Craft Performance Bib Shorts Test

Swedish based Craft is a brand most people who does sports probably knows. The company that was created all the way back in 1977 has established themselves as one of the biggest brands for sporting outfit across many different sport genres. I have already taken a look on the “Elite” cycling jersey, and now it’s time for the “Performance” bib shorts.

On the road

I have been riding these bib shorts on distances up to 140 km, and been doing that for several months. They have been used in both races and for training, so they have been through every possible thing that you would ever use them for.

All I can say is, that they ended up fitting me nicely, being both very aerodynamic, but also extremely comfortable on the same time, giving the best of two worlds. They also do not feel tight at all, even though they seems to fit very tightly, because the fabrics stretches further than what I have experienced at other brands. In addition, the gel pads in them are also well made and they are very comfortable. You will not get any sore ass in these bib shorts, not even after a long run. Craft has really done a great job making sure they fit perfectly, meanwhile not being, literally, a pain in the ass. I can certainly understand why Craft has become one of the most favored brands for cycling outfits in the cycling world. 

A fun bonus is, that they write how much tension density they have, the thickness of the gel, etc. inside the bib shorts, as you can see in the picture below.

However, they do not come cheap off either, costing around 100 euro’s for a single pair of bib shorts. Nevertheless, I do still recommend them for anyone, because there is nothing worse than having a sore ass the next two days after a 3 hours training session, because you were riding low quality bib shorts. It can really ruin your mood for another training session the next day, which is not good for anyone.

But price and quality seems to be right about these bib shorts, because the fabrics seems to be very strong. After I have used them for a long time, and at points even tortured them, they look just as good as new. Also where the saddle tends to eat the fabrics up on other bib shorts, the Craft Performance still stands strong without any problem at all. In addition, no stitches has failed yet, and the colors still stands very strong. So they may be a bit pricey, but you can use them for years to come.

The verdict

Once again, Craft comes up with a brilliant piece of outfit that will make your training, and ass, a bit better. You can barely feel that you are wearing them, because they fit great, and they are very comfortable. Cheaper bib shorts can easily be found, but you really should not cheat yourself and your ass for a better ride. Moreover, as another plus, they will usable for many years to come because of the high quality. This is easily the best pair of bib shorts I have ever tested, and I can only recommend them for everyone who wants to have a comfortable ride.

You can check out other reviews of Craft products by clicking here.

Written by René

Read more: http://www.cyclingtipsonline.com/news/craft-performance-bib-shorts-review/

Craft Elite Jersey Test

Craft is one of the biggest producers of cycling clothes around the world, and sponsors the World Tour team Trek, which includes Fabian Cancellara, Jens Voigt, The Schleck-brothers, etc. The Swedish based company has produced sport related clothes since 1977, and is known to deliver clothes in great quality.

(Note, the jersey's design is from my bike club)

On the road

I have been testing the Shirt, which according to Craft, should be aerodynamic, light, and have a great fit. Well, I can certainly say that they seem to be aerodynamic, because you are able to see every gram of overweight on your torso if you wear the shirt correctly. It is very comfortable though. The fabrics got a great stretching-ability making sure that it fits all different kind of body types. No matter if a rider needs a size medium, and either got big muscularly arms or small mountainrider-ish arms, the same size of the shirt can fit you. I am in the last group, but guys with much larger arms fits the same jersey just as good as me.

The shirt got a total zipper from the neck to the bottom, so it is easy to take on and off, unlike some other shirts that only have a half zipper, or none at all. It makes it a lot easier to put on and take off, along with you can zip it a bit down on hot days if needed.

Since the fabrics are not that thick, sweat transportation is almost impossible. Therefore, you would need a sweat-absorbing shirt underneath the Craft-shirt to make that problem go away. However, on super-hot days, it is really nice to wear because overheating won’t become a problem. It lets a nice amount of wind cool you down. I personally find temperatures above 16-17 degrees Celsius, on a sunny day, fine for this jersey.

The shirt got four pockets on the back. Three of them easily accessible, while one is placed on top of the middle pocket, with a zipper. Therefore, you can put valuable stuff in the pocket with the zipper, and do not have to be nervous if it falls out of the pocket during the workout. A nice feature I have been using a lot for my cellphone and money for a pit stop during the ride. Nevertheless, the three other pockets are easily deep enough to stop stuff from falling out of them 999 out of 1000 times.

The verdict

This is a nice shirt! Craft have really done a great job designing this. They have thought of about almost everything and every detail, to make this shirt great in all different kind of scenarios. It is both aerodynamic, comfortable, and practical, and even after a long time, the colors of the fabrics have not faded at all. So if you want the best of the best, these may be the pair you should take a look on.

Written by René

Read more: http://www.cyclingtipsonline.com/news/craft-elite-jersey-review/

Sportful Bodyfit Pro Gloves Test

Sportful is a worldwide known Italian producer of some of the world’s best cycling clothes. They even sponsor big World Tour teams like Team Saxo Bank with tour-star Alberto Contador on the team. One of the items Sportful makes is cycling gloves, which is what I have been testing. The specific name of the gloves reviewed in this article is Sportful Bodyfit Pro Gloves, also pictured below. They are the top racing gloves from Sportful, and is made to secure as small a wind resistance as possible by being a tight fit.

On the road

The gloves only make a tight fit if you, of course, pick the right size. They are still very comfortable though, because the fabrics used can be stretched quite a bit. Even after 200 kilometers my hands feel rather fresh, and the Ulnar nerve, which usually can make you hand be feeling-less for a small amount of time, does not get affected when you have the Sportful Bodyfit Pro gloves on. So no wonder why the professionals at Team Saxo Bank likes these gloves.

Since the gloves makes longer distances less hard for your hands, you will enjoy your workouts on your bike a bit more than before. There is just nothing better when man and machine is combined in the best way possible. I have personally tried several other gloves before these, but they did not feel as comfortable as the Sportful’s at all. These Sportful gloves are by far the best cycling gloves I have ever tried.

Are they are more aerodynamic than other gloves? I have no idea. The aerodynamic drag on gloves is in general very small, but of course, if you can save half a Watt of drag in a race, they are worth the money. I never felt any difference at all, but it is always nice to have the knowledge, that the gloves you are wearing are the best of the best.

The general quality of the gloves are top notch. Stitches and fabrics is not found any better than what’s being used, and even after taking a lot of beatings, like running them on the tires to get stones out of the tires while still riding in a high pace, hasn’t damaged them at all, even though those stones easily could cut them open. In addition to this, the areas that are getting worn the most, got a double layer to make sure the lifespan of the gloves is as long as possible.

For hot days, they do not feel that warm compared to similar gloves, due to a good ventilation through the thin upper part of the gloves. The bottom part that is made with a bit thicker fabric got ventilation holes, as seen in the picture below. The gloves is definitely better than most gloves when it comes to hot summer days, but Sportful also makes some other gloves with even more ventilation. They are not “as aerodynamic as the Sportful Bodyfit Pro racing gloves” though.

The gloves also got some furry fabric on the backside of the thumb, helpful to get rain or sweatdrops of the glasses without damaging the lenses. It also helps with keeping your thumb warm, but isn’t much use if it becomes wet. I have seen it on some other non-Sportful gloves too, so it is not very rare or special, but it is still a nice feature to have, if you hit rain on your route.

Along with that, they also have a bit of fabric between the middle and the ring finger, making it easier to take the gloves off.

The verdict

I have several experiences with all kind of different cycling gloves, because I always had problems finding gloves I actually felt was great to wear. However, that was until I tried the Sportful Bodyfit Pro gloves. They are simply by far the best gloves I have ever tried, and at less than 35 Euro’s they are far from the most expensive gear you are going to spend money on for your bike anyway. I can only recommend these, as they made my hands less sore after a workout and therefore improved my motivation for the next workout.

Written by René

Read more: http://www.cyclingtipsonline.com/news/sportful-bodyfit-pro-gloves-review/

Elite Mag Speed Alu Hometrainer Test

For many, winter is equal with snow and therefore it is not safe to go out riding on a road bike. Others just do not like the cold weather often combined with a lot of wind, which is far from unusual on that part of the season in a lot of places around the world. The answer for those who can agree with the things above will often be a hometrainer or joining a gym. In the long run though, a hometrainer will be the least expensive by a big margin, so why not go for that? Here you have several opportunities. Some are cheap and basic, others are expensive, giving you the opportunity to ride up a virtual Alpe d’Huez via your TV, or compete against other riders on their expensive hometrainers on a given course or mountain.

The one I have been testing is the basic Elite Mag Speed Alu from Elite. It costs around 150 euro’s in the stores, and therefore does not have the possibility to plug it in your TV and ride up any mountains. No, it is just a standard hometrainer for those who does not need anything else. Along with it, you do get a training DVD with different exercises and a bottle, plus a sweatabsorber to install on your seatpost and handlebar. It is actually quite important since sweat is destructive for the paint, and you are gonna sweat A LOT more on a hometrainer than outdoor due to that there is no wind to cool you down.

Testing

I have been testing the Elite Mag Speed for 3 winters so far, with durations to maximum 1½ hours. It has been equipped with a Vittoria Zaffiro Pro reartire specially made for use on a hometrainer. It can give you 5 different resistance values, where 1 is equal to tailwind or downhill, and 5 is equal to either strong headwind or a tough climb. To simulate normal training speed (30 km/h +/-) I have been using the 2^nd level. For intervals I went a bit higher on the resistance level. The roller and the tires had a great grip with each other’s, and only under heavy accelerations in the higher resistance levels, was I able to create any wheelspin.

For me, the motivation of it is lacking. I find it “fun” in the first 5 minutes, and after that I try looking around in the room for something to think about. I started missing the fields passing by in the side along with the wind bursting at your face. A way to solve this for me though, was listening to music and/or watch a tv-program I like. I will not recommend programs which demands much attention, but just something where the pictures changes all the time so you have something different to look at all the time. I was actually missing a feature being able to achieve anything, like climbing Alpe d’Huez, or battleing against a 25-year-old Italian online on Mount Ventoux.

A kinda fun thing to that though, is that the earlier mentioned lack of motivation for riding on longer periods on the hometrainer, actually makes me do a lot more interval training than on normal roads. Therefore, it does give a lot extra strength compared to spending the same amount of time just riding in a steady pace on 80-90% of max heartrate. So I wouldn’t say I don’t get just as much out of the training as doing 3 hours rides on the roads. I think it is equally as good.

But all that depends on the kind of person and how motivated you are. When it is getting close to a new season start, and I know there won’t be long till the snow is away, I am logging a longer time on the hometrainer than I am doing in the early winter. Most people will probably do it the same way, because of a increased motication. But as a training tool, the Elite Mag Speed is great. You save a lot of money compared to a gym center, and you do not have to battle freezing temperatures. I have only been happy getting mine, because I am training a lot more in the wintertime than I would have been doing without it.

A problem I have noticed though was that at higher speeds, would the rollers start to vibrate so much, that it creates a noticeable sound. Therefore, I did try to keep it below that speed to stop it from making the noise. It did not matter what tires I tried, the noise would still occur. It is more or less just a bad balance on the rollers that triggers the vibrations, which maybe won’t occur on all Mag Speed’s.

Verdict

The Elite Mag Speed is a great hometrainer for the person who is just looking for a basic method of training when the weather does not give the best opportunity for going outside doing that. For me though it got quite boring pretty fast, unless I had music to listen to, or a TV-show to watch. Therefore, I will highly recommend doing that if you are going to buy any of the cheaper hometrainers without any fancy features like climbing Alpe d’Huez. Nevertheless, it made my do a lot more trainingsessions than if I had to go out in snow or bad weather, so it has definitely helped me becoming a better rider.

Written by René

Read more: http://www.cyclingtipsonline.com/news/elite-mag-speed-alu-hometrainer-review/

Mavic Cosmic Elite Test

Mavic is a very wellknown producer of strong and high quality wheels. I have been riding on their budgetwheels known as Cosmic Elite Clincher, which came with my 2012 Scott Foil. A 30 mm profile wheelset, that is fine for the everyday ride, and for the riders who don’t want to spend much money on what is “just a pair of wheels”. They come in at around 1770 grams per set, which makes them a bit high in the weight, but at the price of around 300 euro per set, what to expect?

On the road

So, how do they feel on the road? Well, they feel better than they on paper should feel. Somehow, the weight does not feel that big. The acceleration is rather okay, especially when taking the price and weight into account. Of course, there is a big list of wheels better suited for a lighter and better acceleration, but these will do that just fine.
Aerodynamicwise, they do not seem to get much worse than other wheels when the speeds grows above 40-50 km/h. That is mostly because of aerodynamic spokes. Spokes that also are very stiff. I have not felt any flex in the wheels yet, so they are doing that job very well.

One bad thing I have to point out about them is, that I tried doing a test, where I had the Cosmic Elite and a pair of very cheap Alex Rims, and tried to see, which of the rearwheels would spin for the longest time if I started them at the same time. I was very surprised to see that the Alex Rims actually rolled for a longer time. Of course they weigh a bit more (2 kg per set), but I would have expected the hubs to be off a better quality than expected. They do not feel that bad on the road, but I must say that there is a mile in difference between these, and wheels like Shimano C35 Dura Ace wheels, when it comes to maintaining speed. Those wheels are twice as expensive, so that is of course expected, but so would I have thought about the 100 euro Alex Rims, where they actually seems to be better at maintaining speed than the Cosmic Elite. But, let’s remember, that it’s the legs that has to do the talk. Therefore, a good rider on these will still kick the ass of a normal rider on a pair of Lightweight Obermeyer.

And let’s be fair, these wheels were never meant for racing anyway, but as the everyday training wheel that has to deal with all the torture a rider can give them, and still don’t fail on you. For this purpose, they are doing the job as they should. Better than expected actually. They are very VERY solid. I have been getting some beating that none of my other wheels has gone through, but they are still straight as the first day I got them. Mavics wheels are just somewhat indestructible, so if you want very strong trainingwheels, the Cosmic Elite is a winner.

The verdict

The Mavic Cosmic Elite Clincher wheels are perfect for everyday training, and/or for the rider that wants a wheelset that just does not break when it gets tortured. It will be your very best friend on a harsh ride on cobbles, and bad roads. The hubs are not as good as expected, but that is more or less the only downside on this wheelset. They are a rocksolid, overall decent performing wheelset, for a very good price. Therefore, if you are looking for a cheap longlasting wheelset, this is definitely a good choice.

Written by René

Read more: http://cyclingtipsonline.com/news/mavic-cosmic-elite-clincher-review/

Shimano Dura Ace C35 Test

Shimano is not just a company that makes gears for bikes. No, they also make other stuff, such as wheels, which is what we are looking at here. Shimano produces a few different wheels. C24, C35, and C50. The numbers behind the C’s are how deep the rim is. C24 is 24 mm deep, and a lowprofile, C50 is a highprofile with an 50 mm deep section. I have been testing the 2012 Shimano C35 Dura Ace Clincher wheels, the top allround wheels they produce. They are not as aero as the C50, but not as as heavy either. On the other hand, they are more aero than the C24, but also heavier. So if you riding in different terrain, the C35 would be a good choice. I can compare this wheel to Alex Rims and Mavic Cosmic Elite.

The Shimano Dura Ace wheels are known as very good value for money. For less than 900 euro you can get wheels that achieve almost the same as wheels costing more than twice as much. The quality is also one of Shimano’s big plusses, since they always make their products amongst the best in quality. The Shimano C35 wheels I am testing are a version older than the ones being sold now. The 9000-series is a bit lighter and stiffer than the 7900 I am testing. The clincher version of the 7900 C35 Dura Ace wheels I am testing, comes in at around 1630 grams per set. That’s a little high weight, but as Shimano states, the most of the weight is located in the hub, that is made out of titanium, so it is easier to accelerate up, than the weight would make you believe. And that is believable, since the outer part of the rim is in lightweight carbon, and the spokes are in steel. So they are pretty solid too, actually they don’t have any weightlimit on them, that’s how much Shimano believes in them. The Dura Ace hubs, are also known as really really good. But more about that later.

On the road

I have been riding these wheels for a year so far now, and I have only been hugely satisfied with them. Still today, they are straight when I spin them round. And I have been beating them on some pretty tough cobblestones, so its not like they have had an easy life. Compared to Mavic Cosmic Elite, they role a lot better. The hubs are just soooo smooth. Actually the hubs are so good, that I am outrolling a friend of mine on his 2-3 times more expensive Zipp 404, if we both stop pedaling, and just let the bikes roll. That’s how good the hubs of the Shimano wheels are!

The acceleration of them are good too. I feel a lot faster accelerating on the C35’s than any of the other wheels I have been riding on so far. That being said, I definitely can feel, that there seems to be lighter wheels out there, and if you want to do good at criteriums or mountainclimbings, the C24, or other lighter wheels, would probably be a better choice, while for a time trial, the higher profile rims would be better. But these wheels doesn’t seem to be the worst in any case, nor the best. They are just making sure, that you are not the one having the worst wheels for any condition.

When it comes to the aerodynamics, they feel good at keeping higher speeds, but there are of course better choices, if that is what you are doing all the time. In rough crosswinds, the 35 mm profile is deep enough to make you sway a little bit from side to side. Well at least for me, but since I weigh in at around 65 kg, I am far from being a heavy rider, and therefore the heavier riders may or may not, feel this in crosswind.

In sprints, they are stiff enough for me at least. It does not feel like they are about to hit the brakepads when im accelerating heavy on them, which some other wheels tends to do. The hightension spokes of the wheels are doing a great job keep them straight, even when stressed out. But of course, I am a lightweight rider, so if Cancellara took them out for a trip, they could maybe not be stiff enough for a guy like him. But is there any wheels that would be that? I doubt that.

The verdict

I sadly have no more expensive wheel to compare them with myself, but they are by far the best of the wheels I have tried so far, when it comes to acceleration, hubs, and aerodynamics. So if you want a pair of allround wheels, the Shimano Dura Ace C35 are a really great choice. Especially if you can’t afford more expensive wheels. But as I mentioned, they are at some points, like the hubs, better than the more expensive wheels, so you are getting great value for your money.

Written by René

Read more: http://cyclingtipsonline.com/news/scott-foil-10-test/