Over the new year, on our family holiday, we took a few days out in Siem Reap and I was very surprised to see how different the cycling scene was there verses our trip to Tanzania last year. Whereas in Africa, where most poor people were walking and some people had access to bicycles and even fewer to motorised transport, in Cambodia our impression was that even a lot of the poor have access to a motorised bike of some sort. Fewer people then were on bicycles and seemingly even fewer actually walk. Motorbikes/scooters were everywhere. The congestion and pollution...

Recently I travelled to Tanzania to climb Kilimanjaro and to go on a safari. So although my trip was not at all bike related it did not take long to be reminded of how important the bike is to many people around the world. I (and many people I know) take our bikes for granted. Many of us will even have multiple bikes for different types of riding and different conditions. But for many people the bike is a luxury that helps improve their lives no end. While I was training for my mad ironman/triathlon season a few years ago...

I recently got myself a new pair of shoes to replace my ageing Shimano VTT shoes. It took me a long time to find the pair I thought would be good and now that I have these I am pretty sure I have made the right decision. For a while now I have been using the PD-M324 peddles from Shimano. These have a flat side and an SPD allowing me to have the advantages of SPD when needed but also the flat peddle for some more technical descending What my old shoes lacked was a way for me to be able...

This review for the Leatt DBX 3.0 X-Flow glove comes a little late from me as I bought these a while ago and have ridden them a few times and now it seams they are no longer available. They have been replaced by the DBX 4.0 which unfortunately I do not have to test and review here. Firs things first, I think the gloves are great! The protection provided to the knuckle has already saved my knuckles from the road when I had a crash a few weeks back when a car pulling into the road spooked me. You can...

Right a the start of riding VTT bikes I got myself a full face helmet. It was a no brainer. I ride like a bit of an idiot sometimes and the more protection I can have the better. Although the full face helmet was a no brainer it took me a bit longer to get into riding with goggles. At first I use to just use my sunglasses with my helmet but now I am mostly riding with goggles. Maybe it was just my helmet but I use to have problems getting my helmet on while already wearing my goggles,...

These goggles from 100% have been a real pleasure and surprise to use. They are marketed as MX goggles but I bought these to use with my VTT to replace a problematic pair of Fox goggles. The main problem I have had with goggles in the past is the ventilation not working properly and then the goggles getting all fogged up and full of condensation while riding during the summer. This these goggles this is not the case. Even though they are a mid range goggle the ventilation in them works great. To the point that even sitting on the...

I have been riding bikes for a few years now and have been to many bike related events, mostly triathlon, and in this time I have seen many different versions of tri/aero bars. These bars do make it a lot easier to ride fast for a long time depending on the bike and the set up. My TT bike for example is so comfortable out on the tri bars and makes it a lot easier to go for a long ride and then still be able to get off and run after. There are the ones integrated into the whole...

Last week news broke about Tacx being acquired by Garmin. There are plenty of people in much better positions than me talking about this but I wanted to add my two cents worth to the discussion as well. As someone who both uses and promotes and sells both brands I have to say I am excited to see what this means. I love my Garmin Fenix 3 (not found a good enough reason to update it to the newest version yet) and my Tacx i-Vortex (although I have not been on it yet this winter). Both products have lasted me...

Follwoing on from the post about winter we have a review of a Tacx indoor training from a customer who bought one last season to train. I purchased the Tacx Satori smart trainer last winter as a way to get some kilometres in during the cold wet winter months. As a first time buyer I wanted to keep the price at a reasonable level. The Satori Smart arrived, hassle free and quick as usual from Michael, I had it unboxed and set up within 10 minutes with the bike attached. I downloaded the app to my smartphone to calibrate the...

Winter is here and for many (often myself) this means that the cycling season is over. I feel I have a little bit of an excuse as where I live there is snow on the ground for most of the winter, but really, it is no excuse. There are many thing you can get to make sure that winter cycling is doable, safe and even enjoyable. So, first thing you can do, and my prefered option, is to get an indoor trainer set up for the winter. This often requires both a reasonable investment in a trainer and space to...