A review I posted a long time ago on bikeradar that I always wanted to repost here: a fantastic saddle that looks funny but that you’ll love very quickly!

The problem with reviewing a saddle is that it’s always heavily skewed towards the tester’s body shape, and will definitely not be a fair test like you could do for a pair of wheels. As said in the article, do try (extensively) before you buy!

ISM Podium

I have an ISM adamo podium on my road bike and I love it! I also have a roadII on my TT, and my girlfriend who suffered horribly from saddle sore in the past now has a Century on her road bike.

Like for wheels, it’s important to test these in the conditions they are expected to be used.

From my own experience:

• The RoadII is designed primarily for an agressive TT position. It does not always work and can be uncomfortable in an upright position. That’s why it’s on my TT and not on my road bike. That said, I do use it for hilly TTs and triathlons.
• The podium took me a little to get used to, but now it’s perfect. However, it’s also designed for a fairly aggressive riding position (understand low on the bars, or on the drops), hence I’d reserve that for a race bike, not for touring.
• The Century seems (as my GF says) perfect for a more relaxed and upright position.

For these saddles and the radical change of design in where it supports your body, I’d advise everyone to try them for a full week of riding, not just a 10K loop or 5 minutes on a turbo in a bike shop. With these saddles it’s imperative to find the sweet spot or it will not feel good at all.

If you’re in the UK, you can try these saddles from http://trybikestore.co.uk/ We’ve done it at home for all 3 models and you can use them for 7 days until you return them, or buy them.

Don’t judge only on the looks! It’s a bit weird I admit, but for many, it works very well. Just see how many are now used in triathlons everywhere and you’ll get the idea.

At the end of the day, it’s a totally different kind of support, so you have to give it time to adjust, but if it works for you, you won’t come back to your old ones.

I first saw this bag in Paris in the early 2000s during one of the evening roller skate rides that happens there every week. A guy dressed all in black spandex, looking like a power ranger complete with full face helmet, had it loaded with a car stereo, powerful speakers and bright LEDs all around. Talk about a first impression!

Discovered a while back but always so beautiful a story and a film.

I recently learnt that a good friend on mine, Simon (@simonski on twitter) has finally got back on his bike, after several years of “inactivity”. Simon is the one that I looked up to when I arrived in London and regarded him as the uber-biker-knowing-everything-about-bikes at the time, and who helped me chose my first road bike and encourage me to get into doing a small triathlon. As such, he will always be the “cool dude that does triathlons”, no matter what!

In the past years however, he’s got the joyful feeling of raising two lovely boys, and his training somewhat shrunk. Couple that with a few injuries and he wasn’t really motivated to go back doing much (from his own words). I tried to encourage him a few times to get back on his bike and offered to go for a ride together, but we’ve both been busy and didn’t find the time.

But last week-end, he did it! He went back on his bike on a cold day, climbed a few hills and even fell on one, but he’s back! Now that was my moment to give him the nudge I’ve always wanted to give him: get him into a small race once again!

But he wouldn’t do it himself! So… I registered him.

That’s right, Simon is now entered in the Human Race sprint distance triathlon on Sunday 26th May 2013, and I’m sure he’ll do well! I’ll be there to push him along on course. Obviously I wouldn’t have done it if I wasn’t sure he can do that. In fact, I think he could do an Olympic, but let’s not scare him too much!

Finally, I get to give back, and I feel this is just the beginning.