Dressed up warm for a cold but sunny ride in the Peak District Photo by: Kim Wright Coming from California, it’s been a crazy cold winter here in the UK with many days starting out below freezing. But as we are still in full lockdown, I need to get outside on the bike for my daily exercise and the cold isn’t going to deter me. As long as you dress appropriately, a winter bike ride can actually be enjoyable and a great way to get a little fresh air for a mental break during the day. Here is some of the gear that has been helping me stay warm on the bike this winter. Hands and Feet It’s usuall ..read more

After a difficult Covid summer and fall, skiers, snowshoers, sledders and lovers of all things cold are looking forward to winter. And that’s true for my family and friends who are anxious to get outdoors after a smoke-filled fall here in Oregon. The one thing anyone who spends time outside needs is a warm jacket to ward off the chilly weather. To help brighten the Covid winter, I started asking around about “the best” new winter puffy jackets. What surprised me the most was the quality of design, materials and manufacturing. If you’re considering an upgrade to your winter wardrobe this year ..read more

Living in London during lockdown means public transport is a no-go at the moment, so I have fully embraced the urban cycling life to get from point A to point B. Here is some gear which I have found essential for my commutes around the city. Thousand Chapter MIPS Helmet: If I am simply commuting around the city, I don’t want to look like I am out for a full on training ride. The Chapter MIPS helmet not only adds a level of urban chic, but comes with some well thought out city-appropriate features. To aid in visibility, a 50-lumen rear light attaches magnetically to the back of the helmet. It ..read more

Back in May, I moved to London. While I don’t recommend moving countries in the middle of pandemic, I did so for a combination of work and personal reasons and found the entire experience to be much less stressful than expected. Empty airports and planes were an absolute delight, although I am not sure it remains that way a few months on now. I, of course, brought my bike—road bike to start—so I could avoid public transport and ride around London to stay sane. I found it a bit stressful at first to go from the quiet, open roads of Northern California to the busy streets of London but I am slo ..read more

Mountain biking in Arizona with Hydro Flask. Photo by: Nate Wyeth I haven’t written a review in awhile as it just didn’t seem appropriate with the world facing more pressing issues than figuring out which gear to buy. And to be honest, my pandemic brain simply found it too difficult to focus enough to write. But now that most of us can venture out and indeed are encouraged to get out and get some fresh air and exercise, I figured now is as good a time as any to start talking gear and local adventure again. The ability to get outdoors is what saved me the past few months and I believe will co ..read more

After a 30-year hiatus, Five Ten gets back into the apparel game. Focusing on eco-friendly and sustainable materials this time around, the bike and climbing pieces all use recycled materials and sustainably farmed cotton. Five Ten, known for its technically-forward bike, climb, and approach footwear will now add apparel to its arsenal. With a launch date of February 1, 2021, the collection includes hoodies, t-shirts, shorts, pants, rain jackets, shoes and a signature “Brand of the Brave” tank top. “We are excited for this natural extension into apparel. It’s a tip of the hat back to the origi ..read more

My initial bikepacking setup in Jordan. Last year, I spent almost six months on my bike, bikepacking through numerous countries in Europe, North Africa, and Asia, before ending my trip with a ride across Jordan. I plan to ride through quite a few more countries again this year. You’ll find a detailed review of some of my favorite bikepacking gear in the upcoming Outside Spring Buyer’s Guide (on shelves soon), but until then, here is a look at my base setup. Bike Bags For each of my trips I used some variation of the Tailfin bikepacking system. In Europe it was the X Series Rack with double pa ..read more

The outdoor industry gathered in Denver last week for Outdoor Retailer, with the latest and greatest in gear on display. While I spent three days checking out new products from all types of outdoor companies, here are a few bike-related items that I found to be pretty cool. Archer Components D1x Trail ($389) Say goodbye to continual rear derailleur alignment problems. More affordable than a full electronic groupset, this after market system transforms your mechanical shifting mountain bike into a smooth, wireless-controlled, electronic shifting machine. Via a combination of programmable shift ..read more

Do you live in the Denver Metro Area or are you headed to Colorado for your next ski vacation? Instead of buying all new gear this season, you can now rent Patagonia snow outerwear for all your mountain adventures this winter. This week, Patagonia announced that at its new flagship retail store in Denver’s RinNo District, the company has teamed up with Awayco to offer a reliable gear rental option featuring prime Patagonia snow outerwear. Patagonia is the first apparel brand to partner with the outdoor rental platform, providing an alternative to purchasing new gear and building on the brand ..read more

I run tubeless tires on all of my bikes now and while I have had much success with small punctures sealing up automatically, sometimes larger holes and even gashes happen. While current puncture repair tools like DynaPlug come in handy, they don’t work for gashes larger than 5mm. This is where the new Stan’s No Tubes’ DART Tool comes in. Stan’s unveiled the new Dual Action Repair for Tubeless (DART) tool during Eurobike at the end of the summer. Unlike conventional plug tools, which function by pressing pieces of rubber or similar material into a puncture, Stan’s DART tool also reacts with St ..read more