Today, we’ll take a close look at 10 products for cyclists of all kinds.
Some of them are cheap, some expensive, and some—a little strange.
So let’s get to it.
First we have the Blackburn Outpost cargo carrier, which is sort of like a luggage rack
for your bottle cage mount.
This is probably a good accessory for gravel bikes, but I tested mine on the downtube of
my fat bike, which wouldn’t be a great spot in wet conditions.
The Outpost mounts just like any bottle cage, but it’s definitely heavier and stiffer.
It’s sturdy, but not particularly lightweight.
Cargo is held in place with two straps which work very well, but Blackburn didn’t provide
an obvious way to secure the loose ends.
You can find these for 20 to 30 bucks which is less than many standard bottle cages.
So for the price this is a good product for adventurers looking to add some extra storage
to their bikes.
Next we have Follow Hollow alpaca socks, which are being marketed towards mountain bikers.
They’re made from alpaca wool, 80% of which is actually from baby alpaca for its superior
alpacaness.
Now despite their amicable appearance and demeanor, Alpaca are actually super gnarly
and difficult to shear, or at least that’s my assumption.
Because they’re charging $25 a pair for these.
The company included two pages worth of Alpaca wool benefits, which include warmth, durability,
and water repellency, and in practice these all seem to hold true.
Even when compared to other cycling socks, these Alpaca socks clearly do better with
moisture.
So if that’s your chief concern these may be worth it.
My one complaint besides the price is that, these socks are kind of boring.
Cycling socks will typically have a bit more personality.
So these socks are good, but unless water resistance is worth the premium to you, there
are vegan socks that get the job done just fine for a fraction of the price.
The next product is a jack stand—for your handlebars.
Now I’m probably not the only one who works on my bike upside down when there’s no repair
stand available, and in a very old video I even showed how to prop up your bars to keep
your accessories free and clear of the ground.
Needless to say, this doesn’t require a whole lot of engineering to accomplish since
you can prop your bike up on just about anything.
That makes the handlebar jack hilariously overengineered.
These jack stands operate with the precision of swiss watches.
They fold out like little tripods, strap to the bars to keep from tipping over, and even
snap together magnetically so you don’t lose them.
But do we need these?
I mean...maybe?
I guess if you’re particular about scratching up your cockpit and don’t have the space
for a repair stand, these are—still ridiculous and $30.
I wouldn’t buy these for any price, but there’s likely a niche user who would.
If happen to be that niche user you’ll be blown away by how well designed and effective
these are.
Now for a few products from Topeak.
First is the Headlux Dual USB, which is a rechargeable headlight with a built-in taillight.
Now this doesn’t provide enough light for nighttime shredding, but if you get stuck
after sundown it’s enough to get you home, and it makes you really visible to motorists
during the road portion of your ride.
As you would imagine this light has several modes including a bright setting that lasts
for over 3 hours.
But it’s the tiny form factor and built in taillight that makes this product worth
talking about.
I would consider leaving this on my helmet semi permanently.
At $30, this is truly a great rechargeable safety light, maybe the best for the money
considering its features and form factor.
But unfortunately for Topeak, this this next product of theirs didn’t do so well.
The Airbooster G2 looks like a very well designed CO2 inflator.
It has a gauge which is rare, a separate storage thread for a spare cartridge, and a very nice
mechanical valve.
Although this did successfully inflate my tire, CO2 bled into the gauge and became dry
ice.
Since then, the gauge has been stuck at 70psi.
Now to be fair, no product has a 0% failure rate, so we’ll try again with a new one
someday and see if this was a fluke.
The next product is a digital tire pressure gauge with an air input.
This means you can use it as a standalone gauge or as a digital air chuck with any pump.
The Shuttle Digital Gauge has a rotating head, locks in place with a very sturdy lever, and
works with presta or shraeder on both ends.
My only complaint is that it takes a few seconds to boot up, which doesn’t seem like a big
deal but I notice it every time I turn it on.
It’s also over $60 which is an insane premium over other digital gauges, albeit bulkier
ones with fewer features.
Nevertheless I will definitely be keeping the shuttle digital gauge in my flight bag
for its flexibility.
The next product is rogue hoes, which we’ve been using a lot for trail building on Berm
Peak.
What I find with most hoes is that, you just can’t trust ‘em, but rogue hoes are made
from high grade tempered steel.
They are sharpened thoroughly from the factory, and actually an edge impressively well.
Rogue Hoes are available in a lot of different styles but the hoe rake combo is my favorite.
It resembles a mcleod but slices through roots like they’re not even there.
It also has a totally flat underside without any rivets or indents, which makes it really
good for compacting.
If you’re cutting bench on rooty soil like we have here on Berm Peak, this is kind of
the only tool you need, and it makes the job a lot more enjoyable.
Depending on what style you get and whether you go with a fiberglass or hickory handle,
these range from 40 to 90 dollars.
That’s more than you’ll pay for a hoe at your local hardware store, but I’m willing
to bet this is a lot better.
The next product is an $11 mini floor pump, and the reason I picked one up for review
is that it resembles a $30 mini floor pump I reviewed last year which resembles a $60
mini floor pump made by Lezyne.
That means this could be considered a knockoff of a knockoff and therefore, we’ve gotta
see this and... it’s about what you would expect.
The “Hasbeen” mini floor pump is a floor pump the size of a hand pump, which makes
it super portable.
And according to that Topeak Shuttle gauge, it actually works.
Judging by how chintzy it feels I wouldn’t want to rely on this for high pressure road
tires, but for anything below 30 PSI it operates fairly effortlessly.
Also, it surprisingly works with Presta valves without any adapters.
Although this hasbeen working, I can’t see it lasting long and therefore i’ll keep
using my other knockoff mini floor pump.
The next product is hands down the most compact tripod in existence, and if you know someone
who posts videos of themselves mountain biking this is a great gift for them.
The Joby Griptight ONE comes with a tiny collapsible tripod that actually tilts in whatever direction
you want.
It also comes with a collapsible phone holder which neatly folds up against the stand, making
it insanely small, small enough to always have with you.
But it comes at a price: $30 for this tiny little thing.
But it’s the only tripod I’ve seen that’s this small.
So for mountain bikers or any adventurer, it’s a great travel accessory.
The last product is also the most expensive one: The DD airbags nextstep lander.
Most of you have seen this already but, I’m finally going to give you my thoughts on it.
The Nextstep lander is a 6.5 foot tall, 11.5 foot wide, 21.5 foot long, $3850 airbag lander.
Stuff like this used to cost tens of thousands of dollars, but the nextstep lander costs
as much as a nice trail bike.
Its price includes shipping, and the blower to keep it inflated.
You’re also gonna need a long extension cord and a serious hand truck to move this
thing around.
One reasonably capable person can set up the nextstep lander, but putting it back in its
bag is like packing up an inflatable mattress times 100.
Of course, the purpose of this lander is for learning tricks without breaking bones.
You can make a mistake on this thing and walk away from it without a scratch.
Of course that doesn’t help if your bike lands on you or if you miss the lander altogether.
For me the major benefit beyond the safety part is just having an instant landing wherever
you want—we have the setup of this truly enormous device down to about 10 minutes now.
I love my airbag lander, but I predict you’ll be able to buy these landers for about half
the price over the next few years.
For instance, this bag on Ali Express is about $2500 once you pay for customs and shipping.
But we have no idea if it’s any good.
So I think the nextstep lander is priced fairly since DD already did their homework and sourced
a good lander.
Still, this is gonna be a tough sell if you want your parents to put one of these under
the tree.
I hope you found these products as entertaining as I did, and if you enjoy these videos I
actually have some more products to share with you: Seth’s Bike Hacks merch.
We’ve got a new store up and running where you can buy trail markers, hoodies, shirts,
and other stuff all in the same place.
Everything is printed and packed right here in Western North Carolina, where screen printing
is not a laughing matter.
Anyway, hopefully it’ll stay dry enough to get in a trail build for next week, so
thanks for riding with me today and I’ll see you next time.