Dusten’s Top Ten Items That Made Riding Better
With cooler temps and moisture on the radar, Dusten grabbed a cup of coffee and reflected on the warm memories of the past few months. Here’s a list of his top ten items that made the year much better…
Breaking down all the gear I’ve used and picking out just ten things is actually quite a challenging process. These are a handful of standouts and really all things that were used heavily, time and time again.
If you’re looking for more lists of our favorite gear be sure to check out some of our other blurbs that are more focused on specific types of gear or bikes.
After years away from road riding, my confidence and comfortability with clipless shoes drifted. As I find myself getting back in the saddle for more distance road riding and draw towards gravel rides, going clipless is without question.
Pearl Izumi packs in a lightweight road shoe into a durable shell that is comfortable, breathable and supportive mile after mile. The Expedition PRO comes in size 39-49 in four different colors, my preference being the Urban Sage. It has a dual BOA® Fit system to fine tune the fit quickly and precisely. The construction inclues a perforated synthetic leather upper, Carbon sole, TPU toe and heel, and a wide lug tread pattern.
I’ve been using these with both Shimano SPD and Crank Brothers cleats on a variety of different pedals with zero clearance issues. I have found the fit to be very true to size and the BOA® makes on the fly adjustments effortless even while riding.
Pearl Izumi does offer the Expedition shoe with a single upper BOA® Fit system and a lower velcro strap adjustment.
Pearl Izumi Expedition PRO Clipless Shoes
Available Colors: Urban Sage, Black, Whitecap Gray, Capulet Olive
Sizes: 39.0 – 49.0
MSRP: $260
When it comes to riding, my approach has become heavily focused on safety. With a handful of unfortunately spills over the years, head protection is top of my list before any ride.
The Smith Triad Mips® helmet is the ideal cross over helmet for many riders that spend time both on road and gravel. Protection includes Zonal KOROYD® coverage and a Mips® liner. Additionally, it features a VaporFit dial adjustment to find the perfect fit and AirEvac ventilation to keep your eyewear fog-free.
My particular Triad is the Alec Crash Sensor equipped model, which expands the safety to alert others in the event of a crash. If you’re like me and riding in the woods solo often, knowing that an alert can be sent out is mentally freeing.
As cold weather approaches my thoughts may drift on how often I reach for it, but for the warm months it keeps you cool even on the hottest days. It’s extremely comfortable and can be worn on multi day bike packing trips with absolute comfort almost forgetting it’s on. At around 300g, this has been the helmet of choice from cruising around town to 50 mile day rides and the multiday bikepacking trips.
Smith Tried MIPS® Helmet
Available Colors: White, Matte Black, Matte Neon Yellow, Matte Black / Topo, Matte Dusk / Bone, Matte Pacific, Matte Patrol / Crimson
Sizes: S – XL
MSRP: $190-210
Ombraz Classics $160
Eyewear goes hand in hand with riding. Keeping the wind out of your eyes, being able to see when it’s super bright, and putting a layer of protection between you and any debris that may fly straight into your eyes at mach speed.
The Ombraz made their way into my quiver late into summer. I’ll admit I’ve seen them on social media for a long time and always been curious. Ombraz does armless eyewear. Using a TR90 thermoplastic frame and Zeiss glass, they are secured in place with an adjust nylon cord.
Simple enough right? FInally biting the bullet and committing to put the Ombraz through it’s paces, I have been truly shocked with the long lasting comfort they have over time on top of having great lenses with ample coverage. The armless concept provides less pressure and stress on the side of your head and fit comfortably under any helmet. These quickly became my summer go to for rides, days at the river, and just leisure errands around town. The Nylon Cord acts as a built in croakie for when you’re not wearing them. No more losing a pair of glasses because you left them on the counter at your favorite taco spot, or dropping them on the ground when you jump out of the car at dusk hours. For riding I have found them very convenient to store in a jersey or bike bag as they are flat and I’m not concerned with them falling off of my helmet or being crushed by anything in a bar bag.
Ombraz Classic Armless Sunglasses
Frame Colors: Tortoise, Charcoal, Matte Brown
Non-Polarized Lens: Grey, Brown
Polarized Lens: Polarized Grey, Polarized Brown, Polarized Yellow
Sizes: Regular, Narrow
MSRP: $145-160
I’ve been riding tubeless for years and when it comes to a plug kit, sure there are different types but they all tend to do the same thing at the end of the day. Plug a hole. It’s not often that the approach to a plug kit is truly innovative.
The WTB TCS Rocket kit finally does offer something that I find highly useful. All contained into one enclosure, the kit includes: plugs, anchors, install tool and an extra hand.
That’s right an extra hand. This really is what got my attention with the kit and why I have been carrying this with me on every ride. The WTB TCS Rocket kit works by loading a plug into a reusable anchor. Once loaded use the install tool and push the anchor through the puncture and allow the plug to do it’s magic. The extra hand though is the real hero in my book, this is a temporary plug. By inserting it into the puncture it will temporarily seal while you load up an anchor. This stops air from continuously spewing from the tire and subsequent sealant from spraying all over your bike.
WTB TCS Rocket Tire Plug Kit
Weight: 55g
Includes: Reusable “Rocket” anchors, 1.5mm tire plugs
MSRP: $44.95
You can bring your things on a ride, ORNOT. It’s in the name and we love it. The ORNOT Handlebar Bag is a perfect companion for almost any bike.
ORNOT is a Bay Area based company making some of our favorite riding apparel and accessories. This Handlebar bag is made with 100% recycled fabric, Challenge ECOPAK. It has 3.1l interior storage with a zip pocket inside. On the outside is a series of stretch pockets for quick items and a dedicated phone pocket with a strap to secure it in place. It mounts to your bars with two Voile straps and an cinch bungee around the stem or headtube.
I use bags often on my bikes to help carry gear that’s critical to the ride and for bringing along equipment necessary for capturing our reviews. This handlebar bag has jumped from bike to bike to bike over the last year and been through multiday winter rain rides and mid summer trail rides. It’s the right size to carry what I find important and secures quickly and easily to many handlebar setups.
ORNOT Handlebar Bag
Size: 13cm x 22cm / 3.1 liters
Weight: 360g
Includes: 2x Straps (6″ or 9″)
MSRP: $86
Garmin Varia Radar $199
More than just a rear light. The Garmin Varia Radar has re-inspired my confidence in riding on the road.
The Varia Radar is a rear light with a built in radar. It pairs to either your smartphone with the Garmin Varia app or to a Garmin Edge cycling computer. There are three different versions of the Varia. From the RVR315 a simple radar only solution, RTL515 (which I have been using) and the RCT715 that even has a camera to record your rides.
The RTL515 weighs about 2.5 oz, measures about 3.9″x.8″x1.6″, and mounts to a Garmina Quarter Turn mount. It has four different Light modes from 8 to 65 lumens and is visible up to a mile away. It is rechargeable via a MicroUSB cable and has a battery life of 6-16 hours depending on the light mode. There is an IPX7 weather rating to ensure it will last any downpour you may get caught out in.
The Varia radar has been a key tool introduced into my road riding that has created the mental freedom I’ve needed to get back out on the road. Years back I was in a less then favorable incident with a car that hit me from behind and among the immediate injuries and broken bike left me with little confidence to ride around cars. The Radar scans behind you for moving objects (cars) and let’s you know on your display of choice how far and how many cars are behind you coming your way.
Since riding with the Varia Radar I have personally purchased multiple mounts and put them on all the bikes in my rotation to quickly be able to grab a charged Varia and put on any bike before I go out. If you’re at all weary of road riding or maybe you are hard of hearing or ride with headphones, this is a great solution to alert you about whats coming up from behind you.
Garmin Varia Radar Tail Light (RTL515)
Light Modes: Solid, Peloton, Night Flash, Day Flash
Visibility: 8-65 lumens up to 1 mile
Weight: 71g
Battery Life: 6-16 hours
MSRP: $199
We talk a lot about how to make your bike more comfortable and some brands nail it out of the gate. However, many bikes are still coming short on certain components that make your riding experience so much more enjoyable.
The PNW Coast Suspension Dropper blends two of our most sought-after elements into a functional package. The Coast Suspension Dropper is a dropper post (120mm or 100mm options) and a suspension seatpost (40mm of tunable air suspension) in one part.
On a mountain bike a suspension seatpost is almost mandatory in today’s world. Being able to get the seat out of the way to freely maneuver the bike on descents or technical terrain. On urban bikes we find a dropper post to be of equal value. In stop and go traffic the ease of lowering the seat on the fly to allow your feet to touch the ground then immediate raise it back up when your back rolling.
A suspension seatpost is another fantastic way to bring comfort to your ride specifically on a suspensionless bike. Road, gravel, commuters, these bikes can be rather harsh on your rear end when riding on rough roads. The Coast Suspension Dropper has 40mm of travel that you can adjust the pressure with an air chamber to dial in the exact amount of pressure needed to support you and allow the seat to move freely on the harsh bumps.
We keep a couple of these on hand and frequently swap them between bikes that we review for months on end. A $209 investment to get a dropper and suspension seatpost is an investment worth considering for anyone that spends multiple days a week riding a fully rigid bike.
PNW Components Coast Suspension Dropper
Sizes: 30.9 / 31.6 – 120mm, 27.2 – 100mm
Cable Routing: External or Internal
MSRP: $209
Riding with some sort of multi-tool is critical for being able to tackle anything that comes up during a ride. This Torque ratchet kit has become my go to for road, gravel and mtb rides.
Feedback Sports did a great job at stacking up the necessary 10 bits needed for most every piece of hardware on the bike. Rarely needed is an 8mm.
The whole kit comes in a nice case to keep everything collected and there’s room to store a few extra tools inside the case as well. What has made this tool convenient to use is the extensions to the ratchet. The ratchet itself is just shy of 3″ long, but you can add both the torque extension and solid extension making it almost 5.5″ overall length. Additionally you can configure the ratchet as a T-handle and opt for putting either the torque extension or solid extension in a variation of configurations.
The Torque extension has a 5Nm rating which is ideal for tightening your bars to the stem, or adjusting things like brake levers on the bars. Why choose a torque ratchet kit as opposed to any other tool to carry with? To be honest this is one of many go to tools, but for serious rides and wanting to be as prepared as possible, this has almost everything you need in a very tidy small package. I rarely find myself needing many other tools out on a ride and things like tubeless plugs, tire levers, air, and maybe one or two other specific tools for that bike are easy enough to bring along separately.
Feedback Sports Reflex Fixed Torque Ratchet Kit
Tools: Ratchet handle, 25mm extension, 5Nm click-torque extension, 10 bits
Bits: 2-6mm, T10, T25, T30; Flat 3mm
Weight: 204g
MSRP: $70
It goes without saying that if you ride for sport, you’ve definitely gotten sore a time or two. Floyd’s of Leadville makes a variety of THC-Free, CBD based products that have become an integral part of my recovery. While their collection covers Pre, mid and post ride solutions, their CBD Sports Cream has been the standout for me.
The Sports Cream is a THC-Free CBD isolate from hemp. It has a non-greasy application with a similar texture and consistency to lotion. This is a non Full Spectrum product that can be applied easily to aid in recovery after a hard ride.
Over the years I’ve tried a grip of topical solutions to treat inflamed areas after different rides and for the most part they all offer something different. The main takeaway with the Floys of Leadville CBD Sports Cream has been the non greasy application. I’ve found many other products to be oily and kind of gross to use, while this stays relatively dry as a normal lotion would.
I tend to keep a small bottle of the 750mg CBD Sports Cream on hand whether that be in the truck or in a bag on the bike, you never know when you may need some. At home I always have a Cooling Blend version on hand. The subtle cooling effect is so nice for those strains and attacking the inflammation to get your body into a recovery mood.
Floyd’s of Leadville is brought to us by Tour de France pro Floyd Landis who is beyond familiar with injury and recovery as an athlete. He redirected his pain relief towards CBD solutions in an effort of distancing himself from opioids as the only solution.
There are a lot of offerings from Floyd’s of Leadville, and the Sports Cream is just one of many products I keep on hand. The Recovery Tonic is another go to addition to the post ride regime.
Floyds of Leadville CBD Sports Cream
THC Free, 50mg – 2400mg CBD
MSRP: $2.99-77.94
onX Backcountry $29.99
“It’s just a map app”, if only that were true. It is much more than a simple map on your phone. Offline GPS is the biggest feature, but being able to create and discover routes, see active and historic wildfire layers, Smoke forecast, AQI, weather. The onX Backcountry platform collects a lot of data and presents it in an easily navigable platform.
There are various pricing platforms and running deals for onX Backcountry, but a 7 day free trial is always worth checking out.
onX Backcountry
Pricing: Premium ($29.99), Elite ($99.99), 7-Day Trial (Free)
While some of these products have been sent to us for testing purposes, some items we have purchased ourselves and continue to purchase.
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