Zefal Spy Mirror Repair

Zefal Spy Mirror had been our favourite bike mirror, it is small and can be mounted anywhere from handle bar to bike frame. Having a bike mirror is really necessary when cycling in the city so we do not have to keep turning our head back to check for traffic all the time and it is much safer. 

Having owned this bike mirrors for a decade, the mirror reflective coating had deteriorated and render the mirror useless. We have contacted Zefal and they informed there was no replacement parts, pretty disappointed as these are expensive mirror.

So for the last few months we have been searching for bike mirror and none came to our liking. We even try using a reflective solar adhesive and turn out rather bad. Finally came up with an idea using vehicle blind spot mirror and it work. So here was how we did it.

DIY Water Bottle Cage Mounting

My bike came with only one water cage mounting. Since I have the Topeak Modular Cage XL which fit 1 ~ 1.5 lts bottle, I have decided make mounting points for it and add extra mountings on other tubing for different setup. 

Initial intention was to make mounting points on the Seat Tube, additional mounting on the upper Down Tube as it was too low and the bottom of the Down Tube. After taking measurements on the upper Down Tube soon realised the drill could not fit in....Crap!!

Topeak Super Tourist DX Tubular Rack Disc

According to Topeak, they indicated this is one of their strongest rack for heavy duty touring use. We did not get the rack for this reason, we got it because our Topeak Explorer Tubular Rack could not fit the Topeak MTX Quick Track system when the panniers were mounted. We had bought a Topeak Trolley Tote Folding MTX Rear Basket and we needed to change the bike rear rack so that the pannier can be fitted with the MTX Quick Track system.  

Initially when we got this rack was to fit on my steel frame bike but it seems the lower bracket mounting points and the skewer was in the way. The non disc version will probably fit on the steel frame bike so now it ends up on my partner's bike.

Topeak Trolley Tote Folding MTX Rear Basket

We had been doing many shopping and each time we would need to pack our shopping spree into our bike panniers. Before we would reached our bikes we would need to carry these heavy items along the way. 

size comparison

We have a similar trolley folding basket but that could not fit on our bike, we tried it before and it came loose somehow. We seen Topeak having this item on the selves for few years so finally we decided to get one. 

Bike Survival Tool Kit Revamp

NO MORE BIKE MULTI TOOLS!!!!

In regards to my earlier post on Bike Survival Tools, I have decided to revamp the tools. The reason I am doing that firstly I noticed there were many tools in the bike multi tools were useless, there were only 3 tools I used often, chain cutter, Hex 4 and 5. The rest was basically redundant to me. Secondly the Topeak Hexus Bike Tool failed on me, the tyre lever broke. I like Topeak but somehow most of their stuff do not last. I will post it later about Topeak failure, very disappointing. 

Ultralight UNO Handlebar Stem

In my last posting on MTB Settings Guide, I have written on a subject relating to Handlebar Position. The handlebar stem was too long for my current bike steup and needed replacement.

I have just received this amazing ultra lightweight handlebar stem, UNO 60mm 7/83deg 31.8mm. Made of ALU 6061 Grade by 3D forging and weighs only 96gm. The complete construction was very well made, could not find any flaws in it. What was more amazing, it cost less than USD20!!! Comparing to my old Easton EA70 stem, the price was 4 times different. 

MTB Settings Guide

Since 2000 till now, I have spent almost USD13,000 on Mountain Bicycles for myself and family members. Recently I have given advised to one of our reader on getting a customized bicycle. Today he is telling me he loved it. So I thought I might just share this post with you guys. I am not bragging what I have but hoping you do not repeat my mistakes before. 

Firstly, I do not recommend buying a complete Setup bike unless you are just using it for transport purposes. As your interest in biking grows, you will likely upgrade bike components and wasting money on your existing components. Next, what do you want to use the bike for. For me, I want my bike able to tour with it, MTB, leisure riding and do grocery shopping. 

Topics in this Post

1. Bike Frame Size and Types
2. Budget and Choosing Bike Components
3. Tools
4. Setting Up the Bike

Old Man Mountain Bike Rack

Topeak MTX Beam Rack E-Type

Like most MTB full suspension bike, there is very little option to mount a bike rack. Topeak came out with a clip-on rack which I thought was a genius. Basically it just clip on the seat post and secure your gears on to it. I purchase another Topeak trunk bag which just slide onto the the rack and clip-on by itself.   

Lotus Pannier SH-409

Weight 1320

Capacity: 36.8Lts

Size: 43 x 36 x 20cm

Material: 600D Polyester 420D Nylon and 1000D Condura

Website

Made in Taiwan, this is a nice set of bike panniers and should not cost more than NT1800 per set. Nothing compare to Ortlieb bike panniers but we liked the design. These panniers are rather spacious, it has front mesh pocket, side, rear and the main storage compartments. On the scale each pannier weighs around 720g and  both panniers holds around 36.8lts of gears. The material on the panniers are water resistance so you might need to waterproof your packing. 

Crank Brothers Speed Lever

Weighing 31g, size 155mm x 10mm x 12mm made of polycarbonate, Crank Brothers offer this master piece a LIFETIME Warranty. At first sight before using it, you will feel that this lever will break easily as it is made of polycarbonate. However upon using it, it held pretty well and relatively simple to use. The whole tire change took less than a minute. Watch the below video that I made.

Topeak Explorer Tubular Rack Disc Mount

Weight: 620g

Size: 34.5 x 23.5 x 41cm

Material: Hallow Aluminium

This is a simple bike rack from Topeak. Ideal for around the city where you can attached Topeak MTX top bags that slide and clip locking system or attached side panniers.   

Before purchasing this rack, ensure that your bike must have the lower mounting holes for bike racks, otherwise this will not fit your bike. Also note they have a non-disc version bike rack.

Helmet Mount Lighting

I been looking at dyno-hub, off the shell bike light and DIY solution (bicyclelighting.com).

Recently on thelazyrando blog where he had discussed dynohub vs battery bike lamp, I decided to write down my own solution for a bike lamp.

Topeak Mini Morph Pump

If you are looking for a bike pump, look no further, here is one highly recommended  bike pump. The Topeak Mini Morph has been in the market for around 4years. Among all the hand held bike pumps, the Mini Morph is the easiest and uses less effort to pump a deflated tire. The design is a single stroke mini floor pump which means you can place the pump on the floor and pump with lesser effort.

It weighs around 170g, size 26 x 5 x 2.8cm and pumps till 160psi. The pump body is made of butted aluminium and the handle is plastic. 

Soft Bag Bike Carrier

The soft bike carrier bag is the easiest way to transport your bike on buses, high speed rail or train. It should take around 10 to 15mins to dismantle a complete bike and store in the bike carrier. The soft bike carrier  bag  is light and do not take up much space when packed. I have friends who had use these bags to transport their bikes on airlines and surprisingly the bike was not damage in such transportation.

Topeak Alien DX Tools

The Topeak Alien DX multi tools has been in the market since 2007. It has 27 tools and comes with a nylon carrying case. The body is made of harden plastic and most of the tools are of harden steel or stainless steel.

Topeak Modula Bottle Cage

The Modula bottle cage weighs around 75g is unique because of the ability to adjust the size of the cage to fit smaller bottles. Anything bigger than a one litre water bottle will not be able to fit in, even 1lts Nalgene bottle.

This bottle cage is not ideal for off-road action, there are many times the water bottle just felt off the bike. Ideal for road touring when you buy your drink from a road vendor or 7-eleven.

Topeak Modula Bottle Cage XL

 

Made of Aluminium and plastic, the Modula Bottle Cage XL is ideal for touring camping use. The bottle cage can only fit 1 to 1.5lts bottle. The bottle will stay in place even on off-road condition. However not many bikes can fit such bottle cage onto the bike frame as it is rather long in length.

The mounting point is at one third from the bottle cage so to fit it in the mid frame of the bike can be very tricky. Our bike had an external water cage mounting point so it is rather useful to have such bottle cage mounted.

Bike Survival Tools

Murphy's Law "Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong". There are no bullet proof design in our lives, so is your tour camping trip. Many of us would just go with a spare tube, tire lever, a handheld pump and a multi-tool. In my experience from off-road motorbikes and biking, I soon realised what is really necessary to have a complete minimalist Bike Survival tools.

UPDATE FEB 2013
Kindly view my revamped Bike Survival Tools Kit

Topeak TourGuide Handlebar Bag

The Topeak TourGuide Handlebar Bag comes in two sizes. The other is the Topeak TourGuide Handlebar Bag DX which I have sold away and replaced with this current handlebar bag. I like this current model because it has many pockets especially the side pockets for organised storage or a quick draw. It is smaller and weighs lesser,the bag has only a capacity of 5 litres, weighs around 670g and the material is of padded Denier Nylon.