It’s snow and ice season here in Chicago, and what better way to free yourself from the limitations that are inherent to slippery conditions than by grabbing a set of studded gravel tires. The Klondike “Skinny” comes in two sizes this review is based on the 700C version.…
Giant Revolt 2 + SKS Chromoplastic Longboard 50 Fenders
Integrated fender (mudguard) mounts played a massive role in the selection of the Giant Revolt 2 as my all-purpose/gravel bike. Because of its tire clearance I opted for a set of fenders that will work with anything road-or-gravel sized. These SKS Chromoplastic Longboard 50 are perfect for the job, just require a bit of modification to get them mounted.…
Lezyne HP Drive Bicycle Frame Pump
I picked up the Lezyne HP Drive frame pump because of its size and weight, but it turned out to be a pretty terrible pump for a variety of reasons.…
Giant S-X2 Disc Wheelset
Reviews and good numbers are hard to find on many stock wheels, with good reason. This is an attempt to fix that with respect to the Giant S-X2 disc wheelset that comes with many Giant Revolt bicycles.…
Giant Revolt 2 – Project Bike Step One
Giant’s new aluminum Revolt 2 gravel bike is a great value as-is, but my eyes are just on the frame. By swapping the lower end components for a mostly Ultegra setup, the bike gets significantly more capability (e.g. two more gears on the 11-34, and a clutched derailleur) with a durable frame that I don’t have to worry too much about. This is the first step in the process of swapping parts…
Park Tool PCS-10 Workstand Stop Unwanted Rotation
Finally got around to fixing a problem with my Park Tool workstand that has been annoying me for ages. The top kept rotating when I was working on the bike. I can’t imagine that this issue is isolated to me, as it is clearly due to the lack of friction between the top clamp and pole, so here is my solution.…
SRAM 11 36 Cassette + Shimano Ultegra R8000 Medium Cage
As a flatlander who likes to climb, I’m always on the lookout for some mechanical advantage which can make it easier to get up the hills. SRAM’s 11-36 cassette is an obvious way to do that, but officially my Shimano R8050 (R8000 should be the same) rear mech only supports up to 34 in the back. Having tried the Ultegra 11-34, and not being a big fan, if this works. It seems…
Topeak PAKGO X
I love traveling with my bike. Whether it’s the point of the trip, or just coming along to make a boring excursion less so. The challenge of course, is how to get the box safely from home to place with minimal fuss and potential damage to the bike. For this, the Topeak PAKGO X is perfect, but costly.…
A Tale of Two Varias – Battery issues revisited
The battery life on my Garmin Varia RTL 510 has never been great. Recently it’s gotten much worse, so I decided it was worth doing a warranty exchange with Garmin to find out it the problem was my unit or something broader.…
LEOMO TYPE-S, a phone that thinks it’s a bike computer
Overall, the LEOMO TYPE-S looks like exactly the kind of device the the cycling computer market needs. I love that it’s a phone (nano SIM), which makes it’s heft so much easier to swallow (i.e. plop the SIM from my heavy mobile into this for a net weight saving), and the massive performance/capability jump that provides. There are so many neat use cases that the TYPE-S provides now, and has the potential…