The evenings are drawing in and the mornings are getting darker and darker. Yup, it's that time of year again - for 2015 we've got in a whole range of lights, from budget commuter lights to top-end mountain bike lights. If you're new to commuting or riding at night, here are our top tips: To be legal on NZ's roads you need at least one front and rear light, but it's always a good idea to have an additional pair of small backup lights too - these increase your visibility (you can run one set of lights on steady and the other on flashing) and provide a backup in case either light runs out of juice. Lights come in battery-powered or...
Cardrona Bike Park is re-opening on 4th April, and on the last day of the season, 19th April, is hosting its very own Mega Avalanche! True to Mega Avalanche form, the race will start with a sprint to get to the front of the pack before entering the narrower sections of the course. The course is 14 kilometres long down 1,300 vertical metres and includes a mix of open trails, twisty single tracks, steep descents and narrow technical switchbacks. The spectacular finish line in the Cardrona Village sees riders enter into the awards arena where $5000 worth of cash and spot prizes will be up for grabs. Sponsors of the Mega Avalanche include Outside Sports, Altitude Brewing, Smith, Fox, Mons Royale, Race Face...
Absolute Black are a small UK manufacturer making oval CNC chainrings to fit standard 104 BCD cranks, as well as direct-mount SRAM GXP. Joel and Ethan took the plunge and bought two of their chainrings to test out. It's obvious that they're beautifully made, but does the oval shape help? We haven't decided yet, but here's what pinkbike say:"The bottom line for Absolute Black's oval chairing is that switching to one is a sure way to ease up punchy technical climbs, and it could also be used to widen the gearing ranges of one-by drivetrains by allowing the rider to push two more teeth up front without sacrificing the bike's climbing ability." RRP on these rings varies between 100 and...
Two similar do-it-all bikes from the world's biggest small bike company, the Straggler and the Crosscheck are both great practical machines. They've both got sensible, comfortable steel frames with room for fat tyres and mounts for mudguards/racks, and they're both at home around town, on a tour, or riding down dirt roads and trails. Here's what we think their key differences are: 1. Brakes. The Crosscheck has V-brakes, whereas the Straggler has discs. 2. Geometry. The Straggler is a little racier, with a lower BB and a few other tweaks. The Crosscheck is a little more stable. 3. Options. Both bikes have a couple of variants in addition to the ones you see here. The Crosscheck SS is a complete singlespeed bike...
Every now and then we find a product that we think is really awesome. This piece of kit is a dream come true for home mechanics and race days - a top-quality floor pump that also effortlessly beads up tubeless-ready tyres. It's perfect to keep in the car in case you burp all the air out of your tyre, or if want to install new tubeless-ready tyres at home. We've already nabbed one for shop events. If you're interested, we have one on the shop floor for demonstration, and you can find them for sale on our website.Here's how it works:1. Uh-oh, one seriously burped tyre. Well actually, we just deflated it. 2. Pump it up. Pre-pressurise the pump's internal reservoir (or...
