Buy the original & other musings

Lots of interesting news from the cycling world this week, including MVP’s third straight cyclocross world championship win (chapeau), a clever counterfeit-focused campaign, naming missteps and EF’s pretty-in-pink 2021 designs. (Slow burn to the start of the road season, ok?)

Let’s start with the counterfeit campaign and La Passione - the Brescia-based kit co. that caters to cyclists with bold colour blocks and DTC-priced kit. Sent Wednesday to their mailing list, La Passione designed a clever one-minute short titled, “If you love it, buy the original,” which discusses counterfeits in the kit biz and what it costs to create originality.

While counterfeit frames are an open secret in the cycling world, it’s less so in the apparel biz. Quality has a cost, of course — something we’ve written about before on HNH. While it’s hard to nail down specifics on cycling apparel, trade in counterfeit goods stand at 3.3% of global trade, according to the OECD and the EU's Intellectual Property Office. One can assume most in the cycling universe are affected, too, even if only marginally.

The video on the company’s FB visualizes originality, theft and faces that create brand names. It’s something few think about, really; lots of people show up to club runs with “Rapha” sunglasses made in Shenzhen. It’s an issue however that merits investigation as the impact is apparently being felt by brands both large and small. Good for LP for kicking off the discussion.

Next, simple nomenclature. Why does racing kit for men get labelled, “RACING” and racing kit for women get stuck with the name, “WMN?” Do women not race? Who approved that copy?

I’ve never raced or ridden in Black Sheep stuff. Others I know have, though. They seem to dig the design and vouch for the quality. But this seems like a bit of a miss. Not apples to apples, so to speak, and another reason why brands like Machines for Freedom are so necessary. If women don’t race hard enough to get their own speed-inspired naming, I give up.

Yes, Black Sheep has this specific WMN collection and initiative, and that’s great. But contrasted against a racing line for men focused on speed and the other on gender, it underscores yet another dichotomy in cycling. As the sport evolves, hopefully blips like this will also cease.

Lastly, it is new kit day over at EF. Simple and beautiful as ever and resplendent in pink, a design both sponsors and fans can agree is, well, awesome. Is it February 27th, yet?

Gaerne updates benchmark road shoe with G.STL release

In a busy week for road shoe drops, where Specialized executed a very well coordinated release of their S-Works Ares that made waves across the internet (not Bernie-meme big, but still) — Italian specialist brand Gaerne also issued its G.STL for road, a feature-rich pair of kicks that takes over as the brand’s flagship road offering.

Weighing in at a meagre 274 grams in size 43, and coming in killer colours like classic white, black, grey and my favourite — oil-slick fade iridium (pictured above and below) — the shoe gets several notable upgrades. Most notably is the an updated heel cup, an “infit” system with “eight fixing zones” to snug up fit, the latest BOA dials and a more considered tongue, which varies thickness and uses seamless construction. Building on Gaerne’s background in carbon boot manufacture, the ultra-light and ultra-thin sole is designed to optimize power transfer when hammering down on the pedals.

Not sure what that oil-slick fade looks like on, but on paper we have what looks like a very modern colourway from the traditional Italian brand.

TBD on an actual review of the G.STL shoes (we’re trying secure a sample pair) but from past experience, Gaerne makes some of the best, most under-the-radar shoes in the road universe. Every bit as performance-driven as some of its major competitors with simple Italian styling for which the brand is known.

Save your pennies if you’re in the market: retail price starts at $449 USD. More at Gaerne.

Winter fog falls like a curtain. Go, Brooklyn.

As I write this I am staring out my window, at an impenetrable fog and another day where I’ll wait till the afternoon to ride. While that’s happening, this Fara video (thanks Jon over at Twotone) has me dreaming about crunchy quiet roads, when bikes come back clean enough to ride everyday, and the prospect of riding without gloves in the not so distant future.

I’ve never been on a Fara, but if you have or are building one of their bikes, I’d love to hear about it. They look relatively clean and interesting, and well, Thor Hushovd apparently backs them, so I’m curious. Frames are designed by Factor, and then prettied up by the folks in Denmark. Definitely an interesting combination of experience and seemingly high levels of Sandinavian quality.

Elsewhere, if you’re still scrambling for holiday gifts, Chrome is making replica Brooklyn caps. Designed in 1973 for the Brooklyn Cycling Team, the Cap gained iconic status from Spike Lee’s commercial work with Michael Jordan on campaigns for Air Jordans.

All for now. Finally got my hands on some Super Secret Lube from Silca (year of the lube, amongst other things, with big releases from Silca and AbsoluteBlack) and am enjoying riding in this Spatz baselayer, and new Rapha Pro Team winter jacket. Both are pretty awesome and will be featured shortly on HNH.

Happy December 18th, everyone.

The Wolf Pack immortalized in film, LeMond gets another medal and Happy Holidays

For all its traditional sleepiness, December has gifted the cycling world with much to discuss in recent weeks. Among the notable news drops have been team name changes (Sunweb to DSM), big-signings (Cav heading back to Quickstep after one not-so-good year with Bahrain McLaren), ISN naming the first female sports director for a men’s WorldTour team and the release of new road bars from Dutch aero specialist, Speeco. The tension mounts for a COVID-less 2021 pro season, indeed.

In other news, the release of a slow-moving yet still insightful bit of cinema about Quickstep’s emotions, pain, joy, and the dejection experienced during the biggest bike race on the planet has been released on Endurance SportsTV. It picks up where the Netflix Movistar doc left off, serving up insider access to pro team dynamics, but instead following the team in a compressed space of only three weeks.

While lacking in polish and energy at times, Alaphilippe and Bennett fans will enjoy watching, perhaps during a winter Zwift, as both grapple with a cut-throat peloton in which winning becomes an increasingly complex patchwork they both try to figure out. Subscribe and watch it here.

Separately, TDF champ Greg LeMond can now add "Congressional Gold Medal Recipient" to his palmeres. Late last week, POTUS signed a bill awarding LeMond the Congressional Gold Medal, making him only the 10th American athlete to be so honoured.

LeMond (ever the tech pioneer) recently re-launched his eponymous bike brand with two models of lightweight carbon fibre eBikes. He remains America’s foremost bike racer, taking the Tour in 1986, and made a dramatic comeback with his 1989 win following a long recovery from a hunting accident. For decades, he has pushed new technology and innovation, from his early adoption of aerodynamic tech during the height of his career to his current ventures with LeMond Bikes and LeMond Carbon, working to bring new rapid carbon manufacturing technology to market and manufacturing to the US.

Lastly - while we still have a couple bits of content to publish later in 2020, I want to thank everyone still reading this for visiting the site in the last 52 weeks.

The cycling community - including companies like Giro, Rapha, Ridley, Shimano, Absolute Black, Vitti Cycling, Ortlieb, Restrap, Silca, Specialized, Scott, 100%, 7mesh, Castelli, Q36.5 and so many others - have supported HNH with product, commentary and most importantly, their time. All of it is massively appreciated, as is the spikes in traffic we’ve seen throughout this most strange year.

More Hairpins ahead in 2021. Enjoy the festive 500, be that inside or out, and see you in the New Year.

Kings of the commute: 2020’s best kit for the daily grind

This Autumn has been punctuated by three things: pro racing; the literal fog the clung to central Europe for weeks (picture above); the continued shift in cities everywhere towards commuting by bike. (Googles for bikes and parts are up 425% according to Leisure Lake Bikes, a UK biz). With the latter in mind, here’s a list of gear that’s trickled through the office specific to commuting that’s made riding in inclement conditions much more tenable and pleasant. We’ve dubbed it, “Kings of the Commute” — but “awesome essentials that will make the daily grind that much less so” also works.

KNOG Blinder X Twin Pack

Blinder X lights from KNOG produce a punchy 200 lumens on the front and 100 lumens on the rear. They also pack a serious battery life - 60 hours when using eco flash mode (seen here after repeated use during a 300km week). They are lightweight, charge quickly and are the perfect antidote to dwindling Autumn daylight and serious fog. These are so awesome actually that I’ve taken to using them in broad daylight and dark conditions just to be sure passersby realize they need to share the road. Both have quickly become every ride essentials.

LOOK Trail Grip Pedals

I’ve ridden LOOKS for years but never on the commuter and was genuinely surprised by how much of an upgrade these pedals actually were, adding loads of stability and style to town rides. LOOK invented the clipless design, so that the French co. is breaking away from its heritage with flat pedals is in itself unique. These come customizable with rubber treads and are an excellent way to add more feel to your daily ride.

RAPHA Merino T Shirt and Commuter Jacket

I tried taking my own image of the new 2020 Rapha Commuter when in use, but this is by far a better one. In a rich chocolate brown (the one we tried out) the updated commuter comes with slightly longer reflective back, cuffed neoprene sleeves and a stretch poly fabric that sits beautifully on and off the bike. This is a well considered piece of commuter kit and by far a more stylish and well engineered one than most other alternatives. A very stylish reflective fabric keeps the hood stowed when not in use. A beautiful and subtle detail. Size Medium, 185 cm, 73 kgs.

Merino is mesmerizing AF, no? Day in, day out. You can ride it 200kms, commute casually to the office in it all week and in either case, it doesn’t stink. Like not one bit. Shower with it on, hang dry and it’s good to go. Or simply leave it in a pile and wear repeatedly, and it’s road ready. I’ve had several merino T’s from Rapha over the years; this one, with high-vis cuffs and enhanced fit makes it one of the best. Size up if planned for city use. Size L 185 cm, 73 kgs.

Cascada Merino Socks

Cascada is an interesting company, straddling the pivot points of outdoor adventure and sport that cycling and mountains both offer. Their merino socks are an excellent iteration of what’s come before it - cut slightly thinner to more comfortably fit inside road shoes, yet equally at home with your feet up in front of the fire or hiking in the backcountry. A perfect length for fall riding and able to wear repeatedly without wash if required.

Ortlieb 21 L Commuter Backpack in Pepper

For years I held the Brooks roll top bags up to the highest standard, at once balancing the pressures of form and function for a city commuter so elegantly. This Ortlieb Commuter however has unseated that throne, boasting more modern and structured carrying capacity and definitely a more secure road feel when in the drops riding. The loops for rear light has been appreciated in a months use more than once, as has the secure fitting laptop sleeve and removable internal storage pack. Once flights become real again, I could see this doubling as the perfect overnighter, too. I’m a massive fan of Ortlieb products. This bag is a continuance of the quality they consistently create.

KNOG Oi Lux

There are bells and there are bells. This Oi Lux from Knog is most certainly the latter, worthy of space on your road bike and or your commuter to be heard from hundreds of metres out. Effective uses: getting people and dogs to give you space and telling cars you’re in the bike lane. One of the loudest/smallest bells you’ll find and beautifully designed in stainless steel.