Five Ten Kestrel Lace Review

I purchased the Kestrel Lace from Five Ten right when they became available in February of 2016. I have been a little hesitant of laced mountain bike shoes. But I loved the way these shoes looked and I heard they were going to be about 15% less stiff than the original kestrel shoes. I do some walking when our riding and a super stiff shoe makes the fact that you are hiking instead of riding that much worse.

I have been using Shimano M200's great shoe but super stiff and I was actually experiencing some foot pain, I am not sure if its just the fact they were getting some miles on them or if I was over tightening them....They have a boa type and ratchet type closure system.

The Kestrel lace on the other hand are just that, classic lace up shoes...Out of the box I was was pleased with the appearance. When I tried to flex the sole I was extremely surprised how stiff they felt in hand, so I immediately put them on and was shocked at how stiff they were, and these are 15% less than the original boa type kestrel's? WOW. I have heard that Five Tens are super stiff and let me tell you, if this shoe which is supposed to be a little less stiff is any representation of then you will not be disappointed.

I think what I like about them most is that I can get them to the perfect fit, it always seemed that my ratchet type shoes were either to tight or to loose, and my boa type were the same, I couldn't get them perfect.

When I picked these shoes up we were experiencing some very needed wet weather here in Marin County and I put these shoes to the test right away, they never claimed to be waterproof and they weren't, but they did dry out quickly and were not super uncomfortable when wet.

All in all these are the best shoes I have every purchased when it comes to the clippless shoe game. I highly recommend them.

Link to Five Ten:
http://www.fiveten.com/us/kestrel-lace-onix-yellow

Goggle Review: Smith Fuel V.2 Sweat X M

When I purchased my Smith Forefront Helmet (see earlier review on it) I also bought some Smith Fuel V.2 goggles. I actually have a lot of experience when it comes to goggles, mostly at work. I am in the military and we wear goggles a lot when on our small boats and firing large weapons. We use ESS and Oakley mostly. Both ESS and Oakley have above standard ballistic ratings but when it comes to the important things.....looks, comfort they are not as cool...Okay lets be honest goggles are not going to win you any fashion contest but they do come in handy when you are in dusty, wet, or just plane fast riding environments.

Smith offers three different goggle options in their "off-road" category, the V.2's from what I can tell are the nicest of the three. Again like their helmets Smith hits a home run when it comes to options, with 10 different frame/strap color options there is something for everyone. All of the V.2's come with the red mirror lens as well as a clear lens and soft bag. If anyone didn't know mirrored lens are a foundation in Enduroing....just kidding, kind of.

So, these goggles not only look cool, as cool as goggles can look that is but function very well. As I stated before I have used goggles for a long time and one of the biggest downfalls I run into is fogging up. At work I use this military grade anti-fog liquid, works wonders but it wears off quick. So far my V.2's have been pretty good, I sweat A LOT when riding so when stopped for an extended amount of time my goggles did get a little fogged up but once I started moving they were crystal clear within a few seconds which tells me they have great ventilation, something ballistic rated goggles defiantly lack.

As for comfort these are very padded and easily adjusted to fit any helmet. I also liked that the strap has a lot off "sticky" surface, just incase you have a helmet that doesn't have a goggle retention system.

These goggles according to the Smith website MSRP for $70.00 I am sure if you look around you can find them a little cheaper.

Here is a link to the Smith Fuel V.2 goggles:

http://www.smithoptics.com/us/Root/Men%27s/Goggles/Off-Road/Fuel-V-2-Sweat-X-M/p/FX1DXXS16

If you have any question or comments please reply in the comment section below, I would love to hear what you all have to say.

Smith Forefront Helmet Review

I am trying to get a little more active with my reviews so please comment if you have any questions, I really want to help spread the word about mountain biking products, good and bad.

 I bought the Smith Forefront right around Christmas last year. My wife was more excited about it than me because my old helmet was a smelly mess...

So when researching helmets I came across TONS of review and TONS of information, I decided that MIPS was defiantly something that I wanted. Just to fill in the blanks a little here I coach youth tackle football, as you can imagine I have had a lot of training in regards to concussions and head/neck injuries.

Like everything I did a quick google search and found this on bhsi.org

"A Swedish company called Multi-directional Impact Protection System - MIPS - has revived and patented the slip plane concept, using two layers in the helmet to help the head rotate slightly on impact. The hope is to reduce the rotational component of an impact, thought to be a prime brain injury mechanism and related to concussion."

I highly recommend everyone do a little research when buying. 

Anyways, I am a little old school when it comes to all of this as well, whether it is football, mountain biking, snowboarding, baseball or soccer there is an inherent risk of injury when you participate. Technology can only do so much, someone knowing their limits and proper technique is just as important as their protection. For example you wouldn't see me put a full face helmet on and run a pro downhill track blind just because I am on a downhill bike with downhill protection, the likelihood of me getting hurt is much higher and the equipment can only do so much.

So onto the Smith Forefront. A helmet that is $200+ (with MIPS) will scare a lot people away, even the non-MIPS is around $130-$150, but considering that a helmet could be the difference between life and death I would consider not worrying about price as much as function and protective qualities.

I personally have not wrecked hard with my Smith Forefront so I can not give you first hand experience on its protection but there are a lot of reviews out there that can answer that exact questions.

Here is what I do know about it, as in my other reviews I will try to give you pro's and con's. First pro, it looks badass, lets be honest who wants to look like a top heaving egg head when out riding their bike? Not me...Smith has done it right when it comes to looks and different color options. Next thing I noticed is its weight, this is a light helmet! I honestly forget its even on my head after a while, I have had helmets that after about 3-4 hours in the saddle are very noticeable, not the Forefront. I think another pro is its easy adjustability, a quick turn of the knob will tighten or loosen the helmet to its perfect fit. I also like that the helmet came with extra interior replacement pads, a goggle strap retention device and has a built in light or Go Pro adapter, I think the actual adapter is sold separately.

Okay so the light talk brings me to my first con...Part of this helmets great protection technology is a honeycomb interior, what this means, even though it looks cool and is pretty breathable is that you can not use a standard "strap" mount for a light. I actually just use my old helmet when riding at night, but if I wanted to I could purchase the light mount from Smith, I personally think this should come with the helmet, I did just spend upwards of $200....Second con,  and this one is probably going to be different for everyone, I sweat A LOT when riding, this helmet is better than some, the interior pads are comfortable and well placed but they are very small and it doesn't take long for them to start dripping, and there is nothing I hate more than my glasses getting sweat and dirt mixing causing me to lose vision when I am on the trail. Again that is most likely a problem some people won't have.

So all in all I am happy with my helmet.  If you are looking for a high quality light wight helmet with great technology this is the helmet for you. Please ask questions in the comment section if you have any.

Pro's:
Weight
Technology
Looks
Goggle Retention

Con's:
Price
Small pads
Light mounting difficulty
Have to pay for light and camera mounts separately

Here is a link to the Smith Website. Lots of great information!

http://www.smithoptics.com/us/Root/Men%27s/Helmets/Cycle/Forefront/p/HB16-FOMDMDMIPS/sizeVariants

Xpedo Baldwin Pedal Review

I have been using my Xpedo Baldwin pedals for almost 3 years now. I feel that with this amount of time I can give an in-depth review. A little about this pedal first, from the quick google searches I have completed it appears Xpedo is owned by Wellgo, most likely lots of pedals can be tracked back to Wellgo but from what I can tell Xpedo is their "higher end" pedals. I can not actually find anything on the box or in the enclosed literature that says "Wellgo" but when google searched the dark corners of the internet do mention the two companies being one in the same.


Okay whatever, let me assure you these are not shitty pedals. Back to some basic specs, the Xpedo Baldwin was built for the Enduro craze, as their website states this pedal will
"bridge the gap between demands of XC racer to the enduro rider".


The pedal comes in a few different colors, and two different spindle materials; Titanium and Cromoly. Ti weighing in at a whopping 292 grams (180lb weight limit) and the CrMo tipping the scales at 332 grams. Baldwins body is made of 6061 CNC Aluminum, It has 3 cartridge type bearings and I will get into that later, they are very easy to rebuild and maintain.

These pedals have been on three different bikes and they have seen some abuse, rock strikes, mud, rain, snow, lack of cleaning/maintaining on a regular basis. They lasted about 2 years before needing an overhaul. I ordered the bearing kit from Xpedo for around $20 with shipping and watched a youtube video (link below). Very easy if you have some very basic tools and minimal mechanical knowledge.

These pedals are a lot tougher than they look, and they are pretty light for a platform style pedal. I use regular SPD cleats with them and have no issues. Like most SPD style pedals they perform great, gets a little harder to get into if your cleat is full of mud but I think that is normal, only pedal I have ever used that performs great in mud is the Crank Brothers Eggbeaters.

The pedals have an adjustable tension system, I have mine set at the lightest setting (easiest to get out of). They with the standard 6 degree float cleats.


All in all these are hands down the best pedals I have ever ridden, durability is very important to me and these have exceeded my expectations. Again very easy to rebuild as well.


Price: (Amazon, CrMo) $94.22. WOW! I honestly cant think of  a better clipless pedal and to cost less than $100...Crazy.


Rebuild Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGsyuHKT_yI


Product Weblink:
http://www.xpedo.com/products/pedals/mtb/140/baldwin
  
Here are a few pictures of mine, remember they are three years old.