Bikes and Tech

It feels like summer is well and truly agitating in its loins (as Keats would say). It also feels like I need to show my bike a little TLC after it has spent the winter and spring doing a ‘good job of work’.

And as every beautician will know, performing some serious TLC requires a serious torque wrench.

Whilst I’ve been washing off my bike after most rides, and I give the whole drive train a (relatively) deep clean when the mood takes me, it’s time to start taking key components off the bike in order to clean (and grease) them properly. I want my summer cycling to hum to the tune of sweetly-tuned gears.

This was another of those ‘research before buying one’ posts. I’ve always known (in my heart of hearts?) what a torque wrench does (it tightens stuff to a precise amount of, er, tightness). But until my precision tightening epiphany, I’d never had cause to use one.

Having decided to buy one, I did some research and in this post I’ll share it with you (in case you, too, wish to tighten things to precise levels of tightness). I’ll also tell you which one I bought.

Read moreTorque To The Hand (Or What’s The Best Torque Wrench For Bikes?)

I’ve had a revelation. And it involves my arse. By way of explanation, here is my review of the LifeLine Essential Clip-On Rear mudguard (Fender).

As a result of being a bit more committed to riding when the weather is filthy (partly in order to find opportunities to test high performance outer wear), I’ve tended to return from rides with mud and ‘road juice’ sprayed up my back and my backside.

I think US readers may refer to this as the ‘buttside’, but I am not sure.

The gunk hasn’t only covered my person. It’s covered my bike.

Whilst I’ve been good (“good girl Daddy” as our youngest proclaims) at rinsing down the bike after each ride, it isn’t ideal having megatons of megacrud splatter-gunned all over the rear, whether it’s mine, or that of the bike.

Read moreLifeLine Essential Clip-On Rear Mudguard (or Fender) Review

I’ve owned a Wahoo ELEMNT BOLT for a while now, so it’s about time I shared my thoughts in the form of a review. If you’re thinking about buying a new cycling computer, this post will contain all you need to know.

Read moreWahoo ELEMNT BOLT: An In-Depth Review

Some experienced cyclists might scoff at this question (though surely not you, noble reader of Sportive Cyclist). I think it’s a perfectly valid one.

I haven’t done a survey (perhaps I should), but I can’t imagine many prospective sportive cyclists wake up one day, having not ridden a bike in 20+ years, and think, ‘I must sign up for a sportive,’ and, while they’re at it, ‘I must buy a shiny, narrow-tired road steed‘.

Many people may own a bike already, perhaps for commuting or for family cycling activities, and there’s a fair chance that this is a hybrid (or perhaps a ‘roadified’ mountain bike – fitted with less knobbly tires etc).

For those that do awaken having undergone a cycling epiphany, they’ll generally seek to buy one bike to satisfy their new-found pedal-powered needs (bit of commuting, bit of child-seat lugging, bit of fitness riding). A hybrid-for-all-seasons might prove a tempting prospect.

(Of course, then they buy it and immediately the Pandora’s box is opened and they become subject to the one bike ownership formula to rule them all.)

I knew a girl at school called Pandora. Never got to see her box though – Spike, Notting Hill

Read moreHybrid vs Road Bike: What Is The Difference? (And Can I Use A Hybrid For A Sportive?!)

I’ve owned my Elite Crono Fluid Elastogel turbo trainer for over six years. Which probably qualifies me to write a little review.

I’ve used it to prepare for RideLondon, to attempt to maintain some semblance of fitness over the winter (hashtag fail) and to complete the 30 Days of Cycling Challenge in June.

In this post I’m going to attempt to give you a flavour of what it’s like to use and whether I consider it a worthwhile purchase (although, disclaimer alert, it was given to me for my birthday).

Given that it has a rather unwieldy name, from now I’ll shorten it to ‘Crono Fluid’ (which sounds disturbingly biological). Be aware that this trainer model has a variety of similarly-named (but differently-specced) siblings. Make sure you’re clear on which one you want to buy (obviously…).

Read moreWelcome To My Pain Cave: A Review Of The Elite Crono Fluid Elastogel Indoor Trainer

So this is a nice specific post then. If you are looking for a bit of intel on how to fit a Bontrager Duotrap Speed and Cadence sensor to a Trek road bike (OMG – THERE’S A HOLE IN THE CHAINSTAY), then you’ve come to the right place. Okay, you’ve come to a place. Okay, you’re here.

On the other hand, if you’ve come for some general road cycling entertainment, then these are not the droids you’re looking for, Move along now.

So, for the roughly 0.1% of you that own a Trek bike with a hole in one of the chain stays, here’s a guide to installing a Duotrap speed and cadence sensor. Two things: (i) it’s very easy; (ii) I took loads of photos.

And now an additional THIRD thing as I update this post. I madez a video. It is, after all, 2020, and we are stuck in our houses. So, either watch this YouTube dispatch, or continue to read and look at the pictures, your choice.

Yes, you are welcome for all the value I am giving you.

Read moreHow To Fit A Bontrager Duotrap Speed and Cadence Sensor

The Rouleur Classic is a bike show for hipsters. Based in London for two and a half days only, it is a celebration of bike-based beauty, cutting edge velo tech. And, from what I can tell, drinking.

Now, in terms of fashion, I’m firmly at the back of the peloton, if not the lanterne rouge. Nonetheless it seems that Rouleur lets anyone buy a ticket to attend. So i did. And I did.

And in this post (and video) I’m going to tell you about the cool stuff I saw at the show.

Read moreRouleur Classic 2019: My Review (With A Video!)

The purpose of this post is to (wait for it…) compare the Garmin Edge 1030 with the Edge 830 so you can work out which is best bike GPS choice for you.

(Essentially, is it worth you paying a bit more in order to get the extra 200?)

So we’ll be looking at (and comparing) things like size, weight, the screen, buttons (buttons!), as well as the software features, both basic and sophisticated, so you can decide which bests suits your road cycling needs (whether that’s your actual ones or your perceived, I’m-on-the-verge-of-turning-professional-at-age-45, needs).

Capiche? Alrighty. On with the show!

Read moreGarmin Edge 1030 vs Edge 830: A Comparison (Which Is Right For You?)