Tests (and recommendations) of bicycle parts, esp. mini-pumps, dynamo lighting & leather saddles

Tests the way they should be done: thorough and asking the right questions...

Very extensive:

• Leather saddles Brooks, Lepper, Selle Anatomica, seat covers, saddle maintenance, etc. Updated regularly
  
• Mini pumps What pressure can you really get?
  
• (Dynamo) lighting Hub dynamos, LED lamps, and especially headlamps with cutoff. Also experiments with LEDs (LED light colour, modifying a halogen lamp with a LED, lamps in the mist, etc.), analysis of the German StVZO bicycle lighting requirements, and much more. Updated all the time...
  

The following tests/experiences are not as extensive but definitely interesting:

• Gears. Various transmission types compared (derailleur, gear hubs, NuVinci continuously changeable gear) and experiences on how many gears you really need and what difference they make to your speed. New, April 2013: How it feels going back from NuVinci to a derailleur, and different cassettes with different gear ratios on 3x7 derailleur systems.
• Bicycle computers & navigation systems Not a buyer's guide as I don't review enough of them (because I don't see the point!), but showing the problem areas in bicycle computers to guide you. The section on navigation using Android devices is new and thus also not a guide. Since 2012-11-5: Navigation systems on Android devices
  
• Tyre levers and repair kits
• Floor pumps
• Leather grips, anatomic and round
• Bicycle mini tools, are they useful? Or is it better to carry separate tools?
• Bicycle kickstands
• Torches (flashlights) to fix flats or do repairs on dark roads
• Pedals, click systems (SPD and others), toeclips and other methods to keep your foot on the pedal.
• To come: Experiences with standard panniers for daily use.
• To come: Bicycle bells.

Background: Why I started doing these tests

I became annoyed with the poor reviews of equipment in Dutch and German cycling magazines (esp. those about bicycle lighting and mini pumps that I got annoyed with in 2007), and also on the net about various cycling equipment, which was the reason I made the web pages with my tests of hand pumps and of dynamo lighting. These give an example (to e.g. magazine writers) on how matters should be dealt with, in a scientific way as far as possible. Note that 'scientific' doesn't necessarily mean measurements, it means doing things in a critical way examining all aspects and putting them in perspective. Measurements are not a review. Measurements are only interesting/useful in a supportive role. So proper reviews don't necessarily require expensive equipment. Even with limited resources one can do things a lot better than in magazines. If the people working on magazines want to improve this situation then for complex subjects such as bicycle lighting they should enlist the help of experts, rather than do a poor review that doesn't give good or even misleading information.

An early version of the page with saddle experiences was on another section of my website long before my pump and lighting tests, which I later expanded to to include almost all leather saddles I could get my hands on as I could hardly find any reviews but especially not comparisons of leather saddles.

My tests are usually much more thorough than most other tests and this is part of the reason that my conclusions can differ from others. Some people think that because my conclusions for some products differ from those of most other reviews that I am biased. That is amusing but wrong, see: Interpretation, objectivity, and comparison with other reviews

Where to buy some of the parts I've tested

I recommend buying from a local dealer that you think is good, but some parts are hard to find, such as the Quicker pro pump, SP dynamo hubs, or even the Sunup rear wheel dynamo. In the same spirit as my test pages, a year later, I started selling the components that I think are good. Leather saddles and dynamo lighting in particular. I give the option of trying them out where appropriate and of comparing them. See here.

Last modified: Tue Apr 2 07:40:21 CEST 2013