Update On "The Belt"

As many regular readers of this blog know, I have chronicled the development of "The Belt" for single speed mountain biking here for quite some time. (Want to see the past reports? Put "The Belt" in the search box on the upper left of the header and hit the magnifying glass icon.)

Here's the latest update I have on this technology and my take in relation to how The Chain performs.

2013 Raleigh XXIX

At Interbike, I rode a 2013 Raleigh XXIX with the Gates Carbon Drive Center Track belt. The XXIX has benefited from the Center Track version in three key ways:

• Better "belt line" due to the Center Track has enabled Raleigh to return to the past XXIX geometry that was ahead of its time. 
• Better (lower) belt tension has made for less stress on bottom bracket and free hub bearings. 
• The Center Track is light years better than the older Carbon Drive versions. 

I really like the new XXIX. It handles and rides like the older XXIX's, except that it has a nice Fox suspension fork, of course! However; this is about The Belt.

The Center Track design has really been a boon to belt drive fans and designers wanting to employ a belt into their bicycles designs.  It definitely works better, but can you really put all of your confidence in The Belt? Can you "stand and mash" with impunity without fear of snapping that high tech blackened strand?

This was always in the back of my mind as I rode the Sawyer. Sure, I'd stomped and pushed The Belt pretty hard, but I'd never had a ride where I felt I had put it to a severe test, not ever worrying about the chainless drive train, and had a good outcome. 

Back in '07, I rode the first edition of the Carbon Drive on a Spot Brand single speed. The demo loop went fine until towards the end, I hit a steep embankment up with a sharp right turn at the top, with a further climb up and to the left after that.

On the first blast on the pedals going up the initial steep, I heard a loud "pop". I expected that I would be catapulted off the bike, but I wasn't. The Belt held, but what had happened?

It had "slipped", or in Belt Terminology- it had ratcheted. That is not a good thing either. I wasn't very impressed, or trusting of The Belt after that.

Fast forward to this past Interbike where I rode that XXIX. I hit the same steep up, but now, after five years of erosion and riders, it was way tougher and cobby going up than ever. I knew that if The Belt was going to fail- this was it. I hammered the pedals, slipped, lost traction, timed a few good hard strokes, mashed, mashed, and mashed, then I made it all the way up.

No issues.

So The Belt has my trust back, but that isn't the end of the story. My partner, Grannygear was impressed by my story, but he has had "squeaky" issues with The Belt in dry, dusty conditions. I had never experienced that, but I had no reason to doubt his story.

Yesterday I rode the Sawyer and after a bit of time into the ride, I began to hear a "squeak......squeak....squeak" that was timed with the pedal stroke. It went away with coasting. I began to go into "diagnoses mode", as I suppose any bicycle mechanic does when they are riding a bike that doesn't work right, or makes odd noises.

Well, I would have to say that the dreaded "dry squeak" made a brief and intermittent appearance yesterday on the Sawyer. And you all know one of the selling points on The Belt is that it is dead quiet and doesn't need maintenance in the form of lubrication, etc.

In the dry, which it has been here for most of the year, it seems that The Belt can squeak. Kinda bums ya out, if yer a Belt fan, I know. Grannygear says he quiets his down with silicone spray. By the way, I've heard The Belt does this in really wet conditions as well. I have no basis to know whether or not that is true, but I have seen that reported.

We'll have to wait for some really wet weather to see about that. For now- it's one big plus and one minus for The Belt this time around.

Update On "The Belt"

As many regular readers of this blog know, I have chronicled the development of "The Belt" for single speed mountain biking here for quite some time. (Want to see the past reports? Put "The Belt" in the search box on the upper left of the header and hit the magnifying glass icon.)

Here's the latest update I have on this technology and my take in relation to how The Chain performs.

2013 Raleigh XXIX

At Interbike, I rode a 2013 Raleigh XXIX with the Gates Carbon Drive Center Track belt. The XXIX has benefited from the Center Track version in three key ways:

• Better "belt line" due to the Center Track has enabled Raleigh to return to the past XXIX geometry that was ahead of its time. 
• Better (lower) belt tension has made for less stress on bottom bracket and free hub bearings. 
• The Center Track is light years better than the older Carbon Drive versions. 

I really like the new XXIX. It handles and rides like the older XXIX's, except that it has a nice Fox suspension fork, of course! However; this is about The Belt.

The Center Track design has really been a boon to belt drive fans and designers wanting to employ a belt into their bicycles designs.  It definitely works better, but can you really put all of your confidence in The Belt? Can you "stand and mash" with impunity without fear of snapping that high tech blackened strand?

This was always in the back of my mind as I rode the Sawyer. Sure, I'd stomped and pushed The Belt pretty hard, but I'd never had a ride where I felt I had put it to a severe test, not ever worrying about the chainless drive train, and had a good outcome. 

Back in '07, I rode the first edition of the Carbon Drive on a Spot Brand single speed. The demo loop went fine until towards the end, I hit a steep embankment up with a sharp right turn at the top, with a further climb up and to the left after that.

On the first blast on the pedals going up the initial steep, I heard a loud "pop". I expected that I would be catapulted off the bike, but I wasn't. The Belt held, but what had happened?

It had "slipped", or in Belt Terminology- it had ratcheted. That is not a good thing either. I wasn't very impressed, or trusting of The Belt after that.

Fast forward to this past Interbike where I rode that XXIX. I hit the same steep up, but now, after five years of erosion and riders, it was way tougher and cobby going up than ever. I knew that if The Belt was going to fail- this was it. I hammered the pedals, slipped, lost traction, timed a few good hard strokes, mashed, mashed, and mashed, then I made it all the way up.

No issues.

So The Belt has my trust back, but that isn't the end of the story. My partner, Grannygear was impressed by my story, but he has had "squeaky" issues with The Belt in dry, dusty conditions. I had never experienced that, but I had no reason to doubt his story.

Yesterday I rode the Sawyer and after a bit of time into the ride, I began to hear a "squeak......squeak....squeak" that was timed with the pedal stroke. It went away with coasting. I began to go into "diagnoses mode", as I suppose any bicycle mechanic does when they are riding a bike that doesn't work right, or makes odd noises.

Well, I would have to say that the dreaded "dry squeak" made a brief and intermittent appearance yesterday on the Sawyer. And you all know one of the selling points on The Belt is that it is dead quiet and doesn't need maintenance in the form of lubrication, etc.

In the dry, which it has been here for most of the year, it seems that The Belt can squeak. Kinda bums ya out, if yer a Belt fan, I know. Grannygear says he quiets his down with silicone spray. By the way, I've heard The Belt does this in really wet conditions as well. I have no basis to know whether or not that is true, but I have seen that reported.

We'll have to wait for some really wet weather to see about that. For now- it's one big plus and one minus for The Belt this time around.

Gates Carbon Drive Center Track: Conclusions

I have been riding the Gates Carbon Center Track on the Fisher Collection Sawyer for a while now and here are my thoughts on the system. I think Gates has come a long, long way in regard to the functionality, but.....(.there's always a "but"), there are other concerns surrounding the system that give me pause. Some are surmountable, some perhaps not so much.

"What's The Ratio, Kenneth?"

First off, the system works. I'll be perfectly clear. Gates has finally made a belt drive that you can use just like your chain system- no binding, and freer spin on the cranks, almost as good as a very worn in chain drive. The belt stays on the cogs, and there are no noises that don't belong. (Meaning no noise at all.)

Let's face it, the Sawyer is steel, and we all know that frame is twisting and flexing some. Not a lot, but the previous Carbon Drive belt I used, on an arguably much stouter steel frame, was not quiet, and did pop and squeal some times. It never ratcheted, but it wasn't dead quiet, and I had to have that belt "banjo string tight" to keep it tracking. Not so with the Center Track.

Had the Sawyer been equipped with the older belt, I don't think I would have given it a passing grade at all. Not with that frame, at any rate. That was a silly thing to my mind anyway. Why run a belt if it meant you had to have a very stiff, rough riding, over built frame so it wouldn't ratchet or derail? It just seemed stupid, really. Now Center Track seems to have relaxed those requirements to the point that if the frame did flex enough to give you issues, it probably would mean the frame is a poor choice for single speeding.

The new cogs are great. No more tearing up the bases of rear cogs and no goofy flanges to start making noise when things get wet/dirty. The stainless steel rear cog is a thing of CNC beauty, and the front ring, while rather bland looking, does its job perfectly.

That little fin in the middle is the magic to these. It keeps the belt from derailing, and allows for slight out of alignment conditions like when the frame twists slightly as you torque the pedals hard going up a climb. The belt itself is pretty amazing. Wider at 12mm, it is the widest belt Gates has offered for a bicycle, and it just works. I had a bit of tooth interfacing noise right out of the box, but it literally went away within the span of a couple of rides. Since then, I just periodically check the tension by pushing down on the belt, (admittedly, a no-tech way to do that!), but theoretically, the belt should never stretch, or need much of anything beyond a washing with water and a visual inspection from time to time.

Not A Lot Of Choice

So, it works. Then it is good to go, right? Not quite. There are a few things which are stumbling blocks that Gates may or may not get squared away with the Center Track. If they do, it could be the premier single speed drive train choice. It could, but.......

Cog Selection Is Too Narrow: Gates says they will offer a wide array of ratio choices at some point, but as of now, only the ratio I have is available. It was too tall to get me up some of the steeper inclines we have here, and it is way too stout of a gear for extended mountain climbing. At least on a 29"er it is. Admittedly, given time, this should get better. Just don't expect much for choice yet.

The system is very expensive. Even the previous incarnation of belt drive was/is expensive, and you can get two complete chain driven drive trains for the price of one Gates set up. Add in the fact that you will likely need a different belt and cog for different ratios, and it could get ugly on the pocketbook. Of course, the components are said to out last chains and traditional cogs/chain rings by a huge amount, but the upfront costs of getting into a Gates set up with multiple ratios would be staggering.

Tensioning is still a problem. Not everyone carries their iPhone on rides, or wants to. Then again, not all cyclists have iPhones. So that ap for "tuning" the belt tension, while clever, will not be of much use to many people. Folks that have bikes requiring re-tensioning every time they remove the rear wheel, or change ratios are going to have a hard time. Gates needs to come up with a repeatable, easy, mechanically measured means to tension their belts properly that can be carried easily on the bike. Engineers at Gates, "Go!" Let's see this get done and soon. 

And You Still Need A Special Frame. After all, not all frames can be, or should be Gates compatible. So your favorite geometry, or brand may not be compatible. Chains can be fitted to any bicycle, Gates equipped or no.

Then you have to also consider the myriad ways that a chain can accommodate making almost any ratio work on any given bicycle, and even can make bicycles not meant to be single speeds into single speeds. Derailleurs? Yeah. One choice there!

With that said, I am still excited about a Gates Center Track set up. Why? Because of winter, more than anything. I would love to see a snow bike in my stable with an internally geared hub driven by a Gates Center Track belt. To me, that would be the ultimate winter set up for around here.

Gates Carbon Drive Center Track: Conclusions

I have been riding the Gates Carbon Center Track on the Fisher Collection Sawyer for a while now and here are my thoughts on the system. I think Gates has come a long, long way in regard to the functionality, but.....(.there's always a "but"), there are other concerns surrounding the system that give me pause. Some are surmountable, some perhaps not so much.

"What's The Ratio, Kenneth?"

First off, the system works. I'll be perfectly clear. Gates has finally made a belt drive that you can use just like your chain system- no binding, and freer spin on the cranks, almost as good as a very worn in chain drive. The belt stays on the cogs, and there are no noises that don't belong. (Meaning no noise at all.)

Let's face it, the Sawyer is steel, and we all know that frame is twisting and flexing some. Not a lot, but the previous Carbon Drive belt I used, on an arguably much stouter steel frame, was not quiet, and did pop and squeal some times. It never ratcheted, but it wasn't dead quiet, and I had to have that belt "banjo string tight" to keep it tracking. Not so with the Center Track.

Had the Sawyer been equipped with the older belt, I don't think I would have given it a passing grade at all. Not with that frame, at any rate. That was a silly thing to my mind anyway. Why run a belt if it meant you had to have a very stiff, rough riding, over built frame so it wouldn't ratchet or derail? It just seemed stupid, really. Now Center Track seems to have relaxed those requirements to the point that if the frame did flex enough to give you issues, it probably would mean the frame is a poor choice for single speeding.

The new cogs are great. No more tearing up the bases of rear cogs and no goofy flanges to start making noise when things get wet/dirty. The stainless steel rear cog is a thing of CNC beauty, and the front ring, while rather bland looking, does its job perfectly.

That little fin in the middle is the magic to these. It keeps the belt from derailing, and allows for slight out of alignment conditions like when the frame twists slightly as you torque the pedals hard going up a climb. The belt itself is pretty amazing. Wider at 12mm, it is the widest belt Gates has offered for a bicycle, and it just works. I had a bit of tooth interfacing noise right out of the box, but it literally went away within the span of a couple of rides. Since then, I just periodically check the tension by pushing down on the belt, (admittedly, a no-tech way to do that!), but theoretically, the belt should never stretch, or need much of anything beyond a washing with water and a visual inspection from time to time.

Not A Lot Of Choice

So, it works. Then it is good to go, right? Not quite. There are a few things which are stumbling blocks that Gates may or may not get squared away with the Center Track. If they do, it could be the premier single speed drive train choice. It could, but.......

Cog Selection Is Too Narrow: Gates says they will offer a wide array of ratio choices at some point, but as of now, only the ratio I have is available. It was too tall to get me up some of the steeper inclines we have here, and it is way too stout of a gear for extended mountain climbing. At least on a 29"er it is. Admittedly, given time, this should get better. Just don't expect much for choice yet.

The system is very expensive. Even the previous incarnation of belt drive was/is expensive, and you can get two complete chain driven drive trains for the price of one Gates set up. Add in the fact that you will likely need a different belt and cog for different ratios, and it could get ugly on the pocketbook. Of course, the components are said to out last chains and traditional cogs/chain rings by a huge amount, but the upfront costs of getting into a Gates set up with multiple ratios would be staggering.

Tensioning is still a problem. Not everyone carries their iPhone on rides, or wants to. Then again, not all cyclists have iPhones. So that ap for "tuning" the belt tension, while clever, will not be of much use to many people. Folks that have bikes requiring re-tensioning every time they remove the rear wheel, or change ratios are going to have a hard time. Gates needs to come up with a repeatable, easy, mechanically measured means to tension their belts properly that can be carried easily on the bike. Engineers at Gates, "Go!" Let's see this get done and soon. 

And You Still Need A Special Frame. After all, not all frames can be, or should be Gates compatible. So your favorite geometry, or brand may not be compatible. Chains can be fitted to any bicycle, Gates equipped or no.

Then you have to also consider the myriad ways that a chain can accommodate making almost any ratio work on any given bicycle, and even can make bicycles not meant to be single speeds into single speeds. Derailleurs? Yeah. One choice there!

With that said, I am still excited about a Gates Center Track set up. Why? Because of winter, more than anything. I would love to see a snow bike in my stable with an internally geared hub driven by a Gates Center Track belt. To me, that would be the ultimate winter set up for around here.

Gates Carbon Drive Center Track Ready To Go

Okay, after some waiting, I have finally procured the belt that will work with the length of the chain stay, the cog, and the front ring that are on the Sawyer. The Center Track system is alive!

Carbon Drive Center Track on the Sawyer

As I posted before, The Belt has issues when it comes to combinations that will fit existing bikes. Had I wanted to go with the shortest chain stay setting on the Sawyer, I would have needed to "massage" the drop outs with a Dremmel tool a bit to get the shorter belt to work. To avoid that, I went with the next longer belt, which slammed me back almost as far as the wheel will go. So much for short chain stays! Not that I am worried too much about these sorts of things, but it does point out that Gates has a long way to go before they can cover the combinations possible with The Chain. They claim at some point that they will. (It would be good to start with some more Center Track compatible cogs, for instance)

My issues with getting a belt to fit also pointed out some other irregularities that may plague some designs out there. The sliders on the Sawyer, which have a ton of "throw", arc throughout their travel. Okay, now stop and think about that for a minute: Those sliders have to travel in the exact same arc on either side, or you will notice "oddities" with regard to your rear wheel placement within the frame.

This manifested itself to me when I tried fitting the first, too short, belt. The sliders were off enough from side to side in terms of the arc they traveled in that the wheel was almost slammed over to the non-drive side in the front, near the bottom bracket. At the seat stays, it was barely noticeable. As the sliders traveled backward, the arcs traveled by the sliders matched more closely, then at the end of the throw, were only slightly off to where the adjuster for the non-driveside is out more than the driveside  adjuster, which is nearly buried into the drop out.

Notice the adjusters? One is out further.

I'm okay with it. I got the wheel centered, but with sliders, I've noticed these sorts of issues before. They don't have to have arced slots  to be off either. I've seen out of plane sliders on several bikes. Custom ones even.

But I digress.....

This is about Center Track. I think t's going to be good, or at least better than the older design, in terms of tension on the system. My contact at Gates said that Center Track isn't so much about "less tension" than it is about not having to use "excessive tension" to make it work. He recommended that I use the iPhone app that is made for tensioning the Center Track belt, which should resonate at between 70-80Hz. Okay......what if you do not own an iPhone?  Not a problem......if you are a musician!

Looks like I'll be busting out the chromatic tuner and going for approximately a D#. We'll see how that goes, and then test it out on the trails with a report to come later.

Gates Carbon Drive Center Track Ready To Go

Okay, after some waiting, I have finally procured the belt that will work with the length of the chain stay, the cog, and the front ring that are on the Sawyer. The Center Track system is alive!

Carbon Drive Center Track on the Sawyer

As I posted before, The Belt has issues when it comes to combinations that will fit existing bikes. Had I wanted to go with the shortest chain stay setting on the Sawyer, I would have needed to "massage" the drop outs with a Dremmel tool a bit to get the shorter belt to work. To avoid that, I went with the next longer belt, which slammed me back almost as far as the wheel will go. So much for short chain stays! Not that I am worried too much about these sorts of things, but it does point out that Gates has a long way to go before they can cover the combinations possible with The Chain. They claim at some point that they will. (It would be good to start with some more Center Track compatible cogs, for instance)

My issues with getting a belt to fit also pointed out some other irregularities that may plague some designs out there. The sliders on the Sawyer, which have a ton of "throw", arc throughout their travel. Okay, now stop and think about that for a minute: Those sliders have to travel in the exact same arc on either side, or you will notice "oddities" with regard to your rear wheel placement within the frame.

This manifested itself to me when I tried fitting the first, too short, belt. The sliders were off enough from side to side in terms of the arc they traveled in that the wheel was almost slammed over to the non-drive side in the front, near the bottom bracket. At the seat stays, it was barely noticeable. As the sliders traveled backward, the arcs traveled by the sliders matched more closely, then at the end of the throw, were only slightly off to where the adjuster for the non-driveside is out more than the driveside  adjuster, which is nearly buried into the drop out.

Notice the adjusters? One is out further.

I'm okay with it. I got the wheel centered, but with sliders, I've noticed these sorts of issues before. They don't have to have arced slots  to be off either. I've seen out of plane sliders on several bikes. Custom ones even.

But I digress.....

This is about Center Track. I think t's going to be good, or at least better than the older design, in terms of tension on the system. My contact at Gates said that Center Track isn't so much about "less tension" than it is about not having to use "excessive tension" to make it work. He recommended that I use the iPhone app that is made for tensioning the Center Track belt, which should resonate at between 70-80Hz. Okay......what if you do not own an iPhone?  Not a problem......if you are a musician!

Looks like I'll be busting out the chromatic tuner and going for approximately a D#. We'll see how that goes, and then test it out on the trails with a report to come later.

Friday News And Views

Let's Try This Again...

Gates Redux: You may have read on this blog last year about my Gates Carbon Drive belt experiences, which weren't all that encouraging. Well, Gates hasn't been sleeping, and are working on solutions.

The latest is called "Center Track" and as the name suggests, the belt has a groove in the center that "tracks" along a ridge in the center of each cog. This has the effect of keeping the belt aligned on the cogs despite slight discrepancies caused by misaligned cogs, or flexing due to pedaling. The Center Track technology steps up the belt width to 12mm as well, which also alleviates tension issues, according to Gates.

I'm going to mount this on the Trek, Gary Fisher Collection Sawyer. Well, in fact, I did. Trouble is that due to a very limited number of Center Track combinations available now, the belt I have was juuuusssst a bit too short. It wouldn't work. So, Gates is sending out another, longer belt, which ironically enough, will be almost too long. Strike one: "The Chain"  is more adjustable than "The Belt". (But we already knew that from last time.) It's still true. More to come......

Ergon HE2 Gloves: Ergon, the company known for its grips and backpacks, has now branched out into gloves. The HE2 by Ergon is the one I am trying out now. It is Ergon's take on a glove for endurance riding and all mountain pursuits. I'll tell ya this much right off the bat: It ain't like any other glove you've had your mitts in.

First of all, I'll say that almost any cycling glove gives my hands fits. Too snug and my hands go numb, almost instantly. I was recently pleased to find some gloves that made my hands really happy, but the Ergon HE2 needed trying out, so I laid those aside for a while.

The HE2 fits like a second skin. Like a race jersey for your hands. The feel is startling at first. In fact, I was sure that within minutes I would be hating them for making my hands go numb. The tips were right against my finger tips, almost to the point of having the seam go under my finger nails. This was also disconcerting at first, but I gave them a tryout anyway.

After a few uses, the gloves stretched just a bit, and the feeling of snugness went away, for the most part. Still, they fit like a second skin, and you know what? My hands never went numb. Not even for a second. On the bike, they were great, almost like not wearing gloves, but better. Grip is enhanced, and of course, with that snug fit, tactile feel is top notch. In fact, these are the only gloves I've ever worn that I didn't want to immediately peel off to do something like use a tool, reach into a pocket for something, or pick up something off the ground. I could text with them on, and even operate the tiny buttons on my Panasonic LX-3 camera. Pretty impressive!

However; I found it almost radical that Ergon did not put on any "nose wiper" material on the thumb, or back of the glove. (Can it even be a cycling glove then?) I also did not like the Velcro closure, finding it too tight, short in length, and restricting. And my wrists are pretty small for a guy my size. I would like to see Ergon adopt a closure, or more appropriately, an opening that simply stretched wide for entry, and then relaxed, like the aforementioned gloves I linked to. Finally, for a rough and tumble glove meant for endurance racing, back country, and all mountain use, the lack of finger tip protection on the outside/back of the fingers, and the "euro-trash", driving gloves styling were odd here.(Note: There is a really nice "pad" of carbon-fiber-like material to protect the heel of your palm.)

Did I like them? No, not at first, but I did end up grabbing them over the others for a recent ride. They are pretty darn good gloves, as long as you can get by the snug fit, sparse features, and the quirky styling. I guess I don't dislike them, and I may end up really liking them in the end. They just are so different. Now I just have to get them and the helmet I left behind back in a Suburban in Northfield back again! (DOH!) A final review will be seen on The Cyclist soon.

Speaking of Northfield.... That criterium deal fried my legs and feet. I don't know what it was, but my legs have been like two limp meat-sticks since that Monday in the sun, and I have been super tired all week. I just hope I can recover soon.

Okay, ya'all have a great weekend, and hopefully you all get some fun, adventurous, and safe bicycling in this weekend.

Friday News And Views

Let's Try This Again...

Gates Redux: You may have read on this blog last year about my Gates Carbon Drive belt experiences, which weren't all that encouraging. Well, Gates hasn't been sleeping, and are working on solutions.

The latest is called "Center Track" and as the name suggests, the belt has a groove in the center that "tracks" along a ridge in the center of each cog. This has the effect of keeping the belt aligned on the cogs despite slight discrepancies caused by misaligned cogs, or flexing due to pedaling. The Center Track technology steps up the belt width to 12mm as well, which also alleviates tension issues, according to Gates.

I'm going to mount this on the Trek, Gary Fisher Collection Sawyer. Well, in fact, I did. Trouble is that due to a very limited number of Center Track combinations available now, the belt I have was juuuusssst a bit too short. It wouldn't work. So, Gates is sending out another, longer belt, which ironically enough, will be almost too long. Strike one: "The Chain"  is more adjustable than "The Belt". (But we already knew that from last time.) It's still true. More to come......

Ergon HE2 Gloves: Ergon, the company known for its grips and backpacks, has now branched out into gloves. The HE2 by Ergon is the one I am trying out now. It is Ergon's take on a glove for endurance riding and all mountain pursuits. I'll tell ya this much right off the bat: It ain't like any other glove you've had your mitts in.

First of all, I'll say that almost any cycling glove gives my hands fits. Too snug and my hands go numb, almost instantly. I was recently pleased to find some gloves that made my hands really happy, but the Ergon HE2 needed trying out, so I laid those aside for a while.

The HE2 fits like a second skin. Like a race jersey for your hands. The feel is startling at first. In fact, I was sure that within minutes I would be hating them for making my hands go numb. The tips were right against my finger tips, almost to the point of having the seam go under my finger nails. This was also disconcerting at first, but I gave them a tryout anyway.

After a few uses, the gloves stretched just a bit, and the feeling of snugness went away, for the most part. Still, they fit like a second skin, and you know what? My hands never went numb. Not even for a second. On the bike, they were great, almost like not wearing gloves, but better. Grip is enhanced, and of course, with that snug fit, tactile feel is top notch. In fact, these are the only gloves I've ever worn that I didn't want to immediately peel off to do something like use a tool, reach into a pocket for something, or pick up something off the ground. I could text with them on, and even operate the tiny buttons on my Panasonic LX-3 camera. Pretty impressive!

However; I found it almost radical that Ergon did not put on any "nose wiper" material on the thumb, or back of the glove. (Can it even be a cycling glove then?) I also did not like the Velcro closure, finding it too tight, short in length, and restricting. And my wrists are pretty small for a guy my size. I would like to see Ergon adopt a closure, or more appropriately, an opening that simply stretched wide for entry, and then relaxed, like the aforementioned gloves I linked to. Finally, for a rough and tumble glove meant for endurance racing, back country, and all mountain use, the lack of finger tip protection on the outside/back of the fingers, and the "euro-trash", driving gloves styling were odd here.(Note: There is a really nice "pad" of carbon-fiber-like material to protect the heel of your palm.)

Did I like them? No, not at first, but I did end up grabbing them over the others for a recent ride. They are pretty darn good gloves, as long as you can get by the snug fit, sparse features, and the quirky styling. I guess I don't dislike them, and I may end up really liking them in the end. They just are so different. Now I just have to get them and the helmet I left behind back in a Suburban in Northfield back again! (DOH!) A final review will be seen on The Cyclist soon.

Speaking of Northfield.... That criterium deal fried my legs and feet. I don't know what it was, but my legs have been like two limp meat-sticks since that Monday in the sun, and I have been super tired all week. I just hope I can recover soon.

Okay, ya'all have a great weekend, and hopefully you all get some fun, adventurous, and safe bicycling in this weekend.