Looking for some MTB glasses to keep the mud, grit, snow, ice, poo, dirt, wind and rain out of your eyes this winter?
Look know further than Screwfix!
Honestly!
After you’ve looked on YouTube of course!
Category: Reviews
Around the world by bike
I’m not sure I ever did a proper review of these books. I always intended to.
Anyway – this isn’t a proper review either its just a quick recommendation in the form of a video.
Want to know more about Al Humphreys and his adventures then check out his website, or youtube channel.
https://www.alastairhumphreys.com/choosing-life-ordinary/
https://www.youtube.com/user/englishwildman
That’s all… Now go and watch my Youtube video and remember to Subscribe and comment and all that other lovely stuff….
AllyGuard / First Impressions
There might be a really good reason I haven’t seen an aluminum mudguard on a bike before but I’ve been asked to take a look by the guys at AllyGuard, who are designing some new accessories for your bike out of aluminum.
I have just fitted the black version to my bike so this is a very early first impression. I’ll check in after a few weeks riding to see how its holding up to some “ahem” Spring weather in the UK!
I will say, it looks very nice on my bike.
The boost RockShox Revelation fork on my San Quention have plenty of clearance for 2.6 inch Schwalbe tyres and a thicker than normal front fender.
The stealthy look against black forks and stanchions is very cool indeed but that is crying our for some orange stickers or paint to match my Marin… I’ll have to think about that.
The aluminum guard comes with some foam pads to protect against frame rub and rattle. I’m not entirely sure how long these will last, so I will be keeping a close eye and maybe upgrading to 3M tape over the top to keep them in place and waterproof it.
The AllyGuard fits to your fork just like any other front mud guard, but as its made of metal the point where it meets the frame requires some padding. As per above – this is the area I will be keeping a close eye on.
The guard comes with all the pads and cable ties you need and fitting is doddle as you’d expect.
AllyGuard – safety is definitely our number one priority. The cable ties fitted and spares or specifically chosen in strength to ensure any riding conditions however in the unlikely scenario that the rider were to fall onto the guard with a substantial force the cable ties will break detaching the AllyGuard from the bike dissipating the energy minimising any risk to the rider.
Our guards are made from grade A1050 aluminium, this grade is chosen because of it’s very high ductility. Meaning no matter how deformed the guard gets if at all it can be bent back to shape countless times, although we wouldn’t want you riding around with a guard looking past its best so we would probably just replace it for you.
Being a softer aluminium if the AllyGaurd were ever to contact the stanchions it would not scratch it as the densities between the AllyGuard and the stanchion are so drastically different as the stations are a vary dense hard alloy.
They come in raw/silver and black and are available from AllyGuard’s ebay store – link below.
Follow AllyGuard in Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allyguard/
Buy yours here: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AllyGuard-MTB-DH-Aluminium-front-Mudguard-Mountain-bike-accessory-Downhill-/382636044741
Wild Trail Snacks – Review
I like to take trail bars on long rides, days out etc, as they don’t get as squished as fruit or sandwiches and can slip in a pocket or pouch for easy access. So I try loads and often pick up a handful of Paleo bars in Lidl/Adli while at the tills. I stumbled across these Wild Trail bars in a COOP store in Wales and noticed they were actually made in Wales too so decided I had to check them out further.
They come in 4 flavours and are really simple – each made from only 5 natural ingredients. My favourite is the Apple, followed by the Carrot Cake.
They are really tasty, gluten free, dairy free and even VEGAN Friendly.
These boxes are pretty good value if you compare with other leading brands like NAKD (even when bought in volume), with a comparable level of protein per 30g coming from either the cashew or peanuts in each bar.
These also have quite distinct flavours unlike NAKD that mostly tastes the same, usually because of the overwhelming sweetness provided by the dates in my opinion.
I must admit I haven’t had a NAKD bar in a while – I just feel they are more expensive.
Back to the Wild Trail bars – some excellent nutritional info can be seen in my picture above or you can visit the website for a full break down, if you are really into that sort of thing.
https://wildtrail.co.uk/our-snacks
Wild Trail Carrot Cake
- Raisins
- Cashews
- Gluten free oats
- Dried carrot
- Ground cinnamon
Nutritional Information: Typical values
Per 46g bar: Energy 761kJ (181kcal), Fat 5.9g of which saturates 1.1g, Carbohydrat
While these are tasty, neatly packaged and are MADE IN WALES (lets not forget that!), a single 30g bar is not enough if you plan on using this on its own as a trail top up. So you will want to pack a few.
My fave bars and a bit of a luxury are from Veloforte. I love Veloforte bars, though they are so chewy you need to top up your energy stores just to eat one! Their bars are over £2.00 each but they DO have twice the protein in them and are amazing!
However, 2 x a Wild Trail Bar will get you the same nutrition and for still only half the price, and you can then mix your flavours.
So I guess its just a matter of choosing how you want your nutrition packaged.
I bought mine in a box of 4×4 different flavours straight from the website for £9.25 inc shipping – that works out as 58p a bar.
These could become my go to bar…
https://wildtrail.co.uk/shop/wild-trail-mixed-multipack-bundle-4-x-4x30g-cartons
https://wildtrail.co.uk/shop/16-mixed-box
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Do you have a fave trail bar or snack?
Tried and Tested – Peatys Sealant, Valves and Rim Tape
My local trails are littered with black thorns and since “going tubeless” around 3 years ago I haven’t look back. I have been using what was up until this weekend the industry standard and the team at Peatys wanted to put a stop to it so sent me a complete set up to install and review.
I’ve been sitting on these goodies from Peatys for a few weeks now, waiting for my new bike to arrive and being a tubeless convert for a number of years, I wasn’t going to risk a ride without these installed.
The quality of the product and the now instantly recognisable branding is the first thing that stands out. The rim tape is strong and sticky, the sealant glistens in the sun and the valves are a sight to behold when standing erect and proud from your rim. (Make your own jokes up, if I missed any.)
I installed the tape on my Marin San Quentin 3 stock wheels, with tubeless compatible 29mm rims. Applying the Rim Job was a pretty standard task especially as these are new wheels, so there was no grime or anything that required cleaning first. So starting a few inches past the valve hole, go once around and over lap by the same few inches.
The tape is super sticky but you can lift it and straighten as you go if you go off line a little – which I did plenty as the spoke holes are off centered in the rim and my fingers kept assuming they were in the middle. Doh!
The 30mm wide tape is perfect for these 29mm rims and a roll comes in 9 meters which should be enough to do 4 wheels.
The 40mm tall Tubeless Valves are really solid and look really cool with the little Peatys logo on them – even on the inside!
My Schwalbe Magic Mary tyres seated quite easily and after a bit of a spillage I successfully managed to squeeze the required amount of Tubeless Sealant in the tyres.
Using my trusty Airshot and Topeak Joe Blow track pump, the tyres pinged into place with ease.
One 25km ride and an over night standing later and the tyres are still inflated so I would say that’s a job well done. I’ll do an update after a few weeks/months to see how the sealant is holding up.
Thanks again to Peatys Products for sending me these to install/test.
Peatys Products also include lube and bike cleaning foam and are available in many stores or online.
Is one of these your LBS ? https://peatys.co.uk/stockists
TimFromWales 