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Review A Swag Of New Kit

Conrad

Maximum Pace
Dec 8, 2014
417
242
It's getting warmer so I bought a bunch of new stuff, yayyyy:> Here are my first impressions.

Planet X Corsa Bib
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I've got an 87cm waist so I went for the L size and it seems about right. The pad is kind of thin so I'm not sure if it would be great for a long ride, but on the 50k ride I went on it performed well. The material is light and designed well for summer. It was pretty cheap at about 3000 yen. Has anyone tried the Planetx Clubman bib? I got the impression that model has a slightly more robust pad, let me know if you've tried it.

Planet X Clubman Grand Tour Short Sleeve Jersey
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NOT happy with this purchase, I ordered L which fits my shoulders but the bottom of the jersey hangs way down around meat and two veg territory, making the pockets completely useless. I'm 176cm, average build and with this sizing I might have to opt for the S size and just live with tight shoulders. I'm gonna contact Planetx and see what their explanation is. Around 2500 yen so not a tragedy, just frustrating.


Roeckl Lycra Fingerless Mitt
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Comfortable, well padded, didn't explode, what more could you ask for? Got them from Planetx for about 800 yen so pretty happy with these. In Summer they'll probably make my hands sweat but ATM I'm happy with these.

Cratoni Bullet Helmet
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I went for L/XL and seems to suit my mostly empty big head. The dial at the back works well, the straps are well positioned, it came with two sets of spare inner pads and a helmet bag. The only down side is that the plastic tension straps that keep this thing on your head are VERY thin, I'm gonna have to baby this thing, if one of those baby's breaks they can't be fixed. It's advertised as 200g but actually weighs 215g (whatever). It fits quite snuggly and the spare pads (thick and thin) mean that you can tailor it to your noggin. Pretty happy with this, got it on sale at Planetx for about 4000yen.

Areo Twin LED Silicone Rear Light
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Useless, installed it and the strap came undone straight away. I'm gonna have to MacGuiver this if I use it at all. Only cost about 200yen from Planetx, so whatever. Lights seem bright and is a lightweight option IF the stupid thing would actually stay in place and not fall off.

Shimano R078 SPD-SL Shoes
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Well made, snug fitting, have snazzy vents to help with cooling in Summer. Don't believe the hype about the weight, size 47 with cleats attached came to 710g. So not light but they should be reliable performers. I have 29cm feet and I probably could have gone for size 46 for a more snug fit, but at least with these I've got a bit of toe room and might even be able to fit in a thermal sock in Winter. 7400 yen from Merlin.

Schwalbe Ultremo Superlight Tubular Tyre - 700c x 22mm
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Got this baby for a spare, it's actually a track tubby and it rolled up to slightly larger than the size of a spare tube and fit nicely into my saddle bag, leaving plenty of room for tools, a lock, etc etc. Advertised as 120g but actually weighs 130g (who cares), Obviously I haven't used it and hope that I never have to, but it seems like a handy spare for tubby users. 3700yen from Merlin.

Lezyne Flow Bottle Cage
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These things are CRAZY tight. My Camelbak Podium bottles struggled to get into them. I solved this with a small amount of handsoap on the cages. This made them much more manageable and now I have some super secure water bottles. These babies aren't going anywhere. Not light at 44g each but a good option for rough roads and the (god forbid) occassional stack. 1000yen from Merlin.





 
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