When the time came for a new pair of road shoes there was really only one choice for me: Giro. For me they are the sleekest cycle shoe brand on the market and even though they have only been producing shoes for a couple of years they have brought 25 years worth cycle industry expertise to the table.

The Giro Trans shoe sits firmly in the middle of their range but the overall quality is no lower than their top of the line models. For non-competitive cyclists the Trans is the perfect blend of features and price.

Obviously the most important factor when selecting any bicycle component or accessory is whether it is available in black. The Trans come in a choice of white/blue if you’re feeling particularly saucy; white/black if you can’t make your mind up; or the all important charcoal/black if you are a radical bike ninja like me.

The upper is constructed from 100% synthetic microfibre so they really aren’t going to stretch much, if at all, which is good to know if you’re dropping a chunk of cash on a pair of road shoes. I’ve been using mine for a couple of months now and they still look and feel as good as they did on day one. Should I admit that I wipe them down with a baby wipe after each ride because I love them so much? Probably not, but with a little bit of care I reckon these shoes are going to last a very long time.

There is a nice mix of matte and gloss to look down on when the lactic acid takes hold and you need something to take your mind off the pain. You can also focus on the nice cool air flowing through via the mesh areas on the toe, sides and the perforated tongue. You can’t knock the looks of these puppies, loads of road shoes are absolutely stinking but the entire Giro range is beautiful, it’s a brand you can trust to not put out something ugly.

The black version are ‘HV’ or ‘high volume’ which are a bit wider than the other colours. My feet aren’t wide at all (I’m only a size 7) and I didn’t know about the specific feature until I got them. I’ve not found the extra width to be a problem at all so I wouldn’t stress over it if you want the black rather than the other colours…

…because any slack can be taken up with the three straps. I’ve found that the one nearest the toe doesn’t seem to do anything for me, you may be different though. The centre strap is offset to eliminate a pressure point on the top of your foot, it works a treat and I’ve not felt any discomfort when riding. The final strap features a lightweight Italian sourced micro ratcheting buckle to lock yourself in good and proper; this is replaceable so if you manage to break one you won’t need to buy a new pair of shoes. I much prefer the buckle to a regular Velcro closure here, it really holds your foot in place without any adjustment mid-ride.

Underneath you’ll find a series of markers which you can use to align your cleats if you’re some kind of wizard. There is rubber on the toe and heel, for some reason I seem to put my heel down further back and am scuffing the sole and microfibre a bit, that’s probably my fault though rather than a design flaw, I’m special like that. Note that the rubber on mine is grey but many of the stock photos online show it as clear/red for some reason, not sure why.

The outsole is an Easton carbon fibre composite known as EC70 which is 70% carbon / 30% fibreglass. It’s produced using the same mould as the higher end EC90 but is just a smidgen heavier. It shares the same stiffness profile as the EC90 so the only ‘compromise’ is a few grams extra weight rather than reduced power transfer.

A great feature of the Giro Trans shoes is the SuperNatural Fit insole. Some shoes have an arch support built into the footbed which may or may not be comfortable for you, Giro lets you choose what is best for you with 3 different thickness arches. The small, medium and large colour coded foam pads attach to the insole with velcro and the difference really is noticeable. When I first put my foot in the shoe it felt terrible, I switched the medium for the small arch support and instantly had a perfect fit.

The Giro Trans road shoes may be a mid-range model but they have many of the same features as the more expensive Factor and Prolight SLX models. The main differences are in the weight but that’s totally irrelevant unless you are competing, if you aren’t racing then I can’t see any good reason why you would pay the difference for the two shoes above the Trans in the Giro range.

These were comfortable straight out of the box, they didn’t take any breaking in at all. The cutout on the tongue stops any rubbing, the offset buckle prevents any pressure and the arch supports let your foot sit where it wants to sit right away. The fit of these shoes is what it’s all about, Giro went through 16 revisions before they were happy and that R&D really shines. As with all road cycling shoes the sizing is totally wacky. My foot is a size UK7 but I wear a UK7.75 (EUR 42) in these. Bonkers.

I absolutely love these shoes: the fit, the build quality, the styling, the materials, and the technical features all come together perfectly. I honestly can’t find fault with them, especially when you take the fact that they are £65 cheaper than the next model up but with next to no difference in the overall feature set. If you’re a regular cyclist that is looking for excellent performance at a great price then this very well may be the right shoe for you.

Giro Trans shoes retail for £159.99 but with The Foot Down’s exclusive discount code (giro) they are only £130 from Urban Cyclery.

Disclosure: I was sent these shoes for review purposes, this has in no way influenced my review. They are just great, simple as that.

One of the things that can make or break a ride is a bag, many of us like to carry a lot of stuff and most of it for no logical reason. A bag that is good for wearing when you’re on foot isn’t necessarily going to be comfortable or particularly practical when you’re hunched over your bars bombing through traffic in the rain.

In the past the diagonal strap messenger bag was the first choice for ‘urban cyclists’, everyone wanted to ride around in a bubble pretending they were delivering plans to architects (rather than tins of beans to their kitchen) but recently there has been a big shift towards backpacks.

Mission Workshop is a fairly young brand but they have donkey’s years of experience, it is owned by the guys who created Chrome and they have taken everything they learned running that brand, refined the aesthetic and are now creating bags that are, for want of a better word, perfect. I have been using The Rambler backpack for about six months or so now, when I think back to the time before it came into my life I shudder.

The Rambler isn’t simply a well made backpack, it’s actually two incredible handmade backpacks masquerading as one. I used to have to decide what bag to take out with me in the morning depending on what I was planning on doing throughout the day, not anymore. With The Rambler you have a small big bag and a massive huge bag, I know that sounds odd but its true. It’s actually quite difficult to explain with words just how special this backpack is, I could almost cry when I’m talking about it. Some people keep photos of their kids in their wallet, I keep photos of my Rambler.

In a nut shell, or is that a coconut shell?

This is a very unassuming backpack, it’s the epitome of simplicity but it’s a cunning master of disguise. In the blink of an eye you can convert it into something that you will struggle to fill, every time I unzip and expand it I can’t help but smile.

At it’s most basic it can be used as a slimline flap down backpack with one main compartment that you can stuff your day to day bits and bobs in and be sure that they’ll still be dry when you get home. This is the state that you’ll probably use it in most often and the one that I think is actually more clever than when it’s in it’s larger guise because at the end of the day, who wants to carry a ginormous bag around at all times?

For me The Rambler is actually a large bag that becomes smaller rather than the other way around. When I think of other bags that claim to expand I think of a piece of second rate material that is often somewhat superfluous and added just because it can be done relatively cheaply and added to the spec sheet. At it’s full size The Rambler is 100% functional, it’s not just an additional feature but the essence of the backpack, the real feature is that it can be folded away gracefully without losing any of its functionality.

As well as the full size and reduced size main compartment there is the slim rolltop section at the back and a similar full size thin pocket at the front but with a zip fastening rather than a velcro roll. A small pocket at the front right corner completes the line up.

Inside and out

The Rambler is constructed from a seriously water-resistant material, I have never had so much faith in something to keep the rain out. I happily store my iPhone in the small front pocket when it is absolutely pissing down, I don’t worry and place it in the main compartment which has more layers of protection because there is no need, not even a single drop of rain has ever appeared inside this front pocket let alone the main compartments. Every zip is urethane coated to make sure that the rain doesn’t sneak through anywhere, an essential feature that is often missing from other bags.

The shoulder straps are nice and wide but not so wide that they’re ridiculous. They are filled with a high density foam so they hold their shape, aren’t thick and spread the load very nicely across your shoulders. They can be adjusted as normal at the bottom but also at the top, they are attached to the bag a few inches lower than the top which lets the bag sit higher on your back. When it is expanded, full and heavy the top straps prevent it from pulling you back and keep the whole thing feeling nice and solid. There’s an elasticated sternum strap which you can clip across your chest to prevent the straps from falling off your shoulders, I use mine at all times because my broken collarbone has left me with a shoulder that the strap want’s to fall off all the time.

There is a full length carbon fibre back plate which stops irregular shaped cargo from sticking in your back and making every second of your ride miserable. This sounds simple but in terms of usability it makes a huge difference to how comfortable the bag is. It’s easily one of my favourite things, not only on the bag but in the whole wide world.

The full expanded internal capacity of the main compartment is 44L yet measures just 5″ deep when zipped down into it’s smaller 22L half size. I use the main compartment day to day for carrying around all manner of stuff: clothing, shoes, bike parts, cameras, food etc; I use it in it’s smaller state most of the time.

I can very comfortably fit a whole week’s worth of shopping in when it’s unzipped and in it’s full 44L glory. Full up the top is wider than the bottom so you can load it up with tins, bottles and other heavy stuff at the bottom then put stuff like bread and other crushables on top and they sit there without losing their shape. I know that this isn’t exactly a ‘shopping bag’ but lets face it, most of us are going to use it to carry food home far more regularly than anything else.

I am yet to experience a situation where I have looked at the Rambler and thought ‘I’ve run out of space’, I came close once with the ’4 kitchen roll episode’ but the front strap is elasticated so that problem didn’t last long. I simply zipped it up, placed the kitchen roll on top and clipped the flap over it, it held them securely all the way home without squashing them because it wasn’t forced. I have used this strap to carry wheelsets a few times and it does a great job, it’s these subtle little differences that separates Mission Workshop from the rest.

The two other substantial compartments expand upwards rather than outwards so are best suited to thin items. The front will comfortably take a 15″ laptop with a whole bunch of other stuff at the same time. I often use the roll top pocket to carry my skateboard. It’s not just the outside material that is hardwearing, the internal is as tough as old boots too, the griptape on my deck hasn’t yet left a single mark which is pretty amazing considering what a mess it makes of clothes and skin.

The small pocket on the front is well positioned, it’s designed so that you can swing the backpack under your right arm and access the essential bits and bobs you need regularly. The only criticism I ever hear about The Rambler is the apparent lack of ‘organisation pockets’, personally I’ve never found that to be an issue. At the end of the day this is intended as a no bullshit bag, if you think you need 20 little various sized pockets for your pen, your pencil, your 15cm ruler, the sugar sachets you steal from Costa, your wallet and the unopened box of condoms you will never get a chance to use then maybe it’s time for you to simplify your life, you nerd. Put small stuff in the small pocket, thin stuff in the thin pocket, big stuff in the big compartment and long stuff in the roll top pocket. This bag doesn’t lack organisation pockets because you don’t actually need them.

There is an optional waist strap available for The Rambler for those times when you’re going to be carrying a lot of weight, it’s also filled with high density foam and is extremely sturdy. As with everything Mission Workshop produce it’s not an afterthought, it is a top quality piece of additional kit that adds another dimension to The Rambler. I recently used it for a weekend away, I carried all my stuff to the destination using the waist belt then removed it, used the bag as normal all weekend and then fitted the strap again for the journey home. It’s the bag that just keeps on giving.

This bag changed my life and it will change yours too

I know the £200 price tag is putting you off but, in theory, this bag could outlive you. All Mission Workshop bags are hand made in the USA and carry a lifetime warranty.

If any part of your bag fails at any point down the line they will repair it for you free of charge; if any part wears out due to heavy use they will repair it for a small charge. I have heard multiple stories of people being run over and sliding across the road with just their Mission Workshop bag between them and severe road rash, those people report that their bags weren’t really harmed in the incidents so they are unlikely to wear out except in the most extreme of circumstances.

The Rambler has changed the way I live my life, not in a profound way or the way that the iPhone has but I don’t think I could live without it now. It is extremely well made, incredibly versatile and really is two backpacks rather than just one. Yes, you have to drop a fair chunk of money on it but it’s worth every single penny and more, ask anyone that owns one and they’ll tell you that i’s the best BEST BAG EVER.

The Rambler and all other Mission Workshop backpacks and messenger bags are available from Urban Cyclery with 10% off using the exclusive code ‘tfd-uc’. Nice!

I’ve been wearing the Chrome Anza for a few months now, it’s a simple jacket with a few well thought out key features geared towards us cyclists.

The styling is similar to a traditional American coach jacket, featuring a 100% polyester shell, elasticated cuffs, fold over collar and hand pockets; there is a lot more to the Anza jacket though.

The polyester shell has a Teflon branded water repellant finish, it won’t keep you dry in a storm but it certainly fends off a shower and makes mincemeat of wind. The button fastening pockets are made out of mesh which helps to let the heat out and reduce sweating, complimented by a couple of air vent holes under each arm pit.

The Anza is cut pretty slim, like most cycling specific clothing, so it doesn’t flap around when you’re riding. The collar folds up and can be fastened by a button at the front, this is such a ridiculously simple idea, it’s almost a stroke of genius. It really helps when there’s a bit of a nip in the air because it fit’s snugly and high around your neck. On the rear there is a decent sized snap fastening pocket which always comes in handy for carrying bits and bobs like tools, snacks or gerbils.

Pros
Lightweight
Water/wind repellant
Super collar!
Rear pocket
Made in the USA

Cons
The button on the rear pocket can sometimes stick in your spine when wearing a heavy backpack, velcro fastening would have been a better choice.

The Chrome Anza jacket is available in Europe exclusively through Urban Cyclery for £79.99, order yours now.

Liquistretch Trousers
The first thing that struck me about the trousers was just how smart they are; they are straight leg and well fitted which gives them a distinct neat look. This is something which is great for commuters: worn with smart shoes the trouser is nice enough even for office wear, yet worn with a pair of more casual shoes they look a little more relaxed, making them an extremely versatile piece of clothing.For me this basically eliminated getting changed into different trousers at work, making life just that little easier.

The ‘liquistretch’ material they are made of is awesome; it feels as comfortable as wearing a pair of tracksuit bottoms, stretches just enough for flexibility whilst riding, and beads water away with ease. It is also very breathable, again useful for work as it’s not nice doing a whole shift with sweaty bollocks! The water beading is useful; it repels water on contact and gives some water resistance to the products, so you can cycle in rain showers, but in very heavy rain it does get wet.

I’d recommend these trousers for most riders, especially for the urban commute to work. However the fit of the trouser might not be to everyone’s taste; it is very slim fit, so if you’re used to a loose jean they might not be your thing.

Liquistretch Shorts
In terms of the fitting the shorts are a little more forgiving than the trouser; there’s more room in general, yet they still remain quite smart looking with a straight fit. Unlike the trouser, the back pockets of the shorts are zippered so you can keep stuff safe whilst riding.

The performance of the short is brilliant for the longer weekend ride as they are extremely breathable and look great on and off the bike. If you’re serious about riding but don’t quite fancy the lycra treatment, these are perfect.

At £49.99 for the shorts and £54.99 for the trousers, both products are affordable and there’s no doubt they will be popular with fixed gear riders.

Pros
‘Liquistretch’ material is brilliant.
Affordable.
Plenty of belt loops – good for Fabric Horse/hip bag users.
Smart fit.
Good quality and branding in general.

Cons
Trousers may be tight on the bigger rider.

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Both these products sound pretty rad and I’m gonna go out this week and hunt them down to try on, I’d love to try out the Surface Clothing Snugflex hoodie too (hint hint, Surface!). Nobody loves a technical fabric more than me but other than on jackets they usually look super wack, clearly Surface have managed to avoid the look of the 3/4 length zip off shorts that you see in Millets or on your dad.

Both the trousers and the shorts are available at Wiggle. For more info about all the Surface Clothing pop over to their site. Are you rocking any of the Surface clothes? What do you think?

This weekend a few of us went up to London to do some riding. After blasting through Saturday afternoon rush hour I ended up racing some punk ass hipster who was wearing braces and boat shoes. He was pretty bloody fast actually but was useless at the lights so as I reached my destination (Look Mum No Hands!) I made sure I got in front of him and did some weaving so that he couldn’t get past me, I emasculated the shit out of that dude. I sat outside the cafe/workshop to wait for the rest of my gang and got a call from Owen telling me to turn around and go back to the Rapha Cycle Club pop-up shop because it was amazing. I did just that…

I’ve always kind of ignored Rapha as a brand because I am a council estate boy and we don’t tend to dig shirts that cost 90 quid and stuff like that. The shop is proper good, it has a big TV with racing on, loads of books to read, a coffee machine, free water in little plastic cups with mountains on, classic jerseys, bikes, a lovely lady working there and a bunch of other stuff to look at. It wasn’t long before I discovered the cycle caps and I just couldn’t resist trying on the all black one even though I was never gonna buy it. Just imagine for a second that my head was a hand and the hat was a glove, the hat fit my head like a glove. Out of curiosity I asked what the price was, £25 is about 3.5x more than your average cotton cap but it just fit so damn good, I carried it around for a bit, tried it on again and then, I assume, due to a mix of smog, temporary madness and the remaining adrenaline of taking a hipsters’ manhood from him I laid down the cash.
When I got home the next day I went to the Rapha product page to do some research about my new headwear, I was delighted to find that my new hat was “highly water resistant, windproof and breathable”, running the tap on it proved their claims. The other major feature of the cap is the “moisture-wicking, anti-bacterial tape for maximum comfort” which sounds like a load of old bollocks but having done some heavy uphill riding in the blazing sun this week I can confirm that what that means is that your cap won’t be fucking soaking wet and disgusting every time you get home, honestly now, there really is a BIG difference in how it handles sweat. I’m guessing the Schoeller® 3XDry® cotton will have something to do with its magic powers.

The shape of these is slightly different to a cheaper, traditional cap, I suppose it’s a bit squarer. I find that it fits my head much better, there is no floppy bit at the back, that could be due to the fact that they come in 3 different sizes and not ‘one size fits all’ though more than just the general shape.

I love this cap, I honestly can’t see how I could possibly go back to a normal cap now, it would be like me trading in my iPhone and going back to Nokia, it’s just not gonna happen. The price of Rapha may put you off, I know it put me off, but in the case of the Rapha Cap the extra cost is well worth it if you always ride in a cap. It is often too easy to just go with the cheap option, you’ll probably even be more than happy with it but when you experience the other end of the spectrum you realise what you’ve been missing.

I cannot rate this cap highly enough, I demand that you treat yourself to one right now!