Lizard Skins introduced a new backpack in September of 2017 – the Cache Lifestyle Backpack. This bag combines all the bells and whistles you’d expect from a modern commuter or all-around backpack into a remarkably usable product. If you are looking for a new backpack for daily use, this is well worth considering.

We like to use the Ortlieb Velocity as our standard benchmark for waterproof commuter and day bags. At $109.99 the Cache Lifestyle Backpack is right at our benchmark price point, but offers a lot more functionality.

Functionality

One of the first features I noticed was the ample webbing on the face of the pack. This provides a convenient anchor point for anything you might imagine hanging off your back on a carabiner. It provides a great spot – in addition to the smaller band at the bottom – to clip on a tail light. Also, happily, it seems to just fit a Kryptonite lock, securely holding it in place without annoying swinging about as you pedal.

The Cache Lifestyle Backpack also beats the Velocity on interior functionality. A padded interior pocket provides the perfect spot for you laptop or tablet. An exterior side zipper allows easy access to this space, in addition to access from the top.

The laptop sleeve is located up against the wearer’s back. This is always a compromise that frankly I’ve never decided which way I want to go. Placing the laptop sleeve against the rider’s back allows for rounding and bulging of the rear of the bag. This facilitates cramming more stuff in than you could if the laptop sleeve was on the rear of the pack. However, this also means that all the weight in the bag rests on the laptop or tablet when you are in a road-bike like position. This can be problematic for tablets especially. Finally, this can also mean a lot of tension on the laptop or tablet if you are someone that likes the shoulder straps to be firm and your pack snug against your back.

However, the only backpack I’ve ever ridden that put the laptop on the back side of the pack was purpose built for camera equipment. You just have to be cautious not to combine a laptop with a particularly heavy load.

In addition to the padded laptop sleeve, there are stretchable neoprene side pockets on both sides, and a full width pocket on the bottom rear including pen holders and smaller pockets. However, I found this particular pocket resulted in broken pencils and bent pens if I put any real weight in the pack.

Straps and Comfort

The shoulder straps are well padded and comfortable. I initially noticed the lack of waist strap. This would normally be a big mark in the negative column for me. However, the shape and padding of the straps made it so I didn’t miss the waist strap at all, even with a reasonably heavy load in the pack. The sternum / chest strap does the job of keeping the shoulder straps in place should you need that. In addition, the shoulder straps have the usual compliment of hooks and slots to clip / hang / carabiner to your heart’s content.

Comfort is very much a personal thing. But for me, I found this pack slightly more comfortable than the Ortileb I’m comparing it to.

Latches and Zippers

Both the sternum strap and roll top closure strap on the Cache Lifestyle Backpack are magnetic. For the sternum strap, the magnet works to snap the two halves together, with latch points doing the actual load bearing. The roll top has an angled sliding mechanism that also uses a magnet to help snap it closed. This mechanism was initially confusing, but it became second nature after just a couple of uses.

All the zippers are easy to use and felt sturdy. But, easy to use has its downsides…

Water resistance

This pack is a bit unique in that it has both a roll top AND zippered top. Roll tops are obviously superior for water resistance. The addition of the zipper, however, actually adds to the functionality of the bag. It allows you to overstuff the bag past the point of being able to roll the top down in fair weather conditions. But, you can still zip the top and keep your goods in the bag when you are down in the drops. I’ve actually had things fall out while trying to do the same thing with the Ortlieb bags.

This bag has a handicap in the water resistance category due to the zippers. Zippers ride a balance between being incredibly water resistant, but hard to use, or easy and leaky. This is just the nature of zippers. The Ortlieb addressed this problem by avoiding zippers entirely. Which also means there are no pockets.

In our very scientific “squirt the hell out of it with a garden hose” test, there was water seepage through the zipper in a couple of places. It was not a lot, but enough that there was potential damage to electronics. Keep in mind however, this test represents the worst case scenario. Based on this, and the real-world usage, I would feel comfortable hauling my computer in this bag in normal rain. However, for a multi-day, all weather excursion I’d probably lean towards the Ortlieb.

Conclusion

I really like this bag. I find it to be extremely comfortable and functional. It performs beautiful for both daily commuting, or weekend picnic rides with the family. I haven’t had enough time with it to really address durability issues, but I’ll update this article after a few more months with the bag.

Adding to a running list of bicycle related Kickstarter projects is Australian effort Freedom Cycle System. We’ve seen numerous bicycle related products get the “kickstarter improvement” – everything from helmets to pedals to lights. Usually these projects revolve around making something “smarter” – or, cramming a bunch of electronics into them and somehow linking them to a phone app. It would be hard to imagine a way to make the lowly bicycle water bottle cage smarter. I don’t need an app to tell me if there is bottle there after all. But Freedom Cycle Systems is focused on making it better. Which is what “smarter” used to mean. 

The innovation here is replacing the standard “finger” style water bottle cage that we all have with a pin type system that fits into purpose built bottles and other accessories. Or, in the words of the creator Steve Serpell:

Our water bottle sits on, not in.

One of the advantages of the design is much more flexible range of motion when removing the bottle from the holder. This not only provides ease of use, it also address the very real space problems inherent in compact frames.

The current project will be shipping the mounting pin, a round “toolbox” (basically an empty bottle with no squirty top) and both round and aero water bottles. We had to have aero, right? Oh, and they’ve got the wind tunnel testing data to go with it.

Other future products are hinted at on the Kickstarter page.

It is this interchangeability that, for me, is perhaps most attractive. I can easily have my aero bottles on race day, a regular bottle and a packed lunch for the weekend ride, a tool kit and water for club rides, and a bag full of goodies for the family ride. And I will be able to carry all of this on the same bike, from the same two mounts.

But big ideas start small when someone has to physically make the stuff. Currently it is only the translucent bottles that are available – including round, aero and the tool box.

The design won Steve Serpell and Freedom Cycle System the Bendigo Inventor Award in 2012, and runner up in the DRIVENxDESIGN Sydney Design Awards the same year.

Some may balk a bit at needing to purchase system specific bottles for this system however. Kickstarter pricing is AU$ 25 for the round bottle, and AU$ 35 for the aero (about $20 and $24 US) so we can expect eventual retail prices to be somewhat higher than that. That puts it about middle of the road for other aero bottles, but more than the branded cheapy round water bottles that bike shops practically give away. I haven’t yet found details on exactly how the nozzle is to be constructed for the water bottles, but it appears to be rubber in the videos.

The Freedom Cycle System Kickstarter campaign offers a rather flexible contribution plan, allowing you to pick and choose various parts of the system that will be offered at launch. It is projected that Kickstarter orders will ship by the end of April, 2018.

Update: On initial publication we incorrectly reported that the product would ship by the end of 2018. The correct timing is by the end of April in 2018 – not the end of the year. The story has been updated to reflect this correction.

Ford Motor Company has notably been in the bicycle news lately as the title sponsor of the San Francisco bike share program Ford GoBike. But the company’s recent patent application for a Retractable Bicycle Carrier is geared towards those that own both cars and bikes.

The patent application – published Jul 6 2017 – details a retractable bicycle carrier. While the specs and drawings in the patent are installed on a Ford Mustang, the text of the patent clearly indicates this as a device intended for any vehicle.

A bicycle carrier system for a vehicle includes a rail assembly configured for translation between a stored position within a vehicle fascia and a fully deployed position. The rail assembly includes one or more sliding rails each carrying a plurality of pivoting anchors.

Of course this is just a patent application and there is no real indication that this will ever come to market. It is also not the first time we’ve seen automakers experiment with bicycle centric autos. But Ford seems to be doing more and more in the area of bicycles.

Because we view ourselves, both as an automotive company, and as a mobility company

— http://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/ford-unveils-latest-e-bike/

In addition to the Ford GoBike partnership mentioned above, the company had previously been working into the bicycle market in a much more direct manner. The MoDe:Flex was a prototype smart bike reported on VeloReviews. Perhaps Ford is hedging its bets about where transportation is heading in the future.

Tickets are now on sale for the 2017 North American Handmade Bicycle Show. The event is scheduled for the weekend of March 10-12, in Salt Lake City.

The event has a strong following, with 117 exhibitors currently listed on the NAHBS website.

Returning this year is the University of Iowa. You may recall all the attention generated by them in past years. In fact, we featured a bike from UoI builder Willy Tan from the 2016 NAHBS in Sacramento.

You can purchase tickets online from the NAHBS website. See http://www.2017.handmadebicycleshow.com/ for the most current exhibitor and event information.

JustAnotherCyclist will continue our coverage of this event as well – so stay tuned for that.

I avoided riding with headphones for a long time. I simply wasn’t that comfortable with my ears covered – especially in busy San Francisco traffic. I had experimented a couple of times with riding with one earbud in. But this invariably lead to me either hearing only half of the music, or switching back and forth between stereo and mono settings on my iPhone. Neither of these options were particularly appealing.

However, after a little shopping on Amazon I came across the Far End Gear XDU stereo earbud. It plays both the left and right stereo channels it a single earbud.

Until I lay my hands on a super-awesome smart helmet with magical bone-conducting wireless audio, a single earbud is the only legal option in the state of California and many other jurisdictions. I’m aware of the performance gains of music from hours on the indoor trainer with headphones on or stereo blasting. But in traffic safety and legal concerns have to come first.

All that puts the single earbud situation in a weird place. I want to be able to block out enough noise to hear the music without interfering with environmental and situational awareness. This product strikes a good balance.

In the music quality category, the Far End Gear XDU actually performed a lot better than I had expected. When attached to my iPhone, I didn’t feel like either the left or right stereo channel was lost. In fact, it sounded almost identical to a single earbud on stereo headphones with the phone’s audio set to mono. Of course, without requiring me to actually change any settings.

The music had a great frequency range and even a rich, deep bass response. Much better than I’d expect from any earbud.

I’ve only been using it for a few weeks so I can’t really speak to the durability of the product. Some of the online reviews mentioned cord failures. However, what I found online more than anything were compliments on the manufactures amazing customer service.

The cloth covering on the wire doesn’t only enhance strength and help avoid cord tangles. It also has reflective threads in it that increase visibility at night.

The only complaint I do have is that, in certain positions, the wind noise is transmitted into my ears in a very noticeable way. I think this has more to due with… well… physics than any design flaw in the product.

All in all, if you do want to listen to music while riding, the Far End Gear XDU stereo earbud is a great, safe and legal option at a very reasonable price.

The 2017 Salsa Vaya has some updates over previous model years, and one of those is the introduction of a Claris 8 speed build. The bike is being sold as a “road adventure and light touring bike.” I started looking to build up my own touring bike out or Eloise – my vintage Motobecane. As the price point for the SRAM build I was looking at crossed $1000 I started to recall my long unfulfilled desire to own a Surly Long Haul Trucker. That lead me to my favorite local independent bike shop Huckleberry Bicycles. The staff there, continuing their long run of really good service and sound advise, turned me on to the Salsa Vaya.

The cyclocross and gravel scene is influencing all aspects of the cycling world, and the Salsa Vaya Claris is no exception. Stopping power is provided by Hayes CX mechanical disc brakes front and rear. These required a bit more force on the brake levers than I expected to stop the bike, making me wonder how well they will perform in a fully loaded descent. For commuting around town, however, I was able to quickly adapt.

The ample frame and fork clearances provide more than enough room for even the knobby 700x40C WTB Nano tires my build came with. And as a touring bike it is adequately equipped with the appropriate number of eyelets and braze-ons. There are midpoint braze-ons on both the inside and outside of the forks, and a mount point on the bottom of the down tube.

All Vayas have front and rear clearance for 700c x 50mm tires, or 700c x 45mm with fenders. Dress up your Vaya with some knobby treads or take comfort to the next level with the current crop of high-volume road tires on the market.

http://salsacycles.com/culture/vaya_updated_for_2017_in_stock_now

One of the first things I did was mount my trusty Tubus Cosmo rear rack. This stainless steel rack will probably outlive me, and serves me well both for carrying camping gear and the daily commute. Fitting the Tubus on was a little tight, with the forward tube of the rack hitting against the bottom of the seat stay. While Tubus has a solution to this in the form of a bolt-on extension, I opted to keep my rack as low on the bike as possible. There is absolutely no issue with the disc brake clearance however.

The Tubus Nova lowrider rack for the front is still on order so I’ve yet to see how that will fit on. I’m not really expecting any problems though.

The first word that came to mind when I started riding the bike was comfortable. The compliant steel frame and relaxed geometry, coupled with the high volume 700x40C tires made for an incredibly smooth ride. Even the pothole laden San Francisco streets felt smooth. The fairly upright frame geometry puts you in a riding position that is relaxed. I feel like I could sit and pedal this bike all day – exactly what you need in a touring bike.

The other surprising first impression I had was that the bike felt fast. I have a general expectation that a touring bike will be… sluggish. That was not at all the feeling I had on the first couple of rides. Once I mounted my Garmin it became apparent that the bike is not truly that fast. But the overall sensation was of a bike that is just plain fun to ride. I’ve also got a pair of Continental Touring Plus tires on order to use for the daily commute and paved road touring that will undoubtedly speed things up a bit.

I would very much caution against ordering one online without riding it first though. The geometry and riding position make this difficult to size by the numbers. I normally ride a 52cm road bike, but it took a 54 or 55 to feel comfortable on the Salsa Vaya.

This is quickly turning into one of my favorite all-around bikes. It is a solid ride that manages to feel both comfortable and sporty. I can’t wait to get this thing loaded up with camping gear and head out on some gravel mountain roads.

Redmond, WA company Coros Wearables is launching a new helmet that comes with more than the usual bells and whistles. The product, launched on KickStarter, has been dubbed the Coros LINX Smart Cycling Helmet. In a nutshell, it is a bunch of useful technology stuck into a bicycle helmet. If you are going to wear a helmet, you might as well use one that comes with a smartphone app.

I personally have been experimenting with listening to music while riding recently, so this just happened to pop into my awareness at the right time. Recent laws in California – and common sense – mean that riding with both ears covered is illegal as well as dangerous. I recently decided to order a single-earbud device that channels both stereo channels into one ear which seemed a reasonable compromise. I haven’t yet received it yet so I’ve no idea if I’ll like it or not.

The Coros LINX Smart Cycling Helmet takes a different approach however. It uses bone conducting technology to transmit sound without covering the ears – either one of them. Bone conduction of sound is not new, and has had both success and failure in the past. However, I don’t recall anyone yet combining it into the helmet though.

Sound waves are converted into vibrations delivered through your upper cheekbones. The Cochlea receives the vibrations, bypassing the ear canal and ear drum. For cyclists this is super important because that means you can hear audio AND hear your surroundings as you ride, such as cars and other potentially dangerous obstacles.

http://www.coros.com/technology/

It goes beyond a simple combination of helmet and bone conducting headphones, however. It also has an embedded microphone for on-ride calls. The company advertises the ability to make and receive calls directly from the helmet, as well as listening to your music and hearing route cues and directions over the music while riding. There are even hints of a rider to rider communication feature with your buddies on the same ride.

In addition, there is a “G-Sensor” embedded in the helmet. This will call a “loved one” if a crash is detected. Presumably this will all happen through the smartphone app that is you install on your phone. Available for iOS and Android, the app is slated to have GPS functionality and, presumable, a way to tell it what loved one to call should the helmet hit the ground hard enough to trigger it. I haven’t yet been able to find a ton of details about the app, although KickStarter supporter units are slated to ship as early as November.

Last but not least, there is a remote device. Again, this presumably will interact with the smartphone app. And obviously it will take up a little real estate in your bike’s cockpit which, for many of us, is in short supply. That being said, I can see this being fairly handy if the functionality is what one would expect and I can flip through my songs.

Despite my love/hate relationship with bicycle helmets in general, this is one of the KickStarter projects that I actually decided to support. That means I’ll be getting one of these in my hot little hands before most folks. So, stay tuned for an actual review once the product arrives.

Brooks England has added two new helmets to their iconic line of saddles, bags and clothing. These are currently being release in pre-order on their website, and are expected to ship by spring of 2017.

Both helmets will be released in two sizes, M (53-58cm) and L (59-62cm).

The ISLAND, our first Commuter Helmet, and the HARRIER, our first Road Helmet, are currently in development. Soon they will be in pre-production, the full commercial release being planned for Spring 2017

https://www.triboom.com/brooks/project/brooks-helmets

Brooks England Island bicycle helmet

The Island offers vents front and back, but a smooth, solid top that differentiates it from the standard road helmet style. Lines curve over the ears, connecting the front and rear vents. The helmet is clearly geared towards the casual, urban commuter, bringing “…Brooks style to the urban rider.” This is actually a segment of the market that may arguably have the greatest likelihood to ride without a helmet.

The helmet is slated to be offered in white, teal, mud grey and black. It has an MSRP of $150 US / £120.00. However, the Island is not yet available in the United States, having only passed the applicable European certifications for retail sale of bicycle helmets at this time. US certification is expected within a couple of months of this articles original publication of August 2016.

Brooks England Harrier bicycle helmet

In contrast to the cycle-chic ethos of the Island, the Harrier helmet has more of a road cyclist look.

For the sportive rider, Brooks offers the Harrier – the Brooks aesthetic applied to road helmet design.  A combination of aerodynamics and light weight for a sleek appearance offering secure performance and comfort to the road or gravel rider.  Four cooling channels provide ample airflow, ensuring rider comfort on road and off while the compact form slices through the air with ease  Key features include the size adjustor fit system and attractive Brooks copper branding. 

The Harrier has an MSRP of $200/£160.

Purchasing from Brooks England

Brooks is launching these helmets via Triboom, an online platform allowing purchase direct from their website. Feeling a lot like Kickstarter and other crowd-funding sites, there are a limited number of “pre-production” helmets available, on a first-come, first-serve basis. In addition, those opting in to the Triboom platform will reportedly be able to help influence the product decisions of these helmets going forward.

Those participating in this early adopters program should see their helmets ship in time for Christmas.

If you are one of those folks that choose to wear an adult bicycle helmet, maybe what you really need is a Brooks saddle under your bum and a Brooks helmet over your head.

I just finished watching “The Program” – a dramatized version of the events of Lance Armstrong. The movie itself credits its inspiration to David Walsh and his book “Seven Deadly Sins.” Somehow I had been aware of this movie and had (incorrectly) assumed that it was another in the line of documentary works that come out since the Oprah Winfrey interview with Lance Armstrong. After watching, however, I realized this was a bit different.

This movie was a dramatization in that there were actors playing all the roles. The astute cycling fans will recognize the moments of actual footage scattered throughout the production. But there is no denying that Lance Armstrong, Frankie and Betsy Andreu, Johan Bruyneel and other key figures were played by actors. That sets it apart from the majority of the films published since Lance Armstrong’s admissions.

While the story is populated with actors, it maintains the documentary feel, depicting real-world events accurately enough that those familiar with the story will recognize them. One of my complaints, however, would be about how much they tried to capture in this film. The 1 hour and 43 minute runtime attempts to represent the entire career of Armstrong – from entering as a pro to the present day. With a scope that ambitious the writers had to pick and choose from some of the “key moments” in the story, and undoubtedly many of you will be frustrated by many of the omissions (more on this later).

Those omissions can do a lot to shape the representation of the story, and to this I’ll actually give the writers and directors credit. The Program actually came off, to me, as reasonably unbiased. Controversial figures such as Armstrong and Landis are portrayed as neither sympathetic nor villainous characters. If there is a “hero” at all in this, it would be David Walsh. His story starts out verbally supporting the up and coming young Lance Armstrong, to being suspicious of his performance, to coming out in the minority decrying apparent doping, to final vindication. Which is not surprising. This is, after all, essentially a film adaptation of his book “Seven Deadly Sins.”

I’ve actually not read Walsh’s book, and I can’t help but wonder if some of the omissions from the story that felt glaring to me are a result of the representation of facts in that book.

Other than a mention by name in one scene, Tyler Hamilton is completely absent from the story. The email accusations by Floyd Landis during the 2010 Tour of California are represented by a single, fictitious scene of Landis going into an office proclaiming “I want to confess.” (Never got to hear “We like our word. We like our credibility.”) Greg Lemond isn’t mentioned, and the ongoing assault on Betsy Andreu was simpy implied in the film by a single conversation between Armstrong and his lawyer.

All in all the movie was watchable. For those not as familiar with the history of the story, it may in fact be quite educational. However, from my perspective it comes off as the Cliff Notes version – which is to be expected when you try to compress over a decade into just over 90 minutes.

I’m glad I watched it, but I doubt I’ll ever watch it again. And if anyone asks me for a recommendation I’ll probably just give a “meh.“

At the time of this writing, The Program is available for streaming on Amazon.com – where it is included free for Prime membership holders. It is also available on DVD from Netflix.

My trusty Garmin GSC 10 Speed/Cadence sensor gave up on me the other day. I think this may be the original sensor that came with my Garmin Edge 500, and I know for a fact that my Edge 500 is the single oldest piece of cycling gear that I still own. I have data on Garmin Connect going back to August 21, 1999. Therefore I am not entirely sad nor upset that my sensor went out. It has served me well for a very long time. It has survived more bikes then I can remember, inadvertently tracked a couple of Amtrak Capitol Corridor trips, managed to NOT be on any of the bikes that got stolen, and held it together through more than a few crashes.

What did surprise me however was what seems to be a change in my overall average speeds since the GSC went out of service. That change, of course, was down.

It took me awhile to convince myself that I really was seeing consistently slower averages. (Which also means, obviously, that it took me awhile to finally replace it. In fact, I still haven’t at the time of this writing.) One I convinced myself that I wasn’t just making excuses for a period of laziness, I started thinking about the why.

First, let’s set up the rides I’m talking about. I was comparing my normal commute to work rides. These are rides that I know very well, do all the time, and know what speeds I can expect on average over certain parts of the route. I know about what speed I’ll be going at my comfortable cadence in a given gear. These are the things that made me confident that I wasn’t just making excuses up to explain away my “lazy” numbers.

All that being said there is a bit of subjectivity in this test. I didn’t have some other, third party, that I was riding along with both with and without the sensor to verify my findings (although I’m thinking about doing precisely that.) I feel that even that subjectivity is fairly well mitigated however.

Incidentally, I happened to mention this on Twitter in a very off-hand sort of way, asking if anyone else had witness such a thing. I wasn’t complaining – I wasn’t even upset – just curious:

My ride data is very different since my Garmin speed/cadence battery died. Anyone else notice this? @GarminFitness #garmin

JustAnotherCyclist on Twitter

To my very pleasant response, I quickly saw this response:

@JAnotherCyclist Sorry to hear that, reach out to our product support team in the following link for help:
garmin.com/support
~JH

Twitter response from Garmin

OK. So they didn’t give me any new information. But they did acknowledge that I was talking about them. And let’s face it, that is a hell of a lot better than many other companies can manage.

So that gets us back to the why.

When I notice things like this, I’m the type that constantly tries to think of reasons and causes. I put my somewhat basic knowledge of how GPS works to try and figure out why the averages might be different. It is my understanding that Garmin combines the data from both the sensor and GPS. This is especially relevant due to the location I did most of my riding in after the sensor failed: downtown San Francisco.

Why does the fact that I was riding mostly in downtown San Francisco have any impact on the Garmin? Honestly I can not say for certain that it did. But I do have some theories.

First is stopping. On my commute to work I have to stop a lot. Stop lights, stop signs, pedestrians stepping out in front of me… Lots of stopping. And that means lots of auto-pausing that is impacting my average. I’m fairly certain that, with only GPS data, my Garmin is not detecting stops as quickly as it did when it had the input from the speed sensor too. That could theoretically drive the average down compared to the same ride where the speed sensor data is included.

The other thing is the fact that I’m riding through a bunch of tall buildings. I know for a fact that my Garmin can not acquire the satellites when I am standing inside my office building. That will also limit the amount of satellite data available to me when I’m riding outside but between the buildings. It takes a bare minimum of 3 satellites to get a position, but any accuracy requires 4. If buildings are blocking communications with satellites, then my numbers will not be as good. This was very obvious to me as I would see the speed display jump from 6 MPH to 18 MPH in one switch as I took off from a stoplight. I never saw a change like that with the speed sensor on. Instead I would see a series of smaller incremental changes.

These things together seem like really good explanations of why my averages might be lower without the speed sensor. I have yet to be able to talk to anyone that understands the calculation algorithms used in the Garmin so I could be completely wrong.

Or…. I could be making up excuses about why I’ve been slower lately and trying to blame it on my equipment. It is possible I suppose.

Naw… I’m certain it is the Garmin.