Product review - Ground Effect , Jacket & pants

Hi Everyone

It's pretty rare that I bother to do a product review, but after using Ground Effect cycle clothing now for over 15 years I must say that everything that I have bought from them is outstanding and as Furumachi Bicycle currently does not stock any cycle clothing I thought I'd do a review on my favorite New Zealand made Ground Effect items. First of all Ground Effect is a small New Zealand company that produces a wide range of cycle wear for road, MTB or even touring so basically they have got something for everybody. If you are looking for the latest in fluro lycra, covered with crazy logos don't bother checking out their website. But if you are like me and prefer plain colors and clothes that are made to last and manufactured in NZ. Then Ground Effect made be what you are looking for, they do not sell their products in shops but prefer to only sell their items online to save costs which in turn gives customers a good product at a reasonable price.

Ground Effect - Storm Trooper Jacket

For years I owned various waterproof, windproof & breathable cycle jackets some of them were very good and made from GoreTex but in the end they have all have started leaking and wore out far too early for the amount of money I spent on them. Last year I was in need of a good quality cycle jacket that was waterproof, windproof & breathable so I consulted several NZ cyclists ( Ex MTB club mates ) and asked their opinion on best jacket to purchase. I also wanted something that folded up into it's own bum bag and could be clipped around your waist while cycling and small enough to leave in my messenger bag on a daily basis in case it rained while cycling to work. The Storm Trooper Jacket is what I ended up purchasing and the fact that it folds up into a small bum bag and has room for a wallet, phone etc while clipped around your waist and has under arm zip vents in case you get too hot , plus it has a hood as well are some of the reasons I decided to purchase it. I've been cycling since the 2nd of January of 2012 every day and believe me Niigata's weather in winter is pretty bad, wet snow, heavy rain , sleet and - 3 deg are just some of the daily conditions I face on my 8 km ride into work. This jacket has kept me dry in some crazy weather that most sane cyclists wouldn't bother cycling in at all, it does not leak at all and the quality is first rate. Basically I never leave home without it and have finally found a great jacket that I'll keep forever and when one day it does finally wear out I'll be buying another one.

Helter Skelters - Waterproof 3/4 pants

As mentioned above I decided to cycle this winter well that wouldn't have been possible with the Storm Trooper jacket and my Helter Skelters !, the Helter Skelters are windproof and waterproof 3/4 cycle pants also made in NZ by Ground Effect. Being a 3/4 length that roll up small to keep in your bag and you will not get your pants caught in the chain whilst cycling which is a problem with most rain pants. They have Velcro tabs that hold them just below your knees and plenty of reflective piping so that cars can see you as well. If you ever been caught in a heavy down poor and continued your ride home with wet underwear and thighs you will love these 3/4 pants for sure.

Pictured above are both the items I have reviewed and for more detailed info please check out the following website http://www.groundeffect.co.nz

Cyclo Cross in Japan

Here is an awesome clip of the Nobeyama Cyclo cross race in Japan. As I now own a cross bike I was thinking about holding a cyclo cross event in Niigata City later this year. I think I may have found an inner city location where it would be possible to hold a race and once all the snow has gone I'll check out the course to see if it's suitable so in the meantime watch the clip of the 2011 Nobeyama cyclo cross race, it's looks like everybody had a lot of fun.

Rapha presents Nobeyama Cyclocross Race, the movie from RAPHA on Vimeo.

Before & After

Pictured above are a series of 3 photos taken outside Furumachi bicycle upon arriving to work on the 3rd of Feb. It's my daily chore to shovel all the snow from in front of my bicycle shop everyday. If I missed a day it would be frozen and very difficult to move. The 1st photo shows what it looks like before shoveling and leaning against the wall is my Kona Jake cross bike that I cycle to work on every day. The 2nd photo shows what it looks like after about an hour of shoveling and the 3rd photo show it nice and clean after a rare appearance from the sun having melted the remaining snow. Of course when you live in the snow country this is part of your daily routine, but many shop owners in the city don't bother to clean the footpath at all making it dangerous not only for your customers trying to enter the shop but passing pedestrians and of course cyclists. I do get a lot of nice comments from locals on how clean the footpath is in front of my shop and wish others along my street would do the same.

Powder snow and wheel building !

As part of my 2012 New years resolution I have been cycling to work since Jan 2nd, living in Niigata ( Snow Country ) makes that quite a challenge but so far my trusty 2012 Kona Jake has been preforming rather well and this morning I rode into work through 15cm of fresh powder which was quite fun, but the ride home this evening in - 2 deg took a bit longer but I didn't fall off and the Maxxis mud buster tyre's grip really well even in snow which is great.

As today's weather was pretty bad my bicycle shop was rather quiet, but it also allowed me time to do some wheel building. The above photos show a Velocity B43 deep alloy rim laced 3 cross into a Gran Compe track hub with Mac spokes, the rim I was using today was made in Australia but Velocity has just recently moved their production facility to the USA, which will then make Velocity the only (Made in the USA) rim manufacturer as all the other rims are either made in China or Taiwan. Plenty of other companies have copied Velocity to make deep rims for the booming single speed / fixie market such as H plus Son that are made in China !.

I'll have a Kona Jake on ice thanks !

Well so far I have kept up my New Years resolution, cycle more use - my car less so even when it's snowing and - 1 deg I have been donning my thermals and water proof jacket for the 7 .4km ride into the city. There were a few people who said it wasn't possible as Niigata's winter gets pretty harsh as this time of the year with snow and ice. Last night while working accidents were already happening not far from my shop as an ambulance was called out to pick somebody up who had slipped badly while walking so I was a little worried about the ride home. But thankfully I managed to cycle home even on the ice without slipping. I did see 3 car accidents due to drivers going too quickly, car snow tyre's are fine in the snow but they aren't too great on thick black ice. The secret to not taking a fall is to ride in a mid range gear, not fast but not too slow, take the corners really wide and don't bother leaning while going around a corner and try to cycle as straight as possible, it you do hit a big patch of ice don't freak out just keep going slowing and the most important thing is don't touch your front brake and use your rear brake as little as you can. The Kona Jake has 700 x 32c Maxxis Mud Buster cyclo cross tyres and so far they have been fantastic in all conditions. This morning I rode into the city at around 8.30am and it was nice and sunny with a light layer of snow over the ice and 0 deg so it was quite nice and it was a pleasure to pass the long traffic jams and local buses with people crammed into them like sardines in a tin. As for my new bike I love it !, and am glad I decided to purchase a cyclo cross bike as my year round commuter.

Helmets

Coming from New Zealand to Japan back in 1998 I was surprised to see that bicycle helmets were not required by law in Japan. New Zealand is the only country apart from Australia which actively enforces mandatory all-age bicycle helmet laws nationally (although adults are exempt in the Northern Territory of Australia !). The law was enforced in New Zealand in January 1994. So for many years I have enjoyed the freedom of not having to wear a helmet on a daily basis like I did when I lived in New Zealand & Australia but in the years that I have lived in Japan I have had several close calls with cars that often made me think about wearing a helmet. Of course all official bicycle events in Japan require helmets to be worn otherwise you can not enter, but 95% of cyclists don't bother to wear a helmet on a daily basis riding to work or school. Japanese roads are often very narrow and even though you are still allowed to cycle on the footpath that can be dangerous as well as more often or not it's very narrow , not smooth and of course full of pedestrians. With the recent bicycle boom more people are riding lightweight sports bikes e.g road bikes, single speeds, fixes and travelling at greater speeds than before but still helmets have not become popular. It is true that previous helmets styles were not very attractive to the fashionable cyclist but these days there is a wide range of modern styles, colors and shapes to suit everybody. Pictured above is a Italian made Kask road helmet and Bern a new style of helmet from America. If you are thinking about wearing a helmet there is now a style to suit everybody and if you do have a crash it might just be the difference that saves your life.

New Bike

After riding my 1947 Humber 3 speed recently on a one day 115km tour of Ko Sado, I was left pushing my 3 speed up some long hills while watching my cycling pal Brian fly up the mountain in low gear on his lightweight Cinelli road bike. And a recent near miss with a car ( not my fault ) while riding home one night got me thinking about purchasing a modern lightweight bike for my regular commutes into the bicycle shop and the odd long distance ride when time allows. My vintage Humber is my favorite bike by far but it has it's limitations manly due to it's weight and gearing, I will still use the Humber in fine weather for some touring and pottering but I am not keen to ride such a precious bike in the rain or snow and the near miss at speed with a car in the rain at night was a bit scary to say the least. So I have purchased a 2012 Kona Jake cyclocross bike and a Italian Kask k-50 helmet.

Why a Kona ?, well for starters they have a lifetime warranty on the frame and I've owned a Kona before and was very happy with the quality and price. My new bike comes with the 2012 Shimano Tiagra 10 speed group set with a Shimano 105 rear derailleur and being a cross bike means I can commute , tour , ride off road and if I fit some road tyres it's basically a lightweight road bike with cantilever brakes. The first up grade with be a decent set of pedals maybe the Shimano PD M324 with a rat trap platform on one side and SPDs on the other side. I haven't purchased a new bike in over 6 years and have never owned a cross bike at all but I'm sure it will be perfect for the style of riding I like to do. As for helmets they are not required by Japanese law so 90 % of cyclists don't wear them on their daily commutes only for racing or official events ,but after several near misses with cars at 30km per hour I feel it's time to start wearing one on a daily basis as I did when I lived back in NZ where everybody must wear a helmet by law .

Pictured above is the 2012 Kona Jake , it's so popular here in Japan that only the large frame sizes are left so basically it's already sold out, they were only two 53cm frames in stock so I was very to get one !