Monday 24 May 2010

Rapha Fixed Backpack



This has now had almost a month's service, including a 50-odd mile ride down to the coast and lugging the requisites to the Tour of Wessex, as well as a daily commute and trotting around town.

You probably already know that this is a great piece of kit, so I've been trying to think of niggles.

I've struggled, but I've found them.  Not something that would be immediately apparent, but the inside is very dark.  If you've ever used a Kata camera pack, you'll appreciate the yellow interior, so much easier to find stuff. On the other hand, I'm kind of glad the inside isn't canary coloured.

Sweat pads.  These aren't perfect.  The Deuter airstream system works better, for example.  But then you get weight and depth away from your back.  They do the job enough only to worry about sweat on plus 20 degree days - and even then not terrible.

Laptop strap: this kind of gets in the way if you're not using a laptop.

There isn't the usual 'Rapha story label' inside.

As you can see, I'm struggling.

Perhaps a white Rapha stripe on the front or the back would be good on dreary mornings.

Did I mention it looks really, really good, too?  In fact, non-cyclist friends have enquired where I got it from.

Sunday 9 May 2010

Bromdinium is back

Thanks to some thieving blighters (who shifted their loot on Gumtree), I've had to say goodbye to the Fratello, and dust of the Brompton, which had only been seeing occasional, and usually train-based, service.

In some ways, it's been a bit of a silver lining, not least because the Brompton encourages you to not bother with a bunch of cycling gear, and just integrate it into your life.  The warmer weather helped, at least until this cold snap arrived.

Meanwhile, I have tried out some new kit, mostly Rapha: the rain jacket, the lightweight softshell and the fixed backpack.  Expect some reviews to follow (first off, the fixed backpack is likely to come out as a near perfect thing)