2015 Interbike: Bits and Pieces, Odds and Ends, Part 2

There are a lot of good cycling backpacks and messenger bags out there. How you determine the value of one over another, I suppose, depends on need and personal taste. The Neo, by Ynot, has a 16 to 19 litre capacity, so it is not the largest out there, neither is it the smallest. Water repellant material and zippers help to keep the contents dry. Honestly, what drew my eye to the Neo were the available colors; the cycling world is drowning in black and neon, so it is refreshing to see the understated earth tones. Made in Toronto, Canada.

Woodman makes a whole passel of sleek components - headsets, seat posts, clamps, stems, bars, hubs, etc, in both machined aluminum and carbon fibre. But it was the little gizmo shown below that I was most curious about. If you have ever run out of patience trying to determine which set screw does what on your front derailleur you should may check into the "trouble shooter".

I do believe that the DVO Diamond is more suspension than I would have the opportunity to use anymore, but the company markets it as an enduro race fork. 140 to 160 mm travel with compression adjustment, for 27.5" and 29" bikes. Oh, and they are green.

If I am not mistaken this is the Pika by CST. I have come to realize that I may not need a cyclocross tire as prominently knobby as those I have been riding. Something like this gravel/dirt road hoop of rubber might be just the ticket.

The EVOC Trail will allow you to carry a load on those weekend bike packing trips, while at the same time providing extra back protection due to the Liteshield System. Just in case.

Some have managed an hour of sleep after setting up an exhibit all night, others because they were at one industry party or another. Some drove through the night to open the show. There are a few fresh and excited ones; you can tell them by the drool running from the corners of their mouths. Mostly conversation sounds like a chorus of grunts and groans. They shuffle along, wall to wall, along this corridor. Zeus help the poor soul moving the other direction, like a salmon swimming up stream. The gait is mostly a shuffle, unable to move any faster than the hoard in front. They are the Walking Dead of Wednesday morning.

This is Neil Barron, inventor and founder of Litelok. Litelok scores a 10 out of 10 on two of the three most important characteristics you want in a bicycle lock - weight and strength; the third, portability, is only slightly off that high mark, and when their waist-size edition comes out, that category will be aced as well. At first I thought Litelok was some kind of steel flat stock, modified to be flexible and wrapped in a protective sleeve. However the strength comes from multiple layers of "innovative lightweight materials" (secret, I am sure) code named "Boaflexicore". Litelok comes from England - check all the pertinent information at the Litelok website.

Those earth tones look familiar, but they are not Ynot, they are Swrve. With cooler weather coming (maybe) it sure would be nice to have one or two in the closet.

Tired of how your back gets all sweaty when you use a backpack or messenger bag? Don't like how panniers stick out on the sides? Maybe a nice leather frame bag by MHL is what you are looking for. This is the Cardenas, made in Taiwan.