The Final Randoms: Cranks, Bars, Shades, Bells, & More - Pond Beaver 2020
Vee Tire Co.
Mike Levy spent a bit of time on Vee Tire's Flow Snap WCE last year and was impressed by how well they performed, but was looking for something wider than a 2.35" width. Enter the new 2.5" wide version that's available in both 27.5" and 29" diameters. The latter weighs 1,340-grams, and both diameters cost $76 USD.
Vee Tire has used the same slow rebounding 'Top 40 compound' that helped make the skinnier version so sticky, along with their Gravity Core construction and added sidewall protection.
Rudy Project's Skytrail casual glasses put a modern spin on the classic Aviator style. $259.99 USD
Rudy Project
Rudy Project have a couple new casual glasses, the Skytrail and Spinair 59 as well as their Cutline, which is made for cycling. The Cutline is available with several different lenses including a photochromatic option. I've been riding these for a couple of weeks now and they're one of the most comfortable pairs of glasses I've worn on the bike. Helmet fit and interface is great and there are no pressure points whatsoever. rudyprojectna.com
The Cutline glasses have easily interchangeable lenses and can be fine-tuned to fit your face by swapping nose pieces or bending the pliable arms.
Their Protera+ helmet also looks good. There's even a net in the front of it that seems as if it'll do a stellar job in minimizing bee strikes. $149.99 USD
Spurcycle
Spurcycle's new Compact bell fits mountain bike bars well and leaves plenty of room for your controls. More useful and appropriate than coughing to alert other greenway users as you safely ride to your local trails. spurcycle.com
Handup
Handup have several new gloves in their line. handupgloves.com
There are also some new Hawaiian prints, along with standard jerseys.
And socks...
Along with women's floral prints.
ilabb Clothing
ilabb is a clothing company based in New Zealand that make all sorts of clothing, everything from more performance-oriented trail gear to around-town shred and dine attire. I've been wearing their don race short a good bit over the last few weeks. The fabric is very light and comfortable, the shorts are well ventilated and dry fast. $109.99 USD
The don race shirt is a wider cut and constructed of polyester and mesh. $60 USD
The impromptu ride T is also made out of polyester material and has a very long cut - great for tall or really tall/skinny riders. $40 USD
The LWB short is made for everyday use as well as riding. There is some stretch built-in and the fabric is plenty durable to take on the wear and tear of every day life. $60 USD
NOCS
Alright, imagine this, you’re at a World Cup final as a fan, but you’re stuck in the back and can’t see...or you're an amateur photographer scouting locations and want to see across the valley...or, you've reached the end of the internet and decided it's time to take up a new hobby, like bird watching. The solution? NOCS. Small enough to put in your pocket but with a high-quality lens. $89 USD. Nocsprovisions.com
Pearl Izumi
Pearl Izumi have several new shoes that will launch later this year. Their X-Alp Launch, X-Al Launch SPD, and the X-Alp Launch Mid WRX are all really good looking options for both flat and clipless pedals.
Hope
Hope is rolling out their first 35mm handlebar. After a lot of research, they decided that many of the current 35mm bar options were possibly too stiff. Hope claim their new manufacturing process has netted a handlebar that is more compliant than their existing 31.8mm bar with no compromise in strength.
The bar is designed with all-mountain riding in mind, but Hope claim that it's stronger than many DH bars. The bar is 800mm wide, uses a new laminate construction and manufacturing technique, and has a better feel and reduced vibration compared to bars they have made before.
Rotor
Rotors new Kapic Carbon crank weighs only 420g and the INspider is a spider-based power meter that is compatible with any Rotor brand crank, MTB or road. Rotor also have a Fazua crank system upgrade now available for Isis-compatible e-bikes.
A 420g crank in the 4th month of 2020? The light weight aside, pretty cool if you ask me.
This diagram shows how the INspider power meter ties into Rotor's cranks.
Author Info:
Must Read This Week
Sign Up for the Pinkbike Newsletter - All the Biggest, Most Interesting Stories in your Inbox
PB Newsletter Signup
www.suplest.ch/euen/products/all-shoes/offroad/offroad-pro-03038
Hard to find in the US, but I ordered them from overseas and they are incredible shoes. Soles are as tacky as my old 510s, and the most comfy bike shoes I’ve worn. Worth checking out, best shoes I’ve found by far since switching to flats. And they do look better in person than some of the camera angles...
I recently bought some Ion Raid Amp shoes, and they are stiff as a board. I'm back in skate shoes for the time being.
I am interested to hear what others have used, and found to be almost vans-like in sole compliance.
I just ordered a pair. A bit pricey, but if they work well, then money well spent!
Softest and most flexible that I’ve found.
@unrooted: BOAs are very convenient if, for various reasons, you need to be able to adjust the tension on the fly.
Never even considered that laces could wrap around the crank
My argument against laces is I hate having to undo them when they’re covered in actual shite
Sunglass molds are small, complex, have a left and right, have to have a higher degree of precision, often have overmolding on them, then you have an assembly cost of arms to frames. And that's before you even get to the lenses which require much higher grades of plastic to get the optical clarity needed, Perfectly polished molds + their upkeep cost, then those cut outs you normally see in RP stuff is another process. Oh yeah and you have the cost of coating the lenses too.
From there the problem is way to many of us are just brand whores... (and lets face it, there isn't much choice in stores. You got cheap sunglasses or over priced sunglasses and few middle ground options. OR you can roll the dice and order something hoping to get quality and a fair price. But once you get screwed and find out you paid 50 bucks for 5 dollar gas station sunglasses that kind puts an end to that... been there!)
My cycling glasses are $20 transitionals I buy on Amazon. I need to find another source though (prefer to avoid Amazon when I can).
But again people can downvote me for saying the truth, just like that commencal that was green in the front with a blue hint to the paint.
I do love down votes for reality....my god, people really need to get lives.
I have never had an issue with boa. Are failures actually common or is it one of those forum things where the few people it's happened to all come out to bitch?
Vans dropped their sk8-hi with boa before I had a chance to get some. Wonder if they were problematic or just not popular.
It was miserable. I've never had adverse reactions to insect stings prior, but this was pretty serious... Maybe a net would have saved me the discomfort.
God bless the nanny state. Heck, he -could- have been hit by a glitter orange Lamborghini driven by nun on the same day.....
Freedom of choice, its what we've got.
Also it was a bishop in a Subaru. Not a Nunn in a Lambo.
www.baltimoresun.com/maryland/baltimore-city/bs-md-ci-heather-cook-sentencing-20151027-story.html
Not sure I would ever trust a tire named "Flow Snap". Kinda like I wouldn't want to climb with a rope named "Free Fall". Or, trust a condom named "Leaky Larry".
Apparently there's (or isn't?) a difference between Hawaiian prints and women's floral prints.
I thought ISIS was defeated only to learn they're making eBikes.
Oh well, next time...
Can't agree more on the shoes, they're a win in my book.
TL;DR version:
Expensive helmet were more comfortable and cooler looking. Safety was not improved. One of the cheapest helmets had the best test results.