Category: Reviews

Categories
Recovery Reviews

The Stick

The Stick

The Stick MassageAt first glance The Stick self-massage gizmo looks like a gimmick and ranging in price from £27.99 to £47.99, depending on size, a pretty expensive gimmick at that. But having heard so many people (cyclists and marathon runners in particular) rave about the benefits Cyclo thought it time to take a closer look…

 

Invented back in 1991 in America, The Stick is, in essence, a long… erm… stick, with handles at either end and a series of free-rotating spindles between; these look disturbingly like vertebrae but are, in fact, the bits that really go to work on sore muscles when you begin your self-massage session. It can be employed for a variety of massage sessions, working both trigger points and general deeper tissue pummelings, with the version Cyclo had on test (the shortest, 17inch and cheapest, £27.99) being particularly effective at working the legs.

 

We found some real benefits from use, both pre-ride warming and, in particular, post-ride workouts that shifted knots and released tight calf muscles quickly and efficiently. The price seems high, but compared to a single 30minute physio session things start to look far more cost effective.

 

It’s hard to get beyond the feeling that The Stick is a gimmick; the US website describes it as ‘The toothbrush for muscles’, a completely ridiculous simile that doesn’t stand up to even the slightest of inspection; whilst the UK site opts for the barely-better ‘The massage tool for happy muscles’. But if you can get beyond the hype and are prepared for the initial outlay, then The Stick could be a true long-term friend for both injury prevention and recovery; this is certainly kit that Cyclo will keep close to hand (and leg) from now on.

 

True cheapskates should take a look at the ever-excellent (and often deranged) instructables.com website, where some penny-pincher has posted instructions for making your own out of household objects. We wouldn’t swear by the results, but it will give you something to read whilst using your own (genuine) Stick.

 

Further details and online ordering at www.the-stick.co.uk

 

 

Categories
Apparel Reviews

Altura Ergofit Gloves

Altura Ergofit Gloves

Altura Ergo Fit Gloves reviewNot that we’ve exactly had a scorcher of a summer, but things have certainly turned distinctly autumnal in the last few weeks and the nip to the fingers has been noticeable. Timely, then, that Cyclo has just taken delivery of a pair of Altura Ergofit gloves to put through their paces and with the manufacturer calling them ‘ideal for winter road riding’ now was clearly the time to get going…

 

The outer shell of the Ergofits comprises of 50% Nylon, 30%Polyester, 20% Polyurethane with the inner lining being 100% Polyester, the result is a good balance between responsive flexibility and ruggedness that suggests they would survive (and protect the hands) in the event of a spill. Although they don’t feel particularly thick the insulation against a near-zero wind-chill on our morning rides was more than adequate – Cyclo can’t quite vouch for the depths of winter yet, but so far so good with the rear-hand shell even managing to repel some lively showers.

 

The multi-panel design and well-positioned ProGEL pads added to both comfort and grip stability, whilst fairly generous Lycra cuffs tucked easily into the jacket sleeve to further fend off the cold. The lightly flocked, suede-effect material across the front of the hand extends around the outside of the thumb, useful for wiping away a little sweat (or winter nose-run), but beware of your aim as a swipe of the reverse side’s pad is a scratch best avoided.

 

Well priced at £34.99 the Altura Ergofits are available in sizes S-XX although only in the (admittedly natty) black and red colour combo. Comfortable, tough, warm and reliable – ‘ideal for winter road riding’ sounds right on the money.

 

For further details and to find a retailer see: www.zyro.co.uk

 

Categories
Nutrition Reviews

Beet It Sport Shots

Beet It Sport Shots

beet it sports shotYou like beetroot right? Really? Too bad, perhaps, if you don’t because it has become something of a fad over the last year or so, joining other previously unsung oddities to become a member of the hallowed ‘super-food’ group with impressive (or at least impressive sounding) credentials. On the face of it adding beetroot or its derivatives to a sporting diet makes good sense; it’s abundantly rich in dietary nitrates which carries some quite strong evidence for reducing blood pressure – this, in turn, may help improve exercise efficiency (according to recent studies – more of which below) by increasing oxygen uptake. One way of consuming enough beetroot to possibly see results is by taking Beet It Sport Shots – little 70ml bottles of extract with a dash of lemon juice to help remove some of the associated ‘earthy’ taste. Cyclo took the plunge and put them to the test.

 

Now, true to say that our hearts seldom leap when we test something that carries the warning ‘may turn urine pink’, but so be it. First off, the taste: Beet It tastes uncommonly like, well…, beetroot (with a hint of lemon), so unless it’s the texture of the pink imp that usually puts you off this is unlikely to do anything to persuade you that beetroot now ranks up there with truffle or a good steak. In terms of improving performance? Naturally hard to say in any meaningfully empirical sense even after two weeks of daily consumption, but then much of the ‘evidence’ for benefits comes from worryingly low-key studies (very small test groups, no double-blind testing, exceptionally short test period and no study of long-term benefit).

 

If you buy into the ‘super-food’ idea, then giving Beet It a go will undoubtedly boost your dietary nitrates (and probably lower your blood pressure), but so too would making sure that your daily intake includes celery, cress, rocket and a host of other green leafy vegetables. Personally this isn’t something we’ll take to on a regular basis at least until there is a whole world of additional proof, and it’s done nothing to convince us that beetroot is anything but the devil’s food. Oh yes, and it turned our urine pink too…

 

Beet It Sport Shots cost £27 for 15, more details at www.beet-it.com

 

Categories
Extras Reviews

Zéfal Air Profil

If you’re looking for exceptional value for money when it comes to buying a micro pump then the Zéfal Air Profil certainly fits the bill. At less than £15 it’s the kind of price you would expect to pay for a bog-standard all-plastic affair for your kid’s bike; but does buying cheap mean buying twice?

 

On the contrary the Air Profil seems remarkably well constructed given the price point – you could easily double (and then some) for the price of other manufacturers – and although the handle is plastic, the barrel, stem and thumblock are all aluminium for rigidity and, hopefully, longevity.

 

230mm in length and weighing in at 92g it achieves 8 bar (116 psi) with ease, but being a mini pump there is work to be done in fully inflating a tyre – it took us just shy of 180 strokes to completely refill a flat, but even squeezing in those final few puffs required little effort, with a good valve connection throughout and a comfortable, ergonomic handle design which didn’t leave any unwanted pressure sores. Cyclo’s only word of warning is that the screw cap for reversing the Presta/Schrader connection was initially so tightly secured that it required a multi-tool to shift the first time out – not something you want to have to deal with on the road with freezing fingers.

 

Not surprisingly the pump attaches to the bike frame via the water bottle mounts and the clip that holds it in place is augmented by a Velcro strap. This might, at first glance, look almost literally like ‘belt and braces’ but it does an excellent job of insuring that it’s still there when you need it.

 

A decent o-ring to prevent water entering the chamber between the stem and body should be something you check for whenever buying a pump and with the Air Profil you get not only this but a second sliding o-ring on the body which simply slips out of the way when pumping; a nice touch which many more expensive models neglect. Cyclo have had this pump on test for a month and so far no sign of any slacking off in parts or action despite some fairly rough handling. It remains to be seen if a mini pump at this price will truly withstand the rigours of a full winter, but so far we’re impressed by this budget model.

 

For further details and to find a retailer see www.zyro.co.uk

 

Categories
Extras Recovery Reviews

RespiBelt

RespiBelt

We hope we’re not getting to ‘sciencey’ here, but breathing relies on muscles. And like the other muscles of the body, those involved in respiration can be trained to maximise their efficiency. For years now the major player in training these muscles has been the Power Breathe (powerbreathe.com) and its imitators, small handheld devices that look not unlike a ventilator and which rely on slowly increasing the ‘load’ or resistance across a program of daily breathing exercises. Now there’s a new kid on the block which could go head to head (lung to lung?) with the Power Breathe…

 

Developed by Progressive Sports Technologies, based at the Sports Technology Institute at Loughborough University, the RespiBelt is, to put it in reductive terms, an elasticated belt that attaches just below the pectorals or breast and can be adjusted with Velcro webbing to increase or decrease the resistance on breathing. The unique selling point here is that, unlike the Power Breathe, it can be used during training sessions on the bike (or indeed run) to deliver results in tempo with whatever workout you already had planned.

 

In terms of use, things couldn’t really be simpler: line up the tabs with the marks on the Velcro webbing to increase or decrease the level of additional workout and slip the belt on; then just cycle or workout as usual whilst the RespiBelt does its thing. Gradually increasing the load over several weeks (which is recommended for maximum benefit) means that the device never feels constrictive and on testing Cyclo noticed tangible results within ten days. There seems to be a wealth of credible science behind the RespiBelt (lots to be found and pored over at respibelt.com) and testimonials seem to be coming thick and fast – Mo Farah’s pre-Olympic training regime included its use and even at less elite levels we can certainly see the benefit.

 

Available in five sizes – XS to XL – and, whilst not cheap at £59.99, adding this to your bag-o-tricks means effective exercising of muscles essential to cycling but all too often neglected. Full details and online purchase at respibelt.com

 

Categories
Featured Nutrition Reviews

Bikefood Pure Energy Gels

Bikefood Pure Energy Gels

What sort of food do you need on a bike? The obvious answer, of course, is ‘bike food’ which should make the handily-named and easy-to-remember Bikefood Pure Energy Gels a shoe-in of a choice when it comes to the crunch. But having nabbed the best name and web address (mybikefood.com) do they stack up in the areas that really matter?

 

For those that care about such things (which Cyclo hopes is all of you) these live up to their ‘Pure Energy’ tag; containing no preservatives, artificial sweeteners or thickening gum agents and delivering all of their 117.2kcal per 40g pack via natural sugars; a blend of honey – the primary source – plus agave syrup and carob. The decision to pack them with sugars results, in addition to an incredibly sweet taste that won’t suite all palates, in a relatively high carbohydrate content of 28.8g.

 

But fear not the idea that sugars alone can result in peaks and troughs of energy (the dreaded ‘sugar crash’); the theory goes that because the sugars here are derived from a variety of sources – as opposed to simply fructose as an example – the energy release is both staged and sustained; something we certainly found in testing. With a dash of lemon oil added to the mix, these undeniably tasted like Lockets which, whilst not unpleasant by any means, made for a slightly nostalgic ride with connotations of missed school days. Also worth noting that this is virtually a carb-only gel; just .05g of protein, nowhere near enough to make any difference to absorption rates.

 

As suggested already, Bikefood Pure Energy won’t be to everyone’s taste and anyone who struggles to digest other brands’ already sweet gels should probably avoid. But for our part Cyclo enjoyed mixing things up on the ride and using Bikefood in conjunction with other energy sources and gels; the natural and vegetarian (though not vegan) credentials were welcome and the approach to recycling – via Gelwrappers.com where returned wrappers from any manufacturer get you entry into a monthly prize draw – is a fun and useful initiative.

 

Bikefood Pure Energy Gels takes an unusual and welcome approach to serving up sustained levels on the ride – a product for those who care about what they put into their body and what they don’t drop all over the road. Retailing at £1.45 each or £33.75 for a box of 25. Further details at www.mybikefood.com

 

Categories
Books Reviews

Road to Valour

Road to Valour

Gino Bartali was born into near poverty in rural Italy on the eve of the First World War, yet rose to become one of the greatest names in European cycling, winning the Giro three times – 1936, 1937 and 1946 – and the Tour de France twice, first in 1938 and again in 1948 (the largest ever gap between TdF wins.) But this is not the only focus of ‘Road to Valour’, written by brother and sister Aili and Andres McConnon, because Bartali was also a war hero, secretly aiding the Italian Resistance and in so doing becoming a national hero…

 

The full title of the book is the exhaustingly long ‘Road to Valour: Gino Bartali: Tour de France Legend and Italy’s Secret World War Two Hero’ and here, we feel, the problems begin (not least because Cyclo never trusts a title with more than one colon…)

 

The McConnons recount the story in minute detail; ten years of research calling on first hand interviews with family members and team mates and dialogue culled from newsreels, papers and Bartali’s own writing. They are at pains to point out that the book is not a work of fiction; an ascertain they probably feel obliged to make because their often florid prose reads like an historic novel of lurid proportions. Their manner is likely to divide readers; a Marmite style that will either carry you along with the drama or distract you in an avalanche of over-wrought phrases and laboured similes. The fact that the book really falls between two stalls (outright drama and serious academic history) is never more evident than in the approach they take to footnoting their text – more than 50 pages of suffix notes are contained but not a single one is easily approached because none are referenced in the main body, leaving you trying blindly to find out where a quote or fact may have come from. It smacks, in short, of uncertainty.

 

A shame then as Bartali’s story is a fascinating and, indeed, important one. As a cyclist few have equalled his meteoric rise (certainly in the face of such social and political adversity), and as a war hero – a sort of Italian Oskar Schindler if you will – his bravery and moral integrity are truly inspirational. If you can get beyond the McConnon’s bombastic hyperbole an excellent read lays beneath.

 

‘Road to Valour: Gino Bartali: Tour de France Legend and Italy’s Secret World War Two Hero’ (phew!) is published by W&N, £20.00 RRP hardback (ISBN-10: 0297859994) and £10.99 Kindle Edition. Available from Amazon.co.uk

 

Categories
Extras Reviews

Lezyne Femto Drive LED

Lezyne Femto Drive LED

We hate to say it but the nights are drawing in aren’t they? Time then for all sensible cyclists to have their thoughts turn to safety and lighting and here at Cyclo we’ve been having fun playing with the oh-so-cute (but at the same time deeply practical) Lezyne Femto Drive LED lights.

 

Barely 5 years old as a company, Lezyne’s express goal was and remains, ‘…to engineer and produce premium quality accessories that meet the same high standards as high-end bicycle components’. With the Femto Drives they have combined their passion for design aesthetics (these are as close to a thing of beauty as a simple bike light could be), with an impressively functional approach and a careful eye to cost, coming in at a reasonable £12.99 for a single front/rear or £21.99 a pair.

 

The machined aluminum body, durable and Brit-weather resistant, is just 30mm long with the unit coming in at sub-25mm diameter, small and light enough (29g with bracket) for tucking into a jersey pocket, meaning there can never be an excuse for getting caught out at dusk ill-prepared again. Although not brilliantly bright – 15 lumens front and 7 lumens rear – the crisp, clear quality makes them seem more powerful than mere numbers suggest and with five modes (flash, slow flash, rapid flash, strobe and solid) are hard to fault as backup or additional lighting. Turning the Femtos on and off and switching between modes involves pressing and holding the lens directly, ideal for tackling in gloves, but, given Cyclo’s reluctance to ever read instructions, something it took us longer than we care to admit to figure out.

 

The Femtos use a nifty silicon sling bracket, one end of which attaches semi-permanently to the light’s asymmetric hooks, to wrap around and hold pretty much any part of the bike. This quick fix option, with a wealth of permutations, is a key selling point and improves over, say, Knog Frogs or NiteRiders – the alternatives they most closely resemble.

 

The only (very) minor gripe Cyclo has is that battery insertion (two x replaceable CR2032 batteries per light) is slightly fiddly with the screw thread having a tendency to cross, but weigh this against their plus points – durability, practicality, ease of fit, gorgeous looks – and it’s easy to forgive.

 

Available in anodised black, silver, red or blue the Lezyne Femto Drive LEDs are widely available including from Wiggle.co.uk