-
Subscribe to posts
Recent comments
- Rebecca Frater on The amazing tale of Kacie & Dani
- Jeff on Be brave girls – ride with clip-in pedals
- Nicola on Trailblazing female bike racers of the 1880s
- Brittany on Be brave girls – ride with clip-in pedals
- Catherine Beaumont on Trailblazing female bike racers of the 1880s
Categories
- Bike fitting
- Bike maintenance
- Bike skills
- charity bike ride
- Commuting by bike
- Cycle groups
- Cycle racing
- Cycle tours
- Cycling Club
- Cycling Club racing
- Cycling journalism
- Image management
- Indoor trainers
- Lycra cycle clothing
- Nutrition
- Olympic Games
- Pedal stroke
- Product reviews
- Professional cycling
- Stretching
- Track cycling
- training
- Women cycling
- women specific bike
- women's bikes
Archives
Search
Category Archive: Product reviews
Subcategories: No categories
Should I really buy those carbon wheels?
I confess that I know very little about wheels so when my friend and fellow bike rider Tegan Cox offered to write a guest blog post I coudn’t refuse. Over to you Tegan……..
Wheels. Bikes come with them so why do they need any further consideration? I know when I started riding a bike I didn’t have an opinion on what went on beneath me. Then I started in triathlon and the bike bling in transition was clear indication that wheels are not just for turning and keeping your face off the ground.
Most entry-level bikes come with solid but somewhat heavy wheels that are not necessarily performance orientated. You might look at going for a more expensive, lighter wheel if you want to find some speed and time advantages, make going up hill easier.
For triathlon and time trialling you might look for a deeper rimmed wheel for improved aerodynamics, which may (or may not in my case) deliver speed advantages and improved efficiency.
Or you might just want something that looks and sounds awesome.
Road bikes for short women
My dream bike – S-Works Amira comes in a 44 cm size
I’m a relatively short woman at 160 cm (5 foot 3 inches) but I’ve met quite a few female road cyclists who are shorter than me and one of them mentioned to me that she and other short stature women have trouble finding bikes to ‘fit’.
A lot of people are dubious about the whole women’s specific bike concept and question whether it’s just marketing hype but I’m a real believer in the philosophy. Read my past posts on this subject and make up your own mind. From my perspective the women’s specific bike becomes more important the shorter you are, so women who measure in at 5 foot or below should really consider a women’s specific bike. Thankfully plenty of bike manufacturers have responded to the short end of the market and many produce 44 cm bikes.
To give you an idea of the sizing Specialized produces a sizing chart which suggests that a 44 cm Dolce, Ruby or Amira (the women’s specific road bike models) will suit a women who is 143-152 cm or 4”8’ to 5”0’.
Christmas gift ideas for female cyclists
Women who love cycling also love getting presents from Santa that reflect their favourite past-time. Here’s a few ideas for the female road cyclist in your life.
S-Works women’s road shoes
Specialized has recently launched new S-Works road shoes for both men and women. I have the predecessors and they’re great. The new ones are lighter and look even better. The retail price is $450 and they are available only at Specialized dealers like Ashfield Cycles.
Ausbike Expo 2012 – my highlights
S-Works Amira SL4 Compact
Last Friday I headed to Melbourne to visit the Ausbike Expo which is the annual bike industry trade show which this year featured hundreds of new products and services for the Australian bike industry.
I spent all day working my way from stand to stand asking the eager participants if they had any products specifically designed for female cyclists or products they believed would appeal to women. Quite a few people steered me towards anything pink but I quickly explained that while pink is popular with some women cyclists it doesn’t appeal to me and I know many of my readers agree.
So here’s a few highlights of the show:
Bike review – Eddy Merckx EFX-3 women’s specific road bike
- Merckx EFX-3
I was thrilled when David Cook of Clarence Street Cyclery asked me if I’d like to ride the new Eddy Merckx women’s specific road bike and write a review for my blog. It’s my very first bike review so don’t be expecting any technical talk or voice of experience.
For benchmarking purposes my own current road bike is a 2011 Specialized Amira Expert which has a full carbon frame and the gearing is full Ultegra. I really love my bike but I also jumped at the opportunity to ride a different bike for a week and certainly didn’t regret this decision.
The Eddy Merckx name is synonymous with cycling and racing and they claim that this bike is designed with racing in mind. So they have incorporated ‘Female Race Geometry’ where the angle of the seat tube is kept as close to proper racing angle as possible, the top tube is made shorter and the front head tube is made larger.
The bike which I’ve just returned to Clarence Street Cyclery was an Eddy Merckx EFX-3 women’s specific road bike. It has a full carbon frame and the gearing is Ultegra. If you want all the technical specifications then go to the Eddy Merckx website . It retails for $3,999 which seems to be fairly comparable price in the marketplace.
Santa’s on his way – last minute gift ideas
I know a lot of men leave their Christmas shopping to the last minute. I’ve had first hand experience of this for the last 20 years so to help you guys out here’s a few tips for last minute Christmas gift ideas for the female riders in your life.
Gloves
All road girls like proper road cycling gloves that are made for women’s smaller hands. My favourites are Specialized BG Gel women’s gloves (size small for me in case any of my family or friends are reading this). You can buy them at Specialized dealers like Ashfield Cycles or Northside Cyclery.
I also have a pair of Bontrager (made by Trek) that are also nice. I bought these at Clarence Street Cyclery women’s store.
Socks
Socks are a great stocking filler and the only socks a women would be happy to find in her stocking are special road bike riding socks like my favourites from Specialized.
I don’t recommend you buy just any socks and pop them in the stocking. Socks are definitely not regarded as a great gift by women under normal circumstances.
Product review: Netti comes of age
Me in the new Netti kit
A small side benefit of starting this blog (and letting a few people in the cycling industry know about it) is that I’ve so far received a few products to review so I want to disclose that up front. You might think that compels me to say great things about every product but luckily for me the Netti kit I was sent is really nice so it’s easy to say nice things without it being seen as biased.
The Netti brand has been around for many years and most cyclists associate it with high viz clothing for commuters, and in the past that’s probably fairly accurate but the brand has been reborn with a new range that I believe is divided into three levels – commuter, elite and performance. The kit I received fits in the elite range. They even have a new logo.
Product review: Fizik Vesta Women’s Saddle
I plan to review relevant products from time-to-time so please feel free to send them through. Here’s my first attempt…..
Fizik Vesta saddle
In the last couple of weeks I’ve been testing the Fizik Vesta Women’s Saddle which is going pretty well. It looks and feels good so far and is definitely one I would consider if you’re looking for a women-specific saddle for your road bike. I’m not an expert on saddles but from what I know women’s saddles are made differently to men’s to accommodate our anatomy. They often have more padding than men’s and are usually wider at the back because women’s sit bones are wider.