Cyclist
In the Drops: JBL Soundgear Sense headphones, Quoc’s cha cha sliders, Knog Blinder light set, versatile Endura shoes and Jessica Pratt
Toss away your razors, dust off the turbo and return those ivory white shoes to the cupboard because – that’s right, folks – the portcullis has dropped, the drawbridge has been pulled up, and summer has scuttled away into its impenetrable hibernation fortress. It’s a Hard Sumexit with no reciprocal trade agreements and no Indian Summer. But the noble bike lives on.
Despite being busy shooting out panic flares about halfway up the heinous Monte Zoncolan right now, Ewan Wilson has found the time to breakdown the winners and losers from this year’s Grand Tours. But he’s not worried about humans this time: it’s the fabled general classification component wars.
Robyn Davidson rounds up the British cycling highlights from the recently completed Paralympics as well as bringing us the sad news that RideLondon has been cancelled for 2025.
The review funnel is lightly smoking too, with our write-up of the Eddy Merckx Pévèle Carbon road bike now live, alongside a DMT KR SL road cycling shoes review. If you’re doing word-free Fridays, then check out our Tour of Britain or Vuelta a España galleries. And looking to the future, Will Strickson has rounded up the autumn Classics and where to watch it all.
Without further ado, let’s slump into the drops.
JBL Soundgear Sense headphones
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I have an awful track record when it comes to losing Bluetooth headphones, especially the kind that aren’t connected to one another. (In fact, I’ve even taken some heat from a certain Cyclist staff member – let’s call him Mr Gill Crickson – for my choice of interconnected earbuds.)
So for me, the JBL Soundgear Sense headphones are a sensible option, coming as they do with a stabilising headband to ensure runners and riders don’t dislodge a bud mid-flow. JBL is also responsible for the UE (Ultimate Ears) Boom line of portable speakers, of which I own a few, so there’s some good credit in the bank there.
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In line with the current trend for bone conduction headphones, the JBLs rest over the ear canal so that you can hear your music or podcast, but also stay alert to dive-bombing birds of prey and the irascible bears and beasts that line the byways of Kent and Surrey.
The sound is great – I don’t think Enya’s greatest hits have ever sounded better than they do now – and there’s a decent level of splashproofing, as well as a charge case that stashes an additional 18 hours on top of the 6-hour battery runtime. You can hook the headphones up to the JBL app too if you simply cannot stand to listen to Charlie Parker without the correct jazz EQ.
- Buy the JBL Soundgear Sense headphones from JBL (£100.99)
Quoc Lala Slide sliders
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One hop this time. Fittingly, I remember being on a school trip to the Somme when DJ Casper’s career-defining banger Cha Cha Slide was top of the charts. Most of the bus, in between inhaling Haribo-like oxygen and smelling categorically awful, spent the interminable coach journey replicating the dance routine in the aisle. (Woe betide the pre-pubescent pariah without access to the choreography.) Much fun and vomiting ensued, lest we forget DJ Casper. CRISS CROSS!
Perhaps someone on Quoc’s branding team was on the same bus. The Lala Slide slider is said to be the ultimate post-ride slip-on thanks to an anatomically designed footbed complete with arch shaping. The footbed is certainly grippy and contoured, though I’ve taken to wearing them with socks to both channel my inner coxcomb and – let’s say – minimise their contamination by my actual feet.
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The thick straps are made from the same microfiber as Quoc’s gravel shoes the Gran Tourers and are available in four different colours. I haven’t done much bike-packing this year and – *looks up at the sky* – nor will I. But at 142g in EU size 42, future me certainly will. That said, they are getting a pretty gruelling workout around my living room, I tell you that.
- Buy the Quock Lala Slide sliders from Quoc (£50)
Knog Blinder light set
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Australians do a decent line in slang: larrikin, bludger, pom, struth, sheilas, grog and frosties all qualify without playoff as high-tier nomenclature. I hadn’t actually heard of cobber until the Knog Blinder 1300 & Mid Cobber lights arrived at the office. An informal term for a companion or friend so I’m told. Does the Gen Z ‘Mid’ part indicate that it’s kind of a mid-range friend? Who knows. Anyway, since it’s helping to keep me alive out there, it seems like an apt term for these lights.
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First and foremost, with the sheer range of aero handlebar shapes kicking around these days, to my mind, bike lights must come with enough fixtures to keep themselves relevant and practical. The Blinder arrived with a rubber strap that will stretch around a broadly diametered round bar. Though it would be handy if this was less specifically catered to purely round bars, worry not: it also comes with a GoPro-style attachment so that I can fit it to an out-front mount underneath my bike computer.
Once installed, the Knog doesn’t do much wrong. The 1,300-lumen beam is more than I’ll ever need and will run for up to 120 hours on the eco flash mode. If it’s flashy in the front then it’s a 330-degree party in the back. There are practical benefits to this almost full circle visibility: when you look down between your legs you can clearly see whether the light is actually on or not. Simple but useful.
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This party might go on for days because the battery life for the rear light is also… bonzer? 100 hours and change. The attachment is more rudimentary – a range of three rubber bands – but they’ve catered for all three of the seatposts and tubes I’ve used this month so I can’t complain.
- Buy the Knog Blinder 1300 & Mid Cobber Rear Bike Light Set from Knog (£159.99)
Endura Hummvee Flat Pedal shoes
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The world of hybrid cycling and off-bike shoewear can be something of an ugly jungle. While it isn’t instantly clear what connection they have to Pimp My Ride-adjacent motor vehicles, the Hummvee Flat Pedal shoes are said to be bike-specific thanks to their StickyFoot Grip Rubber outsole and a Flex Profile, which complements both pedalling and walking. An elasticated lace stash also helps to avoid any unwanted entanglements.
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I’m a fan of both the simple looks and the wipe-clean uppers that should help to keep them pearly white for a couple of September days. They are super-comfortable and highly supportive, so my little trotters feel very snugly tucked up in there. Endura suggests they are equally as comfortable in the pub, on the pedals, or the workshop – I’ll have to report back once I’ve fixed my Hummvee’s fan belt while wearing them.
- Buy the Endura Hummvee Flat Pedal shoes from Endura (£89.99)
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Introducing HOLLOWcage Carbon V2, with a revised design of the mono plate, more advanced materials and a more eye-catching finish. The V2 keeps the one-of-a-kind mono-plate construction which made the original HOLLOWcage so popular over the last few years. It is also equipped with fully custom, ceramic jockey wheel bearings and our proven X-ring silencing technology.
We’ve heard that the previous version was not ‘carbon enough’. So we worked tirelessly to source new materials while improving the mono-plate construction itself. The new mono-plate boasts a shiny finish that highlights the carbon fibre construction. It is now made from the very same material as used by SRAM in the Red eTap AXS derailleur cage. Our full ceramic bearings are independently certified using X-ray diffraction by Lucideon Ltd – a specialist in ceramics and materials science.
That same type of material and manufacturing process (injection moulding) is used by SRAM to make the Red derailleur cage, by Shimano to make the Dura-Ace derailleur cage and by CeramicSpeed to make its cages.
Buy the HOLLOWcage Carbon on the website:
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What we’re into this week: Jessica Pratt
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There aren’t many bands or singers that I will make the effort to go and see live. I try and consume all the major musical food groups in one weekend at the end of June, but occasionally there will be an artist who either isn’t on the Worthy Farm menu or is delicious enough to see twice. Folk singer Jessica Pratt is one such virtuoso.
Her music is like listening to the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come (shout out to Muppet Christmas Carol) serenading you with a series of joyous and torturous memories of a life surrendered to feeling. Luckily, I don’t have that many feelings, so she lets me know what it might be like to have absolutely loads of them – as well as having a burning urge to let everyone know what they are via a cripplingly beautiful medium.
I just about managed to get hold of some tickets to see her at the Barbican in November and I’m even missing my one-year-old’s birthday to do so (she will be asleep, it’s fine). It’s now sold out but if you ever get the chance, definitely give her a whirl. Start with her 2019 album Quiet Signs, and work your way across her soundscape of gut punches from there. You might not survive but it will have been worth it.
- Listen to Jessica Pratt, Quiet Signs
The post In the Drops: JBL Soundgear Sense headphones, Quoc’s cha cha sliders, Knog Blinder light set, versatile Endura shoes and Jessica Pratt appeared first on Cyclist.