Something Old, Some Things New, Something Broken, and Something Blue

With only a couple hours to ride before the wife had other plans for me, I took a quick 21-mile gravel spin.

I’ve been on a bit of an eBay kick lately (a dangerous thing!), and most of the items alluded to in the title relate directly to that:

  • Lake MX220 mountain bike shoesThe “something old” is a pair of Lake MX220 mountain bike shoes I bought off of eBay. They’re in fine shape for used shoes, and as a bonus, they came with SPD cleats (albeit Ritchey, rather than Shimano, brand). I paid $22 plus shipping, which seems like a good deal given that they ran about $120 new. These are a size 43, which Lake says correspond to 9 to 9.5 in US sizing. I normally wear a 9.5 in shoes, sometimes a 10. These seem to fit me plenty tight. Too tight? That’s what I was trying to find out.

  • The “some things new” are two other eBay scores: a new saddle and a new long-sleeve jersey.

    WTB Pure V saddleThe Saddle is a WTB Pure V, which WTB classifies as a “performance” saddle. The one I’ve been using for several months is a WTB Speed V, which falls into the “recreational” category. I’ve been rather satisfied with the Speed V, but it’s developed two small tears — one on the bottom of the saddle, and the other on the tail end. The one on the rear, which it’s not serious yet, will eventually become worse and worse. So my $25 (plus shipping) purchase of a new saddle was preemptive. That, and I wanted to see what the differences between the Speed and the Pure were…

    Louis Garneau Roadster 3 jerseyThe jersey is a Louis Garneau Roadster 3, which retails for $80, and which I got for $11.50 (plus shipping) — a steal! It’s a brand new jersey, and it seems to fit me fine. Here’s the manufacturer’s description: “This ripstop finish fabric has amazing moisture transfer properties and provides breathability with a soft brushed back for comfort and warmth. 9″/23 cm zip for good ventilation, elastics at wrists and hem.” This is my first “real” long-sleeve cycling jersey.

  • The “something broken” is my cyclocomputer, a Cateye Cordless 7. It’s been on the fritz for the last few rides, and today it worked sporatically for a mile or so, then stopped working entirely.

  • The “something blue” is the Louis Garneau Roadster 3 jersey, of course.

OK, so how did everything perform on this little test flight?

It was a cool morning, in the upper 50’s, and the jersey did OK. It definitely didn’t do much to block the wind, but on this morning that was fine; with lower temps and/or more wind, that might be a problem. The jersey did fit well, and it seemed to with moisture very well.

The shoes were fine as well. They were kind of tough to get on, but I don’t know, maybe that’s normal for cycling shoes. They were easy to walk in, but they did feel a bit small — I could feel the little toes pinched slightly. On the bike, this wasn’t a problem, and once clipped in, I really didn’t notice them at all. They just kind of disappeared, which is a good thing, and I felt like I had a very solid connection to the pedals. Clipping in was a little difficult, as was clipping out. This is with Shimano PD-M520 pedals. This may have had to do with the pedals being old and the cleats being new, or with the pedals and cleats being different brands. Who knows, but I’ll need to keep an eye on this.

The Pure V saddle felt noticeably firmer than the Speed V, but it wasn’t uncomfortable, at least at that short distance. I’ll definitely need to give this some more time, and some longer rides, before I can render a verdict on it.

So everything was basically fine, but I won’t know for sure on the shoes or saddle until I’ve put in the miles and the hours to give them a thorough testing. Time will tell!

As for the cyclocomputer, I don’t think it’s actually broken; I suspect it just needs new batteries…

DirtBum Written by:

I enjoy riding bicycles all over -- city streets, suburbia, rural roads, gravel roads, dirt roads, rail-trails, and singletrack. I love exploring the countryside and finding the interesting and historical treasures hidden in plain sight. You can follow my rides on Strava.