CRANK with ProCycle July 2014

ISSUE 6 VOL 2 JULY 15TH 2014

INSIDE

CLIMBING THE WALLRAAM: THE GREAT RACETREK X-CALIBER 4 REVIEWED

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IN THIS ISSUE

1084

16

24

20

26

18

14

04 Climbing the Wall

08 Sigma Rox 5.0 Reviewed

10 The Great Race

14 Off the Beaten Trail: Taljai Tekdi

16 ProCycleProfiled:Saranya

18 2014 Trek X-Caliber 4 Reviewed

20 2014 Pinarello Neor

24 Cycle Day

26 Boys Toys

Hello Readers!

This month we’ve got some exciting stuff lined up for you. Long-distance lady Divya Tate brings you a preview of the Race Across America while simultaneously giving you a bit of a look see at some of the other great races of the world. By the time you read this, she’ll be crewing her way across the US so watch out for her first person account next time.

We got our hands on the latest 29er to hit these shores. The Trek X-Caliber 4 is their entry-level offering from the Gary Fisher series and we put it through its paces. Turn the pages to see how it fared.

Cycle Day has become bigger and better in the 6 months since its inception and we check out what went down last month. We take a look at the Sigma Rox 5.0 cyclocomp, profile another rider and more.

Turn the page and read. Then get out and ride!

Editor

The CRANK with ProCycle Team

Publisher and Managing Editor Vikram Limsay

Editor Rahul K Thomas

Technical Editor Nilesh Dhumal

West Zone Bureau Divya Tate

Bike Testers Ajay Kamble

Ignatius Chen

Contributions by Deepak Samuel, Nimmi Sebastian

Vedanth Ramesh, Rosie Reed-Gould and Saranya Bhaarathe

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Cover A lone rider battling his way across America in the

2013 RAAM. Image by Divya Tate

Rear Cover The ProCycle car stocks up the new store in

Indranagar, just days before the grand opening

Printed by Print 2 Last Solutions

HEYA!

2 CRANK with ProCycle JULY 15TH, 2014


GUT CHECK TIME

Considering Coimbatore is flanked by mountain ranges on three sides, it would be unfair not to put our rides and skills to test on the inclines. So a bunch of us drive down to the foothills on weekends to clamber up on our bikes before coasting down.

We decided to spread a bit of that joy (and pain).

It was the fourth weekend of the month and time it was to scale the wall. The weather Gods answered my prayers and showers rained down the previous evening, breaking the heat we’d been wilting under. I gingerly stepped out of the house to pick up fellow riders and proceed to the start.

Our destination- Woodbriar in Valparai. The plan - pick up blokes, perch them on cycles, start from the foot-hills at Aliyar, saute for 40 odd kilometers, season with 40 hairpin bends and then fry them with a climb of over 1800m and dish out a sumptuous meal at the top. The start point at Aliyar dam was around 60 kms from Coimbatore. With a scheduled start time of 07:00 am, we were running behind schedule.

After a little waking up of the riders, collecting bikes and supply for the ride, we proceeded towards Pollachi. A caravan of vehicles with bikes propped on them zipped through the sleepy little town much to the amazement of locals. And while looking out for eats to

CLIMBING THE WALLWords and images by Deepak Samuel

The steep sections that the riders had to scale

Satheesh and Chakra plodding along

silence our rumbling tummies and fuel up for the climb, we bumped into bikers from Bangalore who were doing the route recce for the 2014 Tour of the Nilgiris (TfN).

We reached the start point by 7:15 am, fifteen minutes behind schedule. Most of the riders had already made it to the dam. After a search for the farm to park our vehicles off we went to scale the wall.

We were a motley crew of 17 comprising an Under-18 national champ, papas who were young at heart, 40-year-young rookie riders, riders from Pollachi and Cochin and more. We had two support vehicles - one at the front and for the lead riders and riders in the middle of the pack, and the other to sweep the last of the riders. The challenge, to climb Wall-parai!!

It was 7:38 am when we hit the three kilometer warm-up stretch on fairly flat terrain. Chakra (my 1000km partner) and Srihari were plodding along, warming up for

CRANK with ProCycle JULY 15TH, 2014 5

The eldest with one of the youngest

The Nilgiri Tahr

the climbs to come. Three kms up, past the speed bumps it was time to test our

climbing skills. With the stronger riders leading the pack, the group slowly started to split. The kids decided to raise the stakes and started grinding. Climbing with the kids was not going to be an option as this was my first long ride after being baked in the ‘Road Beasts 1000.’

The young guns were still grinding as we approached the first of the forty infamous hair pin bends. The traffic was sparse and the weather was nice. With the heart rate at a steady upper Zone 3 now was the time to grind. I tagged along with Ashwin (our national champ) and then the mile-munching began. The scenery with the Aliyar dam down below was breathtaking with the water in the reservoir magically changing shades as we climbed. In no time at all, we had reached the 5 km mark. Ashwin moved on while I loaded up with a couple of bananas and topped up the bottles. The solo ride started with a ‘no stop until the top’ strategy.

As I approached the 9th hairpin bend, lo-and-behold the elusive Nilgiri Tahr had decided to have a peek at the intruders in its territory. Where there is a goat, there is potentially a cat too. With news about panthers, bears, leopards and elephants in the air I reminded myself to look around every bend before proceeding.

With the forests crossed and no sighting of the cats, the never-ending tea estates started unfolding. With brief encounters with chasing dogs and curious village kids and passing motorists, I

Roads cutting through the hills

Eagle on top

Objects in the mirror are closer and faster than they appearreached Vaparai town with Aarooran to meet with Ashwin and one of the Cochin riders. Charka also joined the group within minutes and we were off to Monica Bungalow. Word was we had seven more kms of rolling terrain to cover. Rolling terrain after a climb and a steep descent. Phew!! Now the group was 5 riders and we zoomed through roads and weaved around tea gardens to reach Monica Bungalow, welcomed by Saravanan and team from Woodbriar.

With fresh cold watermelon juice served we relaxed to the smell of the sumptuous food being cooked. As the lead bunch began to indulge other riders began to trickle in one at a time. Sakthi, Satheesh, Divya and Arjun reached to the applause of all. For rookie wall climbers Prabhu, Arumugham and Ganesh it was their first successful hill climb. Lunch was served by 1:00 pm and we feasted.

Only six of us were in for the ride back to Valparai. The ride back started at 2:15 and we decided to take a detour to avoid crossing the town. It proved to be a blessing as we had mild showers. The first leg of the return ride was with climbs and flats now and then. The descents soon began and Arjun and Aarooran joined us

and were were rolling steadily downhill and were at the base in short order.

With a successful outing, the Great Wall Climb looks like its going to be popular fixture in the Coimbatore cycling calendar.

The start at Aliyar - Valparai foothills

Brakes cool on the way down

MTB riders scaled the wall too

The initial flat section through the forests

GEAR REVIEW

SIGMA ROX 5.0


Product: Sigma Rox 5.0 Level: Intermediate Price: INR 12,000

If you’re looking for a nifty cyclocomp and don’t want to trade a kidney for a Garmin, you should consider Sigma’s Rox series. Featured here is the ‘entry- level’ Rox 5.0. It’s slick design had us all grabbing for it but, its more than just a pretty face. It brings cadence and heart-rate tracking capability in a potent package to the amateur enthusiast. The Rox has four HR intensity zones which can either be customised or are pre-programmable. It logs temperature, has a lap-counter of 99 laps and a 10-second recording interval.

In practice we loved its battery life. The fact that its weatherproof is a big bonus in our book. The Rox also comes with a neat wrist strap. You can convert it to a running companion by simply twisting it on to the wrist strap and swapping modes. While it is PC-compatible (via a USB cable), if you want to analyse your data, you’ll have to buy Sigma’s ‘Data Center 3’ software at an additional cost. You can do so online.

As such, it can be mounted on the stem, we do wish a handlebar fly mount had been included in the package. As such, we think its a tad high on price for what is essentially a cadence and HR cyclocomp. But, it is such a gorgeous little package that we can’t help but recommend it.


The author is currently crewing her way across the US as part of a RAAM team. This is a preview of RAAM and a peek into the world of international ultra cycling. Stay tuned for her first person account in the next issue.

Race Across America

The excitement about Race Across America (RAAM) has been building up for a while among the Indian cycling community. Social media has allowed cyclists from around the world an insight into preparations of a lot of participants. From training to nutrition practices to minute details of how and what to pack for RAAM, everything is now visible to the die-hard ultra cycling fan. Over the past few weeks, ultra cyclists have started heading to the start point and attention is now focused on the 4800 km race that traverses the continent of North America from west to east.

This year in its 33rd edition, the Race Across America will see 214 riders competing across the team categories. The four-person team format seems to be the most popular with twenty-nine teams set to compete. In the largest solo race yet, this year 48 solo racers will be pitting themselves against each other. And against

the gruelling demands of the race itself. Racers from 20 countries have converged for what promises to be a hard-fought race. India will find representation at the RAAM for only the second time with Sumit Patil lining up against the best. All attention however will be focused on Christoff Strasser of Austria. Last year Strasser broke a number of records to complete RAAM in under 8 days and he is undoubtedly the man to beat.

Here are a few other great races, revered by ultra cyclists.

Race Across the West

The Race Across the West (RAW), a 1400km race is conducted simultaneously with RAAM, and is a RAAM qualifier. Racing RAW is highly recommended for RAAM solo hopefuls, so they can experience the most challenging sections of RAAM before they attempt RAAM itself. At Oceanside, waiting to meet my RAW rider Dave Preston, and the ream, I study details of the route and finish uploading the map to my smart phone. This year the tracking devices with each racer will allow a worldwide audience to live-track the racers at RAAM as they make their way across the country.

The sheer beauty of the scenery made the climb worth it.

THE GREAT RACE!By Divya Tate

Riders and crews mill about at the RAAM start. Image courtesy Divya Tate

FEATURE

After we finish racing RAW at Durango I will be officiating for RAAM on the route. In addition to me, the nascent Ultra community in India will benefit from 2 others who will be crewing at RAAM this year. Shilpa Phadke from Pune who was given an opportunity to crew for Shusanah Pillinger at the Deccan Cliffhanger, will be crewing for her at RAAM. Hitendra Mahajan of Nasik who plans to race RAAM 2015 as a 2 person team with his brother Mahendra will be crewing for a 4 person US team Bert’s Big Adventure.

As a fully supported race, crew and racers form a close knit community with riders often crewing for each other. It is a common belief that a crewing experience at RAAM helps immensely in widening the peripheral knowledge base necessary to successfully finishing RAAM.

World Cycle Race

The World Cycle Race with the tag line ‘If you want a bigger race find a bigger planet’ requires racers to ride 29000 km as they travel around the earth in a easterly or westerly direction. This year’s edition started on the 1st of March, from 2 different locations, with

one Indian attempting it. Prasad Erande unfortunately ran into visa issues about a month after he started and has been unable to continue. Of the 4 riders the only one racing to beat the previous records is Lee Fancourt, who has been averaging 277 km daily as he reaches the end of the race in the second week of June.

Most unfortunately, due to some technicality in the rules Lee was disqualified early in the race and his record will be unofficial, but he chose to continue racing and attempt to beat the record anyway.

Launch of the 2014 World Cycle Race in the UK. Image courtesy Rosie Reed-Gould

The 2014 RAAM route’


Much fanfare at the RAAM start. Image courtesy Divya Tate

Prasad Erande passing many a milestone at the World Cycle Race.


His resilience in the face of some incredible difficulties along the way personifies all the qualities one needs to do races of such kind.

Interestingly, some other great races are starting in the first half of June, even as the first participant in the World Cycle Race reaches the finish after circumnavigating the earth.

Trans AM and Trans Oz

The Trans Am bike race crosses the North American continent like RAAM, but from East to West. Unlike RAAM it is a fully self supported race of 6800 km. It started on 7th June with participants expected to finish anytime between 15 to 40 days. The Trans Oz bike Race is another such, traversing Australia in 3400 km.

Tour Divide

Tour Divide is another extreme race, a self-supported mountain bike race of 4418 km going north to south along the continental divide with an elevation gain of over 60000 metres. It travels through back country trails in the Rocky Mountains, where encountering wildlife is more common than finding food supplies.


Prasad Erande on his WCR ride in India

The author at the 2013 RAAM start with a female solo contestant. Image courtesy Divya Tate

OFF THE BEATEN TRAILInspecting the track

Pune City is blessed with a couple of hills that used to be on its outskirts, but that are now very much within the city limits. Rapid urban development has snuck its way up their lower slopes, so that now they are completely surrounded by housing. One such hill is Taljai Tekdi, in the southern part of the city, joined by a spur to a well known landmark, the Parvati Temple hill.

The densely forested top of the hill is protected by a wall with limited points of access. When the four of us entered from the gate near the Taljai temple, the wide path was packed with walkers and joggers. We were promptly stopped by a guard telling us that bicycles were not allowed, and asked to leave.

Grumbling, and arguing half-heartedly about how cycles were non-polluting, we left. No self respecting renegade cyclist will be denied access to a trail! After all, we had cycled from across town to get a taste of the trails on the hill. I recollected a back road that I had walked up, only a few weeks back. It would entail riding back, down the hill, re-entering the city streets and riding up again. It was worth a shot, trying to find it and see if we could sneak in.

As we headed down, on the lower slopes of Taljai we found plenty of singletrack trails some of which we explored. One led to a clearing with what looked like it had been created for dirt-biking. Tracks looped up and down mounds of packed earth. Ajay Padwal, Anil Uchil and Karan Bhuta took turns jumping on what had the potential to become a pump-track. This discovery made up for the disappointment of being turned back.

TALJAI TEKDIWords and Images by Divya Tate


Ajay Padval flies over what had the makings of a good pumptrack

Circling around the hill through back roads, we came to some trails that led to Wagjai temple. We had to carry our bikes up a flight of steps, to a rear unmanned entrance into the forest. Finally in the walled garden, we rode the trails that had by now been cleared of walkers.

The wide off-road trails cover about 6-8 kms with narrower paths leading off into the forest. The ‘boys’ soon tired of the wide dirt paths and we split up so they could look for singletrack or jumps. Further down the path, I heard peacocks calling deep in the forest, and found a narrow path leading in that direction. The calling got louder as I came to a spot where I could hear and see scores of peacocks and peahens... but only briefly! My presence disturbed them and I caught flashes of iridescent blue and green disappearing into the undergrowth.

Before I left, I was lucky enough to see one in full splendour, tail feathers fanned out to impress an audience of peahens. A couple more crossed the path directly in front of me as I headed back to rejoin the others. While they had seen peacocks, they were disappointed that they had not found any tracks to practice their mountain biking skills.

Getting off the hill, we were in the thick of rush hour traffic in no time at all. Strange to think that wilderness was so close at hand. As I rode back, I recollected that about a decade ago the Municipal Corporation had tried to sell these hills to development. I had actively engaged in a public campaign to save these hills! It was great to reflect on the success of public protest, however small. Glad that it was protected, even if slightly resentful that cyclists were denied access, I was thankful for it.

The adventurous four (L to R) Anil Uchil, Divya Tate, Ajay Padval and Karan Bhuta

Divya - thrilled to be riding on the hills she helped save

PROCYCLE PROFILED

SARANYA BHAARATHE

Unlike most of us, Saranya’s had a fairly uninterrupted cycling life. She rode a bike to school and only stopped when she had to go a long distance to college. Soon after, a friend of hers decided to ride to Ooty which inspired her to follow suit. Her Ladybird would’ve been hard put to deal with the rigours of such a trip however. So, along came a shiny new Cannondale. While the Ooty trip eventually fizzled out, they did do a 150km ride to B R Hills. The Vodafone Cyclothon soon followed and she has never looked back since.

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1YEAR ` 720

BIKE REVIEW

Type of Bike: 29er hardtail Level: Entry Price: INR 39,625

This time up, we got our grubby paws on a different animal altogether. While ‘niners’ (as mountain bikes with 29-inch wheels are affectionately known) have been around since the seventies, they only really gained popularity fairly recently. In fact, many people have repeatedly claimed that the coming of the niner sounded the death knell of the beloved 26er.

26er vs 29er

The general claim is that 29-inch wheels help you roll faster than 26-inch wheels and that bumps and ruts (that 26ers have to go in and out of) are simply straddled. This makes you quicker on an XC track. The counter-argument is that 29ers handle about as well as a truck on an F1 track, leaving you struggling on technical singletrack.

It is interesting that the man who pretty much invented mountain biking was also the first one to come up with the 29er. Gary Fisher has been championing the 29-inch cause for decades now, and this bike is part of his signature series.

The lads at Firefox (distributors of Trek in India) sent us over the entry-level Trek X- Caliber 4 from their Gary Fisher collection, so we could put it through its paces. Trek’s X-Caliber series all share the same frame but are spec-ed with different components depending on the pricepoint.

The Lowdown

The paint job is typically Trek - subtle but noticeable. The blue is

striking against the glossy black and the white accents go well with it.

We got was an 18.5 inch frame and our tester stands 178 cms tall (5 foot 10) with rather long limbs. Typically this would be a pretty exact fit for him. In fact, considering that traditional 29ers usually have a rather more elongated geometry, we expected a bit of a stretch. However, it felt pretty bang-on, quite unlike the earlier Gary Fisher 29ers (such as the Marlin 29er) where he would find himself rather stretched out. Trek certainly has put in a lot of R&D into the GF series and it shows with its more refined geometry. By the time the seatpost was at the right height, standover clearance was more than generous - a heartening sign for those occasions when you’re taking on rocky terrain.

Put pressure to the pedals and it takes a bit of time for this bike to pick up steam. We did find it a tad bit sluggish but that’s only to be expected with a niner (all else being the same, bigger wheels mean slower acceleration). Get it rolling though and the X-Caliber begins to come to life. This is one bike which likes long flat straights to get up to speed. Once up there though, it keeps on truckin’.

Suspension

Suspension duties are taken care of by the absolute entry-level Suntour M-3030 fork with 75mm of travel. This is an absolute no-frills fork with a preload dial and nothing else. Not even a lockout! Quite a let-down at this pricepoint. On the upside, it seems to use a fair bot of that travel although even determined drops and bashing didn’t make it bottom out. It has surprisingly decent small-bump sensitivity and soaks up plenty of trail buzz. We don’t think it’ll hold up to half-a-thrashing but for a recreational bike, it does the job.

KEEP ROLLIN’ ROLLIN’ ROLLIN’ Trek X-Caliber 4 29er


Entry-level Shimano drivetrain which does the job decently

Wheels

Wheels are a combination of in-house brand Bontrager rims and Formula hubs. These are shod with Bontrager XR1 tyres. They’ve specced it rather smartly here with a 2.2 inch tyre up front and a 2.0 inch tyre at the back. This is supposed to give it better traction where you need it (up front) while still giving you lower rolling resistance at the back. Unfortunately, these tyres aren’t our favourites. While the centre knobs are fine and let you belt down straights at a healthy pace, the side knobs don’t inspire confidence at all. On cornering, we repeatedly felt that sinking feeling when you know the front wheel begins to slide and you are going for a toss. It washed out on us more than once. Dropping the tyre pressure helps but in thorn-country (which are most Indian trails), that’s just asking for puncture trouble. The wheelset does make for decent straight-line rolling but, under sprint there is discernible flex. This is only to be expected at this pricepoint.

Drivetrain

Drivetrain is again entry-level with 8-speed Shimano Altus shifters and derailleurs with a Shimano M131 crankset. The crankset is pretty heavy-duty and does the job decently. Shifting was surprisingly decent all things considered. While you can’t shift under heavy load, if you’re careful this combo will last you a long time.

Brakes

Internationally, the X-Calilber 4 sports entry-level Shimano mechanical disc brakes but the Indian offering is a tad different. Braking duties are taken care of a mechanical set from a brand by the name of ‘Zoom’.

Basic Suntour fork which punches well above its weight

We’ve never seen these before but they’re from the same brand that supplies uber base level forks for various generic bikes in the Indian market. We tried our best to give it a fair shot but, we have to say that we are bitterly disappointed with these brakes. Even while allowing for potential bedding-in (a ‘running-in’ period required by some disc brakes before they reach their full stopping power), the brakes felt mushy and gooey and inspired no confidence whatsoever. We’d have felt infinitely better with v-brakes for which, incidentally, the integrated brake-shifter levers were specced. We dearly wish they hadn’t compromised on this department as it completely takes the fun out of this bike.

Frame

All this brings us back to the heart of the bike - the frame. The Trek’s X-Caliber frame is the same for their entire series. Gary Fisher’s custom ‘G2’ geometry is supposed to give the bike a better rake angle and therefore handling. It certainly felt and handled much better than their earlier entry-level offerings. One also never sees internal cable routing at this level though one has to wonder why they took the trouble to introduce that if they were going to route just a single cable. Trek’s technology has evolved to a point where they have done away with the ‘bridge’ on their stays allowing for enormous mud clearance and larger tyres. If you want a larger rear tyre however, you’ll have to upgrade the front derailleur to something less bulky. The frame also has rack mounts in case you want to mount one on it. In short, its a great frame and a good deal at this price.

So, do ‘3 extra inches’ really make a difference?

Well, this is a debatable topic indeed and one which rages on. We’re going to say it depends on what you want to do. If you’re a recreational rider, riding dirt paths and not- very-challenging XC, this’ll do you fine. It rolls great in a straight

The rack mounts at the rear

Shimano Altus rear derailleur shifts cleanly enough

20 CRANK with ProCycle JULY 15TH, 2014 The mushy, spongy Zoom brakes

V-brake specific Shimano brake-shifters being used for mechanical discs

Bontrager lowriser bar and stem make for a decent cockpit Bontrager XR1 2.2 inch front tyre - rolls well but doesn’t like cornering

Reliable wheel set which roll fine but have a little flex

line and you’ll enjoy the breeze in your hair and all that, although we advise you to do that only after upgrading the brakes.

On road, with slicks, this’ll make for a competent commuter although in traffic the slow acceleration can be frustrating. If you were to slap on a rack, it’d probably make for a decent tourer as well.

The Bottomline

In short, if you’re beginning to explore the outdoors and are looking for a versatile hardtail, the Trek X-Caliber 4 might just be the bike for you. A word of caution though - time and development may have refined the 29er but, we still feel its more suited to taller riders (regardless of frame size). Shorter riders usually find the geometry way too stretched out for comfort and may prefer to look at a 26er or even the new 27.5 inch wheeled bikes.

At a price just shy of INR 40,000, the X-Caliber 4 is a decent deal considering the eminently upgrade-worthy frame you get. If you’d like better shifting and specs, perhaps look further up the chain at the X-Caliber 6 or 7 or splurge on the X-Caliber 9. If you’re looking to ride some serious technical singletrack though, you might need to look for a more nimble rig.

Internal cable routing

The all-new Pinarello Neor

Shimano Tiagra crankset

2014 PINARELLO NEORFor a long time the Pinarello FP Uno was the legendary marque’s entry-level offering for roadies who wanted a taste of fine Italian design and craftsmanship without having to sell a kidney. This year, it has been replaced by the ‘Neor’ and we haven’t stopped drooling since we saw it.

SNEAK PEEK

Pinarello - crafted from T6 alloy

Stem and bar also from MostThe UCI legend

FP heritage

Pinarello Most Saddle and seatpost

Shimano 105 Brifters

The gorgeous Onda fork!

Lynx Asymmetric wheelset from Pinarello house brand Most

Shimano 105 rear derailleur

WHEELS OF CHANGE


CYCLE DAY 7Images courtesy Siddhi Group

Strong showers the previous night may have dampened the roads, but it seemed to firm up peoples’ spirits. The 7th edition of Cycle Day saw more than 4,000 people take to the streets. While only a little more than half that were seen pedalling, its pretty clear that Bangalore’s citizens are serious about taking back their streets - from traffic, pollution and garbage. Cycle Day is an initiative by Bengaluru Coalition for Open Streets (BCOS) which comprises the DULT, Praja, RAAG, EMBARQ, EAF and other individuals. Considering the event is held on open streets, it wouldn’t be possible without the active aid of the BBMP and the Bangalore police.

The wheels of change begin rolling

Warming up in the wet morning

The volunteers along with the Holy Stoked Collective

Bikes and more bikes

The dull and wet Sunday morning took on a carnival-esque appearance around the Agara Lake in HSR Layout. Volunteers from the Siddhi Group used chalk to draw makeshift chess boards on the road, there were people playing hopscotch, carrom, street football and more. Functional exercises were there for those who were keen to learn. The Holy Stoked Collective showed kids and adults alike, the fun there was to be had on a simple board with wheels. There was even a little launch of a home-made rocket!

For a few hours, adults became children again as they pranced about the streets and children vied to beat the adults at various games. In just 7 months, Cycle Day has become a movement in Bangalore. We can only hope it spreads like wildfire.

The next generation ripping it up!

He looks like he might be a roadie

Not everyone was thrilled to be up in the morning

Talk about a clean slate

BOYS’ TOYS

VP R76 PEDALSWell known for their dependable and affordable kit, VP brings us another excellent product - the R76 road pedal. Made from high-quality plastic with a boron axle, these weigh in at a svelte 232 grams for the pair. With adjustable tension and cleats offering 7 degrees of float, we likey!

SYNCROS RETRO FRAME BAGIf you’re always fiddling around with your keys, money, phone and other stuff, and don’t like saddle bags, try going a little retro. The Syncros Retro frame bag is made from 420D honeycomb ripstop (whatever that is) and features water-repellant zips. It has two pockets and has an impressive capacity of more than 2 litres. It’s got more than a bit of style.

For more details drop us a line at [email protected]

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CRANK with ProCycle July 2014