While I am positive that none of these items will be appearing below my indoor pine tree in the next couple days, it doesn’t mean I don’t covet them intensely. So, here’s my list of most-coveted stuff that I hope to acquire, one way or the other, next year… in no particular order.
Chris King Bottom Bracket
Well, truth be told, I already have one of these on my X-Fire, but I want more. King will be introducing their SRAM compatible bottom brackets within the next couple months, which means I’ll be grabbing a couple more of these bad boys. It’s like a highly functional piece of jewelry for the bike, and it comes in pretty colors.
Bontrager Aeolus clincher wheels
JD’s been longing for some carbon clinchers for, well, I guess for about two years now. These might be the ticket. I rode some of these in the fall on a test ride and found that they rode a lot like Cosmic Carbones from Mavic, but lighter. They also have the best braking performance of any carbon wheel I’ve tried. picture from bontrager.com
Fizik Aliante Carbon Twin Flex saddle
I’ve been a big fan of the Tundra saddles we used on our cross bikes this year, but I think for road season, with butts firmly placed on the saddle for long miles, that I might be more of an Aliante guy. It has more of a cradle for the behind than the long, flat Arione and will probably work better for me and my poor lower back flexibility. This is one wish that I expect will come true before too long – I’ll report back on whether or not my inclination proves accurate.
Ford Transit Connect
Switching gears for a moment… So many of my coveted items pertain to the upcoming race season – bike stuff, clothes, equipment, etc. So what are we missing? Why a team vehicle, of course. Probably the gold-standard for team vehicles is the Dodge Sprinter, but these are very large and quite expensive. So, maybe someday. Instead, Ford has introduced a slick little van called the Transit Connect, which is basically a mini Sprinter. It’s something that I’m sure they’ve been selling in Europe for years and I could fit a bunch of Ridleys and a few team riders in there on our travels. I want one. picture from hybridsmile.com
Podium Shoes
I know, this is wishful thinking, especially now, as I sit here with glass of wine in hand, block of cheese slowly disappearing into my mouth and T minus 2 hours until I gorge myself on pie. But, maybe that’s what makes the whole idea of podium shoes – the one specific item of cycling gear you get to put on ONLY after you’ve had a day at the top of your game – so utterly badass. Here are some options I’ve been tossing around. The Bontrager Wing Tip looks pretty cool and while it’s not a podium-specific shoe, it certainly would be a classy way to go. Cary was rocking his Sidi podium shoes at NBX Cross and catching some admiration from Dan Timmerman as a result. There are also these DMT podium shoes, but my feeling is the podium shoes should resemble exactly their riding-specific brethren with the exception of the sole. You know what? Maybe we should just design some podium shoes of our own…
29” Wheel Mountain Bike
I think this might be the way to go for me. I’m not going to race mountain bikes. I’ll leave that for the guys with skills and coordination. I would like to have mountain bike for training and for general fun purposes and I think one with 29” wheels might be my style. So, full suspension or hardtail? I’ve heard nothing but good ride reports about the Pivot Mach 429. It’s also hard to ignore how cool the Gary Fisher Superfly is. I wish Mickey over at Spooky made the Darkside in a 29” version, but I’m sure he has a litany of reasons why he doesn’t offer one yet.
Pedro’s Master Tool Kit
We here at Embrocation are big fans of Pedro’s products and the fine ladies and gentlemen at the Pedro’s company. They sent a couple torque wrenches our way earlier in the year, which are quite handy and effective little gadgets. What I really want is this bad boy. Any cycling team worth their weight in salt needs something like this – the last tool kit one is likely ever to need. Plus, it comes in a kick-ass hard plastic case, kinda like the nuclear football case the goes wherever the president goes, but in this case full of helpful tools, not launch codes.
Schwood Sunglasses
Last, but not least. I fully admit that I’m not so into clothes or fashion, at least not as much as I sometimes want to be. The one exception to that is eye wear. As a glasses wearer, I feel like I might as well try to put together a collection of cool specs if I have to wear them anyway. JD sent me a link to the Schwood website and I was immediately hooked. Now, can I get them with RX lenses? I’m sure I can…
