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Nalini- SAJAMA I -Fleece lined tights

Petitebikefit.com receives promotional products for review purposes.

By Brett Aronowitz

09/19/2011

There are many schools of thought on dressing for the rain and cold, depending on how frequently you must ride under these conditions. As a Southern California resident, my goal is to stay warm and comfortable without overheating. Just finding a pair of fleece lined tights that fit a petite woman can be a problem unless you know about Nalini.

Nalini cycling attire would be almost impossible to find if it weren’t for the internet. Imported from Italy, these products are used mostly by the pros– and their superior quality reflects why. Their importer is Albabici, located in Ventura, California (also the U.S. importer of SMP saddles).

Even with all that pasta, Italian women’s sizes seem to be petite women friendly. I normally wear a small in competitors sizing but because they run a little small, I am more comfortable wearing Nalini’s medium in both the jacket and tights.

The distinctive feature of Nalini’s warm, fleece-lined tights is their wide, non-squeezing, non-marking waistband that has no elasticity, making them infinitely more comfortable than any cycling shorts or tights.

Even wearing a size medium, the leg length on these tights is perfect. Zippers on the lower leg create a nice seal from wind and rain. The leg fit is comfortably snug without binding or feeling bulky. The chamois is thick and plush without feeling like a diaper, and, acccording to the literature, has been stabilized at the saddle point, which somehow induces the rider to position herself correctly on the bike. Nalini claims that the properties of the fabric used in the chamois along with the mechanics of the pedal stroke allow for “excellent drainage” and a “sensation of freshness even during extended use.”

I would prefer these warm tights on a cool day rather than wearing shorts and constantly fighting with sagging leg warmers.

 

Modolo Venus Handlebars for Women

Petitebikefit.com receives promotional products for review purposes.

By Brett Aronowitz

08/14/2011

 

 

Over a year ago, I reluctantly gave up my shock absorbing Ritchey carbon handlebars to test the Venus alloy handlebars made by Modolo and imported from Italy.

In the interest of serving all petite women riders, I felt compelled to review more handlebar options. Modolo claims their Venus bars are made for people with small hands, with a shape that brings the brake levers nearly 9mm closer.

How could I resist?

I also was intrigued because the Venus handlebars are not an “ergo” bar but rather have a “compact design.”
They retail for  $79.99

The smallest width available is a size 38 cm in a 31.8 mm diameter. If you have an older set-up requiring 26mm diameter bars, they are available in 34 and 36cm widths.

Here’s what I think:

The Venus bars have a medium and reach and drop as compared to the other 38 cm bars on the market, which is a good thing if your hands are more medium sized than small. (Take a look at the info on this page for more info) There is ample room to make micro adjustments with your hands without feeling cramped, particularly in the drops.

Of greater concern is the distance from the bars to the brake levers. My confidence as a rider goes up when I know my stopping power isn’t dependent on the tip of my middle finger.

The following diagram from the Modolo product catalogue shows how the deeper curve of the bars brings the web of your hand 9mm closer to the brake levers.

My bike is equipped with Campagnolo Veloce .  To shift gears, I must push down on a lever located on the hoods using my thumb. The placement of that lever is almost as important as the position of the brake levers. The combination of the Campy levers and brakes on the Venus handlebars caused me to experience pain in the basil joint of both thumbs from shifting. I had to move the hoods several times to alleviate the pain.  My perception of the 9mm reach advantage was clouded by this experience.

In all fairness to the bars, this was a problem unique to me (and possibly other people with a predisposition to osteoarthritis in this joint).  It developed over time and may eventually require a switch from Campagnolo to Shimano.

Clearly the Venus design offers a special reach advantage to the levers to make braking with more than one finger possible.  The design offers plenty of room for adjusting your hand positions in the drops. The bars I tested were alloy and didn’t absorb shock like carbon.

The list of available handlebars in the 38 cm width is not long, so by all means add Modolo to your list of handlebars to try when your shopping for new ones. As a side note, Modolo also manufactures the Venus bars in carbon fiber.

Specialized Deflect Hybrid Jacket

Petitebikefit.com receives promotional products for review purposes.

By Brett Aronowitz

08/08/2011

Visiblity is everything, like in the early morning, when drivers are not fully awake or especially during rainy conditions.

I needed a lightweight jacket for the unpredictable weather from Seattle to Portland, and the Specialized Deflect Hybrid Jacket was the answer. The neon yellow was the perfect color for my riding buddy to spot me in a crowd (there were 10,000 riders).

Since this hybrid jacket/vest is fully wind and water resistant, it doesn’t breathe very well. However, Specialized cleverly equipped this “cyclist’s must-have” with a variety of options.

For example, the jacket has velcro closures on the bottoms of the sleeves along with zippers under the shoulders which unzip forward from just behind the armpits. These pit zips give you, the rider, an initial way to moderate your body temperature. Still too warm? A series of three snaps just beneath the back collar, and two velcro closures remove the yoke and sleeves as one unit, creating a vest with a mesh yoke in back, and plenty of additional ventilation, while still providing wind and rain deflection.

The jacket comes with two zippered pockets, one in back which is large enough to store your sleeves, and a pocket on the left side but, mysteriously, none on the right.

I love this jacket because it’s so versatile. However, even with a wide back, I’ve wondered if I would be more comfortable in a smaller size as the sleeves are super long.

Also,  knowing when to start peeling off layers is a very important skill.  Without it, you may find yourself in a rainstorm of sweat between you and your jacket.  When you no longer need to wear an outer shell,  the entire jacket folds up and can fit into it’s own rear zippered pocket.

Note: With some practice, a confident rider could probably remove the sleeves while riding. I don’t encourage this, and I certainly don’t believe you can put the sleeves back on while moving.

VDO X1DW cyclocomputer

Petitebikefit.com receives promotional products for review purposes.

By Brett Aronowitz

08/02/2011

VDO is widely known for creating instrumentation used by Mercedes, BMW and Porsche.  But even with prior VDO brand experience, two college degrees, and a former BMW mechanic for a husband, installing this cyclocomputer was a challenge.    Why? Because each VDO model has different requirements with sensors that must be strategically positioned.  In their manual, VDO suggests that the sensors on the X1DW are placed no more than 60 cm from the cyclocomputer.  My overall recommendation is this: Save time. Always read the manual!

No more squinting!

The VDO X1DW display is so large and easy to read,
it’s doesn’t require a lot of extended concentration and will therefore
not distract you from riding safety. This is especially true for those
of us with aging eyes.

On this roughly 3cm x 3cm screen, five sections display:

  • time
  • current cadence (if installed)
  • current speed
  •  your choice of data (cadence, ride time, average speed, maximum speed)
  • description of that choice

By repeatedly tapping the button on the top right, you can rotate through your choice of data, having a ton of information at your fingertips.

Though the X1DW is an entry level cyclocomputer, it’s  loaded with functions including optional cadence, average cadence and max cadence. This feature is particularly useful if you are trying to master the spin (keeping your cadence between 80-100 RPM) so as not to traumatize or damage your knees. It has the ability to collect data from two bikes and even combine the mileage for a grand total. You can even program it to remind you to get your bike(s) serviced.

The computer has different functions assigned to four large menu buttons placed in such a way that it’s less likely you will accidentally clear a mode or lose data from a ride.

This is the first wireless computer I’ve had on any bicycle and I was pleased that I didn’t have a bunch of zip ties cluttering up my beautiful ride.  The unit easily mounts to the handlebars or stem without special tools.  It’s reasonably priced at around $80.  However, the VDO X1DW requires 3 CR2032 (3 volt) batteries for the computer, speed transmitter and cadence trasmitter (optional). These batteries don’t seem to last long, so keep extras around the house (if managing your bike data is important to you.)   Since the computer itself does most of the work, be sure and change the battery in it first before replacing the others.

The instruction manual states, “When the battery is changed, all settings and the total kilometres cycled are saved.”   Unfortunately my computer battery was functional at the time I changed it, yet I did lose all my settings.   Incidentally, I ride with 650c wheels and have determined the correct wheel setting at 77.5.

The only issue I had with the VDO X1DW was with the cadence function.  It was somewhat unpredictable working only about  75% of the time.  After consulting the instructions I moved the cadence sensor from the chain stay to the seat tube so that it too, is positioned 60 cm from the cyclocomputer.  Problem solved. I love that instruction manual. It  (and the computer) even comes in 7 languages.

Some Hanky Panky has forced Me to Ask again

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