B E N D E R's non sweary review site, roubaixcycling.cc (and general kit discussion)

oldbazza

Presume the ALE camo is based on that French army team kit.

Like the look of the PRR bib-shorts;anyone here used them?(orr any ALE shorts).

ilovegrace

Arm warmers for fathers day present. any recommendations , max £25 ?

fenix

You cant go wrong with the Meraklon by Prendas. I have the Castelli rainproof ones - but the Meraklons are the ones i use the most. cheap and they fit my puny arms without rolling down.

They come in different colours - but always go for black I reckon -
http://www.prendas.co.uk/prendas-ciclis ... rmers.html

bendertherobot

Good Grief! Torm ones are down to £9!
http://torm.cc/aw1.html#ad-image-0

Jez mon

oldbazza wrote:

Presume the ALE camo is based on that French army team kit.

Like the look of the PRR bib-shorts;anyone here used them?(orr any ALE shorts).

I have the ALE bubbles kit from last year.

Top quality kit. One minor criticism is that the leg grippers are not quite as grippy as some other brands. But I can't fault the kit for comfort, pretty much as good as my Team Sky rapha shorts, and a fair bit cheaper...

ilovegrace

bendertherobot wrote:

Good Grief! Torm ones are down to £9!
http://torm.cc/aw1.html#ad-image-0

Are they any good/worth it?
regards
ILG

fenix

Still dearer than Prendas !

bendertherobot

I have to say that the Prendas are very good. Last forever. Just prefer the feel of the Torm ones. The Torm are a lighter weight version. The more expensive ones are Merino

bendertherobot

Fairly slow progress on the testing front but:

Have some Red White Race shorts on the way: http://www.alwaysriding.co.uk/redwhite- ... horts.html

And some Decathlon shoes:http://www.decathlon.co.uk/700-aerofit-carbon-road-cycling-shoes-black-white-id_8359180.html?pup=r&gclid=Cj0KEQjws_m6BRCv37WbtNmJs-IBEiQAWKKt0L6t98IIx4JiXROtVokW3wdBhPJoiRfrd5x3gh4RcCUaAs-38P8HAQ

Really interested in both, should be good to review.

Oh and on the list for the Lumos Helmet which, for commuting, seems like a fantastic idea

mostly

I've got those shoes and they did need about a week of 'breaking in' , at first I was not so happy, after a week I was very happy.

bendertherobot

Looking forward to them. ATOP system is on some very good shoes.

matt_n-2

Any thoughts on Conquest bibs?

Their Core Endurance ones are down to £35 at the mo.

bendertherobot

Just waiting on them. Will drop them an email this week

matt_n-2

90 day return policy, think I'm going to order a pair.

daniel_b

I am quite tempted by them as well, looking for something more beefy for the 2-3 hour trainerroad sessions :shock:
My Planet X ones are not up to the job.

Was hoping you had them by now BTR, but evidently not.

Sizing seems fairly big, ie the smallest is designed for someone who is 5ft 9 - I am 5ft 10, but long inseam\short torso, so generally have to buy something meant for someone shorter so the straps are tight enough.
Thinking the pro ones will be lighter, and hopefully tighter so a more compressive fit.
Would prefer the all black, but none in my size, and I'll just be on the turbo anyway.
Either these, or the £48 Galibier offerings.....

amaferanga

The Conquest Core Endurance bibs are very tight at the leg gripper. Size small are verging on being uncomfortable on me (5'8" and 68kg with normal cyclists legs). They're plenty long enough and the straps are fine so I think a medium would be massive.

daniel_b

amaferanga wrote:

The Conquest Core Endurance bibs are very tight at the leg gripper. Size small are verging on being uncomfortable on me (5'8" and 68kg with normal cyclists legs). They're plenty long enough and the straps are fine so I think a medium would be massive.

Thankyou for that reply.

What is your inside leg, and what do you make of the shorts overall, compared to other makes for example?

I'm 5ft 10, 69kg, 34" inside leg.

Despite my reservations, I have ordered a couple of pairs at £45 each - will let you know my thoughts when they arrive, next week now I would expect, although I may not get to test them for a while, as am going on holiday next week - unless I take them with me of course.

daniel_b

So the pro conquest shorts have arrived.

Not as blown away by first impressions as I had hoped.
The legs are indeed tight!
Straps are fine length wise for me in small.
Material is thin, seems ok, but is a bit shiny.
Stitching does seem a bit patchy too.
Pad looks and feels ok, not sure it's a 6 hour pad though.
Still debating whether to try them or send back.
Am in two minds, might be a short that is amazing in use, but flatters to deceive on first impressions.
Personally not currently convinced they are a £90 short.

Would be nice to compare them with the Galibier offering for £48.

EDIT: I have ordered the Galibiers.

bendertherobot

Sorry for the quiet week. Should be ok next week for reviews!

bendertherobot

Redwhite race bibs arrived. Look excellent. They also have a kuku type thing.

bendertherobot

The red white race bibs are exceptional. And that's just on 1 40 miler. Honest to god exceptional.

bendertherobot

http://www.baxcarbon.co.uk/#!product-pa ... 98e6b2b6bd

Should be testing these next week!

apreading

First wear with the Perfetto today, really liked it - climate inside was pretty good (wore a REALLY thin merino short sleeve base layer, because its what I had to hand). On my XXL, the fit is really good too - just right, like my Fawesome & Gabba really - so dont know why yours was so much smaller than normal Castelli fit. The only think I wasnt sold on was the neck - quite loose and not only that, the neck starts much lower on the garment than normal, so there is this baggy section at the top. Its almost as if it were sized to wear a buff or some form of neckwear underneath but while that mike make sense on a winter jersey, it goes against what this is for. The neck didnt present any problems out on the road though. I wouldnt want to go out in proper heat wearing it though - so will be trying out the Imprevisto next.

stueys

I tried my Mossa yesterday and perfetto today. Really rate both, but I think I found the Mossa more breathable. Which I wasn't expecting given its also fully waterproof. Maybe it's difficult to compare across the two days as today was warmer?

daniel_b

Just realised\noticed that Conquest orders come with a postage paid royal mail returns label.

Didn't seem clear on the site, so no risk orders.

90% sure will be sending mine back, but just waiting for the Galibiers to arrive so I can compare side by side.

bendertherobot

My review of the RedWhite race bibshorts

http://roubaixcycling.cc/2016/06/22/red ... bibshorts/

daniel_b

bendertherobot wrote:

My review of the RedWhite race bibshorts

http://roubaixcycling.cc/2016/06/22/red ... bibshorts/

Nice review BTR, looks like you are smitten!

The Galibier shorts have arrived, not had a chance to try them yet, but initial impressions are that they are superior in material and pad to the Conquest offerings.
Will see if I can find time to try them on later, around packing for the holiday, and packing the car :?

EDIT: Found some time to investigate the Galibier bibs.

In comparison with the Conquest ones, also in Small, these are a better fit for me.
Legs are still tight, but not as tight as the conquest ones, and the straps are probably tighter, whicch for me with a short torso is important.
In my opinion, the material, and feel of the garment is superior to that of the Conquest offering, which reminded me of some sportful shorts I have, and also noticable, the pad on the Galibier, is almost twice as thick as the Conquest one - not the be all and end all I will grant you, but it also feels denser, so I think for what I am after, turbo trainer comfort for long hard sessions, might well be the ticket.
Granted, I hate all things red on a bike, or on bike related clothing, but no one will see me in the garage, so I don't care

If I didn't know where the prices belonged for these two items I would have guessed them the other way around, the Conquest shorts are meant to be £90, but were £45 in the sale, whilst the Galibiers just retail at £48, seemingly all the time, though they do have reductions here and there at times.

After this side by side, the Conquests are definitely going back via their free post service (superb!) and the Galibiers I will test when back from holiday.

bendertherobot

I am a bit. They're on the right side of compressive to me. I like the fact that they are a bit more free to move around with me rather than being a bit more rigid. So, yes. A bit smitten.

Have to say, I am also smitten with that Tokyo Fixed jersey. So much that I bought one (different colour) and will be buying another (black arrows).

bendertherobot

I'd like to try some Galibier but funds simply don't allow me to buy all the stuff I'd like to test, so without that I'm a bit stuck. I'll save some pennies because I am about to start doing some TT's and their speedsuit seems really nice.

I've had a positive exchange with Juin Tech about the cable hydro brakes they do. Fingers crossed. Would be good to see how they stack up against the Trp Hy Rd.

dazz_ni45

bendertherobot wrote:

I'd like to try some Galibier but funds simply don't allow me to buy all the stuff I'd like to test, so without that I'm a bit stuck. I'll save some pennies because I am about to start doing some TT's and their speedsuit seems really nice.

I use their speedsuit and really like it. Not sure how "technical" it is compared to some of the more expensive offerings, but I've a lot of other improvements to make first before I get too caught up in that!