Our next Fresh Meat installment features some unique pieces. A street rider's multi tool of dreams from PDW, Kona's newest thread line up, Jagwire's "Pimp your Cable" setup, POC's storm trooper-esque guards and KHE's super light Mac2 tires and Pyramid grips. Fresh meat is our way of showing you guys the positives and possible negatives of a product. Enjoy the newest cuts.
Read on for some Fresh Meat...
PWD "3Wrencho" Designed for riders running 15mm bolt on axles the 3wrencho is
PDW's (Portland Design Works) answer for a useful multi-tool. It's offered in a raw finish, and features a polished, clear coated finish. Manufactured out of heat-treated steel, the 3wrencho features a 15mm closed end wrench, with a tire lever on the other end of it. It's rotated 90 degrees so when using the wrench your hand is on the flats.
Unlike other tire levers that blow up in your face and shoot plastic bits everywhere, the
3wrencho has been designed to be structurally strong, so PDW says "Go ahead, lean into the 3wrencho for those tight beads or stand on it when loosening those tight axle nuts". PDW does warn that the raw can scratch your rims, so for those of you still running v-brakes you can wait until this summer, when PDW plans to launch their coated version of the 3wrencho, that will "treat rims like a tender lover".
Weighing in at 95 grams, and measuring 4.5" in length the 3wrencho is small enough to throw in your pocket, or put in your pack. The PDW 3wrencho retails for 20$, which is on the more expensive side for a tire lever, but for a street rider that only has to carry around 1 tool, I personally think it's worth my 20$. You can get the PDW 3wrencho from
PDW's site directly.
Kona Clothes Kona has been making clothing for a bit, but more recently they have made a big push with their casual and riding line up. Kona has decided to go with a more up beat design, featuring patterns, and repetitions of their logo. With a ton of color options the new Kona lineup is designed around helping you look the best you can while rocking out on your bicycle, and while still supporting one of your favorite bicycle manufacturers, Kona Bikes.
We got our hands on the
Kona JC Gloves, the
Plaid Jersey, and the
Block Short. We will start with the gloves, which are offered in Bright White, Raven Black, and Danger Red, the JC Gloves feature a simple design, with a subtle lady on the front of them. They feature a leather palm for durability, with a single layer embossed chamude palm for handlebar sensitivity, and feed back. Kona has equipped the JC Gloves with Silicone Grip's on the finger tips for better brake lever control, and less finger fade, and a TPR tab closure (Velcro) for adjustable fit on the wrist. We got our gloves in Bright white, which have subtle green, and turquoise accents on them.
We also grabbed a matching jersey and short combo to accent our glove choice. We chose the
Plaid Jersey in the concrete color scheme. The Plaid Jersey features a little larger then usual cut, but it's comfortable and most likely cut this way for usage with body armor. The wrist enclosures could be a little tighter, but the design Kona went with is a "fit all, even armor" cut. They went with a well ventilated design for air movement, and to cool you down after a hard ride. The Plaid Jersey features a shammy wipe for goggles or sunglasses, and a hidden zipper side pocket. One thing that struck us as odd was the single, zippered pocket on one side and a pocket with no zipper on the opposing side.
That being said, the
Block Shorts made up for the lack of pockets on the jersey. Featuring 8 pockets, half of which are YKK zippers, the Block Shorts are the answer to everyone's needs. I absolutely hate these companies coming out with these shorts that have 2 pockets or worse yet none! 1 for your iPhone, and 1 for your over packed wallet. No, in a real world you need pockets, because
fanny packs are so far in the past that they are not coming back. The Block shorts feature two front micro fleece lined zippered pockets, two side mesh lined zippered pockets inside two cargo pockets, and two back mesh lined pockets. That gives you space for your wallet, phone, keys, and anything else you "may" want to bring along with you that day. They feature a 2 button enclosure and a zipper fly, along with an adjustable waist with belt loops for that extra security. Along with all that, Kona has put a mesh liner on the inside of the shorts to keep the airflow moving even while you're pedaling, or standing still.
Our only down side to note for the line up is the huge branding on the clothing. I find it tough to rock bicycle company branded clothing while riding a different brand of bike. It's kinda like wearing a Toyota shirt and driving a Chevy to me. That being said, we really do like the clothes and think that Kona bike owners around the world be stoked to additionally represent the brand. All in all the Kona clothing line up has been well designed, and features some nice color schemes and options. All their clothing pieces feature a unique touch to them, whether it's a goggle wipe, or multiple color options. They are all well priced, and ready to ship now. Head over to
Kona's Online Store to check out the new products.
Jagwire Ripcord Shifting plays a big deal in all geared bikes as without the shift, there would be no gear choices to be made. Suspension technologies are making cable routing more and more complicated, however, Jagwire has produced a way to have even better feeling shifting. Aftermarket cable housing is not something crazy new, but it is a nice enhancement for your bike if you're experiencing any cable drag on shifting, or if you want to add a nice colored accent to your bike.
Jagwire's Ripcord is offered in 7 different colors. Black carbon, hot pink, Maxxis orange, Merida green, white, red, and SID blue. We chose to go with the Merida green, as it's more of a neon green, and we figured it would "clash" well with our flat black frame. The housing of the Ripcord is 4.5mm LEX reinforced housing with L3 liner. L3 liner is a technology Jagwire came out with that acts like a constant lubrication. Simply put, during the production stages a certain amount of lubricant is added to the housing, and is adhered to the inside of the housing. This means that your Teflon coated slick stainless cable will stay lubricated longer, meaning better shifting for a longer time period.
Nice Accent
The Jagwire Ripcord is supplied in 70" lengths (although we'd like to see longer options so that rider's can run full length on select bikes) and it comes with 3 lined ferrules, 7 nosed ferrules, 6 cable donuts, 1 raincoat boot, and 2 cable tips. The Jagwire Ripcord's MSRP is $37.50 Canadian. You should be able to get a hold of some through your local shop, but if not, check out Jagwire's list of
distributors that should be able to help you out. In Canada, Jagwire is distributed by
Cycles Lambert.
POC Bone VPD Leg ArmourWe have tested some
POC stuff in the past, and we found their products to be hit or miss. We really liked the
POC Receptor Lid, but the
Index DH Gloves were not so well received.
POC offers 2 different shells for their protection. Bone, which are hard shell protectors, made of sturdy Polypropylene, where as Joints are softer, even more flexible protectors made of Visco-Elastiv Polymer Dough (VPD). The Joint technology is designed to fit your body perfectly, while still providing you with a excellent degree of shock absorption. We got the POC Bone VPD leg armor and it features a highly ventilated design and comfort. One of the nicest features that the POC Bone has that other leg armors are missing out on has to be that the knee area has an inner and outer that over lap and allow articulation and constant protection should you experience a big off while riding. Our grass roots rider Sam Dueck is rocking these and if you know Sam, you know that these are taking the abuse that they were designed for too.
POC has developed their own fastener system, which features an easy closure system, and adequate adjustment without the usage of Velcro. Just set the straps and forget the straps! POC has included a VPD section of padding, on the upper knee, to allow for movement, while still providing protection where it's needed. POC also included a detachable calf protector, which protects your calf from those snake bikes on the back of your legs.
You should be able to locate a place to purchase POC protection through their
store locator but if not POC also has an
online store you can visit, and get your protection from there.
KHE Mac2 Tires and Pyramid Grips KHE is known in the BMX industry for making light, function parts, while still offering them at an appropriate price. Recently, in my search for some of the lightest, but most functional parts around, I came across the
Mac2 tire. Claimed on KHE's site as the "World first 20” folding super light Freestyle tire!" the Mac2 should be right up there for 24" tires. Even though it's not labeled on their site, KHE does offer the Mac2 tire in 24" and 26".
KHE offers the Mac2 tire in Dirt, Street, and Park tread patterns. Dirt features high ramped knobs for traction on loose terrain. Street features a edgeless traction pattern, and Park looks like a general Park tire. The Mac2 features a Kevlar bead, and a special durable compound KHE won't release information on. The Mac2 tire is offered in 20" x 2.15", and is capable of 8 bar (120 psi) air pressure. This allows you to run a super hard tire, so all your hard earned spins and slides go right through to the tires, and don't get lost in tire roll over. The Mac2 has been designed in Germany, but manufactured elsewhere.
Along with the
Mac2 tires, I got a pair of the
KHE Pyramid grips. The Pyramid grips are offered in both lock on, and non, so I picked up the non to go along with my 24" tire choice. They are manufactured out of Double Kraton rubber component grip. They have small diamonds all over the grip surface, and include PVC bar ends. The Pyramid grips are designed around high comfort, and stability. They measure 147mm, and are only offered in Black.
The cost for the KHE Mac2 tires is $49.99 for the 24", and $55.99 for the 26". Also, the Pyramid Grips are $15.90. KHE also offers the Pyramid grips in lock ons. KHE is distributed by Lambert Cycles in Canada, and QBP INC in the states, so you should be able to get them through your local shop. If not check out
KHE's list of dealers world wide.
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