Water: the source of life I needed a personal water filtration system, and picked the Sawyer Mini for good reasons. You consist of 55% to 60% water, and your blood is around 90% water. You need to drink water every day (even if it’s contained in other drinks, such as coffee). Though there doesn’t seem … Read more
Another tent? For the past 10+ years, I’ve been using a little 2-person tent I bought from Tesco for £12. It’s just big enough for me and my kit, provided I sleep diagonally in it – and I’m not very tall! I’ve slept in that tent during very strong winds, on Dartmoor, and I used … Read more
The battle of getting tight tyres onto a rim It’s easy to see where the TyreKey got it’s name from – it looks much like a large key. There are two versions of the TyreKey, and I was given the newer version to try, which was redesigned to cope better with fatter tyres and wider … Read more
Trangia copy? Yes, mine’s not an official Trangia, but a very well-made copy that you probably wouldn’t be able to tell apart from the original. Why did I get a copy? Easy – I wanted just the stove, and didn’t want to spend much, as this will be my backup stove. Why a backup stove? … Read more
Tyre Glider – A new tool in the battle of fitting a tyre If you’ve ever struggled getting a very tight-fitting tyre on, or off a rim, then you will know it can indeed be a battle! Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres are probably the tyre most people complain about, though on the plus side, they … Read more
Good reputation Podsac has built a well-deserved reputation for great kit. Indeed, while cycling the Grand Union Canal, my mate Dom found that Podsacks are so waterproof that they made his bicycle float! As a result, I didn’t have any reservations when I ordered these from Planet-X. For clarity, I bought these at full price, … Read more
Camping gas explained Gas cartridges for camping stoves mostly use butane gas, which is cheap, and in mild to warm temperatures offers good performance. The trouble with butane is that it really performs poorly in the cold, and your gas stove may completely fizzle out just when you’re most reliant on it. Manufacturers of such … Read more
The good people at Tyre-Glider gave me two Tyre-Gliders, so I can do a review. I only need one, and will happily post the other to one of you, provided you will also do a review on it (to be published on here, along with my own). Incidentally, the pic of a Tyre-Glider is straight … Read more
A surprising number of cyclists are quite superstitious in at least one aspect: they’re so terrified of punctures that they won’t even say the word, and I find that extremely amusing. I’m not superstitious at all, and have no misgivings about using the word puncture, nor referring to the Puncture Fairy. For the uninitiated, a … Read more
Some things just belong together: Sampson & Dellilah, Cleopatra & Anthony, bread & butter, and of course, cycling & coffee. Cycling and coffee are a match made in heaven, as the number of cycling cafés can attest. In a perfect world, there will always be a great café, serving excellent coffee, right when you need … Read more
I used to commute 15 hilly miles each way on a daily basis, on a road bike. 700c x 25 tyres may be light and fast, but they sure aren’t designed to take the knocks that rural Devon lanes offer, especially on a cold, dark, and often wet winter commute. My road bike has rim … Read more
The Vango Compact Gas Stove is really rather good, with only three negatives. First though, what makes it so good: for starters, it’s tiny. It comes in a hard plastic case, and screws directly onto a gas cannister. The three supports for whatever you place on the stove fold up, to fit inside the plastic … Read more