On The Pedals
The Daily Grind
Over The Bars
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Bike Bytes
What We're Riding | |||||||||||||
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 = We'd rather eat a soggy bike sock than buy this thing.
 = Pretty good. Could use improvement, but functional.
 = If someone gives it to you, maybe. It's a paperweight.
 = Sweeeeet. We'd buy it. It won't cure cancer though.
 = We'd use it if we were in a bind. Maybe.
 = Dude, it does everything including wash your car. It rules!
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Hydrapak Gel-Bot Water Bottle
Hydrapak has made everyone's wishes come true: they've eliminated the fuss and muss of gel packets with their ingenious new Gel-Bot water bottle. By combining a small flask (which can hold the equivalent of about 3 gel packets) inside a standard 24 ounce water bottle, you've got the best of both worlds all rolled into one nifty gadget. You pull the button out to drink the fluid out of the bottle just like you would do with a normal water bottle, but the magic happens when you slam that button back down into it's locked position. When you try to drink from a closed bottle, normally you get nothing. In this case you get a shot of energy gel goodness out of the internal flask. This is particularly awesome since most gel companies suggest that you wash down their product with plenty of water to get the full benefit. We found ourselves out on the trail swallowing a mounthful of gel with the button closed and then popping the button open for some tasty beverage right after. You couldn't ask for more. It elimininates the nasty sticky wrappers in your jersey pockets and limits trailside garbage that often falls out of pockets or out of hydration packs. Both of these are definitely worth the $14.95 MSRP. The only downside our testers found was the inability to quickly clean the bottle after a ride: care must be taken to wash out all the gel/liquid residue, otherwise you'll be growing funky things in short order. Hydrapak
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Oakley Racing Jackets
Glasses are just glasses, right? Wrong. Not all glasses are made equal in this day in age. Oakley has been the king of eyewear for quite a number of years now, and it shows in their functional creativity and styling. Oakley's Racing Jackets are an excellent set of glasses that have made their impression among riders ranging from ProTour perennial George Hincappie to mountain bike superstar Brian Lopez, and there's good reason for it too. Oakley hit the mark with the ovaliod shape of the Racing Jackets. They provide a wrap around styling that does an excellent job of protecting the eyes from all manner of trail debris while looking damn cool at the same time. There's no joints in the glasses at all, so there's less liklihood of a spring or earpiece pivot breaking. They are a solid one piece frame construction, making them durable and confortable to wear. The earpieces are comfy and secure without squeezing the head uncomfortably and the molded nose pads are quite nicely designed as well. I was able to wear these for entire days of riding without even knowing they were there. Oakley also smartly designed the Racing Jackets with loads of ventilation built into the lenses and the frames. While adding a stylish appeal, they also (impressively) keep the lenses free of any fog or nastiness, although they only really work while moving (but who stands around while mountain biking anyway?) Lenses are a rose tint that seems to be a little less effective than amber at hilighting the trail, but they still beat clear lenses. Even as daylight waned, I was still able to wear them and make out what I needed to see. The only downside is that the lenses are not swappable, but then again, I rather like the security of a lens that's set into a frame. If you're neurotic enough that you need to swap lenses, you should look to Oakley's other offerings. Oakley
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