U.S.E Vybe Suspension Stem Review

Ultimate Sports Engineering (U.S.E) have been making bicycle components for many years, I had one of their suspension seatposts on my mountain bike back in the 1990s. Together with the other arm of the business, Exposure lights, they have a well earned great reputation for well thought out and reliable components with excellent after sales service too.

I tested the modern equivalent of that original seatpost and you can read it here U.S.E now have a suspension stem in their line up and I was lucky enough to be sent one for a few weeks to try out.

The stem is available in two lengths currently, 70 and 90mm and unlike other similar stems on the market is rated for use on drop or flat bars. It is constructed of aluminium, weighs 194g for the 70mm version I tested It consists of one main pivot point that squeezes a changeable elastomer that allows the stem to move up to 20mm. The stem also has adjustment for rebound and compression, something I’ve not seen on any other suspension stem I’ve tried so far.

The first thing to say is that it looks like an ordinary stem, which to my mind makes it a much better prospect than some of the huge parallelogram style suspension stems on the market which are quite ugly in my opinion. When riding and you look down it looks good and is not something you’d want to hide!

As with most suspension stems, you need to dial in the stem to suit your weight and riding preferences. U.S.E. include 4 interchangeable elastomers that allow you to do this. The stem does have to be taken apart to swap the elastomers though. Happily there is a comprehensive guide included in the box and it’s on actual paper! no downloads needed. It’s pretty straightforward to swap, just make sure you put the stem back together as the U.S.E. guide states. U.S.E. also include a little tub of grease in the box which is a great touch.

Set up with a yellow elastomer as per the rider weight guide and all bolts tightened to the correct torque I went for a series of rides to test out the stem, I’ve included a video below that shows the stem in action, please take a look (and subscribe to my youtube channel if possible, it’s free!)

So, does the U.S.E. Vybe suspension stem work, well yes and no. Firstly and this is the same as with any “suspension” stem, do not think of it as suspension like a suspension fork, it dampens the vibrations coming off the trail through your front wheel and rigid fork, it doesn’t suspend the rider from big hits. What it does by dampening those vibrations is reduce fatigue on you hands, arms, shoulders and upper body allowing you to ride further and recover more quickly. The U.S.E. Vybe stem does this brilliantly but there is one drawback and this is affected by your riding style.

Because the pivot point on the stem is very near the steerer of the fork the nearer your hands are to that pivot the less the stem moves. What this means when riding on drop bars is that the maximum compliance of the stem is achieved when riding on the hoods. Riding with hands on the drops and therefore further back than on the hoods mens the stem moves significantly less. So if like me you spend a lot of time on the drops for technical descending then you won’t really benefit from having that 20mm of travel. If you ride on the hoods you’ll get much more cushioning as you move along. So pedalling long sections of rough trail like forest fireroads or towpaths that are ridden on the hoods is where the stem really shines. I know for a lot of riders this is exactly what gravel riding is. Others like myself who don’t have that kind riding on our doorsteps and ride XC trails will find less benefit.

Since posting this review I’ve had messages from readers who have seen reviews of the stem where the main pivot bolt came loose during a ride. I can say for the 4+ weeks the stem was on my bike over various rides that bolt remained tight.

The Ultimate Sports Engineering Vybe Suspension stem is a well made and thoughfully designed component with added features over other similar stems on the market. If you are a fireroad/towpath/rough bridleway and typical UK pot holed road rider then it’s an excellent way to reduce fatigue and lengthen time in the saddle. if you push the boundaries of what a gravel bike is supposed to do it maybe of less benefit but who doesn’t ride all the above to get to the juicy challenging routes? Might as well take advantage of that suspension for those section as it won’t hinder you on the downs!

you can find more information about the U.S.E. stem on their website here

Restrap Saddle Bag Review

Restrap is a British company who have been producing bike packing bags and accessories since 2010. The company started from a bedroom in the North of England.

Now anyone who knows Northern England will know all to well that they get, and I’ll describe it generously as, “mixed” weather up there. So, they should know a thing or two about what works on a bicycle in those varied conditions. Restrap have had saddle bags in their range for many years but recently introduced some new models a 2.4ltr and a 4.5ltr bag. i was lucky enough to be contacted by Restrap and they asked me to give my opinion on the new models.

I plumped for the 4.5ltr version in a green colour (to match my Fustle Causeway) but they are available in black and orange too. Made from super hard wearing 1000d cordura nylon material the bag looks quality from the outset, it is also easy to wipe clean. The part of the bag in line with potential spray from the rear wheel is coated with a TPU rubber for extra water protection and the interior is seam sealed to keep 100% of any moisture out. The interior material is also a bright orange colour which makes finding items inside the bag in varying light conditions much easier than if it was the usual black colour.

Fixing the bag to the bike is very easy. It has straps and buckles that fit over the saddle rails and a rubber strap with a sponge spacer to fit around the bike’s seat post. All these straps can be snugged right down to fit the bag neatly under the saddle, minimising movement. the straps can be neatly tucked away too with the supplied plastic clips making for a very neat surplus strap solution.

The saddle bag has a roll top and this means if you have only a small cargo to carry you can cinch it right down to stop any baggyiness and of course if you have a lot of kit you can do the smallest amount of roll and really stuff the contents in and it’ll still be secure. The bag closure features a lovely fidlock magnetic clasp that emits a very satisfying click when it engages.

Although Restrap don’t mention it on their website the back will work with a dropper post. I’d recommend taping the post where the strap sits though.

On the bike and fully loaded the bag has impeccable manners, there’s very little side to side “wag” even when i deliberately put the heaviest items to the back of it. check out the video below to see it in action. it’s not a quick access bag as it sits out back, but if you wanted to replace a bar bag and just run a top tube bag for essentials it would be ideal. the fact that it easily detaches means if you are touring and need to take the bag with you into accomodation it’s straightforward and convienient. On that note, it’s not really a long distance bike packing bag unless you are one of those riders who can ride ultra events on 1 mars bar and 2 hours sleep in a hedge! For the rest of us it’s a great day ride or “credit card” touring bag where you carrying minimal kit and travel between B&Bs/AirB&B etc and aren’t carrying a tent and cooking paraphernalia.

the Restrap saddle bag is hard to review really as there aren’t any downsides. it’s always nice to suggest an improvement or a short coming and the bag doesn’t have these. I’m reluctant to say it’s boring, maybe drama-less is a better description as it just gets on with the job,…. if i think hard maybe it’s lacking a loop to attach a rear light as it’ll probably cover your seat post, the traditional spot for a light but really that’s just nit picking.

The Restrap saddle bag is made of quality materials with years of design experience learnt in true British conditions built in. it’s even great value when you look at other bags of similar size. there aren’t any downsides*

here’s a link to the Restrap website for this bag Restrap 4.5ltr please note this is not an affiliate link. i don’t get any kick back (£) from this review so you can be assured it’s a genuine one.

please check out the videp that goes alongside this review and please take the time to subscribe to my youtube channel, it’s absolutely free to do so!

*the only downside is i’ll have to probably send it back to Restrap!

CES Sport Graean Carbon Wheelset Review

This is going to sound obvious, but wheels are the most important part of a bicycle, after all it wouldn’t be a bi-cycle if it didn’t have a minimum of two wheels right? However the humble wheelset is often over looked when buying a bike. The shiny flamboyant (or drab, your choice obvs) paint job is the first thing you see right before you check out the gears and brake groupset that is on your potential purchase. Well, here’s the thing, bike manufacturers know this and so a fancy paint scheme and a chi-chi rear derailleur are added to turn the buyers head. The reality is the hidden bits, the bottom bracket, the finishing kit (handlebars, stem, seatpost etc) are never going to be more then functional unless you are spending a LOT of money. This is fine, all these parts are easily replaceable or upgradable in the future lifetime of bike ownership, they get the job done to start you off.

Unfortunately this lower standard of component also extends to those very important hoops that are your interface with the terrain you are riding on (apart from tyres, again, easily upgradeable when they wear out) and this is a shame as a good set of wheels can really improve the ride of a bicycle. Most original equipment wheels will come with basic bearings, heavy hubs and rims and may or may not be tubeless compatible should you choose to run without inner tubes.

So one of the first things I’d suggest you upgrade on a bike is the wheelset but this is going to be more expensive than swapping out a saddle or handlebars, not everyone is made of money so what you need to look for is affordability, build qualilty, ease of maintenance and ride characteristics.

Most of those wheels that come on a new bike will have been put together on a wheel building machine, these are wonderous things that literally take minutes to go from a set of hubs, spokes and rims to a fully built wheel and there maybe a cursory quality control check at the end of that production line but they will have been built to a price and will be nowhere near the quality or have the attention to detail afforded to them that a set of hand built wheels do. But hand built wheels cost mega bucks…dont they?

CES sport came to my attention when they followed me on instagram, I’ll admit it was the first I’d heard of the company and I did a bit of internet searching and read their bio and saw that after supplying wheels to the triathlon community they had branched out into gravel with their “Graean” wheelset. Unusual name you think to yourself, well not if you hail from Wales, which is where CES Sport is based “Graean” is the Welsh word for Gravel! I messaged Joe, the founder of the company and asked if he was willing to send a pair of wheels for review, with the usual caveat that It would be a honest review and that given the state of my local trails the wheels were not going to get an easy life. Joe was fully confident in the wheels and sent a pair out to me.

I asked that the only thing they should come with was tubeless valves as I intended to mount my own tyres. this is because I have a working knowledge of how those tyres behave so as not to muddy the water of the wheel review by getting used to a new tyre’s handling characteristics. I added tubeless tape, sealant and a pair of WTB Resolutes and then swapped rotors and cassette from my usual wheels, but before this I weighed both wheels (with valves) and they came out at 1670g. exactly the weight claimed on the CES Sport website, this was a first for a review!

There’s a choice when you buy the wheels of having Bitex hubs or DT Swiss 350 hubs, I let Joe choose these and they came with the DT Swiss. These hubs ran smoothly throughout the test period although they did freak me out a little as I’m used to the loud buzz of Hope hubs and the DT Swiss were near silent. Talking of which, these deep section 35mm rims were also silent. A lot of deep section carbon road rims emit a frankly horrific rumble on tarmac that you can hear from miles away. (how you can ride with that noise I do not know) maybe it’s the higher volume tyres on a gravel bike that quiet them down but either way I was relieved at this characteristic.

The rims are 25mm across internally and 32mm across externally. My 42mm tyres seated first time with a track pump and sat with a pleasing round profile. The rims are not hookless so you are not confined to a few compatible tyres. They are built with Sapin j-bend spokes and brass nipples….yes! This may not mean anything to you but it ensures the wheels are easy to maintain, spokes are easy to source if you break one and the nipples are external. Too many wheelsets have fancy, hard to find proprietory bladed spokes. They have aluminium nipples that can corrode (react with the steel spoke) and break and the nipples are sometimes hidden in the rim meaning its a tyre off scenario just to true a wheel. This approach by CES is to be applauded, it may add a few grams but I’d rather have ease of maintenance any day.

So on paper they sound good but how did they ride? Well I did not give them an easy life at all. My local trails are already hub deep in mud in places, soft ground and bridleways heavily used by our horsey friends see to this so they’ve had a baptism of ~~fire~~ mud. Mix this with a liberal scattering of leaves and a close fitting front mudguard and this saw the rim walls scaped with all sorts of trail detritus. I’m writing this in the garden now looking at the wheels drying in the pathetic bit of sun we have today after being washed and they look absolutely unscathed…..apart from a slight peel on a sticker, I’m told though that this is the demo wheelset and the stickers will be different on production rims.

The wheels are noticably stiffer than my usual aluminium rimmed wheels, out of the saddle flinging the bike from side to side to try and flex them there was no tyre rub on that close fitting mudguard, something that is very noticable on my normal wheels. It gives you the feeling that all the effort you put on the pedals is being transfered into forward motion. I did drop the pressures of the tyres by a couple of psi as at 32-35 on really rocky ground it did become bumpy but that seemed to do the trick and they became as comfortable as my usual wheels but without any squirmy feeling.

When you ride a wheelset for the first time after its been built the spokes tend to ping and bang a bit as they seat and you should check for trueness, these wheels through did not do that. This I put down to attention to detail from the builders. This is the difference between those bog standard wheels that come on your new bike and a set of hand built wheels, someone has taken the time to check their work and taken pride in doing so. Yes, the components are off the shelf, the rims are almost certainly built to spec in China (the DT Swiss hubs almost certainly are) but here they are chosen for a job rather than the price point being the be and end all, the fact that this set of wheels come in at an affordable, compared to other carbon wheels, price of less than £1200 (less than £950 for the other hubs) makes them stand out of the crowd.

The CES Sport Graean Carbon wheelset rides and works well, They are easy to maintain, are comfortable but still stiff and with the build quality and ease of tubeless set up I can’t think of a downside……oh no wait, If they had a stealthier sticker they’d be spot on, I guess thats the triathlon influence!

you can find more details on the CES Sport website here (not an affiliate link)

Checkout the video review of the wheels below, If you like or dislike this video please take the time to subscribe to my YouTube channel. It costs nothing but makes a huge difference to me

Do You Believe The Hype?

I’ve been called many things over the years but probably the most annoying is that I’m an “influencer” Now you might say as I publish online reviews, you tube videos and have a instagram following that that is exactly what I am and up to a point I suppose you are right and also wrong, let me explain.

Back in 2018 I was working in the bike industry, selling and fixing bikes in a local bike shop. These new fangled “gravel bikes” had started to be a thing. Of course I wanted one and even tried to get as near to the concept as I could by adapting a hard tail MTB with narrow tyres and a rigid fork. A year later I was lucky enough to be allowed to ride the shop demo gravel bike, a Trek Checkpoint (check the dropdown above for a review of that bike) which I absolutely loved. At that time there were so many companies that were jumping on that gravel band wagon it was really confusing for the ordinary rider to know what was good, what was essential and what just wasn’t fit for purpose. No one really has the cash to throw away on a bike or product that the media tell you you need but in reality is so far from quality or purpose that you might as well just set fire to your pound notes (remember real money?)

So I decided to start UKGRAVELCO on instagram to share my pictures and repost others snaps to inspire people to ride and quite frankly to find people to ride with. I started to be inundated with messages asking my opinion on this or that bike, that wheelset, what should i wear etc etc you get the picture. At the time there was a lot of media attention for gravel, lots of articles online and in magazines (they existed back then!) and many pro riders and those with lots of followers recommending kit. All well and good you might think. However, working in the industry I’d had some of that kit that’d been recommended as essential in my hands and well I didn’t agree. It was then I launched ukgravelco.com to try and give an honest, balanced look and review on some of these items.

I started with bikes or kit I already owned and knew that worked or didn’t and this proved popular. I gained followers at a fast rate and traffic to the website was good. I was able to show this data and contacted a few companies and distributors to see if I could review some of their kit, always with the premise that it was at their risk. If i liked the product I would say so, but also if I thought it was lacking I’d put that in print too. It was a risky move, but I wasn’t doing it to make a living from the reviews, I was doing it to help others and yea, it was fun too. Luckily quite a few companies and marketing people had confidence in their products and sent them to me to try out.

“i bet you get to keep all that stuff you get sent” is a sentence I hear a lot and the answer is yes and a definate no. Understandibly no one wants clothing or shoes back after I’ve worn them for a few weeks, especially bib shorts! Bikes and wheels definately have to go back and a few times at my expense too. I’ve also agreed to review kit I can give away in a competition afterwards either in a straight free competiton with a random winner or by buying a ticket where all the profits go to a charity or good cause such as Nil’s Rider Resilience project.

“How much do you get paid to review stuff?” honestly, nothing, not a thing. Now this is really what inspired me to write this article really. This was because I recieive quite a lot of offers of product that comes with a ready written script from the manufacturer, that script is what they want you to write about their stuff. Basically a glowing review before I’ve even had the product in my hands. This comes usually with a sweetner of keeping the item or the promise of commission. I’ve even had emails asking how much I charge for a positive review! Needless to say I’ve always declined these offers. So have peace of mind that all the reviews on ukgravelco have not been paid for upfront or scripted by someone with a vested interest in having a good review.

I reviewed the ASS Saver Win-Wing last year after writing an email to see if they would send me one to review. I loved it, it’s such a simple idea that really works. I wrote a review and made a a video that got lots of attention. When Ass Savers produced the mark 2 win-wing they asked if I’d like to try one out to see the differences between the original and the new one. Of course I said yes. they liked the ensuing video so much they shared it and offered me a discount code to share with my followers. This was post review and not before it was written/filmed. This was something new to me and it came with what the industry calls a “kick back” This meant every time someone used my code ( GARYW_10 ) they would get 10% off their order and I would get a small percentage of that discount, This was a dilemma, would this compromise my neutrality? I decided that as i believed in the product so much and would recommend it anyway I would agree to it. After all the website hosting and domain does not pay for itself, plus a lot of the products I review I’ve paid for in full from my own money. So full disclosure, for one Ass Saver sale of £20.34 i receive £2.85.

All this is handled by an affiliate company. Usually an advertisement company or media company who handle publicity/promo codes and links for many companies at once. The company that handle ass-savers send out the codes and handle commission, if any and that’s not guaranteed. Most times when you see a link to a product at the end of a review it’s an affiliate link, if you click on it then either the reviewer or the website that is paying the reviewer to write the review gets a percentage kick back. This is why I’ve started putting a disclaimer next to any link I post that it isn’t an affiliate link.

It was while browsing the extensive list of companies on the affiliate website that I noticed that a good many of the accounts of “influencers” I follow on instagram had nearly all the cycling affiliate offers listed on their accounts. In some cases it was almost a carbon copy of the list. Taking a closer look at their content where they are saying “look at what I’ve been sent/this is the best thing ever” etc etc and seeing the long list of discount codes and links in their bio they are getting a kick back for every one. Honestly half the stuff listed i would not even give the light of day too. I get sent an email if there’s a new affiliate opportunity and It’s become a ritual to go to this account and see how long before they announce that they can’t live without that particular product and oh, here’s a discount code so you don’t miss out.

Is this influencing? I guess it is. I feel it’s wrong and this is why I do not like being called an influencer. I’ve had chats with a few cycle industry companies recently about reviewing the latest products and in all cases I own items they’ve produced in the past already, paid for with my own money and the subject of earning a kick back for reviewing their product has come up and I’ve said that I believe in their product and that I’d recommend it anyway regardless of kick back.

This is the only way I can go forward, I can’t continue reviewing without being totally honest. If there’s any offer code then I’ll be upfront about any kick back and I won’t be agreeing to that until I’ve properly seen and tested the item.

So choose your influencer carefully, there are genuine reviewers out there that will only take kick back on products they really believe can make a difference to your riding but unfortunately there are those who clearly are only in it for the money.

This may be old news to you, it may open your eyes and make you look at any review or influencer with a pinch of salt and if it’s the latter it’s been worthwhile writing this. No pictures on this one as I didn’t think it was fair to use unrelated pictures just to fill out the article and implicate any company, product or dare I say influencer wrongly

if you’d like to support these honest reviews and ukgravelco.com then please consider following this page, the instagram channel, subscribing to the youtube channel all of which are free to do or buying something from the ukgravelco shop, links below, non of which are affiliate

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Brooks England Cambium C17 Saddle Review

Brooks saddles have always scared me. Tales of having to do long rides to break in the leather top, the spanner that came with them to adjust the spring underneath to stretch or relieve the pressure on that top and the well, lets face it, the retro bygone era look of the things all contribute to asthetically make me not want to go near one with my tender under parts!

Well Grandad I hear you say (and probably Brooks reading that paragraph) things have moved on. Brooks have evolved and moved with the times. They do of course still produce those hand made leather saddles and I concede that once the breaking in period has passed and the saddle has molded itself to your undercarriage they are probably the comfiest saddle out there. However, who in the modern world has time to go through all that discomfort? I have to hold down a day job and also have the every day humdrum chores that we all do so my riding window is small and I need to make the most of it by jumping on the bike and go riding.

The Brooks Cambium range of saddles is their solution to those of us without the time to break in new parts (or break our own doing it) and shock horror it isn’t even made of leather!!! No the Cambium has a vulcanised rubber cover so no worries about water damage or having to treat the material to protect it. Wash and go at the same time as you clean the bike. It has tubular steel rails and aluminium rivets.

Yes rivets, you see Brooks haven’t abandonned the traditions completely. The saddle is still designed to have the “hammock” effect of the original saddle, the top is still riveted together but with anodised aluminium rather than copper rivets and it even has a traditional twin fitting for a saddle bag, such as Brooks’s own or something like a carradice waxed cotton one. Lets not stray too far into the past though, as sunlit and glorious in a rough stuff fellowship kind of way it might be. Make no mistake the Cambium is a well thought out modern saddle that has been designed for commuting, road riding, world travel, gravel biking & bikepacking in all weather conditions.

The 17 part of the name represents the width, Brooks produce a 15 and a 19 in these and their other saddles. I went with 17 as it was closest to the width of saddle I’m most used to. I received a “carved” version which means there is a cut out in the middle designed to add pressure relief and more flex for long hours in the saddle. The rails will fit any modern seatpost and theres is no tension adjustment for the top.

The ride then does not match what my preconceived ideas forecast. To my eyes it looks uncomfortable and hard. This though is as far from the truth as it’s possible to get! The saddle feels like you are easing into your favourite armchair. The first few rides I found the flex a little disconcerting and I thought I could feel the cut out move and close together a little as i sat down but I think this was entirely psychosomatic as it didn’t interfere with any of my delicate parts at all. I didn’t find this flex affected the ride though, there’s no bouncing pogo stick like over rough ground but I could tell the difference from my regular saddle. The ride wasn’t as harsh, its no substitute for a suspension seatpost (or full suspension bike) by any means but it does help with that trail chatter and that has got to help with fatigue over a long ride.

I’ve used this saddle over the summer and now into the wet autumn…..who am I kidding, the summer was nearly as wet! The rubber saddle cover has proved durable and actually doesn’t look like its been used at all! It shrugs off water and a quick wash with a sponge or hose cleans off any residual mud or grit completely. After multiple rides the only thing I think I’d change if I was to buy one of these saddles is to go with the narrower C15. This is because I’ve mostly been using the saddle on a bike with a standard seatpost, not a dropper post so going downhill I’ve had to get my weight and myself behind the saddle in the old fashioned way and the slightly wider rear of the saddle has made this a process I’ve had to concentrate more on than if it was narrower. The fact that this method of riding with a rigid post is the only old fashioned thing about the saddle is not lost on me given my first two paragraphs. I think I’d go with one of the colours too, black is rather too traditional!

The Brooks England C17 saddle, there for the long haul rides with armchair comfort and lasting looks

you can find out more details from Brooks England (not an affiliate link)*

*if you’d like to support these reviews and ukgravelco.com then please consider following this page, the instagram channel, subscribing to the youtube channel all of which are free to do or buying something from the ukgravelco shop, links below

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Fidlock Twist Bottle and Toolbox Review

I absolutely love the fidlock clasp and bottle holder on the recently reviewed Collins Cycle Works Hip Pack so I was happy when Ison Distribution sent me a fidlock bottle and toolbox to try out.

Both items come with a magnet embedded strip of plastic that I guess you could say takes the place of the traditional bottle cage. Of course though there’s no “cage”. Both the bottle and toolbox have an integrated mount built into the bottom. This also contains a magnet and when you place the bottle or box over the strip they come together with a very satisfying click and are then held very securely. To release the bottle or box simply twist to one side and the magnets disengage.

The Twist bottle holds 590ml of liquid, has a self sealing mouthpiece and a cover to stop the part you drink out of getting covered in mud. It’s a very soft squeezy material with a wide opening screw off top. It works just like any bottle but because of the self sealing cap you do hve to give it a good squeeze to get the liquid flow going. The wide lid makes it easy to clean.

On the bike the clip on/twist off technique soon becomes second nature but you do have to look down to make sure the magnets are in the vicinity of each other before letting go! I had a couple of occasions where I missed and dropped the bottle. Once you dial in the technique though it becomes second nature

The Twist Toolbox works in exactly the same way but obviously you won’t be removing and replacing it as often as the bottle. It’s made from a water repellent material, which is just as well as I mounted it under the down tube in the way of spray from the front wheel. Despite the weather’s best efforts the interior has remained dry. It will take up to 550ml of kit. It has a zip opening and opens like a clam shell. There’s a few of elastic strips and a mesh section to hold tools steady and I’ve got an inner tube (full size mtb) tyre levers, a multitool and a tubeless repair kit in it. It has never detached itself from the bike but because the part that attaches to the bike frame is quite narrow and the toolbox quite wide and full of kit there’s is some noticable wobble.

fidlock twist tool box has seen some action

The bottle is very neat and allows for a very clean looking set up on the bike, drinking wise it’s the same as any other bottle, the twist system really works. You would need to commit to the fidlock system though as if you were to be handed a standard bottle in say a race situation there’s nowhere to put it. Theres also a financial element too as the bottle and mount are quite expensive. You can get kits to convert your normal bottles to the twist system though.

The toolbox works brilliantly and if you had more than one bike you could swap tools quickly between them if you had a mount on each frame.

The Fidlock Twist bottle and Toolbox, two pieces of great functioning and good looking kit but it’s best to go full Fidlock to get the most out of the concept.

Find more Fidlock products on their website

Crank Brothers Stamp Trail Shoe Review

My last article on UKGRAVELCO.COM was about flat pedals and if it was possible to use them on a gravel bike and a quick review of the Crank Brothers Stamp and HT pedals. As discussed in the video you can wear whatever shoes you want with flat pedals, that’s what makes them so versatile and popular, you don’t have to have expensive specialist or specific shoes to use them. However, if you want the optimum amount of grip and performance and your budget or circumstance allows you can buy shoes designed to mate perfectly with flat pedals. the bonus of shoes without a cleat sticking out of the bottom is that you can use them as ordinary shoes too and you won’t stand out as “a cyclist” sterotype at work, the supermarket or down the pub!

The benchmark flat pedal shoe before Adidas took them over was the Five Ten range of shoes, known for their super sticky sole and robustness for trail riding. They were excellent for all round riding from cross country to downhill. They kind of lost their way especially with sizing and narrowness when taken over and lots of other companies caught up and designed and introduced their own version.

Crank Brothers are one such company, not new to the cycle industry and well known for their pedals they have introduced the Stamp Trail line of shoes. Yes, they call their pedals Stamp too so I’d hope they were designed in conjunction. I tried out a pair of the lace up version and as well as using them on the “can you ride gravel on flat pedals” experiment I’ve been using them on my mountain bike too.

The look of the shoe is very understated (they do a white version too, perfect for UK conditions! 🙂 ) with a blue upper and a brown gumwall sole. there is a reinforced poly urethane toe bumper. the heel is well padded and the laces mean micro adjustments for fit are easy and endless. The upper is perforated for heat transfer. The tongue also has a very neat lace pocket to stop any lace-crank/chain interface. this is much better than the elastic lace strap you get on a lot of these type of shoe. I like the fact that the logos are subtle and don’t shout “LOOK AT ME” which is why you can wear them all the time with pretty much any outfit, I’ve even worn them a few times at work.

Crank Bro Stamp shoe in and out of lace pocket

Crank Bothers advertise these as the perfect blend of performance and adventure and that the sole has high-friction MC2 rubber compound combined to provide optimal grip on and off the bike. So they are pitching these as an all rounder, a shoe that can play at the bike park and also engage in a bit of hike a bike or bike packing where sections of walking might be involved.

The sole is made up of “lozenge” shapes that you will realise is the same outline as the Crank brothers logo, a nice touch. at the heel and toe the pattern changes to horizontal grooves that are designed to aid traction when walking up or down slopes.

So you’ve seen the specs and the intentions fron Crank Brothers how do they compare to the bench mark?

First of all sizing. I initially went for my usual size of 44 and I found them a little small so I exchanged them for a 45 and they felt spot on. In use on both gravel bike and mountain bike they are superbly comfortable i’d go as far as to say they felt like slippers on my feet. Now usually when a shoe is that comfortable it tends to be quite soft and flexible on the sole. The Stamp shoe however was not. It was good to try them on the gravel bike because on that bike I do longer distance on tarmac where any flex would be felt after a few miles through the sole of your feet. In this case the Stamp shoes were stiff enough on the ball of the foot to not feel hot spots or like my feet were curling around the pedal. i’m not saying they are as stiff as a clip in shoe but compared to the bench mark they are excellent. I’ve had the shoes since the end of april and they’ve had multiple rides but obviously I can’t say how flexy they’d get after a year etc, but up to now there’s no complaints. There’s no compromise for this stiffness in the way of grip either, they stick to the pedals tenaciously, I’ve even found myself trying to unclip like a clip in shoe when I’ve forgotten I’m wearing them such is the level of adhesion. This soft compound pleasingly hasn’t meant the sole has been chewed up by the pedal pins either. They size up a little small but only in length, width wise they are spot on for me.

The Crank Brothers aim of making a flat pedal shoe fit for adventure has been met and I’m happy to say exceeded the benckmark.

The Stamp flat pedal shoe is thoroughly recommended, if you need a flat pedal shoe for all your riding then crank bothers might just have the shoe you’ve been looking for.

more details on the shoe can be found here Crank Brothers Stamp and they have a UK distributor in Extra UK

Now i’m lusting after the white version too!

Flat pedals on a Gravel Bike?

Crank brothers Stamp 2 and HT PAO3A pedal review

In a recent poll on my instagram channel @ukgravelco I asked what things put people off trying a gravel bike. Overwhelmingly the highest results, apart from the cost of a gravel bike, was that people didn’t want to have to wear lycra and didn’t want to use clip in pedals.

Well spoiler alert from the start, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO WEAR TIGHT CLOTHING OR USE CLIP IN PEDALS if you don’t want to. That is part of the beauty of gravel biking, because it’s relatively new there are no rules and long may this continue! As a clip in pedal user on the gravel bike myself it got me thinking that maybe I should try riding on the gravel bike with flat pedals to back up my above statement. I do use flat pedals when riding my mountain bike so I’m no stranger to the concept but that is used for a majority of off road riding. Gravel riding has a lot more potential tarmac riding (where i live at least) so that could make a difference. there was only one way to find out.

The guys at Extra UK and Ison Distribution the distributors of Crank Bros and HT respectively agreed to send me a pair of pedals. I decided to try an affordable pedal, the HT PAO3A (not the snazziest of titles) which at time of writing costs £60 at full RRP and the Crank Bros Stamp 2 (see what they did there?) at £100 RRP to see what the difference would be by spending a little more.

the Crank Bros Stamp 2 pedal is from their quite extensive flat pedal range which they have been producing for a long time, so they know what makes a good flat pedal. They come in two sizes, this version is the large and the basic rule of thumb is to size the pedals according to your shoe size, there’s a guide on the Crank Bros website for this. The Body of the pedal is made from aluminium. It comes with 10 10mm removeble pins per side, has a steel spindle and the pedal spins on an inner ignus bearing and twin cartridge bearings on the outside. They are only available in silver or black and have a 5 year warranty. They weigh 494g on my kitchen scales.

The shape of the body allows maximum mud shedding room and if you look from the side the pedal is concave, so the outer edge is higher than the spindle allowing your foot to “sit in” the pedal for maximum grip and security from slippage. it’s quite difficult to photograph this but check the video below for a better example of this.

the HT PAO3A pedal in contrast is made of glass reinforced nylon with two in mould pins and 8 replaceable pins per side. Again HT make a huge range of pedals and these come with DU bushings and one dual sealed bearing. The platform is just a hair smaller than the Stamp but weighs less at 351g on my not very accurate kitchen scale. the platform also has the concave shape that is essential in a flat pedal. It comes in just about every colour you can think of and as its “composite” (plastic) there’s no worry about it looking tatty after a few rock or gravel strikes as there’s no paint to flake off.

In use both pedals have performed flawlessly offering up oodles of grip in all situations. Now, as a clip in pedal user usually on the gravel bike, i found myself automaticaly twisting my foot to unclip such was the amount of adhesion to my foot when dismounting.

Pedal dynamics wise there’s a theory that clip in pedals are more efficient and give more power as you can push down and pull up but in the real world unless you are racing or analysing efficiency to a microscopic level I don’t think there’s a great difference, not one that would bother me out for a leisure ride anyway. Both these pedals shed mud 100% better than a clip in pedal. If you ride in the UK this is almost a year round problem. Clogged pedals and shoes can stop engagement between the rider and the pedal, not what you want in slippery downhil situations. Both the Crank Bros and HT pedals were there and accessible in all muddy foot out, flat out scenarios.

So which is the best? well there’s not a lot in it to be honest, the bearings in the Crank Bros pedal seem nicer and spin well without stiction, the HT bearings feel smooth but spin the pedal and it soon stops, this maybe though because the bearing seals are so good. The Crank bros pedal does feel more robust being made of metal and looks like it’d take more knocks at the expence of a bit of paint and are approx 100g over the HT but it does come with a 5 year warrant.

Grip wise there’s nothing in it though. Both are at the top of their game, so i guess it comes down to that warranty and the slightly nicer bearing for me to prefer the Stamp pedal, but then I can put up with silver, if you want a colour and pay a lot less ££ then there are no drawbacks to the HT pedal.

check out the video below to see the pedals in action

New Year, New Me (& all that bollocks)

2023, what a year! Or was it? I can’t actually remember what my New Years resolution was, probably something about doing more cycling (predictable), riding different places (yep, that old chestnut) with lots of new people (ok, that happened but only up to a point).

I’m writing this in the pub with a pint in my hand, so forgive the spelling and the rambling style. After reading a post on instagram from @ipulledthepin, I realise I’ve been doing the New Year thing all wrong. Lindsey says instead of the usual, “Im going to change, get a bikini body, get promotion, be positive” bullshit that flies around at this time of year mostly by Gyms trying to shame people into joining you should just focus on one word to see you through the year. Lindsey’s word for 2023 was “soften” here’s a link to why she chose that word, she can explain it, much more eloquently than me.

So what is my word? I’ll come to that later but first lets talk about 2023 and those goals previously mentioned. I don’t think I achieved any of them. Did I ride in loads of new places? No. I’d say 80% of my rides were from the door. Did I meet new people? One or two but again I’ve mostly ridden with the same few friends, but even that seems to have been reduced this year for some reason. Have I done more cycling? Again no, around my average 4500 miles for the year.

So has 2023 been a massive fail? Up until today I’d have said yes! It’s funny how reading one post on Instagram can change your whole perspective on things but @ipulledthepin has done that today.

I’ve had a few health issues that have knocked my confidence, making long term plans awkward and the thought of bike packing a bit of a terror. I’ve said no to a lot of invites because of the “what if” demons and not wanting to let anyone down by pulling out at the last minute and felt low about it. I’ve forced myself to go and ride when not feeling great and as you’d expect, it hasn’t made the experience as enjoyable as it should have. All this comes with the worry that people will stop asking If I don’t go. Hopefully that won’t happen.

Thankfully just the simple act of riding my bike has helped with the head games even if at times it’s been hard to motivate myself to get out and ride. That’s a sentence I never thought I’d write!

So in the spirit of balance lets look at the positives of 2023. UKGRAVELCO continues to go from strength to strength, thanks to all of the people who interact with it and allow me to repost their stuff on instagram. Thanks to those who have joined the Facebook page, comment on posts on all the channels and to all the companies and distributors who have trusted me to give a fair and honest review of their products.

By far the biggest thrill for me this year has been the popularity of the UK GRAVEL COLLECTIVE youtube channel. This one here.This time last year it had around 400 subscribers and it’s now up to around 1100! Thanks to everyone who has subscribed to it or liked the videos. It has definately been hard work but so much fun and again a motivator for me to get out there. Thanks to everyone who has had to endure me whipping a camera out on group rides, asked them to ride things over and over and to all the non cyclists wondering why a bearded bloke on a bike is riding along no handed while talking to himself into a camera lens. Hopefully the growth of the channel will continue and the production values will get a bit better too! 🙂

Enough retrospection, lets look forward to 2024. I was asked by John from wildcycles.cc what my plans were for the year and I had to say I’d made none. I can update that with the fact that yesterday, I tentitively agreed to attempt the Traws Eryri (trans Snowdonia) route with a good friend and regular cycling buddy. I may live to regret that! That lack of planning frames what I thought I’d do for 2024, namely just play it by ear and see what happens. Not putting pressure on myself to do a certain amount of miles, go to important events where I (probably mistakenly) think I need to be seen to promote ukgravelco will be a good thing for me. Less pressure (I have a day job too, this cycling stuff after all is just my hobby), will hopefully mean I actually do more riding.

So following @ipulledthepin’s example we come to my word for 2024. No New Year, New Me bollocks. my word will be THANKFUL

I want to appreciate what I’ve got, I’m very privileged compared to a lot of society, I have a job, I have spare time to do something frivalous like ride a bicycle for fun rather than for work. The recent passing of Nils Amelinckx has made me realise that even the shortest ride (or just waking up in the morning) is a gift that not everyone gets. It doesn’t matter if I don’t enter a certain number of events, If I don’t pin a race number on my bike again nothing bad will happen. Thankful to feel the first warm spring sun on my face, Thankful to get to the bottom of a dodgy descent in one piece while giggling to myself that I survived it! Thankful I’ve got friends and riding buddies that will turn out for some hair brained ride idea like tossing pancakes! and thankful if I inspire one person to ride a bike for the first time or the 10000th time it will be a victory and I want to be thankful I’m able to do it.

What would your word for 2024 be?