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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Oakley Edge jersey
Oakley is best known for their contributions in the market of eyewear (especially with their new MP3 playing Thump glasses) but they also produce an excellent line of clothing. Among that lineup of soft goods is their long sleeve full zip Edge jersey. Since the weather is no reason to cancel a ride, it pays to be properly equipped for the conditions you’ll encounter. The full length zipper ensures that you’ll have no problems with overheating in the middle of a ride, and the large fob on the zipper makes it easy to work with gloved hands. The heavy polyester blend does a good job of blocking out wind while still allowing for more than adequate ventilation. We always wore it as a shell or second jersey, rather than alone since the material is rather heavy and it is always better to be taking layers off than suffering with them being the only thing you have should the temperature begin to uncomfortably rise. Durability is definitely the key here. Amazingly, after being ridden for several months through the worst hell we could throw at it, it has come off completely unscathed. Thorn bushes, crashes, asphalt, dirt, grease…you name it, this jersey has seen it and laughed it off.
Our only gripe is that the sizing seems to be a little on the large size. This leaves quite a bit of room in the front of the jersey (definitely a more trail rider cut as opposed to tapered Euro cut) and leaves it a bit on the long side. But knowing that, order accordingly and forget about being chilly on your rides ever again.
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Crank Brothers Acid 1 Pedals
When Crank Brothers hit the scene with the new Acid line of pedals, everyone rejoiced that there was an alternative to the heavy as lead shoes, tear your shins to shreds Mallet preferred by downhill racers. With a larger platform than the Candy and the same 4 sided entry of the Eggbeater, the Acid sits right in the proverbial “all mountain” genre (whatever that means.) The Acids are excellent pedals for every day riding (not to the corner market though) and handle tough situations well. The extended platform gives some support to the sole of the shoe and provides excellent power transfer while giving a margin of error if you can’t get clipped in during those “oh shit” moments. It also helps prevent the pedals from unclipping when the occasional rock strike happens, which is a nice change from the Eggbeater and Candy. We did find that it was necessary to shim the cleats on many brands of shoes that had any sort of cleat tread on the bottom, otherwise clipping in and out became a sketchy affair. The float offered by the two different cleats is a boon to people with knee problems and the 4 sided retention design eats through mud like a knife through butter. Unfortunately, unless you clean out your wallet, you’ll be taking a bit of a weight penalty, but that’s the nature of the beast. You’ve got to pay to play, and if you need some tough pedals, these are worth the price. Crank Brothers
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