Category Archives: Product reviews

Product reviews

Bontrager Affinity RXL carbon saddle (Product review) *****

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Several months ago I’d brought home and never got around to installing a new saddle for my Madone, a Bontrger Affinity RXL carbon. Why so long to get it on the bike? Partly because I’ve got so little “extra” time that bike maintenance and improvement has a lower priority than actually riding the bike. Partly because I’ve not really had much issue with my original saddle (a Bontrager Inform RXL that has virtually zero padding but somehow I’ve gotten along with it). And partly because I lost track of it.

Bontrager Affinity RXL carbon-railed saddle. Just 157 grams, $179.99, and worth every penny in my opinion. Less-expensive options will be similarly comfy. 5 star rating!

Let me tell you, I should have done this a long time ago! The Affinity RXL is the most-comfortable saddle I’ve ever ridden, and I’ve ridden many. Second place would probably go to a version of the Flite saddle I used to use (it’s no longer made and the new ones don’t work well with me). I’ve use a less-expensive version of the Affinity (the RL) on my BikeFriday travel bike, which has worked out well, but that’s a very different environment than a world-class road machine like the Madone (the BikeFriday’s 2 foot+ seatpost introduces an awful lot of flex that both cushions bumps and makes the seat position a bit of a moving target).

By the way, mounting a new saddle to your bike is not something you casually do. Depending upon the saddle, you may have to re-fit yourself to the bike, as it can change the angle your body feels comfortable on the seat, which can have an effect on handlebar positioning. Assuming your prior saddle was set up correctly, at the very least you need to carefully measure the seat height and setback (distance of the nose of the saddle behind the bottom bracket) of the original saddle, before making any changes. Then, try to duplicate that position as precisely as possible with the new seat. And, as always, use a level (don’t trust your eyes!) and set the saddle perfectly flat to start with.

Should you install a new saddle and do a challenging 67 mile ride to check it out? Probably not! But it went far better than expected, with the duplicated setup (from the prior saddle) being near-perfect. Might need to move it rearward just a little bit.

Why so excited about a saddle? Because Bontrager saddles have never really gotten the respect they’ve deserved in the past, partly because they haven’t always been world-class. That has clearly changed! I’m a believer. 5 stars out of 5! That’s not a rating I’d casually hand out just because I sell the product; my favorite tire (Bontrager R3) I would only give 3.5 stars to because they wear out more quickly than I’d like.

If you didn’t record the ride, did it really happen?

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No leg warmers, no base layers, no jacket required. Gotta like it! Too many to mention this morning but most of the usual suspects showed up. Relatively-tame on the climb, although I dropped off a bit with Kevin, hoping that a slightly-more-moderate pace might help keep his seizures at bay (he had none this ride, only some double-vision which is caused by his meds from time to time).

OK, getting to the issue of whether something actually happened if you didn’t record it. I’m hooked on technology; I carry an iPhone4s, Garmin 800 GPS computer, Trek Node 1 computer, Contour Roam video camera and often a separate Fuji EX200r camera as well. But what do you do with all that information? Why Strava it, of course. Uploading your rides to Strava you can compete against yourself and anybody else who has ever done any particular segment of your ride. That’s right, Strava automatically times you, starting & stopping at the relevant points as determined by your GPS unit (whether iPhone or Adroid or Garmin).

Check out the page I’ve put up for “Club” Chain Reaction. Quite a few of my Sunday 60-110 milers, along with a couple of the Tuesday/Thursday-morning rides. You might find something in there that looks a bit different than you’ve done before and give it a try. Or you might want to compare your own times to those of others… many, many, many others. It really is addictive.

And there’s another site you can upload your rides to, and have good deeds come from it. Plus3Network (that link will show you my Mt. Hamilton ride) gives credit to various charitable organization for each mile you ride, with the money coming from Sponsors like us, and going to the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition or Team in Training.

I’m hooked. Chances are you will be too. Both +3 and Strava offer free iPhone apps (probably Android too) that make it easy. Keep in mind elevation data won’t be as accurate; the iPhone overestimated the climbing on Sunday’s Mt. Hamilton loop by about 500ft, which is pretty typical of units that don’t have a barometer built in (like the Garmin 500 & 800).

Film at 11

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Nigel, Mike, Kevin & Karl at Sky Londa after heading up 84

You might have noticed there were no photos in today’s ride report, a rarity. That’s because I’m finally coming up with a workable solution for shooting video on our rides, using the Contour HD camera. The problem had been the mounting system; until recently, they only had a helmet mount (probably better for off-road use, as head movements can be distracting) and a bike mount for small-diameter bars. They finally came out with a mount for oversized (which are now the norm) road bars, and I took it for its first test this morning.

Two bike computers and a video camera. Isn't that standard equipment these days?

Still a few bugs in the system; the way I had it set up, it would sometimes hit my left leg when standing, which caused me to knock it out of place a couple of times (not to mention mess with my climbing!). I finally stopped 2/3rds of the way through the ride and re-oriented it to have its body more inward than outward, which did the trick.

No videos to show yet, just the shot at the top of this post, done from a print screen. It’s going to take a while to get the image stabilized and learn how to use Adobe Premiere, but I’ll get there.

5 Reasons to Make it a Bike for Christmas!

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Just like the good old days :-)

#1: A new bike will ride better than what you’re riding. Or what your buddies might be riding now. I’ve got a top-of-the-line road bike from 2003, and a 2010 TREK Madone 6-series. I am faster, more comfortable and more confident on my new Madone. The difference is more than even I expected it to be.

#2: There may never be a better time to buy one! People ask “When will this bike go on sale?” The answer is today. We’ve got hundreds of TREK bikes on sale, including every single 2010 & earlier model, with additional savings tacked on for this week only. You don’t have to compromise with a lesser brand or a shop that doesn’t offer the care & pride & 30 years of the same owner/management that Chain Reaction does. If you want a new bike (and who doesn’t?) this is the time, and Chain Reaction is the place!

Winter days like this shouldn't be missed!

#3: Be ready for that unexpectedly-great day to ride!  Winter in California means great days to ride! Look at the picture on the right; that’s from a ride I did with my son last week.

When people think it’s going to be gray and wet (like it is right now while I’m writing this), a great day is right around the corner. Even in a “wet” year we have more nice days than bad. You’ll miss a lot of great rides if you wait until Spring.

#4: Bikes are one of the few things you can buy that make you better looking, healthier and live longer. Cars, video games, big-screen TVs… don’t think so!

#5: Biking is forever. We’ve got a customer who’s 87 years old and still rides 130 miles/week. I asked him how he does it, what’s his secret. Simple, he said. Just don’t stop. Keep on riding and you’ll remain active, and maybe you’ll be putting your kids in the retirement home, not the other way around.

Yes, it’s totally self-serving of me to say all this, because putting people on bikes, and acting like it’s still “our” bike long after we’ve sold it, is how my brother Steve and I have kept a roof over our heads and put our kids through school these past 30 years.

We believe in cycling. We believe it can make a difference in your life, and even make the world a bit better place. This week, make it a Bike for Christmas. Just like it was 40, OK 50 years ago for some of us, when we woke up and saw that bike under the tree that Santa brought. –Mike Jacoubowsky, partner, Chain Reaction Bicycles

Mike & Steve Jacoubowsky & Joey & Manny & Andrew & Greg & Karen & Ed & Kevin & Becky & Danny & Patrick & Burt & Todd & Charlie & Don & Roger & Tom & Chris & Ron & Richard & Jesus & Adam & Stephen & Frank & Jim & Amy & Adam & Andy all wish you a great holiday season and a lifetime of fun riding!

(This was sent out to our customers on our e-list earlier today. Anyone can sign up for our latest news & sales.)

Our first product review- a wet-weather tire that works!

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The day started looking not-so-great; wet, cold, and there were a number of things I needed to get done before taking off for 10 days a week from now. I was even thinking that I could rationalize not riding today after having done a ride in thoroughly-drenching rain during the latter part of yesterday’s memorial ride for Lauren Ward. But duty calls. We’d recently gotten in a new and intriguing product, Bontrager Race XL “All Weather” tires. They’d first been shown at a trade show last August, and Bontrager’s tire guy, Al Clark, was telling me how this was the first bike tire scientifically designed to reduce slippage on tar stripes and road paint. I’m thinking, yeah, right, and besides, August is far enough from our rain season that wet roads are part of a different reality.

The new Bontrager RXL "All Weather" tire that really does offer enhanced traction on slippery surfaces!

Flash-forward to these past two weeks and our re-introduction to rain. I’d set up our point-of-sale system to auto-order the tires when they became available and voila, just as the rain hits, there they are! Of course, the tires are at the shop, my bike’s at home, and my bikes in general just don’t get the love (maintenance) they should. The solution was simple; ride my bike down to the shop, get the new tires on (as well as a few other long-neglected tasks, like flushing the chain with enough Rock N Roll lub to clean it), and take it for a ride.

And where do you go when you’re looking for a place to slip on tar stripes? Where does everybodyslip on tar stripes? C’mon, I’m tossing out an easy one! That last 100 yards or so of Old LaHonda! Who hasn’t slipped on that, especially when wet? And today, it would have been difficult finding a dry spot on Old LaHonda. So I switched out the tires and headed for Skyline. It wasn’t an easy ride; I just couldn’t really get into the groove for quite a while, and as the sun was now out for a bit I was all too aware of being on a bike with wider (slower) tires, fenders, carrying more water & Cytomax than I needed… let’s just say that, when it’s not actually raining, being on your rain bike just isn’t all that much fun. And it’s odd thinking about the fact that you’re climbing 1250 feet or so just so you can try out a small section of road at the very top!

Fortunately, the sun started to hide again and the whole of Old LaHonda was quite wet and full of leaves & pine needles, making me feel better about my mission as I struggled up the hill. It was an odd ride, since I was deliberating trying to seek out anything that looked like it might be slippery.

The verdict? These new tires work! The rear wheel simply did not slip. Not on the leaves, not even on that last nasty pitch where your rear wheel alwaysslips. They’re keepers. The only downside is that they don’t roll as nicely as the Conti Gatorskins or GP4 Seasons, my prior winter tires of choice, but they sure hold the road a lot better, and they also seem to ride more smoothly.

The new wet-weather tread design is offered in a variety of price ranges, and now that I’ve verified they actually work, we’ll be bringing them in. It looks like they’ve got price points of $20, $40 & $55 (the version reviewed here, the RXL, is the $55 option). The only downside I can see is a bit higher rolling resistance, but for a winter tire, that’s not so bad. So far, I’m impressed. I’ve only got a couple left right now, but will have many more by the end of the week. No risk trying them either, as Bontrager now offers a complete 30 day guarantee that you’ll like them. Such a deal. :-)

Best-looking bike we’ve ever sold?

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Sometimes you can imagine how you want something to be or look, but the reality doesn’t quite match the dream. Not with this bike. A Project One TREK Madone that Becky worked with, which was a wedding present to a guy’s wife. It doesn’t take much to figure that she really likes pink, but there’s a lot more going with this bike than just pink. The combination of colors came out perfectly!

Project One bikes give you hundreds of color & component options, at a surprisingly affordable price. My own bike is a Madone 6-series custom-paint Project One, but nothing nearly as elaborate as what you see here. I’ll try and find a photo somewhere and post it. I’m sure if I’d had Becky do it for me, it would have been a lot more elaborate, and nicer-looking to most, but probably not “me.” That’s the cool thing about Project One. It’s all about you.

Becky’s got a lot more information about the Project One process on her blog here! Check it out and make sure to leave her comments with any questions. She’s annoyed that so many more people read and comment on my blog than hers. Never mind that I’ve been doing this for 13 years vs 18 days for her… :-)