Monthly Archives: June 2016

Product Review: Bontrager Velocis and Bellweather Windstorm winter gloves

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Dear Rouleurs,

This time it’s a proper blog…Without breaking out into GOT-mode the Melbourne winter that has been coming for a while has arrived.  Whilst this makes ski-bunnies very happy, it’s the start 3 months of of cold, wet and generally crappy weather. My wife reckoned I was as cold as an ice block after last Tuesday’s ride, the wind chill factor the westerly or northerly is pretty significant this time of year.  Its particularly tough on the hands as my old gloves just weren’t warm enough.  So a few weeks ago I bought 2 new sets of long finger ‘winter’ style gloves from local bike shops in Port Melbourne.  They are:

BONTRAGER VELOCIS WINDSHELL GLOVE

Bontrager’s blurb describes these gloves as being lightweight, windproof and water-resistant.  The main material being something called “Profila Windshell fabric” which weirdly looks a lot like vinyl but is highly wind and water resistant.

Bontrager Velocis gloves, the silicon grip is clearly evident on the fingers and thumb.

Bontrager Velocis gloves, the silicon grip is clearly evident on the fingers and thumb.

The inner glove surfaces are fleece lined which does a great job of keeping your hands warm.  Whilst they are thick and will take time to wear in, they are not really padded except for the palm. The gloves cover the wrist and have velcro clasp and elastic banding to provide a snug fit.  The silicon grip is placed on the palm side of the thumb and first two fingers.  This seems to work. Overall they are very well made and after about 20 hours of use haven’t shown any signs of splitting at the seams.  Mind you at the $70-$80 price point you would be greatly annoyed if that occurred.  Bontrager does have a 30 day unconditional warranty, provided you’ve got the receipt.

The main issue I have with these gloves is the fit.  People in the US must have long thin hands.  A medium gave me a tight fit over the back of my hand and through the the palm, but came with ridiculously long fingers.  The small size wouldn’t even fit on my hand.  I’ve been trying to mould the medium size glove into the shape of hands ever since I bought them.  I think this will come with use over time. This is one of the reasons that I don’t buy gloves online.  You really have to  try them on.  I’m giving them 3 and 1/2 Marvs.

BELLWEATHER WINDSTORM  GLOVE

Bellwether’s blurb describes the Windstorm glove as a mid-weight, full finger cycling glove, offering protection from windchill.  They are also supposed to be breathable thus preventing overheating leading to sweaty hands.

Bellweather WindStorm gloves are soft and comfortable but are not water resistant. I think the distribution of silicon grip is a bit suspect as well.

Bellweather WindStorm gloves are soft and comfortable but are not water resistant. I think the distribution of silicon grip is a bit suspect as well.

The key feature being that the gloves are predominately composed of softshell neoprene.  The inner glove is fleece lined.  This is comfortable, very warm  and stretchy but offers minimal water resistance.  I’ve worn the gloves for about 2 weeks in cold, windy conditions and they have been very effective in reducing windchill.  The gloves are also cut with a high elastic wrist and have a velcro clasp to secure them.  The big plus in these gloves is that Bellweather seems to offer a greater range of sizing.  I found the size 8 to be a perfect fit.  They were also approximately $15 cheaper than the Bontrangers.  Overall, I would say they are well made.  None of the stitching has split and the material of glove has held up well.

They are very warm, but I’ve found that I’m getting very sweaty wrists.  So I think the breathability is also limited.  They have some reflective decals on the back of the wrist.  I’m starting to this material crack and lift on the fingers. I also found the positioning of the silicon grip on exclusively on the palm a bit surprising.  I’m not sure whether the gloves would become slippy on break levels in the rain.  They do not have any padding of any kind.  I’m giving them 4 Marvs.

So hopefully that’s useful information if you are considering purchasing gloves soon. Its only a couple of weeks until Le Tour.

Until next time, safe cycling

Marv

More infographics as I’ve been too busy to write a proper blog…

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Dear Roulers,

I’ve been way too busy in the last few weeks as I’ve become a Dad.  OMG……another team member for MMT 🙂  Born 11 June this year, it might be a few years before she receives her first bike.  Both mum and bub are doing well.  However, sleep deprivation is now becoming a serious issue :-).

So MMT has been a long time fan of the infographic, some are clever, some are well designed, others merely exist to communicate to attention challenged Gen Y.  Fortunately this infographic pillaged from the official Giro d’Italia site falls firmly into the clever and well designed categories.  Its just a damn shame that this didn’t end on some merchandise.  Presumably it wasn’t Armani enough.

This one of the more clever stage profile and map that I've seen. Pity the race organisers didn't put this on a cap or t-shirt.

This one of the more clever stage profile and map that I’ve seen. Pity the race organisers didn’t put this wonderful graphic on a cap or t-shirt.

You can find it here at the official Giro site, but fair warning this website is a dog’s breakfast and doesn’t play well with older browsers.  Come to think of it that’s typically Italian.

Until next, ride safe in the ghastly winter weather, particularly if you live in Melbourne.

Marv

Marv’s May Bike Log

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Dear Rouleurs,

May was another great month for cycling with again with warm weather.  My standout highlight of April being the Ballarat Autumn Day Ride. A 50 Km ride that I inadvertently turned into 60 Km.  D’oh!!!.  Its really decent ride through farming country and past a sizable wind turbine farm.  This is what my weekly distance count looks like.  I’m about 700 Km ahead of target now and I expect to pass the  3500 Km milestone in June.

2016-May-AccKmGraph

Unfortunately I don’t have any events planned for June as I expect that my first born child will be arriving sometime this month 😉

Until next blog, ride safe.

Marv

2016 Giro Italia…what a race!!!

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Dear Rouleurs,

Unfortunately, MMT is currently off the bike and out of action with what would have to be the worst ailment a cyclist can possibly have, bar bulging disks in the lower back, broken bones or face planting on Belgian pave and knocking out  all your front teeth.  Notwithstanding that piece of whingeing, how about the Giro 2016 edition??   With nine different race leaders and a thrilling last week in the mountains, that was epic.  Man I can’t wait for the centenary version next year.

Estaban Chaves crosses the finish line of Stage 18.

Estaban Chaves crosses the finish line of Stage 18.

Estban Chaves take a bow, to achieve second behind the wily Vincenzo Nibali was an incredible result.  MMT once wonders how long before he becomes a naturalised Australian citizen.  My guess is that Columbia won’t be too keen to let him go.  Neither will Orica-GreenEdge, who for the first time in their team’s existence, have a genuine General Classification (GC) rider for the Grand tours.

Chaves, Nibali and Valverde on the Giro Podium in Torino.

Chaves, Nibali and Valverde on the Giro Podium in Torino.

Speaking of genuine GC riders, chapeau!!! Vincenzo Nibali.  I thought Nibali was gone after a horrendous mechanical failure on  stage 15’s  uphill time trial, and again in Stage 18, both Kruijiswik and Chaves put time into Nibali.  So Nibali’s comeback in  winning stages 19 and 20 back to back was an astonishing effort.  I guess it’s the old adage of never write off a champion. Also, he showed genuine sportsmanship in greeting Estban Chaves’s parents at the stage 20 finish line.

I also had to feel for Stephen Kruijswijk.  If he had more support through the mountain stages and hadn’t had such an awful crash on stage 19’s descent on Colle dell’Agnello. He may well have beaten  both  of them.  For example, if had rider like Astana’s Scarponi, up the road and able to assist the eventual stage winner Nibali, this could have been an against all the odds Dutch victory.

The dreaded Maglia Nera as designed by Pinarello.

The dreaded Maglia Nera as designed by Pinarello.

Finally, I would like to talk up the return of the Maglia Nera, the jersey awarded to the last placed rider in the GC.  The jersey was only awarded to riders between 1946 and 1951.  As there was a prize,  riders  would sometimes deliberately waste time in order to become last overall.  More importantly, it’s a really cool looking  jersey that those of us drafting at the back of the peloton would happily wear.  This year the unofficial title was ‘won’ by Australia’s own Jack Bobridge of Trek-Segafredo.

Bring back the Maglia Nera!!!!

Until next time,

MMT