About bikes, cycling and cycle to work - Tredz Blog

Montane Featherlite Smock

More often than not, it’s the seemingly dull, unassuming pieces of kit that become your favourites. Things that you don’t notice until you need them, and then they just work.

The Montane Featherlite Smock, is one such item.

Properly windproof, surprisingly water resistant (it takes a very heavy shower to really get through) and ridiculously small and light; it’s about as good as an emergency cycling jacket gets. But to call it ‘emergency’ clothing isn’t really fair, it’s just a damn good, extremely breathable jacket, which happens to pack down to the size of a tangerine.

I’ve had mine for a few years now and it’s been everywhere with me. Small enough to happily live in a jersey pocket or tiny saddle bag on my road bike, gets lost in my Camelbak on the mountain bike, and has spent days happily clipped to my climbing harness.

You wont realise how much you need one until you’ve got one, highly recommended.

News from Jody

Jody Cundy's been in touch, and as usual we're staggered by how casual he is when he mentions that inbetween the rigours of his training and racing life; that the Queen remembers him, Lewis Hamilton is a nice guy and he's getting casts taken for a sporting hall of fame. Your average Spring then...

Specialized Stumpjumper Expert Carbon HT 2009 Review

Specialized Stumpjumper Expert Carbon HT: Big boots to fill

Despite most of the focus in the world of mountain biking being on the latest and greatest developments in full suspension, the Specialized Stumpjumper hardtails always seem to be the flagship of the Specialized range. And with good reason. It was after all the Stumpjumper that started the whole world of proper, mass produced mountain bikes back in ’81.

Since then, things have changed beyond anyone’s expectations; mountain biking has become a massive sport the world over and the technology involved matches (and often exceeds) any high-tech sport or industry you care to mention.

One thing that hasn’t changed though is that every body still expects each new Stumpjumper to be a great mountain bike, one of the best in fact.

So how are things with the venerable ‘Stumpy’ after almost 30 years in the game?

Broken Wow builds bike

Chris 'Wow' has come a cropper.

An experienced and valuable staff member. Not least for his ability to stun customers with his knowledge and passion about the differences between brands of tyre levers. Usually resulting in a sale, as the customer desperately buys the first thing they lay eyes on to simply make 'Wow' stop talking about structural flex...

Anyways. A big accident on the weekend left Chris with a broken collarbone (he'll be back next week just in case anyone wanted to pop in for a chat about differing viscosity's of chain lubes and their effect on chainset lifespans), and a lot of time on his hands.

So he had the time to finish off his new bike. A beautiful (but for your own sake don't tell Chris)  Decade Virtue singlespeed, send the picture to Kinesis, get on their news page (amazing what you can achieve with constant pestering) and start the ubiquitous Facebook Decade fan club.

What else is a total bike geek going to do when he can't ride his bike?

Get well soon mate!

Ride in Afan

Doing anything this Sunday? Fancy joining us for a ride on Penhydd in Afan?

Even if we do say so ourselves we've got an impressive range of bikes to pick from, and we can't think of anywhere better suited to take them for a test than the maybe sunny, always excellent singletrack of Afan Argoed.

Give our Swansea bike shop a call on 01792 702555 if you've got your eyes on a specific bike and want to reserve it.

If you're just planning on turning up on the day, please bring along all the usual stuff you'd take on a ride (helmet, tools, jaffa cakes etc). We'd also ask you to bring two forms of ID and a credit card. Just to prevent you going all fugitive on us with our Commencal Meta.

Volunteer for Sustrans!

My local bike path leads almost directly from my path straight to work. That’s about 8 miles of pure luck I reckon. I get to cycle to work along a beautiful sea front, avoid traffic, get some air in my lungs and generally arrive in a great frame of mind every day.

All good, but of course it hasn’t got anything to do with luck. Sustrans, the charity that provides routes for sustainable methods of transport, is the reason I get to cycle to work and don’t have to compete with cars for tarmac space.

Magic body armour!

We mentioned the Evo pads a while ago - but today (finally) one of us actually got round to buying a pair... So whats was the verdict?

I tried out a pair of SixSixOne Evo Knee pads today, and bought a pair immediately! They’re extremely comfy (20 mile ride comfy!), look the business and offer great protection.

What’s cool though is how they protect. In use they feel like thin-ish neoprene and don’t inspire a lot of confidence. It’s not neoprene though. It’s an ‘intelligent’ foam.

It’s not intelligent enough to prevent you crashing, but it offers resistance to impact when actually impacted. Whilst riding (not crashing) it’s nice and soft but when/if you crash it ‘stiffens’ to absorb the impact.

I took a lot of convincing so I put them on and gave them a knock with my knuckles, then a calculator, then a small spanner, then a bigger….well, you get the idea. I finished my experiment with a good ‘thwack’ with a hammer handle (I like my knees too much to use the other end) and what do you know, they work.

Magic, well maybe not, but as near as. There are cheaper knee pads out there, but I doubt there are any as comfy that offer this level of protection. Besides I can afford knee pads, I can’t afford new knees.

Worth every penny.

Lezyne, bringing bling to tools.

Lezyne is a name that you may, or may not have heard of, yet. Whatever the case, they are certainly a brand to keep an eye on. Every time they get reviewed they usually get a small but very positive mention and an accolade along the lines of ‘editors choice’.

Perhaps that’s because only people ‘in the trade’ get excited about tools and pumps, but they are items that all cyclists need. I’ve been a long-time fan of Topeak tools and pumps with the Hexus being my fave multi tool for a long time. However mine has seen better days and despite saying I’d never look anyhere else for a replacement, I’ve just seen the new offerings from Lezyne and, sorry Topeak, I think I’ve found my new multi tool.

Camelbak envy

It’s no news that the 2009 range from Camelbak is now out there, and as per usual they are the best hydration backpacks around. However what isn’t obvious is exactly how good the re-designed M.U.L.E actually is. The standard M.U.L.E has always been a firm favourite (and is still available) as it’s just the right size, in terms of both fluid capacity and luggage space. This has made it a justifiable favourite with trail riders everywhere.

Clawing at the dirt. Giant Talon!

There’s been a mid-season release from the ever-busy folks at Giant that’s just for us in the UK; the Talon, A range of UK specific hardtails. Still a few weeks away from delivery, but initial impressions are good.