Hitch rack, or roof rack… Hitch rack or roof rack… Hitch rack, of course! When it comes to hauling your beefy DH rig, or even your svelte roadie, I much prefer using hitch-mounted bike racks. They aren’t perfect, but they are much better than putting your rig on the roof of your SUV.

The Yakima Hookup was introduced in 2005 and represents some of the best in bike rack technology. Using a similar design to the beloved Sportworks Bob Ratchet (now Thule), the Yakima Hookup is so easy to use that a caveman could do it (sorry GEICO)… literally. Once the rack is secured to your vehicle with the locking bolt, all you do is move the large wheel arms all the way to the front, lift up the copper-colored tire guide, open the rear wheel strap and plop the bike on the rack. (more…)

The Cattivo Bib from Castelli is a solid performance bib. Although not the top of the line like the Castelli Ypro Bib which from what I’ve heard has a very comfy chamois worthy of the extra loot, the Cattivo stacks up quite nicely among bibs and is no slouch. Truth be told, it’s become my go-to bib for climbs and longer rides so far this cycling season.

The bottom hem of the short has a rubber lining that prevents movement on the leg, adding to the perfomance fit. Flat seams and stitching keep the comfort level high and are done so well as to be non existent. Surely quality Italian tailoring doens’t stop with Armani. Castelli turns heads and this type of design and build is visible in the Cattivo.

The Benefits of a Bib

If you’ve never tried a bib before there are obvious benefits. Those include:

• Regardless of your jersey riding up you’ll not be hoisting your shorts up higher
• Increased warmth to your core which will prevent cramping and increase blood circulation, aiding in muscle performance
• Moisture wicking over a greater area, particularly with Castelli’s Urano Lycra

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When I was a young BMX’er, I hated changing grips. I would wear them out one summer, then dread getting new ones. Getting the grips off was as easy as taking a utility knife to the rubber and you were golden. But, getting new grips on was always a different story. The reason? Well, it always took a fair amount of dish soap and water to get them back onto the bars. And, then at least a week of waiting for the soap and water to dry.

If you weren’t patient enough to let the grips fully dry out, you were stuck with eternal grip throttles–on BOTH hands. Although kids today might think that’s really cook, I hated it and dreaded ever replacing my grips. (more…)

It’s rare that a product can live up to the hype but if you’ve not yet used a Jetboil then you’re not paying attention to the right kind of hype. Stop watching American Idol, get a Jetboil and let me be the first to welcome you to camp cooking 2.0.

But before I get into a love-fest with the Jetboil there are a few things that pose safety concerns and performance issues. The unique self containing design with the cooking cup on top that interfaces and locks with the stove below is a blessing and a curse. The blessing is the increased time of reaching boiling status of your water and the streamline build. The curse is that due to the design most people will put the cup on the stove and then attempt to light it. This can cause a flash which besides being down right scary could burn things like eyebrows, eyelashes, hands, faces….you get the picture. Although the instructions do say in bold

“Ignite burner before attaching cooking cup”

I like most other guys couldn’t be bothered reading the instructions first. I had to learn the hard way. (more…)

For years, watch manufacturers have tinkered with tracking speed and distance using GPS technology. The problem is that GPS technology hasn’t experienced quite the shrinkage that other devices have, like MP3 players. The biggest challenge with making smaller GPS devices is the lack of a strong antenna. On top of that, a watch face isn’t exactly a large screen for all the cool GPS data that those circling satellites are sending back down to Planet Earth.

The latest and greatest GPS watch from Garmin is the Forerunner 305. Billed as the most wearable and functional GPS watch, the Foreruner 305 also features a wireless heart rate monitor to track all aspects of your training on your local trails, or your performance at Ironman Hawaii. (more…)

Unless you spend a fair amount of time riding teeter-totters, bridges and natural obstacles found in the forests along the North Shore of British Columbia, you may not have ever heard of Banshee Bikes. If you have, then you’re one step ahead of the game, but if you haven’t, then listen up. Banshee is the brainchild of industry legend, Pippin Osborne. Not only is Pip one of the friendliest Canucks you’ll ever meet, he’s also got an eye for building some of the burliest bikes on the planet. And, up until last year, the most trailworthy bike in their lineup was the Chaparral.

I rode the Banshee Chaparral extensively in 2004 and absolutely LOVED every minuted of it. Yeah, it’s heavy and yeah, it’s overbuilt for everyday trail riding, but man is it worth it when you point that sucker downhill. Just thinking about that smooth 4-bar rocker-arm suspension brings back memories of absolutely bombproof descents on some legendary trails along Utah’s Wasatch Front.

What Makes the Banshee Chaparral Special?

Well, the Chappy really has a face only a mother could love. Honestly, it’s not one of the sexiest rigs you’ll come across, but if you’re looking for what is absolutely the most stout and bomber frameset for everything from epic trailrides to off-the-roof huckfests, the Banshee Chaparral is the ticket. Here’s a few other highlights:

• The rear triangle doesn’t budge–even under extremely hard cornering
• The suspension remains plush and active in all conditions
• It’s surprisingly peppy for a 12-lb frameset (yup… a dozen pounds)
• It hooks up well even in the steepest and gnarliest terrain

So, if you want a bike that can take every bit of abuse that you can possibly throw at it, then hook yourself up with a Banshee Chaparral frameset. Pricepoint currently has 2005 and 2006 models still available.

Buy Now: Buy the Banshee Chaparral Frameset from Pricepoint.com

Now, I know a lot of folks hate Shimano just like they hate Microsoft — it’s easy to hate the tyranny of the monopolist. But I’m not hating on these pedals for that reason alone. Sure, Shimano has maneuvered themselves into about every bike imaginable and crowded out any competition which I’m sure they are very proud of. First mover in an OEM situation is going to build up a lot of barriers to other competitors trying to enter the market. But I think Shimano has left some serious holes open for others like the Look Keo to come in & grab market share in the pedals area. Shimano bike gear is all over the place, but bike gear from other competitors is creeping in whenever you turn around.

You know, I have to tip my hat to Shimano for coming up with the SPD for having moved so many people toward their standard. But after riding an SPD pedal for all of 1 hour, you’d wonder how they did it.

First of all, the pedal has so many moving parts and tiny crannies that the littlest bit of dirt & mud can totally foil your chances at getting clicked into your pedals smoothly. It’s frustrating enough when that happens to you riding with buddies and you’re left behind, but in a competitive circumstance it’s a dream-killer. Lots of little moving parts don’t help either with the bombproof-factor.

Secondly, the pedal has such a small footprint that in a matter of minutes all the circulation to your toes is completely cut off. It doesn’t do a good job of distributing the pressure across the ball of your foot, so you end up with numbness shortly into your ride and it doesn’t return until long after your ride is over. Some have even claimed permanent damage, but I suspect that’s going too far.

Suffice to say, there are other alternatives for you out there so take a look — but hey, if the pedal works for you then you’ve got to make that call, but don’t make your decision until riding some for a good long time to be sure about the circulation bit…it can really dampen your ride.

BUY NOW: Check out the latest pedals from Crank Brothers (my pedals of choice).

With handlebars, there’s a fine line between a great pair of bars and ones that make better boomerangs. That fine line lies in the proper rise, upsweep and backsweep to make for the perfect angles and comfort while dialing you in for the right power through hard corners. I’ve ridden a ton of different bars and have honed in on a few brands that consistently make the right feeling bars. I’ve pretty much narrowed my A-list to Titec, Truvativ, RaceFace and Easton. Anything else seems to have missed the mark for what I like in a bar.

I’ve had the Titec El Norte Expert riser on my 2005 Giant Reign 1 for about a year now and couldn’t be happier with it. Honestly, there’s not a whole lot to say about handlebars–you either like it and forget about it, or you absolutely hate it and can’t wait to chuck it at the local stray cats for target practice. All I can say is that a bad set of handlebars make better boomerangs than handlebars.

Unfortunately, most bikes come stock with boomerang bars. I’ve had a hard time finding a bike off the shelf with a solid set of handlebars. Of course, it’s entirely personal preference, but the handlebars found stock on most bikes tend to be some house-brand afterthought, not a nice top-notch set of bars like the Titec El Norte Expert bars.

What I like about the Titec El Norte Expert riser bars:

• Perfect upsweep and backsweep
• Nice width… not too narrow and not too wide
• Solid 31.8 diameter makes it light and stiff

Specs of the Titec El Norte Expert riser bars:

• 2014 Aluminum T6
• 690 mm width
• 2.25″ rise, 9-degree backsweep and 5-degree upsweep
• 325 gram weight
• Clamp diameter 31.8mm

Buy Now: Get Titec El Norte Bars, Stems and Posts from Pricepoint.com

And check out all the bike gear on Overstock.com while you’re at it, too!

Like most mountain bikers, I’m picky about my rubber. You can have the best bike on the planet, but a bad set of tires can make it ride like garbage. I’ve honed my tire preference over the years. I’ve gone from 2.1’s all the way up to 2.7’s and back down to 2.35’s. Tops on my list of 2.35 tires are the Maxxis High Rollers. I’ve ridden them on a ton of different bikes and feel they provide the best overall traction in all conditions.

The Maxxis High Roller is built for all-around performance in all conditions–both uphill and down. The majority of my riding time on the High Roller 2.35’s has been in the rocky desert terrain of Utah and Nevada. I feel the High Roller excels in hard cornering at high speeds because of it’s grippy tread design. But, many tires that excel in high-speed cornering don’t fare too well in the rolling resistance department. Though the bulky 2.35 High Rollers are no XC race treads, they roll just fine in hardpack conditions.

Honestly, it scares me thinking of riding anything skinnier than a 2.35’s and if given the choice of any treads on the planet, I wouldn’t go wrong with a nice sent of Maxxis High Roller 2.35’s.

What I like about the Maxxis High Roller 2.35’s

• Great overall performance in rocky hardpack and loose terrain
• Wide enough to give you predictable cornering traction
• Relatively low rolling resistance
• Wide variety of beads and hardnesses (UST, Folding Kevlar Bead and Wire Bead)
• Modest weight: 810-890 grams

Buy Now: Get Maxxis tires from Pricepoint.com

You can also check out cheap bike gear like stationary bikes and lots of bike racks at Overstock.com.