on to me by a colleague. The email is from Porkbelly Ventures LLC which is a RAGBRAI Charter Service.

The Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI) is the biggest bike ride in the world, a moving fesitval whose route from the muddy Missouri to the mighty Mississippi is characterized by hills and heat, pigs and pons, barns and silos, and rows of corn all the way to the horizon.  As one of the 10,000-plus cyclists from all over the world who converge on Iowa every summer during the last week of July, you can expect a step back in time, an athletic challenge, friendly and interesting fellow riders, and all the pie, watermelon, sweet corn and hospitality your Iowa hosts can dish out. 

June 10, 2011 in Cycling, Featured by Bill Lobe

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. 

April 27, 2011 in Cycling by Carl H. Martens

RAGBRAI, The Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, is an annual seven-day bicycle ride across the state. Heading into its 39th year, RAGBRAI is the oldest, largest and longest bicycle touring event in the world.

In the beginning, no one imagined that RAGBRAI would become the Iowa tradition it is now.

For those of you who have never ridden, this rolling celebration of Iowa attracts participants from all 50 states and many foreign countries. It has covered thousands of miles through the years, and hundreds of thousands of riders have hopped in the saddle to pedal part of those miles. 

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.