caitelliott.co.uk » gear review

Jet Black indoor trainers – product review

Cait — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 16:00:29 +0000

I’ve been using Jet Black Fluid turbo trainers for warming up and cooling down at races for the last couple of years and have been very impressed with their performance (says a lot, I’m extremely anti turbo training!). The Australian made hydro-gel rollers make riding feel very smooth and quite, and there are plenty of options for easily adjusting the the resistance. Despite feeling a lot more stable than other turbos I’ve used, they’re extremely easy and quick to set up or pack away – very important, I think if turbo training is hassle a lot of people wouldn’t bother!

Anticipating a cold, dark winter in Switzerland this year a set of Jet Black rollers seemed ideal for keeping things interesting when stuck inside, they arrived just in time for a 2 week spell of -10c (now over thankfully!). They take 30 seconds to set up, simply unfold the already assembled unit and pop your bike on top. The aluminium rollers mean they’re very quite and don’t build up friction when you use them indoors so riding feels very smooth. I found them surprisingly easy to learn, the non-slip coating on the rollers mean they feel very stable so it only took 10 minutes of bouncing off the door frame before I was able to balance unaided, take my hand off to have a drink and do some high cadence sprints. I’ve mainly used them for high cadence riding but the resistance good enough to ride at higher power.

They are perfect for very specific and time efficient workouts with the major advantage that you have to concentrate and use a lot of core strength to balance (especially when sprinting!) so it feels far more like riding a real bike than with a turbo and you’re not counting down the seconds until the end of the session. In fact its actually great fun, I sit in my bedroom with the windows wide open for blasts of chilling air and the occasional faceful of snow whilst watching videos of world cup races and listening to Velobeats on full blast! god knows what the neighbours think…

Jet Black Cycling
Jet Black international on facebook

Compressport compression wear

Cait — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 16:15:29 +0000

I have been religiously wearing compression clothing from Swiss company Compressport after training and racing for the last two years, and despite being initially sceptical I have found them to be very effective in speeding up recovery. The idea is that the skintight material compresses your legs slightly allowing blood and fluids to flow faster so that recovery time is reduced. They really do make tired, heavy legs feel a lot less uncomfortable and more refreshed as soon as you take them off.

Different to other compression wear available, Compressport’s individual calf and quad tubes are easier to pull on that full length tights and can be particularly useful for mountain bikers who often crash and have bloody knees. They don’t cover your foot which means you can wear sandles with them in summer, and since the material is not lycra they don’t get hot and sweaty. Although they are tight on the legs its not an uncomfortable feeling and one pair has lasted 2 seasons without loosing their stretch. The distinctive, cool designs and different colours mean they are also great for posing on the podium!

podium cool

Long journeys, especially when flying is involved can leave your legs feeling sluggish and lacking in energy – not ideal when you need legs to be performing 100% if you’re going to a race. Compressport’s full length socks are designed to deal with this by improving circulation so that your legs stay fresh when travelling. They are extremely high quality and well made, designed to give you graded compression so that the important areas are effected first, which also makes them very comfortable to wear. The spotty design means they look super cool too. The shorter race socks come in a similar design and are the most comfortable, breathable socks I’ve ever worn.

Full sock testing in Spain

Highly recommended!

Trek Madone review

Cait — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 08:41:04 +0000

At the beginning of the winter I acquired a Trek Madone 5.9 road bike from the good guys in Think Bike shop in Rathmines. The difference riding a nice bike makes is unbelievable, in fact it’s a bit too nice, I shouldn’t enjoy riding it as much as I do but at least it made me do road training when I was supposed to over the winter!

The carbon frame is incredibly stiff and it feels like every ounce of energy put into pedalling goes towards propelling you forward, but its also quite forgiving on bumpy Irish roads. The super light weight means it flies up the hills and after a proper bike fitting in ThinkBike workshop it feels like the bike wants to accelerate out of every corner or kicker climb.

I’ve only had one chance to test it in a race so far but it performed very well, it gave me so much more control than my old bike so that I felt really confident riding at speed in the bunch. More racing to come if I ever get a free weekend. Overall a highly recommended bike.
so light its hard to keep the wheels on the ground