Review: The #creakybottombracket 2020 Holiday List

(2020) What a long, strange trip it’s been since our last holiday list. In the United States we have witnessed the vaporization of the cycling scene from group rides to races. The individual effort was prioritized over the last twelve months. In that time our riding bibs have been ground down to nothing on account of hundreds of trainer miles. The asphalt bike’s yearly mileage was not padded by events. We had a curious attraction to e-sport events. Those two thoughts were applied to this year’s holiday list. Not to be pessimistic but we are gearing up for a long winter of indoor rides and outdoor individual time trials. It’s the right thing to do. 

While early 2021 events are already sliding off the calendar, we anticipate much the same as we make it one official year of pandemic life. For this year’s list we feature items that have impressed us over the course of the year. The list has a slightly different feel to it. There are more indoor devices than ever before. And why not? Even Rapha’s Festive 500 is accepting virtual miles. Ok ok. Quiet down everyone, that wasn’t my idea. From cycling app gift vouchers to boutique bike sizing/ fitting, we are excited to list these remarkable items. 

While 2020 has been a unique year, it blew our numbers out of the water for any other year. As a matter of fact, this year (which still has December yet to go) has had more traffic than the last two years combined. That is all thanks to your reading and promoting content you like. That is the ultimate thanks for these trying times. We hope some of these articles got you through difficult moments. Most of all, when we come out on the other side, let’s ride together. We don’t have to know each other; we just have to enjoy each other’s company. In fact, let’s invite twenty, thirty, forty more to announce cycling is back on the road and off the trainer. Happy Holidays and, as always, thanks for reading!

Gift Card to the Local Bike Shop

Year 2020 has been hard for a lot of people, and cycling shops are in the mix. The demand for new bikes was optimistic except for shops struggling to obtain inventory to sell. In the beginning of the pandemic small businesses tried to entice patrons to buy gift cards/ vouchers to help them get through. Months later, bike shops continue to see low inventory with high demand. And those who have bikes are using them more than ever. Replacement parts are not spared the stocking struggle. 

Eventually bikes, parts, and accessories will swell on shelves. Those wheels that hung in there through the early months of lockdown could probably use a break. Maybe your cleats are really as bad as you have been ignoring them. Maybe your bibs are actually see-through. The best part is the bike shop instantly sees benefits from gift card sales. You can walk in throughout the year and shop for whatever you like. But that can only happen if the shop is still there. Your local shop props up local events, prop up your local shop.

Gift Voucher to Cycling App

The explosion in virtual riding has many causes and has been spurred on further by the Covid pandemic. The last year has established virtual riding is here to stay. But let’s be honest, perhaps indoor cycling isn’t that bad after all. There I said it. I didn’t say it replaces riding outside but at least cyclists can get lost in the experience. It can be challenging to race digitally. Summiting some of the biggest climbs virtually is better than a day on the couch.

Recently new apps have joined the mix and older ones have had to up their game. Zwift now has competition with RGT. Trainer Roads and Sufferfest still offer structured training plans that integrate into virtual rides. Rouvy provides an augmented reality, a unique cycling experience for those who want real road footage. Most apps offer a one-year membership fee that would ease the monthly anxiety for the person on your list. With smart trainers coming back in stock, it could be a great experience for more than one person in the house. 

Rise Up Winter Warmer Seasonal Medium Roast

Last winter was a dud in the northeast. Not only did it not snow, it hardly got cold. While we don’t mind trainer rides, we still prefer to get out when possible. One hard task for winter rides is remounting the asphalt bike after a coffee stop. After shivering through a tasty cup of coffee, we beat back desires to call the team car and its seat warmers. Even the embrocation can’t keep up sometimes.

If we continued to ride and returned home at mid-day, what better way to warm up than with a coffee labeled Winter Warmer? Hit the local climbs, hammer the nearby flats, and return home to brew up a toasty medium roast - that’s apres ride bliss. Rise Up Coffee Roasters out of Delmarva make flavorful roasts. Their expanding locations demonstrate they are appealing to the masses. To stock the pantry with Winter Warmer Seasonal medium roast could add an extra mile per hour average on our ride while we perseverate over the warming sensation of coffee in a heated house. Winter better deliver the cold temperatures, though.

Sockeloen ($ varies)

Sockeloen’s Winner Chicken Dinner sock.

Socks are an extension of a cyclist’s personality. Some like solid colors. Others like the razzle dazzle. There are team socks for those who roll up to the group ride kitted out in a zoom zoom suit. And then there are custom socks that can strike up a conversation.

Netherlands-based Sockeloen cover all the bases. Solid socks? Check. Aero socks? Fast check. Did you ever want tuxedo socks? What about frites on your calves? Maybe a custom set of socks featuring your dog’s face? All of these are possible through Sockeloen. We followed them on Instagram a while back and found ourselves giggling at some of their unique offerings. What is attractive are the sock bundles to cover us through the spring classics. Though Sockeloen offers shoe dryers and aero shoe covers, their speciality is certainly the cycling sock. Maybe we will step outside our solid sock preference and take a pull to prove we deserve custom Johnny Cash socks. 

Stan’s DART Tool ($25)

We migrated to road tubeless and have never looked back. We hear about tubeless mounting woes and wonder how we lucked out. One answer is that we turn the bike over to a professional and let them worry about it. But short of riding with a mechanic at all times, there are chances of catastrophic tire failure out on the road. And those always happen at the farthest point from the team car. 

There is little desire to wrestle with a tubeless casing, sealant, and a tube should something happen. That is why Stan’s Dart Tool is a last ditch effort to avoid the call home. Should the tubeless casing rip, remove a patch material, and push it into the tear with the pointy dart end. The exposed material will wear off on the ride home. Spin the tire to get sealant involved and reinflate the tire. The DART works specifically with Stan’s and comes with more than one repair patch. Putting this little helper in your back pocket could be the friend you hope you never see. But the friend who got it for you for the holidays clearly knows what they are doing for the future.

Lezyne Mega Drive Pro 1800i LED Light ($160)

Lezyne makes great products. Years ago we reviewed their steel drive floor pump and have not had to review another pump. The Steel Drive works as well today as it did when it was purchased. Lyzene takes the simple approach and sells it. They apply this approach to their lights, devices trusted to carry us through the darkness.

Each Festive 500 has had a theme. Last year we explored an all night-time Festive. It was scrapped for many reasons, one of them including our lack of a reliable light. At 1800 lumens, the Lezyne Mega Drive Pro 1800i comes close to equaling that of a motorcycle headlight. With that much illumination, rides can hustle a little more to capture the roundel for the year. Or perhaps an entire year of lockdown has led to a hiatus from the trainer. Whatever the reason, Lezyne’s reliable Mega Drive Pro can carry you through early and late commutes as well as deep winter night time outings. Lezyne also sells bundles for front and back kits. 

Peloton De Paris Atlas 2in1 Puffy Jacket (€210)

A couple of years ago we did a winter cycling event where we intended to start with a puff jacket and eventually remove it. Little did we know we would sweat so much that removing it was no longer an option. The puff jacket was a remnant of days when we were a size larger. These days a tighter puff jacket for the bike would aid in those hard earned miles along the cold Delaware River.

Peloton de Paris brings the Atlas 2in1 Puffy Jacket to those riding outside in frigid seasons. Should the mercury rise, the Atlas converts into our next season love: vests. The puffy part stays put while the sleeves can be stowed and the ride carries on. The Primaloft fill keeps the body heat in while looking stylish. As with cycling puff jackets, these can be reassembled and donned to meet up with the teammates at the pub (when the pandemic ends). Or, if the pub is closed, the jacket’s warmth would do wonders around a driveway wood fire and some Rise Up Winter Warmer coffee to enjoy the last few hours of sunlight. These are the two places we love the most: the bike and the bonfire. Looks like we have found the perfect workhorse for the experience.

ERO Sports Premier Bike Fit ($300)

There is some hard truth for 2020. With next-to-no events executed for the year, the motivation to complete hard workouts has featured many side effects. One of them most likely is the change in flexibility. Some people got all bendy since the start while others, like us, have tightened up. This leads to changes amongst the bike position and, if ignored, can lead to serious injury. 

We are spoiled to live near one of three ERO Sports locations in the United States: Los Angeles, CA, Orange County, CA, and Allenton, PA. Exploring the services offered by ERO is a list in beneficial practices. Take your current bike(s) in to get dialed in. If you are uncertain which bike on the market will fit best, sign up for a pre-purchase bike sizing. ERO spends the time to make sure everything is in the right place for each of your bikes. We know a couple riders who have come back from ERO, all of them remarking how it has improved their cycling. This gift gives the confidence of riding style. That’s one of the best gifts.

Saris TD1 Trainer Desk ($330)

A secret to making indoor riding palpable is making use of market accessories. Try as you might to make a home remedy work, inevitably you will rage search the internet looking for a better fan, a more stable mat, or in this case, a desk to bring devices into reach. Currently our set up includes a recipe stand for our tablet and what can only be described as a dashboard fan to keep us cool all on top of a dresser.

The Saris TD1 Trainer Desk is an attractive addition to the indoor riding experience for holding workout items, but the exciting piece are the plugs to make endurance rides achievable.

The Saris TD1 trainer desk is designed to be of service while being out of the way. Lay the laptop on it, spread the remotes along its sides, arrange the fan for maximum breeze, or have nutrition at the ready for an attempt at the longest trainer ride. The Saris TD1 can handle these requests at arm’s reach. The desk comes with power plug-ins, laminated birch top for easy cleaning, and a wide range of adjustments. This is the desk necessary for those looking to add a little flair to their virtual riding outings. On second thought, it might be wise to keep the desk farther away to prevent accidental camera activation during Zoom meetings when we should be ‘working.’



KM Razor Designs Custom Straight Razor ($ varies)



We are suckers for artisanal straight razors and KM Razor Designs created a unique piece that has us daydreaming. We admit getting someone a razor for the holidays is a weird prospect, so a gift voucher might be the way to go: let the person on your list come up with a design and take it from there. We already have our next three straight razors mocked up and ready for submission. Straight razors follow the cycling equation: n + 1. But I digress.

Just a few days ago our social media feed featured a beautiful KM straight razor with rather unique scales. Shortly after the EF Pro cycling team announced a Rapha/ Palace skateboard collaboration, KM Designs released a razor featuring skateboard deck material. The piece is daring, bold, and lust worthy. The flame of the wood and pins, the aggressive blade, the whole package has us designing a razor hopefully worthy of KM Designs’ time. Until then, we eagerly anticipate the next social media project from them.



Saris MP1 Nfinity Trainer Platform ($1200)



Great gains have been made over the past few years for the indoor cyclist. One thing has eluded trainer companies, the natural movements of riding a bike. But how to take a hulking piece of machinery such as a Saris H2 and get it to rock a bike, activating natural cycling movements and translating success on the road?

Out of the saddle efforts are more realistic with the MP1 Infinity Trainer Platform.

At the upper climes of our list is a trainer that has been in development for years. Matching their TD1 Trainer Desk, the Nfinity Trainer Platform features a birch deck. The hardware on the deck function as anchors or grips. The straps hold the smart trainer in place, the sandpaper allows for grip when mounting/ dismounting the bike, and the bolted on riser block allows for firm bike attachment. With numerous adjustment possibilities the Nfinity Trainer is compatible with nearly every smart system on the market. Once attached the experience moves to a new level as the user can rock the bike in natural ways, not fabricated side-to-side motions. To move into another off-season is stressful, to own an Nfinity Trainer Platform can add some success for 2021.




Pursuit Cycles Custom Bike ($ varies)




One thing about the giving season is that we can always dream. Over a decade ago we passed through Bozeman, Montana, into a landscape unequal in the East. Considering it was winter, we hardly saw a cyclist out. It didn’t keep us from daydreaming about miles-long descents through ‘the canyon’ described by the local bartender at the two-terminal airport.

Yet again our social media feed lit up with a beautiful piece of art. It was one of the custom carbon frames built in Bozeman, MT, by Pursuit Cycles. It featured punk rock artwork of the Sex Pistols. Following their slogan, “Always get better” we designed out own rig and, using the pricing calculator, watched the figure jump each time we added bling. This caught us out with the old adage, “If you have to ask...” To be added into the queue at Pursuit is slotting into a prestigious build, a showpiece and applied art. It’s one of those facts that a build from Pursuit means it is a unique bike, that there isn’t a duplicate. Should you gift/ be gifted a Pursuit Cycles custom frame/ complete build, it will become a legacy item. That is a remarkable gift.