I recently took up a program in preparation for the Perth Crit Series and was advised that I would need a heart rate (hr) monitor to undertake the training.  Several friends already use them and thought I would see what they were all about.
When it comes to hr  bike computers Polar and Garmin are to 2 main contendors. I probably could have gone either way but the large screen and customisable display appealed along with the Garmin Connect website to archive/map your rides.

Out of the box the very quick setup was great, even for a technophobe the Garmins are a doddle being that they operate on GPS there is no wheel size setting etc. Basically charge it up enter some personal details when prompted and off you go. The only annoying thing is that they come with manual pause as default so you have to remember to turn it off so your timer doesn’t keep running when you stop for a coffee. A cool feature to turn on is the ‘auto lap’, being that it uses GPS it will detect laps done when on a circuit such as crits races or the Early Bird TT’s in Kings Park

The Edge 500′s display has several pages that you can customise according to the data you want to monitor while riding with heaps of information options to choose from along with the regulars. At the end of the ride, after opening up a Garmin Connect online account, you can upload your ride.
The ride is plotted on a map which in turn can be used to see what you were doing and when ie what hr at what speed at what part of the ride. All this data is displayed graphically and also in a numeric table on the side.

The Edge 500 can be charged from a wall outlet or from usb via the ‘puter and lasts about 4-5 rides of around 2-3hours.

While I don’t use one the Edge 500 is compatible with all third party ANT+ enabled power meters. Check the link out for all the tech and spec features. You can buy the head unit alone alone with all the accessories or as a bundle that has it all.

Edge 200
The Edge 200 is going to make it very hard to sell any other computer. Wireless is the way forward but sensorless is even better. This is a simplified version of the more advanced models and is a ‘real plug in and play’. Charge it up and you are ready to go. While it doesn’t store cadence and heart rate is does store all the normal bike computer features then maps your ride via GPS on Garmin Connect to view. Check out the link to the specs.

Please note our pricing is inline with the Garmin Australia site.

Matt Radich has been good enough to put a few words together about is handbuilt Jonesy specials! Check out his bike over in the Gallery.

After the guys at Bespoke got me rolling on a nice steel DeKerf it was time to get some new wheels to do the frame justice. After many hours internet research and dreaming of what wheels to buy, I eventually decided to go handbuilt. With a few months riding on the new hoops I’m convinced I made the right decision.

So after I told Jonesy what I wanted and him telling me what I needed, we compromised and came up with a great all round wheelset.

The specs – White Industries H2/H3 Hubs, Velocity A23 Rims, 24 DT Swiss Revolution spokes on the front wheel laced radial and 28 spokes on the rear with DT Swiss Revolutions non drive side and DT Swiss Competitions on the drive side all laced 2 cross.

So how do they ride? In a word. Great. The White Industries Hubs roll very smooth and seem to be getting better day by day. The 23mm wide A23 rims are another highlight; they give a very nice round profile to a 23mm clincher which really has made a noticeable difference in comfort and grip around the corners. They also allow you to run quite low tyre pressures to improve the ride when the road gets rough. I’ve run them as low as 75 psi on the back roads of Chittering Valley without them feeling at all sluggish but reducing road buzz coming through the bike markedly. I’ve recently managed to get into the hills on the wheels and they don’t seem to give up much in the climbing department either. Jonesy’s decision to go for heavier spokes on the rear drive side comes into play here, keeping the rear wheel nice and stiff for those out of saddle efforts.

But the big factor in the handbuilt wheel must be the build quality and Jonesy has done a great job of putting these together. They ran beautifully true when I got them and never made a sound, apart from that wonderful whir from the rear hub when freewheeling. Three months later and they are running just as true as the first day I fitted them and I can’t see that changing for sometime.

So for roughly the same cost as a set of mid range aluminium clinchers from any of the big manufacturers why not consider a set of handbuilt wheels that will suit your needs perfectly and be a much better long term investment.

Cannondale has received the tick of approval from November’s Cycling Plus see below.

In the age of cosmic fibre I say “Go Alloy People!” go alloy! Admittedly I haven’t ridden the latest and greatest from Cannondale, the Evo, but I’m ok with that cos I got me a CAAD10-1.
We chose Cannondale because we wanted something we could ride ourselves day in, day out, model to model…..And they have delivered.
I had been on a SuperSix for about 10 months and they are a superb bike but my experience on one was a lesson in how the wrong set up can effect your ride.
The CAAD10 and SuperSix are identical in geometry however the SuperSix came to me via Chris with a 25mm setback post and 175mm cranks.
I normally run a 120mm stem, but I use 172.5 mm cranks and 20mm setback post (the SuperSix had a 25mm and I didn’t realise. Duh!).
Anyway I never felt quite comfortable and found myself fidgeting while in the saddle especially when tired.
Once I jumped on the CAAD10 with it’s stock components  (to the measurements above) I realised what had been the problem, proof that a couple of millimetres in setup can make a big difference.
The CAAD10 came with a redesigned frame weighing in @ around 1050g. Tapered 1-1/8″ to 1-1/4″steerer, BB30 bottom bracket and shaped tubing for rider comfort and frame stiffness being the major points .
You can read all the tech speak on the ‘Dale website but how it translates to the ride quality is you get a bike that is very stiff and responsive out of the saddle with great power transfer via the bottom bracket. The tapered steerer makes the bike feel stable at high speed and precise when cornering or on technical sections. When hauling on the bars while climbing you don’t get that flexy front end feeling that some bikes get which makes muscling up climbs a bit more positive.
Anyone who has doubts about the comfort of alloy can rest assured that the CAAD10 offers great rider comfort. On the epic known as THE BAYSOICA we did a 120-ish kms the majority of which was on dirt fire and access roads and not once did I need to stand up in the saddle and stretch out my back nor post ride was I sore. The full carbon forks and the shaped stays can be credited for this.
All in all the CAAD10 fits me like a glove. They come with various build options to accommodate different budgets, there are only cosmetic changes for 2012 but we still have a few 2011′s in stock.

It’s been a while since I have used a hydrapak, but since I have been riding my Mach 4 which, on a medium frame only really allows for one 500ml bidon and also due to the increasing amount of enduro events, I have finally invested in a Lezyne Firebreak 2L pack. I did so a little reluctantly because in general I don’t like things bouncing around while a ride not to mention the accompanied rattle of Co2 cartridges, muti-tools, keys etc.
I went for this pack for while it is super small it still carries 2L which for me is plenty. Lezyne as always have specific pockets for various tools making this the quietest pack I have ever used. Enough room for phone, wallet, keys and the need repair essentials to get you home if you have a mechanical.
The bladder uses an entire width zip lock system to fill then seal up reducing the chance of spillage…just make sure the zip lock is fully closed.
At first I was not impressed with the valve/hose system, I struggled to take water in and the nozzle seemed to slip through the loop on chest strap. However after some fiddling over a few rides I came to find that if I used a rubber band (something supple as as opposed to a zipp-tie) around the loop, the nozzle stayed in place near my chest. I also discovered that a combination of my build had how tight I had adjusted the should straps was causing the hose to kink when I lifted the nozzle to my mouth. Simply disengaging the plastic shoulder strap hose guide solved that problem without making the hose flop around…..Water intake is no longer an issue.
So all in all this pack is pretty damn good. I’m sure it will get a good work out over summer. It comes in stealthy easy to keep clean black with minimal badging.