I'm not sponsored or otherwise funded by any manufacturer or supplier - the stuff that I will 'review' is that used by myself over a bit of time. I'm an average weekend warrior, so similar to perhaps 90% of people out there. I have been riding bikes for some time, so do have an eye for a bit of marketing spiel and the crap that goes with it. Obviously buying this stuff myself means that my reviews aren't hugely exhaustive of what is out there, but hey! I've got to attract traffic to my website somehow......
Note that this is a work in progress as I'm changing the style of my website during March / April 2012 - quite frankly my original version of Muddy Ground was a bit boring and lacked substance. Hopefully this revamp will be slightly less boring.
What goes around comes around: Wheels.
Stans ZTR355 and ZTRFlow rims.
I had the ZTR355 to start with as I fancied trying tubeless, only shifting to a rear Flow when I bust the 355. However the rim only bent a bit coming down Snowdon, which is testament to how strong it is - I'd been up and down the mountain for two weeks and it only failed as I'd gained a bit more confidence on the rocks. The 355 had also been on the bike for almost two years by then with absolutely no issues. They really are excellent rims.
The Stan's rims I use with Hope Pro2 hubs - again I've used Hope exclusively for twenty years now, with one of my bikes having had a set on for 40,000 miles and the bearings have not been touched in all that time. They still run smoothly. I've only ever had one bad build, and that was sorted easily by my local bike shop.
Fulcrum Redmetal 5 wheelset.
I was building a bike and needed some wheels - as you do really; fairly essential items. Anyway it was coming up to Christmas and my wife was hacked off over my prevarication; I fancied something other than Hope's for some reason, and was looking at Mavic. Anyway she didn't tell me what she was going to get - in the end it turned out she'd gone for the Redmetal ones as they matched the colour of the Gary Fisher Tassajara frame. Go figure.
Anyway when I opened the box at Christmas I was pleasantly surprised at the quality, and they seemed to weigh the same as any Hope based system I'd ever had. The quick release seemed very nice - you notice these things. In use they've performed faultlessly for over three years now, with no issues at all. They still run true, and the bearings are holding up. They accelerate well. They even look nice with the flat bladed spokes. Work best with 2.1 tyres.
Overall a very nice wheelset at I believe a very good price.
Stan's tubless sealant.
I kind of hate and love tubeless tech. It can be a faff to fit, when you do get a puncture you can end up covered in latex but without the fun of a night locked in an Ann Summers warehouse, you still have to carry a spare inner tube and it's not cheap. But you can go for months without noticing punctures, punctures repair themselves often without the need to stop, and as I found on Snowdon you can trash a rim completely yet the tyre will stay seated and inflated. The stuff is also very long lasting - change a tyre, save the latex into a bowl, re-use the latex when re-inflating.
Bontrager Mud-X
Easy to fit as tubeless, lasts for ages, seems to work well in all conditions. What exactly is there not to like here? I leave mine on 365/12 no matter what the weather or trail conditions. You can even buy them at a heavily discounted price if you do a bit of surfing on-line.
Maxxis Aspen tyres.
Oh gee, what a tyre. Weighs the same as a gnat's fart and is about as durable if there are rocks within 100m of your trail. Sidewalls rip out with alarming regularity. Yet ride one and you'll always be surprised at the grip levels, even in mud - although it takes a brave soul to run one on the front in winter. Gives amazing acceleration. I have two sets..... On a shelf as the Mud-X's beat them hands down most of the time. But I still look at them longingly.
Yumeya chain.
Lovely, just lovely. Fitted one ages ago and it lasted almost 5,000 miles of fairly harsh use. However, when I bought the thing it only cost £30. I went to buy a new one recently, and it was £45 so I didn't; went for XTR instead at almost half the price. If you have £45 to blow on a chain, then go for it. And for all the hype about the hollow pins, the tech only saves 30g over XTR - is your ride really going to change that much if you shave 30g? Guess if you ae a weight weanie it all adds up, or subtracts if you see what I mean, but for normal [read "slightly lardy" here] people it's a bit too geeky.
USE1.Com seatposts.
I love USE stuff to bits - it's made in the UK and looks lovely - but the trick one bolt closure always rounds off somewhere at the head. The bolt is fine, but usually the saddle rails wear the clamp itself away at the ends, so leading to movement. So you tighten the bolt a bit more. It wears a bit more until eventually the whole thing fails with a big bang. Has happened on all of my USE posts. Pity as I want to support the company in as many ways as I can.
USE1.com carbon handlebar.
Brilliant. Light, good looking and comfortable for carbon. Happy as a pig in poo with this item.
USE1.com stem.
It's a stem. Get over it people.
Bringing things to a halt: Brakes.
Shimano SLX brakes.
2010 / 2011 versions. Bit rubbish really. I find them wooden with little power. In two years I'm on my fourth set as they aren't reliable either. Cheap though. I tend to use them as a rear brake only, where they are OK. Give them a miss on the front. The 2012 ones I've not tried, but as they are a completely new design hopefully they both work and prove reliable.
2010 Magura Julie.
Now here's a brake that gives good power, good feel and is reliable. I used mine with the supplied 203mm rotor, which proved way too much. Now gone down to a 160mm on the front and they are brilliant stoppers. Look ugly mind. Pads seem to last for ages; think 3 years and around 6,000 miles so far in all weathers.
All you ever needed to know about lubrication but were afraid to ask: Chain lubricants.
Squirt lubricant.
Jolly good stuff provided you apply it in the warm at least 24 hours prior to use. If you're the type who lubes and gos, then try something else. It also gradually leaves a black waxy residue all over the rear end of your bike and is a pain to remove. Lasts for about 25 miles before giving up the ghost.
[This topic I will expand, and expand, and expand on.....]
Thule racks.
Ubiquitous which says something. You could buy British cleverness, but most attach by the forks so where do you put the front wheel? Thule have an answer for everything and I'm thinking of having a tattoo of their name on my face so convincingly have I bought into their systems. I have, on average, three Thule items for each of our cars, yet I only own one pair of jeans.
Thomson anything.
Buy it. Fit it. Forget it.
Well until you come to try and remove any bolts. Then you'll curse them as utter bastards. Grease the threads, and regularly crack them open and re-tighten.
I suspect that there may be the odd counterfeit Thomson floating around, so don't buy anything suspiciously cheap.
Charge Spoon saddle.
The modern riding style demands that you get off the saddle as much as possible. So why fit a big, heavy padded saddle? Why not fit one as light as you can get away with? In the event I've always found a hard saddle more comfy than a soft one, so this suits me well.
Buy in brown as this looks lovely.
Nuke Proof Reactor Headlight.
Bit pants. Underpowered - no way was it 900 lumens. More like 200 I'd say. However, combine it with a £30 handlebar mounted 200 lumen spotlight torch from Maplins and you have a half decent system for £130. Suprisingly effective.
But then for £90 you could buy a decent Chinese system that blows it away. Luckily you can't buy the Nuke Proof anymore.
Overall a bit pants - this would apply to the NUU system as well that ON-One flog for varying prices.
Muddy Ground t-shirts.
Well why not? Last for ages, fun and jolly good value.
Cafes and Cake: an introspective.
Buying stuff: Bike shops.
Pillow talk.