[Closed] little bits of kit that make your cycling a bit better?

Sweet mudride short - almost making this monsoon winter bearable.

The biggest difference to my cycling was when I bought one of [url= http://www.vivax-assist.com/en/produkte/vivax-assist-4-0/vivax-assist_4-0.html ]these[/url] 😯

Castelli toe things
Rudy Rydon Rx glasses
Castelli Rab Nesbit under-layer
Gore Windstopper lightweight gloves
Chrome long merino socks

Rapha thermal bibs.
Rapha Pro Team L/S jersey.

Just gorgeous..

Mud guards.
Exposure strada mk6.. Nice amount of lumens and reliability.
This years purchase of a Ls castelli gabba.

ESI Grips
Ass-saver
Silk liner gloves

banana guard

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I'm not a fan of a squashed banana.

Which SMP did you go for Ton.

I'm looking between the Hell and the Extra

xtr gear cables.

banana guard

Do all bananas not come with a banana guard as standard?

Which SMP did you go for Ton.

the TRK model. nice and wide.

Do all bananas not come with a banana guard as standard?

You've obviously never had a banana and a can of Rice pudding in your bag together. Banana Gets mushed. 🙁

Waterproof shorts. They're like cheating.

And dropper posts. Flow's a holy grail of biking and no other component can add it.

Disc brakes.

Sealskinz mid weight, mid length socks with Hydrostop-sorts out the irritating water running down inside from the top

As per ton, suddenly developed numbness down there with all of my flight ti saddles. Now Smp and ADAMO on all bikes...cured!

Prescription cycling specs.

Buff

Buff

Why thank you!

igmc

I have been enjoying using this a lot just lately, taking tea with you on a cold morning is wonderful!

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Camelbak Palos. All that freedom, but everything I need.

+1 for a dropper post. I'd rather have one on my bike than front or rear suspension

Also waterproof boots. The shimano ones I've had have transformed the little winter riding (or for that matter most riding in scotland) that I do. Best £130 quid ever spent..

My Royal Snugflex hoodie.
So damn warm and snuggly.

I'm with Ti red.
The Castelli Rab c Nesbit string vest.
I sweat loads and this keeps wet clothes just far enough away from my skin that I don't freeze when it's cold.

Gore Phantom windproof jacket

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Oval Chainring.

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Waterproof shoes.
Waterproof shorts.
Marmot XT gloves.

All of which mean I do a lot more riding in the winter than I used to.

In winter; waterproof shorts, arm warmers and my trusty Zojirushi, just knocking up a brew now before heading out.

In summer; Schwalbe Rock Razor.

In general; tubeless, dropper seatpost and anodised dust caps.

Ton same here... After years on charge spoons and various spesh body geo saddles I thought I would try the smp. Hideous to look at but you would have to take it from my cold dead hand.

Was getting numb bits and pain.... All gone with the smp.

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Van

(to put my santa cruz in when not driving my audi obviously)

LED lights. More light, longer run times than the old halogen lights..

Rapha merino base layer - it has a turtle neck thing wjich you can pull up over the chin, meaning no need for buff and one less item of clothing to faff / forget.

Rapha pro LS jacket

Oakley radar xl, only glasses that don't steam up all the time for me on the mtb

Proper winter boots (sidi on road, shimano on mtb)

Garmin 1000

Wahoo kickr with iPad trainer road and wahoo Bluetooth sensors.

Do you not find that your undercarriage gets soaked with the slots in those Selle saddles? Or are there inserts that fill the void like some of the old specialised saddles?

Waterproof socks

Defeet woolie boolies, all year round inside shimano waterproof boots.

swanny853 - Member

I have been enjoying using this a lot just lately, taking tea with you on a cold morning is wonderful!

Thanks I needed one of these

Anything from Troy Lee

Di2. Yes, it's expensive and mechanical does the same job but it is just plain awesome.

Planet-X Non-slip bar tape. It costs under £6 a role and feels simply brilliant in the hands.

My age old Selle Italia Flite saddle. Often I get lured my something lighter, more modern or prettier, but after a while, normally when I have a long ride planned, the Flite comes back on and my arse is happy again.

Reading this thread, I can tell that it's bloody cold.

So much, and without being product specific -

Mudguards - road and off road. Just make life less messy and more comfortable

Quality lights - off road, being able to see properly. road, being able to see but also being visible

Rack and rack pack - makes commuting life so easy

Warm gloves - cold hands are awful

Child seat - best of both worlds!

GPS - makes off road rides so much less work knowing you can plan in advance and follow a route even if the rain and other grim weather

Windproof gilet - road, amazing how much difference something so small can make

Softshell - great for off road riding - warm, breathable, comfy

Helly Warm hybrid Merino, Alpkit merino socks and waterproof shorts.

Patagonia Capeline short sleeve top and ancient pair of Sombrio shorts for summer.

Dry trails...

Womens saddles.

A motor hidden down my seat post.

Mudhuggers
Sweet protection mudride shorts
Garmin 520 - my riding companion 😀

Another vote for dropper posts - wouldn't be without one now.

Having a baby - it's made be appreciate my time out on the bike so much more, even when the weather is rubbish! I think I used to take my cycling time a bit for granted until I became a dad. Not any more!

cannondale le winter gloves, in their 11th year, brilliant bit of kit.

quality tyres.

5:10 shoes.

bibshorts

Garmin Etrex and another vote for a dropper post.

Not sure if a dropper post counts as a 'little bit of kit', but what did we do before them? Wider bars were a revelation. But I do like my overshoes, £12 Planet-X overshoes keep my toes toasty.

My cut off RAF waterproof trousers have made the last 3 months a lot less 'gritty'

Think i might have picked 'em up after reading a Ton thread, so cheers Ton.

The little loop of Velcro around one of the helmet vents at the back that stops my light cable flapping around my back and neck so much.

For road riding:
Wide, light and supple tyres (compass Barlow Pass). bliss.
Full length mudguards, why didn't i do this years ago.

For MTB:
Big tyres & wide rims.
1 x gearing.

For all Cycling:
XXX Brooks Cambium Saddle XXX 😀 Lurvly.

+1 on waterproof socks, I end up wearing them all year round.

This time of year... SKS Chromoplastics.

And as I don't think it's been mentioned.... open tubulars and latex tubes. Lovely. All year round.

Showers pass refuge jacket, goretex storm over trousers and Northwave Arctic boots have kept me riding over the winter deluge so far and have been indispensable on just about every ride in the past few months

Windproof-fronted jerseys - my nipples thank you.

Tubeless tyres.

Another two from me:

Clement Strada LGG tyres for the roadie (tan walled, obvs).
Challenge Grifo tyres for the CX'er (tan walled, obvs).

Both are exceptional.

The one bit of kit I really love whether road biking, mountain biking or commuting?

A 'buff'.

So simple but makes cycling in colder wetter weather so much more pleasant!

Love my Rapha Softshell.
Warm, Windproof, sorted.

MasterCard.

Assos minty arse lard.
Rapha essentials pouch.
The little multitool hidden in the frame of my new Specialized. Means I'll never forget it.

At this time of year, pogies. Much better than suffering with cold fingers and chilblains etc.
And Northwave winter boots.

Giro merino cycling hat in cold foul weather.

+1 for northwave boots, but only in conjunction with my awful looking police issue ebay goretex trousers. 20 miles of very wet lakes riding and dry warm feet. 😉

New cheap LED lights, when £25 buys what £200 would have only 5 years ago you know things are improving.

Sudocrem.

Defeet gloves

Glacier gloves, Five10's half a size too big with Sealskinz and woolie boolies below.

On a day like today, if I have warm toes and fingers, I'm a happy bunny.

Flat pedals , rode clipless for years until I did my first enduro , flats just gave me much more confidence on the downs and I didn't notice losing much on the ups .
Montane dyno softshell , mine is full of little holes now after years of abuse i would of got another one but they don't make it any more.
Dropper post and wide bar have been genuine actual improvements for normal riders

ESI chunky grips - the comfiest by far
Neoprene overshoes - makes winter bearable for my feet
Windproof-front jerseys and gilets. Both remove the need for a jacket in all but the heaviest rain.
100% Brisker gloves - all the insulation on the back and super thin on the grip side. All the winter glove benefits, and all of the grip/feel of a summer glove.

Little things?

Saddle bag on the road bike. No more "forgot my tube/multitool/wallet/BC ID card/money" moments any more.

Frame mounted pump. One less thing to carry in my jersey. Hardly notice the rattling.

Viewranger app

Rapha soft shell base layer combined with a Rapha soft shell jacket.

winter boots

Pogies.
In all my years of cycling and the constant cold hands no matter what gloves, or how many I wore, a simple pair of Pogies means I can ride without cold hands when the weather gets well into freezing temps.
They are the best cycling item that I have ever bought and because they're on my fat bike, they don't look to out of place.