cycling ⁽³⁷⁾

Patrick November 16, 2024

Mavic Cycling Shoes

I usually stay loyal to a brand when something works or fits well. When you look at my bike fleet, you’ll easily spot a bunch of those brands. There’s Rotor for cranks, SRAM for shifting, Hope for braking, and Prologo for sitting. You’ll see René Herse, WTB, and Zipp on multiple bikes. I have the same brand loyalty for everything I wear on the bike. I move on to other brands from time to time, but it always happens gradually. I used to wear Giro helmets exclusively in the past. While I still have two old ones, I’ve moved to Lazer for road and gravel and Smith for snow and dirt. On the opposite end of my body, my feet slip into the shoes of two brands. There’s Mavic for warm and dry days and Northwave for cold or wet days.

Patrick October 11, 2024

DJI Neo - The Perfect Cyclist's Drone 

I got my feet wet using a drone for cycling photography in the spring of 2017 when I bought a Yuneec Breeze 4K. It showed me two things at the time. Firstly, I was able to capture some amazing photos. Secondly, drone technology wasn't ready.

Patrick August 5, 2024

Spexcel Cycling Apparel

Other than a review on theBidon blog and a few Reddits, there's very little online about Shenzhen-based cycling apparel brand Spexcel. I first ran across Spexcel on AliExpress in 2023. I bought a few windproof vests and two bibs for the fall and winter seasons. The quality and workmanship were outstanding. In 2024, I revisited their AliExpress store multiple times. I bought a half dozen jerseys, several bib shorts, and a thin, windproof vest. I have a drawer full of jerseys, some old, some newer; what I was missing were short-sleeve jerseys made from extremely lightweight materials for hot summer days. By hot, I mean 24-28°C. No jersey in the world would make cycling fun at 30 °C. Spexcel had just what I needed.

Patrick February 11, 2024

 Dream Bike Or One That Does The Job

When I first got into cycling in the mid-80s, entry-, mid-level, and high-end bikes were not tremendously far apart. Mountain bikes had no suspension, and frames were made from steel or aluminum. Groupsets were the primary difference between bikes. An entry-level bike had Shimano LX, a mid-level bike was equipped with DX, and a top-of-the-line bike came with XT. I started on an entry-level bike, moved to a mid-level Specialized Stumpjumper, and soon rode a World-Cup-level Muddy Fox with a full Shimano XT groupset. Even seat posts were part of such groupsets back then. XT came with a nice black steel seat post. You read that right: a seat post made out of steel. A few years later, I spent a small fortune owning a Merlin Titanium with XTR derailleurs and many boutique components. For much of my cycling career, I bought or built nice bikes that cost a lot. They were never outrageously expensive, but more than I needed.

Patrick January 23, 2024

Fat-Biking To Start 2024

On the weekend of January 13th and 14th, snow covered the trails almost to my house. I did a 3-hour ride across the Bözingenberg on Saturday, the 13th, and a 4-hour loop across Plagne and the Stierenberg on Sunday, the 14th. Warm weather and rain during the week pushed the snowline up several hundred meters. Luckily, the mercury dropped below zero on Friday and remained there for the weekend.