Cyclist
In the Drops: Oakley Aro5 helmet, Gore Windstopper cap, Spurcycle bell, Lead Out bag and Do Nothing
Happy New Year. The festivities are over and we’re back to business, so let’s get on with another edition of In the Drops, shall we?
We’ve come back (kind of) refreshed after the holidays ready to create #content and there has been plenty of good stuff this week.
Flo Clifford previewed the incoming pro season with key storylines to watch in both the men’s and women’s WorldTour, Emma Cole took us through Strava’s Year in Sport review, and Charlotte Head reviewed the Condor Italia RC Disc frameset.
We also had some excellent features from the magazine make it to this humble website, including our Alex Dowsett profile, a look at the financial difficulties being faced by women’s cycling and Col de Vars Classic Climb.
Speaking of the magazine, issue 148 was released this week – buy it here or subscribe here – including a Big Ride in Moab, Utah as well as features on Annemiek van Vleuten, Six Days of Ghent, Rocacorba, turbo trainers, the Atlas Mountain Race, pro team staff, the Lotus e-bike, RideLondon and more.
Now on to the stuff.
Oakley Aro5 Race ICE helmet
Oakley’s new Aro5 Race helmet is lighter and more aero than its precedessor, the standard Aro5, but they weren’t the main focus, instead it’s the efforts to improve the fit that has resulted in decreased weight and drag.
That’s because the helmet shell was redesigned to sit lower and more snug on the head and improve ventilation – the former reducing the frontal area in the wind and the latter helping to drop 20g through a new layout of front and top ports.
Being sunglasses experts, it’s unsurprising Oakley has ensured the helmet has a good spot for stashing glasses, with grip to hold arms in place and cutouts on the inside creating a neat spot for them to sit in out the way of the head.
The ICE in the name refers to the outer layer. While the bottom third is black, the top section of the helmet is reflective, including almost the whole back, to make wearers more visible on the road.
Elsewhere, it’s fitted with Mips’ lightest safety system, Air, which is integrated into the helmet’s padding, and it also features a Boa system to adjust the fit, which is neat.
- RRP: £195
- Buy it now from Oakley (£195)
Gore C5 Windstopper Road cap
For those of us who still haven’t succumbed to the indoor training life, finding the right kit to cover up in winter is essential, and I find it all too easy to forget about protecting my head. The antidote: Gore Wear’s C5 Windstopper cap.
It functions like your normal cycling cap with the classic peak to keep the sun out and keep the rain out your eyes, but it also has ear flaps that cover your tabs and neck.
Being Gore, it also has the added bonus of being made with a Gore-Tex Infinium Windstopper layer, which is breathable but completely windproof, so you can be sure it’ll do the job of keeping warmth in without getting stuffy. If that’s not enough, there’s also a terry cloth band inside to absorb sweat.
- RRP: £39.99
- Buy now from Amazon (£39.99)
Spurcycle Original bell
So you’ve spent your savings on a fancy new bike and don’t want to ruin it with a shoddy bell, what do you do? The answer isn’t to ditch the bell, the answer is get your hands on one of Spurcycle’s Original bells.
Made from stainless steel with a brass alloy dome and aluminium hammer, with options of either a raw steel finish or black coating. They’re very classy, and Spurcycle says their ding lasts three times as long as most bells, so you’re not sacrificing function for form
Importantly, they’re easy to attach and adaptable to fit safely on most handlebars, both standard and oversize, aluminium and carbon, thanks to two sizes of the flexible metal strap, and they can be fitted to tuck away nicely at the front so as not to take up precious room on the tops.
- RRP: £64.99 / $59
- Buy now from Condor Cycles (£64.99)
Lead Out Racelite top tube bag
In my last In the Drops I featured LA brand Lead Out’s Racelite rear top tube bag, and what’s the point having a rear top tube bag if I don’t have a front one to match? Fortunately we had this one in to feature in the magazine so I’ve given it an extra shoutout here because it’s worth it.
It’s made with lightweight and water-resistant Dyneema and X-Pac fabrics alongside a waterproof zip system to keep your phone, charger, food, tools or whatever you want to keep in there safe and dry.
It can be fitted with either straps or bolts and there are a couple of bolt options to suit different setups, the straps come as standard are go all the way around to make sure the frame is fully protected.
The inside has a mesh pocket and hand pump mount to keep it easy to organise as well as a removable padded base to cover up bolts, and it also has a cable port to charge lights or a head unit on the go.
Lead Out says it weighs 78g and I say it also just looks cool doesn’t it?
- RRP: £60
- Buy now from Lead Out (£60)
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What we’re into this week: Do Nothing
Honourable mention here goes to the crime drama series Fool Me Once on Netflix, which I’m currently halfway through and is very gripping with lots of twists. However the festive period means there isn’t much new music this week so I’m delaying my regular In the Drops playlist until my next go but sticking with music here to make up for it.
Spotify Wrapped only covers January-November so December listens are often hidden (and of course you don’t want Christmas songs in your roundup), for me I had one band on repeat all of December: Do Nothing.
The Nottingham band, described as art-rock and post-punk (although we all know post-punk is everything after the ’70s), released Versions, which is new recordings of three of their songs recorded either in their basement or storage room stripped down to a lovely, raw sound.
I’d highly recommend not just Versions but giving their whole catalogue a go if you haven’t listened to them, an easy way in if you’re unsure at first is Nerve, probably their poppiest song.
Until next time.
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