Here’s a compilation of stuff I’ve used this year that’s made life easier, performed above and beyond my expectations, and generally kicked ass. Some of it is sponsor stuff (links to the right of the page). Not all of it is, though… Of course, this list is a work in progress. It also doesn’t include all of the stuff I use- There’s a lot of stuff that “performs as expected” that I just don’t have time to list, so I’ve reserved this for the “meets and exceeds expectations” category of bike-related goods… In random order:

Raxter- I’m still enjoying the Tarsus. Auto Nesting (fancy talk for “you can stagger the bike positions”) has eliminated the need to keep a multi-tool in the glovebox or remove the seatposts from the bikes in order to prevent bar/post interference. It’s also flat enough that I can completely drop the tailgate of the Element to load it, and is one of the lightest hitch racks available.

Stuffitts– Magically dry and freshen your shoes with the power of cedar. I put them through their paces on many occasions, and they work amazingly (trust me- much better than wadded-up newspaper) Though, I do recommend buying a size up from the chart on the website in order to get maximum “stuffing” action.

Trail LED Darkstar– I’ve only used it a handful of times, and DAMN it’s bright! My favorite thing, though, is how small and light it is. All the other lights I’ve used are relatively large and plastic with an obnoxiously large battery. The Trail LED is tiny, and the lights themselves are in a light, aluminum (GOLD!) body. I opted for a 4 hour battery, too, and it’ smaller than some of the shorter-running ones I’ve dealt with. 1200 lumens of F*CK YEAH!

Ibex Wool- If you’ve been reading at all lately, you’d have to know that my favorite wool would be on this list. I’ve got bib shorts & knickers, a jersey, base layers, arm/knee warmers, a jacket… all of them are my “go to” clothes any time the temp is below 70 (they do make summer-weight stuff for warmer temps, too- I just don’t have any of it).

Mavic Shoes– Bought a pair of the Mavic Chasm MTB shoes last year, and they’ve held up really well. When you have to walk (maybe more important for the SS crowd), they’ve got a lot more grip than the SIDIs I used to ride, and I think the footbed is a bit more comfortable. I would have gone for the Fury, but I don’t like black, and I’m not fast enough to wear yellow (yet).

Swiftwick Wool Socks– Got a pair of the “fours” at 2009 DSG, and actually changed into them during the race. Since then, they’ve been the socks I wear when I know it’s going to be absolutely foul (well, on nice days, too, but it’s in the wet/mud/destruction where they really shine). That original pair still looks brand new (except for a couple of mud stains).

Crank Brothers Pedals- Hands down, clears mud better than any other pedal on the market. I’ve had them in all breeds of mud, and they just won’t clog. Ever. Even the infamous Dirt Sweat and Gears mud is no match. I’ve got a pair of candy 11s on order for the Bling Bike (they match the gold Hope hubs perfectly).

Stan’s Rims– The rims will hold a tubeless bead without burps at PSIs lower than 20. Be realistic when making your rim selection, though. The Arches that I had built for my original Jet are a little heavy, but stiff and strong. The Crests I had built up as race wheels, well, aren’t. They’re very light, and definitely a “race only” rim for me (if you’re lighter/ride buff trails/have more finesse, they’d likely be perfect for you). I’m building my next SS wheels with some 355 rims, which are a little sturdier, but not as heavy as the Arches.

Hope Hubs– As far as I can tell, these things are bombproof. They’re easy to service, and the bearings in my original set spin just as well today as they do when I first bought them. They aren’t the lightest or the noisiest around (though they definitely aren’t the heaviest, either), but they cost a lot less than a King or I9. As you may notice, I have both QR and 20mm Maxle forks in the stable. Swapping the front hub between the two is literally a 2-3 minute process. It’s incredibly simple.

Niner Bikes– How could I make a list of awesome things and NOT mention Niner? All of my off-road adventures are on their bikes. I love them. They have top-notch customer service, too. I’m looking forward to riding them for years to come.

That’s all I can think of off the top of my head. I’m sure I’ll add more in the next few days, so check back.

That Ibex wool stuff is on my top 10 list of favorite things in the world?

During my usual 3 hour Wednesday ride, it was a misty start, a dreary middle, and the final hour was in the rain. Temps hovered in the high 50s, but I didn’t really feel too cold because I was nearly head to toe in wool- socks, knee warmers, shorts, base layer, and arm warmers. My toes were not too happy, but otherwise, I was comfortable.

Need. More.

Yesterday morning was my first cold ride of the season. The temperature was around 40 when I headed to Shelby Farms for a quick pre-ride of the Spookycross course, so I figured it’d be a good time to test out a new pair of Ibex knickers and base layer that I got earlier in the week.

First impression- holy crap! Finally, a winter knicker that doesn’t make me look like a fleece sausage! I’m not usually one to post lame mirror pics of myself, but I was impressed enough at the fit that I took a couple:

I wore a thermal long sleeve over this, and, other than my hands (as usual), I was comfortable after about 5 minutes of riding. You can’t see in these photos, but the knickers have a windproof layer on the knees that not only keeps them warm, it also feels like it’d make them more durable for off-road riding (the knee warmers have a similar construction, and they aren’t showing any wear after a full season of use. Very impressed.)

What I like most about wool is that it has such a wide range of comfortable wearing temperature- perfect for days that start out cold and warm up while you’re riding. I’ve been wearing the Ibex bib shorts for all of my morning rides that start in the 50s and end up in the 70s.

Highly Recommended!

Right after I was delivered back to my house by my parents on Wednesday, the UPS guy showed up with a couple of boxes from Park Tool. Inside was a new workstand (folding Team Issue edition) and various other tools like T-handle torx wrenches (I get a warm fuzzy feeling just reading those words), a handlebar holder, magnetic bowl, baby torque wrench, some open end wrenches, and a BB90 bearing removal tool. I was giddy. I don’t know if the workstand will make it out of the living room. I think it adds to the decor…

Oh yeah- also pictured with the tools are my new Crank Brothers pedals. They’ll get their first use this afternoon in a photoshoot for Outdoors, Inc. Can’t wait!

We’d initially planned a ride out at Herb Parson’s Lake yesterday morning, but it ended up not happening. So, we decided we’d go for a night ride instead. My Trail LED Darkstar came in while I was at Shenandoah, but other than showing it off its insane brightness to all my friends, I hadn’t done anything useful with it.

First off, I still can’t get over how small this thing is. I put it on my helmet (mounts with a simple velcro strap), and its weight is unnoticeable. I have a 4-hour battery pack, which, according to my kitchen scale, weighs just a fraction less than a pound (for comparison’s sake, a full 22oz water bottle is 1 pound, 11oz). It fits very nicely into a jersey pocket.
It comes with a handlebar mount as well, but I prefer the helmet option.

As far as brightness goes, I’ve never used anything comparable. This light is rated at 1200 lumens, and, looking at the MTBR Light Shootout list, is a great deal as far as lumens/dollar. When we rode to the trailhead (city streets), I kept it on the “medium” setting. It’s easy to switch between that and the brightest setting by just pressing the large button on top of the light. Once we got into the trail, it lit up the whole “corridor” of singletrack to near-daylight conditions.

Side note: I’m not gonna lie, trail riding at night is a little spooky. We heard a coyote barking/howling close by as well as lots of “mystery rustling” in the bushes. I’m glad Ryan was with me. I also came around one corner and saw a little owl standing in the middle of the trail. OMG! I didn’t know they came in pocket size! I don’t know the species, but it was less than 6″ tall, and stared into my light for a couple of seconds before flying off. Very cool.

Overall, I’m very impressed with the Darkstar. It’s definitely bright enough to be your only light, because the beam is broad enough to get the ground close to your front wheel, but powerful enough to shoot way down the trail at the same time. Improvements? I think my only wish is for a more “adjustable” form of helmet mounting. I found myself tilting my helmet back a couple of times so that the light would point down trail a little more. I’m going to experiment with different helmets and mounting spots next time I use it.

(9/21/10 Update: Just got an email from Grady @ Trail LED- going to get an adjustable helmet mount and give it another whirl!)

Photos (including DOT 4 Brake fluid for size comparison):

I don’t like to gunk up my race reports with a bunch of shill for my sponsors & other stuff I like unless it was about something that was pivotal to the race itself. However, there were a few things that made my race day better that I think are worth an honorable mention.

Ibex Indie Jersey: It was in the upper 40s at the start of the race. I’d normally wear something with my jersey until I warmed up, but in my rush/lack of good packing, I figured I’d be going with “shivering” while I warmed up instead. Luckily, wool has some magic powers to be warm when you want it to be and breezy/breathable when you don’t. This was my first time wearing a wool jersey, and I actually didn’t feel nearly as cold as I expected to feel given that this one is made out of one of Ibex’s lightest weight fabrics. Once the temps crept up to the 80s later in the day and the sun was blazing on some of the exposed parts of the course, I was still really comfortable. I can’t wait to get my shorts in later this week (I’d ordered some with my jersey, but the size chart @ Ibex doesn’t jive with singlespeeder legs, so I had to return them & go up a size. The Ibex people were totally cool, though, and waived the $5 return shipping fee since I’d followed their chart and wasn’t satisfied with the subsequent fit).

I always make sure to be totally honest in my reviews, and there are a couple of things that weren’t “perfect”-Â Since I’ve got a small frame, I can only carry one water bottle on it (I refuse to use the under-the-downtube mud collector spot). So, I carry a bottle in my middle back pocket. Wool is not as elastic as synthetic fabrics, so with the weight of the bottle, the back of the jersey stretched out a lot. I haven’t washed it yet to see if it will fully rebound, but it was kind of annoying to have a bottle bumping my butt while I was spinning. I’m not sure how that could be remedied other than changing the fabric, which would make it not so awesome and comfortable, so I’m not totally sure what the remedy could be.
Also, a full-length zipper would be awesome.

Stuffitts Shoe Savers: I forgot to mention that while pre-riding, I ran through a giant mud puddle. I blame it totally on Todd, because I was following him on the doubletrack when he suddenly swerved to miss said puddle, leaving me perfectly aligned to hit it. The result? My shoes were soaked in stagnant summer water/mud. Normally that’d mean that they would be damp and rank in the morning, but through the magic of cedar, Stuffits dried and de-funked them. I’ve loved these things for a while, and I use them constantly in both my road and mountain shoes.

Raxter Tarsus: Yes, this already has its own review, but this is the first road trip that I’ve taken it on, so I wanted to update that yes, I still really like it.

And, the award for the product I hate to love goes to my Pearl Izumi gloves. A while back, Pearl pissed me off a little with their “here’s our jersey and some nipples, go buy it!” advertising. Since then, I generally try to avoid their stuff. However, padded full finger gloves are somewhat hard to come by, so when I found a pair at a shop up in Midland, MI last month, I figured I’d give them a shot (the women’s Select Gel model). I have some recurring issues with numbness from my right ulnar nerve, but I gotta say, when I wear these gloves, it never bothers me. The padding in them is arranged differently than any other gloves I’ve used, and I honestly have to say, I plan on stocking up if I can find them on summer closeout somewhere.

Upcoming reviews-
I’ve got some new stuff from Rudy Project and Trail LED that I’ve yet to test. I’m really excited about the Trail LED Darkstar, because it looks impossibly tiny, but it’s insanely bright (1200 lumens). With the days getting shorter, I’m sure it will get some use soon enough!

I’ve recently been lucky enough to pick Raxter up as a sponsor. Ryan’s old Yakima that he’s shared with me was getting rusted, and it didn’t agree with 29ers very well (both in wheel size and handlebar interference). So, I was really stoked when a Raxter Tarsus showed up on my doorstep on Friday.

I immediately tore open the box, camera in hand:

(The packaging is Chunky Monkey Ninja Kitty approved.)

I was in a little bit of a hurry to run some errands, but I figured I’d put it together anyway since there weren’t too many parts. It was a quick and easy assembly, although you MUST NOT PUT FINGER IN THE HOLE!

Immediately, I noticed that the Tarsus is a good deal lighter than the Yakima (thus less wrestling to get it in and out of the hitch on the Element), and rather than using a cotter pin to secure itself up/down, it uses a simple “pop in” button for both folding, and to attach into the hitch. (Though I opted to use a locking hitch pin that I picked up at Auto Zone. Last thing I need is for my shiny new rack to be sold for a crack rock on Lamar Avenue…)

Since then, I’ve used it a couple of times, and, I must say, I’m very impressed. While other manufacturers have been making their racks bigger, flashier, more expensive, and more complicated (kinda like THIS), Raxter has successfully created something that’s simple and adaptable to any bike you want to haul.

My favorite feature is “auto-nesting” (meaning, you can easily stagger your bikes to avoid handlebar/saddle interference). Now I can stop carrying a 4mm allen key around with me for times when I want to haul two mountain bikes. I also don’t have to wrestle with getting a swing arm over a knobby 29″ tire like I did with my old rack. To top it off, it’s got a slimmer profile than the Yakima, so I don’t have to pull as far into the garage or worry as much about what I’m going to hit when I’m backing up.

Yes, the Raxter falls in to the “Why TF has no one thought of this before?” category of simplicity and ease of use. The only potential “problem” I could see would be if you MUST haul your bike around with a disc wheel installed. In that case, you won’t be able to secure your rear wheel with the rack’s velcro straps. If that describes you, then you are probably a triathlete, and you probably wouldn’t like the Raxter anyway because it’s not big, flashy, expensive, and full of extra complicated moving parts to impress all of your other triathlete buddies.

(I kid, I kid… you know I love triathletes and their disdain for all things that include either sleeves or socks…)

Raxter Tarsus gets the Brickhouse Stamp of Approval!