Cycling Gear That Kicked Ass in 2024

(Note that that BMC pictured in the image above is not among my favorite gear for 2025, which will be mentioned below. I just used it because it’s the only new bike I added for myself this year and it’s a good-looking machine, despite having a douchey corporation behind it.)

Every year I end up adding more and more bike stuff to the house. This year was no different.

Feedback Sports Sprint Repair Stand

In 1999, I bought a portable workstand from Ultimate (this one, in fact), and proceeded to beat the ever-living shit out of it for far longer than it deserved. I’ve known since 2020 that I needed a new stand, and I forced myself into buying a new one by leaving the Ultimate with my older brother in 2023 when I was leaving his place in Tucson. Having a new bike for Didi on-order in January, plus a bunch of parts orders for my own new bike, I decided it was as good a time as any to order the new one, and Feedback’s oversized, red anodized tubes are a fond reminder of the Ultimate, so I went ahead and ran with the Sprint model. Thus far, it’s been pretty bulletproof. I suspect that it’ll be in the vehicle when I ride the DAMN in 2025 or 2026, and it’ll definitely be making the trip with us to Tucson in 2025. Overall, I’m pretty pleased. The good: lightweight, compact, keeps the bike at a useful height. The bad: bag sold separately, something to hold the bottom bracket in-place a little more reliably would be good (notches?), hard to check front brake/rotor interference when you have to mount it without a wheel. Link.

Wahoo Element Bolt V2

This sat in my to-install pile for awhile as I wanted to get it set up with the new BMC this year before I did anything else. While the hardware is a nice upgrade, I’m most enamored with the software side of the equation — music player control, light controls, GoPro cameras, and dark mode. The good: Wahoo continues to put useful UI and easy configuration at the forefront of its design, color screen, great additional modes. The bad: only 15 hours of battery life, not enough to get through shitshows like the DAMN.

DT Swiss Competition Race Spokes

How in the fuck are spokes “kick ass gear”? Especially something that’s stainless steel just like all other spokes? I was pleasantly surprised by the weight of these — the Competition is DT Swiss’s long-running double-butted spoke — 2.0/1.8/2.0 for those of you at home. The Competition Race shaves a bunch of weight by changing that to a 2.0/1.6/2.0 butting. Little in the middle, but it’s got much back. Saves about a gram per spoke, which works out to two ounces on a set of 28-spoke wheels. It doesn’t sound like much, to be sure, but when you’re talking rotating mass, it makes a difference. I used these on my backup gravel wheels (alloy rims, nothing like my race wheels) to keep weight down at least a little bit. The good: lighter, as advertised, the usual DT Swiss quality. The bad: no downsides so far.

Specialized Recon 3.0 Shoe

I’d been riding Recon 2.0 shoes for a couple of years — first as my commuter shoe, and then as my standard shoe for gravel riding/events. They were okay — part of the tongue flap had a tendency to dig into my superior extensor retinaculum (tendon at the top of your foot where it meets your shin) in a way that was annoying on sub 2-hour rides, and excruciating on 4+ hour rides. I was idly waiting around for an S-Works Recon, but decided to give the Recon 3.0 a try, and was pleasantly surprised by how it went. The good: twin-Boa laces, solid fit, durable. The bad: No complaints.

Thule RoundTrip Travel Case (Road)

Once I decided to bail on driving on Tucson, I had to scramble to find a travel case for the trip. I wanted to go the route of a hard shell, but with time (and available discounts) under consideration, I opted for the Thule RoundTrip. It got my bike to Phoenix in one piece, even without the giant “FRAGILE” sticker they put on it for the return trip. The good: Built-in workstand that breaks down to act as the bike mount in the case. Light weight. The bad: a little difficult to get the zippers around the corners at the bottom. Needs a normal handle up high for when I’m dragging it around.

Notable Mentions

The Silca Mattone seat pack was an unexpected gem. Easy mounting system (it uses a Boa lace), and big enough to hold a multitool, CO2 cartridge, inflator, and darts. Unobtrusive. Pretty dang awesome. Link.

Shimano’s XT clipless pedal was a nice switch from the Time Speciale 12s that I had on my gravel bike. After the quality issues I had, I’ve closed the door on Time for the foreseeable future, and will be swapping over to Shimano for all clipless (I already use them on the road). Buttery-smooth, bombproof, and easy to service. I’ll take that every time.

Not a bike product but Delta Airlines, for not charging extra for taking a bike on the plane — at least on the outbound leg. For some reason they charged me $35 on the return leg. Importantly, though, you guys fucking rock. You took care of my very expensive baby, and got her to and from Phoenix SkyHarbor in one piece. And to the guys at the TSA who were very patient while I hovered around watching my baby get unpacked and repacked — you guys have tough jobs, and I appreciate the meticulous work.

Gear I’m Looking Forward To in 2025

I’m planning on adding a Specialized Epic EVO 8 to the stable in 2025. I’m pretty excited about that. I’ve needed a dual suspension MTB for years, and having a downcountry bike that I can thrash on the trails and race XC on would be lovely.

If the stars align, I may ditch my BMC Roadmachine frameset after I discovered not only how poorly made it is, but what BMC thinks I should do to replace a single broken (and proprietary) bolt. Hint: they think they can fuck me. That’s not happening.

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