More October Product Goodness

Over the past few months I’ve had the opportunity to try out a few new goodies - some for my back, some for my bike, some for my head, some for my hands and, well, some for my nether regions. Now that summer is over and riding opportunities are slipping away for those of us in the Great White North, I figured it was time to do a roundup of a few new products I’ve had a chance to test out.

I’ve come to the simple realization that Italians make good stuff. Good cars, good bikes and good bike accessories. Proof of that is with the Northwave line of bike clothing, which is distributed in Canada by Roces Inc. After seeing Gunn-Rita Dala cross the finish line to win Olympic gold in Athens wearing a pair of skeleton-patterned full-fingered cross country cycling gloves, I went on a search trying to find who made them and how I could get my hands on (or in) a pair.

Luckily while walking through the recent Bicycle Trade Association of Canada show in Toronto, I came across the gloves in the Roces booth. Much to my delight, Northwave also makes a matching skeleton jersey and shorts.

I wore the whole setup at a pair of cross country races in Ontario and the first thing I noticed is how much OTHER people seemed to enjoy them. With the white on black colour scheme, the skeleton look clearly stands out in a crowd, and makes for some interesting photos.
Quality-wise, the Northwave products are second-to-none. The jersey has a snug fit where you want it, like around the sleeves, easy to access pockets in the rear and a 20cm zipper in the front. The matching shorts - for those of us who occasionally wear (gasp) bib shorts - are also incredibly comfortable with a large panel of padding to protect all the right areas.

As for the gloves, the skeleton bones do more than just look good. The white sections on the top of the gloves are padded for extra protection while the palm side has synthetic leather and a rubberized skeleton pattern to keep your hands from slipping on the grips. I found even for long-distance rides, both cross country and freeride, the gloves stayed comfortable.

Pricing on all three is typical for high-end, Italian-made cross country gear. The jersey and shorts carry suggested retail prices of $89.90 and $99.90, respectively, while the full finger gloves come in at $73.90. The gloves are also available in fingerless and half-finger models.

Overall I was thoroughly impressed with the whole setup. And if there’s a Halloween bike ride in your city, forget putting on a costume, with the Northwave skeleton line, you’re all set.
Check out www.northwave.it for more information.



Whether you ride cross country, downhill, freeride or road bikes, if you’ve ever ridden hard on a hot day you’ve likely had the problem of sweat dripping into your eyes. What you need is a Halo Headband.
The band retails for $19.95, comes in black, red, blue or white and is one-size fits all. Rather than using a complete circle-style wrap like other sweat bands, the Halo ties at the back to you always get the perfect fit. Up front, the band features a water tight seal that that sits against your forehead and any sweat that builds up is wicked away to the side of your face thanks to that piece of rubber.
It’s not rocket science, but it’s an incredibly useful little accessory. It’s thin enough to fit under any helmet and can be washed and reused over and over. Having used it for a few months now both outdoors in warm weather and inside while on a trainer, I won’t ride without it.

Halo also makes a Protex bandana-style wrap and a winter band. See www.haloheadband.com for more information.



Having clean shifter cables is one of the most important elements to a well-tuned bike. Nothing inhibits shifting more than gummed up cables covered in dust and grime. Unfortunately for those of us who occasionally ride in less than ideal conditions, keeping cables sliding smoothly through their housing isn’t always easy. However, Avid has come up with a great way to fix that problem with the Flak Jacket cable set.

The idea is to seal off your derailleur cables from front to rear while still using your bike frame’s existing cable stops. The Flak Jacket setup, which retails for $53.90 Canadian, comes with enough cable, housing and protective sleeve to do both your front and rear derailleurs, with a bit of everything left over. The housing included is made of Kevlar mesh which saves weight, eliminates compression and can handle a beat much better than traditional cable housing.


Although it’s hard to measure exactly how well the system works to improve your shifting, having both cables completely sealed is like having brand new cables on all the time, and as a result, changing gears is much more precise.

My only complaint is that the plastic sleeves for use between the bike’s cable stops are a bright red colour and look rather ridiculous on anything other than a red bike. The solution I found is simply to throw some black heat-shrink tubing on over top of the sleeves. Use a lighter to shrink the tube over the sleeves and you’re set. Just don’t heat it too much or else the sleeve will melt inside, as I found out (it’s a good thing they give you lots of extra sleeve). Installation will likely take between 30 minutes and an hour, but the kit includes a very detailed manual.

The Flak Jacket system is also available for brake cables, but I opted for Avid’s Full Metal Jacket system instead, which you’ll read about in the near future. For more information, see www.avidbike.com which will redirect you to Avid’s parent company, SRAM.