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Tech Roundup: Xmas Special - from the 'big present' to stocking fillers, tech for all the cyclists in your life

Georgia in Dublin clothes, One23 tools, reflectives to make you smile, Romster Bike Wear, lights, t-shirts and more...

Xmas gifts for the Victorian cycling gentlewoman in your life

When we review Georgia in Dublin gear on road.cc, it's always like Marmite.

Some of you really dig the (very) retro look, paired with high tech fabrics and cycling specific designs, and others of you just go, "Eh?"

But if it is 18th century style rainwear you, or your better half is after this Christmas, there's no better place to start.

First up is the Dorothy Cover, keeping the contents of your front basket dry, and looking not a little like a pot of homemade jam.  It also does double duty as a drawstring bag, saddle cover or helmet cover. Comes in 6 colour varieties and costs £20.

Then we have the The Rainwrap at £45 - keeping trousers or skirts dry and clean on a wet day, and also protecting the modesty of girls who cycle in short skirts. On a sunnier day - leap off the bike and it's a picnic blanket too. Comes in black, pink, green and red.

The Hustle & Bustle is the gentlewoman's riding jacket that actually keeps the rain at bay and still looks striking in town.

Complete with removable storm waistcoat, the Hustle & Bustle is £160.

Finally, when you're worried about being seen in the gloom, you might consider the The Dublette, also £160. It's new to the Georgia range, an expandable rain jacket which can be worn over a back pack or bulkier clothing - just let out the corset-like fastening for the perfect fit. It has a hood and a detachable cape that can be worn with other outfits to give a little rain protection and a lot of visibility.

For more info, see Georgia in Dublin.

Elephant grass and leather bicycle baskets from Ghana

Kate Herzog, a Ghanaian who didn't learn to read until she was 11 - and only thanks to an American man who sent her books. Now she's paying it forward, and running a business , House of Talents, that uses local Ghanaian talent to create unique bicycle buckets, and bring other people out of poverty in her home town.

All the baskets are different, so you have to pop down to Cyclodelic in Columbia Road, London (just off Brick Lane) to pick your own. They're priced at £55 to £60.

No two bicycle baskets are exactly alike which makes each one a unique work of art. With each basket you receive the name of the weaver. A great present for a stylish cyclist with a conscience.

Visit www.cyclodelic.com for full contact details and shop opening times.

 

Tubellery: not just recycled cycle jewellery, but upcycled

What can you do with old inner-tubes? You can cut them into strips to make bands to keep other inner-tubes in rolled-up order, they make a handy waterproof seatpost boot – slipped over the seatpost and clamp to stop winter rain and road spray dribbling into your
frame, and if you’ve got a mountainbike they’re handy for wrapping round the right-hand chainstay to deaden chainslap and protect the
paintwork.*

Or, you could do something pretty with them and make jewellery, which is what Monika Zamojska has done.

Monika recently graduated from London College of Fashion and by chance started marketing cycling brands for some of the capital’s bike shops specialising in upright bikes and cycle-chic accessories.

But she’s always been interested in ethical fashion and finding ways to recycle and upcycle post-consumer waste into something creative so about a year ago Monika started making little pieces of jewellery from old inner tubes.

Nothing special she admits, just bows that were  pretending not to be bits of old tubes, keen to make proper jewellery pieces she revisited the idea and Tubellery was born.

The bracelets are laser cut from old inner tubes Monika fishes out of the bin at London Fields Cycles and are hand finished with a silver plated heart shaped toggle clasp.

At the moment there are only these Cinquefoil and Oxalis bracelets available but Monika is already working on new designs.

Each Tubellery bracelet costs £17.00 and you can buy them from the website, Etsy, and soon from  Future Cycles in Sussex and London Fields Cycles.

* You can also visit the road.cc shop and pick up some Velo-re belts made from old recycled inner tubes...

 

Funky t-shirt designs from Romster Bike Wear

New this summer, the Romster Bike Wear company was created to give cyclists some funky off-duty t-shirts to wear down the pub. Who knew cyclists needed so many t-shirts?

Anyway, things are going pretty well, with Theo Paphitis, of Dragon’s Den fame, awarding the company his Small Business Sunday award for use of social media.

We're big fans of this Tom Simpson t-shirt - a little reminder of the man who was, until Bradley Wiggins's Tour victory this year - the greatest British cyclist of all time. T-shirts start at £19.99.

Now Dean Downing has signed up to support the brand, coinciding with his move to Madison Genesis.

He said: “The brands designs are great, particularly the Tommy Simpson range which is close to home. I’ll give insight and information on big races which will hopefully lead to new designs and then products for market. If you like cycling get one on your Christmas list!”

For more info, visit Romster Bike Wear.


Perfect stocking fillers from component brand One23

Just in time for Santa's stocking, One23 have launched a compact MT-F8 mini tool, which folds down to nothing yet still contains eight of the most useful on-the-go tools.

They are 2/4/5/6 hex keys, cross head PH1 drivers, flat head drivers and a Torx T25 - and it costs £13.99.

Also a great little present is the Bar Saver, which neatly bolts on to the front of your stem's face plate, giving you a few handy inches of room for computers, lights, gps units and all the other handlebar gubbins that seems to accumulate.

The Bar Saver is £9.99.

For more info, see Todays Cyclist.

 

The INDIC8OR: safety when turning, for commuters, kids and horse riders

Turning right across traffic can be intimidating, especially for kids and novice cyclists. The INDIC8OR helps improve your visibility when sticking your arm out -  by flashing just like a car indicator.

It's a strap on light that is worn on your wrist and flashes when your arm is raised.  It gives you more phyisical presence on the road, making you seem woder and discouraging cars from squeezing past you at the last moment.

It's fully adjustable to be worn by adults and children alike, and it's splashproof so fine in rain - just don't immerse it. It costs £17.99.

Here's a video to show it in action:

 

The idea for the INDIC8OR came about in 2008 when Ken Tedder, a London taxi driver of 30 years, almost hit a young female cyclist on Westminster Bridge. Despite raising her arm to indicate right Ken didn’t see her and had to swerve to avoid her.

This was not the first near miss by far that he had witnessed as a cabbie. An electrician by trade, Ken went home and began to design the most obvious safety gadget, a cyclist indicator. Not just a flashing light - which drivers, he felt, were too used to seeing - but one which only flashes when the arm is raised to indicate a turn so when one just starts flashing in front of them, drivers should be more likely to take note.

A year ago, Ken was able to bring the product to market.

I've got one of these on test, so watch this space for a review, but in the meantime, to pick one up visit INDIC8OR.

 

Tiny but lifesaving stocking filler lets your friends get home safely

Here's the present that keeps on giving - embroidered reflective badges for cyclists that attach to any bag, clothing or straps for a little extra visibility on the roads late at night.

Perfect for the office Secret Santa, or a little present under the tree, the new ‘Googley Eyes’ badges from SpotMe are cute enough to bring a smile to anyone.

It's perfect for the style conscious cyclist too, with the subtle refelctives.

The set of three ‘Googley Eyes’ badges (25mm across) are made from retro reflective fabric that glows white when light hits it and are embellished with embroidery. They look great pinned in a cluster.

For a full list of other SpotMe items and stockists visit SpotMe.

 

Quirky t-shirts make great presents

One can never have too many t-shirts, and this one from Love Yellow is designed to keep you mellow as you ride about town.

It's 100 per cent pre-shrunk cotton screen printed with a 'Zen Cyclist' print, and comes in charcoal, blue or grey.

It's £20.

For the full range and lots of present ideas, visit Love Yellow.

Add new comment

33 comments

Avatar
RuthF28 | 11 years ago
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Re - cost of T shirts; I never buy T shirts ever, because I seem to end up with one every time I enter a race (cycle, run or triathlon) whether I want to or not. You can regard this as either (a) a free T (cheap!) or (b) the entry price for a T (£35 or so) (not so cheap) but at least it's something to put on when doing the painting and decorating around the house. As I feel the cold so much no-one ever sees my T shirts anyway, so it's a bit pointless going for something that I'd want someone to actually see  2

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BananaDrama | 11 years ago
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I think what we are forgetting here is that these are gift ideas. If you want to save money, maybe don't wrap your presents because that paper only gets throw away or betterl still don't buy any presents because you are a tight arse. I would be happy to receive a thoughtful bike related Christmas present rather than a plain white t-shirt from asda, In fact i would prefer a spare inner tube or put the money towards the next gas bill and enjoy the heating being on for a bit longer over Christmas, maybe even have the tv on as a treat.

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Simon_MacMichael replied to BananaDrama | 11 years ago
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BananaDrama wrote:

I think what we are forgetting here is that these are gift ideas.

Next year's gift guide we're going to keep it simple, ignore cycling and just run through a few places where tangerines and walnuts can be bought.

Then we'll pull up a chair, crack open the popcorn and wait for the inevitable Waitrose/M&S vs Aldi/Lidl discussion  3

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Farky | 11 years ago
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Nice items for the xmas stocking there thanks Dave.

What a load of winging about the price of a TShirt though.

How much would u lot pay for a cycling jersey then? U know, the type with 3 pockets at the rear and made of a material that lasts whilst not causing you to sweat during use, regardless of brand?

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StantheVoice | 11 years ago
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Why does road.cc keep insisting on reviewing cycling related t -shirts and clothes? Can't you do a round-up of all the standard not-in-the-remotest-way-linked to cycling t-shirts from Asda, Tesco and Primark, I'm sure all my cycling buddies will be equally transfixed? I really expect more from my favourite cycling website.

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Colin Peyresourde | 11 years ago
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Wow - it surprises me what people actually end up discussing sometimes. I thought it'd be just about the range of products, but this has turned in to a massive debate on the ethics and cost per unit of t-shirts.

£20 doesn't seem unreasonable for a t-shirt with a print design to me. Seems odd that a t-shirt that costs the same as a pint (give or take a £1) would be any good in the fit and colour department. Also seems strange to quibble if you cruise around on carbon. Though of course I can understand that people's priorities differ.

Getting back to the article, a few interesting ideas there. The ladies seem more than adequately represented, but many of these ideas seem a little too gimicky. That said I can't think of what I'd like to see in the list instead!

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Barry Fry-up replied to Colin Peyresourde | 11 years ago
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Colin Peyresourde wrote:

£20 doesn't seem unreasonable for a t-shirt with a print design to me.

nor me. still, there's some people on here that'd probably go out in a bin liner with holes poked in it rather than buy a cheap waterproof from Aldi, so perhaps it's no surprise eh.

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nbrus | 11 years ago
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High quality, silk screen printed T-Shirts direct from China US $1.25 - 3.25 / Piece ...

http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/629843487/Low_Price_Bulk_Wholesale_T_S...

Unique Features of our products:

1.High quality fabric
2. Exquisite workmanship
3.Durable Printings
4. Factory price

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a.jumper | 11 years ago
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Are any of the clothes above Fairtrade and/or ETI cotton? Not to bothered by the prices as long as they're not using child labour or killing farmers or so on

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Tony Farrelly | 11 years ago
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All this does remind me that we need to make some more roadcc t-shirts and maybe a nice Ltd edition designer range too… we do have that Vecchiojo on the team after all and he is an artist.

Anyway, last time we made Ts the blanks cost more than a fiver - you get what you pay for, as has been said before (the brown roadcc Ts in particular really last I've worn mine A LOT over the last few years and it still looks like new) and even with a simple one colour screen we just about broke even selling them at £17.99 but then we could afford to see it as a marketing expense… although they might have been a better marketing tool if we'd produced a couple of thousand.

You can buy T-shirt blanks for a lot less of course, but there will be compromises in the quality and they certaily aren't going to be Fair Trade or ethically sourced - if that sort of thing bothers you.

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A V Lowe | 11 years ago
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T- Shirt £0 surely - if you can stomach the promotional logo.

I have got a Glasgow velodrome promo one - promise to wear it on visits to Manchester, and interestingly the black printing has not faded at all but the UCI rainbow is fading.....

Last one came from Builder's merchant promoting their chain

Might just draw the line at one from ABD though

Not that I'm a tightwad....

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nbrus | 11 years ago
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The T-Shirt pictured is worth more than £5 ... its pre-shrunk and looks well made ... £10 would be about right.

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road slapper | 11 years ago
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I've got a couple of T-Shirts from Romster, fantastic quality and designs. They quite often have special offers. Can't fault them in the least

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Chris James | 11 years ago
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I doubt that Love Yellow's target market is people who currently their t-shirts from Asda for a fiver.

In any case, £5 t-shirts that DON'T wear out are a different form of liability. You have years ahead of you wearing something that looks like crap.

I quite like the inner tube one, I might buy one, and I'm a tight arse!

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captain_slog | 11 years ago
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I don't want to add fuel to the hoary value-for-money debate, but ... actually I do. I wonder if the perception that expensive things last longer comes about partly because we take more care of them or save them for special occasions?

Having said that, I have one of the Velo-Re belts mentioned in passing and though I wear it all the time it's as good as new. And provides an interesting talking point whenever I take my trousers off.

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Sarah Barth replied to captain_slog | 11 years ago
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captain_slog wrote:

I have one of the Velo-Re belts mentioned in passing and though I wear it all the time it's as good as new. And provides an interesting talking point whenever I take my trousers off.

If people are looking at your belt when you take your trousers off then your problems run deeper than a £20 t-shirt  3

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pwake | 11 years ago
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You wouldn't feature a Lancestrong t-shirt for love nor money. Simpson t-shirt featured = sheer hypocrisy! Or was he just a victim of his time?

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BikerBob replied to pwake | 11 years ago
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pwake wrote:

Simpson t-shirt featured = sheer hypocrisy!

How'd you work that out  39

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tombarr replied to BikerBob | 11 years ago
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BikerBob wrote:
pwake wrote:

Simpson t-shirt featured = sheer hypocrisy!

How'd you work that out  39

He died because he was a "drug cheat"?

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BikerBob replied to tombarr | 11 years ago
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tombarr wrote:
BikerBob wrote:
pwake wrote:

Simpson t-shirt featured = sheer hypocrisy!

How'd you work that out  39

He died because he was a "drug cheat"?

A different generation to Armstrong and hardly the structured and deliberate campaign undertaken by Lance!

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doc | 11 years ago
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HOW MUCH for T-shirts? A fiver in Asda gets you a quite decent quality plain white one, which washes OK and if it's had it after twelve months, then still OK for workshop rag!

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Jon Paul Baker | 11 years ago
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The link to Cyclodelic does not work. They have an issue (at least in the US) with their method of forwarding cyclodelic.co.uk to cyclodelic.com. I sent them a message about this problem. The link used in the article doesn't look like it would work even if the forwarder worked. It looks like it's trying to link to their contact page, but that page does not exist under that URL. (At least in the US.)

If you'd like to see Cyclodelic's site, go to cyclodelic.co.uk or cyclodelic.com.

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Karbon Kev | 11 years ago
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The orange rain jacket - wtf?

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antonio | 11 years ago
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Just love all these ideas, but what's going in the Schwag Christmas stocking?

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Simon_MacMichael | 11 years ago
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The problem is, cost doesn't equate to value.

I've bought plenty of cheap t-shirts in my time - the kind that after a few washes have shrunk, faded and acquired the softness of a well-used tea towel.

I've bought plenty of more expensive t-shirts too - on the whole, they keep their colour, shape and softness.

Yes, you can find cheap t-shirts that are well made, and expensive ones that aren't.

But I find that on the whole, I get what I pay for.

That goes for most clothes - look after something you've spent money on and chances are it will still look good years later, long after you've got rid of cheaper stuff.

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Campag_10 replied to Simon_MacMichael | 11 years ago
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Simon_MacMichael wrote:

The problem is, cost doesn't equate to value.

I've bought plenty of more expensive t-shirts too - on the whole, they keep their colour, shape and softness.

Yes, you can find cheap t-shirts that are well made, and expensive ones that aren't.

But I find that on the whole, I get what I pay for.

I've bought plenty of expensive t-shirts too and on balance found that they fade and deteriorate after relatively few washes, despite being looked after very carefully.

In my experience, paying more doesn't equate to better quality - just higher retailer and manufacturer margins.

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WolfieSmith replied to Simon_MacMichael | 11 years ago
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Simon_MacMichael wrote:

The problem is, cost doesn't equate to value.

I've bought plenty of cheap t-shirts in my time - the kind that after a few washes have shrunk, faded and acquired the softness of a well-used tea towel.

I've bought plenty of more expensive t-shirts too - on the whole, they keep their colour, shape and softness.

But I find that on the whole, I get what I pay for.

That goes for most clothes - look after something you've spent money on and chances are it will still look good years later, long after you've got rid of cheaper stuff.

Absolutely. My Road.CC t-shirt is like new and I'm sure Tony didn't just opt for the cheapest cotton.  4

Risking an online lynching I would also say that those purveyors of what some readers of Road.CC class as 'over priced' clothing - Rapha - made my much loved Bernard Hinault winter jersey. I worked out recently that I've worn it every Sunday from October thru April since 2007. So it's been washed over 100 times and it may have lost a little stretch but it's still going strong.

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chokofingrz | 11 years ago
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T-shirt, plain: £5
T-shirt with logo/branding/wit: £15
T-shirt with cycling logo/branding/wit: £20 (reduced from £30)

I'll stick with my plain ones thanks.

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dave atkinson | 11 years ago
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since when have t-shirts been a fiver? it's not 1987

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Campag_10 replied to dave atkinson | 11 years ago
0 likes

I like the bar extender thingy for a tenner. Can think of a few people who would be pleased to get one of them in a secret Santa.

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