First Impressions, Out Of The Box

Light. I don`t have scales that would give me a precise reading, but hand in hand with my R3-SL I couldn`t tell the difference.

Finish is a glossy pearl white which sparkles slightly if you look hard enough. Pretty sharp. The finish on the rear dropouts left a bit to be desired, but with the wheels on it`s unnoticeable. The NEO and Exile decals look good, yet though they are under the clearcoat they are slightly raised. I`d prefer it flush but it`s a minor quibble. The monocoque frame has a smooth flow to it, especially around the headtube.

Build

The BB went in easily, flush fit. The headset needed a couple of washers to get a perfect fit though, had to go back to the LBS to get that sorted. Will probably upgrade that next pay-day. Seatpost looks cool, and is very simple, easy to get the right angle and position. (I have a FSA K-Force on the Cervelo, which has to be the most ridiculous seatpost ever designed...) Went with a SRAM Force crank due to wear and tear on my Red.

Last week I found myself sitting at the local roadie hangout (yes, a café) after a group ride debating my friend Cedric about what qualities make a great cyclist. Power, tactical awareness, steely nerves under pressure. Then, almost embarrassed to have forgotten it, we blurted out: ‘Style! Image!’ It’s one of the nasty truths of the cycling underworld. Any good roadie will tell you, ‘image above everything else.’

Wearing dull, mismatched clothing is a near—well, no it is—sacrilege. Here at BikeMatters.com we take cycling style pretty seriously (ok, maybe too seriously). When it comes to professional, euro style clothing we reach for trusted brands like Assos, Giordana, Rapha, and Capo. Of, course with these brands you are going to pay a premium for quality, but as the old saying goes, you get what you pay for. Right?

The Genuine Innovations Second Wind solves a common problem- you just got your second flat of the day, and you’re out of CO2 cartridges. Now what? For riders who want the convenience of a CO2 inflator with the reliability of a hand-pump without carrying both, the Second Wind is a must-have.

There really isn’t much to explain about this pump. The CO2 inflator and hand pump share a common head, with a one-way valve that allows either device to inflate a tire. Using the CO2 inflator end works just like a regular inflator, and using the pump works just like a regular pump. Simply put, the system just works. A nice feature is the threaded socket on the pump handle end, which lets you store an extra CO2 cartridge and use it as an extension to the handle, making pumping a little bit easier.

Do you ever find your legs feeling fatigued after a week of training? Often, one day off from training each week is not enough for our leg muscles to fully recover. As a result, you aren't able to get the full benefit out of the next week because you are just plain burnt out. Experts recommend elevating your legs, but unless you are a professional athlete, there is little time for this in everyday life. The next best thing to elevation is compression clothing. We at BikeMatters.com were able to test the Zoot CompressRx recovery tight and see if it really helped in recovery.

Let us begin by saying that for tights, these things look cool! The dark grey material with different patches looks like body armor. Yet, I do not recommend wearing them out around normal people (non-endurance athletes) unless covered by pants, otherwise you will get some odd looks.
As far as functionality, the Zoot CompressRx Tight blows its competitors out of the water. It does this because of its MMHG (compression) rating of 18-30 (current sports compression apparel has only 8-16). This is easily noticeable the moment you get the tights on. You can feel the pressure acting on the main muscle groups in your legs, forcing blood flow and speeding up recovery. But, feeling does not always mean results so; we did a few self study tests to see if they really did increase recovery.

While many racers use the software bundled with their power meter, an increasing number are looking to third-party options for more advanced features. The leader in power meter software is undoubtedly TrainingPeaks’ WKO+. While the developers tout its advanced file-management features, most riders simply want to know if and how the software will make them faster. This review will answer that question. 

At its core, a power meter is simply a device that records data points (torque) at predetermined time intervals (usually one second). In fact, WKO+ lets you view your data in its raw form as a chart, with time in one column and torque in the other. Every other feature in WKO+ utilizes this basic data to create graphs that display various aspects of your training.  

Here at BikeMatters.com we drink a lot of endurance and energy drinks touted as performance and recovery enhancing. 

The truth is, nothing beats hard work and a carefully planned out training regimen. But if you’re going to subject your body to the rigors of a Cipollini-inspired motor pacing session or a routine six hour base training ride, then the quality of your nutrition becomes even more critical to your late season success. Gimmicks abound in this industry, especially in the field of nutrition, but we can patently state that newcomer XOOD’s Healthy Endurance Drink is a legitimate competitor on two key levels: taste and quality.

There are floor pumps that simply inflate tires, and there are those that do it with flair. Genuine Innovations’ Campione Floor pump is the latter. It combines a sleek profile with fine touches of craftsmanship evoking elements of vintage Italian heritage. 

The pump is finished in a unique two-tone maroon and cream painted steel barrel with a custom aluminum base that gives the pump a solid foundation and is wide enough to accommodate its user comfortably. The pump’s handle is also a unique aspect, setting it apart in a class of its own. Rather than using a standard aluminum or steel handle, each Campione handle is custom carved from wood to re-create that retro Italian styling. One downside to the pump that our testers noted was the inability of the pump, due to its slender body, to inflate a tire as quickly as other similar quality pumps, such as the JoeBlow Pro series. 

RL: Ridiculously good Looking. The Bontrager RL road shoe is just that, and more: comfortable, economical, high-performing. Its an excellent mid-entry level shoe even for the discerning rider used to paying stratospheric price tags for something we all need—shoes—but don’t necessarily want to break the bank with. Sure, you won’t find Lance Armstrong wearing this at Le Tour (then again, what does he own that isn’t a one-off, custom job?), but its sure to be tested just as rigorously on the Saturday group ride, the Tuesday hammer fest and willing and ready to perform at your key races for the upcoming season.

Every now and then, we simply take a step back and marvel at how often in today’s market the ‘high-end’ quickly makes its way down the ranks. These boys wouldn’t have been mistaken for PRO too long ago, because they would have been just that—what you found the best continental and pro tour riders putting their trust into when it came time to earn the pay check. Let’s take a look at the sole. It’s Bontrager’s Silver-series—read: lightweight, efficient, and comfortable carbon, very similar to Bontrager’s pricier premium road shoes, the RXL. Enlarged mesh windows for ventilation and an intuitive two strap plus buckle design are again the very same features found on the RXL, but often missing on other mid-entry level shoes today. 

Every triathlete is intimately familiar with the importance of hydration. Most of these lessons are learned the hard way- seventy miles into an Ironman bike leg, for example. The absence of feed stations in many long-distance triathlons has created the need for products that allow racers to carry enough water to hydrate themselves for several hours. Each of these products has been a compromise, however. Traditional bottles are easy to position on the bike frame, and can be swapped out with new ones when needed. Aerobar-mounted bottles allow the rider to stay in a time trial position, but have limited capacity and can’t be switched out mid-ride.

The SipStream system was designed to fill this void. SipStream uses a frame-mounted bottle, with an extension tube that mounts at the handlebars, allowing the rider to stay aerodynamic while drinking. Unlike other systems, the SipStream isn’t rendered useless when you deplete your supply of water. The frame-mounted bottle is actually a cage, allowing you to swap in a new bottle whenever you run out.

The SipStream bottle is designed to fit into its cage in two directions. Slide it into the cage with the cap facing up, and you’ll have a standard water bottle. Flip it over, and a pressure-release valve in the cap will allow water to flow through the tube and to the mouthpiece.

Installing the SipStream was no harder than attaching a bottle cage to your bike. The only extra step is to strap the blue tubing to your frame, and cut it down to size. After it is installed, the tubing can be quickly disconnected for cleaning using two quick-release seals on the cage and the mouthpiece.

SipStream is a very versatile product that is sure to appeal to many triathletes- it combines the modularity of conventional bottles with the ease of access of aerobar hydration systems.



For years Garmin has been at the forefront of GPS technology. Most cyclists and runners could not live without their GPS watches and bike computers. Each new line of products gets smaller and more advanced. Yet, up until last year, Garmin had not conquered the task of waterproofing a GPS watch. Triathletes and swimmers can rejoice, Garmin’s new Forerunner 310xt has accomplished the feat and more! The 310xt is made for the multisport lifestyle. It can be switched between bike, run, and other (swim) modes. What makes this really cool is that each mode has its own set of data fields. Furthermore, the modes are designed to be switched during workouts and races… do I hear Triathlon?

We at BikeMatters.com have had the privilege to test this watch’s capabilities over the past several weeks, and were we impressed! Most GPS watches need to be recharged with every use yet, this watch has up to 20 hours of battery life. This makes it ideal for long cycling races, IRONMAN, and even ultra running! Another perk is that the watch can easily be linked with a heart rate monitor and cadence counter.

As far as aesthetics go, the watch is a strikingly bright orange with gray trim. Although this sounds slightly obnoxious, it looks very cool and energetic. One physical downside to the 310xt is that it is quite large. At first, it seemed to take over a whole wrist yet, after a few days of wearing it, the user barely notices its size.

Two of the most useful functions are speed and pace. The speed is especially helpful when cycling, and the pace function when running. When cycling, the speed calibrates to changes in ones velocity instantaneously, there is little to no wait time. On the other hand, when running and using the pace function; there is a good amount of lag when one accelerates and decelerates. Yet, considering pace runners tend to hold for long periods of time (longer than it takes to calibrate), this really isn’t an issue, just more of an annoyance.

The 310xt retails for $349.99 which seems rather pricey. Yet, considering it is the only one of its kind, replaces the need to have both a bike computer and a GPS watch, and has an extremely high battery life, we at BikeMatters.com feel the 310xt is a great buy! Just as an addition, a bike mount for the watch should be out in the near future.

Author: Mike Shufeldt