BikeHacks

Spurcycle GripRings Reader Review

Back in May Bike Hacks was the recipient of a new product, GripRings, produced by a company named Spurcycle.  Not only did Bike Hacks get a set to review, the fine folks at Spurcycle agreed to send a set to a Bike Hacks reader. 

Reader Noah was the chosen one and his review is below.  And as a follow up on my review, I really liked them to start and I still like them.  I have dirtied them up several times and they clean up nicely.  They are also as soft and comfortable as the first day I got them.  I give the product five zip ties!  =)

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I’ve enjoyed the use of Spurcycle’s GripRings for several weeks after receiving them as part of Bike Hack’s reader review feature.  They are attractive, highly customizable, and rather comfortable.  The lifesaver shaped rings present the consumer with customizability both in terms of configuration and color scheme. 

The ordering process is quite easy.  Using a nicely designed web interface, customers are able to drag and drop a combination of colored rings from a medium-sized palette of primary and secondary colors onto a mock handlebar.  Once your order is placed, the team at Spurcycle will ship you a small plastic baggy filled with rings in your selected color scheme, a transparent sticker meant to wrap the handlebar in preparation for the rings, caps for your handlebar openings, and instructions.

I’m sure the customizable color scheme will appeal to many who wish to identify with a college or city sports team, company, or rock band.  It’s nice that Spurcycles can let fans express themselves without wading into the excessively litigious world of sports licensing.

The installation of the GripRings is fairly easy.  Of course, anything would seem easy in contrast to the handlebar wrestling required to remove my old grips.  However, the ease of GripRing installation and removal is one of their major benefits.  The short GripRings are much easier to slide on the handlebar than a conventional full rubber grip.  I had some difficulty attaching the end caps, but I may have a handlebar with a nonstandard diameter.  In contrast to some handlebar grips, the GripRings are compatible with mirrors or other accessories that attach to the end of a bar.  More or fewer rings can be added to accommodate larger or smaller hands.

As I mentioned, I have used the GripRings for several weeks of medium-range Florida commuter cycling.  I found them comfortable for continuous rides of up to 15 miles.  I suspect they would be comfortable longer, but I simply haven’t had a chance to test them on a longer ride.  The rings show no signs of fading or hardening from exposure to sun, rain, or the elements.  Even with heavy use they don’t start to look dirty as oils and dirt build (perhaps contingent on your preferred color scheme).  Overall, GripRings are comfortable and stylish bike accessory.



Bike Helmet Lights - The New Rage?

I can never get enough of lights created for cyclists to use.  At present the lights I ride with require a total of 17 batteries.  At my current rate of accumulating cycling lights, eventually I think it will be possible to see me riding from space. 

Recently we found out about some new bike lights with a twist - they are helmet based.  Most bike lights are frame, rack, or wheel based.  I have have seen many people attempt to mount "standard" bike lights to helmets, which is a subject of some controversy.  Some readers have stated in comments that nothing should be put on a helmet, believing that whatever object you place on a helmet will end up in your skull if you fall. 

Via emails we have received along with news feeds, it appears that helmet lights might be the next big thing.  Below are videos noting three current attempts to make helmets not only an impact safety device, but an illuminated safety device.  Check these out, and we are already trying to get a sample of one to test out so stay tuned.  The first is the NEON, seeking funding via indiegogo.

 

Next up is the fully funded Torch.

 

And last there is the LumaHelm.

 

Have you created a hack to illuminate your melon?  Let us know.

New Bike Product Giveaway - The Reveal

Earlier this week I posted the following picture and asked readers to send us an email with their guess of what the product is -

We received a large volume of guesses, including . . .

1. They are pads.  You stuff your clothing and fill your pockets with them and when you fall you bounce and avoid all injuries.

2. Bar End Plugs

3. They are shock absorbers for a particular type of bike seat.  The different sizes and colors represent a different "firmness" according to the riders needs.

4. Teflon Bearings

5. Really tiny tires

6. Customizable Handlebar Grips (or a variation of this)

7. Seat post vibration attenuators.  They fit inside a seat post and help take the "buzz" out of it.

8. I reckon they're for sliding on the loop bit of a "ULock" to stop them making that clanking noise they make.

The vast majority guessed correctly and many had seen the actual product product page and campaign.  The correct answer is 6. Spurcycle sought funding for their new product, GripRings, via Kickstarter and achieved their goal.  Here is another picture with some added items that came with the rings, stickers to go over the bars (with instructions) and bar end plugs.

And here is a close up of the rings installed on one side of my bars. 

I left the original grip on the other side and plan on riding for a while with both to compare.  You can already see that as far as aesthetics are concerned, the rings make my bike even more of a mismatched colored eye sore . . . which is truly awesome! 

So far the grips have 100% satisfied me, with only one minor negative note that came from my wife.  First the good . . .

1. Super easy to install.  The rings stretch easily and the only thing I had to do because of the size of the bar end plugs was slather a little grease on them to fit them in.  The Spurcycle folks have already noted that they will produce multiple sizes of plugs so the grease hack will not be necessary.

2. Soft but not too soft.  The gray grip in the picture above is the standard grip that came with my bike, an older model of the Specialized Body Geometry grip.  It's main feature is that is it contoured to fit your hand.  This is nice and all, but I have not noticed a huge difference as compared to round grips, and the rubber is a bit hard.  The GripRings on the other hand are soft, but not too soft.  On a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being soft and 10 being hard, I would say the Specialized grips are a 9 and the Griprings are about a 5.  They are kind of the Baby Bear's bed in the Goldlielocks story, just right.

3. Textured.  The Griprings are textured which helps me keep my grip, even in the rain.  It was actually nice that it rained the first day after I installed the GripRings.  I let them get wet to see how they would perform and they were great, not slippery at all.

4. They don't slip around.  The GripRings hold tight to the bar and don't rotate.  I can't say the same for the Specialized grips, they consistently rotate and I have to reposition them on a consistent basis.

5. Customizable!  Let's face it, most companies sell us things the way they want them to look.  These allow you to design the color scheme.

As far as the negative, I did not pick the color of the GripRings, I just got what was sent to me, which is totally fine with me.   When my wife saw them on my bike she said the white was the same color as PVC pipe and it looks like I just had white plastic over my bars.  To me this is no big deal, but if you are picky about the million different shades of white, the color of white I was sent can resemble PVC pipe to some out there in the world.

One thing that relates to this that I will not know for a while is how well the grips maintain their original color.  The grey grips that came with my bike are pretty dirty and it will be interesting to see how long the GripRings take to get dirty.  Once they are dirty, it will be interesting to see how easy they are to clean.  I assume I could just scrub them with dish soap but only time will tell. 

More pictures and information on the GripRings can be found on their (successful) Kickstarter page and the Spurcycle website, including a cool grip builder page where you can specify the color combination you want. 

Now for even more good news, we have a winner who will get their own GripRings to test.  Those who sent emails were put into a random drawing and Noah Sulman is the winner.  Noah, we will be contacting you for your mailing address.  Noah will conduct his own review and we will post it here.

One final note, the GripRings are not for sale yet, however you can sign up on their website to receive a notification of when they will be available.  Bike Hacks would love to post pictures of the installs people come up with, so keep us in mind down the line if you (wisely) decide to purchase some GripRings. 

 

See, Secure, and Store Bike Hacks

Reader Jack sent along a compilation of hacks he has employed to see better and to store and secure items.  I am almost postive one of the hacks will cause commenter Torben to grimmace.

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$12 bifocal glasses so I can keep the bugs out of my eyes and read a trail map or see a small screw to do a repair.  Industrial safety glasses, can be yellow or smoke gray.  Choice of diopter strengths.

Bike Hacks editor note - there are also stick on bifocal lenses.

Helmet zip tie because the foam and glue is worn and falls off in the heat.  Mirror on right side because it blocks the road more on the left side. Slight head rotation and good to go.

Bottle velcro tie holds non standard water bottles such as purchased from grocery store, ice tea etc.  Also holds a "Gulpy" water bottle for my dog to drink with.

Chico bag is a reusable bag for shopping, clipped onto rack.  Rack also holds a handlebar pack which I use for tools, jacket, and front light storage.  Velcro tie holds it between rack and fender.

Velcro tie also holds front wheel to rack when redeployed because the magnet that is supposed to hold the front and rear wheel together fails.

I secure the front handlebar to the front wheel with a Velcro tie so it does not rattle when folded.  Same tie can be use to help hold the Chico bag in the front against the riser for lots of shopping.

BTB Sunglasses Giveaway

I see it everyday but don't understand it - people riding bikes without glasses.  I am forced to ride with glasses since I am blind without them, and on the rare occasion that I ride with contacts I need something in front of my eyes to fend off dryness.  The reason I don't understand people riding without glasses it that I get hit in the face with small objects all of the time and can't imagine my eyes not being protected. 

I most commonly get hit with tree shrapnel and bugs are also a common hazard.  One of my least favorite things is riding through a swarm of gnats.  And on a related note, how terrible is it when a bug flies in to your mouth while riding?  Once a bee flew into my mouth and I was fortunate that I spit it out before it decided to sting me.  A bee hitting me in the eye would certainly not help my ability to stay upright on my bike. 

For anyone out there riding without glasses, thanks to the generous folks over at BTB Sunglasses you now have your chance to receive a free pair of glasses.  We are going to conduct a random drawing and BTB is going to give the person selected a free pair of glasses to review.  The recipient simply has to wear the glasses and submit a review for Bike Hacks. 

BTB has a great mission to boot.  The following describes what they are about:

The Be The Ball Foundation's focus is to actively promote youth participation in all ball sports for a healthier and active lifestyle. With child obesity reaching an all time high, the foundation's first project is to produce nine Public Service Announcements using major sports figures to deliver the message of participation. In addition to high profile PSA's, the foundation contributes funds to local sports teams for kids.

A portion of every sale on the BTB Sunglasses website goes towards this mission.  

For anyone with questions about one of the selling points of these glasses, check out the following video.  The money shot literally comes at the 18 second mark.

 

I think it is safe to say that the glasses would safely fend off any insects coming your way.

So the way the giveway will work is pretty simple.  Just leave a comment on this post and be sure to fill in the box that asks for your website or email address. You can say something random if you want as well, but at a minimum I need digital information that identifies you. We will take comments up until April 25th at midnight Eastern Standard Time (U.S.).  One entry per person only please.

We will announce the winner shortly after the deadline and BTB will send out a pair of glasses for review.  Keep those eyes protected! 

One Good Earbud Givaway Review

A while back, due to the generosity of the man behind the One Good Earbud product line, we were able to run a contest to give away an earbud to a Bike Hacks reader to review.  The following review and pictures are provided by the winner of the giveaway, Keith. 

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I was lucky enough to win a contest from BikeHacks.com that was giving away a One Good Earbud. The concept of a single earbud seemed interesting and I was excited to get them for trial.  I enjoy having music and podcasts when I run and mountain bike but like to be aware of my environment for safety reasons. This certainly seemed to fit the need.

On my first cycling trip on my local hiking trails here in Phoenix it was incredibly nice to hear my music in one ear and the sounds of nature in the other.

As I stormed down the trails and approached hikers from behind I called out to them to make them aware of my presence. In some cases, the people stepped to the side and we chatted as I passed in a normal tone of voice.  In other cases, I ended up yelling and startling others.  The reason--they had 2 earbuds in their ears and music so loud I could hear it.

I also had a chance to use the earbud with my wife on one of our long 10 mile runs.  I could adjust the headset from one ear to the other easily to accommodate to our running formation.  This made it easy to chat and still enjoy the music from my IPod.

In my opinion, One Good Earbud saw a need and filled it.  They created a device that makes it easy to enjoy our technology on the go in a safe fashion and excellent sound quality. Thanks Matt from BikeHacks.com and OneGoodEarbud.com for the prize.  I am sure I will continue to enjoy it for years to come.

 

Leather Shoe Laces for Handlebar/Brake Wrap

Brooks certainly offers up some great quality cycling products, but they also come at a price.  Reader Michael used leather shoe lacing from a sewing department as bar/brake wrap. In his own words . .

It is way cheaper than Brooks, but it gives a good look.

Third Hand Bike Clamp

Sometimes when repairing or fixing your bike you could really use an extra hand.  We have featured hacks involving both a toe strap and a bungee cord as a third hand.  In response to these posts reader John sent along the following third hand hack. 

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In response to "third hand" hacks I submit a quick grip clamp, not as creative as a bungee or a toe strap but very versatile.

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rimSkin Hack

I was reviewing some of the rimSkin pages after the post on January 26th and realized I missed a great hack that I thought I would include.  Glow in the dark products need light for a charge.  I remember putting some glow in the dark stickers on my ceiling as a kid and they would glow for a few minutes and then would fade. 

So if you are riding a bike with glow in the dark rim stickers, how do you ensure that the glow will continue? Attaching a light to the fork blades gives you a continuous "charge."  So cool. 

The rimskin folks seem to be including a light for this purpose in their proposal, called the BullFrog-RS.

The Masked Bicycle Bandits of Korea

I lived in Korea for a few years a long time ago and two noticeably different things (from growing up in the US) I saw upon my arrival were many people toting umbrellas in the sun and wearing surgical type face masks as they walked around. Most Americans I know consider ashen/white skin to be unappealing and pay a great deal of attention to getting a tan. Most Koreans seem to think of dark skin as the badge of someone who works on a farm and thus most shy away from exposure to the sun. As far as the face masks, they are typically worn by sick people to halt the spread of germs.

The following is a picture of some Korean cyclists posted on this Korean news page:

Photo Credit to nate.com

The Google language translation page is fun to play with and when I popped the Korean text in it spit out this:

Bike to work every time I talk to is the question, does okay in the air. Air to air dwikkongmuni jotah of a car going, but do more harm anneu concerned to build expressions.

Inappropriate for the city to make cycling in the most serious factors in cities in the world than any of the bad gonggida. The bike is not only in silk. People in the suburbs of the mountains, climbing, walking seoulhyeong chadoreu or write hijapeul. Islam in the face yeoseongman invisible man, even in Seoul, but some of you’re wearing it, and a relatively good mountain air mask, a mask is going.

Obviously some things get lost in translation but I think it is safe to say these folks are worried about air quality issues and not simply making a fashion statement. Anyone from Korea out there feel free to chime in!