Dose Dependent - Alvin

Whoa! I have used a whole slew of Shimano shifters, SRAM Rival, and a little Campy, but I must say that SRAM Red Shifters are the bomb. The shifts are crisp and precise. If you are weight weenie, you are looking at some of the lightest shifters ever designed. The hoods are comfortable in multiple hand positions, and the ability to adjust the reach of the brake handle is amazing. No need for huge spacers like you find on Shimano shifters. With a little allen key, you dial in how much reach you want. The carbon accents and handles are great for anyone who has a matching carbon frame bike. Just go ahead and make the investment. Hey, even SRAM says you can take the things apart and clean them for preventive maintenance. A+ in my book.

Think about how the family dog's eyes light up when you give them a doggie treat. That is what your chain will be doing when you apply this lube to it! It goes on easy and keeps everything running as smooth as an ice skating ring after the Zamboni at the end of the 1st period of a hockey game.

If you want to ride indoors while another winter snow storm arrives from the Rockies, look no further than the riser block. Sure, you might not get altitude sick with this piece of plastic, but you will enjoy not using the usual stack of telephone books that seem to move every direction that you don't want them to move. It is stable and sturdy (and cheap).

When you want your car to have that glistening appearance, you add a coat of wax. For your indoor environment, your carpet (or at least your significant other) would appreciate not getting hosed with bunch of sweat from your Spinerval or Carmichael training DVD workout. Save the trouble of both cleaning the carpet and making amends with that special someone and put this piece of wonderful plastic on the ground. I have one that I use for my training mat when I need to during the winter. When it is not being used as a sweat collector, I use it under my bike and Ultimate Pro (found here on Backcountry) repair stand. Those flecks of black grease have no where to go with this mat under your bike.

This trainer is great if you want to have the "road feel." Just remember you need to have some motivation when you on ever on the trainer. Otherwise, you merely pedal and don't get that good of a workout. The customer support from CycleOps is great. With most fluid trainers, the fluid resistance unit will probably leak at some point. The people at CycleOps are awesome with troubleshooting the problems and/or replacing the units. The training DVD will help you keep your attention to detail while you receive another 8 inches of snow from a Canadian low pressure front. Kudos.

Really, never leave home without them. In this world of carbon bikes, wheels, and superlight blah, these tire levers might separate you from getting home for dinner time instead of sitting on the side of the road waiting for a car ride home. Also, there cheap as dirt. Buy a few.

I have been a bike mechanic for three years and have used many different types of repair stands. Since I live in an apartment, I cannot purchase a bolt-in-the-ground, type 100% secure stand; however, with the ultimate pro stand, I need not even look into any other type of stand. The wide base keeps things from tipping over. To make sure, I just tossed a few 10 lbs bags of beans on two of the legs, and I need not worry about anything moving. The clamp is 100% secure. The stand is compact and light enough to be hauled to any bike race or other cycling/tri event. I purchased mine when it was on sale and then I used a 20% off coupon from backcountry.com. You cannot beat that type of deal anywhere! Oh yes, and there was free UPS shipping as well.

I was a Speedplay follower until the cost of replacing cleats and pedals hit my wallet a little too much. I threw on a set of the Shimano Ultegra 6620 pedals and discovered that pedal/cleat maintenance need not concern a rider any more. In a few words, these pedals can be considered VERY LOW MAINTENANCE. There is not need to lube, treat them like a little child, or even worry about dirt. The cleats (yellow) are secure and keep your food planted where it needs to be planted. Sure, they are a tad on the heavy side (300+ g), but when it comes to the foot platform, I am willing to have a few more grams on my side to help provide a stable power transfer platform. I would recommend these to any and all riders but especially riders who are currently using Speedplay pedals. =)

I have used this helmet for over a year and must say that it does what it says it will do: protect your head and keep it cool. Unless you want to spend $225 for the Ionos, stick with the Atmos.