Salomon XT Wings 2 – Trail Running Shoes Review
I’ve only really paid attention to what’s on my feet since taking up trail running last winter. I’ve tried minimal support runners and to be frank- they are not for me. Yes all of you barefoot runners can scream as loud as you want at this guy- but I won’t hear you – I like [...]
KHS Tuscan 29er mini review
Gee. It has been sometime since I’ve reviewed anything at www.paulpetch.com hasn’t it? Well, I’ve now discovered that I can ramble and rant on video now about the bikes and gear that I enjoy. It’s kinda lazy, but works much better me thinks.
So here are some thoughts about the new KHS Tuscan build- which is [...]
Salomon XA25 backpack review
This review will be pretty simple as there’s not much one can write about a pack is there? You put your gear in it and hit the trails right? Well, that’s what I thought until I started spending a lot of time on my feet clambering up and over stuff.
My current pack (a Camelbak Cloud [...]
Salsa Fargo 800km update & first review
Close to 8 weeks have passed and I’ve pretty much ridden the Salsa Fargo every day to work as well as other city runs and a few Port Hills ventures. I’ve covered about 800km in total since I laid my sweaty little hands on the Fargo… so what do I think after some time in [...]
Bontrager Paragon 29er – First ride
I took the Paragon to the South Downs today for the first proper ride, just west of Findon to be exact. Weather conditions were about as perfect as they get, 27 degrees, no clouds, no wind, dusty trails.
Seeing as I’ve already ordered Ergon grips and wider bars I don’t really need to mention how bad [...]
Oakley Radars Vs. Oakley Jawbones
I have been using the latest Oakley Radars for sometime now, well since they sort of came out. The model I have is with the Photocromatic lenses, which I rate really highly. The lense changes with the light level so to speak. If out in the bright in a clearing etc, then head back into [...]
2009 Magura Julie HP brake review
By the name of this product it is clearly not the same as last years Julie, in fact the Julie received a full makeover for 2009. HP denotes the change from low pressure to high pressure hoses. My past experiences with Magura have been inconsistent, some good and some famously bad. As a result I’ve [...]
Ergon GE1 Review
Thanks to fellow blogger DB I’ve been trying out the small size over the last fortnight as I had come to the conclusion that the large size was a bit big to use with gloves. I’ve been out to Woodhill a couple of times with mixed results. Super-comfy with my polyprop glove-liners but when I [...]
Kona Unit 29er – a 750km update
This is the third in a series of posts that describe my experience of owning this particular bike as well as my impressessions of singlespeeding on a 29inch wheeled bike in general. The previous posts can be found at Kona Unit 29er – my first single speed and Kona Unit 29er – ride two
750kms
I’ve now [...]
Surly Singleator review
The Surly Singleator is primarily designed for converting ordinary vertical dropout geared bikes to singlespeed without the need for horizontal sliding dropouts or an EBB. Most of the time it isn’t hard to get the chain length right and ride without a chain tensioner on a hardtail. However I was planning to put an internal [...]
Salsa Fargo – first impressions
Ready to roll
After a crash course of bar tape fitting (bless the interwebs) the Fargo is now ridable and looks great with a real retro feel due to the addition of the Charge seat and tape. I’ve ridden the Salsa Fargo every day with panniers since it “entered the building“ to work and it feels [...]
Seal Skinz waterproof socks review
Finding the Seal Skinz socks
It has taken me two winters to bite the bullet and fork out the cash for some Seal Skinz waterproof socks and finally I have some :) Nowhere in New Zealand could I find these socks though- not even over the pond. I can fully understand Australia not stocking them due [...]
Ergon GE1 ergonomic grips – initial impressions
Buying something you don’t need
I saw these in the bargain-bin at a local bike shop. They were still there a week later and temptation got the better of me. I’ve been wanting to try the Ergons with the distinctive winged palm rest but they are an expensive purchase in New Zealand for something that [...]
Crank Brothers Candy C pedals – long term review
Everyone knows Crank Brothers for their gorgeous looking products that ship in equally gorgeous looking packaging. Aesthetics aside, are these pedals any good out there in the dirt? Everyone knows that Shimano dominate the pedal market, but Crank Brothers range of pedals are what most consider to be a true alternative to Shimano’s innovative SPD [...]
BBB Ergo Sticks – bar ends mini review
Commuting comfort
The trusty GT Peace has been setup for commuting for sometime now and is working out really well with slicks and a ratio of 36 x 16. I’ve also added a rack and panniers to make the 30KM daily trip more bearable as the humble backpack is simply no longer large enough. Unfortunately, there [...]
Airbike SLH light review
Airbike SLH lightset
Being a regular rider of trails at night a good light system is always important. I have gone through 2 previous light systems which consisted of using very powerful torches but have decided to spend up a bit and invest in a system which includes a proper piggyback battery pack for more than [...]
Ergon GP1 Leichtbau grips review
From my original blog post
Why?
There seems to be no end to the good things said about Ergon grips so I had to find out if there’s anything to all this raving. For years I was perfectly happy with my foamies but Bontrager seems to have stopped making the larger diameter version…one of the rare grips [...]
Kona Unit 29er – ride two
This is a follow up to my original post – Kona Unit 29er – my first single speed
Second ride
After it’s maiden voyage I contemplated making a few changes to the set up of the Kona Unit. The bike did feel large, forcing a very stretched and unfamiliar riding position so thoughts of installing a shorter [...]
Bontrager Race Disk tubeless wheelset – long term review
Having come stock on a 07 Trel Fuel EX8 back in 2007, the Bontrager Race Disk wheelset has seen constant abuse ranging from the rocky Port Hill trails, wet and muddy winter gloop, as well as daily commutes. They have been hammered and disrespected unlike any other wheelset that I’ve owned.
First thoughts
I must confess that [...]
Singular Swift single speed 29er – mini review
Original post viewable at my blog.
I got there…
It took about three months to get all the parts together but it’s finally built up and ready to ride, actually I‘ve taken it out twice now. The second time was up on the South Downs near Brighton so I got to test it out on some hills [...]
Kona Unit 29er – my first single speed
Christchurch trails
During the New Zealand summer time Christchurch is the perfect place for a mountain biker to reside. There are the excellent Port Hill trails right at the foot of the city with pristine alpine singletrack a little more than an hour’s drive away in either direction. However, when the seasons pass and winter arrives [...]
Shimano DX (SH-MP66) SPD trail shoes – mini review
Todays ride to Taylors Mistake was the maiden voyage for the Shimano DX (SH-MP66) shoes that have sat for two weeks in the “bike room” ready for an outing due to my Rockshox PIKES being out of commission. This morning found me fitting the cleats (that don’t ship with the shoes) in the customary far [...]
Camelbak Cloud Walker back pack review
One pack to rule them all?
Truth be known….. I have a bit of a backpack fetish… pretty much like what alot of ladies have when it comes to shoes…..I just love the things! I could quite easily spend hundreds and hundreds of $$ on backpacks because every day being so so different requires a specific [...]
Schwalbe Nobby Nic 2.25″ review
Am I drinking the Koolade?
I’ve ridden this tyre now for a good 8+ months “on and off” on several bikes from a rigid single speed to a 5.5″ trail dually on both front and rear. I’ll cut to the chase here and step away from the ‘Koolade’ crowd…. I just don’t rate this tyre at [...]
