Getting some new gear and stuff#
In one month, 20th of August 2023, it will be the day when PBP will start.
With all the work done to be able to participate, the last few days I’ve tried to keep up with training (maybe a bit less than what I’d like to) and to look into the details and needs for riding PBP.
I went through my cycling kit, clothes, tools, lights, spares, everything, trying to find out if I’d need to buy something before it would be too late for things to arrive in time (that meaning being able to put some test rides on any new stuff before departing for Paris).
This time of the year is also when the big brands and online shops have their summer sale offers, so it is usually the time when I buy most of my new stuff. I don’t care buying clothes, etc from previous seasons, so I usually get some nice discounts from brands like Rapha or Isadore
First thing I noticed, during the last few Brevets, is that my Castelli knee and arm warmers were really worn. I’ve been using them a lot for maybe five or six years and they have been reliable, comfortable and quite convenient during cold and rainy rides, as their water-repellent coating works quite well.
So I got the same exact model again, the Nano Flex, in black color and size M.
To this order, I added the Endurance gloves also from Castelli, as they had a nice discount, and I’ve heard really good things about them for doing long distance (to avoid hand/fingers numbness).
I also needed some new base layers, as my current ones are starting to fall apart too (even older than the arm/knee warmers). So I added two base layers from a brand I didn’t know before, Finisseur, a warm merino short-sleeved one and a light/cool short-sleeved one.
I ordered all these from the online shop deporvillage, getting some nice discounts between -25% and -45% (depending on the item).
Next, I needed new cycling shoes. My current Bontrager Velocis had served me well for the last 5 years, but lately I’ve found they get a bit loose while riding and I’ve to adjust the tension of the BOA lacing a lot. I’m not sure if it is a sign of the BOA laces needing replacement or the shoes themselves needing replacement, but I decided that having another pair of shoes would be a good idea anyway.
So I went on and read several “best cycling shoes as of 2023” articles, then some reviews of some models and finally looked at options with nice discounts online.
I’m going to spare you the whole process and the different models I considered. In the end, I decided myself to buy the Pro Team Shoes from Rapha, in Grey/Green color, size 41.5.
As I was going to get these shoes, I took a look (for several days) at the offers in Rapha’s summer sale. There were lots of tempting stuff there, but in the end I didn’t really needed anything from there except from the shoes and another couple of Merino socks, so I added those to the cart (grey/blue color, size Medium) before making my order.
I got a -40% discount on the shoes, a -35% discount on the socks.
While I got those Finisseur base layers from deporvillage, I still needed some new long sleeve base layers. I knew one of my favourite brands, Isadore, had a summer sale too, and I’ve been looking for an excuse to buy some merino base layers from them for quite a while now.
So I went to their website to take a look.
They had lots of stuff with huge discounts, as it seemed they had merged their usual garage sale (stuff/leftovers from previous seasons) and the summer sale (stuff from this season). I took my time and, after looked a while at different products, I decided to get a few more stuff from them, clothes I’ll need next autumn/winter, etc.
I got a TherMerino Jersey (Evening Blue, size S), the Signature Thermal Tights (Orion Blue, size S), an Alternative long sleeve base layer (White, size S) and some more Merino socks, Toe covers and a waterproof cycling cap.
Sadly, there were no more stock of their merino base layers in my size, so I couldn’t get any. Also, I tried to get some bibshorts, but no luck with my size neither. In this case, almost all items had a -50% discount.
Finally, I decided to buy another head light. I currently have a Bontrager ION Pro RT which, despite being 4 years old now, works pretty well. By the experiences during the 400 and 600 Brevets this year, I know that this light, fully charged, can last a whole night of riding. Its drawback, though, is that getting it fully charged can take quite some time. And I’m sure that will be a problem during PBP, when we will ride several nights in a row.
I’ve a spare light, an Infini Super Lava, which is good for short rides, or as an spare in case of emergency, but at mid-power setting it won’t last more than 3 hours.
So, I’d like to have a spare light that would last at least like my Bontrager light, so I could swap lights and charge one while the other is in use.
Getting another ION Pro was an option I consireded, but it is a pricey product, and I couldn’t find any good discount/deal for it.
Then, I remembered a suggestion from Sergio Pulido after the 400 brevet we did together. Back then he suggested us to look into the same light he had been using for some time, the SoonFire FD38. Chinese brand, only available through Amazon and cheap (39.99 eur). At that moment I didn’t think really about getting one, but these past few days, it became an interesting option.
I looked for some more info and specs and found out the FD38 model wasn’t available anymore, there was instead a new model, FD39. It seems it has a decent battery time and enough light power/beam, there were some reviews reporting problems with its handlebars mount and a few “it stopped working completely after a few months”, but overall the reviews were good.
So I decided to give it a try and got one myself.
Regarding spares, I still have stock at home of tubes, tires, etc. so I don’t need to buy anything there.
I’ve placed these online orders within the last 10 days. Some products have already arrived, some I’m still waiting for. The idea is to test those I’ll bring with me to PBP (warmers, gloves, shoes, base layers…) as much as possible before going to Paris.
Maybe I’ll write a few lines about my impressions (specially regarding new stuff like the shoes or the light) so… stay tuned!