Justcyclingstuff

This jacket from Rapha is somewhere between a windproof and a thicker winter jacket. There are a few different elements to the construction. There is insulated material on the chest, back and arms, a breathable polyester under the arms and a thin showerproof fabric on the lower back and the lower torso. The fit is close and it’s quite short at the front, but it works well on the bike. There are a variety  of colours and I like the visibility on the yellow version. There are no rear pockets as it’s designed to be worn over a jersey. All this adds up to a jacket that is suprisingly breathable whilst able to shrug off the odd shower. This really adds to the usability of the jacket and I’ve found that I’ve used it more than I thought I would.  However, one thing I have noticed is it’s not as warm as you might expect on really cold days. The insulated fabric is good at keeping you warm at the cafe but doesn’t really stop the cold wind from getting through. An extra base la...

So what do you get for the cyclist in your life if a bumper pack of energy gels won't quite cut it? Chain link cuff links Subtle and not (too) cycle-geeky   www.recycleandbicycle.co.uk Road ID bracelet Quite romantic in a way, as the person you buy it for will always have your name and number on their wrist. Less romantic is the reason for it is so the paramedics know who to call if that person  crashes their bike and knocks themselves unconscious. www.roadid.com Personalized top cap If you're reading this as a non-cyclist then the top cap is the circular bit on top of the steering tube, so you spend a lot of time looking at it when you're riding. Putting a personal message or picture on there is a nice touch. www.kapz.com Socks It may sound like a boring present but cyclists love socks, especially really nice ones like these. www.rapha.co.uk www.pongolondon.cc

If you want to run 28c tyres or more on a rim-brake road bike you'll probably need deep-drop calipers. Whilst you can get some pretty decent ones, they're not generally as good as the best short-drop calipers from the likes of Shimano, Sram and Campagnolo. But before you say "should have bought a disc-brake bike", there is another option. These replacement brake blocks offset the fixing bolt from the braking surface giving you about a centimetre of extra drop. It’s such a simple and effective idea I’m surprised you don’t see more of these. Fitting is slightly more fiddly than normal blocks because of the offset, but once done they work really well. I fitted them to my Ultegra 6800 callipers and they feel just the same as with regular blocks. They certainly feel better the long-drop callipers I’ve tried that can give a bit of a spongy brake feel. One thing to watch is that you don’t get the same overall clearance around the tyre as you do with the purpose-des...

Rapha aren’t kidding when they call this jacket flyweight, it’s seriously light, but more importantly it packs down into its own tiny built-in pouch, so it’s easy to carry in a jersey pocket. Despite this lightness this is not a flimsy jacket, the thin fabric is surprisingly robust and the seams have stood up well to continued pulling on and off. A jacket like this could easily be annoyingly flappy, but that’s not the case here as the fit is great: close but not restrictive. The jacket is very short at the front which looks a bit strange when you stand up but works really well on the bike. The jacket is good at what it’s designed for: it will shrug off a light shower, keep you from getting cold on a long descent and will prevent you getting shivery at the coffee stop. However, it’s not a substitute for a proper rain jacket as the water will come through after a while and it’s also not that warm. I’ve always found one of the strengths of Rapha products to be their breathability...

It wasn't long ago that a decent front light cost a fortune and relied on a heavy battery system. Modern LEDs have come on enormously in the last few years and it's amazing how much brightness and run time you can get out of a small and relatively cheap light these days. On its brightest setting this light is bright enough to light the way on a country lane on the flat, although I do have to back off a bit on the downhills. There are cheaper and smaller lights in the Lezyne range but it’s definitely worth going for this one if you’re doing any riding on unlit roads. The "race mode" is a nice feature which lets you toggle easily between full and medium brightness if you're switching between dark lanes and lit streets. The run times seem to be pretty close to Lezyne's quoted values, although they do drop a bit in very cold weather. You get plenty of warning when the battery level gets low and the light switches to a lower brightness when the battery i...

The Gabba is the jacket that redefined what poor-weather clothing should look like. Rather than beng a flappy waterproof shell, it has a close and stretchy fit that does a good job of being waterproof and windproof at the same time as being breathable. The Rapha Pro Team Softshell is one of a number of jackets from different manufacturers that are looking to to take on the Gabba. I've ridden a lot in both, so how do they compare? Fabric At the heart of both these jackets is the breathable waterproof fabric that defines how they work. Whilst I'm sure there are lots of technical differences, they feel very similar in terms of weight and texture and perform in a similar way on the road. The Rapha jacket's seams are better sealed and it's probably warmer overall but there's not much in it. Fit I've found the jackets size differently: I'm an XL in the Castelli and a large in the Rapha. For me the Rapha is a better fit overall: I like the high collar a...

Veloforte bars are a relatively new energy bar to the market, so what are they like? The packaging on the early bars was a kind of greaseproof paper which added to the innovative, homemade feel. It's a bit of a shame they've now moved to a more conventional packaging, but it does make the bars easier to open on the move. There are now a number of different flavours to these bars, so I'll focus on the overall taste and texture rather than the individual differences (although the chocolate ones are my favourite). The bars feel quite heavy in your hand (for an energy bar anyway!) as there's quite a lot packed in to them. The taste is rich, the nearest thing I can compare it to is a bit like a Christmas pudding or a rich fruit cake, although that really doesn't do them justice. They are quite filling, so you probably don't need as many of them as you would other energy bars. They are a nice balance between sweet but not sickly so I've found you can quite ...