SKS

The SKS Spaero Sport Deep Black Pump is a recent addition to the German company's range and uses a retractable hose with an easy-to-use screw-on head. The pump action is smooth and solid feeling, and it'll inflate up to 70 psi relatively easily making it a good pump to get you home.

It's good looking as pumps go with a sleek black construction. You get to the short rubber hose via a rubber flap, the hose is only compatible with Presta or Dunlop valves. As I said up top it screws into place easily and once in place it stays put during inflation.

The new SKS Spaero Sport Alu is a solid mini pump that works efficiently to get a decent amount of pressure into your tyres.

I've had it with lightweight plastic mini pumps that mount directly onto the valve. Yes, they weigh nothing and they take up very little space in your pocket but most of them don't actually work very well.

This pump from SKS is 21cm long and it weighs 111g, which is a little heavier than some, but the crucial thing is that it does the job.

The SKS Energy Bag is nicely made and easy to access, and it's pretty cheap too. Triathletes have been using top-bar-mounted energy hoppers for years, and they're becoming more popular among road riders too as they give you a handy place to chuck a few gels or your phone.

The SKS X-Blade is a brilliant solution for a wet bum when you don't want to fit full mudguards.

Seatpost-mounted clip-on mudguards sweep me back to South London housing estates where sinewy young men dripping in bling would swoosh through on mountain bikes so cool, you knew they were hot. Mercifully, the SKS X blade rear dirtboard leaves me with much happier memories. Made from a curious dual compound composite material, it oozes a highly engineered, rugged refinement synonymous with the German brand.

Essentially, the SKS S blade is the road version of the German marque's Xtra dry, which although pitched at mountain bikers, quickly caught on among messengers and new-wave fixer audiences too. This sturdy polypropylene beaver tail is pretty much the same thing, albeit more flattering to road lines.

For anyone else despairing the lack of decent 650c mudguards - particularly removable ones - here's how to mod SKS Raceblade Longs to fit. Yorkshire Tea not included.

http://gateauvelo.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/sks-race-blade-long-and-650c-wh...

At 193g the SKS TOM 18 function multi tool doesn't feel overly burdensome and the precision build gives it a definite edge over competitor models. However, riders of bikes with older bikes or cantilever hardware may bemoan a lack of 8/9 & 10mm ring spanners.

The venerable SKS Chromoplastic mudguard has been a staple for audaxers, tourers and commuters for decades, and the latest incarnation is everything you'd want: sturdy, well made and decent value.

The Chromoplastics are made by sandwiching Aluminium stips inside a plastic housing. The resulting profile is quite deep which makes it stiff and sturdy, and it carries the now-trademark pattern of black strips and see-through channels. Fixing kit is all steel, with a fixed bridge at the rear and a sliding one at the front for better adjustability.

The SKS bottle cage adapter is perfect if you have a fixie without bottle cages. I think this one will prove a permanent feature on my 1950s Holdsworth which has just had successful bottom bracket surgery and a respray.