The many personalities of cycling: Oakley Sutro review

No, this is not a photograph of me wearing Oakley Sutro sunglasses. I am pretty sure, however, it’s a guy named Chris who handled (handles?) marketing for Specialized whom I connected with in 2014 when I first started writing about cycling and cycling kit.

In any case, it’s a good looking guy wearing a pretty unique pair of shades. I was fortunate to get a review pair for these very pages, and between them, the Wildcats from SMITH and a pair of Speedcrafts, I’ve been riding in them regularly since. While I can’t say I pull them off as elegantly as Egan Bernal, I am rather intoxicated by their vision clarity, fit, and let’s be honest here, their style.

This is one of the more collaborative pairs of sunglasses developed by Oakley in recent years, at least in the arena of cycling/lifestyle. According to Will Conk, Global Performance Product Manager at Oakley, they were conceived in collaboration with several MASH SF riders - many who challenged ideas about what conventional cycling sunglasses should look like. Oakley wanted shades that were different. Something equally at home on and off the bike. Voila. The Sutro was born.

“As cycling evolves, we must evolve with it,” explains Conk via email. “People are riding faster, in more places, on different bikes. Shades will keep getting better and better over the course of time and have to change with it.”

The Sutro signature is their wide vision periphery, which is pretty handy for peering over shoulders and spotting cars - a useful feature set if you spend a lot of time riding in cities. Thanks to Bernal and other pros who have ridden in them since launch, the frame has - in short order - become a standout. A very good iteration of protective, performance and lifestyle eye wear. A big Kudos to Oakley on their originality. The shape is definitely unique.

The Sutro: a good reminder of the personalities within cycling far beyond a single discipline.

I tested the Matte Vampirella version that come with Oakley’s Prizm technology lens. Performance wise there are some nice features that give them their crossover cred: rubberized nose pads, elongated stems and a thinner profile and tighter curvature that hug the face.

The shades aren’t too sporty looking - but they are exceptionally wide. I dig the shape for the reason, but I also wear a large helmet in every available brand, so it fits my face. If you’re after face coverage but don’t want to operate in the extremes and look like a cyborg (ahem, the Wind Jackets), these are an outstanding option. I ride in contacts a lot; if you’re like me, you’ll appreciate their protection from wind, bugs and anything else that gets into eyes while wheel-sucking.

While unintended for road or X-country riding, it’s easy to see why the frame is already a popular choice in both disciplines. The coverage and style is first-rate because it really is so versatile - a real testament to their design success. “You know you have something special when the product transcends its initial intent and meets the needs of many different people,” Conk adds.  

Part lifestyle, part performance. It’s hard to say in which domain the Sutro is more comfortable. One minor knit: the shades do slide down the bridge of my nose while grinding my way up steep Swiss hairpins, but it’s been exceptionally hot of late. Really, there aren’t many glasses that aren’t guilty of that offense.

They hug the face well when riding and look dope doing it. Their utility for hanging out post ride sitting nonchalantly with a bunch of mates, similarly clad in Lycra and sipping a bucket of Cruzcampos - also first-rate. (Perhaps too specific of a reference, but you get it. This is a quality frame.) Geared towards medium to large faces, the frames retail for 130 pounds or USD $163. Eight different frame colours available.

Designed to win Grand Tour Stages: a look at Rapha's new aero jersey

There’s a well-known LBS in Toronto that was among the first to sell kit from a then London-based start-up long before clubhouses and communities became a thing. I bought my first jersey from them in 2008 - an Italian country jersey in signature merino with the tricolor armband. Mint. The sleeves were short relative to today’s cuts, but it looked dope and it just worked. I still have it, actually; every year when I bin old kit - even if for one or two rides - I won’t cut it loose on account of its now vintage status.

Eleven years on and several kits since, I was stoked to get my hands on Rapha’s new aero jersey the day before a recent trip to Spain. Out of the pack, it’s very considered relative to what’s been produced in the Pro range before. If you read my post on Huub Wattbike from May, you’ll also know I’ve been covering Coefficient of Aerodynamic Drag (CdA) for another project. Rapha invested in aero big time here, so I was doubly stoked to ride it and form some opinions of my own.

The jersey features a dual-fabric construction, smooth fabrics, bonded seams over the shoulder and elongated sleeves to shift air away from the body. The back panel is a super smooth fabric that again works to eliminate drag. There’s quite a bit else going on with the jersey’s aero characteristics - probably more than any single individual will need or care to know about - but we push on nonetheless.

Other interesting features to note: the compression sleeves, a very sturdy rear zipper pocket and three deep rear pockets, all of which make the jersey functional + race ready.

The jersey + bib combination was not included in the company’s CdA testing (gutted about that one) however the aero jersey is a true replica of the top section of the skin suit, says Rapha’s head of design, Maria Olsson. (If you’re racing and really want to limit drag, get the skin suit.)

Relative to the Classic kit range, my Italian tricolour probably wouldn’t hold up against this one in a tunnel. Based on the fabrics, design, fit & precision of the aero jersey in combination with the pro team bibs, the jersey will produce a lower CdA than the classic jersey & bibs, hands down. There really is no comparison there.

To develop the jersey, Rapha went deep, doing a huge amount of market research, exploring theories with experts within the field of aero dynamic science, defined parameters for the end use and purpose of when the product needs and can perform at its best and what will benefit the team the most, wind tunnel testing of materials and textures and more.

For these reason, riders who may or may not be professional cyclists will like wearing this jersey. I’ve found with a lot of aero-specific non skin-suit kit, you tend to look a little ridiculous wearing it off the bike. If I ever test ride any, it’s in the summer months when I’m typically running leaner and generally not the kind of kit you want to pull up for coffee post club run. Inevitably the jersey is too short or too tight, exposing that bit of flesh between bibs and the jersey’s bottom.

Yes it is compressive. Yes it is the tightest fitting of the Rapha range. But it is also one of the best to ride in. And thankfully it is not one of those jerseys that’s looks so aero you feel like sausage casing off the bike. Quite the opposite, actually.

Rapha has built a winner in this one. A functional racing jersey that succeeds on account of its versatility, and not just its race readiness. The elongated sleeves are likely to be your only knit here (if you generally go in for Rapha’s form and monochromatic designs); once you settle in to a nice steady pedal, you’ll see they’re quite functional and comfortable to ride it, as is the jersey holding them together.

(Disclosure: Rapha sent me this kit at my request to review and I’m going to hang on to it cause it’s awesome. There. I feel better).

Sportive essentials: how to nail your first overseas century

I published this shortlist of travel essentials two years ago after riding the Maratona; now in transit to Majorca, I’m reminded of its usefulness. Do I follow these “maxims?” The short answer is sometimes. I do however adhere to one that’s not listed: the rule of 5,000 km, otherwise known as the minimum mileage I think legs need before riding a Dolomite-style sportive (part of the reason I’m off to Spain for an endurance week; the other is to ride for bragging rights with a bunch of middle aged children).

If you’re sitting in an airport lounge reading this and thinking, “where’s am I riding next?”, these essentials might help. Six weeks to go till the Fausto Coppi Granfondo - another three till the Granfondo San Gottardo. Here’s hoping the legs will be ready.

Rent a bike: renting a bike for a sportive might seem counter-intuitive. But with high-end rentals so widely available across Italy, Spain and France, you can save yourself a lot of headache by leaving your bike behind. No need to wrench on either end, no worry of whether your frame will be nicked in transit; renting might even be cheaper (anywhere from 120-250 euros a week) than the baggage fees it costs to take yours with. The peace of mind of mind is well worth it. Pro tip: spec out if your seat tube will fit into your rental and take yours with, saddle attached; it’ll give your ride a familiar and more comfortable fit and feel.

Bring your own food: even when riding Italian or Swiss sportives, where food is generally real and pretty good, I still bring my own. Nutella and spelt cakes serves me well - a formula that works - why deviate? Ask yourself when packing if you can live with whatever the food sponsor makes available, or if packing a 400g tin of spreadable chocolate is essential to your performance. When it comes to ride day, it’ll likely be a combo of both that serves as fuel.   

Show up early: arrive at the fondo early and ride the roads, especially the climbs. Ride every day and from different directions, easing off the gas the day before the event. Visualizing where you are on the course helps you mentally overcome distance and elevation challenges, particularly if you find yourself grinding day-of. Knowing you can crush a climb will enhance your state of mind and make getting to the finish line easier.

Have wrench, will travel: if you decide to bring your own bike to the event, bring the tools you need to set it up. That means your own pedal and 5mm torque wrench, grease and paste and a floor pump. Don’t rely on a local shop or your bike hotel for these essentials. Being self sufficient eliminates variables and will have you on the road almost immediately after you check-in.

Bring one of everything: riding in high mountains means varied weather. On the Passo Gavia in 2016, we had scorching sun at the base and golf ball sized hail at the top. Key lesson? Have one of everything in your kit bag. Long sleeves jerseys, sleeves, gilets, a jacket - with mountain weather these are must haves. Summer at home doesn't mean it will be when you arrive at your event. Having different means not incurring unnecessary costs and being prepared for the weather when you approach the start.  

White hot heat: a closer look at DL Killer's KS1s

I wrote a piece for Cyclist (UK) recently profiling some of the best kit for Spring. These shoes were included, but space (the article was LONG) meant I only added sparse comments on them, not the real estate they deserved (which is part of the reason I’m trying to get Hairpins off the ground in the first place).

Chris Puttnam, co-founder of DL Killer, was kind enough to send a pair on behalf of the company. They are one of the most lively and enjoyable scarps I’ve had the pleasure of riding in recently. A stiff, responsive, comfortable and great looking shoe; the rubber outer, a minor detail, is a great scuff guard and a good example of the care former Italian pro Danilo Di Luca put into conceiving them.

Looking at the market, my only knit with the KS1’s is that BOA dials are better than the ATOP lacing system and I wish they were made using them. Otherwise, these are as high-end as it gets. Sure, they cost 325 pounds. But don’t choke on the price tag - they are worth it. Especially if you go for an aesthetic rooted in craftsmanship.

I spoke to Chris about what makes these shoes so interesting. Below is an exert from that conversation.

What makes the KS1 shoe unique?

Every DL Killer shoe, be it the KS1 or the Vito, is handmade in Italy by craftsmen with generations of shoemaking behind them. Our unique approach to production allows us to create bespoke shoes in materials and fabrics not usually associated with cycling. We have created gold KS1s with a herringbone pattern and a houndstooth version, for instance. Our most popular model still remains our gold KS1 though, and you need to be a true hitter to carry those off.

Something that's rarely seen in cycling shoes today is the real leather outer. I love it, but wonder, why leather?

Leather is a wonderful material to work with and wear, as millions of owners of leather shoes will testify. It moulds to the foot and when looked after will improve with age. The reason leather is not often found in cycling shoes is that it needs a particularly high level of care to put up with the demands placed on it through cycling from both inside and out. Our leather uppers are treated and coated to protect them from the rigours of the road, using a process common with other performance shoes such as inline skates, making them exceptionally durable.

While the KS1’s come with complete customization, I found them solid and comfortable right out of the box. Easy on the eyes, too.

How does the carbon molding process work?

The carbon fibre hulls of our shoes comprise two sections - a stiff outer shell and a mouldable liner. This liner can be heated through the outer hull with a hairdryer and moulded to shape the individual’s foot, where necessary. A lot of people will already find the shoe incredibly comfortable and well fitting, in which case this process will be unnecessary. However the option is there.

The KS1s dovetail nicely with VB's bespoke-like image. What are some of the other design elements that make the two brands seem to fit together so nicely?

Both DL Killer and Vélobici share similar values in design, quality and production. We believe in using craftsmen local to us rather than outsourcing production to the Far East and are obsessive about detail and precision in manufacture. Both brands create products that are classical in appearance and transcend seasonal trends. They are designed to provide the owner with years of dependable service.

What I've really enjoyed riding these shoes is the stiffness. How is the sole made to give it that level of responsiveness?

The outer hull of DL Killer shoes is manufactured from a carbon weave, which delivers incredible lightness while remaining stiff and responsive. The shoes have been engineered by experts in road shoe performance with input from professional cyclists. The stiff sole ensures maximum power transfer from the rider through to the pedals.

Against the odds: how tools and talent transformed Team KGF into Huub Wattbike

Two and a half years ago, four engineers with backgrounds in road racing sat around a table talking about how to become professional cyclists. One had been cut from Team Great Britain’s development program years earlier, but all were equipped with academic ideas about how to train smarter and go faster using theories from school. With a little luck, they’d compete at a track nationals, maybe even qualify for a World Cup event.

Armed with an unconventional approach to bike fitting, kit and training, Charlie Tanfield, Jacob Tipper, Dan Bigham and Jonathan Wale - four unknown talents from Derby, UK - started racing under the name Team KGF. With their first nationals approaching, the guys were confident in the performance analysis they’d done themselves, acting very much as outsiders in an insular sport. Other than Tanfield, Tipper, Bigham and Wale, few people anticipated the result.

“We broke the competition record, won the team pursuit and beat the national team,” recalls Bigham, an engineer by training who used to work for the Mercedes Formula 1 team in the aerodynamics department. “I mean, it was pretty outrageous to rock up to our first nationals and have so much success. After that, we figured why not see where this could go?”

Cap in hand, the team pushed on, creatively sourcing enough money to enter their first UCI World Cup event in Poland (November 3-5, 2017). Lightning didn’t strike as it had at home. “We didn’t really maximize our potential in Poland,” recalls Bigham by interview over the phone. “We were not yet able to compete at that level.”

The experience was an eye-opener. The cycling world got very curious about how four athletes, untrained by traditional program standards, could come at track cycling so differently and with so much success. Like Billy Beane did for baseball’s Oakland A’s, they showed that much of the conventional wisdom that then dominated track racing was dated.

More funding ensured, followed by some World Cup success. “Pretty awesome for a bunch of mates just winging it,” adds Bigham. Now embracing the moniker of underdogs, the team wasn’t done. Their application of engineering to track cycling’s biggest stages had only just started.

Measurable, not marginal gains

A tsunami of press coverage followed Team KGF’s flop in Poland. Rider Charlie Tanfield took first in the Individual Pursuit event at the January 2018 World Cup event in Belarus; the Team won the Team Pursuit at the same event. They continued on, honing their version of progress. Several of the riders competed at the World Championships in the Netherlands in March, others competed at the Commonwealth Games in Australia later in April; at the event, Tanfield won gold in the 4000m Individual Pursuit.

As the world watched Team KGF cement themselves as contenders, Argon18’s incubator business, Notio, was also finding its footing in the cycling world. Their personal aero - meter - the Notio - was being used by Astana Pro Team, enabling them to make data-driven decisions in real road conditions (optimizing pull times, keeping the team together, maximizing speed and power) ahead of that year’s Tour de France. Ed Collins, who had recently joined the company to help market the Notio device, got in touch with Bigham to see if Team KGF might be interested in similarly maximizing their aerodynamic efficiency in a measurable way.  

“Obviously I’d heard about the device all over the place, as we all followed the space with a lot of interest. But when Ed reached out with a message for coffee, it was exciting to see what we could do together,” recalls Bigham. “A lot of teams have the capability to measure and apply data analysis, but few are actually doing it. We jumped on the opportunity.”

Team pursuit analysis has a lot of potential to help track teams ride faster. Acceleration, role angles, coefficient of aerodynamic drag - all these variables (and more) can be measured in training using a device like the Notio.

Bigham left that first meeting with Collins with a device in hand; soon after everyone on Team KGF started training with one attached their bike. Bigham took on the role of digesting the Notio outputs on team performance. The first test after they started training smarter came later in October 2018 at the World Cup event in Paris.

“One of our strongest riders wasn’t performing to the level he should have been,” says Bigham about the Team’s initial performance in France. They got to the next event in Milton, Ontario, early, and hit the track, Notio’s mounted, and started aero testing ahead of race day. The data helped quell any internal anxieties expressed toward change. They qualified first and narrowly missed out on a gold medal, altering skin suits, extensions and stack height - last minute changes that were confirmed by definitive data.

With sponsor interest and a rebrand to Huub Wattbike in 2019 - now an Independent British UCI track team - Bigham and team continue to use the Notio to measure air speed during all training sessions, splitting data out by half laps looking for improvements. There’s no questioning their ambition to go faster, internally or outside the team, and with an eye toward breaking three world records in Mexico (June 2019) (the Team Pursuit, Individual Pursuit and the Hour Record events), what was once looked at as a radical approach to training for the track is now considered pragmatic by other teams.  

“We are constantly making gains, whether that’s equipment, strategy, or clothing, all because we can be so definitive with our analysis,” explains Bigham. “We went from obscurity in two years to winning World Cups. We can keep pushing the boundaries forward without any limitation, all in the space of a day.”

This article was originally written as a result of project with Notio and conversation with Team KGF lead engineer and rider, Dan Bigham. Check out the Notio if you haven’t already - - a device that could transform aerodynamics in just about every discipline in cycling.