Awesome Products
By James Sharp

Over the last few years we have had the chance to review a fairly broad range of products—from clothing to tires, bikes to lights—and some of it is still in use. We try and use the snot out of products during the review period, but sometimes problems creep up after the reviews are posted. Sometimes, a product gets better. There are those products that we keep coming back to, even when we have newer options. I’ve compiled a list of some of these, and how they have behaved that makes them so great.

Light and Motion Arc Lights
SportHill Pursuit Tight and Pinnacle Jersey
Hutchinson Python
Mavic CrossMax SL
Planet Bike Protégé 9.0

Light and Motion Arc and Arc Li-Ion
We first reviewed the Arc in 2002. At the time it was brand new on the market. It was one of the brightest available, as well. HIDs were just hitting the big time, and it was anyones guess how well they would last or if the high price would kill them off quickly. Not only did they last, but the following year Light and Motion introduced the Arc Li-Ion reducing the weight significantly while increasing the already long burn time a little.

I am happy to report that both lights have seen considerable use. The Arc is a bar mount only, with a water bottle NiMH battery. The burn time is as long now as it was when we first received the light. That is more a testament to Light and Motions charger than anything else. They continue to charge the batteries monitoring the temperature. This allows them to charge at the maximum rate without damaging the battery. The Arc Li-Ion has spent about half it’s life as a helmet mount. You want to light up the night? Put one of these babies on your head and bars. You can go as fast as you can at full noon. Your riding buddies will turn off their lights and ride by yours. These lights truly are that bright.

I have used the lights for mountain biking at night and commuting to and from work in the worst possible rainstorms and the lights have never let me down. The connectors have never failed and the lights have always turned on.

The only issue we have had was with the original Arc. The ballast started to misbehave. The light still lit, and I was never stranded, but it would dim down into a reddish color and then brighten back up. This behavior isn’t unusual in and of itself—any sharp blow will stir the gasses in the bulb enough to cause this to happen—but the light was doing this sitting on a shelf. A quick call to Light and Motion and the light head was on its way back. After a quick diagnosis, they replaced the ballast and shipped the light head back. They were very prompt and got the job done. They stand behind their product 100%. The Li-Ion has been trouble free.

I recommend Light and Motion to anyone looking for a reliable lighting system. If you can swing the price of entry, get an Arc or Arc Li-Ion. They don’t disappoint and cars will see you, guaranteed, and that kind of piece of mind is priceless.

Light & Motion
bikelights@lmindustries.com

Buy Arc Li-Ion
Buy Arc
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SportHill Pursuit Tight and Pinnacle Jersey
In January of 2004 I wrote, The fabric alone [of the Pursuit tight and Pinnacle jersey] is worth the price of admission." This is for a pair of tights that retail for $80 without a chamois and a jersey that retails for $100. Now, a year and many thousands of miles later, I will tell you that my original assessment is 100% correct.

Year round commuting by bicycle will put in the worst Mother Nature has to offer. Here in Oregon that means driving rain, cold winds and days of drizzle. Unless it is dumping rain, the Pinnacle jersey is my go-to jersey once the temperature dips below 50 degrees—below 45 degrees and it’s the jersey and Pursuit tights. Even in the rain, I pair a rain jacket with the Pursuit tight, regardless of how wet my legs might get. Why is that? Because of the fabric, it doesn’t matter if my legs are wet or not. The tights and jersey are windproof. Remove the wind and the wet isn’t a bother. I change at work anyway. The only difference between the jersey and the tights is that the back of the jersey isn’t windproof so in a driving rain I could still get chilled.

Both the jersey and the tights have been washed countless times and they both still look as good as the day I picked them up from SportHill. The fabric still functions as new as well too, maintaining its windproof-ness and breathability. The rear pockets still bug me a little, but I’ve gotten used to them.

Anytime I talk to people about riding year round, SportHill comes up. They use innovative fabrics in well thought out apparel. Are they cheap? No, but they last and last, they work as well or better than any other winter garment I have used and when the weather turns nasty they are worth their weight in gold.

SportHill
800-622-8444
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I have always been sad to see the tires wear out. The Python Tubeless-Light weighed in at a very light 630 grams. Combine the light weight with the fantastic rolling characteristics and you can see why I chose it over all other tires to handle a 70-mile epic, 90% of which was single track.

Alas, the Python is no more. Happily, Hutchinson has made revisions to the tire and is now making it in a larger size, with bigger side knobs—the New Python. This should yield a tire that rolls as fast as the previous Python, but excels where the original fell a little short. Watch GearReview.com in the next few months to see what we think of the new tire.

Hutchinson USA
888-664-8824

Buy Python New Generation
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Mavic CrossMax SL
Wheels are one of the best places to spice up a mountain bike, and the CrossMax SLs are about as spicy as they get. At 774 grams for the front wheel and 915 grams for the rear, these are in the lightweight realm. At $850, though, you pay for it. So why are these on my list of great products? Because, after thousands of miles on them, I have not had to touch them. I don’t baby the wheels; I ride them hard with all kinds of tires on them – narrow racing semi-slicks to fat aggressively knobbed free-ride tires. I have done 3-4 foot drops to flat without any problems.

Since they are made for UST tires, they need to hold air. They are as air tight as the day we received them. Riding them year round in mud and rain and meant that I needed to replace the front and rear bearings, about $20/wheel. However, they are cartridge bearings so replacement is easy and yields both new bearings and races – essentially making the hub new again.

The freehub body is easily removed for service and the wheels came with all the tools, except one 6mm hex wrench, to do the job and to true the wheels. When the freehub starts acting up it is a five minute job to take it apart, clean and lightly lube the mechanism and put the whole thing back together.

At $850 the wheels would be hard to recommend if they weren’t as strong as they are. They ride well, are lively and are stiff enough for even my (ahem) 185-pound body. The only issue is the quick release skewers. They are aluminum and don’t clamp well enough for a larger disc brake rotor. If you run 160 mm rotors, no problem, but I run at least 185 mm up front and have found that the skewer isn’t up to the task. That is an easy swap though, and not a reason to pass on these beautiful wheels.

Mavic Sports Inc.
978-469-8400

Buy CrossMax SL Disc
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Planet Bike Protégé 9.0
This little computer has resided many of my bikes for more than 2 years. The Protégé 9.0 made the list for a couple of reasons. First, it’s fairly inexpensive at approximately $45. Second, 4 line display gives a ton of info at a glance, without making the computer big. Third, it has a built in thermometer. I love having a thermometer on my bike. I’ve boxed up more expensive computers in favor of this one because of that one feature.

This is a wired computer, which is good and bad. Mounting it is more cumbersome with the wires, but there is no interference from lights, power lines, heart rate monitors or any other source of radio frequency noise. This makes the computer reliable. I have used the computer in driving rain and it just laughs it off.

I continue to recommend this computer to anyone looking for more than the basic functions; in addition to the thermometer, the Protégé 9.0 has dual bike settings as well. It looks good, works great and lets you know exactly why you feel as cold or as hot as you do.

Planet Bike
info@planetbike.com
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James Sharp is a contributing editor for GearReview.com and a sharp blow will stir him into action.