Shimano Alfine and Velocity Halo Dyad

A set of wheels are in for review and in the midst of getting installed on the famous Salsa Casseroll.   Utilizing a Shimano Alfine groupset I have been piecing together in the past 6 months, and the new Velocity Dyad Halo reflective rims.

The wheels and review are also based all around the Shimano Alfine groupset, as I’ve been interested in internally geared hubs (IGH) since trying the Civia Loring with SRAM i-Motion.  Combine the IGH and a Dynamo front hub for a motion powered front light.

Once my new Surly “Open Bar” and Salsa stem arrive for the bike, it will be ready to rock and roll.

long finger mountain bike glove.

How the Pittards Glove Feel

Pun intended, they fit like a glove.  This guys pull on very tightly using elastic on either side of the glove, but a note there is no adjustable velcro strap for tightly pulling your gloves together.  The Pittards material is very soft and, yet, durable. Adding a good amount of grip or traction to your hand and bar.

Pros and Cons

The glove is very comfortable and wraps around you hand wonderfully.  I really enjoy the fit of the glove, often forgetting they are on.  Colors are great, not too girly but have a great flare to them.

Some of my con’s are covered within the P.R.O. Pittards Gel Glove, to add a great amount of padding.  The glove doesn’t have a ton of that terry cloth “sweat wipe” on the glove, although it does have some.  The very last issue with these gloves are taking them off.  Even with their fancy finger pulls, when your hands are sweaty, these gloves do not want to be pulled off.

Final Thoughts

Would I buy these gloves?  Yes, I plan on purchasing the long finger pair, Veer,
for more use.

P.R.O Pittards WS Glove Online

This product was given to me at no charge for reviewing.  I was not paid or bribed to give this review and it will have my honest opinion or thoughts through out.

Test Ride

One thing I can’t recommend enough to anyone is test riding.  Suit up with your shoes and pedals, make sure your seat height is set right and take the bike for a short spin.  Take any guess work out of test riding the bikes, I’ll explain more of those details shortly.

In the Details

#1 make sure each bike is setup the same in the fit.  If your seat is too high or too low, you’ll feel that in the response of the bike.  From there, make sure to compare like bikes, like parts and even like wheels when you start looking at higher end bikes.  If you are price point shopping take the time to feel the difference in shifting, weight and any suspension difference.

What I’m Riding

Today I’m test riding the Cervelo R3 with Ultegra 6700 components.  This is a two fold test ride, the new Ultegra shifting and the Cervelo R3 frameset.  My goal for this is to find a new due all bicycle that won’t time out after a year of technology change.  Look for a recap on both of these products!

nuun is a electrolyte replacement, with a little flare.  These little tablets come in 8 flavors, and are kept in plastic tube to keep them readily available on long rides.   With available flavors like Kona Cola, which tastes exactly like Coca Cola, and Lemon+Lime, tastes like Sprite, or Banananuun.  My personal favorites will always be the fruity styles like Citrus Fruit or Tri-Berry.

The flavor isn’t the only unique feature of Nuun.

What’s in nuun?

Active ingredients                                                 level (mg)

Sodium (carbonates)                                                    360.0
Potassium (bicarbonate)                                              100.0
Calcium (carbonate)                                                      12.5
Magnesium (sulfate)                                                      25.0
Vitamin C                                                                          37.5
Vitamin B2                                                                        500mcg

Photo Credit : nuun.com

A Family Product

In my household my entire family, except the dogs, have used Nuun.

My kid’s put Nuun in their water bottles for hot days on the lacrosse field, they got a big kick out of the soda flavored tablets.   As a parent we know our children need more than water, but Gatorade often creates a backlog of bathroom problems with the amount of sugar and extras.   In the past we have used various supplement electrolyte water enhancers.  This is the first one that is easy to deal with, no big tub and scooper, and can be kept in a pocket or purse.

On the Bike Experiences

My first Nuun trial was on a 95 degree day, with very hot water and their lemon lime flavor.  It was horrible.  I can’t blame the Nuun as drinking hot water was horrible enough, but hot Sprite flavored drink was pretty darn bad.

My second experience I put it in a Camelbak insulated bottle and made sure to shake it up a ton before setting off on the bike. I felt like I was cheating the whole ride as I was drinking a “soda pop” but at the end I had no groggy headache from dehydration, and at night I had no cramping from lack of salt in my buddy.

Overall Feedback

In my family we all liked it.  It was simple to use, the design of the tube was easy to store in bags, purses or hydration backpacks.  Some of us liked certain flavors more than others, so make sure to test out different ones.

No carbohydrates.   This was a big thing for me, as for some reason my stomach doesn’t like me to “drink” my carbs, yet it doesn’t mind me pounding down tons of bread and such on the bike.  No matter, my stomach was happier which made me ride much better on a hard ride.

One tube has 12 tablets inside, and on average these tubes cost about $8.  Nuun currently has a buy 3 for $19.50, plus they allow you to mix and match what flavors you like.

The Con’s

After calling every bike shop within 30 miles, most of them didn’t know what Nuun was, and none of them carried it.    The closest I found was the Camelbak Elixir, which looks and plays the same drumbeat.   Starting a trend isn’t a bad thing, but special ordering your food every order can be a hassle.

Is this Nuun or the distributors problem?  This is a separate topic, but it doesn’t matter how good a product is, it needs to be available and bike shops need to know what it is.

Visit nuun online or on Twitter @MinistryofNuun

seat bag

I spy the SoulRun Tool Roll

There are many of these sort of these rolls or burrito style bags out there, but this one by far has the most style points.  Custom made for you!  Their average bag goes for around $20, and they also make larger ones or specific ones for your tubular tires.

Features:
- Larger pocket for a road or mountain tube.
- Medium pocket for tools and tire levers
- Tiny little pocket for patches.

- Cotton Duck fabric construction. Heavy material same as Carhartt.
- 1″ Tubular Webbing with a Quick Release closure.

Keep your tools from getting lost in the the bottom of your bag or stashed in your jersey pocket.

Dimensions:
-Open: 12″(w) x 10″(h)
-Closed: About the size of a wallet, depending on how much you stuff it.

I’ll have more photos and a full review once the one I am ordering arrives!

Join the conversation on Facebook or follow us on Twitter @BikeShopGirlcom.

From the Company

This waterproof and breathable road cycling jacket offers great protection in bad weather conditions. Plus it will fit in any backpack folded up.

Initial Thoughts

A compact, completely waterproof jacket even down to the taped seams.  It is able to zip up in to its own rear pocket, making this a very small and easy to carry jacket.   Because all of the rain that the Southeast had been having this spring I’ve kept this jacket in my messenger bag at all times.

Once I see how this jacket does with wear and tear I’ll upload a video for you all to see the highlights and key features, or negatives concerns of course.

Visit Gore Bike Wear to see more

This product was given to me at no charge for reviewing.  I was not paid or bribed to give this review and it will have my honest opinion or thoughts through out.

When I suited up, I did something that I tell all customers not to do – I put on a brand new, never tried, pair of bib-shorts.  The shorts were awesome, black and white, matching my team jersey perfectly.  I was very wary of the brand new shorts, so I lubed up well with the DZ Nuts chamois creme.

Results

My arse, nor soft tissue areas, bothered me at all.  It seems that I found a tri-fecta, between the Gore Power Bibs, DZ Nuts, and Fizik Vesta saddle.

I’ve now used the DZ Nuts a few times and can say it is doing its job.  Reminding me a lot of the Assos creme, minus the build up of extra lube.  The Assos seems to thick for women but DZ Nuts really does the job well.

Official Rating

4.75 out of 5 : Would of ranked higher if I could of sourced the DZ Bliss, womens specific type, but everyone was out of this.

A walk through building a bicycle up from the boxed form.  This is how most bikes show up to a bike shop, except for those boutique, build from scratch variety.   We skim through some sections in order to get you through the whole unboxing, which normally takes 45 minutes to an hour.

Unboxing

Tools

The basic tools are used were :

Park Tool Allen Wrench Set

Feedback Sports – Sport Repair Stand

Park Tool Cable Cutter

Photos of the Build Day

Make sure to follow me on Twitter @BikeShopGirlcom

The end of October I was approached by Lab-Gear to review a few of their new woman’s line, 99.  Today we are going to go over the pro’s and con’s, as well as share some photos of the different shirts we reviewed.  First, make sure to read our preview from December.

The Process

One thing very unique about Lab-Gear was the process of ordering these garments.  You go through a whole build out picking sizing, color weighs, and options.  The options include a GT Stripe (racing stripe,) thumb holes, and various stitching for the cuff and collars.

After submitting your order the customer service is top notch.  At anytime it is telling you where your order is along in their system.  Finally, you take delivery.  They are wrapped up nicely like a brilliant gift for you.  Made exclusively for you!  It happened also, to be delivered on my birthday.

99 T

This is a lighter weight long sleeve top.  Easily worn with jeans or on your favorite long ride.    We chose to build out our 99 tops to match well together as you can see in the photos.  Due to this being very close to your skin, if you are sensitive to wool, you may get itchy while wearing this top.

Merino wool does its job, even though a very thin (tshirt like) top.  This guy will keep you warm by itself on slightly chilly days, or team it up with the 99 Mid to have a very warm outfit.

With the fitting we decided to order the top to be a fashion fit.  Not too tight, but a normal size you would by from a clothing store.  The shirt fits well, but is on the shorter side for the size it is fitting.

99 Mid

As an outerwear top it is not quite a jersey, not quite a full on jacket.  It reminded me a lot of a track style jacket.  The Mid has a higher collar, thicker weave of merino and a zipper collar.

We ordered this top a size bigger than the T as it was going to be worn over other tops.  Teaming the Mid and T up together is going to be the perfect spring morning ride apparel.   The colors we decided on go well together for the pieces separate or together.

Final Thoughts

The cost are high for these tops, but merino wool comes at a price, as does customizing to your own liking.  At the time of typing this the convert of currency from AUS to USD is:

$130 for the Mid
$78.35 for the T

After a couple months of weekly use, washing, wearing and riding in - these tops look brand new.  This isn’t normally the case with wool, you often get pulling or threads snagged.

The Mid will be a great purchase for multi use, and the T is a dream if you are a fan of wool.

This product was given to me at no charge for reviewing.  I was not paid or bribed to give this review and it will have my honest opinion or thoughts through out.