It was just a couple of days ago that I wrote about some pieces of equipment that I was using on the bike. I’d struggled trying to get my Panaracer Gravel Kings SS tire to seal on my back wheel and found some success with a “borrowed” Giant Fondo 2. The Fondo 2 is kind of at the bottom of their tubeless offerings, but I’m not such a stickler for weight that it was going to bother me. As is often pointed out — if I’m going to worry about a hundred grams, I can just carry only one water bottle and more than make up for it (come to think of it, as I’ve mentioned about the convenience of Korean convenience stores in the past, I wonder why I carry two bottles at all).
Anyway, the Fondo did its job, and it’s stayed well sealed — all the way through yesterday’s ride. I actually like it, and the price (free) cannot be beat. Plus the added benefit in that I mounted it myself and that assures me that I now have a decent enough handle on tubeless tires that I can probably invest in the equipment. I know for certain that my next bike (and any other future bikes if I last long enough) will be tubeless. It seems that the benefits outweigh the drawbacks, and I can certainly live with that.
The other piece of equipment, and what really drives why I’m writing, is the performance of my Lazer Tonic helmet. It was most excellent. It has a wonderful and comfortable fit, and was hardly noticeable throughout the ride. Ventilation was good, and that may have contributed to the fact that I didn’t have any problems with sweat dripping past my headband (although my Halo headband works very well for this in any case). I think for its price, the Tonic is an excellent deal. Unfortunately, as I looked on Amazon earlier today, it seems to have joined the ranks of so many other helmets as “currently unavailable.” Maybe I got lucky. The Tonic is a steal at 80 bucks, and people snatched it up as soon as they could at that price. I’ll keep that in mind the next time I need a helmet.
