Here in the Northern Hemisphere, we’re all getting back up to speed after a long winter.
We’re also getting our bikes back up to speed, which means many of you have just spent
all your money.
So today I’ll be reviewing some products that only cost two figures.
In fact, the most expensive one falls short of $60.
First, The Clug which I’ve seen for as low as $15.
It’s a mountain bike stand that you can put high up on the wall to mount your bike
vertically.
Or low down to just stand it up.
Installing the clug is pretty simple.
You just screw in this outer shell, and then pop the inner piece inside of it.
I was really excited to mount a clug to the lower part of my work bench for making cockpit
repairs at ground level.
You need to be forceful to get a knobby 2.5 into the clug, but it’ll work all the way
down to a 2.0.
I like it, and I think the price is fair considering how functional and low profile it is.
Next up, a compact chain saw.
Not like, a chainsaw.
A chain, saw.
It’s basically an open ended chainsaw blade with nylon straps on the ends, with a neat
little carrying case that you can either throw in your bag, or strap to your belt.
It works like this, pretty simple.
Like any saw it can be a workout, but for its size it can’t be beat.
You can find pocket chainsaws like these for as little as $10, but sometimes you get crappy
handles or low quality blades.
So far, this one has been well worth $22.
For clearing trails or for camping, I think it’s a good low tech solution that barely
weighs anything.
The next product is called hiplok, which is a reusable zip tie sold for $18 per pair.
This one has a key, and this one uses a combination.
While they’re probably great as reusable zip ties, they aren’t so secure.
With any tool, you can break a hiplok quickly and with very little effort.
In fact we were able to break one with a cheap pair of scissors.
These were given to me at Sea Otter by hiplok’s rep, and I’m not totally clear on what their
application is for bicycles.
I wouldn’t lock up a helmet with this let alone a bike.
But if you need a cleverly designed reusable zip tie for something other than security,
hiplok exists and it does what it promises.
Next, we’ll take a look at some cageless water bottles which promise lower profiles
and better retention than typical bottle cages.
The Fidlock costs $35, features a twist release and a magnetic latch.
This bottle from Fabric costs $11, and just hooks on to these little nubs.
Both come with everything you need for mounting.
I’ll be testing these today on the underside of my downtube.
So it’s safe to say that if they survive here, they’ll fare even better on the inside
of a downtube.
Let’s start with the Fidlock.
The “cage” features a latch and two magnets.
Just hold the bottle close to it and it snaps into place.
The only way to get it back off is by deliberately twisting the bottle.
Pretty innovative.
The mount does hold the bottle away from your frame a bit, but no more than a cage would.
Let’s see how secure it is.
The Fidlock held up in my tests, and even took some damage during a crash.
The Fidlock does wobble a bit, but I saw no evidence of it shaking loose, even while plowing
through rock gardens and hucking ledges.
Since my prior solution was a cage with a strap around it, this is a much more elegant
solution.
On to the Fabric bottle, which mounts using these little plastic nubs.
You just slide the bottle over them and the pressure keeps it in place.
Without a complex latch, it holds much closer to the frame than the fidlock.
The bottle itself, if I’m being honest, is pretty ugly, but it’s only $11.
Let’s see how it fares.
You know what?
I think it wobbles less than the fidlock.
In fact, it held up just as well in all my tests.
But this was a brand new bottle with freshly installed nubs.
I suspect that these will wear with repeated use, and grow less effective at retaining
the bottle.
Fidlock, on the other hand, uses a mechanical latch, which should perform more or less the
same over time.
But at three times the price, you’re definitely paying for this feature.
Personally I’ll be using the fidlock since the mechanical retention mechanism gives me
more confidence, and the design is more refined overall.
With that said, I really like both of these.
They offer better retention, a cage that’s practically invisible when not in use, weight
savings, and in the case of the fabric bottle, cost savings.
If you ride with a bottle, using either of these seems like a great option.
Next, Tubolito.
This is a $30 inner tube, folks.
Now I personally run tubeless tires and only use inner tubes for emergencies.
For that reason I carry one on my frame at all times.
Not that I’m a weight weenie, but this thing is hefty, while the Tubolito is a third the
size and weight.
To me, this is its practical application: cutting down on your cargo.
In fact, its size opens up a whole slew of new mounting options that weren’t possible
before.
Time to see what this thing is all about.
It turns out the tubolito isn’t stretchy like a normal tube.
Without a tire holding its shape, it sort of pops out like a balloon animal.
It’s better to inflate it while it’s inside a tire.
So if you use your tubolito for an emergency repair, it probably won’t go back to it’s
original size and shape afterwards.
Still I’m always refining my no backpack setup and will be carrying a tubolito with
me from now on.
Speaking of strapping crap to your bike, you can get these OneUp EDC straps for $15 per
pair.
While you could use some electrical tape, self stick straps, or any number of things,
these are a little neater and a lot more secure than anything else out there.
Just pull back on the strap as hard as you want and this little nub will hold it in place.
At $15, it’s pretty expensive for a strap, but you get two of them and they are remarkably
robust.
Now for a tool that I think more of us should own: Master Link Pliers.
These are made by Park Tool, and I have two pairs of them: One on my bench, and one in
my car.
Not only can they effortlessly release a master link, but they can also snap it back together.
At $15 they’re right in line with what you’d expect a good specialty tool to cost, and
if you wrench on your own bike they’ll save you some hassle.
This is the Topeak Ninja Mountain which is a water bottle cage featuring an integrated
tool.
In another video I reviewed the road version of this, which came with a pretty barebones
tool.
Not this one.
The mountain version comes with an extremely capable multi tool, built into a clever little
compartment on the back of the bottle cage.
The whole thing costs about $50, and I think it’s cool.
But I’m not crazy about the cage, which didn’t stack up well against other cages
in my tests.
In fact, I’d rather just review this surprisingly good tool, which is the Topeak Mini 20.
It has every hex size you could want, including a rare 10 mill.
When would you even need that?
It has a tire lever, a bottle opener, chain tool, spoke wrenches—Hell, it even has a
piece of wire for holding your chain in place while working on it.
To top it off, it’s seriously slim and has just enough leverage to get the job done.
My only complaint about the mini 20 is that it’s hard to flip the bits out, so you need
to remove the chain tool in order to push from the other side.
Maybe it’ll loosen up over time.
It’s also $35 which is on the upper end of compact multi tools, but for all its capability
I think it’s worth it.
Another product from Topeak is the Smartguage, which is simply a digital pressure gauge.
All floor pumps have built in gauges so most of us don’t have a need for this, but sometimes
it’s nice to just check your pressure before a ride to make sure you bike is on point.
The Smartgauge has a rotating head so you can easily see the screen, and it even has
a bleed valve to let air out as you’re checking it.
At $25, you could almost buy a floor pump for the cost of this, but I have several friends
who swear by it.
My only complaint about the smart gauge is that the pressure doesn’t update in real
time when pressing the bleed valve.
Other than that, I really like it.
The next product is called a Micover, which is a little furry thing you can put over your
camera mic to reduce wind noise.
They come in packs which include these adhesive pads.
You position the mic hole in the little donut area, and then install the dead cat thingie
over it.
Here’s what my GoPro sounds like without the micover installed.
Listen and you can hear the wind rushing over the mic.
Now let’s try with the micover.
These things work amazing, which is why we pay $20 freaking dollars for a pack of them.
It seems like a ripoff for some little fuzzy things, but I haven’t personally found a
more elegant solution than the micover.
So there you have it, a bunch of mountain bike products under $60.
Even if you don’t have $60 to spend, you can still ride your bike without reusable
zip ties and crazy light inner tubes.
Thanks for riding with me today, and I’ll see you next time.